It seems they’ve noticed something.
Her eyes suddenly shifted to the slightly shorter bushes beside her body.
She quickly stepped forward and pushed them aside.
With the help of the faint dots of light filtering through the gaps in the lush canopy above, what appeared before her was a series of deep footprints.
The footprints were about five to seven inches long, with three toe-like claws. The two outer toes were parallel and slightly splayed outward, while the middle one was longer, and the stride was about thirty percent wider than that of an ordinary human.
Entering a knowledge blind spot, Berg was completely clueless and couldn’t deduce any useful information.
"It should be some kind of humanoid creature."
Adeline, who had keenly discovered the footprints, also shook her head, indicating that she didn’t know more.
The number of demons in this world is countless, and they are not experts in the field of biology, nor have they received systematic training on the matter.
Merely identifying the owner through a few footprints, unless it’s a goblin, which they encounter frequently, isn’t something they can achieve.
"I can’t tell anything, let’s continue with the task."
"Remember to stay alert."
Indicating that they needn’t worry too much, Adeline reminded the few behind her.
Finding the body of an adventurer in the Mist Forest is all too common.
If they gave up the task and returned to the city just because of this, they might not earn even a few copper coins all year round.
In fact, someone like Adeline, who carefully examines the cause of death after discovering a corpse, is already considered quite cautious among low-level adventurers.
The team continued to move forward.
Though the adventurer’s corpse they found on the way made the entire team more cautious, slowing their pace considerably.
It also allowed them to avoid a few minor dangers, keeping the overall progress as Adeline had previously expected.
By the afternoon, they arrived at their destination.
After so many days, everyone was already clear on their respective tasks.
Xia Nan, along with Abi, roughly set up traps around while staying vigilant of goblins returning from hunting.
Adeline, together with Berg, meticulously inspected the cave entrance for any unexpected occurrences.
Though the Association would roughly introduce relevant information about their target, it’s not always accurate.
For safety’s sake, it’s very important to check once before entering the cave.
This is also a piece of knowledge not recorded in the adventurer’s manual.
"Boss, something’s not right!"
Berg threw down the damp soil he was holding from the cave entrance, wearing a serious expression.
His gaze fixed on the cave entrance, which was conspicuously larger than the goblin nests their team had cleared before.
"Inside there might be... Bear Goblins!"
Adeline stood before the dark tunnel, arms crossed, nodding silently.
She obviously had noticed the presence of Bear Goblins as well.
"What do we do, should we retreat?" Abi, returning from setting up the traps, had a face that was both excited and anxious upon hearing Berg’s words.
"Of course, we retreat!"
Before Adeline could respond, Berg quickly answered.
His tone was serious, devoid of the previous lightheartedness he had when joking with Abi.
This veteran adventurer, rich in experience, showed an unusual aversion to the possibility of Bear Goblins in the goblin nest.
His reaction was beyond general caution, appearing somewhat fearful of death.
Recalling the reason he revealed during a casual chat at the Association for staying with the team all the time.
Xia Nan nodded thoughtfully.
At the same time, he agreed with the proposal to retreat.
The Bear Goblin’s challenge level reached "1", and although its individual combat strength could vary, it was not something their team could handle easily.
Even if he and Adeline’s strengths were close to that of professionals, and Berg’s long-range attacks were sufficient.
To take down a mature Bear Goblin in normal conditions, they would face the cost of serious injuries or even a decrease in team members.
Such a cost was unacceptable to any of them.
But Adeline seemed to have a different idea.
She walked two steps into the tunnel, pressed her cheek against the stone wall, and closed her eyes to sense carefully.
After a long while, she turned around and walked towards the team.
"The scent of blood is strong, far richer than in ordinary goblin nests."
"And you can’t hear any roars or screams from inside, just like... the first time you encountered it."
Adeline suddenly paused, glancing at Xia Nan beside her.
"The situation in the cave should be the same as that time, discovered by other adventurers in advance, who killed all the goblins inside."
"But..." Berg opened his mouth, seemingly about to say something, but was interrupted by Adeline after uttering just one word.
"You and Abi stay outside to respond, remember to signal if anything happens."
"Xia Nan, you’re coming in with me."