However, a silver light flashed across the brute’s throat, and the mangled flesh began to heal at a visible rate. In just an instant, the shredded skin was as good as new.

But at the same time, his arms remained where they were, showing he had no strength left to resist.

If Colin wished, he could press the attack and finish his opponent off right now.

But he didn’t. Instead, he calmed himself and began to think quickly.

’The person they left to watch the bridge said something was coming. That "something" definitely isn’t reinforcements. Judging from the arrows, it has to be Hobgoblins, Orcs, or local Barbarians.’

’If that’s the case, cutting down the drawbridge is undoubtedly the best choice, which explains the clattering sound of wooden planks.’

’So, the best thing to do now is...’

Without hesitation, Colin kicked his opponent in the chest.

The severely injured brute staggered back several steps from the blow.

Just as he retreated onto the outer platform, several more arrows flew in and struck him down. The buckles on his armor, shot apart by the arrows, CLINKED and CLATTERED to the ground. He showed no signs of life.

Outside, Finn and his men lay motionless in pools of their own blood.

From the direction of the drawbridge, the faint sound of colliding planks was heard again.

’Don’t tell me the bridge wasn’t completely cut down, and the "things" that came are trying to climb over to check things out?!’

Realizing this, Colin quickly turned and waved to the others who were preparing to shoot arrows outside, then quickly jumped into the cave.

Understanding what had happened, the others were driven by their will to survive and acted fast. Kase put away his Shield and jumped out of the rock crevice with Salin. The two of them quickly cleaned up the traces outside, trying to make everything look as natural as possible. The fire-resistant Tiefling reached out and snuffed out the oil lamp with her fingers.

After taking care of everything, the group returned to the crevice.

Salin listened carefully to the sounds outside, then began to sing again, using Magic to completely conceal the crevice.

The four of them hid in the pitch-black crevice, not daring to even breathe.

’Based on the arrows from before,’ Colin thought, ’there must be dozens of them. And those arrows rarely missed their mark. The newcomers are definitely a group of well-trained, battle-hardened veterans.’

He recalled what Salin had said a few days ago about Hobgoblin Warg Riders.

’If it’s them, then they must have Wargs with them. Will this illusion even work? Then again, how did Finn and his men see through the Magic in the first place?’

Overwhelmed by fear, Colin felt his mind was a mess.

Against Finn’s group, they had a fighting chance.

But against opponents like these, their chances were slim to none.

Out of the frying pan and into the fire!

’Damn it...’

Cold sweat trickled down, making Colin’s forehead itch.

Outside the crevice, there was a dead silence. Inside, in the pitch-black darkness, only the faint breathing and pounding heartbeats of his companions could be heard.

Vaguely, it sounded like a bird flying past.

This was followed by the sound of footsteps and clanking metal.

A harsh, unknown language was heard from outside. Judging by the volume, the speakers weren’t far away. ’Thankfully, I only hear two different voices,’ Colin thought. ’They probably didn’t send too many people over.’

Time passed, one second at a time.

Before they knew it, only the howling wind remained to keep them company.

To be safe, they didn’t try to look outside. They waited until Salin’s Magic had completely worn off before Kase tentatively stepped out.

The others watched the entrance to the crevice, anxiously waiting for the Half-Orc to return.

After a while, a huge figure suddenly appeared at the mouth of the crevice.

"They’re gone. Everything outside is gone."

It was Kase’s voice.

Just as the others began to relax, Kase picked up a waterskin from the ground and handed it to the Tiefling.

When she didn’t take it, he growled in a low voice, "Hey! Pointy Tail, can you hear me?"

Orelia clearly flinched, probably still terrified from the ordeal.

"Kase, you’re being ridiculous," Colin said.

"A little distraction helps, right?" Kase said. "You didn’t see the look on Pointy Tail’s face just now. I thought she was gonna get strangled by fear—no joke, I’ve seen an unlucky bastard literally get scared to death. He looked exactly like she did just now."

"It... it did help a little..."

The Tiefling’s voice was trembling. After she spoke, the sound of someone drinking water followed.

"Those guys from before are all dead. You can see a bunch of leather boot prints all around. The drawbridge is half-cut, and the things that came after climbed over for a look and then left," Kase continued.

Only then did the others slowly emerge from the crevice.

The entire Finn Squad had been shot and killed on the spot. There were clear drag marks on the ground; their bodies must have been thrown off the great rock first and then taken away.

Other than bloodstains on the ground and some notebooks and scraps of paper that had been tossed aside, nothing of them was left.

Colin looked over at the drawbridge.

It was just as Kase had said. The man left to watch the bridge had managed to cut two ropes on the same side before he died. The other two ropes and the planks attached to them dangled, swaying in mid-air.

On the hillside across the chasm, messy footprints were clearly visible.

Although he couldn’t see them clearly, the footprints obviously didn’t belong to humanoids. They must have been from some kind of canine creature—most likely the Wargs of the Hobgoblin Riders.

Thinking back on what had just happened, Colin still felt a lingering fear.

’From now on, I have to hurry up and learn how other Adventurers fight. Otherwise, if something like this happens again, we’ll be in for it. It’s just too peaceful around Thousand Masts City. I can’t believe we ran into this on our first time out...’

"Are those Hobgoblins really that damn poor? They didn’t leave a single thing behind!" Kase complained.

"I think it’s great they helped us solve our problem. If we could have called them in the first place, I would have gladly paid them," Salin said, catching his breath. "But this is already outside the Hobgoblins’ territory. I have no idea what they’re doing all the way out here..."

"Was that your Magic just now?" Colin asked.

"I learned some ballads in the past that can trigger a reaction from the Magic Net. That was Silent Illusion. It can only create a phantasm that affects sight and nothing else."

Colin let out a sigh of relief. "All I can say is, it’s a good thing the guy watching the bridge cut it down. Otherwise, if those Hobgoblins’ Wargs had come over, there’s no way we would have escaped.

It’s also lucky the wind was so strong today. That howling probably covered up the sounds of our fight. Otherwise, the Hobgoblins definitely wouldn’t have left so easily... Of course, maybe they did realize a fight was happening here, but just thought Finn’s opponents had already fled."

"So why did those Hobgoblins show up right now? Did they spot us?"

Orelia asked in a daze, apparently not yet recovered from being scared out of her wits.

Colin thought for a moment and said, "We erased our tracks the whole way. Those Hobgoblins must have been following Finn’s group. What I’m curious about, though, is how Finn managed to track us down."

"You knew them from before, right?"

"That’s right. We traveled together for a while."

Salin said, "Then it’s no surprise. It must have been the Object Positioning Skill. As I recall, if you’ve observed an item at close range, you can use this Magic to track it.

Normally, the Magic can only track something for a few hundred meters, but I’ve heard that some talented individuals can extend the tracking distance several times over. They probably used that to see through my Magic. Otherwise, there’s no reason they would have found us."

"Come to think of it, I think I saw a figure at the blacksmith’s shop earlier. It was probably one of them. They must have been tailing us, checking when we would leave the city. Back when we were with the caravan, they were probably just sizing everyone up for an easy target. They looked so friendly back then."

Colin rubbed his chin and said, "We’re still too inexperienced."

"You and Pointy Tail are the ones who are too inexperienced," said Kase.