My inventory is full of monster materials.

A terrified scream echoed through the dark, dense forest.

"The arrow...the arrow is poisoned! Jeremy!...Help me!"

"grass!"

"Damn piece of trash!"

"Gru hates wimps!"

Various angry curses and roars echoed from the darkness.

Henry's last shred of unrealistic hope was shattered.

He suddenly stood up, raised his tower shield, and let out a deep battle roar.

"Prepare to engage the enemy!"

Emily huddled tightly behind Henry's imposing frame.

Brady stood protectively on Henry's flank, his knuckles white from gripping the sword hilt so tightly, his palms sweating profusely.

Mark, having landed a successful shot, didn't hesitate for a moment before smoothly cocking his crossbow again, his gaze seemingly piercing through the dark forest to lock onto a figure lying on the ground.

The ranger Jeremy crouched low and quickly darted to his companion's side.

At this moment, the thief Cole was struggling to support his body with his arms, his forehead covered in cold sweat. A crossbow bolt pierced through his leather armor and lodged in his abdomen. At the same time, the flesh around the wound turned an ominous blackish-purple, oozing black blood.

"It's black mamba toxin... I... I have antidote powder in my underwear, quick, feed it to me!"

Cole's voice trembled with pain and fear.

Jeremy frantically searched for the items while muttering curses under his breath.

"What the hell! Didn't you say you were the number one thief in Pinewood Town? How could you..."

next second.

puff!

Cole was pierced by a crossbow bolt, which brought out a splash of red and white, and his screams and life were extinguished in an instant.

A few drops of warm liquid splashed onto Jeremy's face.

He stared blankly at the fresh corpse in his hands, and his whole body felt as if it had fallen into an ice cave.

Run! We must run immediately!

Fear suddenly gripped my heart tightly.

Jeremy no longer cared about anything and turned to flee into the depths of the forest like a madman.

Beside the campfire.

Mark had confirmed the thief's death through "Eye of Surveillance" and couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

He can choose any one of the four enemies to fire first from the start.

The first two were eliminated; those two soldiers looked very strong, and it was hard to guarantee that the sneak attack would be successful.

Therefore, the unlucky one can only be chosen between the ranger Jessie and the thief Cole.

Mark had faced Cole before and knew that the other was cunning and difficult to deal with, so he started with a powerful shot at the Thief.

As for the other wandering swordsman, he had no intention of letting him go either.

As everyone knows, the forest is the domain of wandering knights. If they let such a hidden danger escape, their entire team will never have peace.

"Hold on for five minutes, and I'll take care of that ranger soon."

Mark set himself a deadline and, without waiting for Henry's response, disappeared into the dark forest.

"Mark! Don't chase them!"

Henry called out urgently, but his voice was quickly swallowed by the night.

Almost simultaneously, a loud, unrestrained laugh echoed from the forest on the other side of the camp.

"Hahaha! There really is a female pastor! Looks like tonight's going to be fun!"

"A formidable foe! Gru will cut off its head!"

In the flickering firelight, two imposing figures stepped out of the forest.

On the left is Gru, a half-orc with dark red skin, bulging muscles, and a giant axe on his shoulder.

On the right is Hody, a gnoll with drool dripping from the corner of his mouth, holding a serrated knife in his hand, and his eyes gleaming with greed and cruelty.

Their malevolent gazes met those of the three men who stood ready around the campfire.

……

……

In the dark forest, Jeremy dashed around like a frightened rabbit, with only heavy breathing and a wildly beating heart in his ears.

Now that things have come to this, Jeremy finally understands what happened.

"Eagle Eye! It must be that damned Eagle Eye, otherwise how could he kill with every arrow in such a dark forest?"

At this moment, Jeremy was extremely annoyed that he had accepted this "task" in the first place.

When the "White Eagle" squad's bounty mission appeared on the black market, everyone hesitated and dared not take action, but he tore off the parchment.

Jeremy had personal connections and learned that Felix had left the "White Hawk" squad last night.

Without this troublesome character, the others are simply not worth mentioning.

