"We've reached the safety line." Reid, the scout of the team, used his spear to push aside some rocks on the side of the road. He looked at some inconspicuous signs in the corner and said in a low voice, "If we go any further, no one can be sure what we'll encounter."
The so-called safety line referred to the boundary line that the soldiers explored and cleared. For this cave, it was the dividing line between 'safe' and 'dangerous'.
The cave they explored was located on the west side of the Barren Mountains, adjacent to Rye Town. In order to prevent some dangerous things from breeding in the cave, the soldiers of Rye Town would come here every three months to explore and clear the cave to prevent monsters such as goblins from breeding in large numbers, and also to prevent some dangerous creatures from entering the cave.
The safety line was a special sign that they left after each exploration and clearing before leaving.
Adventurers with cave exploration experience knew that before reaching the safety line, the main enemy was getting lost. And after crossing the safety line, the main enemy would be the various monsters that could appear at any time underground.
After all, adventurers worked in small teams. A team had at least three to five people, and at most, more than ten people. Compared to an army of 50 people, their combat effectiveness was far inferior. When encountering monsters that only the army could deal with, they could only run away, and sometimes they couldn't even escape.
Among the four northwestern towns, Rye Town was the only town that had an 'elite army'. Because it was rich in food and the main trading port between the four northwestern towns and the Commonwealth of Gold Coins, the business was very developed. Therefore, the various organizations that jointly ruled the town could have enough income to support the elite army of 50 people.
Every soldier of this army had strength comparable to a regular adventurer. They could skillfully use spears, swords, shields, bows, axes, and at least two of these commonly used weapons. When necessary, they could ride horses and gallop. They usually concentrated on training or patrolled the town. Whenever there were dangerous monsters near the town, or when there was a need to go on an expedition to clear the surrounding area, they would be fully armed and put on strong armor. With the help of the army's priests and mages, they would destroy anything that threatened Rye Town.
They often came to this cave named "Big Black Hole" to explore and clean, and more than once they annihilated the monsters that lived here. During one of the most intense battles, they brought back the left ears of nearly three hundred goblins, more than twenty parts of other monsters, and the corpses of two companions.
It was created by a terrifying monster. It had the head of a cow and the body of a human. Sitting down, it was taller than a normal person standing up. Its hard body was like a dried ancient tree. Arrows could only penetrate a little bit into its body. It had four arms, and each arm was thicker than a normal person's thigh. When it waved its four axes in battle, it was like a terrifying storm!
If the Spellcasters had not responded appropriately, there would have been heavy casualties in that battle. But even with the cooperation of the spellcasters, the soldiers still lost a scout and a warrior.
Not only that, but after that battle, at least ten soldiers chose to retire. Some of them used the money they had saved during the years of military service to start a small business, while others went to the south-central part of the Commonwealth of Gold Coins to buy land and become self-employed farmers. The trauma left by that horrible monster made most of them put down their weapons forever and never dared to step into the battlefield again.
Some of them later broke through the trauma in their hearts, such as the leader of Palin's expedition team, "Earth Bear" Devore.
Devore was a very strong warrior. He was at least 1.9 meters tall, and he had the back of a tiger and the waist of a bear. He made a great contribution in that battle. He cut off the horrible monster's left ankle with one strike of his axe, causing it to fall to the ground. It could be said to be the key to victory or defeat. But he was also seriously injured by the monster's counterattack. Four of his ribs were broken, and he almost died.
After retiring, he was depressed for a period of time. But finally, he stood up again and stepped into the battlefield with his share of the spoils — one of the monster's four axes. But he did not become a soldier again. Instead, he became an adventurer.
At that time, his nickname was "Ox-Head Tomahawk." Later, as he accumulated experience in adventuring, he changed it to "Earth Bear."
This nickname was proof of his experience, because he especially liked to adventure in underground caves. Among the adventurers in Rye Town, he was considered a representative figure. So when Palin was recruiting people, the staff of the Adventurer Guild recommended him.
Among the other companions, the ranger and the priest were recommended by him. They were also experienced in cave exploration.
Reid, an experienced ranger, was nicknamed "Three Arrows." Because the average ranger could only shoot two arrows in a row, he could shoot one more arrow.
"Fire Hammer" Morton was a believer of the God of Light. He was a priest who was skilled in martial arts and magic. He was an expert in this team, second only to Devore.
The thief in this team was called Lafur, who was recommended by Rhode. He was a very powerful thief, especially good at fighting. Compared to those who liked to take things from other people's pockets or sneak into other people's houses to rummage, he was good at sneaking behind monsters and stabbing them with his beloved long dagger. This earned him the nickname "Backstab." For a combat thief, to be able to turn a thief's special skill into his own nickname showed how powerful he was.
