’Was I that embarrassing just now?’ Colin held the sword, unsure for a moment how to carry it. Kase reached out and showed him how to point the blade backward and hoist the weapon onto his shoulder.

Afterward, the others shouldered whatever useful materials they could salvage from the Scorpion-tailed Lion and headed out of the cave.

No one died in the fight. After all, each team had a Priest to ensure their Survival, but most people were still injured.

As they walked out, Glenn, who had charged forward at the last moment, was sitting on a rock below, staring into space.

"Time to go, sir," the Mage called out as he walked over.

Glenn silently got to his feet and followed behind the group.

"Why did you go out to face that Scorpion-tailed Lion at the end? I felt like you were about to die," Colin asked, a little curious.

Glenn shrugged. "Just settling a small grudge."

Seeing this, Colin didn’t press the matter and just silently glanced at his mission Panel.

[Commission: Hunt the Scorpion-tailed Lion]

[Rating: 5 (Mortal)]

[Reward: 250 Skill Level points]

On this trip, their squad had really only dealt with a single Scorpion-tailed Lion. The other two squads were capable of handling one on their own—though it would have been much more troublesome without Colin’s directions.

All things considered, the reward was more or less what he expected.

It was also just enough to raise his Casting Skills to the next Level.

Once they finished packing up, the group headed back toward the village in a large procession.

Colin took out the two Blood Stones and examined them again. In the end, he still couldn’t see what made them so valuable.

But they were Gemstones, after all. He figured he might as well fiddle with them in his hands before he had to sell them.

"Mr. Colin, maybe you shouldn’t play with those stones. They seem... unlucky," Orelia said, tugging at her backpack strap and looking a little uncomfortable.

"What’s unlucky about them?"

The Tiefling said with great seriousness, "It’s a rumor from my Monastery. They say these red stones are the spilled blood of Evil Demons slain during their invasion of the Mortal World. If you touch them for too long, they’ll drain your spirit."

"That’s not right, pointy-tail," Kase said from the side. "Red stones are good things! They’re formed from the spilled blood of powerful warriors in battle. Holding one gives you endless energy! Blood is good stuff."

"I don’t think so. Blood is evil, especially the blood of villains..." Orelia insisted.

Coming from a Tiefling, who faced discrimination because of her bloodline, her words carried a certain weight.

Colin listened to the two of them argue as they walked.

It was strange to talk about "superstition" in a world like this, but he felt that if you asked someone from another race, you’d just get a different story. Under the influence of the Gods, the line between superstition and reality had become blurred.

’But right now,’ Colin thought, ’no matter which of the Gods shows up, these two Blood Stones are still worth several dozen Gold Coins in my pocket. Nothing can change that.’

The group retraced their steps.

When they walked into the village, the previously quiet and indifferent settlement instantly came to life. People came out of every house and stood in their yards, watching the triumphant Adventurers.

The villagers all watched the group in silence.

No one knew what they were thinking.

As they entered the village, they could see from a distance that the convoy of carriages on the main road was gone without a trace. Only the village chief from before was still sitting by the tavern entrance, watching their luggage.

Seeing this, Colin recalled how readily the Dwarf had opened his purse.

Colin immediately pieced together what had happened.

"Where’d the caravan go?"

"The Scorpion-tailed Lions were fighting us the whole time. They shouldn’t have been able to circle around and attack the village."

Seeing the Adventurers approach, the village chief stood up and shouted, "Gentlemen, the caravan has already left."

The group walked over to the village chief.

"What about the money?" one of them asked. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

"There’s only my one hundred..."

"What did you say!?"

Hearing this, another, more hot-tempered adventurer grabbed the village chief by the collar and slammed him against the tavern wall.

The village chief grabbed his captor’s wrist, trying to break free.

He said helplessly, "Gentlemen, I couldn’t stop them! They just headed straight down the mountain. If you go now, you should be able to catch them."

The group took the payment from the village chief and hurriedly headed down the mountain.

With the Scorpion-tailed Lions all dead, there was nothing to block their path down the mountain.

The three pairs of Scorpion-tailed Lion wings were a bit difficult to carry, but compared to a dozen or so carriages, the weight was negligible.

The group, seething with anger, rushed down the mountain path.

After traveling for about half a day, just as the sky began to darken, they spotted a lone watchtower on the road ahead. A bonfire was lit nearby, and it looked like someone was preparing dinner. The caravan’s carriages were parked right in front of the watchtower.

"He dares to stiff us on our Gold Coins? We’ll show him what a ferocious northern Orc is really like," Kase said, grinding his teeth.

A chorus of agreement rose from the others.

Colin didn’t say anything, but he was furious inside.

As they approached the watchtower, some of their former companions looked surprised to see Colin’s group arrive. Then, many of them cast envious glances at the Scorpion-tailed Lion wings on their backs.

Just for dealing with the Scorpion-tailed Lions, each squad would get fifty Gold Coins, to say nothing of the treasures in the lair.

Without a doubt, these three squads had made out like bandits on this trip.

"Where’s that shorty?" Kase shouted, stepping forward.

Just then, the Dwarf himself emerged from the watchtower’s entrance, carrying a bowl of bean soup.

Without a second thought, Kase strode forward, grabbed the Dwarf’s collar with both hands, and lifted him into the air, roaring, "Fifty Gold Coins! Now!"

"What’s the big idea, leaving us behind?"

"You conscienceless Dwarf! Are you so short your chest can’t even fit a whole conscience?"

The Adventurers all started yelling and cursing.

Colin glanced at the soldiers who were rushing over from around the watchtower with weapons in hand and deliberately said in a loud voice, "You paid us fifty Gold Coins to fight monsters, but you just wanted to use us as a diversion against the Scorpion-tailed Lions so you could run off and avoid being attacked, didn’t you? You never expected us to actually make it back alive!"

The approaching soldiers overheard this and got the gist of the situation. They exchanged glances and went back to their dinner, leaving just two or three behind to make sure things didn’t get out of control.

"Calm down, calm down, my Orc friend," the Dwarf said with a smile. "Now that you’re here, I’ll definitely pay you. When we made the deal, nobody said you had to wait in the same spot."

The Mage from before, his face flushed with anger, spat, "Are you fucking human?"

"How about this? Those monster parts you’re carrying will probably start to rot. As it happens, my carriages are full of miscellaneous goods, including some Antiseptic Oil you can use. That stuff’s not cheap, you know. Five Gold Coins a bottle," the Dwarf said, forcing a smile.

The anger of the squads deflated.

Since the money was on the table and there was even compensation, there was no need to press the issue further.