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“Zane, want to eat?”
“I’m busy. Order some takeout for me!” Zane replied casually.
“Ok.”

…

Following the principle of taking as many quests as possible, and bolstered by confidence in their own strength, Zane accepted the quest. At worst they could just dig a tunnel to escape.

“Thank you, we truly don’t know how to repay you!” Kanrel and Liburi said gratefully.

Just then, the flap of the tent was suddenly lifted. A lean yet vigorous goblin walked inside, his face filled with shock. Clearly, he had not expected the two humans to be here.

Zane froze for a moment, then waved his small hand. “Better tie him up first! Invoke: Vines!” From behind the blonde girl, vines burst forth out of thin air, lashing straight toward the goblin.

However, he did not panic as expected. With a flick of his right hand, a stream of ice appeared, whirling rapidly around his body and knocking all the vines aside.

‘Wut?’ Starry, surprised, moved closer to inspect him.

‘An ice-element grand mage! So he’s the chieftain.’

For a magic-class boss, his HP was even higher than Lordsey’s had been. Most likely he had grown stronger along with the players’ progress.

“Damn humans, so you’ve come here after all?” Yaho’s expression twisted with hatred.
“Chieftain, they are our benefactors!” Kanrel said anxiously.
“Silence! You’ve already been brainwashed by these two humans! I’ll deal with them first, then worry about you.”
“Heh, it’s not certain who’ll be dealing with whom,” Zane chuckled.

Liburi grew frantic. “Heroes, please spare our chieftain’s life! He must have been tampered with by that person!”

‘Pathetic… How can two humans actually defeat the Diamond Lizard?! Even with all my strength, I could never hope to accomplish such a feat.’ Yaho simply refused to believe it.

“That person?” Zane asked suspiciously.

Seeing they still looked down on him, Yaho flew into a rage and fired an Ice Spike! A massive cone of ice-blue crystal manifested above Yaho, swelling larger and sharper as more elemental energy gathered.

Zane knew this move all too well. Starry raised her hand, summoning Starmew from her Pet Space.

“Starmew, Ice Spike—crush it!”

The Frostfang Tiger roared in response, conjuring an equally massive dark-blue spike of ice.

At the same time, Zane buffed Starmew with *Invoke: Spirit’s Heart*!

**Boom!!**

The two colossal ice spikes collided in the center of the great tent, unleashing a tremendous surge of energy that blasted the entire structure apart! Clearly, Starmew’s attack had the upper hand, and the remaining force thundered straight toward Yaho.

Unfortunately, the Iceflow Shield had drastically reduced the impact, leaving barely any damage by the time it struck. Worse still, the commotion had drawn every goblin in the area.

“It’s those two humans!”
“Protect the chieftain!”

The goblins cried out, some raising spears, others grabbing short bows, all united in fury.

‘This is getting troublesome…’ Zane had no way to capture the enemy chieftain alive while being besieged by so many goblins. ‘Should I go on a killing spree? No… I can’t.’

The existence of that quest forced Zane to act with extreme caution. As he pondered, a massive ice blue cage suddenly enveloped him.

‘A cage?!’

At the same time, Yaho maintained the cage while shouting, “These two humans not only brainwashed Kanrel and Liburi, they even tried to assassinate me! They must not be forgiven!”

“Ohhh—!!” The goblins, roused by his words, roared with blood boiling. Oppressed for so long under the tyranny of the Diamond Lizard, they desperately needed an outlet, and now, this was their perfect chance!

Frost gathered on the arrows as they were loosed and over a dozen streaked toward them at once.

‘Damn it, with elemental damage added, Starry wouldn’t be able to endure!’

Starry swung her blade against the cage. The icy pillars quaked under the strike, their toughness dropping by ten percent. Beads of cold sweat trickled down Yaho’s forehead.

‘We won’t make it in time!’

“Starmew!”

**Fwooooshhh!**

A blast of Frost Breath froze every arrow in midair.

Suddenly, the ground beneath Zane gave way, dropping him straight down. Morthar had arrived just in time. Yaho’s expression turned grim as he strained to maintain the Frozen Cage.

Starry looked at him with a half-smile. “Can’t break it on your own?”
“Don’t push me!” Yaho’s eyes flickered with murderous intent.
“Don’t fear, chieftain, we’re here!” Several goblins rushed forward with spears and iron clubs, forming a guard in front of him.

“Invoke: Mire!” A clear voice rang out from behind Starry. The ground beneath the goblins turned to sludge, holding them fast as Starry walked past them with ease.

Cold sweat poured from Yaho’s brow. Suddenly, a burst of gray smoke erupted from his body, covering nearly ten meters and obscuring everything within.

“Damn it, I’m done playing around!” a man’s voice rang out.

‘When did he—?!’ The dense fog swallowed everything, cutting off all sight. There was no way to know what was happening inside, and first they had to confirm Starry’s position. ‘Of course! The Sacred Scarab can burrow underground!’

“Morthar! Pull Starry out!” Zane shouted.

The ground churned as the beetle stirred into motion.

“Don’t even think about it! Icebound!” the unfamiliar man shouted. Starry felt the earth beneath her feet solidify into ice. No, it wasn’t just the earth, her whole body was freezing over!

Starry activated Unchained Will, yet the ice held firm. ‘It’s ineffective…?’

“What are you waiting for?! These two women are far too sinister, if we drag this out any longer, they’ll turn the tables on us!”

Zane’s chest tightened. The sudden turn of events was already pushing past what he could handle. And now there was an accomplice?

Still, no response came. But with his sharp eyes, he noticed the dimming sky had suddenly begun to brighten. Auroras shimmered overhead, glowing ever more fiercely, until a colossal pillar of light tore through the heavens. It was reminiscent of what they had once witnessed in the Demonkin Mirage, though on a far smaller scale.

The smoke was burned away by the overwhelming radiance, and at last, Zane saw everything clearly. The goblins were in chaos, stumbling and scattering in blind panic. As for the Snowfeather Goblin Chieftain… he was gone.

In his place now… stood a man. He wore a gray-green mage’s robe, a short wand clutched in his left hand, while his right held the shredded remains of a scroll. Gray light rose from his body as a magic circle enveloped both him and the ID above his head—“DuskUnbroken.”

It was a Return Scroll. In the next instant, he vanished from the spot.

The goblins were left bewildered, not knowing what to do.

Zane lifted his gaze to the pillar of light blazing in the sky, the sheer power radiating from it making his chest tighten. ‘What kind of forbidden spell is this?!’

Starry was still in a frozen state, Morthar remained underground, and Starmew struggled desperately to break the ice.

There was no time to hesitate. Zane invoked Blazing Fire, a curtain of flames surging above Starry as he roared, “If you don’t want to die, get into the tunnel now!”