But relatively speaking, Lafur was not so good at pickpocketing, scouting, and dismantling traps, which most thieves were good at. So he did not have a good time. Most of the time, he was a part-time warrior. He believed in the God of Thieves and insisted that thieves were not killers. He was not willing to sell his skills for money. And a backstab expert who refused to be a killer obviously had a bad future.
Rhode recommended him to Palin. On one hand, he felt that this acquaintance was very reliable, and on the other hand, he hoped that he could teach him a little. If he could make use of this matter to build a good relationship with the Church of Void Mask, he would at least have a place to live no matter how poor he was in the future.
Of course, Lafur was not a person who did not know what was good for him. Needless to say, he could see Rhode's concern. Therefore, he had been very active in the past two days, firmly standing by Palin's side whenever there was a matter, appearing to be completely loyal.
So at this moment, he did not wait for Palin to speak and hurriedly said, "I took the deposit. Boss, if you want to continue, I will definitely accompany you to the end!"
Rhett helplessly rolled his eyes, feeling a little resentful in his heart.
To be honest, although this mage named Palin paid very quickly, if he had a choice, he really did not want to go deeper into the cave.
This cave was so deep that no one could see the bottom. Until now, no one had completely explored it. It was better here, but if they went deeper, who knew what they would encounter!
He remembered that there was once an adventurer who escaped from the cave and claimed that he saw a giant dragon in the depths of the cave!
Of course, he absolutely did not believe that there would be a dragon in this cave. Rye Town had been established for hundreds of years, but no one had seen any traces of a dragon. Could it be that the dragon had been sleeping in the depths of the cave for hundreds of years and had not woken up yet?
But many people in the town had seen the terrifying four-armed Tauren's corpse. He asked himself honestly, if they encountered such a monster, their team would definitely not be able to defeat it. In a panic, no one could guarantee that they would not encounter an accident and lose their lives.
Devor was much more straightforward than him. This experienced adventurer did not take going deeper into the cave seriously at all. He tilted his head to look at Palin and suggested, "It's not dangerous to go further. According to our speed, it will take at least another two days to reach the furthest distance I have ever explored."
Palin then turned to look at Morton, asking for the priest's opinion. Morton, who was a man of few words, did not speak. He just looked at Devor and smiled.
Obviously, he chose to believe in his leader's judgment.
"If that's the case, then let's continue." So Palin also made up his mind.
Although His Majesty also said that the most important part of this trip was to observe Shuang and Xian's situation, he was only a support. But even if he was just a support, if he did not do his best, how could he be worthy of His Majesty's care!
He took out a lollipop and stuffed it into his mouth. He gave Rhett, who was scouting at the front, a spell that could protect him from long-range attacks, and then the team continued to move forward.
"Why do you always like to eat sweets?" Devor asked curiously. "For the past two days, I have seen you eat two or three sweets almost every day. Are these sweets delicious?"
Palin smiled, took out another one and handed it to him. After thinking for a while, he also gave one to the others.
Few people hated sweets. Although it was slightly undignified for a dignified adventurer to put a strange-shaped candy in his mouth, there were no outsiders here, and with Palin taking the lead, no one refused. They put the round candy connected to a thin wooden stick into their mouths.
"Oh!" Morton was the first to notice the mystery hidden in the candy. He could not help but exclaim, took the candy out of his mouth, and carefully looked at it.
"What's wrong with this candy?" Devor was a little puzzled. "It tastes good. It's sweet, and I feel warm all of a sudden."
"Vitality!" Morton said in a low voice. "It can replenish vitality."
Rhett, who was still carefully tasting the candy, quickly took the candy out of his mouth, wrapped it in oiled paper, and put it into his bag.
What did "replenishing vitality" mean? It meant that it could cure injuries, weakness, and fatigue, and it could save lives at critical moments!
He could not help but feel a little regretful for eating the part of the candy he had just eaten.
Lafur looked at Palin and asked, "Boss, isn't it a little wasteful?"
Palin smiled. "I'm not in good health, so I have to eat this often. Otherwise, I will easily feel tired and dizzy."
"It's not as simple as' not in good health '!" Devor looked at him worriedly. "You need to eat this often to replenish vitality. Don't you need to rest for a while?"
"There's no need, there's no need." Palin chuckled a few times and strode forward again.
He did not have a soul. Sui did not hide this fact from him, but he would never tell anyone else.
His teammates were all experienced. Seeing that he did not want to say more, they no longer asked. They just silently put away their candy and protected him in the middle.
This poor young man was so weak that he had to rely on this kind of drug to maintain his strength, but he was still working hard …
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