Ch.13Chapter 13 – Hunting Ground (1)

When we were about to cross the border, a guard stopped us.

“Please state your affiliation, name, and present your pass.”

“I’m Eve Ravencha from the Ravencha Trading Company, affiliated with the Mikea Kingdom Merchants Guild. Here’s my pass.”

I saw the guard carefully examining the metal plate and paper-like document that Eve handed over.

And just like in Glasston, the guard checked not only Eve’s identity but ours as well before returning the certificate to her.

“Excuse me, but there have been reports of monster migrations in the border region.”

The rest was information we had already heard from the merchant earlier.

That monster migrations were occurring and safety couldn’t be guaranteed.

But we had already decided to leave.

We passed by the guard.

Once outside the gate, I saw more carts and their escorts moving slowly than I had expected.

Many carts had left earlier but were still progressing at a leisurely pace.

“Hmm, just as I thought.”

Haven spoke up.

“Everyone thinks the same way.”

“What do you mean, sir?”

“I figured if you want to travel as safely as possible, it’s best to follow the group ahead at a distance that’s neither too close nor too far.”

“That way, we’re essentially traveling with other merchants’ escorts or adventurer groups, so if we encounter monsters, another group might fight them or we could request their help.”

Ravi finished the thought.

But there was an unspoken implication in those words.

‘If things go south, we could use them as bait and escape.’

As I considered this, I looked at the carts being pulled by Eve’s livestock, Moo.

‘And it would also be possible to loot the cargo of sacrificed merchants.’

I had noticed this fact, and Haven and Ravi surely knew it too.

They probably didn’t mention it to avoid lowering morale.

Or perhaps my habit of catching and looting bandits had led my thoughts in that direction.

Still, seeing how the merchant ahead occasionally glanced our way, and how Haven deliberately touched the sword at his waist while Ravi ostentatiously carried his spear over his shoulder, my thoughts didn’t seem far off.

They seemed to be sending a message: come at us if you dare.

If there hadn’t been reports of massive monster migrations, we might have witnessed the merchant group ahead transforming into bandits.

And so we continued this uncomfortable journey, maintaining a consistent distance between the group ahead and those who had joined from behind.

The journey would normally take just 2-3 hours, but with cargo and the slow pace of travel, we were experiencing delays.

In reality, perhaps only a little over an hour had passed.

Being on alert for the supposedly migrating monsters made time seem to crawl.

“Are monsters really migrating in large numbers?”

Someone muttered.

The forest was so quiet that I almost wondered if the guard had made it up just to scare us.

Of course, Haven spoke with a slightly firmer voice.

“This is clearly an unusual situation, so stay alert.”

“Leader, why do you think that?”

Ravi asked, though he didn’t seem curious himself.

It seemed he wanted others to hear the explanation.

“Have you heard any birds chirping since we entered?”

“Bird sounds… I see.”

Eve seemed to understand, and the adventurer who had spoken earlier immediately changed his expression.

Everyone seemed to understand.

Except me.

“…”

Fortunately, wearing a helmet meant no one could tell I didn’t understand.

“Everyone gets it,”

Good. That was natural.

“If everything were normal, we’d at least hear birds singing. They’ve all flown away because something’s happening.”

“And according to the guard, that something is monster migration.”

I pretended to know what they were talking about while listening.

But soon I had to stop pretending.

Through the gap in my helmet, I caught a glimpse of a red furry mass.

“Time to work, it seems.”

I said, drawing my mace.

The others looked confused, not having noticed yet.

“Aaaaargh!!”

But they quickly drew their weapons upon hearing the screams of an adventurer being attacked by furry creatures that had leapt out from the underbrush.

I quickly identified the creatures.

They were Red Wolves, monsters I had seen before.

However, they were much larger and more numerous than before.

The next few minutes were filled with the sounds of bones breaking, flesh being cut, curses, shouts, and screams.

People were fighting at the front and rear, and around me as well.

“This definitely confirms the migration!”

Ravi said as he impaled a Red Wolf with his spear and quickly retreated.

Each individual wolf wasn’t particularly formidable.

The problem was their number.

At first, there were only Red Wolves, but what came after was the real issue.

“Kobold swarms, and what was that roar just now?”

“A troll! Sounds like they’re fighting it in the rear!”

Someone answered Haven’s question.

Monsters were attacking from all directions, though fortunately no particularly troublesome ones had come our way yet.

“Keng!”

I crushed the head of a beast-headed kobold.

These kobolds seemed to craft tools, as they wielded crude stone axes and clubs. I snatched these weapons and either gifted them to the heads and necks of other kobolds and Red Wolves or threw them far away as I fought back.

Then I heard an unfamiliar voice.

“Help me, please!”

It was the merchant from the group ahead who had been eyeing our cart.

His escorts must have been overwhelmed, as he was running toward us.

