We evil gods must hide.

Chapter 26 It is said that an evil god has descended.

"Red Wolf? That's one of the three major mercenary groups in town. What could possibly happen to them? Their leader is a peak first-tier expert."

Someone asked in bewilderment.

"Hey, not all teams have a leader with them! They had a small team that went deep into Blackrock Canyon, eight people in total, and only four came back, all of them injured."

"Hey, isn't it common for adventurers to die or get injured on missions? What's the big deal?"

"You don't know anything," the speaker said impatiently. "The key is the wounds of those injured people! The priests from the town temple all went there, they used divine spells and poured holy water on them, but it was no use at all. There's a strange energy in those wounds that can't be dispelled."

"Is that so?"

The others at the table were quite surprised.

Why would I lie to you!

"My relative works odd jobs at the temple and saw it with his own eyes. Those wounded people were struggling wildly in pain, their eyes were red, and the leather straps that tied them to the bed were almost snapped."

"I didn't see them being that strong when we were fighting monsters."

Lin Qi stood by the roadside, his brows furrowing almost imperceptibly.

It's Black Rock Canyon again.

Just then, a piercing scream suddenly came from the end of the street.

"Murder! Help!"

The pedestrians on the street immediately stirred and rushed towards the source of the sound.

Lin Qi followed the crowd.

At the entrance of a shop, a blood-covered man was on top of another person, frantically biting at their neck and letting out a beast-like roar.

"Isn't this...isn't this a member of the Red Wolf Mercenary Group?!"

Someone yelled.

The people around were terrified, and no one dared to step forward to help.

A moment later, several daring adventurers grabbed stools and threw them at the two, trying to separate them, but the red wolf mercenary, who was tearing at them, seemed to feel no pain and completely ignored them.

Until a priest nearby, who possessed divine magic, cast a purification spell on the person.

*Swoosh!*

The mercenary suddenly raised his head.

His eyes were pure purple, without a trace of white. His face and body were covered in blood, and he had a piece of human flesh in his mouth. He looked at the surrounding crowd and let out a piercing roar.

It sent chills down the spines of those who witnessed it, and they all took a step back.

"Aww!"

This person actually looked up at the sky and howled like an animal.

Before anyone could react, he suddenly flipped over, landing on all fours like a maddened beast, knocking over several onlookers. In a few swift movements, he leaped onto the nearby rooftop and disappeared into the night.

Only the corpse of a passerby, whose neck had been bitten off and who was still convulsing, remained on the ground, along with blood everywhere.

The onlookers instantly erupted in chaos, their faces turning pale and their bodies feeling cold.

"Th-what is that?"

"It's not even human anymore, it's like some kind of possessed demon!"

"How could someone who was perfectly healthy become like this?"

Not right.

Lin Qi looked thoughtfully at the miserable state of the ground.

He didn't linger any longer, turned around and left the noisy crowd, grabbed some food, and found a clean hotel to stay in.

...

Temple of Justice.

The priest who had once received Lynch and Fiona showed a hint of surprise on his usually calm face as he faced the kneeling temple warrior.

"An unknown deity has descended, and on a goblin no less?"

"Did you see it clearly?"

The soldier nodded and said, "I saw it clearly. I was just following my superior's orders to keep an eye on that black-haired boy when I happened to run into him."

"That goblin suddenly became incredibly strong, and in the blink of an eye, it slaughtered a team of well-coordinated veteran adventurers before self-destructing."

"His bodily fluids corroded anything they came into contact with."

The priest's eyes flickered between light and darkness.

"What do you mean by this phenomenon?"

"Yes, what I mean is that there is a high possibility that an alien evil god has descended into the Misty Forest."

...

Silent all night.

The next morning, the four of them met at the alley entrance on time.

Gray-market substitute teams generally don't rest because their income is meager. Staying in town for even one more night would incur significant expenses, so it's better to go into the wild and catch wild game to eat.

Old John was already waiting there, holding a stack of yellowed task sheets, his face showing more confusion than usual.

"Uncle John, any good orders today?"

Ella spoke first, her face filled with anticipation.

Old John chuckled and handed over the task sheet in his hand.

"This is a goblin extermination mission I picked up for you, just like any other."

Old Cole keenly sensed that the other party seemed to have some concerns.

"This is an old job I've been doing for years, so just say what you want to say."

Old John stroked another piece of paper in his hand, hesitated slightly, and then handed it to the old archer.

The other person frowned and glanced at it, then looked up in surprise.

Why is that?

"They actually agreed to share their Adventurer Guild points?"

"Adventure Points?!"

Ella's eyes lit up instantly.

As a mage, she knew all too well the uses of points—they could be exchanged for mage spell manuals and high-level spellcasting materials, things that money couldn't buy.

The old archer handed the commission paper to the little girl.

Ella read the mission details aloud softly.

"Recently, monsters around Silverleaf Town, the Misty Forest, and the Blackrock Canyon have been exhibiting unusual activity. Some monsters have become abnormally stronger, making them more difficult to eliminate, and their activity is no longer limited to their own territories. Given the current situation, our mercenary group is short-handed, so we are recruiting adventurers from all walks of life to investigate and find the root cause of the problem."

Lin Qi stood to the side, looking at the location marked on the mission sheet, "deep in Black Rock Canyon," and his brows furrowed slightly.

"This doesn't sound like good news."

Ella looked up at old John.

The latter nodded.

"I heard that several low-level teams from the three major mercenary groups have already been wiped out near Blackrock Canyon," he sighed and continued, "because if too many people die, higher-level adventurer guild deacons will come to investigate the cause, so these guys want to hire people to go there and take a look."

"Have you heard about what happened yesterday? The Red Wolf mercenary who came out of the forest alive bit someone and then ran away."

"Anyone with eyes can see that this is not a good job."

"It seems a terrible evil is awakening."

Old John sighed and shook his head, pointing to the task sheet in Ella's hand.

"But the three major mercenary groups in town are relatively trustworthy; they will definitely award points for reconnaissance missions they jointly issue."

"How's it going? Will you answer?"

Old John looked at the four men.

Cole was tempted, but as an experienced adventurer, he knew that there were no free lunches.

"Why don't those mercenary groups go themselves?"

Old John shrugged and didn't say anything.

Some things were left unsaid. The mercenary group's intention was simply to avoid sending their core combatants to their deaths, pushing all the risks onto these low-profile, unaffiliated teams.

After a moment of silence, Cole looked up at the three of them and said, "Okay, we'll take it."

Lin Qi didn't speak, but glanced at "deep in Black Rock Canyon" on the mission list. His brows were still slightly furrowed, and his unease grew stronger.

What could be something that could make an evil god feel uneasy?