raknovel Chapter 74 Who exactly are you?
Chapter 74 Who exactly are you?
Chapter 74 Who exactly are you?
"Hmph, what else could it be?"
Lily, pinned to the rock wall, suddenly chuckled. Her hoarse childish voice mixed with wolfish howls sounded rather strange. "Of course, they're monsters attracted by the sounds of battle over here."
As soon as it finished speaking, a dull tremor spread up the rock wall. At first, it was just a very slight tremor, but it quickly became clear and audible.
Rhode leaned over and listened for two seconds, his brow furrowing slightly. He realized that the sound was coming from the direction they had come from, where the faint sound of monsters' footsteps could be heard. They were heading this way along the mine tunnel, their footsteps slow but dense, clearly not just a few scattered creatures.
"What do you mean?" Milan looked at him instinctively, her eyes questioning, "Hit?"
"Run away," Rod glanced at her and answered decisively.
Although Milan appeared to be fine, the purple light at the tip of her staff was much dimmer than before, as the continuous fireball spells had consumed most of her magic power.
As for Rhodes, although he has the skill [Damage Sharing] in his combined state, and the Dawn Potion given by the guild prevents him from becoming extremely weak due to his injuries, his current state, coupled with a whole day of running around, inevitably leaves him somewhat exhausted in both mind and body.
Of the entire group, only the energetic Don Quixote was still in good condition. At this moment, without knowing the strength and number of the enemy, a head-on confrontation was definitely not the best strategy.
"The stench of blood here is too strong. Those monsters will probably be attracted by the corpses here," Rhode glanced around and retrieved a few usable arrows. "Let's retreat further in."
"it is good."
"clear!"
When Lily realized that she wasn't mentioned in the group's discussion, she panicked as she was pinned to the rock wall.
"Wait!" it hurriedly called out, afraid that these people had forgotten about it.
"Take me with you," it began, but its rough wolf howl was drowned out by a childlike sob. "I... I don't want to be eaten by those monsters."
The three of them paused simultaneously, somewhat surprised.
Don Quixote's eyes widened, and he spoke first, asking, "You're a monster, what are you afraid of?"
"?"
Upon hearing this, Lily instantly turned to look at her, giving her an expression as if she were an idiot, and retorted, "Humans kill each other, so why do you think monsters won't?"
'
""
That makes a lot of sense.
But when it comes from the mouth of a half-human, half-wolf monster, it always sounds strangely unsettling.
"So you can't command monsters?" Rhodes suddenly asked, as if it were a casual remark.
"Nonsense, if I had that ability, I would have wiped you all out long ago," it said irritably.
Upon hearing this answer, Milan instantly realized the problem and subconsciously glanced at the man beside her.
They encountered "Bill" in the village, who was accompanied by a bunch of monsters.
But seeing his unchanging expression, Milan couldn't help but wonder if she was overthinking it.
Was he just asking casually?
Noticing Milan's shifting gaze, the demon's wolf eyes flickered, as if it had vaguely sensed something. "What's wrong? Isn't it normal for a demon to disobey a little girl like me?"
"Hmm," Rod said, skillfully untying a bundle of hemp rope from his body and instructing Don Quixote beside him, "Take it off, we're getting ready to go."
"Huh? Okay!"
Don Quixote, who had been standing there somewhat bored and hadn't understood their conversation, became instantly excited upon hearing Rhodes's words.
She immediately stepped forward, grabbed Lily's exposed arrow shaft, and pulled it out with a strong wrist pull.
With a few soft thuds, the iron arrows were pulled out one after another, and black blood gushed out from the wounds.
"roar----"
The previously numb wound instantly regained sensation, and the wolf's face and human face twisted in pain. Just as it was about to grit its teeth and curse, a dark shadow flashed before its eyes, and Rhodes had already appeared in front of it.
"?!"
Rod's fingers flew, and the rope seemed to come alive as it wrapped around Lily's body several times, binding her limbs tightly behind her back in the blink of an eye, the knots tied tightly and closely.
Finally, he pulled out his spare dagger and pierced the wolf's claw joint with a click, to prevent it from making any further moves.
"You're really cautious." It shifted its body, but even though it was just an ordinary rope, it couldn't muster any strength no matter what it did, let alone break free. Its heart sank.
This guy is really ruthless.
