Continue deeper, or choose to turn back?
This is a multiple-choice question placed before everyone.
After all, they not only retrieved the missing team’s relics but also killed three winged kobolds, so from the perspective of completing the association task, the current gains are sufficient for reporting back.
At this moment, Raine suddenly stood up and walked to the entrance of the passage leading deeper underground, silently gazing into the deep darkness ahead.
But soon, his brows gradually furrowed.
Seeing Raine’s strange action, Reya also walked over, took a serious look at the completely dark entrance of the passage, and after confirming that nothing could be seen, couldn’t help asking:
"Is it down there, Raine?"
"If... you want to avenge your friend, we..."
Raine waved his hand and then hesitated for a moment, seeming to be organizing his words, saying:
"I feel that other kobolds are not in this passage."
Because just now, Raine, through Sensitive Smell Lv2, almost didn’t smell any kobold scent from this passage, instead, it was filled with a musty odor from being untouched for years.
He even cast Acoustic Positioning a moment ago, and also gained nothing.
This was very strange.
If their judgment was correct and there were mutated kobolds, where were they?
Could there be a secret passage here?
Actually, there was another reason prompting Raine to make such a guess.
Because he had just carefully examined the thickness of the damaged Shield, even he could not achieve this destructive power when holding a Sharp-headed Hammer without using Armor-Piercing Strike.
This is too strange for Raine!
Are mutated kobolds this strong?
Impossible...
"No kobolds below?" Reya couldn’t help but widen her beautiful eyes, looking at Raine.
"What’s your reason?" she couldn’t help asking.
"Instinct." Raine said just two words.
Regarding Acoustic Positioning, he definitely wouldn’t say, so naturally, he could only say it was instinct.
Hearing this answer, the others exchanged glances, not knowing how to respond.
However, Reya slightly nodded.
Actually, if the other team members said this, Reya would probably roll her eyes, but she believed Raine when he said it.
At least, she believed most of it.
Because along the way, Raine’s judgments had never been wrong, which was the best proof.
Additionally, regarding how Raine actually determined?
It would be false to say the others weren’t curious, but at the moment they couldn’t afford to think deeply or inquire.
Because the more pressing issue ahead is, if what Raine said is true, then it means their earlier assumptions were incorrect.
Where have the mutated kobolds gone?
"Everyone, look around the rock walls."
Saying this, Raine walked to the rock walls of the mine hall and used a torch to shine on the uneven surface, carefully examining.
And the others, being more experienced adventurers than Raine, immediately understood his intention.
So, they immediately held torches and gently tapped and probed around the underground hall’s rock walls.
In less than half a minute.
Fabian’s low cry came from behind Raine.
"There’s a gap here, no, this rock can be moved!" Fabian’s eyes widened as he tapped the rock wall in front, astonished.
"Really a secret passage?" Chris, eyes wide open, immediately came over.
"Are the kobolds hiding something or concealing something?" Reya mused.
Although everyone heard rumors that kobolds liked to hide things, the current situation seemed more complex than simple concealment.
"Stop guessing, open it and you’ll know." Grande said in a deep voice.
As Chris, Grande, and several others jointly and gradually moved away the massive rock blocking the passage, a muffled, slightly moist air rushed in.
"I’ll scout ahead~" Fabian lightly twirled a dagger with his fingers, saying.
"Wait, something’s not right." Raine reached to stop Fabian, whispering.
Hearing Raine’s words, everyone instantly tensed up, instinctively heightening their alertness.
"I seem to smell other creatures, not kobolds, nor winged kobolds." Raine said gravely.
There’s another thing he didn’t mention, he also smelled the relatively damp air below.
But compared to that instinctively unsettling scent, it seemed less important.
"Hmm? Is it the sulfur smell?"
"Not sure if due to mutation or hybrid, I’ve heard some special kobolds can breathe fire." Reya pondered briefly, saying.
"Sulfur smell?" Raine was slightly stunned upon hearing it.
If it’s as Reya said, a mutated kobold, then he’s very interested, as he can likely acquire that ability after slaying it.
After all, his Magic ’Freezing Ray’ was from a mutated goblin.
But the problem is, this isn’t the sulfur smell...
"Probably not, it’s a kind of... how to describe... a hidden and chilly sensation, like a cold-blooded killer." Raine struggled to express the scent he smelled.
He hadn’t ruled out the situation of mutation among the kobolds.
He couldn’t be sure what the creatures were, but judging by the residual scent, they were obviously more than one.
Which made the mutation scenario seem less plausible.
After all, having one in a clan is good enough, at most two!
Three...
"Then... should we still go down?" Chris couldn’t help but ask.
"Wait a moment, let me take a look." Raine said, moving to the center of the entrance.
Not actually to take a look, but Raine was going to cast Acoustic Positioning to probe.
"By the way, everyone be prepared, if anything unexpected happens..." Suddenly, Raine seemed to think of something, turning to tell the group.
"Alright!"
"Hmm!"
Although Raine’s words were somewhat vague, his serious expression made everyone, including Reya, sour-faced.
No hesitation, Raine slightly parted his lips, an invisible high-frequency sound wave emanated from him, fan-like, forward.
He’s using Acoustic Positioning to probe the long, deep passage ahead.
The prior warning to others was due to considering an unlikely scenario, although humans can’t hear bat high-frequency sound waves, that doesn’t mean unknown creatures in the cave can’t.
So, once used, unexpected situations could occur.
In just a few milliseconds, Raine’s expression changed dramatically.
Because from the received sound wave feedback, there were three humanoid creatures hiding at a position about thirty meters ahead in the passage.
First, he’s certain they’re not kobolds because the silhouettes shown in the sound wave feedback are much bulkier than kobolds by nearly twice.
Additionally, he had a shocking discovery, deeper inside, there’s an uncertain number but a dense crowd of kobolds going deeper and coming out, seemingly busy with something.
Raine’s heartbeat accelerated, and sweat appeared in his palms.
In an instant, he thought of many things.
He has a feeling, as if...
As if the kobolds were deliberately placed in the underground hall, either winged or not, for them to kill.