My monster cards can evolve infinitely.

The bushes rustled.

A small, silvery-gray hand parted the leaves, revealing a pair of pointed ears and a pair of alert, large eyes.

Captain Ryan had drawn his longbow to its full draw and slightly lowered the crosshair of the arrow—this would make aiming at small creatures more accurate, a result of his many years of hunting experience.

He saw this "uninvited guest" clearly—

A goblin, entirely silver-gray, wearing well-tailored leather armor, held a thick wooden club in its hand.

This is clearly no ordinary goblin. Its color, equipment, and cleanliness, which is so different from its filthy counterparts, all indicate that it is not ordinary.

At that moment, the other person's small face, which had a slight human-like appearance, instantly changed from jubilation to ferocity, with a cold glint in their eyes and rapid "woo-woo" sounds coming from their mouth.

"Hey! You scared the hell out of me, just another clueless little dwarf!" The orc Shattered Bones glanced at the woods beside him, where the dwarf was hiding, his tone seemingly implying something else.

He raised his axe, and the muscles on his thick arms bulged rapidly.

The silver-gray goblin had clearly sensed the intense hostility. It held its club horizontally in front of its chest but did not retreat, its "woofing" sounds growing increasingly low.

"Captain...aren't you going to make a move?" A dwarf's shrill voice came from the woods, seemingly impatient.

Only the bewildered female apprentice had stopped casting spells, her slightly curious eyes scrutinizing the goblin.

"Wait," Captain Ryan said, his arrow tip not moving, his gaze already past the goblin and up to the bushes behind it.

"There are more people behind!"

rustling—

The tall bushes were lifted again, and a gray figure slowly emerged.

He was a boy of about seventeen or eighteen years old. Sweat beaded on his forehead, his gray robe was stained with grass clippings, a simple knight's longsword hung at his waist, and a rough short bow was slung over his back.

When he looked up, their eyes met.

The boy's eyes were as clear as a babbling brook.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?" Captain Rein's voice was calm as his gaze quickly swept back and forth between the boy and the goblin.

As a hunter and seasoned adventurer, he has extensive experience in dealing with such unexpected situations.

The boy's gaze quickly swept around, pausing only briefly in the shadows of the opposite woods, clearly assessing the situation.

"Princess, come back!" The boy didn't answer his question first, but called out.

Upon hearing this, the strange goblin immediately assumed a defensive posture, slowly retreating to the boy's legs, baring its teeth fiercely at the orc Shattered Bones.

At this moment, the tension in Renn's heart eased, because with his keen hunter's intuition, he was certain that no one else was coming.

Only this boy and the goblin, a strange combination.

"I am an adventurer from Summertown, and I am tracking this goblin," the boy said calmly and steadily.

"It was a stray fish from a small tribe that I was cleaning up."

"Clean up?" The orc Shattered Bones scoffed, his canine fangs bared. "You? And this... clothed monster?"

The orc pointed his large finger at the word "princess".

The "princess" immediately bared her teeth, letting out a threatening growl, and raised her large club slightly.

"Gah gah! Lying humans," a sharp voice came from the forest, "one man took down a tribe, kid. There's a limit to bragging."

Clearly, his two teammates did not believe his explanation.

The mage apprentice, Ellie, had a serious look in her eyes as she stared intently at the boy, her expression somewhat complicated.

"You mean we stole your prey?" The captain's voice was low, his face appearing dark and unreadable under the gray fog.

As a captain, Renn understands perfectly well what measures to take at what time.

For example, right now, a lone adventurer, and... that ancient-looking knight's longsword.

Although only the scabbard and hilt are visible, Renn is certain that this is no ordinary weapon.

"Whoever's sword you fall under, you become their prey... This is the law of adventurers."

"It seems you've resolved it. Thank you."

The boy's eyes held a smile, but his tone had softened.

"Thanks?" The sinister voice came from the forest again, tinged with greed. "Words alone aren't enough..."

"Boy, leave behind your longsword, as well as this little monster's leather armor and belongings..."

"Let's see your sincerity!"

"Yes, the little dwarf is absolutely right!" The orc Shattered Bones turned the axe blade toward Xiuqi, baring his fangs, his eyes filled with mockery and cruelty.

hum~

A bunch of vulgar bastards...

Ryan was disgusted by the behavior of his two teammates, which was clearly not his usual style.

But they did not stop it.

He had teamed up with the orc Shatterbog and the dwarf Bucky on several occasions, and their cooperation had been fairly pleasant.

However, this was the first time he had encountered a lone adventurer in a deserted place.

Ellie, the mage apprentice, moved her lips slightly, as if she wanted to say something.

She glanced at Shattered Bones and Bucky's stance, then at Captain Ryan's gloomy expression, and finally just gripped her staff tighter without saying a word.

"The longsword, leather armor, and money pouch—all for you?"

"So I can leave safely?"

The boy's tone had become calmer, and the smile in his eyes remained unchanged, but his gaze had become more focused.

His gaze fell on Captain Ryan, as if he had already realized that he was the leader here.

A gentle breeze rustled through the branches in the woods, but the sound seemed unusually jarring at that moment.

Captain Ryan remained silent, simply looking back at the other man.

Silence is the answer without words.

"Well then, it seems I'm really out of luck today." The gray-robed youth seemed to have resigned himself to his fate, his tone filled with helplessness.

"Then please don't hurt me, I'll give you anything!"

"Haha, you're quite sensible, kid!" The orc Shattered Bones hoisted his great axe onto his shoulder and strode over.

At this moment, the afterglow of the setting sun shone through the gaps in the trees, casting a dark red shadow on the boy's calm face.

His gaze was very calm, not at all like that of a terrified kidnapper.

The boy stood with his feet slightly apart, turned his body to the side, and slowly lowered his right hand...

wrong,

The seasoned hunter's intuition immediately sounded an alarm; something felt very wrong.

The other person was too calm, and the boy's posture... had a strange sense of familiarity.

A distant memory suddenly struck Rennes—

That distant afternoon...that knight in black armor.

Cold sweat broke out instantly.

"Captain, he's a mage!" Ellie's voice rang in my ears at the same time.

puff--

Suppressed, heavy breathing came from his nose, and he swallowed.

The barely visible starting stance, the ancient longsword that is definitely not ordinary, and the goblin companion that is clearly different from others.

Moreover, he was actually a mage.

Captain Ryan let out a long breath, trying to keep his voice calm.

"They were just joking with you, please don't take it personally!" A smile squeezed out of Ryan's deep face, like an orange peel suddenly unfolding.

"You can leave now!"

In an instant—

The boy's slightly smiling face froze instantly, and a deep, unyielding disappointment flashed across his eyes.

really,

Raine's eye twitched almost imperceptibly.

"You can leave at any time," he repeated clearly and slowly, maintaining that stiff smile.

You don't need to leave anything behind.