3: Mental Network and Scorching Rays

*Thud.*

Before anyone could react, another freshly unearthed boulder smashed into the rear of the camp.

That was where the employers were located.

However, no one had the luxury of paying attention to the employers' situation anymore.

Everyone's attention was drawn to the tall and robust figure before them, its silhouette clearly outlined by the firelight.

"A Bear Goblin!"

"It's that one!"

Evil Axe instantly recognized it as the troublesome enemy the team had encountered before.

"Damn it, how did it find us?!"

He barked in frustration, "Wolf Fang, how the hell did you do your job?!"

No one responded; Wolf Fang had already been buried by burning firewood and was likely dead.

"He was probably carried back by you guys at that time."

Hawkeye kindly reminded him, having already unslung his custom bow and arrows, ready for action.

"Then who the hell did the 'trail concealment'..."

Professional Adventurer teams use various means to eliminate tracks during a retreat to prevent enemies from following them back to camp.

Just as Evil Axe was about to start cursing, the Bear Goblin roared and lunged at him with a sudden burst of speed, seemingly intent on crushing him in one go.

However, mid-leap, it was slammed aside by a large shield that suddenly appeared from the side, knocking it off course.

"I did it, and the biological traces were cleaned thoroughly," Shield Mountain said, holding his fine iron shield and protecting Evil Axe.

The long string of Dwarven slang Evil Axe was about to spit out had to be swallowed back down.

The three Adventurers locked eyes and quickly adjusted their battle formation.

Shield Mountain held the shield in his right hand, tucking his entire body behind the fine iron shield, while his left hand drew a one-handed sword that flickered nimbly around the shield's edge.

This was the Shield Guard's most classic combat stance, balanced in offense and defense, specializing in counterattacks.

He was responsible for holding the front line, while Evil Axe supported him from the sides.

As a Berserker, Evil Axe's blood boiled, his skin turning red in an instant as he seamlessly switched into a berserk state.

With every swing of his dual short axes, the surrounding air whistled as it was sliced through.

As a Ranger, Hawkeye had already activated his night vision; while constantly shifting his position, the arrow ready in his hand glowed with an eerie light, locked onto the Bear Goblin's vital points.

The team had practiced this formation thousands of times, making the newly joined Ronan seem out of place.

"White Night, keep an eye on the employers."

Shield Mountain focused all his attention on the Bear Goblin, deciding to let the mage stay with the employers.

"White Night" was the codename the original owner had registered with the Adventurers Guild.

Due to the diversity of races, all Adventurers had to register a unique codename, as various strange names were difficult for the guild to manage.

Shield Mountain's words were exactly what Ronan wanted.

It was common knowledge that mages didn't need to be on the front lines in melee combat.

He strode toward the rear and saw the employers weeping around the fallen boulder.

Getting closer, he discovered that the boulder had pinned the Second Young Master's left arm and half of the Eldest Young Master's body.

The Second Young Master struggled weakly, his breathing shallow and ragged, before soon falling unconscious.

As for the Eldest Young Master, one side of his body was completely crushed under the boulder; he was as dead as could be.

"Lord Mage, please, I beg you, save them..."

The Eldest Young Lady was weeping piteously; seeing Ronan approach, she clung to him like a last straw.

Ronan shook his head helplessly; he only had 1 point of wish power left.

Aside from whether he was willing to use it to make a wish for them, according to the rules he had deduced, he simply couldn't.

When making a wish, the more wish power spent, the more stable the wish.

Conversely, the less wish power, the more likely it was to spiral out of control.

Using 1 point of wish power to fulfill a high-difficulty wish like 'heal one person and resurrect another' would definitely result in it going out of control.

If he actually did it, the Eldest and Second Young Masters might just turn into two unknown tentacles on the spot, tangle together, and fly off into the sky.

He walked over and knelt before the Second Young Master, feeling a bit of regret as he saw the arm he had previously wished to heal now reduced to mincemeat under the boulder.

"Amy, you two hide in the back." He feared the two girls wouldn't be able to handle the upcoming scene.

