The Wilderness

Amber City, Guard Station.

A heavily armored warrior walked hurriedly into the room and addressed the two people arguing inside, "It's bad."

"Sir Kalas!"

"More than a dozen people have gone missing since last night. It looks like the work of those corrupted ones!"

The argument in the room came to an abrupt halt.

Sir Kalas, who represented the noble faction, was a man in his forties with a thick, bushy beard. Having once participated in the northern wars, he looked up, his eyes bloodshot, and roared in anger, "What?"

"More people are missing?"

"You bunch of useless trash! It's been five days, and you still haven't found the nest of those rats!"

"What is the Council paying you for?"

Opposite him stood a solemn-faced knight who immediately stopped him upon hearing these words, saying in a deep voice, "Now is not the time for this!"

"The Noble Council must delegate authority!"

"The severity of this matter has now exceeded the secular realm. It must be handed over to the city's church to handle!"

"I am going to contact the Hand of Justice right now and have them dispatch paladins for a large-scale investigation."

Do we really have to mobilize the paladins?

A look of struggle and hesitation appeared on Sir Kalas's face. Paladins were all stubborn fools who couldn't tolerate a grain of sand in their eyes. Once they were dispatched, it would mean large-scale Detect Evil events would take place. There were few nobles in Amber City with clean hands; many gray areas were controlled by the nobility. Once the paladins were mobilized on a large scale, it would mean Amber City would undergo a massive purge!

It wouldn't just be the evil corrupted ones who were dragged out.

The gray interests controlled by many of the city's great nobles would also be purged by the paladins.

By then, the power of the nobility would be drastically reduced, and the church's influence over the city would increase significantly. Most of the time, unless there was no other choice, the nobles did their best to suppress the church's influence. General faith and fanaticism were two extreme concepts. If those paladins were unleashed, the gray areas of Amber City would be wiped clean, and in doing so, he would offend many noble members.

Smuggling, gambling, slavery, the black market!

Behind every gang that controlled these gray interests, which one wasn't supported by a noble?

"No!"

Sir Kalas gritted his teeth and retorted, "The Ninth Legion has already been recalled."

"Our strength is still more than sufficient."

"I will go find the City Lord right now and secure the highest level of search authority. I will definitely find those detestable rats today!"

The highest level of search authority.

This meant they could even enter and search the residences of nobles. Having gone so long without a lead, he had already begun to suspect whether some noble had fallen into the Dark Domain.

"Very well."

The solemn-faced Temple Knight nodded, his voice heavy: "Go and apply for it now."

"If you don't have it by nightfall."

"Then I will join forces with the churches in the city to handle this myself. With so many people missing in a row, I suspect they are preparing some kind of evil sacrificial ritual!"

Outside Amber City.

Three hours had passed since Soren left. This caravan truly lived up to the saying "ready to go at a moment's notice," not delaying for even a second on the road.

He rode his Travel Horse behind the caravan, with Vivian sitting in front of him. The little girl had almost no weight to her, and the Travel Horse carried the two of them with ease. At first, the surroundings were vast stretches of cultivated farmland; Amber City was surrounded by dozens of villages and towns, and the supplies needed by the city were transported from these places. On the road, one could frequently see donkey carts, ox carts, and wheelbarrows transporting goods, as farmers and small merchants traveled back and forth to deliver the next day's necessities to the city ahead of time.

However, as the distance from Amber City increased, the number of farmlands began to thin out, and vast stretches of wild fields and forests began to appear in their field of vision.

Occasionally, there would be small, sparsely populated villages.

The further one traveled from the city's reach, the more danger one encountered. These small villages relied entirely on their own organized militias for protection, and the Amber City guards rarely came out to clear nearby monsters.

Unless they took the initiative to ask for help, or managed to persuade their own lord!

The road had been over ten meters wide when they first left Amber City, but now the main road had shrunk to five or six meters.

The surface had also become pitted and uneven. Because it had rained some time ago, the road appeared very muddy, and at times, people had to get down to push the heavy carts through.

The caravan guards had begun to operate at full capacity.

Some of the guards were scattered on horseback around the perimeter, some began to check the road conditions ahead, and others began to scout the surrounding environment.

Thirty kilometers after leaving Amber City, they had entered the range where wild creatures were active!

Soren remained quiet throughout the journey.

