After a while, they managed to kill the rest of the demons.
Of course, the group immediately entered the cave after that. They could clean up the battlefield after making sure there were no more demons around.
Since Noel was the only one who had the Moon Blessing, he became their guide. Aside from the Moon Blessing, Noel also took advantage of the Demon Hunter Medal, trying to find demons that hid behind the wall or underground.
The others didn't seem to have a problem walking in the dark either. They relied on their Spiritual Energy to measure the size of the cave and used their instinct to predict each other's movement. This was useful in a fight as well.
During that time, Jonathan kept observing Noel to confirm his suspicion.
He could somehow understand why Noel had to disguise himself as Iadre. Anna might be the royal family's spy that planned to kill Noel this whole time. It explained why Clara said Noel wanted to use this squad as a stepping stone in order to become a noble.
Still, there must be a reason why Noel kept it a secret. So, he didn't plan to talk about it for the time being. At least, they had to be alone before he confronted him.
In the end, the group continued moving around the tunnel with ease, finding one demon after another.
Since there were a lot of demons that came out earlier, the cave became pretty empty. According to their count, they only encountered a total of 149 demons inside the cave with one of them being another Peak Level Demon.
This Peak Level Demon died in an instant after being surrounded by the entire group.
It took them three hours to clean up the entire nest. And of course, the Demon Relief Squad hurriedly took out the Demon Crystals, planning to split it up later with the Demon Hunting Squad.
Unbeknownst to them, Anna had begun to move. They didn't realize Noel had been buying some time for Anna by checking the cave thoroughly and informing them about hidden demons.
On top of the bridge, Paul was carrying two boulders to the other side, where he could start shaping them into blocks used to patch all their holes.
Rose used her ability to create a fake stone so that Paul could follow its size, shape, and angle.
The two people from the Demon Hunting Squad couldn't help but become curious about their works.
This was the first time they saw the Demon Relief Squad work. Any artisans they had encountered this whole time would carefully measure the hole and create something with their tools.
But the Demon Relief Squad actually used their Spirit Abilities to speed up the progress. This was the reason why the Demon Relief Squad was called to help with construction. They simply wanted a cheap but quick worker.
Still, the fact they could repair the bridge was good news to the Demon Hunting Squad.
They couldn't help but approach Paul and ask, "Hey, do you have a task for us? One of us should be enough to be on the lookout, so we can help you. But remember, we're doing this not for you, we just want the supply route to be fixed so that our camp can get more supplies."
Paul was stunned at first before chuckling inside. It turned out the people from the Demon Hunting Squad were cute. They just acted tough this whole time while, deep down, they still cared about others.
However, Paul had to reject them. "Sorry. I'm grateful for your gesture, but I don't think there are a lot of things you can do. It's better to leave it to us than have you mess around."
"…" The two were quite pissed by Paul's words, but they didn't give up. One of them couldn't help but suggest, "Then, how about the stone or tree? We can get them for you."
"Well, you need a specific tree and stone for them… Can you find the right one?"
"We are fast. Even if we bring the wrong one, we can go back and get another one."
Paul thought for a moment and nodded. "That's alright for me. Just make sure they're not in the way. Though, one of you still needs to look around."
"Got it." The two nodded and exchanged looks as if deciding who would go.
While those two worked, Rose suddenly stopped and raised her head as if she sensed something.
She closed her eyes to concentrate everything on her ears. Suddenly, she picked a small roar from far away.
'Hmm? A roar from the opposite direction where the group went? Does it come from another nest?' Rose narrowed her eyes, thinking. On the one hand, she wanted to send one of the Demon Hunting Squad's members to check the situation. On the other hand, their main priority was the bridge.
After some consideration, Rose decided not to inform them, believing there was nothing wrong with the other nest.
But the more time passed, the more ruckus came from the other nest.
"This…" Rose pinched the bridge of her nose.
"Is there something wrong, Rose?" Paul asked with a confused expression.
"I'm not sure, but the other nest is quite lively." Rose pointed in the other nest's direction. "Though, our main priority here is the bridge. I think we should stay here and wait until the vanguard returns."
"I see. We just have to inform them about it so that they can be more careful."
"Yes." Rose nodded in agreement. The other two actually gave another suggestion.
"If that's the case, I'm going to stop helping and create two layers of defense. I'll focus on that direction while my partner will handle the rest. This way, we can react if those demons actually come at us."
Paul thought for a moment before glancing at Rose, who nodded.
"Sounds good. I'll leave it to you."
"Great." Both of them nodded and immediately dropped their work as they fulfilled their next task.
They didn't know at that time they would be facing an empty nest next.