So Jeremy first probed the squad's true situation, and then assembled a team to track down and intercept Henry and his group.

Unexpectedly, before they even saw the person, one of their companions died.

He realized that this time things had gone wrong.

Whoosh—Pfft!

Suddenly, a piercing pain shot through his thigh, and Jeremy screamed and collapsed to the ground.

His survival instinct made him scramble to hide behind the nearest big tree, then he tightly covered his bleeding wound with both hands.

Not far away, Mark frowned slightly.

The enemy was hiding in a position that was right in the blind spot of the "Eye of Surveillance".

Moreover, because he was in a chase, Mark didn't have time to apply poison to his arrow, but judging from the effect of the shot, it should have hit the opponent's femoral artery.

As life slowly slipped away, Jeremy was overwhelmed by immense fear and tried to make a deal to survive.

"It's not that I wanted to harm you, it's that someone has put a bounty on your head on the black market. Let me go! I'll tell you who it is!"

But the only response Jeremy received was the deathly silence of the forest.

Mark ignored him, crouching low like a cheetah, constantly adjusting his firing angle.

Not getting the response he wanted, Jeremy's psychological defenses finally crumbled, and his voice became distorted with extreme terror.

"The client is 'Blackbeard'! He put down an 80-gold bounty, paid me 20 gold upfront, got Hody to help pay 7 gold, Gru is an idiot and can be dealt with for 2 gold, and Cole and I split the rest..."

Jeremy rambled on incoherently.

Mark was already pointing his crossbow at them.

But Jeremy didn't stop talking; instead, he looked up at Mark and begged for mercy, tears streaming down his face.

"...Please, let me go! I have a wife! I have a child! He's only five years old, he can't be without a father!"

He was met only with a cold, indifferent voice.

"None of my business."

Click!

Bang!

The crossbow bolt pierced Jeremy's forehead, pinning his head firmly to the tree trunk. Blood mixed with tears left streaks of crimson on his face.

Mark groped around on the corpse and found a money bag. Without even looking at it, he stuffed it into his pocket and, without daring to delay, returned to the camp as quickly as possible.

……

……

The campfire in the camp was extinguished, and burning embers were scattered everywhere, their crimson glow illuminating the chaotic battlefield.

The orc Gru was roaring as he swung his giant axe, smashing it against Henry's tower shield again and again.

The heavy impact sounded like the clanging of metal, and a shiny gash was split open along the edge of the shield.

But Henry, with his superb defensive skills and strong physique, held firm against the storm of attacks.

Gru's roar was tinged with frustration.

"Iron Turtle! Gru hates Iron Turtle the most!"

In contrast, the situation on the other side was much more critical.

Brady's arm was once again slashed open with a gruesome wound by the gnoll's vicious serrated blade, and blood instantly stained his sleeve.

A beam of holy light descended just in time, temporarily slowing the bleeding.

But Brady had too many wounds on his body; his tattered adventurer's clothes and scattered cuts had turned him into a blood-soaked mess.

Emily was in no better condition; her face and lips were pale, her body was swaying precariously, and both her divine and physical strength were on the verge of exhaustion.

Hody stretched out his long, scarlet tongue and licked the blood off the blade with relish, his dark eyes fixed on Emily.

Gnolls are evil creatures that worship chaos and plunder. They enjoy torturing holy nuns and then devouring their flesh amidst their wails.

"Little darling, don't worry... I'll take good care of you right away."

He smiled as he approached the isolated and helpless Brady and Emily step by step.

Just as Brady was about to smash into it without thinking twice.

A loud shout came from not far away.

"Get out of here!"

Henry roared as he took a heavy diagonal slash from Gru with his left shoulder armor, then used the momentum to charge sideways, like an out-of-control chariot, crashing into the gnolls' battlefield.

Henry's left shoulder slumped, his armor visibly dented, but his right hand firmly raised the tower shield to protect his two brethren.

Henry's voice was hoarse from the pain, and he asked without turning his head.

"Kid, can you hold on?"

"I'm fine! Uncle Henry, your shoulder..."

Henry spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva.

"He won't die."