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Chapter 103 Demon
Chapter 103 Demon
Melissa added, "For simpler tasks like clearing monsters or exploring ruins, such a small team is usually sufficient."
But if it involves demons, powerful undead, or certain dangerous cult rituals—”
She paused, lowering her voice slightly, "Different churches, even temples, might coordinate their efforts, sending out two or more elite teams to work together, ensuring everything goes smoothly and also to support each other."
Xia Lin nodded. It seemed that when faced with truly troublesome "evil," these church organizations, which might normally have their own agendas, were able to put aside their differences and unite against it.
This sense of the big picture is much better than many adventurer groups that act independently or even undermine each other. It should be noted that in ordinary guild missions, the number of adventurers who die at the hands of monsters is far more than the number of adventurers who perish with the help of "well-meaning" adventurers.
After all, the monsters in the forest might just want to fill their stomachs with the lives of adventurers, while the adventurers themselves have much more complicated considerations.
The experiences of the three professionals only fueled Xia Lin's curiosity, and he continued, "So, what kind of rather strange monsters has your team encountered during your missions?"
Xia Lin paused, trying to think of a word to describe the demon he had never had the "chance" of meeting.
That's not his fault, after all, Xia Lin's employment period was too short.
Moreover, in the Loran Forest, Xia Lin has mostly encountered goblins, kobolds, and monsters like the spiky-tailed lion she met today.
The only thing that could be considered related to the undead was the time I helped the old priest deal with the ghouls and demons.
He was genuinely curious to know the difference between the "official quests" issued by the church and the various quests offered by the Adventurers' Guild.
But most of them focus on ordinary monsters and gathering quests, so how much difference is there?
This question seemed to evoke some unusual memories for the three of them.
The orc Garu grinned and spoke first: "Hey! Back in the day, I went with another squad to clear out an abandoned dwarven fortress. It wasn't inhabited by ordinary cave dwellers, but by a bunch of things called 'Dreadclaws'!"
They looked like upright large lizards, with claws like sickles, and they could hide in the dark! They were incredibly difficult to deal with! In the end, we had to use smoke and bright lights to lure them into an open area before we could cut them down one by one!
Kyle recalled, "Once, while investigating a case of missing persons in a village, we discovered that it was caused by a hydra lurking in the nearby swamp."
That thing can mimic floating logs or seaweed, use its tentacles to drag nearby creatures to the bottom of the water to digest them, and can also secrete hallucinogenic mucus.
We spent three days tracking its activity patterns before, when it was relatively weak after one of its hunts, our mage used frost magic to freeze a section of water, thus delivering the fatal blow.
Her description was detailed and clear, and it was obvious that the hydra had left a deep impression on her.
"I participated in a support mission to help clean up an ancient forest that was contaminated by *Carex spp.*"
It wasn't some large monster, but a cluster of fungal life forms that releases deadly spores; contact with or inhalation of the spores will quickly cause flesh to rot.
We all had to wear air-filtering masks, and the priest would continuously cast protective auras to weaken the spores' activity. Then we would carefully clean the infected areas and thoroughly purify them with holy water.
Melissa sighed softly, a hint of lingering fear in her eyes.
Xia Lin listened with great interest, secretly marveling at the performance.
The Terrorclaw Monster, the Ghost-faced Hydra, and the Rot-spore Swarm—the eeriness and danger of these monsters far surpass those of the "cute" goblins that adventurers usually encounter.
The scope of the church's mission was indeed much more "diverse," involving all sorts of strange and even unheard-of things.
His mind started racing. If he could join them—wouldn't that mean he'd be able to encounter more rare monsters? Wouldn't that greatly improve the efficiency and quality of collecting affixes? The church's mission objectives sounded like they had far more valuable affixes than goblins!
Of course, this idea was accompanied by a strong sense of risk. Those monsters sounded formidable, and what if, after absorbing the attributes of demons, undead, or other evil creatures, one was seen as a heretic in need of purification by their "teammates"? The risk was considerable.
However, putting that aside, from the perspective of "entry revenue", the "cost-effectiveness" of church tasks seems to be very high.
Danger and opportunity coexist; the key lies in how you weigh them.
Garu seemed to catch the eagerness in his eyes. The orc warrior chuckled and patted Xia Lin on the shoulder: "What, tempted? Want to try out our church's mission?"
Xia Lin didn't hide anything and nodded: "That sounds exciting. However, I'm not one of your church members."
"
"Who said you aren't?" Garu pointed to Xia Lin's chest, where the church's keepsake pendant, which Garu had given him before, was hanging.
"Look, do you see that little trinket I gave you? It's not just a decoration or a keepsake."
It represents the church's recognition of a "temporary ally." With this, you're eligible to apply to join certain suitable church mission teams as a temporary member! Of course, it requires review and the team leader's approval, but the process is open!
"What?!" Xia Lin was genuinely surprised this time. He picked up the pendant on his chest and examined it closely. This unassuming thing had such a wonderful use? Then he was filled with doubt.
Why didn't you tell me before?
Garu scratched his green head sheepishly and chuckled, "Well—hey, I forgot. I haven't sent out many of these, and the rules are a bit complicated, so I just couldn't remember them for a moment, hehe—"
Xia Lin: "————"
The orc's "good memory" left him speechless for a moment. He looked at the pendant in his hand, which seemed to have suddenly become heavy, and then at the three people opposite the campfire.
A path that had never been imagined before was unexpectedly revealed to him, seemingly due to the orc's "forgetfulness."
The campfire remained warm, and the night breeze through the forest carried faint sounds from afar.
Xia Lin carefully tucked the pendant back into her clothes, feeling its cool touch against her skin.
Woody finished the last fry, let out a satisfied burp, snuggled up to Xia Lin's shoulder, and muttered, "A mission to the church? Sounds like a lot of trouble—but if the food there is even better than fries, it's not out of the question—"
Xia Lin chuckled and gently shook her head.
The choice of the future path requires careful consideration. Right now, the primary goal is to complete this guiding mission and safely find the person Melissa cares about.
As they talked, the night grew deeper.