Chapter 310 Convergence of Three Parties

Oathkeeper Blackwood was a proper professional-grade adventurer squad, consisting of four Class Holders with distinct, complementary roles. The captain was a human woman named Margaret, a Level 4 [Swordsman].

Thordin, a Level 4 dwarven [Shield Warrior], primarily served to pin down enemies. He used his class traits to absorb damage and create attack openings for his teammates.

Goldensand, a Level 4 [Rogue], harnessed the power of shadows to prowl the battlefield's flanks, supporting attacks and delivering fatal blows at critical moments.

Joshua, a Level 1 [Mage], was the newest addition to Oathkeeper Blackwood. Though his Class Level was too low to choose a specialization, his mastery of numerous low-level spells suited for expeditions earned him an exceptional admission into the squad.

This squad, composed of three Class Holders nearing Level 5 and one rare Spellcaster, represented the ultimate dream for nearly every bottom-tier adventurer in Rivervale Town.

To them, any single member was a true "big shot"—the kind they wouldn't dare speak loudly around if they sat nearby in a tavern.

Given the squad's strength, the Goblin communities that bottom-tier adventurers risked their lives to barely wipe out, and even their nightmarish Bugbears, were no longer viable targets due to meager returns.

Yet no matter how strong they were, they remained adventurers. They still needed to complete Association quests for bounties to cover daily living expenses and the mounting bills from updating equipment and consumables.

Fundamentally, they were no different from those bottom-tier adventurers; their slightly higher Class Levels merely afforded them more choices.

Right now, having accepted a temporary investigation quest from the Adventurers' Association, the group had pushed deep into the Petrification Lizard Lair within the Misty Forest to search for traces of a devil.

Although they encountered a bit of trouble along the way—specifically an Armored Lurker in the Rotten Root Mire—they arrived at their destination without any real danger.

Furthermore, using the Rogue Goldensand's special combat technique, [Shadow Veil Insight], they tracked faint negative energy residues in the air all the way into the deepest tunnel of the Petrification Lizard Lair.

Thanks to Saloyan's repeated trial and error over the past few days, they judged from the density of the lingering Purgatory aura and the tracks outside various crevices and caves that the devil they were pursuing had shown signs of getting lost in the Underdark.

The Oathkeeper Blackwood Squad decisively chose the route with the highest density of residual negative energy and the freshest tracks, avoiding the devil's fate of getting lost in the complex and dangerous Underdark.

This drastically closed the distance between them.

On one side were veteran Class Holders with rich adventuring experience and exceptional physical attributes, capable of long marches. On the other was a devil forced to rely on a rookie adventurer who hadn't even grasped a "Mastery" level combat technique. Had they not deliberately slowed their pursuit to avoid being detected and ambushed, Oathkeeper Blackwood might have caught up yesterday.

Of course, they weren't too late now either.

In fact, their timing was impeccable.

When the group charged out of the cave entrance, the first thing they saw was the scattered corpses of Goblins, slaughtered until nothing remained but fragmented limbs and internal organs.

The overwhelming stench of fresh blood permeating the air made even an assassin-trained Rogue like Goldensand frown.

Then, they saw the massive corpse of the Armored Lurker.

Unlike the vicious creature that had ambushed them in the mire, this Armored Lurker was now almost unrecognizable. Its severed pincers and the gaping wound on its chest—stretching from shoulder to collar and exposing internal organs—clearly illustrated the agonizing ordeal it had suffered.

Even its skull had been cleaved from its shoulders. At this very moment, a black-haired young man held that head in his arms, driving a short blade through the eye socket to pry the eyeball out.

"It's the devil's aura. It's on him!" Goldensand's solemn voice suddenly rang in everyone's ears, his eyes coated in shadow energy.

Following his point, the members of the Blackwood Squad shifted their gaze to the other side of the clearing, toward a younger, green-looking man dressed like a bottom-tier adventurer.

"Prepare for battle!" Captain Margaret barked.

The squad's formation shifted instantly.

The dwarf Thordin stepped to the front, wielding a shield in one hand and his Faceted Hammer in the other.

