Cave Dwellers

After Duke's Whale Breathing Method reached the second level, the green sprout on the Skill Tree did not change. It was somewhat different from before.

"It seems the Whale Breathing Method's level cap really isn't LV5." Duke confirmed his earlier suspicion.

Previously, it had already taken the form of a green leaf at LV2, but now it remained a green sprout.

Duke guessed that it would likely become a green leaf only after reaching the third level and becoming a Mid-Tier Knight Squire.

After this breakthrough, he had nearly finished all the monster meat he had bought before.

Duke had been planning to enter the city tomorrow to buy more, but he received a mission in the middle of the night.

A small village called Ravenna Village, north of Maple Hill City, had been attacked by Cave Dwellers. Only one child in the entire village had escaped the disaster.

The child had survived by hiding in a bucket inside a well. A passing hunter had pulled him out.

The entire village was already in ruins, with half-eaten corpses left everywhere.

"Cave Dwellers..." Duke had only heard of such creatures before. He had never seen one with his own eyes.

Cave Dwellers were a type of demi-human. Though their name included the word "human," they possessed none of the civilization humans ought to have and were not much different from wild beasts.

To Cave Dwellers, humans were merely another kind of food.

In the past, Cave Dwellers had often attacked humans.

But large-scale Cave Dweller attacks like this were rare. An entire village had actually been slaughtered clean.

This had naturally crossed Count Hardy's bottom line. He ordered Nightingale to deal with the matter overnight and eliminate this group of Cave Dwellers that had brought disaster upon the people of his territory.

Nightingale quickly assembled more than sixty people. Their commander was Lu Ping, a High-Level Knight Apprentice.

The sixty-odd people were further divided into six squadrons, each with three or four newcomers.

Duke's squadron was led by George, and Xiwen was also in the group.

There were no Knight Level powerhouses in this operation, because Cave Dwellers were relatively weak creatures.

Ordinary Cave Dwellers were only somewhat stronger than militiamen and weaker than Low-Tier Knight Squires.

Only some Elite Cave Dwellers possessed strength comparable to Mid-Tier Knight Squires.

With the strength of Nightingale's sixty-odd men, wiping out a Cave Dweller settlement would be effortless.

Duke brought his longsword and longbow, checked the rations and other necessities in his pack, then mounted his horse.

Everyone was issued a horse for traveling.

Maple Hill City was some distance from Ravenna Village, and the journey would take at least a day and a half.

Duke and the others set out overnight and would probably reach Ravenna Village around noon tomorrow.

The group left the manor one after another, galloping down the road.

The veterans were fairly relaxed with each other, chatting and laughing.

Most of the recruits were silent and nervous. Many had never even killed a person before, yet they were suddenly being sent to deal with Cave Dwellers. They instinctively felt afraid.

Lu Ping noticed this as well. This always happened whenever he led newcomers out for their first field experience, so he said, "Relax, boys. Those Cave Dwellers aren't even as tall as your knees when they jump. There's nothing to be afraid of!"

"That's right. With your strength, you can deal with those things easily. Besides, the Count has said that every Cave Dweller you kill earns you one Gold Coin. When the time comes, you'd better be quick to strike," a veteran chimed in.

The mood within the group eased somewhat, and many recruits no longer felt as nervous.

In truth, those veterans would look after the newcomers when the time came. They would not let them truly fall into mortal danger.

Creatures like Cave Dwellers, whose combat power was not high, were perfect for sharpening blades.

At noon the next day, they arrived at Ravenna Village.

The entire village was silent. There was no one left here.

The corpses in the village had already been dealt with, but many bloodstains could still be seen on the ground.

The blood was still fresh, telling of the brutal scene that had occurred here days ago.

Lu Ping quickly began directing everyone to guard, patrol, and keep watch around the area. They would rest for one night before heading deeper into the surrounding forest to search for traces of the Cave Dwellers.

Several seasoned veterans were quickly sent out to gather clues for tomorrow's operation.

Duke also looked around the village. It was an ordinary little village, even smaller than Yining Village.

He saw many finger marks on the ground, along with dragging trails that extended all the way into the nearby woods.

Those trails were also streaked with blood. One could imagine what the scene had been like.

The group began setting up camp, lighting fires to cook, and building small shelters against possible wind and rain. The weather in the forest was unpredictable.

About two hours later, the veterans sent out to scout returned one after another.

They had already found traces of the Cave Dwellers in the forest ahead. Their numbers were estimated at around a hundred.

"So many? That's unusual." Lu Ping stroked his chin in thought.

Normally, Cave Dwellers stayed deep in the forest and mainly survived by hunting wild beasts.

They generally would not leave the forest in such large numbers to come to this edge region.

Judging from the clues gathered by the scouts, this group of Cave Dwellers intended to settle here for the long term.

This was the edge of the forest. There were nowhere near enough wild beasts here to provide them with food.

For these Cave Dwellers, the easiest food to obtain was the human villages nearby.

Lu Ping let out a breath. "Good thing we found them early. Otherwise, all the nearby villages would have suffered."

They immediately took out a map and began formulating a battle plan.

That group of Cave Dwellers had not yet discovered them, and the scouts had brought back information on their distribution, marking it all on the map.

That evening, they ate while assigning their respective tasks.

They would enter the forest from different routes by squadron, surround the Cave Dwellers, and strive to kill them all.

The group rested for the night and set out near sunrise.

Launching a surprise attack at this time would catch the Cave Dwellers completely off guard.

Duke followed behind George, moving silently through the forest.

About half an hour later, everyone reached their assigned positions and saw the Cave Dwellers ahead.

Cave Dwellers were short, averaging only one meter tall. Their skin was pale red, and the weapons in their hands were usually wooden clubs.

Some carried short blades, clearly looted from the village.

Duke noticed that several Cave Dwellers were visibly a head taller than the others and much sturdier. They were probably Elite Cave Dwellers.

"These things have the strength of Mid-Tier Knight Squires?" Duke was somewhat doubtful.

In his eyes, the Elite Cave Dwellers still seemed rather weak. He did not sense much of a threat from them.