Facing the siege from the allied forces of Burrower Monsters and Slimes, the cave's original owners, the goblins, seemed overwhelmed. A Goblin Chief, draped in a tattered fur cloak and wearing a feathered crown, roared as it led the charge with a double-bladed axe, attempting to tear through the Burrower Monster defensive line. However, each charge was dismantled by the Burrower Monsters' precise ranged attacks and the hindering slime of the Slimes.

A burly Burrower Monster led its companions, forming a defensive wall with a massive Beast Bone Shield to block the goblins' frontal charge. It held a torch high to illuminate the path ahead, guiding the other Burrower Monsters to accurately hurl their short spears and rocks, piercing the goblins' defenses time and again. Some goblins attempted to counterattack, but their attacks were either nimbly dodged by the Burrower Monsters or neutralized by the slimes' ooze, having little effect.

The battlefield was a cacophony of clanging metal, monstrous roars, and the wet splattering of slime. For a moment, not a single Demon noticed that a Six was observing the battlefield from the shadows.

Fang Zhou ordered the Skeletons to hold their position while he hid in a dark corner, watching the chaotic battle between nearly a hundred Demons with great interest. It wasn't just Fang Zhou; even the other apprentices watching his live battle feed from the outside world were captivated by the rare spectacle. As newly Awakened fledglings, they had only seen recordings of solo combat and had yet to witness such a large-scale melee.

Through Fang Zhou's Hunting Recorder, the clash of blades, the splatter of slime, and the crunch of breaking bones painted a vivid and brutal tableau of subterranean warfare for the apprentices. A goblin's axe struck a Burrower Monster's shield, sending sparks flying. A Burrower Monster's short spear pierced a goblin's chest, spilling blood. Slime clung to the goblins' faces, making them struggle in agony. The cave floor was littered with broken spears, shattered armor, severed limbs, and pools of dark red blood.

However, despite the goblins' fierce resistance, their defensive line gradually crumbled under the coordinated assault of the Burrower Monsters and Slimes, and their casualties continued to mount. The only reason they had held on for so long despite their severe numerical disadvantage was the presence of four Middle-Rank Apprentice elite goblins among their twenty-odd numbers. Their valiant efforts were barely enough to maintain the goblins' morale.

Besides the Goblin Chief leading the charge, there was an elderly goblin in a Beast Skin Robe holding a red Crystal Ball—presumably the tribe's Goblin Priest. The other two, clad in tattered Leather Armor and wielding rusty War Axes, were likely the tribe's Goblin Warriors. In contrast, the Burrower Monsters had only three Middle-Rank Apprentice combatants. One of them, continuously waving a Bone Staff, was the Burrower Monster Elder. Another, holding a torch and a Bone Shield, was locked in a true man's duel with the Goblin Chief—likely a Burrower Monster bodyguard. The last was a green Slime, a full size larger than its kin.

Fang Zhou glanced around the battlefield, a flicker of doubt in his mind. Burrower Monsters are a matriarchal clan… so where is their queen?

Wary of any unexpected developments, he restrained his urge to intervene and decided to observe a while longer.

BANG!

With a dull clang of weapons, the Goblin Chief violently shoved aside the Burrower Monster bodyguard that had been desperately clinging to it and quickly scanned the chaotic battlefield. Seeing its kin fall one by one, their numbers dwindling to fewer than twenty, the Chief let out an enraged howl directed at the Goblin Priest.

The Goblin Priest, encircled and protected by other goblins, raised the red Crystal Ball and shrieked in response. The Priest immediately turned and moved toward the rock wall behind them.

Fang Zhou took out his night-vision binoculars from his backpack, carefully observing the Goblin Priest's every move. He was curious. In a situation this desperate, could these goblins really have a trump card up their sleeves?

As the Goblin Priest moved, Fang Zhou finally noticed something—a large, Middle-Rank Apprentice Burrower Monster was bound tightly to a protruding stalactite column.

Fang Zhou immediately understood. So that's why I haven't seen the queen of the Burrower Monster tribe. And that's why these normally timid creatures would defy their nature and attack the goblins. It turns out this band of goblins raided the Burrower Monsters' lair and kidnapped their queen, bringing her back to their own cave.

Fang Zhou's expression grew strange. Goblins are rumored to have a nasty habit of abducting female Demons. It seems the Burrower Monsters were the unlucky ones this time.

It was a wonder the goblins could bring themselves to lay hands on the plump, robust, yet nearly dead Burrower Monster queen tied to the pillar.

Just then, the Goblin Priest walked up to the Burrower Monster queen. It chanted incessantly, holding a Bone Bell in its hand. The surface of the bell was engraved with cryptic Runes, exuding a chilling aura. The Goblin Priest began to slowly push the bell into the queen's heart, apparently performing some cruel sacrificial ritual.

The Burrower Monster queen struggled in agony, letting out a piercing wail.

Hearing their queen's agonizing wails from behind the Goblin Battle Group, the Burrower Monsters flew into a frenzy. Driven by the roars of their Elder and bodyguard, they charged recklessly at the goblins, seeming to forget all pain and fear of death. The Goblin Chief bellowed, urging the priest to hurry, while leading the other two Middle-Rank Apprentice Goblin Warriors to hold the front line firmly.

Meanwhile, the spell the priest was chanting grew more and more urgent. Soon, the Burrower Monster queen's Life Energy was rapidly drained by the priest's spell and the pull of the bell. Finally, with a final, sorrowful cry, its life force was completely siphoned away, transforming into a surge of Dark Energy that poured into the Bone Bell.

The once-dull bell in the Goblin Priest's hand now pulsed with an eerie gray light, from which a powerful Sealing Power erupted. The Goblin Priest immediately aimed this Sealing Power at the greatest threat on the battlefield: the large, Middle-Rank Apprentice Slime.

The massive, jelly-like green Slime was instantly enveloped by the gray light. Its previously ferocious attacks paused abruptly, and it began to tremble, as if struggling against an invisible force. Finally, the large Slime slowly turned and attacked its former allies, the Burrower Monsters.

This sudden betrayal caught the Burrower Monsters completely off guard, throwing their formation into chaos. The Goblin Chief seized the opportunity, leading its kin in a counterattack that instantly began to turn the tide of battle.

From his corner, Fang Zhou had watched the entire process unfold, a look of admiration on his face. No race that managed to survive in the Era of Myth should ever be underestimated, no matter how primitive or foolish.

That Goblin Priest... is truly a ruthless one.

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