Colin Iliad glanced at Lovia and didn't respond directly. Only after pulling out the two straight swords inserted into the ground did he nod and say:
"Good."
The group of five walked around the outskirts of Nos City. They attempted to enter several times but were each time frightened off by the seemingly normal but completely silent "daily life" of the city, not daring to explore recklessly.
Seeing that the frequency of lightning in the high sky was getting lower and lower, and darkness was gradually dominating the world, Colin stared deeply at Nos City for a few seconds and said:
"Let's set up a small camp first and continue when it's daytime."
The so-called daytime was the period when lightning frequency was higher and intervals of darkness were very short.
The other members of the exploration team had no objections and quickly set up a simple camp by a pile of rocks at the edge of the riverbed.
At the far end of the camp, in a place sheltered from rain by an overhanging boulder, a bonfire was blazing. Various strange biological remains were piled nearby, occasionally thrown into the fire as fuel. Colin, Lovia, and the others sat around the fire, eating their dry rations and the carcasses of monsters that had been proven not to cause much harm.
As the fat sizzled over the fire, Colin Iliad, the chief of the "Six-Man Council," looked at Derrick Berg and said:
"We'll patrol the camp first; we'll switch after they've finished eating."
In the past, Derrick wouldn't have had any additional thoughts, but at this moment, the first thought that flashed through his mind was:
"The chief has something to tell me in private..."
"Alright." Derrick stuffed the remaining piece of meat into his mouth and lifted the "Roar of the Thunder God" that was beside him.
That piece of meat, though cooked, was still a sickly green.
When he arrived at the dim edge of the camp, Colin, the "Demon Hunter," spoke in a low voice, his tone unchanged:
"Nos City is more sinister and dangerous than I expected. Do you have any opinion on our next actions?"
"I don't know much about this place, and I don't have much experience. Why is the chief asking my opinion?" Derrick was momentarily stunned, instinctively wanting to raise his left hand to scratch the back of his head.
He then recalled his several conversations with the chief back in the City of Silver, remembered the analyses that Mr. "Hanged Man" had made about the hidden meanings in words, and his heart suddenly stirred with understanding:
"The chief is hinting at me!"
"He means Nos City is more sinister and dangerous than expected. Hunting the shapeshifter will be unimaginably difficult. He wonders if it's possible to change the target?"
"He wants me to pray to Mr. 'Fool' and obtain an oracle, to give an 'opinion'?"
"I see... Mr. 'World' is truly a wise man. He told me on the way how to hunt the cunning evil monster more simply and obtain its blood. Ah, in this situation, it seems usable!"
With these thoughts flashing through his mind, Derrick responded sincerely:
"Yes, Chief. I have some suggestions."
Colin Iliad silently breathed a sigh of relief, swallowed the more direct words he was about to say, and nodded gently:
"Speak."
"Since Nos City has changed, entering it would be very risky. Perhaps we can consider luring the shapeshifter out." Derrick did not copy Mr. 'World' Gehrman Sparrow's method but made certain modifications based on the current situation.
"Demon Hunter" Colin did not directly reject it. He asked quite cautiously:
"Then how do we lure the shapeshifter out?"
Derrick said without hesitation:
"I have an item that is very attractive to shapeshifters. As long as I place it at the edge of Nos City or a bit farther away, it can lure the shapeshifter out."
Colin, with his disheveled gray hair, showed no surprise at his words and nodded mildly:
"What item?"
He had long known that Derrick Berg had secretly held a ceremony to pray for bestowal during his night watch on the way!
Moreover, without his help in covering it up, this definitely would not have escaped Lovia, Riegel, and Guna Lun.
Derrick didn't know how to name or describe it either. He directly took out from inside his clothes a black iron square box that looked completely different from the City of Silver's style, and removed the "Spirituality Wall" on its surface.
Then, instead of looking down, he turned his head away and opened the box purely by the feel of his hands.
Inside the box was a palm-sized humanoid thing. At a rough glance, one could notice it was filled with a transparent liquid that occasionally bubbled and emitted black glimmers. On closer inspection, it was formed by a tangled mass of worm-like things, with minute parts covered in indescribable patterns representing various abstract concepts.
This was the true soul of a Spirit World Plunderer that Klein had obtained earlier!
He believed that for a cunning evil monster, this Beyonder material had an incomparable attraction. This came not only from the Law of Beyonder Characteristic Aggregation but also because once the cunning evil monster obtained it, it would become a complete "Faceless," breaking free from its current limitations, achieving an essential improvement in life level, and truly becoming a demigod!
Therefore, to make the hunt for the cunning evil monster simpler, more clear-cut, and not waste time, Klein took the risk of losing it and lent the true soul of the Spirit World Plunderer to little "Sun."
Colin Iliad stared at it carefully for a few seconds, then withdrew his gaze and said:
"It should work.
"Close the lid and don't add a 'Spirituality Wall' again. Carry it like that and see if we can attract them to the camp."
"Them?" Derrick blurted out.
A slight smile appeared on Colin's face, which bore several old scars:
"You think there's only one shapeshifter in Nos City?
"If it weren't that this item's level is not high enough, I'd even be worried it would lure out an even more terrifying monster."