Rhodes didn't reply, but listened for another two seconds. The footsteps from the entrance were getting closer, and even the swishing sounds of monsters sniffing could be faintly heard.
He had just quickly scanned the nearby side roads, and only one mine tunnel deep inside remained untouched.
"Let's go." He took Milan's arm and led her down the side road.
"I—thank you." Milan wanted to break free, but thinking of the pursuers behind her, she had no choice but to change her words.
As a mage, it's a pipe dream for her to keep up with the Ranger in terms of physical strength and speed, not to mention that she likes to stay at home all year round doing experiments and drinking—in this critical situation, she should just obediently accept help.
Don Quixote, carrying Lily on one arm and a greatsword in the other, walked steadily behind the two despite being heavily armored.
However, Lily, who was being carried on her back, was not having an easy time. Being tied up was already uncomfortable, and the cold and heavy armor beneath her made it even more uncomfortable, causing her to feel a little regretful.
If it hadn't slashed at that ranger earlier, would it be in a much better situation now?
They hadn't run far when they heard excited howls coming from behind, mixed with dull thuds of flesh being torn apart.
"Snoring loudly—"
The monsters were clearly attracted by the piles of corpses there and were huddling together to devour them.
"Awooo————"
The stronger the smell of blood, the more monsters gathered. Heavy footsteps poured in from the entrance, and some even began to follow their lingering scent deeper into the area.
They could only keep going deeper into the mine. The tunnels were winding and uneven, and Milan almost tripped several times, but luckily Rod was there to support her.
"stop."
After running for about fifteen minutes, when the sounds of pursuit behind them had faded a bit, Rhodes slowed down, signaled his companions to stop, and then pressed his ear against the rock wall.
With a loud thud, he roared, "Roar!"
The unfamiliar route, the chaotic howls of monsters, and the somewhat disordered air currents around him left Rhode unable to analyze the situation for the time being.
He pondered for a moment, then turned to look at Lily, who was being carried on Don Quixote's shoulder, and pulled out a simple map he had drawn earlier: "How much do you know about the route to this lair?"
Not knowing how long those monsters would remain there, he had to consider other routes to leave.
"You're asking me?" Lily pouted, her wolf ears drooping. "How should I know? I still want you guys to take me out."
"You don't know either?" Rod raised an eyebrow.
"Otherwise, why would I risk making a sound and contacting you?" It revealed a cunning smile, but its half-human, half-wolf face made it look particularly terrifying.
"Just keep looking and you'll find out," Rod asked, as if unwilling to give up.
"You make it sound so easy. What if you wander around aimlessly and get eaten by a powerful monster? Who knows how dangerous this weird place is?"
.
It answered in a nonchalant tone, its cunning wolf eyes darting around.
"If you were able to sneak in, you must have a way to leave. And since your purpose here is to rescue people, isn't it reasonable for me to ask you to take me out?"
"Stop talking nonsense—" Milan frowned, about to rebuke him, when she saw the man beside her nod slightly: "Reasonable."
Seeing Milan's questioning look, Rod immediately gestured for the others to be quiet. "What were you doing when we arrived?"
"I was eating to replenish my energy when you barged in," it said helplessly. "Luckily, there are corpses all around, so it's easy to play dead."
"Eat something?" Rod paused, instinctively looking down at it. "Is there any food left?"
"hey-hey."
It grinned, and all three of them simultaneously looked at the corner of its mouth, where several layers of blackened, dried scabs were indeed formed. Especially its wolf fur, where large patches of blood were stuck together, making it look quite dirty and ferocious.
Thinking of the mutilated corpses of the villagers on the ground, Milan's face instantly darkened, and she felt a wave of nausea.
In such dim lighting, coupled with the various wounds on the villagers' bodies, they did indeed overlook this possibility.
"You bastard—" Looking at the other person's half-childlike, innocent face, she felt a wave of nausea. "Monster—"
""
"But that meat smelled terrible and was hard to eat. Who would want to gnaw on rotten meat unless they were starving?" it added.
"Hmph." Milan snorted coldly in dissatisfaction and glanced at it.
"You don't have any memories of what happened before you were thrown there?" Rhodes stared at it and suddenly asked, "Or rather, you've lost most of your memories."
"!" Lily, who had been admiring Milan's disgusted expression, froze with a smile and immediately fell silent.
