A Way Out of Desperation

The spacious carriage was made of sturdy yet elegant Red Pearwood, its front curtain adorned with glittering ornaments.

At the front of the carriage, a tall, handsome blond youth drove the horses. He wore standard noble attire, with a rapier at his waist, his soft blond hair hanging down on either side and dancing in the wind.

Pinned to his chest was a light gray badge engraved with a rose. Beneath the rose was a line of elegant small script—Lawrence.

On both sides of the carriage stood numerous neatly dressed guards. Every one of them was well-trained, their bearing utterly incomparable to the guards commonly seen in Roland Town.

In a small place like Roland Town, such a luxurious carriage was exceedingly rare.

No matter how lacking in judgment the guards at the town gate were, they would never dare stop a carriage like this.

However, the handsome young man still tugged on the reins and brought it to a stop.

"You can stay here for now. Baron Lar will arrange accommodations for you later."

After giving the accompanying guards this order, he did not even spare the fawning guards a glance before driving the carriage into town.

Inside the carriage, a finely made-up young woman reclined against soft cushions. She wore an exquisitely tailored long dress that outlined her slender figure.

She held a wineglass in her hand, the rosy-red liquid within swaying gently as the carriage moved.

The young woman brought the glass closer, seemingly intending to take a sip of the sweet wine. But at that moment, the rapidly moving carriage suddenly came to an abrupt halt. The sloshing liquid spilled from the cup, soaking her thin silk blouse.

"What happened?"

The question came from within the carriage. The blond young man, who had previously looked haughty, immediately showed a flustered expression and hurriedly explained, "A lowborn commoner blocked the carriage."

In truth, he had simply been driving too fast and struck a pedestrian on the road.

"Kill him."

A calm voice sounded from beyond the curtain, without the slightest fluctuation, as though it were stating something perfectly natural.

"As you wish, Lady Eunice."

The blond youth did not hesitate in the slightest. As though eager to erase his mistake, he drew his sword with a sharp shing before the injured, wailing commoner could beg for mercy, and cleanly severed his head.

Blood splattered everywhere, drawing the attention of everyone nearby.

Everyone remained silent. Even adventurers who were usually loud-mouthed now shrank their necks like mice that had seen a cat.

The carriage set off once more toward the Lord's Mansion, without slowing down in the slightest.

As for the corpse on the ground, guards would soon throw it outside town, where it would become free food for Goblins and other monsters.

"That seemed to be a carriage from the Lawrence Family, right?"

Only after confirming that the carriage had gone far away did those who had witnessed the scene dare to whisper among themselves.

"Come to think of it, there were rumors a few days ago that our lord's fiancée, Viscountess Caroline's youngest daughter, would be coming to town."

"That was probably her. As expected of a viscount's daughter, she really is..."

"Shh—keep your voice down! Do you have a death wish?"

A broad-hatted mage in a dark purple robe happened to pass by. Hearing the whispers around him, he narrowed his eyes and looked in the direction the carriage had gone.

"Lawrence... just as arrogant and overbearing as the rumors say. Disgusting."

"An adult Mutated Goblin!"

As he watched the enemy before them gradually approach, cold sweat beaded on Bern's forehead, and a rare look of panic appeared on his face.

Mutated Goblins were elite monsters. Once they reached adulthood, it meant they possessed strength comparable to, or even surpassing, that of a professional!

He knew very well that this was an opponent he could not defeat no matter what.

Forget the adult one before them—even the two adolescent Mutated Goblins beside it were beyond their ability to handle.

Not to mention the more than a hundred Normal Goblins blocking every route of escape as they swarmed toward them.

It seemed their chances of escaping were slim as well...

"What do we do?"

As an assassin, Cody rarely said such things, but now he too was as lost as Bern.

What they faced was undoubtedly a dead end.

Evan gripped the sword in his hand tightly and stood in front of Miriam. But as he looked at their overwhelming numbers, even his arm began to tremble, fear gradually filling his heart.

It's over. We're definitely going to die.

Once that thought surfaced in their minds, their will to fight scattered with it, and they fell completely into despair.

No one answered. No amount of experience could allow Bern to calmly face the hopeless situation before them. He even began to resent himself for accepting this mission, regretting his choice to pursue those two Tattooed Cat Demons...

But there was no point in thinking about that now.

As he watched the Goblins draw closer, Lin Mo's mind was instead exceptionally clear.

He glanced at his Proficiency Panel.

Fighting was impossible.

Even counting his trump cards, the five of them could not possibly contend with so many monsters.

Run?

If it were only him, he might have a chance, but it was probably less than one in ten.

There were simply too many Goblins. Even with 8 points of Agility, he would be repeatedly obstructed, greatly slowing him down. Besides... the adult Mutated Goblin might not be much slower than him.

Should he gamble on that less than one-in-ten chance, or...

Lin Mo turned his gaze behind him. The rift still remained there, showing no signs of disappearing anytime soon.

Since the chances of successfully escaping were low, he might as well take a bigger gamble!

"If we enter the Secret Realm, will these Goblins choose to follow us?"

The sudden question stunned Bern for a moment before delight filled his face. "Very likely not!"

Goblins were not a completely mindless race. At the very least, they were smarter than most animals, and the dangers of Secret Realms had likewise been passed down through their tribes for generations.

Unlike humans with their complicated desires, most monsters on this continent merely wanted to survive and fill their stomachs. They had neither reason nor motivation to enter a dangerous Secret Realm.

Under normal circumstances, Bern would be extremely unwilling to risk entering a Secret Realm with such a high degree of danger and potentially little reward.

But compared to the certain death facing them now, he was naturally willing to give it a try.

"Everyone, enter the Secret Realm! This is our only way to survive!"

The Goblins were already nearly upon them. Time was pressing, leaving no room for hesitation. Bern shouted as he gripped his sword and shield tightly, preparing to hold the rear.

Cody was the first to react, turning and charging straight into the rift.

Evan followed close behind, taking Miriam with him as they rushed inside.

"Lin Mo..."

"Mr. Bern."

Lin Mo cut him off. "You go in first. I still have something to do. I'll be there soon..."

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