Unsurprisingly, Baron Raymond approved it.
After a brief preparation, Roger followed Knight Stine and a mixed squad of a dozen armed retainers and conscripts into the forest.
Following the massive fire, the forest was completely unrecognizable. The once sun-blocking canopy was entirely gone, leaving behind nothing but bare, blackened tree trunks.
A choking odor hung thick in the air, and every dozen steps or so, they came across various charred corpses.
During their search, they also spotted search-and-destroy parties sent by other nobles, including men under Baron Barton's command.
Sargon, the wandering knight he had met once before, and the female mage Matilda were also among them.
The two still interacted in that same cringe-inducing way. Sargon followed the female mage closely, a persistent, flattering smile plastered on his face.
The female mage maintained her cold, indifferent attitude, but she showed no intention of driving him away either.
The two squads noticed each other but made no contact, merely exchanging nods before continuing on their respective paths.
After some time, Roger and his group arrived in front of the dirt mound.
The cave entrance was still there.
Stine stationed a few men to guard the entrance and led the way inside. With his longsword unsheathed, he channeled Life Energy into the blade, and the white light radiating from it illuminated the darkness.
As an archer, Roger was positioned right behind Stine.
The cave was not deep, and they soon reached the end. Along the way, they didn't encounter a single goblin, nor did they see any corpses.
The space at the bottom of the cave was much wider than the entrance. In the corner lay the embers of a campfire, while several cylindrical mud kilns were stacked against the wall, with a few oddly colored ore pieces scattered nearby.
“Do these green-skinned bastards usually smelt iron here? Aren't they afraid of suffocating?” Roger heard someone grumble.
Knight Stine raised his hand to signal everyone to be quiet, then used the tip of his sword to poke at the ashes near the mouth of one of the kilns.
By the white light reflecting off the sword, Roger saw that the ashes inside the kiln were a familiar dark purple.
“This is likely where the goblins manufactured those spellcasting materials,” Stine concluded, his tone certain.
Roger did not object, as the conclusion was self-evident.
The reason the goblins in the forest had so many purple crystals to use was because they were producing them right here in the woods.
From raw material harvesting to firing and processing, the entire supply chain was hidden deep within the forest. And the ones providing the formula and guidance were undoubtedly the cultists.
After a moment of thought, Stine stood up and ordered a retainer to return to the camp immediately to report their findings to Baron Raymond.
The retainer acknowledged the order and turned around. His hurried footsteps echoed through the cave, quickly fading toward the entrance.
Right then, a blood-curdling scream echoed from outside the entrance.
Knight Stine immediately ordered everyone to follow him and dashed outside.
As they burst out of the cave, the scene before them made everyone halt in their tracks.
Several dead soldiers lay scattered on the open ground outside the cave, including the guards they had left behind and members of other search parties.
And the culprit behind this slaughter was standing not far away.
It was a monster that barely maintained a humanoid shape. Its entire body was overrun by layers of twisted, overlapping flesh, making it more than twice the size of a normal human.
It was more or less the same kind of monster he had encountered back in Orland City.
Sargon and Matilda were also present. The knight stood with his back to the cave, tightly gripping his greatsword to shield the female mage.
Matilda stood behind him, the crystal at the tip of her staff already glowing with a brilliant blue-white light, clearly preparing a Lightning Bolt.
A heavily armored knight wielding a mace charged at the monster ahead of everyone else, his mace striking the creature with a dull thud.
The monster didn't even bother to dodge. It simply raised its misshapen arm and slapped him back with a backhand strike.
Knight Stine's brow furrowed deeply as he issued orders to the retainers behind him:
“Charge with me! Roger, support us from a distance!”
With that, he rushed forward, sword in hand, with the armed retainers tightly gripping their spears and shields as they followed close behind.
As he closed in on the monster, Stine suddenly ducked, barely evading the sweep of its pillar-like flesh arm, and used the momentum to slash at the monster's thigh.
Having landed a blow, he immediately adjusted his positioning, keeping himself directly in front of the monster. The other retainers took the opportunity to flank it, thrusting their spears into the monster's waist and back from various directions.
At the same time, an arrow wrapped in Life Energy pierced the monster's skull with pinpoint accuracy, while a bolt of lightning shot from Matilda's staff, striking the creature.
Yet, after only a few seconds, the wounds began to squirm and close up.
“No skills, but its basic attacks can swat away an extraordinary knight. Regenerative wounds, not immune to poison...” The monster's characteristics flashed through Roger's mind.
The most effective method right now would likely be to use poison arrows, but judging by its appearance, this monster seemed stronger than the previous ones. Perhaps its poison resistance had increased as well.
This assumption had no concrete basis, but it was always better to prepare for the worst. Caution never hurt.
He opened the system shop and quickly typed a keyword into the search bar: “Mana Absorption”.
The interface quickly displayed the skills available for exchange under his current conditions:
【Name: Mana Siphon
Description: Siphons mana from the target's body, converting it into a usable mana reserve for the caster. The absorption rate depends on the skill level, while the absorption efficiency is affected by the target's mana resistance and distance.
This skill cannot be blocked or evaded. However, during casting, the target must remain within the caster's line of sight and within a range of ten meters.
Maximum Level: Lv5
Prerequisites: Magic Lv2
Exchange Cost: 1,500 points】
He pressed the exchange button. 1,500 points were deducted from his balance, leaving him with only 940.
Roger closed the panel and activated Iron Wall. The Arcane Hand materialized out of thin air on his left side, unsheathing the arming sword at his waist as Roger stepped toward the monster locked in combat with Stine and the others.
Once the distance between them closed to within ten meters, Roger stopped and raised his hand.
A wisp of pale blue energy emerged from the monster's body and drifted toward his palm, where it was absorbed into his body through the Rune Ring.
The mana within him increased by a small margin.
However, this also caused the monster to abandon Stine entirely and charge toward Roger. Its pillar-like arm swept forward with a howling wind, slamming heavily against the Iron Wall barrier.
Roger felt a massive force lift him off his feet, sending him stumbling back several steps before he managed to regain his footing.
Before the monster could swing its arm again, the Arcane Hand, gripping the arming sword, beat it to the punch.
A layer of Life Energy coated the blade, and a crescent-shaped Sword Qi Slash flew from the sword, slicing across the monster's incoming palm and tearing open a clean gash.
Stine took the opportunity to land several slashes on the monster's back, each strike hitting the exact same spot, forcing the creature to divert some of its attention behind it.
Seizing the moment when the monster was distracted on both fronts, Roger continued to drain its mana. Strands of energy were continuously drawn from the monster's body, pouring into him through his palm.
He then directly converted the siphoned mana into fuel for Fireball, conjuring one fireball after another and blasting them right into the monster's face.
At the same time, the arming sword held by the Arcane Hand continued to carve new wounds into the monster.
Under the dual pressure of the slashing blade and the mana siphoning, the monster's regeneration speed finally fell behind the rate of its injuries, and its wounds multiplied at a visible rate.
The force with which it swung its pillar-like arm was also noticeably weaker than before, and its several swings were easily evaded by Stine and Roger.
Sensing that the amount of mana being siphoned was decreasing, Roger controlled the Arcane Hand to unleash a second Sword Qi Slash.
With a deep gash torn across its chest, the monster crashed heavily to the ground.
“Points +400. Total: 1,340.”
At the same time, two consecutive system notifications chimed.
“Swordsmanship Specialization has increased to Lv2.”
“Sword Qi Slash has increased to Lv2.”
Rate on N.U.
