I'm not a Witcher anymore.

One day later.

"Captain, lure them over here!"

Zig's voice traveled along the damp stone wall, echoing through the narrow, cold underground passage.

The deeper you go, the more uncomfortable this place becomes.

The stone path underfoot is always damp and slippery. A black sewage ditch flows slowly by on the side, and the stench mixed with dampness rises in waves.

Several torches were stuck between the rocks, their light flickering on the sewage, making the entire passage seem unstable.

Valeria had retreated to the narrower section of the stone path ahead.

The goblin at the front roared and pounced, its rusty short sword slashing towards her shoulder.

Valeria tilted her shield to the side, deflecting the sword strike, and then, using the force of her shoulders and back, thrust the shield heavily against her.

The goblin slipped and tilted to one side, and the two behind it couldn't stop in time and collided with it.

Taking advantage of the gap created by the crowd, Valeria stepped back to make way.

With her shield slightly tilted and her sword pressed to the side, she moved along the path, gradually leading the catching goblins into a narrower section of the trail.

Thirty or so green-skinned monsters huddled together, their screams, splashing sounds, and chaotic footsteps all mingling together.

The first few tried to jump up and hug her legs, but the ones behind them were already pushing forward regardless.

Short knives, wooden clubs, and bone spears flickered wildly in the firelight, their shadows elongated as they leaped along the stone wall.

Zieg stood at the other end of the passage, raising his yew longbow and gently nocking the arrow on the bowstring. His gaze passed over the chaotic horde of green-skinned monsters in front of him and settled steadily on the goblins behind him, who were hunching over and pulling out slingshots.

The bowstring vibrated repeatedly.

The goblin that first pulled out the stone had barely raised its hand when the arrow pierced through the gap between the swaying monsters and pierced its throat.

Before the two nearby birds could even react, the second and third arrows followed one after the other. One bird was struck in the eye and fell backward on the spot, while the other bird felt a jolt in its chest and the sling in its hand flew out of its grasp.

The last one hurriedly lowered its head, trying to shrink back, but before it could even take a step away, the arrowhead had already pierced its open mouth, causing it to fall backward.

Several stones that had just been loaded into the sling were immediately scattered all over the ground, hitting the bricks and stone walls, and rolling into the murky sewage with a crackling sound.

At this moment, Valeria retreated a bit further and came to stand in front of Sieg.

"Hill!"

Hill lowered the tip of his staff.

A layer of oily sheen silently spread from the goblin's feet, creeping along the damp, moss-covered stone bricks, even covering the dirty spots along the edge of the stone path.

The goblins in the front row suddenly slipped and fell to the ground one after another.

But the momentum of the entire swarm did not stop.

As soon as the first few fell, the others rushed up, stepping on their companions' hands, feet, and backs to push forward, turning that narrow passage into a pot of churned mud.

In their panic, several goblins reached out to grab the ground, trying to steady themselves, but the stone bricks were wet and slippery, offering no leverage. Instead, they were swept away by the momentum from behind and tumbled sideways, tripping and falling along with a group of others.

Several others were simply thrown into the sewage ditch at the edge of the stone path, where sludge and black water exploded, instantly filling the entire passage with a stench.

The goblin horde, which was already clustered together, was quickly blocked in that narrow passage.

Zieg reached into his quiver and pulled out an arrow wrapped with an oil-soaked cloth strip. He casually lit the torch beside him, and the cloth strip on the arrowhead immediately caught fire. The flame was small, but it was very bright.

The bowstring is taut.

He let go.

The rocket pierced the damp, stuffy air with a thud, and sank into the thickest patch of oil.

The fire first darted along the stone surface, then spread out along the oil stains.

The edges of the stone path, the crevices filled with sewage, the oil tracks left by the goblins, and the few wooden sticks they carried wrapped in rags and hemp rope all became the path for the fire to spread forward.

The entire narrow passage was suddenly illuminated by the firelight.

