Sos Darkforge

Such intelligence and ruthlessness, he thought, were far beyond what lowly creatures like Kobolds could possess.

Even if a rare Kobold Priest had emerged among the large Kobold tribe below, it still would not be possible.

But where did the hidden passage they had found lead?

What secret lay inside?

And was Robin's death connected to it?

If we leave now, we'll be safe. But...

Rain's gaze deepened.

Besides, if they wanted the Adventurers' Association to recognize their findings as useful intelligence, they needed to be more specific. Even without physical evidence, they had to give a preliminary account of what was happening.

What exactly were those three humanoids?

Humanoids...

Shorter and stockier than humans...

Rain could not think of anything that fit.

Surely they couldn't be Dwarves?

At the thought of Dwarves, Humbert's face sprang to Rain's mind.

After a moment's thought, Rain asked, "What's a little taller than a Kobold, stockier than a human, and might live alongside Kobolds?"

The others exchanged glances, surprise plain in their eyes.

Rain's question made it clear that he had found a clue. He might even have identified the unknown creatures' physical traits.

"Bugbbears? But they don't usually live this deep underground, and they prefer hanging around Goblins." Chris offered the suggestion, then quickly had second thoughts.

"Not Bugbears. They're shorter than us..." Rain thought back to the outlines the returning sound waves had given him.

"Doesn't that describe Dwarves?" Fabian said casually, flipping his dagger.

Dwarves?

Something seemed to occur to Leia. Her expression turned serious as she looked at Rain. "Are you sure they're shorter than us and stockier too?"

"Yes," Rain said without hesitation, nodding.

Leia still had no idea what spell Rain had used to determine their builds, but she had no doubt that he was telling the truth.

"That's bad! They could be Gray Dwarves!" Leia blurted out.

"Gray Dwarves?!"

The other four, Rain included, stared in astonishment.

After all, didn't Gray Dwarves live in the Underdark?

They had never heard of a passage connecting Azure Mine Cave—or anywhere near Dorn City—to the Underdark.

So despite how closely the creatures' builds matched, none of them, Rain included, had considered Gray Dwarves.

"Captain, are you sure? No one's ever heard of a passage to the Underdark near Dorn City."

"And Gray Dwarves have a Challenge Rating of one. They usually move in groups, too. They're extremely hard to deal with. Rain, are you certain?" Chris turned to him.

Chris's doubt was understandable.

A Gray Dwarf's Challenge Rating might seem comparable to an ordinary Boarfolk's, but in numbers, Gray Dwarves were far more dangerous.

Take the Boarfolk Warrior they had killed. It could have taken on three ordinary Boarfolk alone, but it would never have beaten three Gray Dwarves.

Even two fully armed Gray Dwarves could fight a Boarfolk Warrior with a Challenge Rating of two to a standstill.

As their numbers grew, the difficulty of dealing with them rose exponentially—and that was without counting any exceptional individuals among them.

Their fighting strength was hardly surprising. Gray Dwarves were one of the Underdark's foremost peoples, locked in conflict with drow and mind flayers.

Seeing the others' reactions, Rain grew a little less certain.

He had never seen a Gray Dwarf before. His judgment was based solely on reflected sound waves.

Rain decided he needed to check again.

But the moment he parted his lips and located them with another pulse of sound, his expression changed sharply.

"They're charging straight at us!"

"Twenty meters!"

"Three of them!"

After a moment's stunned pause lasting less than a fifth of a second, every member of the Whistling Hunters sprang into action.

"Get ready to fight!"

"Quick! Rain, you three, block the passage! Don't let them out!"

"Fabian, use your crossbow to disrupt the Gray Dwarf attacking Grand. I'll help Chris."

"Rain, all three of you, watch their attacks. Gray Dwarves are incredibly strong..."

Leia's rapid-fire orders seemed to make the air itself tighten.

Though they were momentarily flustered, their combat training and the teamwork they had built up let them fall into formation at once.

Rain, Chris, and Grand raised their shields and sealed off the passage entrance, while Leia and Fabian stood behind them with bows and crossbow ready.

Every pair of eyes, whether tense or eager, fixed on the dark passage.

A minute earlier.

Sos Darkforge and two other Gray Dwarves had been waiting at their ease for the human Adventurer party to enter the passage.

To their surprise, the humans had seemed about to go in, only to stop. Now they were gathered at the entrance, discussing something.

Then, for an instant, Sos had sensed a faint sound wave pass by his ears. It was so slight he had almost missed it, but it put him on alert.

Could it be...

Were the human Adventurers at the entrance probing the passage with a spell?

Sos did not have to guess for long. Hurried voices came from the party at the entrance, and the three Gray Dwarves exchanged glances.

The humans had clearly detected them somehow.

After only a moment's thought, Sos decided to rush the entrance with his two companions.

The detection array outside had not raised an alarm, which meant there was no Professional-level expert among the human Adventurers.

And under their agreement with the Tarin Society, they were to keep the underground mining operation secure and kill any intelligent beings who discovered its secret, just as they had killed the previous human Adventurer party.

Abandoning stealth, the three stocky Gray Dwarves burst from the shadows. They wore leather armor and carried shields and massive one-handed Warhammers.

"Holy shit! They really are Gray Dwarves!" Chris cried.

The Gray Dwarf warriors looked strikingly like Instructor Humbert—especially with those heavy metal Warhammers in their hands. Rain tightened his grip on his shield and narrowed his eyes.

In that instant, he knew what had made the hole in the center of Robin's shield.