Faerun: The arcane mage is still too imprisoned.

Little Black squatted beside him, looking up at him, making gurgling sounds in its throat.

Lance tore off a small piece of meat and handed it over. Little Black came closer, sniffed it, stuck out its tongue and licked it, then took it in its mouth, chewed it, and swallowed it.

Meow~

"tasty?"

"Meow!"

Drucker chuckled: "Hey, this little guy knows his stuff!"

The group enjoyed eagle meat stew in a forest clearing, accompanied by freshly fried flatbread from Dulac, which was quite pleasant.

Finn ate the least, putting down his bowl of soup after only drinking half of it.

He jumped onto a tree, his sharp eyes scanning the surrounding woods.

After finishing their meal, Durak cleaned up the pots and pans, and the group continued on their journey.

The afternoon sun was stronger than the morning sun. Walking along the forest path, a breeze occasionally blew by, bringing a touch of coolness.

Lance walked in the middle of the group, with Little Black on his shoulder fast asleep—its four paws dangling limply, its head nodding, its tail twitching occasionally, as if it were chasing some bird in its dreams.

Sissa, watching from the side, couldn't help but chuckle: "Lord Lance, Little Black is sleeping so soundly."

"Hmm." Lance glanced at the fluffy ball on his shoulder. "After all, its main job today is to sleep."

"Huh?" Cielsa blinked. "Little Black has work too?"

"Yes," Lance said seriously. "She's responsible for being cute, for being adorable, and for being petted by me."

Sissa chuckled, "Well, it did a pretty good job!"

"So I pay it a salary—food and lodging included."

Logan, who was walking ahead, turned around and said with envy, "It must be so nice to be a cat..."

Drucker slapped him on the back of the head: "Be a good wanderer, and try to be reborn into a better family in your next life."

Logan rubbed the back of his head and muttered, "Captain, how do you know I wasn't born into the wrong family?"

Greta interjected expressionlessly, "If you had been born into the right family, you'd be in a pigsty right now."

Logan: "..."

Finn's lips twitched slightly, but he quickly recovered.

Lance silently gave Greta a thumbs up.

The sun was setting lower and lower, and the horizon began to turn orange-red.

Drak looked up at the sky, then at the distant, faintly visible hills, and said, "Lord Lance, it's getting dark. Shall we continue on our way, or find a place to camp?"

Lance thought for a moment: "How far are we from the mine?"

"At our current pace, it should be around midnight," Durak said. "But it's not safe to go out and fight the kobolds in the dark at night."

"Then let's set up camp," Lance said. "We'll make our move at daybreak tomorrow."

"Okay!"

Drucker immediately perked up and began looking around for a suitable campsite.

Logan plopped down on the ground: "Finally, I can rest..."

Greta kicked him: "Get up and go find some firewood."

"Why me?!"

"Because you sat the fastest."

Logan opened his mouth, only to find that he couldn't refute it.

As darkness fell completely, Lance and his group found a place to camp in a sheltered woodland.

The terrain is flat, with a small stream flowing nearby, providing ample water. The surrounding area is sparsely wooded, offering a fairly open view and making it difficult to be ambushed.

Dulac busied himself setting up the tent, humming a dwarf tune—a cheerful tune, but the words were incomprehensible, probably in dwarf language.

Greta carried a bucket to the creek to fetch water.

Finn leaned against a tree, keeping watch. His eyes scanned the surroundings, his longbow hanging nearby.

Logan was assigned to collect firewood. Dragging his weary body into the woods, he muttered to himself as he gathered the firewood:

"Why should I be the one gathering firewood... I've only rested for five minutes... This is exploitation... This is oppression..."

Lance sat by the campfire—the fire hadn't been lit yet, but the spot had already been chosen, surrounded by stones.

Little Black jumped off his shoulder, circled around twice, sniffing here and there, and finally jumped back onto his lap, curled up in a ball, and made a purring sound.

"You really can sleep." Lance looked down at it.

The little black tail flicked, but its eyes remained closed.

Sissa knelt beside him, resting her chin on her hands and tilting her head to look at him.

The campfire hadn't been lit yet, but the moonlight shone down, reflecting a faint glow in her violet eyes. Her long, silver-gray hair cascaded over her shoulders, swaying gently in the night breeze.

"Lord Lance," she suddenly spoke, "I've been thinking about something."

"Um?"

"Those kobolds... what do they eat to live on?"

Lance looked down at her: "Why are you suddenly asking this?"

"I'm just curious." Cielsa rested her chin on her knees, blinking her eyes.

"There's no farmland or livestock in the mine. How much food do hundreds or thousands of kobolds eat every day? They can't possibly go hungry, can they?"

"Oh?" Lance raised an eyebrow. "You're using your brain, aren't you?"

"Hehehe~" Cielsa smiled shyly, "Spending so much time with Lord Lance makes me a bit more thoughtful, all thanks to Lord Lance's influence."

Lance didn't reply, but instead looked at Dulak not far away.

"Dullac".

"Yes, sir!" Durak immediately put down what he was doing and ran over. "What are your orders, Lord Lance?"

"Sit down." Lance gestured to the stone beside him. "Celsa has a question for you."

Drak sat down, looking at Cielsa expectantly: "What would Miss Cielsa like to ask?"

Cielsa was a little embarrassed by the scene, but she still spoke up:

"I was just thinking about those kobolds, what do they eat to live on? There's nothing in the mines, right?"

Drucker stroked his beard: "Well... I haven't really thought about it carefully."

Logan returned carrying a bundle of firewood, just in time to hear this. He threw the firewood on the ground and interjected:

"Kobolds, they eat everything. Rats, insects, mushrooms, tree roots..."

Greta returned carrying a bucket of water, placed it beside the campfire, and spoke softly:

"Kobolds primarily eat meat. They hunt small animals and also eat carrion. If there is no meat, they will kill each other."

Sielsa shuddered: "M-Mutual slaughter?"

"That's what kobolds are like."

Greta sat down and poked the campfire with a branch—she had already set up the firewood Logan had just brought back, and it was now waiting to be lit.

"Their groups have a strict hierarchy. The weaker members who cannot get food will be eaten."

"This...this is too cruel..." Cielsa shrank her neck and leaned closer to Lance.

Lance glanced at her: "Scared?"

"No!" Cielsa immediately straightened her back. "I just feel... a little sorry for her."

"Pitiful?" Logan chuckled. "They're anything but pitiful when they attack humans."

Sielsa lowered her head, thought for a moment, and then asked, "But can we really find that much meat in the mines? How much would thousands of kobolds eat in a day?"