Discovering a Colony of Black Rats!

"Fine, but you have to ensure your safety at all times. If you sense any danger, you must return immediately." Kent looked deeply at her.

Celine nodded in understanding. "I know. I'll be back soon." She smiled reassuringly at Aurora before she left.

"She will be fine. As long as she doesn't encounter a high-level evolved creature, she will be safe." Rendell muttered when he noticed the worried look on Aurora's face.

Aurora turned her gaze at him. "I hope so…" She was only worried about her best friend.

Not long later, Ralph finally woke up after being unconscious for almost half a day. His wife Marie cried tears of joy when she saw this.

"Husband! I'm glad that you're awake! Thank you!"

Ericka and the others were also relieved to see him awake.

"Sir Ralph, how do you feel? Can you talk?" Ericka went to his side. The others also gathered around him except for Kent and Phillip who were still resting.

"I'm fine," Ralph answered before he turned his head to Marie. He then held his wife's hand and smiled gently at her. "I'm sorry for making you worried."

Marie cried even more when she heard this.

"Mom, is Dad awake?"

"Dad, does it hurt?"

The voices of two little girls drifted into his ears, making him feel pleasantly surprised. "Goldie? Sherry?"

Ralph looked behind Marie and saw his daughters looking at him with anxious faces.

"Dad!"

"Dad!"

The two little girls quickly went to his side when they saw that he was awake.

"Don't cry. I'm not hurt. Daddy will be okay soon. I just need some rest."

The two little girls cried in their father's arms.

Their weight made his wounds hurt, but he didn't even groan. He embraced them and rubbed their backs while giving them reassuring words.

Ericka wanted to say something, but she decided to keep quiet. She didn't want to ruin this moment.

An hour later, Celine returned with a grave look on her face.

"What happened out there? Did you discover anything?" Kent asked as he tried to sit upright.

Celine nodded her head. "About one kilometer from here, I saw a colony of Black Rats. I can't accurately determine their numbers, but there should be around forty to sixty of them."

Hearing her words, everyone's scalp tingled in dread. Only Rendell managed to remain composed.

Kent pushed up his broken glasses, his eyes knitted into a frown. "It seems like we need to leave now. If those Black Rats we killed are from that same colony, their group might attack us soon."

"But how can we leave? You guys are still in bad shape." Ericka said while shaking her head.

"We can't afford to stay here. We don't know when those Black Rats will come." Kent responded.

"Maybe the Black Rats we killed aren't part of that group," Ericka said, but she didn't sound confident enough.

Kent shook his head. "You might be right, but the possibility of them being from the same group is high. If they learn about their comrades' deaths, they will attack us soon. Perhaps, they are already planning to come here."

Ericka turned silent at his words.

"Can you estimate their levels based on how they look?" Rendell suddenly asked.

Everyone turned their gazes at him, wondering why he asked that question.

Kent seemed to have understood his intentions, but he kept quiet.

Celine shook her head. "I'm not sure, but most of them are small ones. There are about five to ten that are as big as the Level 4 Black Rats. There is also one that is twice as large as the Level 6 Black Rat. It should be the leader of that colony." She recounted what she saw earlier.

"What?! There's something bigger than the Level 6 Black Rat?!" Phillip exclaimed in shock. The Level 4 Black Rat he fought with earlier almost took his life. He couldn't imagine what would happen if they had to fight something of a higher level. Just the thought of it made him feel scared.

Rendell frowned upon hearing this. "This might sound crazy, but why don't we use this chance to increase our levels?"

Everyone's eyes widened at his words.

"You want to fight those things?!" Phillip stared at him as if he was looking at a crazy person.

"Are you out of your damn mind?! Can't you see that most of you are still injured?!" Ericka glared at him.

Rendell remained calm. He scanned everyone's faces and said with a cold voice. "While we are hiding here in this basement, those creatures are getting stronger and stronger. We might encounter even more powerful monsters in the future, but given our current strength, we don't stand a chance against them." He shook his head and took a slight pause before he continued. "Those Black Rats aren't that strong. As long as we set up a trap and formulate a good strategy, I believe that we can win." His voice carried strong confidence that awed everyone.

Kent found his words reasonable. He also knew how important it was for them to level up. "I agree with you, but can you guarantee everyone's safety? Not all of us are strong enough to fight those creatures. We need to make sure that none of us will be harmed."

Some people nodded their heads in agreement, while the others remained silent.

Rendell stared at him. "If you choose to always hide, how can you become stronger?"

"Are you saying that we also need to fight?" Ericka asked him with her eyebrows raised upwards.

"What if something happened to the group and you are all by yourself, are you just going to wait for death? If you learn how to fight now, you will no longer be worried if you land yourself in that situation."

Ericka was stumped by his words.

Meanwhile, Ralph looked at his wife and daughters. He didn't want them to be exposed to danger. He also wanted them to learn how to fight, but he was worried that something would happen to them. He couldn't bring himself to decide so he just remained silent.

The others were also contemplating Rendell's words.