"Rick, let me borrow your shield."

Facing such a venomous Demon, Alton didn’t dare to be careless. He borrowed the Knight’s Shield from Rick before daring to advance.

He held the shield in one hand and his sword in the other, making a tentative slash.

The Gale Snake immediately turned its head and a Wind Blade shot out, striking the shield and leaving a small crack.

It dodged Alton’s probing attack by twisting its body.

As it struggled continuously, the sturdy metal wire also began to show signs of breaking.

But that wasn’t important, because Alton’s role was only to draw its attention anyway.

The real killing blow was about to be dealt.

Lin Mo hadn’t revealed himself with the others from the start.

He had already entered an [Invisibility] state. After choosing an angle that wouldn’t affect his teammates, he unleashed a fully charged [Sword Storing and Continuous Slash].

Six streams of Sword Qi flew out almost simultaneously, instantly slicing the Gale Snake into several pieces.

This mission didn’t require them to preserve the snakeskin, only the Snake Fangs, Snake Gallbladder, and Poison Sac, so there was no need to be so cautious.

Of course, Lin Mo had been mindful of his aim when he attacked and didn’t hit the Snake Gallbladder.

"Done!"

Alton looked at the snake’s corpse on the ground and sighed with emotion again.

Without Lin Mo, just with the original members of the Bull Run Squad, who knows how long it would have taken to deal with this Gale Snake. They might have even let it escape, holding back in fear of its venom spray.

But with Lin Mo’s attack, the snake didn’t even have a chance to use its venom before it was killed instantly.

This also made him even more certain that it was truly unsuitable for them to continue teaming up with Lin Mo.

"Be careful while you’re processing it. Don’t get scratched by the fangs..."

He reminded them as he walked over to help Solan and the others process the corpse.

There probably wasn’t enough time left today to wipe out the Goblin Settlement for their other mission, but they could travel for a while to get a bit closer, making it easier to strike tomorrow morning.

Time quickly passed. By evening, Alton glanced at the map. "Let’s stop here. We’re about five kilometers from the Goblin Settlement. This distance is perfect."

They wouldn’t have to worry about being spotted by Goblin patrols and tipping them off, and they could reach their destination quickly when they set out tomorrow.

Without another word, the group worked together with practiced coordination to set up camp.

Lin Mo started a campfire. Feney squatted beside it, propping her chin on her hands. Having just begun her life as an adventurer, she found everything about it novel and fascinating.

Solan returned with a deer he’d hunted. He skinned and cleaned it, then roasted it directly over the fire as usual. The group chatted as they ate dinner.

"Lin Mo, what are your plans now?"

"Hmm..."

Lin Mo thought for a moment. "Until we get results from the investigation into the Undead Creatures, I probably won’t go too deep into the forest. I’ll do some simple missions to rack up the required number to get promoted to a Bronze Level Adventurer... In short, I’ll probably stay in Silver Stream City for a while."

Compared to Roland Town, Silver Stream City was a bigger stage with plenty of missions, and it was relatively safe. Life was comfortable there. He didn’t plan on leaving until he had "cleared" all the Demons in Loran Forest.

"What about a new team?"

"I probably won’t look for one for the time being."

Lin Mo shook his head. His strength was about to enter a period of rapid growth. Even if he found new teammates during this time, he would quickly face the same situation again. It would be better to just act on his own.

"What about Ali?"

Alton’s next words made Lin Mo pause for a moment.

He turned to look at the Wolf Maiden beside him. She was watching him somewhat timidly, her eyes filled with both question and hope.

"Are you planning on leaving the team too, Ali?"

Ali looked at Alton. After receiving an encouraging glance from him, she nodded solemnly. "If you’re willing to take me with you..."

"As a man, you have to take responsibility to the very end."

Alton’s words completely dispelled what little hesitation Lin Mo had left. He silently took Ali’s hand. Some things needed no further words.

Among everyone present, only Feney had been kept in the dark. Only now did she understand what was happening.

"Is our team... disbanding?"

A sad expression appeared on her face. "But why? Weren’t we all so happy adventuring together... Is it because of money? I still have a lot of money, I can..."

"It’s not like that, Miss Feney."

Carson shook his head. "When Adventurers form a team, the most important thing is compatibility. The strong ally with the strong, and the weak huddle together for warmth. There can be some difference in strength, but not too much, or else you can’t choose missions together."

"My strength, along with Rick’s and Solan’s, can’t really keep up with the rest of you anymore."

"Yeah, I haven’t done much on the last few missions."

Rick scratched his head, looking a bit embarrassed.

As a Knight, his position was the most awkward. Solan could still shoot arrows and Carson could still scout, but when facing Elite Level or stronger Demons, he was completely useless and could only handle odd jobs.

"It’s alright, Miss Feney. You can continue teaming up with Lin Mo and the others."

Solan also spoke up. "Thanks to Lin Mo, we’ve earned a lot of money during this time. We really can’t keep holding him back."

"The Bull Run Squad isn’t disbanding, it’s just returning to how it used to be. This is how it’s supposed to be."

Finally, Alton summarized.

"We’re all ordinary people, without any grand ambitions or great potential for growth. But you all are different..."