"That's more than enough, Rozze-chan. I told you to at least leave two of them alive for questioning."
"But there are still three of them alive, Leaena Onee-san."
"I don't think the guy burning to his death would be on his right mind after this. So don't kill that guy you're stepping with."
"Mhm!..."
At the request of her mentor, Rozze kicks the nape of the bodyguard, making him lose consciousness.
"You really don't show any mercy to your enemy, Rozze-chan."
"A trash is trash no matter what kind of fancy trashcan it was thrown at, Leaena Onee-san."
It is a phrase that Rozze learned from her friend Vier. It means that a monster is a monster no matter what kind of appearance it wears, so treat them as how you treat a monster, with no mercy.
"Vier-chan has so much influence on you, Rozze-chan. Even with Mifumi-chan and my child Felin-chan."
"Mhm!... Vier taught us a lot of things."
"Yeah... She does."
Leaena, who has known Vier since the girl was a child, can only agree as her student proudly says those remarks.
As the mentor and her student casually chat inside the burning underground basement room, the old man leader of the Rein Empire's spies, can only tremble in rage not because of fear as he looks at not to the lifeless and burning bodies of his companions but to the woman standing in front of him.
"You!... You're supposed to be dead! How come you're still alive?!"
"Ehh?... You know who I am?"
Leaena was surprised as the old man started shouting at her. Yet she still plays her cheerful act as she responds to the old man's shouting.
"Of course, I know who you're lowly scum..."
...BAMMM!!!...
Before the old man can finish cursing her, Leaena lands a kick at the old man's face and sends him flying, making him slam into the burning wall of the underground basement room.
"What does he mean by that, Leaena Onee-san?"
Rozze got confused at the reaction of the old man after seeing her mentor. She asks Leaena for an explanation, but Leaena dodges Rozze's question.
"I'm gonna explain it to you once this mission is over. For now, let's bring all this trash to the trashcan they're supposed to be dispose of."
"Cough!... Cough!... You can laugh and make fun of us all you want... Cough!... But that child of yours will die today together with her friends! Hahaha!..."
Rozze doesn't understand the connection between her mentor and the old man, but she understands one thing. Her friends are in danger.
"Leaena Onee-san..."
With a worried look on her face, Rozze appeals to her mentor.
"I know, Rozze-chan... Chad! I'm leaving everything to you. Clean this place and bring these bastards to the Underground."
At the mention of his name, the man named Chad steps inside the burning underground basement room.
"You can leave everything to me, Ms. Leaena."
"We're leaving, Rozze-chan. We're going to where my Felin-chan is."
"Mhm!..."
"You won't make it! And even if you did, there's nothing you can do. You should know how strong that monster is. You will just die together with your child! Just like how your husband did! Hahaha!..."
The old man continues to scream his threats. Yet those threats didn't reach their ears. For there's only one thing in the mind of Leaena and Rozze.
...Please be safe, Vier, Mifumi, and Felin...
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"Vier-chan, wake up. This is an emergency."
"Wake up, Vier!"
"Hmm?... Why?... It is still dark outside. Please let me sleep for a bit, Mom..."
"I'm not your mother and we are not in your room. So please wake up, Vier-chan."
"Enough sleeping, Vier!"
...Smack!...
"Ouch!..."
Felin gave a light slap straight to Vier's sleeping face making Vier wake up with a mark of Felin's hand at her forehead.
Vier, who is still half asleep, looks at Felin and Mifumi with her eyes still closed.
"What is happening, Mifumi-sama, Felin?... It is time for my watch already?"
"It's still Felin's turn but that's not important. This is an emergency."
An hour after eating their lunchbox dinner, the Dwarf Cat-eared Elf decided to call it a night and sleep early to wake up before dawn.
They decided to take turns watching at night with the sequence of Mifumi at the first, Felin at the second, and Vier at the last.
But during Felin's turn, an hour after midnight, something unexpected happens. So Felin decided to wake Mifumi and Vier.
...Boom!...Boom!...Boom!...
...Rustle...Rustle...Rustle...
Sounds of fighting can be heard coming from far away distance while rustling can be heard coming below on the ground.
The Dwarf Cat-eared Elf, who set their camp on a makeshift platform at the top of a 30-meter-tall tree, looked down below.
...Thankfully we didn't camp on the ground...
That is their thought as they witness the stampede of the low-ranking insect-like monsters that is currently happening in the ground.
The Dwarf Cat-eared Elf can already guess the reason behind the monsters' stampede. So Vier decided to take a look at what was happening at the source of the sound of fighting.
