The gloomy and dark hall was permeated with the bloody and damp smell of decay, as if some terrifying monster was lurking within.

Hu Er looked up at the ceiling and tossed the flame on its tail onto it. The flame maintained its spherical shape, lighting up the entire hall.

It created another ball of flame and placed it on its tail for later use.

"Father Yage should have already brought the three Adventurers into the tavern, but aside from the footprints at the entrance, there is absolutely no sign of any living person."

"Did they go to the second floor?" An Adventurer pointed toward the guest rooms on the second floor, following the direction of the bloodstains.

Another person shivered and said, "I feel so scared..."

"It's fine. This dog brother has already broken down the tavern's door, so we can escape at any time."

"Brother Dahuang, why don't we just stay here while you go up and take a look? If there really is any danger, I believe you, Dahuang, will be fine."

Dahuang didn't speak, but Chocolate, who was beside him, rolled its eyes and said, "If you're afraid of death, don't come. If you come, don't be afraid of death. This time, you go first."

Chocolate meowed and said, "What, don't you trust us? If something really happens, Dahuang will have your backs."

After having its opinion ignored by this group of people, Chocolate finally found an opportunity to vent its anger.

The faces of these four people immediately turned pale, but they realized that scouting the path seemed to be the only thing they could do now.

"No, I'm not going!"

But another person refused to go no matter what, shaking his head frantically.

Chocolate grinned and said, "If you don't want to scout the path, then stay outside the door, but don't let me see you."

Hearing the mocking tone in Chocolate's words, he said angrily, "Fine, I'll go. I'll just stay outside the door and won't go anywhere."

He walked out of the tavern door, crossed his arms, leaned against the doorpost, and stared into the distance.

Qi Ye watched Chocolate from the side with some surprise; he hadn't expected that although Chocolate appeared honest and composed on the surface, it was actually so black-bellied.

And it seemed a bit smarter than before.

Could it be that a Follower's intelligence increases after ranking up?

Qi Ye stared at Dahuang, whose eyes were simple and who seemed completely unable to understand the conversation between Chocolate and the Adventurers, and quickly dismissed this thought. After all, there was no sign at all that Dahuang had become smarter.

The remaining three people looked at their companion guarding outside the door, swallowed their saliva, and decided to follow Chocolate's instructions. They touched the stair railing and followed the bloodstains to the tightly shut guest room door.

They pushed the door open together. The moment the door opened a crack, a vortex seemed to appear, quickly sucking all three of them in.

The three let out screams, and their figures disappeared into the crack of the door.

Guan Bingru cried out, "Oh no, they aren't dead, are they?"

Dahuang twitched its nose and sniffed carefully. The scent of those three people was still there, and there was no new smell of blood, so they were fine for the time being.

"They aren't dead," it said.

Just then, Qi Ye noticed that the description of his side quest had changed.

【Unlocked Omen Village dungeon side quest, merged with the Beast Tide side quest chain. Confirmed that the starting point of the Necromantic Monster tide is located here. The quest requirements have been updated to: enter the Small World, kill the Monster Lord initiating this Necromantic Monster tide, and completely eliminate the Necromantic Monster tide.】

【Quest Reward: In addition to the Beast Tide side quest chain rewards, an additional 30 experience points will be awarded.】

Qi Ye used the sound-transmitting stone to say to Dahuang, "Let's go in too. This place connects to another Small World. Be careful, there is a Monster Lord over there."

Dahuang nodded and immediately started striding, running up to the second floor with large strides. It barked down to Hu Er, Chocolate, and Guan Bingru, "Come quickly, woof! There's something fun inside!"

It then dove headfirst into the crack of the guest room door, voluntarily letting itself be sucked in.

The two animals did not hesitate and followed in Dahuang's footsteps, entering the crack of the guest room door.

Guan Bingru was a bit scared, but thinking of Dahuang's identity, she took a deep breath and also squeezed into the crack.

At this moment, only one Adventurer remained near the tavern. Hearing the commotion inside the tavern and the screams of the other three people, he immediately showed an expression of "as I expected," seemingly believing that his actions were correct.

"Heh, just as I thought. Even a fool would know there's danger. No matter how strong that big dog is, if it doesn't protect us, it's just a disaster, just like that Big Cat."

"I just need to find a safe place to hide, and when the dungeon is cleared normally, I can safely return to Blue Star."

His face was smug, but after vaguely seeing the monsters coming toward him from the shadows ahead, the expression on his face immediately turned to fear.

"Damn it, how did I forget? There are Ghouls everywhere around here!"

He was only a Tier 2 warrior, barely able to handle one Ghoul. If he were discovered by a group, he would surely die.

Moreover, without Hu Er's flame for lighting, he couldn't go anywhere.

"Hahaha!"

The Omen Demon Ghost in the lead discovered him and laughed wildly. Previously, it had been secretly observing Dahuang's battle from afar, too scared to come out. Now that Dahuang's aura had disappeared, this person at the tavern entrance was like a sweet piece of fatty meat.

It held a giant club, its two fat legs running rapidly across the ground, causing the ground to shake with thumping sounds. Within two seconds, it rushed over from the shadows dozens of meters away. The giant club in its hand swept horizontally, hitting the warrior's waist and sending him flying with one blow.

The warrior was like a golf ball, flying in the air for a long time. After tracing a parabola, he landed right in the middle of the Ghoul pack ahead.

"No! Help!"

The warrior, who had been smug just a moment ago, screamed. With his bones broken all over his body, he lay on the ground, watching helplessly as he was engulfed by the swarming Ghoul pack.

He had personally given up hope of survival, and his eventual death was self-inflicted.

Afterward, only the sounds of tearing flesh and chewing could be heard.

Watching the warrior die, the Omen Demon Ghost planted its club on the ground and laughed loudly.

As a Tier 4 Elite Monster, if it couldn't handle a dog, couldn't it handle a mere Tier 3 warrior?

The scent of the warrior's fresh flesh drifted out, quickly attracting the remaining Necromantic Monsters in the entire Omen Village. These Necromantic Monsters flocked toward the Omen Tavern, their pale faces filled with a fanaticism for blood, and their numbers became increasingly concentrated.

On the other side, after entering the crack in the guest room, the four people, including Guan Bingru, arrived in a brand-new Small World.

"That scared me to death. I thought I was a goner," one Adventurer said, still shaken. "This s-rank dungeon is truly bizarre. It's clearly open for Tier 2 to Tier 3 Adventurers, yet a Tier 4 Elite Monster appeared!"

"And there are all sorts of strange dungeon mechanics. If it weren't for Brother Dahuang, who could possibly beat this!"