Chapter 564: Scouting Party

Barb Utsa

The next day, I woke up before dawn.

Most of the camp had already woken up. I could even see the soldiers running in formation.

It still made me wonder how quickly these people could wake up. I am even surprised at how early I woke up.

I was never an early riser, even as a child, and later, my business was that of the night. It is during the day when I used to sleep.

It took considerable effort on my part to develop the habit of waking up this early.

Despite that, I still woke up last within my team.

I freshened up and took a quick bath. The arrangements are meager, and I miss the city the most at times like these.

I have a fully accommodated college suite and my own home in the city.

However, these inconveniences are worth it, as I am walking the path I desire. It is filled with danger, but it is my choice. I will not have any regrets, even if I die today.

When I finished, I moved toward the sheltered area for practice.

Hun!

Suddenly, I stopped and turned. There was a man who looked to be in his late twenties—a captain, looking at his uniform.

He is a tall man with a chiseled jaw, deep blue eyes, and green hair. He is quite handsome, and his brooding, angry expression makes him even more so.

“Captain,” I greeted. “Mercenary,” he replied.

“What can I do for you, Captain?” I asked. He hesitated, his jaw tightening as if the words were caught in his throat. It seemed like he was on the verge of saying something important for a moment, but then he pulled back, letting the silence stretch between us.

Finally, he took a deep breath, recovering his emotion before opening his mouth.

“You shouldn’t have burned my lieutenant,” he said with sparks of anger flashing in his eyes.

“He shouldn’t have come at me bearing those intentions,” I replied, and the anger in his eyes intensified further. I thought he would come at me, and I prepared myself.

He didn’t, and the anger in his eyes cooled just as quickly as it flared.

“There is a procedure in the army. If you had faced a problem, you should have complained to the competent authority.

“Instead of taking action yourself,” he said, with a tone softer than before.

I had misjudged him. He seemed sensible.

“I didn’t have any chance, captain. He came at me. I don’t know what would have happened if I hadn’t responded when I did,” I replied.

I may have been at a higher level than him, but my main class isn’t a combat class. He was much higher than me, with better skills and more significant experience.

I didn’t want to take risks.

“Still, there are procedures. You didn’t follow them,” he repeated.

“Am I being arrested, Captain?” I asked, wanting to leave. So I could practice.

“No,” he replied, deflated, with complicated emotions in his eyes.

I couldn’t help but feel sorry for the man. He seems like the sort of person who wants to follow the law.

He wanted to arrest me, but he couldn’t. If it had been anyone else, I would have been arrested within an hour of doing the deed, but it is me.

If they did it, there would be a political mess, which they want to avoid.

For the first time, Greltheaven had sent the forces to aid them, and the man in charge knew how sensitive it was to touch me.

They would have done something—at least officially reprimand me—if it had been my fault, but it wasn’t.

“Have a nice day, captain,” I said to him and walked away.

Soon, I reached the well-secluded spot and took out the bottles before starting practice.

I practice it every day.

Fire breathing isn’t a suitable fighting method. So, I train every day to make it as effective as possible.

I practiced for an hour and a half before stopping and walking back.

After reaching the camp, I went for breakfast with my teammates.

“People are waiting,” said Rev as he saw three men in uniform waiting for us.

‘Have they come to arrest me?’ I asked but soon shook my head.

One is a lieutenant among them. He is a shield warrior, while to his left is a woman in scout uniform and a man with a staff, clearly a mage.

“Lieutenant, what can we do for you?” asked Rev as we reached them.

“We have been assigned to take your team members on a scouting mission?” replied the lieutenant.

“How many?” asked Rev.

“Three. We will need two warriors and one scout.” Replied the man.

“Elis, Hen, and Utsa, you three will join the lieutenant on the mission,” ordered Rev.

“When are we leaving, Lieutenant?” asked Elis. “Immediately,” replied the man.

