Chapter 463

Appearing before the group was a Sahuagin covered in wounds.

It was not the kind of elite guard with two pairs of arms, nor was it a Sahuagin Priest with spellcasting abilities; it was just the most ordinary, common individual of the Sahuagin race.

As if it had just experienced a fierce battle, one could see many deep, bleeding wounds on its body, which was covered in fine blue-green scales. The most severe one had almost peeled open its chest and abdomen, and one could vaguely see the outline of the internal organs beneath the diaphragm.

Its right hand was tightly gripping a metal harpoon, a standard weapon of their race, but the tip of the harpoon was not pointed at the group; instead, it was deeply stabbed into the mud below to support the Sahuagin's body.

Clearly, this Sahuagin was in a state of severe injury.

It has been mentioned before that although Sahuagin are viewed as monsters by islanders living by the sea due to their cruel nature and extreme hostility toward other races,

in reality, they also belong to a type of intelligent creature, having their own language and writing, and possessing a unique civilization.

They also fear death and feel sorrow over the death of their companions.

Under normal circumstances, a lone Sahuagin in a state of severe injury encountering a veteran adventurer squad like the *Oath-Breaker*, which was in perfect condition and possessed strong strength,

would know it was no match and wouldn't even be able to escape.

Except for a few individuals with tough personalities, they would rarely take the initiative to attack.

Begging for mercy or simply waiting for death would be the most likely actions.

But very strangely, the moment this Sahuagin saw the group, it showed clear hostility.

With the keenest perception ability among everyone, attracted by the subtle sounds from outside the corridor, Xia Nan had even spotted the Sahuagin before it saw them.

It was precisely because of this that he could be said to have observed the other party's reaction completely.

There was no hesitation, nor the slightest delay.

The moment that Sahuagin saw them, it let out an extremely aggressive roar.

For an intelligent creature with a certain ability to think, this was undoubtedly abnormal.

Of course, its own strength did not match the reckless courage it displayed at that moment.

With a Challenge Rating of 0.5, plus a body deep in a state of severe injury, facing these veteran adventurers whose average professional level was already over Lv3... the result was self-evident.

"Galu!"

Viscous saliva splattered from its mouthparts along with the roar of anger bordering on madness.

Pulling the harpoon from the mud beneath its feet with great difficulty, the Sahuagin limped toward the adventurers before it to launch an attack.

*Squelch—*

It was the noise of a sharp blade tearing through flesh.

The heavy, anchor-shaped axe blade swept heavily through the air. Without needing any special power bonus, just through the purest physical strength and a sharp weapon, it easily split the harpoon that was thrust forward, as well as the Sahuagin's body behind it.

Without the slightest pity, Alton used the weapon in his hand to slash the enemy before him diagonally into two halves.

Confirming that there were no more enemies and that this was just a lone Sahuagin, the compact formation of the *Oath-Breaker*, which had been prepared for battle, relaxed slightly.

Captain Lali walked forward slowly, looking at the Sahuagin at her feet—which, even though it had been separated from its lower body and its internal organs were spilled all over the ground, was still gripping the harpoon that was now only a handle, attempting to attack her—and frowned slightly.

"Something's not right."

The oddity of the Sahuagin before them was noticed even by the thick-skinned Barbarian Alton.

"It's not like we killed its whole family; I've never seen such a gutsy water-rat."

Meanwhile, Xia Nan's gaze was focused on the harpoon that Alton had cut off.

——The blood remaining on the tip of the harpoon was fluorescent blue.

"Do you mean... these Sahuagin are also having infighting?"

Haian stood to the side, squatted down, and carefully examined the Sahuagin's body.

She could discover that the shapes of many wounds on its body matched the weapons used by the Sahuagin.

This was very interesting.

Although it is common for infighting to occur among humans themselves, as well as among the Sahuagin,

at this point in time, they had first discovered traces of islanders killing each other in the Twin Canyons, and then quite coincidentally saw Sahuagin also infighting, even vaguely losing their sanity. Coupled with the strange buildings filled with exotic styles they had seen along the way, it was hard not to make some associations.

"Perhaps... there is something in these ancient ruins that can affect the sanity of living beings?"

Combining the clues the group had investigated so far, Haian reasonably speculated.

For veteran adventurers like them, what they were most resistant to and vigilant against during normal missions was not those powerful monsters, but potential threats that were invisible and intangible like this.

Hearing her say this, the Cat-folk Sasha beside her suddenly tensed up, the fur on her body standing on end; it was estimated that if she were provoked any further, she would start hissing.

Xia Nan agreed with Haian's speculation in his heart.

Combining the encounters along the way and his past experiences, he also suspected that something from the Secret Realm had affected the minds of the islanders and Sahuagin in the Twin Canyons, causing them to kill each other.

And after realizing this possibility, he became extra vigilant, constantly monitoring his own mental state.

But until now, he had not noticed any abnormalities.

With 12 points of Perception and the mental resistance bonus granted by the 【Abyssal Observer】 feat, even if he couldn't necessarily resist mental control spells 100%, he should at least be able to feel the influence from the other party.

And if this ability to influence the mind was already so strong that even he couldn't feel it, then whether to stay on the island or retreat now no longer had any significance in choosing.

Therefore, he judged that perhaps this thing causing the infighting between the Sahuagin and the islanders had some potential limitations.

"I need more clues." Haian stood up, her crystalline eyes gazing at the Sahuagin on the ground, whose life force was rapidly fading and who was gradually dying. "At least I need to figure out what exactly happened here."

Her gaze turned to Lali beside her.

Although Haian was the core spellcaster of the team, Lali, as the strongest and most prestigious captain in the entire squad, had absolute decision-making power during missions.

How the six of them would act now depended on her command.

Lali pondered for a moment, her eyes flickering, clearly having made a decision.

Just as she was about to speak, a clamor suddenly came from the canyon below outside the cave.

One could vaguely hear the "Galu" shrieks of Sahuagin, as well as the familiar angry roars of humans mixed with the sound of horns.

"Oh no!"

……

……

Meanwhile, Twin Canyons, makeshift pier.

The *Oath-Breaker*, with the twin warriors Leon and Gedeng left behind, did not lower its guard just because they had reached their destination.

The temporary departure of the core adventurer team made them even more vigilant.

As one of the only two professionals left on the ship, Gedeng personally climbed to the observation deck at the top of the main mast, hoping to capture possible dangers from the surroundings in advance through his vision, which was stronger than that of ordinary crew members.