The spacious carriage was constructed from sturdy and aesthetically pleasing red pearwood, with the curtain at the front adorned with glittering pendants.

At the front of the carriage, driving the horses was a tall, handsome young man with golden hair. He wore standard noble attire with a slender sword at his waist, his soft golden hair flowing on both sides as it danced in the wind.

On his chest, he wore a light gray badge engraved with a rose, beneath which was carved a line of delicate small characters - Lawrence.

On both sides of the carriage, numerous neatly dressed guards stood at attention, each well-trained with a mental outlook completely incomparable to those usually seen in Roland Town.

In a small place like Roland Town, such an extravagant carriage was extremely rare.

Even the most clueless guards at the town entrance wouldn't dare to stop such a carriage.

However, the handsome young man still pulled on the reins and came to a stop.

"You all stay here for now. Baron Rahl will arrange accommodations later," he instructed the accompanying guards, not even glancing at the obsequious-looking town guards before continuing to drive the carriage into town.

Inside the carriage, a meticulously made-up young woman leaned against soft cushions, wearing an exquisitely crafted long dress that accentuated her slender figure.

She held a wine glass in her hand, the rose-colored liquid swaying gently as the carriage moved forward.

The young woman brought the glass closer, seemingly about to take a sip of the sweet wine, when suddenly the rapidly moving carriage came to an abrupt halt. The swirling liquid spilled out, soaking her silk blouse.

"What's going on?"

The questioning voice came from inside the carriage, causing the previously arrogant golden-haired young man to instantly show a flustered expression as he hurriedly explained, "We encountered some lowborn blocking the way."

In reality, his carriage had been moving too fast and had hit a pedestrian on the road.

"Kill them."

The calm, indifferent voice came from the other side of the curtain, without the slightest fluctuation, as if stating something completely natural.

"As you command, Lady Yunis."

The golden-haired young man showed no hesitation either, seemingly eager to cover up his mistake. Without waiting for the injured, moaning commoner to beg for mercy, he swiftly drew his sword with a "shing" and cleanly severed the man's head.

Blood splattered everywhere, attracting the attention of everyone nearby.

Everyone maintained silence. Even adventurers accustomed to loud voices normally now shrunk their necks like mice spotting a cat, behaving meekly.

The carriage continued on its way toward the lord's manor, not slowing down in the slightest compared to before.

As for the corpse on the ground, the guards would later throw it outside town to become free food for goblins and other monsters.

"Wasn't that the Lawrence family's carriage just now?"

Only after confirming the carriage had moved far away did those who witnessed the scene dare to whisper among themselves.

"Speaking of which, there were rumors a few days ago that our lord's fiancée, Viscountess Caroline's youngest daughter, would be coming to town."

"Probably her just now. As expected of a viscount's daughter, she's really..."

"Shh—! Keep your voice down, do you have a death wish?"

A wide-hatted mage in dark purple robes happened to be passing by. Hearing the whispers around him, he half-squinted his eyes as he looked in the direction the carriage had departed.

"Lawrence... truly as arrogant and domineering as the rumors say, utterly disgusting."

...

Looking at the enemy gradually approaching before him, Bern's forehead broke out in cold sweat as he rarely showed a panicked expression.

Mutated goblins, as elite-level monsters, once they reached adulthood, meant they possessed strength comparable to or even exceeding that of professionals!

He knew very well that this was an opponent he could never defeat.

Forget the adult one right before them—even the two young mutated goblins nearby were more than they could handle.

Not to mention there were over a hundred ordinary goblins blocking all escape routes, swarming toward them in overwhelming numbers.

Their chances of escape seemed rather slim...

"What should we do?"

As an assassin, Cody rarely spoke like this, but now he found himself as lost as Bern.

What they faced was undoubtedly a hopeless situation.

Evan tightly gripped his sword, standing protectively in front of Miriam, but looking at the dense numbers before them, his arms trembled slightly as fear gradually filled his heart.

It's over. We're doomed.

Once such thoughts emerged in their minds, their will to fight dissipated, plunging them completely into despair.

No one answered. No amount of experience could help Bern calmly face the desperate situation before him. He even began to regret accepting this mission, lamenting his decision to pursue those two cursed-pattern cat demons...

But at such a time, thinking about these things was meaningless.

Watching the approaching goblins, Lin Mo's mind instead became exceptionally clear.

He glanced at his proficiency panel.

Fighting was impossible to win.

Even counting his hidden cards, five people alone couldn't possibly resist such numerous monsters.

Escape?

If it were just him alone, perhaps there was a chance, but probably less than ten percent.

There were too many goblins. Even with his 8 points of agility, constant obstructions would significantly reduce his effectiveness. Furthermore... adult mutated goblins might not be much slower than him.

Should he gamble on that less-than-ten-percent chance, or...

Lin Mo's gaze turned toward the back, where that rift still remained, seemingly not about to disappear for now.

Since the chance of successful retreat was low, he might as well gamble on something bigger!

"If we enter the secret realm, will these goblins choose to follow us?"

The sudden question made Bern pause momentarily before he responded excitedly, "Very likely not!"

Goblins weren't completely unintelligent races—at least they were smarter than most animals. The dangers of secret realms were also passed down through their generations.

Unlike humans with complex desires, most monsters on this continent simply sought survival and sustenance, so they had no reason or motivation to enter dangerous secret realms.

Normally, Bern would be extremely reluctant to risk entering a secret realm with extremely high danger and potentially minimal rewards.

But compared to the certain death before them, he was naturally willing to try.

"Everyone, into the secret realm! This is our only way out!"

The goblins were almost upon them. Time was tight, leaving no room for hesitation. Bern shouted while tightly gripping his sword and shield, preparing to cover their retreat.

Cody reacted first, turning and rushing into the rift.

Evan followed closely behind, entering together with Miriam.

"Lin Mo..."

"Mr. Bern."

Lin Mo interrupted him, "You go in first. I still have something to do, I'll join you shortly..."