A few days later, on the West Coast, White Sail Cape.
The group traveled for more than a full day before finally reaching the vicinity of their destination together.
They did not act in haste. Instead, they rested for a while, ate and drank their fill, and then went to investigate.
Roy went with them because he had only recently completed the Hair Ghost Witch Body.
He had spent the past six months studying continuously.
After that came all sorts of preparations for refining potions, and the materials alone had cost him a considerable sum.
With money-making opportunities dwindling while his expenses soared, his situation had only gotten worse.
If he did not find a way to earn some extra money, he would soon be reduced to drinking northwest wind!
He also hoped that this Adventure Quest would bring him some kind of gain.
During the day, the team members climbed a small rise and lay there, observing the area from afar through telescopes. On the beach ahead, they saw roughly a hundred mermen moving about.
"See that particularly conspicuous one? That's their leader, a Spellcaster among the mermen... a merman warlock!
"Its spell is the Ice Cone Technique, and its casting skills are highly polished. It has already mastered the ability to fire multiple bolts in succession!"
Renion introduced it with lingering fear.
"Last time, if I hadn't escaped quickly, I would probably have been turned into a pincushion!
"There are also several elites among them. They may possess the pseudo-spell abilities of monsters. An ordinary person would suffer severe injuries just from being hit, or even die horribly!
"The terrain around here is also very open, which isn't conducive to a Sneak Attack."
Roy nodded. "Then we'll wait until nightfall."
As they chatted, they also discussed Molotov Cocktails, Healing Potions, bows, crossbow bolts, and other items.
They had made up their minds to show these monsters what humans were capable of!
That night, the bright moon hung high in the sky, and the air was bleak and cold.
As expected, the unsuspecting mermen entered the cave to rest as usual, leaving only a small number of sentries outside.
The five people moved together as a team and easily killed them.
During this, Sailen used an Enchanted Item.
It was an extremely valuable Mirage Orb. It could use pseudo-spell power to conceal everyone's figures, allowing them to move in and out of sight under cover of night.
Only then did Roy realize why Renion had insisted on inviting her along.
She was truly an apprentice who had latched onto Sophia's influence, receiving or borrowing quite a number of good things.
The group soon reached the cave entrance without incident.
"Three, two, one... throw!"
The homemade Molotov Cocktails and Poison Gas Bottles were thrown one after another.
A moment later, the mermen rushed out of the cave in a chaotic mass. Before they could even breathe in fresh air, they were cut down by more crossbow bolts.
After killing more than a dozen mermen, a large number of those who had failed to escape in time were suffocated to death by the poisonous smoke. Combined with the collisions, trampling, and those who fled in panic, they were essentially routed.
"Careful!"
Just then, several figures dashed out and successfully escaped the cave before anyone could react.
"That's the merman warlock and its guard unit!
"Sailen, hold it off first. We'll deal with the other mermen as quickly as possible!"
Renion hurriedly reminded her.
Sailen acknowledged him and activated the Mirage Orb once more, using mysterious illusions to disrupt the merman warlock.
The others scattered and fled, widening the distance between them on the beach beneath the moonlit sky to avoid being struck by the Ice Cone Technique.
"We need to finish this quickly!"
Roy also drew away several monsters. Looking toward the nearby beach, he saw several hideous creatures charging over with bone spears in hand.
They were one elite warrior from the guard unit and several ordinary merman warriors.
From a distance, they looked much like dwarves. They had well-developed limbs, but were short in stature and displayed obvious fish-like characteristics.
The physiques of these humanoid monsters were close to those of ordinary humans. The only one capable of posing a threat to him was the elite warrior hidden among them.
It was clearly a head taller than the ordinary mermen, and even its scales were sky blue.
That was a mutation caused by magical contamination.
"These monsters may possess some kind of pseudo-spell ability...
"We can't let it use that power so easily!"
Roy recalled what he had learned in his general knowledge class. It would most likely be a concentrated strike formed by gathering magic power, allowing it to unleash two or three degrees of Elemental Attack over a short period.
Even a normal Low-level Knight, or perhaps even an Intermediate Knight, might not be able to withstand it head-on.
Roy dragged his longsword along as he walked faster and faster. A moment later, he broke into a run, then suddenly accelerated into a charge. Using his momentum, he cleaved down at the ordinary merman in front.
The opponent died instantly.
Roy pulled out his bloodstained sword and swung it forcefully.
At the same time, he quietly activated his newly refined Hair Ghost Witch Body. The hair behind him suddenly lengthened explosively, harassing his opponents under cover of night.
Roy's current assets were not limited to a knight's physique. He also possessed the witchcraft power brought by this "Living Hair" technique.
With the elusive, resilient strands of iron-wire-like hair interfering with his enemies, he cut down the foes around him in rapid succession. His fierce performance even left the elite merman warrior frozen in terror.
When it recovered, the Hair Ghost Witch Body had already spread to its feet like tentacles.
Suddenly, the long hair moved like a living creature and gave a violent tug.
Splurt!
The longsword stabbed forward at the same moment, driving into its chest.
The elite warrior's eyes widened in disbelief before Roy kicked it away.
Blood gushed from the sword wound.
The hair behind Roy silently shortened and returned to its original state.
No one except Roy knew what had happened just now.
Ordinary knights and warriors were proud of little more than their superior martial techniques, aside from being stronger, more enduring, and faster.
Yet no mortal martial art was as unpredictable as a witch body created through witchcraft.
Moreover, mermen were already close to beasts by nature.
Thus, in the blink of an eye, it had been killed without the slightest defense.
Roy carried his Iron Sword and walked toward the battle taking place on the other side.
Before long, everyone killed their respective opponents and gathered with Sailen to launch a final assault on the monster leader.
In the end, they stabbed the monster leader to death with their swords without any suspense.
"It's finally over!"
Renion let out a long sigh of relief.
The group's breathing rose and fell, and the fluctuations of their Mental Strength were unstable. Clearly, they had all fought with everything they had.
Andov had even been struck by a bone spear, leaving a hole through his left arm and blood pouring out.
Roy alone looked the most relaxed. His current strength was clearly a level above that of his companions.
While Andov treated his wound, Roy and Renion inspected the spoils they had seized. They first examined the Fishbone Staff that the merman warlock had held in its hand.
Embedded at the very top was a white pearl the size of an egg, containing faint water-element magic power.
"We've struck it rich... A Magic Pearl like this is practically priceless on the Old Continent. Even here, it should be worth at least a thousand magic stones!"
Renion performed a simple appraisal and spoke excitedly.
"And there are other gains, too!"
Not long afterward, they dug out the merman warlock's heart and pulled a walnut-sized Fish Pearl from inside.
Before you continue