Red Squirrel Qiao (4K! Please Keep Reading!)

After confirming that Darko had fallen asleep again, Roland took the remaining half of the food and quietly walked out of the cave.

He carefully shifted his steps, slowly approaching the Red Squirrel gnawing on a pinecone, and stopped three steps away from it.

After taking a deep breath, he activated the [Animal Companion] trait.

In an instant, familiar clamor surged into his mind like a tide.

Roland could not help frowning. Imitating the way he had activated the [Focus] trait, he consciously reined in his scattered attention.

Gradually, the chaotic sounds began to fade, until only those within a small area around him remained.

"Phew."

Roland let out a long breath and steadied himself.

Staring at the Red Squirrel, which was still intently gnawing on its pinecone, he slowly raised a hand and did his best to control his facial muscles into the friendliest expression possible.

"Hello."

Before his words had even faded, the Red Squirrel abruptly looked up in alarm and met Roland's eyes.

In an instant, the little creature's messy fur stood on end, and its mung-bean-sized eyes widened into perfect circles.

Before Roland could react, the Red Squirrel had decisively abandoned its pinecone. Its hind legs tensed, and it looked ready to flee at any moment.

Prepared for this, Roland darted forward and steadily scooped the startled little creature into his cupped hands.

"Help! Help! Help!"

Under the effect of the [Animal Companion] trait, its shrill cries reached Roland's ears as clear human speech.

"Relax, little guy."

Feeling the tiny life struggling fiercely in his palm, Roland hurriedly adjusted his grip, supporting its body securely with one hand while gently stroking the fluffy fur along its back with the other.

"I just want to ask you for a favor. I won't hurt you."

Roland lowered his voice, doing his best to sound gentle.

"You can understand what I'm saying, right?"

The Red Squirrel gradually stopped struggling.

It raised its little head, its black-bean eyes filled with confusion.

"You two-legged beast. No, how can I understand what you're saying?"

Its eyes suddenly widened.

"Are you a squirrel too?"

The innocent question left Roland momentarily speechless.

He opened his mouth, but in the end decided to avoid this complicated topic.

"That isn't important, little guy."

Roland carefully placed the Red Squirrel back on the ground, then lightly tapped its furry little head with a fingertip.

"My name is Roland. What's yours?"

"Everyone calls me Qiao."

After confirming that this enormous creature meant it no harm, the squirrel named Qiao relaxed. Its front paws hung naturally before its chest as it tilted its head and studied this talking two-legged beast.

"Qiao? That's a nice name."

As he spoke, Roland smiled and took out a piece of bread from the cloth bag.

Unlike the black bread Roland usually ate, Darko, being a young nobleman, naturally dined on white bread carefully baked from the finest wheat flour, studded with nuts whose names Roland did not know.

The moment the bread was taken out, its rich wheaty fragrance wafted through the air.

Qiao's little nose immediately began twitching rapidly. Its round eyes could no longer look away, staring fixedly at the tempting delicacy, while even its fluffy tail swayed slightly in anticipation.

"Hehe."

Seeing how greedy the little creature looked, Roland could not help chuckling.

He carefully tore off a small piece of bread, crumbled it in his palm, and slowly held it out before Qiao.

"Don't be shy. Eat."

"Mm."

Qiao's tiny nose kept twitching as its gaze shifted back and forth between the breadcrumbs and Roland.

Though it was drooling with hunger, it remained wary and did not dare approach.

"This little guy is pretty cautious."

Roland muttered to himself.

"Come to think of it, are squirrels really this intelligent?"

Seeing that Qiao still refused to take a bite, Roland helplessly shook his head.

Then he pinched a few bread crumbs between his fingertips and put them into his own mouth, deliberately making an obvious swallowing motion.

"See? It's not poisoned. Go ahead and eat."

Qiao tilted his head and watched for a moment. After confirming there were no food scraps left in Roland's mouth, he finally let down his guard.

His fluffy tail swished happily as he hopped closer, braced his little paws against Roland's palm, lowered his head, and began feasting.

Before long, every last crumb in Roland's palm had been eaten clean.

Still wanting more, Qiao licked his paws, carefully cleaned the crumbs from his whiskers, and only then raised his little head.

"You're different from the other two-legged creatures. You're a good person."

He puffed out his fluffy little chest.

"Go on, what do you need my help with?"

