"The Cave we’re supposed to clear for this mission is just ahead."

Alton held the mission map, taking the lead as he walked through the woods.

Behind him, Ali and Lin Mo were positioned on the flanks of the squad, with the Ranger Solan in the middle. The Knight Rick brought up the rear.

As for the Assassin Carson, he was perched atop a tree, scouting the surroundings.

Although they had met the previous evening, the fully armed group now looked much more like proper Adventurers. Everyone clearly understood their position and role within the team, each performing their assigned duties.

Just as Lena had said, this was indeed a fairly complete and mature squad.

Lin Mo held the Loran Forest Outer Area Monster Atlas and reviewed the information on Dire Rats.

These were low-tier Demons, even weaker than Goblins. In a straight fight, a healthy adult could easily handle two Dire Rats at once. Consequently, the bounty on these Demons was also very low, only 10 Copper Coins.

This was only half the bounty for a Goblin before the price increase, not to mention a single Goblin ear could recently fetch a full 100 copper.

So, Adventurers usually couldn’t be bothered to clean up these creatures.

But these Demons couldn’t be completely ignored. While their reproduction rate wasn’t quite as fast as Goblins’, it wasn’t far off, and they had a particular fondness for destroying rice paddies. Therefore, the Association would issue a quest every so often for Adventurers to cull them.

To motivate the Adventurers, the reward for this quest was nothing to scoff at.

Six Gold Coins was a rather generous sum for such a simple, small task.

"We’re here."

Alton stopped and hid in a thicket, looking at the Cave ahead.

The entrance to the Cave was about half a meter in diameter. The surrounding earth was raised, showing clear signs of excavation.

"Carson."

Alton glanced at the team’s Assassin, who understood immediately. In a few quick steps, he was up a tree, looking down on the area from his perch on a branch.

About a minute later, Carson came down from the tree and pointed northwest. "There’s a second Cave about 100 meters in this direction, and another one about 60 meters due east."

"Ali and Lin Mo, please head to the Cave to the northwest. Rick, Carson, and Solan, go to the one due east."

After giving out the assignments, Alton took a large paper packet from the outside of his backpack and carefully opened it.

"What’s that?"

Lin Mo asked curiously as he and Ali headed northwest.

"A powder made from ground Red Snake Fruit and Artemisia argyi. It’s flammable, and the resulting smoke is quite toxic."

Ali explained as she handed him a pair of nose plugs. "These Dire Rats hide in their Caves during the day and only come out at night to forage. The underground tunnels they dig are complex and narrow, making it almost impossible to enter. So, we have to find a way to make them come out on their own."

As she spoke, she used her Sword to chop down a tree, fashioned it into a stake, and used it to block the Cave entrance on their side.

The other group did the same. Once these preparations were complete, Alton lit the paper packet, threw it forcefully into the Cave, and then sealed that entrance as well.

All that was left was to wait.

One minute, two minutes...

It seemed the Cave system was quite large, as the smoke needed time to spread. Nothing happened.

Ali also took out an identical paper packet from her backpack, lit it, tossed it into the Cave, and resealed the entrance with the stake.

Carson’s group did the same. With this three-pronged approach, there was a commotion from within the Caves in less than a minute.

"Get ready!"

Just as Alton’s warning reached their ears, the stake in front of them was sent flying with a BAM—! A large rat, over half a meter long, shot out of the Cave, only to be instantly beheaded by the quick-eyed, swift-handed Ali.

A little smoke escaped from the Cave, but they were all wearing nose plugs. As long as they held their breath for a moment, the small amount of smoke wouldn’t have much of an effect.

The first Dire Rat to emerge was like a signal. The commotion underground grew louder, and a few seconds later, another dark figure burst out.

"SWISH—!"

This time, Lin Mo seized the opportunity, cleaving it in two with a single strike of his Sword.

[Stealth] Skill Level +1

Using Cross Slash on a single Dire Rat was a bit of a waste. His Physical Strength wasn’t as lacking as before, but it wasn’t infinite either. So Lin Mo had entered Stealth beforehand to at least grind some Skill Level for it.

The smoke, now completely filling the Caves, sent the Dire Rats into a frenzy. Just as Lin Mo cut one down, three or four more scurried out in succession.

Cross Slash!

Lin Mo timed it perfectly, unleashing the sharp Technique and instantly killing them all.

’Such a swift sword technique... He didn’t seem to use it when he sparred with the captain,’ Ali, who had been about to make a move herself, glanced at Lin Mo in astonishment.

’Does that mean he was holding back then?’

’So why use such a powerful Technique on a few big rats...?’

A question mark seemed to appear over Wolf’s head, but she was holding her breath and couldn’t ask.

A moment later, the Caves fell silent once more.

From start to finish, the battle lasted only about five or six minutes. Thanks to his improved Constitution, holding his breath for that long was no problem for Lin Mo.

Ali, on the other hand, had to run off to catch her breath midway through before returning.

With the battle over, they didn’t rush to clean up the scene. The group left the area, moving to a spot about a hundred meters away.

"Phew~ I was suffocating."

The Ranger Solan plopped onto the ground, gasping for fresh air.

The Assassin Carson was in a similar state. The Knight Rick, however, seemed perfectly fine, as did Alton.

"We’ll go back to collect the spoils after the smoke has completely cleared."

The quest to clear the Caves wasn’t difficult, just troublesome. Because the Dire Rats’ tunnel systems often had multiple entrances, and most people needed to come up for air, it required a large group to complete.

Lin Mo glanced at his Skill Level panel.

During the recent battle, he had killed a total of 13 Dire Rats. Eight of them had increased his Cross Slash Skill Level, and 11 had increased his Stealth Skill Level. It was a bountiful harvest.

It would be about half an hour before the smoke completely dissipated, which gave them a perfect opportunity to rest.

Alton leaned against a tree, resting with his eyes closed.

After cautiously checking the surroundings, the Assassin Carson started chatting with the Knight Rick.

The Ranger Solan craned his neck, glanced at Alton, then quietly sidled up and whispered, "Captain, about Bena lately..."

Alton’s closed eyes snapped open. He glared at him. "Get lost!"

"You got it."

Solan stuck his tongue out, then scurried away to join Carson and Rick’s conversation.

"You still haven’t given up after all this time, kid?"

Rick playfully punched him in the chest.

"Gotta keep trying, right? Who knows, maybe the captain will agree someday... And you guys know it, Miss Bena is into me. Every time I go to the Association, the curve of her smile is bigger for me than for anyone else."

"We’ve told you already, that’s just because you’re a member of the Bull Run Squad."

Carson shook his head, not bothering to say more. After all, you can’t wake a person who’s pretending to be asleep.