“Clatter, clatter.”
Gaosi sat in the merchant caravan, leaning against various mail packages behind him.
The distant hillside slowly receded from view.
Hailier and two others were also in the same carriage with him.
Bell and Mia rested inside the carriage.
Hailier, however, was in high spirits, sitting on the edge of the carriage with her legs dangling outside, swaying with the bumps while enjoying the scenery of the wilderness.
The weather today was clear, the azure sky like a transparent sapphire, sunlight piercing through thin clouds and scattering into a golden, fine-spun halo, outlining the soft contours of the distant, light-green mountains. The gentle breeze of the wilderness, carrying the fresh scent of grass and trees, and the forest dew, moistened the air, making one’s mood unconsciously pleasant.
After registering at the Adventurer's Guild, the four spent a brief afternoon getting acquainted, then departed the next day for their destination, Baihua Village.
Considering the long journey, walking might take two days.
Gaosi suggested finding a merchant caravan with a similar itinerary to travel part of the way, then walking the rest of the distance to their destination.
Naturally, the three of them gladly accepted his suggestion.
Finding a merchant caravan didn't take much time; giving up half a carriage in exchange for a team of well-equipped Adventurers to accompany them was, by any measure, not a losing deal.
Perhaps she grew tired of the scenery, Hailier withdrew her gaze and looked at Gaosi, who was also sitting in the back of the carriage, and started a conversation.
The dinner gathering yesterday and the afternoon's acclimatization not only allowed each of them to understand each other's combat styles but also made them a little more familiar with each other.
“Speaking of which, it’s truly surprising. Gaosi, I really didn’t expect you to be a preparatory mage.”
“My apologies, for shattering your aspirations for mages.”
“It's not that exaggerated, it's just that the mages I've known and encountered were all wealthy individuals. You are indeed a bit different.”
“I really wanted to become a mage when I was little, but unfortunately, I don't seem to have the talent for learning magic.”
Amidst the casual chatter,
the caravan carried the four-person team across the grassland, through forests, around mountains, and over rivers, finally arriving at their designated drop-off point.
The journey was safe, with no monster raids or unexpected incidents.
This made Gaosi sigh in relief, yet also feel a faint sense of regret.
“We’ll part ways here.”
“From here, Baihua Village is only about an hour’s walk. Follow this country road all the way to the end, turn left at the fork, and the second village is Baihua Village.”
“Alright, thank you, sir.” Hailier thanked the caravan manager.
“Everyone, please be careful on your journey. Although Goblins are insignificant monsters, never let your guard down.” The caravan manager waved his hand.
The four watched as the caravan gradually moved away, finally disappearing from sight.
Suddenly, the surrounding environment felt instantly desolate.
“Then let’s reach Baihua Village before dark.”
“Agreed.”
None of them intended to rest, and immediately proceeded along the country road.
On both sides of the relatively flat dirt road were deep trees, and the cold wind of dusk occasionally blew past, always making one feel a chill down their spine.
As if influenced by the environment, Hailier, who had been full of excitement about this commission task throughout the journey, now calmed down.
As the four cautiously proceeded, when the sun set and the last trace of sunlight in the air dissipated, they finally arrived at their designated location.
“Baihua Village”
At the fork in the road leading to the village, the name was written on a crooked wooden sign.
Before they even entered the village,
they heard commotion from the central square, and faintly, the sound of crying.
Gaosi’s heart sank; he realized something had happened in the village, and connecting it to his current mission, he had a bad feeling.
“We must gather our forces now and rescue Jenny and Aisha!”
“It’s already dark! I think we should prepare our weapons tomorrow and then…”
“Tomorrow? By tomorrow, it will be too late! Those filthy green-skinned bastards won’t give us time to prepare.”
“My poor children!”
People were bustling in the center of the village. By the dim bonfire, men were shouting with raised arms, some looked hesitant, and women sat on the ground wailing and crying, their faces filled with sorrow and pain.
“Excuse me, is this Baihua Village? We are Adventurers who accepted your commission. Is the village chief here? We’d like to understand the situation.” Hailier called out to the crowd, breaking the clamor of their back-and-forth arguments.
Her shout interrupted the villagers' dispute, and under wary gazes, an old man leaning on a walking stick emerged from the crowd.
“Greetings, everyone. I am the village chief of Baihua Village.”
He nodded, stating his identity directly.
“Welcome, Adventurers, to Baihua Village. Normally, as you’ve traveled so far, we should offer warm hospitality, but as you can see, the village’s current situation is dire. Please forgive any neglect.”
“It’s alright, Village Chief. Please tell us the specific situation. We are here for the commission anyway.” Hailier waved her hand, and at the same time, presented the accepted commission document to prove her group’s identity.
Upon hearing her response, the village chief immediately breathed a sigh of relief. While checking the document, he recounted the tragedy that had recently occurred in the village.
Actually, the matter was not complicated: two women from the village had been abducted by a Goblin tribe.
This was also due to the villagers letting their guard down. This Goblin tribe had been active in the jungle surrounding the village for several months, but they had never attacked people before, at most occasionally stealing a sheep, chickens, ducks, or other livestock.
However, to reduce property losses, the villagers still each contributed money to gather the commission fee and posted a bounty mission in Gray Rock Town.
For the past two days, this group of Goblins seemed to have disappeared, leaving no trace.
The villagers also relaxed a bit.
Thinking that soon, a team of Adventurers would come to clear out the Goblins hiding in the jungle, the villagers did not overly guard against those green-skinned youngsters.
But who would have thought that at the transition from day to night today, the village experienced its first incident of harm?
Two female villagers were captured in one swoop.
Now it was completely dark, and movement was very inconvenient.
Aside from the family members closely related to the victims, other villagers did not want to venture into the dense forest in the dark and fight Goblins; human nature is, after all, selfish.
So, the group of people began to argue in the square.
One side, out of rationality, felt that fighting at night was too dangerous, and there was no guarantee that the people would be rescued, and other adults' lives might also be lost.
The other side believed that if they waited until tomorrow, it would be difficult to avert the tragedy, and since they had just been captured not long ago, everything was still salvageable.
They argued that it was just a few Goblins, only child-sized, and as long as everyone worked together, they would surely be able to bring back the abducted female villagers.
Both sides made valid points, and for a time, the village chief could not make a decision.
Fortunately, at this moment, this unfamiliar team of Adventurers appeared as if sent from heaven.
Although the village chief didn't say it aloud, he had already placed his hope in them.
In his opinion, except for the black-haired male, all four were dressed in excellent equipment, and their combat power was incomparable to that of ordinary villagers.
The village chief and the other villagers all looked at the four of them.
“Excuse me, we need to discuss this.” Under everyone’s intense gaze, Hailier bowed slightly in apology, then pulled the others aside to deliberate.
For a moment, the once lively village fell into a strange silence, but upon closer inspection, beneath this quietness, surging thoughts were hidden.
Everyone was waiting for them to make a decision.
A new Adventurer team, unremarkable in a town, now carried the hopes of the entire village.
Gaosi, out of the corner of his eye, glimpsed the many silent villagers and began to feel a surge of pressure.
True adventure is always full of surprises.
Just as he initially thought this was just a normal clear-out mission.
Arrive at the location, rest, scout the next day, gather intelligence, formulate a battle plan, kill the Goblins, complete the commission.
Who would have thought that the well-ordered plan seemed to encounter a change at the very first stage?