Seeing that he had successfully gained the Red Squirrel's trust, Roland let out a long breath before speaking solemnly.

"Qiao, have you noticed those goblins in the forest? The creatures with green skin, sharp fangs, and especially ugly faces."

"Um..."

Qiao lowered his head and scratched at it with a little paw. Then his eyes suddenly lit up.

"You mean those green monsters? I've seen them! They sneaked into the forest last night, like they were looking for something."

The little fellow waved his paws as he tried hard to describe it.

"They've been cutting down trees and digging holes everywhere, but..."

Qiao suddenly paused and cautiously glanced at Roland.

"They're different from two-legged creatures. They didn't seem to mean us any harm..."

As if afraid Roland might misunderstand, Qiao hurriedly added, "Of course, Roland, you're completely different from those two-legged creatures. You're a good person!"

Receiving two good-person cards in a row left Roland caught between laughter and tears.

As for why the clearly race-conscious terms "two-legged creatures" and "good person" could appear together, he could not be bothered to dwell on it. He could only attribute it to the miraculous effects of [Animal Companion].

Shaking off these stray thoughts, Roland said seriously, "Qiao, those goblins—the green monsters you mentioned—are attacking us."

"My companions and I need to avoid them and leave this forest safely."

"So I'd like to ask you to scout out the goblins' routes and help us stay out of their sight. Can you do that?"

"Leave it to me!"

Qiao puffed out his fluffy little chest, his big tail wagging excitedly.

"Something this simple? I'll get right on it!"

Just as the man and squirrel happily came to an agreement, a weak coughing sound came from deep within the cave.

"Cough, cough, cough... Roland..."

Darko struggled to open his eyes. The pain coming from all over his body made it impossible for him to fall into a deep sleep.

Hearing the call, Roland gave the Red Squirrel a few more instructions before deactivating [Animal Companion].

A faint wave of dizziness washed over him, and Roland instinctively rubbed his temples.

"Compared with [Focus], [Animal Companion] seems to consume much less Spirit Power."

Turning back into the cave, Roland asked with concern, "How was your rest?"

He pulled the stopper from the waterskin and handed it to Darko, who was leaning against the rock wall.

"I'm afraid fighting is out of the question."

Darko took the waterskin and tipped back several mouthfuls of water, his Adam's apple bobbing with each swallow.

After wiping the water from his chin, he forced out a smile.

"But running away shouldn't be a problem."

"That's good. Get yourself together. We're leaving."

Roland reached out to help him up.

Darko used Roland's support to rise to his feet, then sucked in a sharp breath from the pain.

"You've found a way to avoid those goblins?"

"Yeah."

Roland nodded. He hesitated as if he wanted to say more, but in the end only said simply, "Just follow me."

"No problem!"

After everything that had happened, the young nobleman's trust in Roland had become deeply rooted.

He did not even ask about the details of the plan before firmly following Roland's lead.

The journey ahead went smoothly. If they had not repeatedly seen goblin patrols passing by whenever they hid in the shadows, Darko might have thought the goblins had already left the forest.

Yet the one thing that puzzled him was the Red Squirrel that had somehow appeared at Roland's side.

Watching the close bond between the man and the animal, Darko could not help but muse to himself.

"Could it be that Roland likes Red Squirrels as pets? Hmm, it's a little strange, but when we get back, should I have the guards catch a few for him?"

Roland, of course, did not notice Darko's wild thoughts.

He merely stood at just the right distance from the young nobleman and spoke quietly with Qiao.

"You mean there are three goblin patrols ahead taking turns patrolling, and there isn't enough of a gap to get through?"

"That's right."

Qiao stood on Roland's shoulder and lightly waved a paw.

"Are there any other paths out of the forest?"

"There are even more green monsters on the other paths."

"Tch. I understand."

With a soft click of his tongue, Roland made his decision at once, his eyes gradually focusing on the path ahead.

In an instant, a transparent Profession Panel appeared before him.

"Agility: 6.6. So the feeling that my body had been getting lighter wasn't an illusion."

"I didn't expect Adaptive Training to increase my Agility by a full two points in less than two hours."

After carefully sensing the changes in his body, Roland gave the Red Squirrel a few instructions and gently set it down on the ground. Then he turned back to Darko and explained his plan.

"We'll take out one of the patrols during the gap between the three rotating patrol teams. Isn't that plan too risky?"

