I'm not a Witcher anymore.

There is one more thing to do before entering the cave.

Zig took three torches from the Book of Adventures and gave two of them to Isabella and Petra.

Eileen is a fighter who is used to fighting bare-handed; holding anything in her hands would weaken her strength.

Kevin is the same.

The three of them with torches are enough.

With three torches burning simultaneously, the entire cave entrance instantly became much brighter.

The leaping flames cast flickering shadows on the rock face.

Zieg raised his torch and walked to the front of the procession:

"Follow the formation we just discussed."

Then he stepped into the cave.

Petra and Isabella followed closely behind, one on each side, maintaining a certain distance.

Kevin and Eileen walked at the back.

The five people slowly entered the cave following the formation instructed by Zig.

The torchlight illuminated the passageway at the cave entrance.

Narrow, damp, and cold.

The sound of dripping water echoed in the distance, reverberating through the silent passage and sounding particularly eerie.

Kevin gripped his longsword tightly and whispered:

"It stinks in here..."

Eileen frowned as well: "This smell...could it be goblin droppings?"

Isabella covered her nose, her face pale.

"I'm about to throw up..."

Petra prayed softly, her voice echoing through the passageway:

"Earth Mother, please protect us in the darkness..."

The group, carrying torches, slowly made their way along the narrow passage.

The cave was much deeper than I had imagined.

A strong stench permeated the air, growing stronger the deeper one went, as if something rotten had piled up deep inside the cave.

After walking about fifty meters, Zieg stopped.

The torchlight illuminated the passage ahead, and in the passage, a familiar object appeared.

It's another totem.

It's exactly the same as the skeletal totem I saw at the cave entrance.

The skull gleamed a ghastly white in the firelight, its empty eye sockets facing the depths of the passageway, as if silently watching the visitor.

Kevin stepped forward.

"Another totem? This is exactly the same as the one we saw at the cave entrance earlier..."

Eileen also came over to take a look, scratching her head:

"If placing that totem at the cave entrance was to assert sovereignty and mark territory, then why was it placed inside the cave?"

"Is it because they're afraid we'll get lost, so they put up a signpost?" she said half-jokingly.

The four people sat around the totem, discussing it amongst themselves, but none of them could come up with an answer.

Kevin looked up at Zieg.

"Mr. Zieg, do you know what this is?"

Zieg did not answer.

He held the torch in front of him, his eyes scanning the surrounding darkness warily.

He was not drawn to the totem like the others.

In an unknown environment, it is undoubtedly dangerous to be distracted by observing unimportant things.

and……

Just now, he heard a very faint sound.

It was a subtle frictional sound, like something gently sliding on a rock, or like cloth rubbing against the ground.

The sound was very faint, almost drowned out by the dripping water and the teammates' discussions.

If he hadn't been so focused from the moment he entered the cave, he might have missed it.

"Goblin!"

Zieg suddenly let out a low shout and turned around abruptly.

Facing the dark passage behind him.

Kevin and the other three were startled by his action and turned around.

But they couldn't see anything.

Behind them was only pitch blackness; the torchlight could only illuminate an area of ​​about ten meters, beyond which lay unfathomable darkness.

"Mr. Zieg, what's wrong?" Kevin asked, puzzled.

Zieg did not answer.

He gripped the burning torch tightly in his left hand, his gaze fixed on the darkness.

Without hesitation, he threw the burning torch in his hand forward with force.

call!

The orange-yellow flame traced an arc, spinning in the air as it flew into the depths of darkness.

The flames left a bright trail in the air, illuminating the rock walls and floor of the passage.

Snapped!

The torch slammed heavily onto the ground, and the leaping flames instantly illuminated a space within several meters.

The next second, everyone stared wide-eyed in disbelief.

Several goblins were crouching low, holding various crudely made weapons, and silently crept towards them.

At that moment, the goblins were suddenly illuminated by the torchlight and were clearly startled.

They clearly didn't expect to be discovered.

But soon, they let out piercing screams and charged at the group, brandishing their weapons.

The piercing screams echoed through the passageway, sending chills down one's spine.

Worse still, from the darkness beyond the reach of the torchlight, came even more footsteps and screams.

Clearly, there are many more goblins lurking.

"Goblin?"

Kevin's voice trembled slightly. He gripped his longsword tightly, but stood frozen in place, at a loss for what to do.

Eileen's face also turned pale. She subconsciously took half a step back, her fists clenched tightly, but her body was trembling slightly.

Isabella and Petra felt a chill run down their spines and almost lost their footing.

The four of them had only one question in their minds...

They had been walking in a straight line since entering the cave, without any forks in the road, so how did goblins appear behind them?

Where did these green monsters come from?

"Don't just stand there!"

Zig's voice broke the four's panic. He took out a new torch, lit it, and drew his short sword from his waist with his right hand, facing the charging goblins.

"Stay calm and follow my instructions!"

"Kevin, Eileen, come stand here with me! Don't let the goblins break through!"

"Isabella, Petra, you two step back. Do not cast any spells without my instructions."

Kevin gritted his teeth, forcibly suppressing the fear in his heart, and gripped his longsword tightly.

"Yes, I understand!"

Eileen took a deep breath and assumed a fighting stance:

"Come on, you green scum!"

The seven or eight goblins that charged at us were very fast.

The three goblins at the front had already rushed to within five meters of the group...

Facing the goblins charging at the front, Sieg did not retreat an inch.

He gripped the short sword tightly, his body lowered slightly, and then...

It cleaved downwards!

A flash of cold light, and the sharp blade traced a swift trajectory from top to bottom.

puff!

The short sword pierced through the goblin's head from the top, cleaving it in two as easily as cutting tofu.

Blood and brain matter splattered out, a truly horrifying sight illuminated by the firelight.

The goblin didn't even have time to scream before its body went limp and collapsed to the ground. After twitching twice, it completely lost its life.

Just then...

Two goblins leaped up from the left and right sides, attempting to launch an attack.

"Go to hell!"

Kevin shouted and thrust his sword forward with his right hand!

puff!

The sword tip pierced precisely into the goblin's throat on the left, penetrating its cervical vertebrae.

The goblin's screams stopped abruptly, its body stiffened in mid-air for a moment, and then slid helplessly to the ground.

Eileen let out a low growl, pushed off the ground with her left foot, and leaped into the air while spinning, her right leg sweeping out like a steel whip!

boom!

A dull thud resounded.

Eileen's toe struck the goblin's right head hard, and the terrifying force instantly transmitted to its brain.

Click!

The crisp sound of the neck bone breaking was clearly audible.

The goblin's body flew backward like a kite with a broken string, crashing heavily against the rock wall before sliding down and remaining motionless.