"Puro-III, please bring out the Spyglass."
At her request, Vier's pet slime hiding in her belt pouch releases a Spyglass from its Storage skill.
"I still can't understand how you can command a slime to do what you want, Vier-chan."
"Well, it's not all the slime monsters. It's just Puro-III who listens to me, Mifumi-sama."
"It's because Puro-III is smart, Mifumi-sama."
"Mhm... That's probably right, Felin-chan."
As Mifumi pats Felin's head, Vier use her Spyglass to find the source of the sound of fighting.
The Dwarf Cat-eared Elf is currently at the pathway near the border of the forest area Middle-Layer and the meadow area Inner-Layer. It's the best route to reach the Soldiers Outpost Town, considering both aspects of distance and safety.
At their current location, being at the top of a 30-meter-tall tree, Vier would be able to see what is happening within the meadow area of the Inner-Layer.
Looking at the lens of the Spyglass, Vier managed to find the source of the sound of fighting.
"There they are. A group of three Adventurers is fighting a Rank 4 Armored Pillbug Monster at the meadow area of the Inner-Layer."
"Ehh?... Rank 4?"
"Mhm!... It's a strong bug!"
"Let me have a look too, Vier-chan."
"Mhm!... Let me you use the Captain's Spyglass, Vier."
"Okay... Puro-III..."
With Mifumi and Felin's request, Vier asks Puro-III for two more additional Spyglass.
"Why do you have so many Spyglass, Vier-chan?"
"Ehh?... Umm... I made them for us to use during the exam, Mifumi-sama."
Mifumi and Felin, sensing that Vier is hiding something, both decide to set aside their suspicions at the moment as they look at the direction Vier is looking at using the Spyglass.
The Dwarf Cat-eared Elf then watches the fight that unfolds through the lens of the Spyglass.
The Rank 4 Armored Pillbug Monster is a defensive type monster with its skin of armor which is as hard as an iron. Even veteran Iron Rank Adventurers will find it hard to cut with their Swords. It has a Land Attribute Magic along with the usual skills like Gravity Field, Dash Sprint, or Blink Step.
The usual strategy of the Armored Pillbug Monster in fighting is to roll up like a ball, slow down its opponent with the Gravity Field skill, and crush them as it makes a fast rolling movement using the Dash Sprint or Blink Step skill.
It's basically a 3-meter big rolling iron ball moving at incredible speed with destructive unstoppable force.
That is what the Dwarf Cat-eared Elf is watching right now. Except for the fact that the female Sorceress managed to stop that destructive unstoppable iron ball with her Magic Barrier while the two male Swordmasters managed to cut the armored skin of the Armored Pillbug Monster.
"That Sorceress is amazing. I can't believe she managed to stop an attack from a Rank 4 monster."
Mifumi, as a Sorceress herself, understands the skill necessary for a Magic Barrier to withstand an attack from a Rank 4 monster.
"Mhm!... Even if the Swordmasters are lousy, they're beating the strong bug because of her.
Felin, who is a Swordmaster herself, remarked on the Swordmasters' ability.
After a few more minutes, the fight between the unknown group of Adventurers and the Rank 4 Armored Pillbug Monster ended with the Adventurers as the winner.
The Dwarf Cat-eared Elf continued to watch as the unknown group of Adventurers dismantled the remnants of the Armored Pillbug Monster, and they were surprised as the group started acting weird.
"Why are they arguing?... Are they fighting for who will use the Monster Core later?"
"Mhm!... They are being greedy like Vier, Mifumi-sama."
"I'm not greedy, Felin... Wait... Why are they running away? Don't just leave behind those armored skin. Those are expensive Materials... Ugh!..."
Vier was startled at the sight of the high-ranking monster that she saw as the group of unknown Adventurers ran away.
She was so surprised that the Spyglass she was holding slipped on her trembling hands and fell 30 meters to the ground and end up breaking.
She looks at Mifumi and Felin, who also have the same reaction as her. Except that their Spyglass is still in their trembling hands.
The Dwarf Cat-eared Elf can only hide as they fear that the high-ranking monster that arrived at the scene of the fight would notice their presence even from such far away distance.
They would be in real danger if that monster decided to chase their group. Because the darner-like monster that they saw is one of the five Boss Monsters of the Rank C Forest Valley Dungeon.
The Rank 5 Aerial Emperor.
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PuroShark Writer's Note.
Here's a map of the Rank C Forest Valley Dungeon.
Here's a picture of what Leaena look like.
Look at the comment.