The goblins at the front had just been forced to shrink back by the firelight, but the monsters behind them were still stubbornly pushing forward.

There wasn't much room to maneuver in the narrow passage, and this back-and-forth pushing and shoving caused complete chaos.

Several goblins who wanted to turn around had just turned their bodies when their feet were engulfed in oil and fire, and they couldn't even stand up. In the blink of an eye, they were pushed back into the fire by their companions behind them.

Some burst into flames and frantically lunged to the side, only to either crash headfirst into the stone wall or plunge into the sewage ditch with a scream, where black water and sparks exploded together.

The entire narrow passage was as if it had been suddenly blocked off; those in front couldn't escape, and those behind couldn't stop, so they could only scatter and scramble in the ever-growing fire.

A piercing scream and the crackling of burning grease mingled together, vibrating back and forth against the stone walls on both sides. A wave of heat, carrying the stench of burning, hit us, and even our breath carried a pungent, bitter taste.

Lucy stood at the back, her hand already clutching the Holy Symbol, her face pale, but she didn't retreat an inch.

Ravenna crouched beside Zig, her shortbow held horizontally, watching every shadow trying to leap out of the fire. If one managed to get through, she would fire an arrow, her movements swift and precise, giving the enemy no chance to get close.

The fire didn't last long.

But as the mournful cries gradually subsided, all that remained on the stone path were charred corpses and still flickering sparks.

The air was filled with the stench of flesh, sewage, and oil mixed together, and the heat clung to our faces, making even the stone walls seem to be baked.

Valeria only then raised her shield again and stepped forward.

She first used the tip of her sword to pry open the outermost goblin corpse, which was burned and curled up in a ball, and only after confirming that it was not moving did she turn her head slightly.

The group then approached.

As soon as Ravenna approached, she wrinkled her nose at the stench and muttered under her breath, "This smell is really unbearable."

Despite saying that, she didn't hesitate at all, squatting down to start cutting her left ear, her movements very practiced.

Hill stood to one side, his cane hanging slightly, his gaze constantly scanning the shadows and corners of the passageway, wary of anything that might still be alive and lurking in the dark.

Lucy followed, but after only a few steps, she was overwhelmed by the smell and turned her face away, her lips clenched tightly, but she managed to keep quiet.

Zig's gaze veered away from the charred and twisted goblins at his feet and fell upon a corner of the stone path near the sewage ditch.

There was a skeleton lying there, crookedly.

The skeleton was still wrapped in a tattered leather armor, the leather was badly cracked and the edges were even curled up, but the tailoring of the chest and shoulder guards showed that the material was not bad, unlike the kind of adventurer who could not even put together a decent set of equipment.

Zig walked over and squatted down next to the remains.

He first looked around.

There were no obvious signs of a fight here, and there were no large areas of chopping marks on the edges of the stone bricks. Even the location where the bones fell seemed wrong.

The man was almost crooked in the corner, too far from the center of the passage, as if he had died here before even having a chance to fight head-on.

Zieg paused for a moment, then reached out and parted the cracked old leather armor, removing a nameplate from the front.

Obsidian grade.

The nameplate was covered with a layer of black grime, but the edges were still intact. He used his thumb to wipe away the dirt little by little, revealing the dark color underneath, and then put it into the Book of Adventure.

Once we get back to the surface, we'll have to send this thing to the guild.

We can't let someone die in a place like this, with no one even knowing their name.

Zieg stood up, took a small bottle of kerosene from his bag, and slowly poured it over the remains and the leather armor. After doing this, he borrowed a light from a nearby torch and carried it forward.

Flames ignited along the oil stains. The orange-red flames reflected on the dark, murky water, illuminating the short stretch of stone path.

No one spoke.

In the empty underground sewers, only the faint, monotonous crackling sound of burning flames echoed softly, one after another.

Zieg stood there for a moment before turning around.

"Let's go."

Valeria nodded, raised her shield again, and led the group deeper into the territory.