I'm not a goblin Frankenstein's monster.

Tagan reached out and patted the groundbird's neck, and the creature immediately retreated obediently to a rocky crevices behind the hill.

Ezio had already taken out several bundles of hay from his bag and laid them on the ground, and thoughtfully sprinkled some specially made insect repellent powder on top.

The powder can both soothe the ground birds and mask their scent, preventing them from being detected by the monsters in the cave.

"Being eaten by monsters is a minor matter; the main problem is that this ground-walking bird still has our five silver coins as a deposit on it," Ezio said.

Well, the halfling teammates clearly lack the ideological awareness of an "animal protection organization".

After the ground birds were settled, the four people gathered in front of the cave entrance.

Tagan took a torch from his pouch and lit it. The flickering flame dissipated some of the darkness, illuminating the messy scratches on the cave entrance wall—marks left by the kobolds with their claws and stone tools.

"Let's see how things go first," Tagan said in a low voice, signaling everyone to spread out and observe.

The mine entrance was more spacious than I had imagined, but the inside was pitch black, like a giant maw ready to devour anyone.

There were some small, messy three-toed footprints scattered near the cave entrance.

A faint stench, a mixture of musty, earthy, and some kind of animal odor, hung in the air.

"They're definitely kobolds, and they're quite active."

Tagen crouched down, picked up a bit of soil from the hole with his fingers, and smelled it, his nose twitching slightly.

"There must be quite a lot of them; the smell inside is very strong."

The halfling Ezio has released his Niffler.

The little hedgehog twitched its nose, went into the burrow for a quick look, and then ran back, making urgent squeaks to its owner.

Ezio's expression turned serious: "Niffler said there are many branching paths inside, like a maze, and many things seem off; it's probably a trap."

Tagan nodded; this was pretty much what he had expected.

It would be unusual if the kobolds stopped digging traps.

He called everyone to gather around and began to formulate a battle plan.

"The kobolds' lair is a rat's nest full of holes, winding and constantly changing course," Targen drew a simple diagram on the ground with his dagger.

"They are small, so the passageways will be very narrow for us. In some places, we might have to bend over or even crawl through."

This is both a problem and an opportunity. At least it prevents them from swarming in. If there are many of them, we can block the narrow intersection and deal with them one by one.

"The key is the traps," he added. "They are exceptionally gifted at it."

Falling objects, traps, poisonous stings, rolling stones, lassos… the possibilities are endless. Every step must be taken with caution.

"Also, they might have their own kobold mines and mushroom farms," ​​Targen recalled from his past experiences. "You might be able to find some ore in the mines, which could be considered extra income."

As for farms, I hope they're not growing anything that looks obviously poisonous.

Xia Lin listened quietly, then interjected, "Captain Tagen, the mission rewards can be divided according to the old rules."

However, I have a personal request. Could you leave me all the scales from the tougher parts of the kobold's armor? This shield I'm holding…”

He patted the new round shield on his back.

"Some scale material is needed for reinforcement and repair, and the size and texture of the kobold's scales are just right."

Everyone looked at his shield. There was indeed a spot in the center of the shield that needed repair. Using kobold scales, a material that wasn't too rare, to repair it was reasonable.

"Alright, the scales are yours." Targen readily agreed on behalf of the team, "They're not very useful to us anyway."

The plan was agreed that Targen would lead the charge, using his heavy armor and shields to deal with potential frontal attacks and traps.

Xia Lin followed closely behind, responsible for providing support and filling in any gaps. Lia was in the middle, providing remote support and alerts.

Ezio holds the rear, using his agility and senses to defend the rear and flanks while dealing with some tricky traps and mechanisms.

Once everything was ready, Tagan took a deep breath and ducked into the mine shaft first.

Xia Lin gripped the veteran's longsword tightly and followed him inside.

The cave was colder and damper than the outside, and the air was stuffy.

The passageway was indeed as narrow as expected, forcing tall people like Tagan to hunch their backs slightly.

The cave walls bear the marks of rough excavation, with some places showing recent claw marks.

The ground was uneven, covered with a thin layer of mud and water.

After walking less than ten meters, the first fork in the road appeared, with a narrower passage to the left and right, the depths of which were pitch black.

"There's a fresh smell and a faint heat source on the left," Xia Lin reported, using her excellent senses.

"Then let's go to the left, be careful." Tagan followed the advice and chose the left passage.

After walking a few steps, Tagan suddenly stopped: "Stop! Something's wrong up ahead!"

He used the faint light reflected from the torch to carefully examine the ground in front of him.

On the seemingly flat muddy ground, there were several stones arranged in a slightly deliberate manner, and the surrounding soil also had subtle differences in color.

Tagan took out a long pole from his backpack and carefully poked at the area.

With a soft "plop," a disguised wooden plank collapsed, revealing a pit about half a meter deep underneath. Several sharpened wooden splinters, soaked in some kind of dark green liquid, were stuck in the bottom of the pit, emitting a foul stench.

"Tsk, an opening gift," Taggan spat. The others carefully walked around him.

As they ventured deeper, the passage became increasingly winding.

They encountered a mechanism disguised as a rock, which would trigger a rockfall if touched.

The extremely thin tripwire lying across the only path was preemptively triggered by Ezio's grappling hook, causing a bag of lime to be thrown down from above.

There was even a clumsy decoy made to look like a treasure chest, but it would spray acid when opened. The chest was opened by the group with tools, and acid spilled all over the ground.

Finally, after passing through a particularly low tunnel that required crawling, we heard faint rustling and sharp squeaking sounds ahead.

Taghan immediately raised his fist in a gesture.

The four held their breath and pressed themselves against the shadows behind the corner.

Two kobold guards were crouching at the entrance to a slightly wider cave.

They are about one meter tall, covered with rough, dark red scales mixed with yellowish-brown, and their heads look somewhat like a combination of a lizard and a vulture.

At this moment, they held simple short spears in their hands, muttering something in their own language, their long tails idly slapping the ground.

Xia Lin's mind quickly flashed through the information from the "Adventurer's Universal Monster Encyclopedia":

[Serial Number: 015 - Kobold]

Appearance: A small humanoid creature (about 0.9 meters tall), with dark brown to black scales, small milky white horns on its head, bright red eyes, and a long, thin tail like a mouse.

Appendix: Special Individual Information

Winged Kobolds: Born with wings, they are regarded by their own kind as dragons or Tiamat's kin. They are timid by nature and use their flying ability to avoid enemy attacks.

Kobold spellcasters: A small number of individuals born with the ability to cast spells, who often become tribal leaders.

Master 1-3 primitive trick spells (such as spitting small flames, acid, summoning poisonous insects, and setting up magical alarms).