My inventory is full of monster materials.

Hody the gnoll, enraged that his plans had been ruined, cursed the orc Gru.

"Idiot! We finally managed to separate them, and you've ruined it all!"

The orc suddenly roared back in fury.

"Gru isn't stupid! Gru doesn't need you to teach him how to do things!"

whoosh-

Without warning, a crossbow bolt shot out from the dark forest outside the camp, aimed directly at the orc Gru!

puff!

The black arrow pierced deeply into the orc's bare chest.

Everyone was stunned by the arrow.

Immediately, Henry and his two companions were overjoyed—Mark was back!

On the other hand, Gru, despite being shot by an arrow, was completely unconcerned and, with a muffled groan, broke the arrow shaft in half with his bare hands.

"Mosquito bites! They won't scare Gru!"

However, Hody the gnoll was horrified to discover that Gru's wounds were turning black and festering.

"Idiot, that arrow is poisoned! Those two skinny monkeys are dead! Damn it, run!"

Hody the gnoll cursed for a while, then turned and fled into the depths of the forest without hesitation, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

"Gru! Don't run away!"

The poisoned orc Gru went berserk, his skin turning red, and he raised his giant axe to smash wildly, but his movements became noticeably sluggish and unsteady.

Henry endured the excruciating pain, and with Emily's divine magic and Brady's disruptive attacks, he managed to withstand the onslaught.

Soon, the poison took full effect, and the orc Gru's eyes became unfocused. He could no longer hold the giant axe and it crashed to the ground.

"Now!"

Henry spotted this huge opening, gathered all his strength, and unleashed a fierce "Shield Slam," smashing the orc to the ground.

The orc's massive body crashed to the ground.

"Ahhh—"

Without the slightest hesitation, Brady roared and charged forward, channeling all his weight, fear, and rage into the longswords in his hands, and plunged them fiercely into Gru's throat!

puff--!

Hot blood splattered onto the boy's body, mixing with his own blood, completing a special growth ritual.

The battle ended, and the three exhausted men almost collapsed on the ground. The camp was in a mess, and only heavy breathing could be heard.

Suddenly, a rustling sound came from the bushes to the side.

The three men tensed up instantly, like startled birds, gripping their weapons tightly and ready to strike.

At that moment, a tall and imposing figure parted the branches and slowly emerged from the darkness.

Mark carried the gnoll's corpse with a gentle smile on his face.

"It seems I don't need to take action."

……

……

The campfire in the camp was relit.

The "White Eagle" squad won the night raid, but at the cost of one member being slightly wounded and another seriously wounded.

Brady lay by the campfire, his clothes changed, his whole body wrapped tightly in white bandages, looking like a mummy.

Actually, his cuts are not too bad. They look scary, but they are all skin and flesh wounds. He can recover with rest and recuperation.

The one who was truly badly hurt was Henry.

At this moment, Emily was removing her armor beside Henry, her fingers laboriously unfastening the severely dented and deformed shoulder armor on her left shoulder.

The skin beneath the nail plate was swollen and dark purple due to severe bruising.

Worse still, the abnormal deformation of the shoulder indicates that the scapula and even the collarbone may have been fractured.

"Well..."

With each breath, the intense pain from his injuries arose, causing even the burly Henry to let out a suppressed groan.

Emily froze instantly, and large tears rolled down her cheeks.

"I'm sorry, I..."

"Emily, you're not wrong. Everyone has their own place."

Henry abruptly stopped her, his voice distorted by pain, but his tone was unusually firm.

"We protected you, now it's your turn to protect us."

"That's right!"

Lying on the ground, Brady struggled to raise a bandaged hand, gave a thumbs-up, and his voice was still full of energy.

"Um."

Wiping away her tears, Emily's expression hardened, and she planted a seed of determination to protect in her heart.

Meanwhile, in the shadows far from the campfire, Mark was returning to his old ways—dissecting the corpse of a gnoll.

His movements were very smooth, and the sharp dagger precisely sliced ​​along the joints and muscle textures, skillfully disassembling the head and limbs as if he were taking apart a toy Gundam.

When killing the gnoll, Mark deliberately preserved the body's integrity.

Apart from a few blackened arrow wounds on his back, his head and limbs were intact.

However, judging from the feedback in the [Character Panel], it seems that only the hairy legs have some value.

[Swift Gnoll's Left Foot (White)]

Completeness: 93%

[Effect]: Agility +1, Movement Speed ​​+9%

[Special]: None

[Swift Gnoll's Right Foot (White)]

Completeness: 92%

[Effect]: Agility +1, Movement Speed ​​+8%

[Special]: None

Examining the attributes of the two hairy legs, Mark knew very well that they would definitely have a set effect.

