I'm not a Witcher anymore.

Arrows clattered and struck the stone bridge and its railings, scattering sparks everywhere.

There was no one on the bridge.

There were no screams, no footsteps, and no retaliation.

The goblins on the ship huddled together, their muttering growing more urgent.

The first few craned their necks to look at the bridge, while the ones behind were still pushing and shoving, seemingly unsure whether it was a trap or not.

In the shadows, Hill finished reciting the last incantation, and the dark red gem on the wooden staff suddenly shone brightly.

The slowly flowing sewage suddenly exploded.

It wasn't just a single wave that was stirred up; the entire surface of the water seemed to have been violently lifted by an invisible hand.

The black, foul-smelling sewage surged violently, causing both boats to tilt simultaneously, their hulls leaving the water, and then being lifted and capsized by the raging current.

A piercing scream suddenly filled the entire underground space.

The ship capsized, and the goblin was thrown out with it.

Some were flung directly into the air, their limbs flailing wildly;

Some of them crashed onto the stone railings of the bridge, the bones and planks making a dull thud together;

Many more tumbled back into the sewage, splashing water everywhere and even wetting the stone paths on both sides.

Valeria rushed out almost at the same time the spell exploded.

She rushed onto the bridge from the side, her shield ramming through first.

The goblin at the front, which had just fallen onto the bridge and couldn't even stand up, was knocked away on the spot. Before the other goblin behind it could even stand up, her sword had already cut into it.

The sword's edge swept across the side of the neck cleanly and without any hesitation; blood splattered onto the bridge bricks and flowed along the cracks.

Zieg is faster.

The goblin closest to him was still struggling when Sieg's sword arrived.

The steel sword slashed diagonally into its side of the neck, cutting all the way to the other side. The monster's mouth opened, its head rolled out, crashed into the edge of the bridge, and then plunged into the black water below.

There weren't many goblins that had fallen onto the bridge to begin with, and they were all left dizzy and disoriented from the capsizing and impacts, so there was no semblance of any formation left.

Zig stepped across a puddle of freshly splashed dirty water on the bridge, his sword falling repeatedly.

The goblins had barely recovered and hadn't even had time to regain their footing when he and Valeria slashed them one after the other on the bridge.

The group of goblins that had fallen into the water were clearly trying to get closer to the ship's deck and bridge piers.

But the water was foul and turbulent, and overturned planks, floating corpses, and flying arrows all blocked the way.

The more they struggle, the more chaotic they become, and the faster they die.

The entire underground river was stirred up as if it were boiling, with screams, splashing, cursing and the sound of water slapping all mixed together, making one's ears throb.

The last goblin on the bridge screeched and lunged at Valeria, but before it could raise its broken sword halfway, it was deflected by the shield she had deflected.

Zig cut in from the side, thrusting his sword into its ribs, twisting it, and pulling it out. The monster collapsed onto the bridgehead, motionless.

The bridge finally fell silent.

All that remained were the strange cries of those creatures that weren't quite dead yet, echoing across the river.

Sieg didn't stop; he sheathed his sword with a backhand and took out a yew longbow from the Book of Adventure.

The bowstring snapped softly as it tightened. The first arrow flew and pierced the eye of a goblin clinging to a plank of a wrecked ship.

The second arrow immediately followed, pinning another bird that had just emerged back into the water;

The third and fourth arrows flew out in quick succession, giving the monsters in the water no chance to catch their breath.

Ravenna didn't stop either; the two of them pressed down the entire river surface so that not a single goblin could actually emerge.

After the last goblin, still struggling, was hit by an arrow, the river finally calmed down.

All that remained were overturned planks, floating corpses, and blood-stained sewage, flowing deeper and darker into the waterway.

The already foul odor was now mixed with the smell of fresh blood, so thick it felt like it was stuck to my nasal cavity and wouldn't dissipate.

Ravenna stood by the bridge for a moment, then couldn't help but scratch her hair.

"Um..." she pointed to the corpses drifting further and further away in the river, "What about the bounty?"

Hill tensed up instantly, clearly startled by those words. Lucy silently turned her face away, pretending she hadn't heard anything.

Valeria was crouching by the bridge, cutting off the left ears of the goblins on it. She didn't even look up when she heard this, seemingly not intending to respond at all.

Ravenna had no choice but to go see Zieg again.

"Zig?"

Zig glanced at the black, foul-smelling sewage river, his expression calm.

"I can't swim," he said. "If you're willing to go down, whatever you pull up is yours, I won't split the cost."

Ravenna looked him over suspiciously, clearly not quite believing him.

But as she glanced down at the pool of sewage and the spoils that were about to disappear into the darkness, her expression gradually soured.

No one on the bridge mentioned going into the water anymore.

In the end, everyone could only watch helplessly as the bounty on the river drifted deeper into the darkness with the current.

After Valeria finished cutting off the last left ear, she stood up and glanced around at everyone.

"Let's take a few steps back and find a clean spot—we need to clean up."

No one objected to her statement.

The group retreated a short distance along the stone path they had come from, finally stopping in a recessed, dead-end corner.

The area was farther away from the bridge and the blood, so the smell wasn't as strong.

The wall recedes inwards, as if it were a small space carved out of the stone wall. It's not big, but it's just big enough to fit a few people in.

There was only one opening on the outside, and if you stood in the passageway and didn't look carefully, you might not immediately notice that someone was there.

Ravenna first stuck a torch in the passageway outside, letting the light illuminate the entrance. Then she took out a thin thread and a few small bells from her bag and squatted down to fiddle with them.

She worked quickly and soon strung several lines at the entrance and in several other places where people could easily step on them.

The thread was so thin it was almost invisible unless you looked closely, and the little bells were also hidden in the shadows. If anything came near, it would make a sound.

After arranging everything, she patted the dust off her hands.

"Alright." She took a step back and glanced at herself first. "If something really came near, at least it wouldn't have been completely silent."

Valeria nodded slightly, without saying anything more.

The group then sat down against the stone wall.

The cold, damp chill seeped through my clothes, but compared to continuing to stand outside staring at that stinking river, this was a place where I could finally catch my breath.

One by one, everyone took out dry food and water bags from their bags and quietly replenished their strength.

The bread was still hard, and the jerky was dry and tough, even a little rough on the throat when swallowed, but at times like this, no one would complain about these things.

Being able to sit down, put food in my mouth, and gradually steady my hands, feet, and breathing is enough.

Lucy lowered her head and ate her bread, her other hand unconsciously pressing on the medicine packet beside her.

Hill didn't speak, but simply leaned quietly against the stone wall, closing his eyes to catch his breath.

Ravenna wanted to say something more, but as soon as she opened her mouth, she saw Siegfried gently shake his head at her.

She pursed her lips, swallowed her words, and only let out a soft hum before obediently leaning back against the wall to rest.

Valeria stood at the entrance, shield and sword still in her hands, her figure firmly planted, blocking the narrow opening completely.

An hour later, the group got up again and continued their exploration deeper into the underground waterway.