The roar of the Night Stalkers, the chaos of the night, and the monsters closing in from all sides were all forcefully broken apart the moment Germain drew his Sacred Moonlight Greatsword.
Of course, the outpost scouting team wasn't going to leave the "Barbarian Warrior" Hart behind to cover their retreat alone.
And they weren't going to abandon anyone else either. However many came—just as many would leave.
Besides, Germain was no longer who he used to be. With him holding the line, the Night Stalkers' attacks no longer struck fear the way they once did.
In less than ten minutes, they pushed back the wave-like horde of monsters. Germain even cut down the Night Stalker leader himself.
Everything returned to silence. If not for the corpses and blood covering the ground, you'd never guess how intense the battle had just been.
Hart plopped down right on top of a severed monster head, casually wiping the blood off her polearm with a piece of white cloth, then tossed the cloth straight into the campfire.
The blood-soaked rag caught fire with a whoosh.
She laughed loudly, saying, "So the jungle monsters are just like this, huh? Still not as wild as what we ran into in the Steep Mountain Range back then."
"Don't let your guard down," Sigman said, removing the shield from her left arm and revealing the bandaged stump beneath. "This is just the beginning of our journey."
"Yeah, yeah." Hart didn't seem bothered. She jumped down from the giant monster's head and added, "You're just way too cautious."
"Being cautious never hurts." Sigman strapped the blood-stained shield and spear back onto her back, completely unafraid of the tall warrior woman standing in front of her.
Hart's blue-striped face twisted with a look of mild annoyance.
Bisky walked over to ease the tension. "Alright, alright, everyone just went through a tough fight—take a proper break. Anyone want a 'Cookie's Magical Makeover'?"
"Not me," Hart said. "Better treat Sigman. She looks too tightly wound—I'd hate to see her lose it."
The barbarian woman gave a snort, then turned and walked away.
She sat down on a large rock some distance away, rested her polearm on her shoulder, and closed her eyes to relax.
"Hart's like that," Bisky said softly, sitting beside Sigman. "She's actually a good person—just has a sharp tongue."
"I know. It's alright," Sigman replied.
"Need a 'Cookie's Magical Makeover'?"
"No, it's fine. Bisky, thank you for your kindness, but I'd like to be alone for a while."
"Alright, don't mind Hart's words. Remember, we are companions."
"Yeah, I know. We're companions."
Bisky had no choice but to stand up and leave, using her "Magical Beautician Miss Cookie" ability to help the others.
Sigman's words were right; the journey was long, and this was just the beginning.
Bisky could feel the tension in the group, and she needed to find a way to lighten the atmosphere.
Her negotiation skills and "Magical Beautician Miss Cookie" were her methods of handling the situation.
Meanwhile, Germain looked at the time on his phone and confirmed that it was already past midnight on August 21st, in the Sixth Continent.
He, Ging, and Shizuku had cleared away the mountain of monster corpses, making space for the camp so they could finally rest for a bit.
Clank, clank—the sound of armor rubbing together filled the air.
"Crusader" Reynard stood in front of Germain, lifting his faceplate, and smiled as he spoke:
"Rest well, there are still a few hours until sunrise. I'll take the first shift. Ging, you take the second. I'll wake you up in an hour, is that okay?"
"Alright."
Ging nodded in agreement, sitting cross-legged on a patch of dried leaves and twigs, his hands behind his head. He leaned back and, just like Hart, closed his eyes to rest.
The "Sleeping Girl" from Greed Island was too fragile and inconvenient to move with.
Unless they were in a relatively safe place, capable of protecting the "Sleeping Girl," the group would usually opt for resting in their physical forms.
Leonardo turned around and walked away, the sound of his armor clinking growing fainter.
Germain leaned against a large tree and sat down.
Shizuku took off her glasses, rested her head on Germain's shoulder, and fell asleep, breathing gently.
Germain then stroked the "Hunter's Badge" and examined what he had gained from the night raid.
"Dark Ring": It can convert "Nen" into dark mist and release it.
It paired well with his previous "Thunder Ring." Now, he had two rings that could unleash "Transmutation-type" powers.
The best part was that they didn't take up much space. Germain had ten fingers, and each finger could wear one of these rings.
Just as Germain was about to put away the "Hunter's Badge's projection," a corner of his eye caught the words "Teleportation Lantern."
11 special lanterns, 6 regular lanterns, and 5 vacant lanterns...
His thoughts started to expand.
If he returned to the Ancient Labyrinth, the "Bloodthirsty Apostle" would soon revive. He could deal with it, gaining another vacant lantern, which would be enough for him to travel back and forth between the Dark Continent and the Six Continents.
While thinking about this, he suddenly sensed something strange.
Actually, before the night raid started, Germain had already felt a sense of something being off. However, the raid and the attacks from the monsters had interrupted his train of thought.
Now that the battle was over and the surroundings had calmed down, combined with the prompt from the "Teleportation Lantern," the thought process that had seemed sealed off before now flowed freely.
Something was wrong.
The "Teleportation Lantern" could only transport four people at a time, and this time, Germain distinctly remembered that he had only teleported once, bringing along three people.
They had even held a meeting to confirm this detail, and everyone had agreed to keep the team size small, with only four members.
That meant the number of members in the exploration team should have been four.
Germain's eyes swept around, counting.
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven...
Why are there seven people here?
Germain frowned slightly, trying to recall which three people had been transported with him. But the figures standing next to him kept changing.
One moment it was Sigman, Shizuku, and Bisky.
The next, it was Ging, Hart, and Shizuku.
Then, it was Shizuku, Leonardo, and Bisky.
The members of the exploration team accompanying him kept changing, and each memory seemed quite believable.
But Germain knew that only one of these was real. The rest must be false.
He thought back to his experience in the Steep Mountain Range. There had to be something that affected his mind, his memories, and his perception.
Ging's concerns were right. After the death of the "Twin-Tailed Snake · Hellbell," something had triggered this, subtly influencing them and causing them to accept three members who didn't belong to the team.
But does that mean Ging is reliable?
If the death of the "Twin-Tailed Snake · Hellbell" triggered all of this, could Ging have deliberately disguised himself as attacked, taking advantage of the situation?
And what about Shizuku, who stands beside me? Is she real?
What is the purpose of these people who have infiltrated the exploration team?
At this moment, countless questions flooded Germain's mind. He was about to wake up Shizuku and interrogate her alone.
But someone seemed to react even faster than him.
"Do you guys feel like something is off?"
With a scarred face, always looking exhausted, and chained up, Leonardo spoke in a cold tone from the shadows where the campfire light didn't reach.
"We have eight people here. That doesn't seem right, does it?"
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