Darko looked at Roland anxiously, unease clear in his voice.

It was not that he doubted Roland's ability to kill goblins.

But this plan required them to act with lightning speed. The slightest hesitation could alert the enemy, leaving them surrounded and inviting disaster.

This was completely different from ordinary goblin hunting. The difficulty was worlds apart.

"This is our only option right now."

Ignoring the concern in Darko's eyes, Roland tightly gripped the hilt of the sword at his waist with his right hand while pointing ahead with his left.

"In a moment, move with me to that patch of bushes."

"Once you see me kill one of the goblin patrols, come out immediately and join me. Then we'll keep moving forward. No problem?"

"Of course there's no problem, it's just..."

After hearing that, Darko hesitated.

Only when his gaze fell on his injured calf did he lower his head dejectedly and nod.

"Then be careful, Roland."

"Don't worry. But don't show yourself rashly when the time comes, or I might not be able to protect you during the fight."

"I understand."

With the plan settled, the two silently moved toward the target bushes.

Amid the mottled shadows of the trees, their figures were like ghosts blending into the forest, quickly disappearing behind the dense brush.

In the damp thicket, Roland held his breath as he observed the rotation pattern of the three goblin patrols.

When he noticed that the last goblin in the patrol on the left was limping, causing the entire formation to be much looser—

Roland shot out like an arrow loosed from a bow.

His Agility of 6.6 was displayed to its fullest at that moment.

His first strike sliced precisely across a goblin's throat.

Before the splattered droplets of blood had even fallen, his second sword thrust pierced another goblin's heart.

By the time the third goblin's head flew into the air, the first two corpses had not even fully hit the ground.

Only then did the remaining two goblins react.

One had just opened its mouth to scream when a thrown dagger pinned its throat.

The other staggered backward, only for Roland to step forward and drive his sword through its heart.

Ten seconds.

Five corpses.

"Unbelievable."

Darko emerged from behind the bushes, his face filled with shock.

"Roland, I could barely even see your movements just now."

Roland did not answer immediately.

He quickly checked every corpse, and only after making sure there were no survivors did he speak in a low voice.

"Move! Other patrols could come at any moment!"

Only then did Darko snap out of his daze and hurriedly follow close behind Roland.

By the time the first alarm horn sounded, the two had already vanished into the depths of the forest.

"Go around the edge of the forest, cross that clearing ahead, and we'll be out soon."

Red Squirrel said, shaking its fluffy tail.

Roland gently set it down on the ground and lightly tapped its little head.

"Thank you, Qiao."

"Do you want to come back with me? We could live together."

Qiao nervously rubbed its little paws together, its black bean-like eyes flickering with hesitation.

Silence hung in the air for a moment before it finally raised its head.

"Roland, you're a good person. But I think... I'm still better suited to living here."

"All right, little guy."

Roland nodded gently and did not force the matter.

Then he tore a piece of cloth from Darko's food bag, crumbled up the remaining bread and wrapped it inside, carefully tying it into a small bundle with string before placing it in front of Qiao.

"This is your reward. See if you can carry it?"

Qiao's black eyes immediately lit up. It eagerly scooped up the bundle with its front paws, its little nose twitching nonstop.

"I can carry it! I can carry it! It smells so good!"

Its tail trembled wildly with excitement, and it nearly spun around in circles on the spot.

"Roland, thank you! You really are a good person!"

"All right, all right."

Roland waved with a helpless smile.

"We should go. Hopefully we'll meet again someday."

Holding the little bundle, Qiao nodded reluctantly.

"Goodbye, Roland!"

With that, it nimbly darted up a tree trunk and soon disappeared into the dense forest.

"Let's go, Darko."

Roland turned and spoke quietly to his companion, who had only just staggered over.

"Hold on a little longer. We'll be out of the forest soon."

"Heavenly Father above!"

At last, a trace of color returned to Darko's exhausted, pale face.

"I can't stay in this damn place another second!"

The two pulled themselves together and continued onward.

After walking for an unknown amount of time, Roland suddenly stopped, his brows knitting tightly.

He clearly heard sharp metallic clashes coming from not far ahead, mixed with goblins' piercing shrieks and the suppressed roars of humans.

Then, a deafening explosion rang out.

Leaves rained down from the treetops, while the scorched, fishy stench rushed toward them on the forest wind.

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