Once they had left, Ronan extended his index finger, channeled a sliver of Spiritual Power, and injected it into his only magic construct.

In an instant, red energy gathered at his fingertip, and the surrounding air seemed to ignite all at once.

With a flick of his finger, a thin red line swept across, easily severing the mangled left arm from the Second Young Master.

The high temperature cauterized the cut into a smooth scab, preventing further blood loss.

The unconscious Second Young Master on the ground twitched briefly before returning to a state of calm.

Just as Ronan was about to call the Maid to help carry the Second Young Master away, a sharp whistling sound suddenly approached.

He instinctively leaned to the side, and the wind pressure roared past his ear, slamming into the nearby boulder.

Looking back, he saw a wedge-shaped stone deeply embedded in the rock wall of the boulder.

"Get down!" Ronan shouted to the Maid and the lady.

He then lunged forward, hiding in the blind spot created by the boulder.

The mage's powerful Spiritual Power spread out continuously, using his body as the center to slowly weave a spiritual power web.

Under the coverage of this spiritual power web, any movement could be captured by him instantly.

This was a simple application of Spiritual Power he had learned from the book of magical knowledge.

"Hawkeye, what's going on?!"

"Someone is hiding in the shadows! Looking at the shape... it seems like a Goblin."

"It must be the one that led us to the Bear Goblin's cave!" Evil Axe realized and immediately shouted a warning.

"Flush it out!"

"It's too far; you two have to hold out for a while..."

"Useless Elf, I'll @￥%%@#￥..."

Hawkeye quickly turned around, constantly observing the situation in the forest behind them.

In his night vision, a thin, small figure was weaving through the trees.

*Whoosh.*

Another sound of something cutting through the air rang out.

This time, the Goblin actually gave up on the people lying on the ground and instead attacked the defenseless Evil Axe from behind.

Evil Axe was fully engaged with Shield Mountain against the Bear Goblin and hadn't expected an attack from behind; he was struck squarely by the stone.

The Bear Goblin took the opportunity to swipe at his head.

Seeing that he couldn't dodge, the thought flashed through Evil Axe's mind: I'm done for.

Fortunately, Shield Mountain reacted in time and delivered a swift kick.

Evil Axe was kicked away, narrowly avoiding the fatal claw.

He scrambled to his feet, and in his fury, he almost cursed out Shield Mountain as well.

"My #@￥%...@#￥ shield... Elf! You motherfucking ￥@...#@￥...%￥"

Hawkeye seized the gap when the Goblin attacked and fired an arrow with all his strength.

The eerie light on the arrowhead was a special corrosive power; once a monster was hit, the corrosion would spread rapidly, causing it to rot and die.

The eerie light flew like lightning, but it stopped after piercing two tree trunks, unable to harm the Goblin further away.

"Fall back, Hawkeye!"

Shield Mountain could see that this Goblin was quite intelligent; if they let it continue its guerrilla tactics, everyone would die here.

Hawkeye immediately abandoned the rear and returned to the front lines without hesitation.

He attacked the same spot on the Bear Goblin, attempting to break its defense while carefully guarding against the Goblin's sneak attacks.

Seeing no opportunity at the front, the Goblin circled around and returned to the rear.

It pried a stone from the ground, weighed it in its hand, and focused its gaze on the trembling Eldest Young Lady.

The reason he could "see" so clearly was because at this moment,

The spiritual power web continued to spread, already extending into the lush, leafy forest.

As soon as the Goblin returned, it stepped onto the edge of the spiritual power web, and its every move was within Ronan's perception.

To lure the Goblin a bit closer, he simply stood up and walked out from behind the cover of the boulder.

"He's really asking for death..."

After glancing at Ronan, Hawkeye already mentally dismissed him as a walking corpse.

In his night vision, the Goblin was hiding behind a tree, poised to strike.

In the next moment, that white magic robe with gold trim would be stained with hot blood.

Just then, a Scorching Ray of light suddenly appeared in his field of vision,

Carrying immense kinetic energy and high heat,

It pierced through several trees in a row, as well as the head of the Goblin behind them.