However, the current equipment slot "Left Foot" is still equipped with "Light Goblin Baby Left Foot", and it will take some time to obtain the permanent attributes.

Therefore, these two superior gnoll legs had to be preserved with salt or lime and then made into specimens again when they returned to the hotel, as backup "equipment" for the future.

Suddenly, a scene flashed through Mark's mind: when he goes on adventures in the future, will he carry a huge pile of monster materials and switch between them as needed...?

Mark shook his head, dismissing the strange thought.

There is still one thing troubling him.

The orc's corpse, after being dismantled, did not trigger any prompts to equip it.

Therefore, it seems that the "monster" identified by the equipment slot is related to the similarity to the user's own race.

Perhaps I'll need to figure out the tricks of the trade better in the future.

After finishing his work, Mark carried the two hairy jackal legs back to the campfire.

Brady glanced at the scene and his eyes widened, his voice even trembling slightly as he asked.

"Mark, Senior Mark...is this...our midnight snack for tonight?"

"What are you thinking about?"

Mark chuckled, shaking the hairy leg in his hand, and teased.

"Don't those orcs all like collecting the heads of their enemies? Can't I have my own personal hobbies?"

"It's not... impossible."

Brady was immediately caught up in his trap.

But in the gaps between their conversation, Henry and Emily secretly breathed a sigh of relief—they were increasingly unable to understand their teammate.

At that moment, Mark noticed Emily's pale face.

Clearly, from the recent battle to the post-battle medical care, Emily has continuously used too many divine spells, resulting in excessive consumption of her divine power.

Mark thought for a moment, then took out a thermos, poured a cup of tea, and handed it over.

Emily shrank back instinctively when she saw the dark tea—she hadn't forgotten how Brady had spit out water from the bitterness before, and now Mark was going to "prank" her again?

But Mark explained understandingly.

"Drink it, it will help relieve your fatigue."

After he said that, Emily accepted the tea without hesitation and drank it down with her eyes closed.

For a moment, the extreme bitterness made Emily's face scrunch up, but soon a refreshing sweetness emerged on her tongue.

Her tired nerves felt as if a cool breeze had swept over them, easing some of the heavy fatigue and clearing Emily's mind for a moment.

"It's delicious, thank you Mr. Mark!"

"Um."

Mark gave a casual reply.

It was actually just his guess: "Cecily's Bitter Tea Seed" could restore magic power but not divine power, but its effects of refreshing the mind and relieving mental fatigue were suitable for everyone.

Just then, Henry suddenly interrupted.

"Mark, you just said... these four people accepted a bounty from the black market, that's why they came to ambush us?"

Mark nodded and echoed his concerns.

"Yes. The ranger said before he died that the bounty was issued by 'Blackbeard,' a commissioner from the black market."

Upon hearing the name, Henry racked his brains for a long time but couldn't figure out who it was.

"'Blackbeard' is just a code name. The other party probably posted the bounty on 'ShadowNet,' where you can post any mission as long as you can afford it."

Mark's brow remained furrowed upon hearing this.

"Is someone targeting us? Why now of all times?"

Felix had just left the team, and someone immediately put a bounty on their head; this was clearly not normal.

Mark suspects that the White Eagles are old enemies of the team.

Henry shook his head helplessly.

"You know I'm stubborn and haven't paid much attention to the deeper aspects of the team in the past."

"However, you don't need to worry too much. Felix just can't come back, but that doesn't mean he doesn't care about 'White Eagle'. I'll send him a message about this as soon as I get back. He knows the ins and outs better than I do."

This last sentence seemed more like Henry's attempt to reassure Mark.

Mark didn't care—what could a lone wolf care about?

They sat and chatted for a while.

Afterwards, both Henry and Brady, feeling unwell, went to bed early and fell into a deep sleep.

Emily, on the other hand, built a small altar herself using wooden boxes and piles of earth, and solemnly placed her golden Dawn Badge on it, kneeling devoutly to pray to the goddess for protection.

Mark silently walked toward the dark woods—just in case, he needed to redeploy two "Eyes of Surveillance" around the camp.

When they returned, Emily was still kneeling there, muttering to herself.

It seems that tonight's battle has had a significant impact on this young priest.

As for the responsibility of keeping watch, it would definitely fall to Mark.

He rested his hands behind his head, using his travel backpack as a pillow, and slowly savored the day's battle.

After repeated practical application of "Freezing Ray" and "Spellcasting Basics", he could feel that he was becoming more and more proficient in the two skills and that they were about to be upgraded.