Encounter on the Road (Part 1)

The sky was dim, piled high with gray clouds. Though it was early spring, the cold wind still howled, and icy snowflakes drifted down one by one.

On the ground stood abandoned castles, devoid of any human presence.

And desolate wilderness.

Taking a deep breath, Romon could smell the scent of demons in the air, along with a dense fragrance of nature.

The corners of Romon's mouth twitched. His expression seemed half weeping, half smiling, too complicated to decipher. After the Demon Calamity, nature's aura had grown far richer. Was that a disaster, or a blessing?

Below, a group of people was fighting desperately.

A flash of sword light split a demon apart. In the next instant, another demon had an arrow sprouting from its head, its sharp point piercing through its skull as blood slowly dripped from the tip.

The Imp raised its head, froze for a moment, then collapsed helplessly.

But Monk, the captain, had his brows tightly knotted as he roared, "Quick, break out!"

Behind him was an adventurer party of more than ten people, every one of them wounded. Several corpses already lay not far away. If they had not all been wearing leather armor, their situation would have been even more perilous.

At that moment, even the weather turned against them. The wind and snow grew fiercer, blotting out the sky and covering the earth, obscuring their vision.

Monk killed another demon, then suddenly felt a stab of pain. An Imp's fork had struck him.

"Are we going to die here?" The wound was not particularly serious, but once such injuries piled up, they could be fatal.

The Valiant Adventurer Squad had always been a renowned party in the surrounding region and even throughout the entire county. The fact that they had maintained such standing