"Judging by the track depth, whatever was dragged was heavy," said the black female ranger. "Bloodstains too—likely a large prey. The party has at least two or three members."

The middle-aged brown-haired knight scanned the area. "All these goblins were killed by identical magic," he noted. "Almost no other combat signs. Besides this powerful mage, the rest might be weak."

"Footprints suggest all three could be women," the black ranger added, continuing her inspection.

*Cough!*

Miles away, Lin Luo—who’d just woken—coughed abruptly for no reason.

The knight pondered. "Never expected such a strong mage here. Hunting the Jackalman chieftain feels risky now. Recruiting her would boost our odds greatly."

*Hmph.*

The blonde mage beside him snorted in displeasure.

He turned to the black ranger. "These tracks are under a day old. We should follow them and find that female mage. For the bounty’s success and our safety, offering her extra reward is worth it."

She nodded. "Follow me."

This four-person adventurer team was a classic setup. Lacking a healer, their coordination and experience were otherwise flawless.

By morning, they traced the signs to a camp.

"What?" The adventurers hid in jungle bushes, spying on the camp.

"I thought it was just a traveling mage," the black ranger gasped. "But this camp is massive!"

"This place looks off," growled the wolf-hooded giant.

"Hmph. Even you noticed, Wolf," she sneered. "Deep in this hidden forest—how does such a large camp exist? No roads surround it. How was it built? What’s its purpose?"

"Could it be..." The seasoned knight’s eyes widened. "Heh, heh heh. Everyone—we might skip hunting the Jackalman chieftain."

"How so, Captain Beckham?" asked the blonde mage.

"I heard rumors at Nefahiem’s Iron Throne," he said. "This is likely an interdimensional traveler’s camp! Such travelers have appeared often in the Nefahem Kingdom lately. And we found one."

"Really? Truly otherworlders?" The mage’s voice thrilled. She’d heard tales too.

His slightly murky brown eyes locked on the camp’s two arrow towers. "Not confirmed yet. Stay quiet. Observe more."

The adventurers lurked silently in the woods.

An hour later, a blood-soaked fat man crawled from the jungle toward the camp.

"Help! Please..."

He collapsed at the gate, twitched violently, and passed out.

Starving wolves—waiting for this moment—lunged. But the camp’s arrow towers shot arrows instantly, killing one wolf. The rest fled.

"Huh?" The hidden knight’s eyes lit up. "Guling Tower! That’s a Guling Tower!"

He nearly shouted.

"Shh, Captain!" the black ranger hissed.

He composed himself—unseen by the camp—and whispered, "Nefahiem has no such towers. No archer space up there. That’s a Guling Tower. It auto-attacks monsters threatening the camp, protecting new interdimensional travelers. No one knows how it works. Even if shattered, it regenerates."

Excitement gleamed in his eyes. He rubbed his lower lip—a luck ritual. "Confirmed: this is an otherworlder camp. Selling this intel will make us rich."

"Seriously?" The team buzzed. Easy money—no deadly fights.

Soon, students rushed from the camp, shouting.

"This... looks like Jiang Xiang?"

"Bro Jiang?"

"Yikes—so much blood!"

Chaos erupted.

"Call the class monitor!"

You Xun and other officers ran out with classmates.

"Jiang Xiang? What happened?" You Xun gasped. He was unconscious; no one knew how he’d crawled back.

"Carry him inside!" boys urged.

"Don’t move him!" You Xun warned. "Severe injuries—multiple fractures. He can’t be jostled."

"Monitor, you heal, right? Save Bro Jiang!" Zhang Da pleaded.

"Yeah—he’s human. We can’t abandon him," another added.

Everyone knew how Jiang Xiang had mistreated her. If she refused, no blame.

But she was the Holy Maiden. Reluctantly, You Xun knelt. She prayed silently to the Goddess of Life, chanting a healing spell.

Holy light glowed from her hands, spreading over Jiang Xiang. His wounds slowly healed.

The forest adventurers witnessed it all.

"T-that’s the Holy Maiden!" The knight rubbed his lip frantically. "A Holy Maiden—in this otherworlder camp!"

*Heh heh, heh heh heh.* He chuckled despite hiding.

"Healing magic vanished from the continent a millennium ago," the mage breathed. "Only recently did otherworlder Holy Maidens appear. I thought it was myth."

"Those hypocritical Radiant Knights are desperately buying Holy Maiden intel," the knight said. "Team—back to town now. This time, we strike it rich." His eyes shone with fervor.