Margaret positioned herself half a step behind him, her longsword already drawn. Goldensand, originally at the rear, flanked to the side, his figure flickering in and out of sight in the dim environment.

Protected at the very back, Joshua nervously chanted an incantation, magical luminescence flickering quietly across his wooden staff.

Naturally, the group knew nothing of the relationship between Xia Nan and Abi, nor had they overheard their prior conversation.

From their perspective, the two men were accomplices. One was possessed by a devil, and the other was likely some sort of Purgatory cultist seduced by it.

Both were enemies who posed a threat.

Meanwhile, from Xia Nan's point of view.

This group of adventurers inexplicably charging out of the cave displayed obvious hostility the moment they laid eyes on him. Clearly, they were up to no good.

Dropping the Armored Lurker's skull halfway through harvesting, he leveled his longsword, fully prepared for battle.

At the same time, the Rogue's mention of a "devil's aura" piqued his concern. The wary glance he cast toward Abi carried a hint of suspicion.

Aside from Abi, who appeared highly panicked after having his secret exposed, both other parties reacted with extreme speed.

By the time the group rushed out of the cave and arranged their formation, Xia Nan had also finished his combat preparations. He had even formulated a plan for the ensuing battle, finding a breakthrough point.

Kill the backline first.

While the opposition remained unfamiliar with his fighting style, he would use the exaggerated mobility and explosive power of [Fang Hunt] to eliminate the obvious Spellcaster. He couldn't allow that person to become a problem.

He was even willing to reveal one or two trump cards to achieve this.

Next would be the Rogue. Under the effects of [Heart-Guided Vision], the opponent's stealth was practically nonexistent. He could feign ignorance, wait for the man to approach, and deliver a fatal strike with [Gravity Etching].

And finally...

"Snap."

Not far away, the wild boar roasting over the bonfire was thoroughly charred. The crude spit supporting it finally buckled under the weight and collapsed, crushing the campfire below and causing the flames to flare instantly.

The firelight flared bright.

Their eyes met.

In that sudden moment, Xia Nan clearly saw the face of the dwarf standing at the squad's front.

'Thordin?'

He felt a surge of surprise.

The dwarf experienced the exact same realization, a trace of doubt washing over his vigilant face.

"Captain, something's not right," the dwarf muttered without looking back.

"I know that black-haired guy. He's the adventurer who sold me the flail right before we set out. I just saw him at the Association; his name is Xia Nan."

The situation had been so sudden and urgent that Margaret hadn't had the chance to observe much before instinctively ordering them to prepare for battle.

Now, however, she astutely picked up on the scene's details.

Although the two men ahead were both young, their attire was worlds apart.

One wore the most common garb of a bottom-tier adventurer in Rivervale Town: leather armor, a single-handed sword, and an easily carried buckler. You could grab anyone at random in the White Chickadee Tavern and they'd look exactly like this.

The other, however, was fully armed. He wore a Fine-quality, visibly expensive Plate-Chain Composite Armor paired with specialized greaves. The longsword in his hand was clearly high-quality, and he even had a sheathed blade strapped to his back. His entire aura was more focused and profound, evidently marking him as a veteran adventurer.

Unless they were relatives of some sort, Margaret refused to believe two such wildly different adventurers belonged to the same squad.

What struck her as even stranger was their positioning. Even though it looked like they had finished their battle and were collecting their spoils, the distance between them was noticeably wider than normal cooperation required. It wasn't a comfortable distance for chatting or passing items; it looked far more like a "safe buffer."

Furthermore, when members of the same squad harvested materials, one person wouldn't do all the work while the other simply watched, facing the harvester instead of keeping watch on the surroundings. What cemented Margaret's suspicions, however, were their reactions when her group burst out of the cave.

They hadn't grouped up to support one another and face the impending battle side by side. Instead, they maintained their distance.

The noticeably veteran black-haired youth even subtly adjusted his stance to simultaneously observe her squad and the other young man. He was keeping both parties in his field of vision, clearly on high alert.

Pondering this briefly, she raised a hand to signal her teammates to stay calm. At the same time, she called out to Xia Nan, "You two aren't teammates, are you?"

"We're an adventurer squad from Rivervale Town. The man in front of you has a lingering Purgatory aura on him, and we suspect he's been possessed by a devil."