Vivian was also exceptionally well-behaved today; she didn't make a fuss or noise on the road, only curiously observing her surroundings with her large eyes, asking Soren if there was anything she didn't understand.

The caravan did not pay much attention to this follower, as the merchants were all busy with their own affairs.

The mysterious owner of the caravan did not make an appearance; the ones responsible for handling matters were the three stewards under her. This was a large-scale caravan.

There were over thirty guards alone.

If one added the caravan's staff, servants, and slaves, the group numbered over a hundred people.

This was a relatively common setup in the North. Those ordinary merchants who attached themselves to the caravan owner needed to organize their own carriages, manpower, and goods, and then seek the caravan owner's protection during the journey. After completing a trip, they had to offer one-third of all their earnings to the caravan owner!

The mysterious Descendant of the Northern Witch!

The sound of hoofbeats rang out.

The leader of the caravan guards rode up to Soren's side. The visibility in the vicinity had worsened significantly; the dense weeds and woods obstructed their line of sight, and there was hardly a soul to be seen for miles.

"Adventurer?"

The guard captain sized Soren up and said in a low voice, "There is a situation up ahead."

"Come with me and take a look."

Upon hearing this, Vivian nervously reached out a small hand to grab Soren's sleeve. However, he patted the little girl's shoulder reassuringly and said, "I have to look after my sister."

"Look."

"She is still very young and cannot ride a horse on her own."

No sooner had Soren finished speaking than a curtain was suddenly lifted on the large carriage in the center of the caravan. A graceful woman wearing a veil poked her head out. She glanced at Vivian not far away, a smile appearing at the corner of her mouth as she said gently, "This little girl can come to me."

"It is very comfortable and safe inside the carriage."

Soren hesitated for a moment upon hearing this, then looked down at Vivian.

The little girl tilted her head and thought for a moment before nodding. "Okay. I like that big sister."

"She isn't a bad person."

Vivian's perception was as high as 18 points, which meant her intuition was quite good.

Soren thought it over and nodded slightly. "Alright then."

"You go stay in the large carriage first. I'm going to go ahead with them to see what's going on."

Adventurer.

This was the official title for a Rogue; they were the golden fingers among professionals, having dabbled in almost every field.

In wilderness adventures, the scouting ability of an Adventurer was second only to a Ranger's Wilderness Survival talent!

The two of them soon galloped off on horseback, rushing toward the place where the situation had arisen.

The caravan's pace slowed slightly; they would only speed up to pass once the guards had confirmed that the area ahead was safe.

"Boss!"

"You're finally here."

Soren rounded a mountain path. The woods ahead were becoming increasingly dense. Not far away stood three caravan guards, all of them seasoned and steady melee-class professionals.

One of the guards, who bore the distinct features of a Northerner, crouched down and pointed at the footprints on the ground, saying to the two of them, "Look!"

"These are Goblin footprints."

"Judging by the quantity, there are dozens of them. There might even be natural Sorcerers among them!"

"These annoying things are impossible to wipe out."

"You deal with them this year."

"And next year, they'll just breed another huge nest!"

Goblins have a very short growth cycle and are incredibly resilient; they can survive even by eating grass roots.

They are just like weeds in the wild; as soon as one batch is cleared, another pops up immediately.

"It is indeed Goblins."

Soren glanced at the footprints left near the road. Some had already been washed away by the rain, but he could still estimate the general number.

However.

This small group of Goblins wouldn't dare target a caravan.

Based on Soren's understanding of Goblins, these cowardly creatures only dare to attack an enemy when their own numbers are five to ten times greater than their target's.

A simple five-man adventurer party could easily handle them.

As if seeing the confusion on Soren's face, another caravan guard pushed aside the grass nearby and said in a low voice, "That's not the point."

"Look here."

It was a noticeably different patch of ground; the soil looked very fresh, as if it had been overturned, covering an area about five feet wide.

There were bloodstains within a five-meter radius. Even though they had been washed by the rain, they were still visible.

"Clearly, these Goblins ran into something."

The leader of the caravan guards grabbed a handful of soil, sniffed it, and said in a deep voice, "This thing is quite large, and it's extremely dangerous!"

"The Goblins had no way of harming it at all!"

Soren's expression turned grave as well. He pushed past the others, walked over, and drew his scimitar to stir the loose soil. He frowned and said, "Ankheg?!"

"If it really is one of these, we're in trouble."

"They are pack animals!"