“Let us get our rations,” said Elis, returning to the tent. We kept the weapons on ourselves but not the rations.

Weapons are always necessary, as we could be attacked at any time. They are also expensive, and we wouldn’t want them to get stolen.

A few minutes later, we were at the gate, and after registering, we moved toward the forest in front of us.

“Be alert at all times; there are a lot of monsters in the forest. Just yesterday, two teams have completely disappeared,” said Lieutenant Karo.

I shuddered after hearing that.

Monsters kill much more brutally than the undead. They also eat the people; they love to eat the ones with higher levels.

I’m sure I must be scrumptious—high-level, brimming with mana, and carrying the attributes they crave above all else.

“Has not a single member survived?” I couldn’t help but ask. “No,” he replied, and I shuddered.

I have fought battles and even killed people, but compared to these people.

I am still very much green.

Soon, we entered the forest. Elis and the woman disappeared; they were scouts, while the four of us formed the formation.

“Our mission has a single objective,” Lieutenant Karo stated firmly. “Eliminate any monsters we encounter. It’s crucial to prevent them from overcrowding the forest and swelling the horde’s ranks attacking us.”

We all nodded and followed behind him. Looking in all directions, searching for the hidden danger.

Everything is silent, with no signs of monsters.

Although the forest bears the scars of countless battles.

There had been battles in many places, and the signs remained as such even after days and weeks. One could imagine how intense these battles had been.

It scared me but also made my heart beat excitedly.

I have never fought monsters, but I have made preparations that will help me with them.

An hour passed, and then another, but we did not encounter any monsters.

“There was a monster here about an hour ago,” said Lieutenant Karo, looking at marks of monsters on the tree.

It is the sixth time we have seen fresh marks but no monsters.

“Don’t be disappointed. Monsters aren’t something you should desire to fight,” cautioned Hen, sensing the disappointment on my face.

She is right. So, I calmed myself and tried to learn as much as possible.

Another hour passed, and we tracked one monster but found another team had already dealt with it.

One thing I noticed is how efficiently these people work. Each team had a mage, and they were always in contact.

This way, they can cover more ground and deal with the discovered threats faster.

Soon, it was afternoon, and we penetrated deeper into the forest. Slowly, I heard the sounds of monsters, but we didn’t encounter one.

Hun!

We were moving when suddenly, our mage stopped.

“Scout Team 32 is coming in our direction. A group of monsters is chasing them,” he stated.

“How many monsters?” asked Lieutenant Karo immediately, with his whole self becoming alert.

“Sixteen,” replied the mage, and his expression turned sour.

“The other teams are coming for reinforcement, but we, and Team 17, are closest to them,” he added.

He looked at us—especially me for a moment longer.

“Let’s move,” ordered Lieutenant Karo, and we moved forward.

Soon, Elis and the other scout joined us.

A few minutes later, a team of seven appeared by us. Led by a brunette woman with a saber in her hand.

“They are less than three minutes away,” informed the mage.

We moved fast; I used the Graceful Walk.

I could not use it at its full power, as it was Madam Class’s skill, but I had been practicing it, using it in sparring and battles, and stretching it.

That now, the speed I could harness from it. It is nearly double that of before; that is a massive improvement.

I am now fast enough to move at the rest of the team’s speed without any problem.

“Everyone, be careful. All the monsters coming are Grade III,” informed the other teams’ leader.

Grade III means. Every monster coming has the strength between a Lv. 20 to Lv. 29 powerhouse.

They are faster and stronger than us, but they are monsters. Monsters are dumber than people but not as dumb as one would think.

They can be extraordinarily cunning when it comes to some things.

A minute passed, and then another, when I heard the sounds.

“Spread out, they are coming!” ordered Lieutenant Karo, and we moved. A second later, we saw people running toward us.

They are bloodied and broken, with one of them seeming to be holding his torn arm in his hand.

Behind them is a group of monsters.

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