reward

With his sword in hand, Locke bent down and slashed at the crocodile's right limb, just like he did the previous few times.

The crocodile's hide was still showing signs of corrosion, and the wound on its neck from the sneak attack was also on the crocodile's right neck. Locke's attacks were all focused on this part of the crocodile.

The crocodile was annoyed by Locke's attacks. Whether it was accuracy or strength, Locke's every slash was effective. The ground was covered in blood chunks and the crocodile's weakening cries were proof of that.

Not interested in wasting time with the crocodile any longer, Locke leaped into the air. His Eaglite impetus improved his agility, allowing him to reach seven or eight metres in one leap. He was already at the top of the underground cavern.

Relying on the gravity of the fall and the sharp impetus sword, the crocodile didn't even have time to react before a green longsword was plunged into its head.

It didn't roar or struggle much. The spirit in its eyes slowly disappeared, and finally, it turned into a pile of ash. With unwillingness and anger, the crocodile's huge body fell to the ground, stirring up a pile of dust.

The crocodile's fall didn't make Locke feel any lighter. After carefully sensing that there were no other creatures around, he sat on the ground and leaned against the crocodile's carcass to rest.

He rarely chose mid-level major monsters when he carried out missions. Strictly speaking, this was his first time facing a target of the same level as him.

The crocodile's defence and strength were far beyond his expectations. If the short humanoid hadn't exhausted part of the crocodile's strength, Locke wouldn't have been able to take it down so easily.

It wasn't easy at all. Locke's sturdy heavy armour had been worn to varying degrees. Only a high-rank Knecht's impetus could damage it, but the crocodile's brute force had damaged part of its structure.

Locke didn't forget that it was a major monster. The ice balls it shot out were probably a burden to the crocodile because he'd only seen it use them three times.

Normal magical beasts wouldn't have so few spells. It could only be said that this giant crocodile had evolved in the wrong direction. It didn't focus on magic, but on physical and elemental powers at the same time. This also explained why the giant crocodile had such an insane defense and recovery ability.

While resting against the crocodile's carcass, Irene, who had been hiding on the other side, finally had the chance to show herself.

Irene crouched down and scanned her surroundings to make sure there was no danger. She then bent down and trotted over quietly.

When she approached the giant crocodile's corpse, she was still a little hesitant. The giant crocodile's ferocious face and sharp fangs were enough to intimidate outsiders even after its death.

"Not bad, Locke. I didn't expect you to be so strong!" Irene patted Locke's shoulder and praised him, as if trying to ease her fear.

Locke didn't have the time to respond to her compliments. This place was obviously different from the description of the mission. Either they were in the wrong place, or the mission wasn't easy at all. It wasn't something that knights of their level could handle.

Locke let his strained muscles rest for a while and allowed the impetus in his body to slowly recover. He then stood up and counted his spoils of war.

"Help me collect those pieces of ice!" Locke pointed at the carcass of the short creature that had been frozen into an ice sculpture by the giant crocodile.

Locke's tone was firm. Although she was reluctant, she still obediently went to collect the ice. She had seen it all just now. The ice that was scattered all over the ground was actually the carcass of the strange creature.

Irene was a knight after all. She managed to overcome her disgust and swiftly brought the ice to Locke.

Although her strength was limited and she couldn't help him much, she could still do odd jobs like this. Locke finally noticed this bright spot in her.

Locke didn't stay idle while she went to collect the ice. He didn't touch the giant crocodile's carcass for the time being. Instead, he went to the pool and dug out the three stalks of red grass.

Locke's classes taught him how to identify everyday materials, but he had never seen these three stalks of red grass before. Seeing how the short creature risked its life to collect them, he guessed that they must be valuable.

Locke took out three empty boxes from his spatial ring and put the red grass in them.

Ever since he started taking on training missions frequently, he always kept a few empty wooden boxes in his spatial ring. After killing major monsters in the deep forest, he could always find a few stalks of magic materials in their caves. It seemed that every major monster had this habit of settling down next to magic plants.

After putting away the three stalks of red grass, Locke went back to plant the scales on the giant crocodile's body and knocked out most of its teeth.

Locke had long figured out the value of this giant major monster. There was no difference between a mid-level major monster and a low-level major monster. He dug out the blue crystal core in the giant crocodile's head and chopped off four of its claws. Most of the valuable parts of the giant crocodile were taken by Locke.

Because the spatial ring's internal space was limited, that was all he could take.

Locke didn't touch the giant crocodile's meat. After it died, its body was emitting cold air. Coupled with its stiff muscles, Locke could only give up after hacking a few times with his sword.

However, he collected a lot of the giant crocodile's light blue blood. Although he didn't know what it was for, it was at least the blood of a mid-level major monster. It would be good to bring it back for Angelina to use as a spellcasting material.

After everything was packed, Locke and Elaine walked out of the cave one after another.

Locke hadn't figured out the scope of the underground space yet. He only knew that it was about seven or eight metres high and that the pool was only a part of the underground space. He could even see a cave on the other side of the pool, but he didn't go over to take a look.

One giant crocodile was enough to deal with. If other creatures appeared, he didn't know if he could escape unscathed.

Elaine nodded in agreement with Locke's decision. Obviously, this cave investigation mission wasn't something she could complete at her current stage.

When they walked out of the pitch-black cave and saw the sunlight again, both of them looked relieved.

Although they'd only gone through one battle in the cave, the sky outside had already turned from morning to evening. They rode back to Elaine's territory under the setting sun.

Due to the fact that more than 10 miners who had entered the mine in a week had not returned, Felix's mine investigation mission attracted the attention of the lord of the territory. As a result, it was designated as one of the knight trial missions by the Princeton Royal Academy.

Perhaps even the higher-ups didn't know what had happened in the mine. It could have been a collapse or a major monster attack, so Locke and Elaine only needed to submit a reasonable report on the results of the mission. Someone would announce and complete the follow-up investigation.