"You have two minutes to leave; otherwise, we'll treat you as an enemy too."

'A devil?'

Xia Nan's expression didn't change, but his mind stirred.

He first thought of the suspected Purgatory aura he had discovered in the Petrification Lizard Lair while hunting a few days ago.

Out of caution, he hadn't ventured deeper, opting instead to return to town and report the situation to the Adventurers' Association.

Looking at it now, these adventurers were likely investigators sent by the Association.

As for Abi...

Xia Nan's gaze swept over the man, recalling the explanation Abi had offered moments earlier.

If he truly was possessed by a devil, it would explain how someone of Abi's strength had survived entirely alone in the core region of the Misty Forest for so many days—without any obvious injuries or signs of battle.

But he couldn't completely trust their one-sided claims either.

Although Abi was acting a bit strange, he was still an old teammate he knew, whereas these adventurers who had suddenly popped out of nowhere had zero relationship with him.

He needed to understand the situation a bit more.

Therefore, Xia Nan didn't immediately reply. He simply swept his gaze across the group before turning to look at Abi.

"A devil?"

"Abi, is what they're saying true?"

"Tch—" Goldensand smacked his lips in dissatisfaction.

From his perspective, their side was clearly the stronger party.

If Xia Nan was in cahoots with the devil, they were inherently enemies, and naturally there would be nothing left to say.

But if their captain's guess was right, and this black-haired man was just an ordinary adventurer accidentally swept up in this, then his current attitude seemed far too arrogant.

"You have one minute left!" Goldensand shouted at Xia Nan, frowning slightly with a heavy tone of warning.

Xia Nan ignored him.

He simply kept his eyes on Abi, waiting for a reply.

But unexpectedly, the green adventurer displayed a very bizarre reaction.

He didn't try to defend himself, nor did he show the slightest intention of answering Xia Nan.

He simply stood rooted to the spot, his eyes darting erratically.

His forehead was slick with sweat as he stared into the void, completely unfocused. His pale lips quivered continuously, looking as though he were muttering to himself, or perhaps conversing with some invisible entity.

"Thirty seconds left!" the Rogue's impatient urging echoed through the cave, making Xia Nan vaguely annoyed by the noise.

A full quarter of the two-minute window remained, yet he wouldn't stop pestering him.

However, given Abi's current behavior—if he had truly been influenced by a devil and willingly fallen into depravity, Xia Nan had no ties of kinship or friendship with him. To use a term from his past life, he was at best a "former coworker." He had no obligation to save him.

He weighed the pros and cons.

While Xia Nan was certainly reluctant to give up the materials on the lobster-like monster, this adventurer squad's true strength was unknown. Forcing himself to stay and fight them would very likely cause unnecessary losses.

If his armor got blasted apart or his longsword broke, major repairs or replacements would incur another massive expense.

There was no need to clash with them.

Having made his decision, he looked across the considerable distance, his gaze sweeping past the visibly impatient Rogue to give a slight nod to the female swordswoman leading the squad, signaling his stance.

Seeing this, Margaret visibly breathed a sigh of relief.

She could feel a faint trace of pressure radiating from the black-haired youth. If there was a way to avoid battle, that was naturally for the best.

She simultaneously held out a hand to signal Goldensand to shut up, preventing him from further antagonizing the man and shifting the situation again.

Communication between veteran adventurers was brief and highly efficient; everyone knew how to weigh the stakes.

Unless circumstances were truly exceptional or the prospective profits overly tempting, unnecessary battles rarely broke out.

Bottom-tier adventurers, however, were entirely different. To a certain extent, once they left the bounds of civilization, there was no distinct difference between them and wild beasts.

Both acted solely on their desires and instincts.

This was especially true when one's mind had already been weakened and seduced by a devil.

With only the slightest inducement, deep-seated self-destructive tendencies could be triggered, transforming into a surging inferno of fury that ignited both body and mind—a self-detonation!

"Sizzle—hum."

The sounds of blazing fire and vibrating energy melded together.

A thick, pungent stench of sulfur, accompanied by a wail of agony and surging flames, erupted into the air.