"You're not a monster here. You don't know the route here, or even what kind of monsters are in this lair," Rhode said calmly, analyzing as he looked at it.
"And your intelligence and behavior are clearly different from those of Lily, a child."
"So, you are neither Lily nor that half-wolf demon—"
"So, who exactly are you?"
'
""
"I don't know," it paused, seeing the disbelief on their faces, then added nonchalantly, "I woke up in that pile of corpses, my head was a mess, I only had fragmented memories of this body, I don't even know how I became this grotesque."
"You should still have some memory," Rhodes reminded him, "of the village."
He was referring, of course, to the things it had said that had previously given it away.
"Well, it's not that she remembers nothing at all—" Lily paused upon hearing this, "but what do you expect a five or six-year-old girl to remember?"
Her gray wolf ears drooped, her half-childish face was full of confusion, and her fingertips unconsciously picked at the knot in her palm: "I only remember the village, the low wooden houses, and the smell of roasting dark bread in the evening. All that's left is cold and pain, like countless needles piercing my bones. The child kept crying, crying until she had no sound."
She frowned and shook her head, her wolf eyes also showing some confusion: "The wolf side is even more chaotic. Apart from the smell of blood and the instinct to eat, there's nothing left. When I woke up, the two halves of my memories were a jumbled mess, and I still can't tell whether I'm human or wolf."
Milan pursed her lips, her expression softening slightly, but she remained wary.
She turned her head to look at Rhodes, her eyes filled with confirmation.
"Don't speak." Rod suddenly raised his hand to signal silence.
The group immediately fell silent.
Sure enough, heavy footsteps came from the side road behind them, accompanied by a loud sniffing sound.
"Roar!"
In the blink of an eye, a large, gray-skinned carrion monster barged in. Its murky eyes swept over the four of them, and it made an excited growling sound in its throat as it lunged at them with its drooling mouth agape.
"Don't hurt Ms. Milan!"
Don Quixote immediately put Lily down at his feet, swung his greatsword horizontally with a whoosh, and struck the monster's shoulder with a clang, sparks flying all over his face.
The monster roared in pain, but more footsteps were coming from behind, clearly the main force had caught up with it by following the scent.
Boom—
"Don't linger, retreat!" Rhodes shot an arrow through the monster's eye socket, heard a piercing wail, and immediately grabbed Milan's arm and rushed deeper into the mine tunnel.
Milan had just recovered some of his strength, and with him leading the way, his steps immediately became much more steady.
Don Quixote bent down and hoisted Lily onto his shoulder, swung his greatsword backward to repel the attacking monster, and then turned and quickly followed.
The mine tunnel suddenly opened up ahead, the rock walls were covered with a layer of moss that shimmered with a pale green light, and the stench in the air gradually faded, replaced by a sticky, fishy smell, like the smell of the bottom of a stagnant pool.
The roars behind them were very close, and even the sharp sound of the monster's claws scraping against the rock wall could be clearly heard. But the moment the four of them stepped into the moss-covered area, all the roars suddenly stopped.
Then came the sounds of frantic retreat and the anxious growls of claws digging at the ground. In just a few breaths, there was complete silence behind them, and the entire mine tunnel was so quiet that only the heavy breathing of a few people could be heard.
Don Quixote stopped, panting, and looked back at the dark road he had come from, puzzled: "Huh? Why didn't you chase after them?"
"Have you suddenly stopped feeling hungry?"
Hearing her silly and ridiculous question, Milan couldn't help but facepalm. As she caught her breath, she frowned.
The monster that had been chasing them for so long suddenly stopped. It couldn't have been a sudden abandonment; something was definitely amiss.
"It's not that they don't want to chase," Rhodes slowly raised his longbow, his fingertips resting on the arrow shaft, his gaze fixed on the darkness deep within the cave, his voice low. "It's that they dare not come in."
"I guess—we may have trespassed into the territory of a higher-level monster, which is why they retreated."
These words were quite terrifying in this environment, instantly putting everyone on edge.
Don Quixote immediately placed Lily behind him, held his greatsword horizontally in front of his chest, and tensed all his muscles; the purple light at the tip of Milan's staff suddenly solidified, magic flowed rapidly in his palm, and he warily scanned his surroundings.
From the depths of darkness, a heavy, slow breathing sound drifted in, one breath after another, carrying a terrifying sense of oppression, slowly approaching from the end of the mine tunnel.