Being a merchant, he apparently couldn’t come empty-handed and was bringing a gift.

“What is that madman bringing with him?!”

Haven, usually composed in speech, was cursing.

But seeing the merchant’s gift, no one would blame him.

“Why is that lunatic bringing a troll here?!”

Who would happily welcome someone bringing a green giant a head taller than a human as a gift in this chaotic situation?

Just then, a kobold tried to ambush me from behind, so I threw my mace at its head, knocking it down, and immediately drew the sword from my waist.

How should I handle this?

After a moment’s thought, I gripped the sword in reverse and swung it back before throwing it directly at the troll’s head.

The sword flew straight and pierced the troll’s neck, causing it to stop in surprise.

Seizing the moment, I leapt onto the troll’s body.

I grabbed the sword and, using all my strength and body weight, swung it.

The troll’s head fell to the ground without even a scream.

I kicked the headless body backward as it began to fall.

The corpse raised a small cloud of dust as it hit the ground.

“Uh…”

The merchant sat down, apparently shocked.

His face suggested he hadn’t expected the troll to be defeated so easily.

‘Some gift he brought.’

Annoyed, I kicked him away, shook the blood off my sword, and rushed toward other monsters.

We fought like that for about 30 minutes straight.

“Huff, phew. There really are a lot of them.”

Haven said as he sat down on the ground.

Everyone was drenched in sweat.

Even Eve seemed to have fought directly, as she was cleaning blood from her sword with what looked like an expensive cloth before sheathing it.

“Well, we’ve overcome one hurdle.”

“I’ve been curious since I caught a glimpse before… our employer is quite skilled in combat.”

Haven said as he stood up, but Eve smiled and shook her head.

“I know a bit about swordsmanship, but my stamina is lacking.”

“Don’t joke. Someone with weak stamina couldn’t trade between the Kingdom and the New Kingdom.”

“Ravi, please scold Haven for me.”

Ravi made a gesture as if about to strike Haven, who pretended to block it.

As I watched the three of them getting along well, I noticed one of Haven’s party members approaching.

It was the one called Ian, if I remembered correctly.

“How did you take down that troll in one strike?”

“Are they usually difficult to kill?”

“They have high regeneration and strength, so killing them in one blow is rare.”

He must have seen it before.

He took out what looked like a water container and held it against the troll’s severed neck.

The container quickly filled with blood that was still flowing.

“Their blood is a valuable material that the Alchemists’ Guild pays well for. The leader said we should collect as much as possible since this troll’s blood belongs to you.”

He added that the situation could have been much worse if the troll had joined the fray.

“Speaking of materials…”

I looked around briefly.

Monster corpses were scattered everywhere.

Of course, there were also dead people.

The survivors were busy recovering cargo and materials.

As for the merchant who had led the troll to us, all of his adventurer escorts had been wiped out.

He had saved his life, but his future didn’t look promising.

“With no one to protect him, he’ll get robbed soon.”

Haven had approached and said this.

There was a hint of anger in his voice.

Understandably so, since he had nearly put us in danger, not to mention how he had been eyeing our cargo earlier, irritating Haven.

Thinking about it, he brought this upon himself.

“We’ve decided to leave immediately.”

Eve had approached.

“It’s too dangerous.”

I wanted to say it was the right decision.

Haven spoke with a hint of regret.

“But the Red Wolf pelts look to be of excellent quality. It’s a shame to leave them behind.”

“Hey, isn’t the employer’s word absolute?”

“It is, that’s why I’m just making a comment.”

When Ravi nudged him with an elbow, Haven replied as if conceding.

He knew it was best to leave quickly, but the quality was good enough to make him want to mention it.

Adding credibility to his words, I could see groups arguing over the pelts.

Looking around, I noticed Eve also gazing at them with some regret.

“A merchant shouldn’t pass up an opportunity for profit.”

It certainly did seem like a waste.

Sinful furs that tempt people.

Thinking this, I touched the corpse of a nearby Red Wolf.

Though I couldn’t feel it clearly through my gloves, it seemed incredibly soft.

Compared to the Red Wolves I had caught before, these looked completely different in quality.

Something felt off.

“Haven, what usually causes monster migrations?”

“Huh, what?”

He seemed surprised by the sudden question.

Still, he drew on his experience to answer.

“Usually… most of the time it’s due to food shortages, or they’re driven out by suddenly stronger monsters… or natural disasters…”

“So usually it’s when food is scarce? Rather than being chased by something?”

“That’s right.”

I remembered what the gruff but kind shop owner had said before.

Didn’t he say those Red Wolf corpses weren’t of good quality because of poor nutrition?

I touched the nearby Red Wolf corpse again.

“Don’t these seem unusually well-nourished?”

“Huh?”

Haven came closer at my words.

After touching the fur, he too seemed to notice something was wrong.

We looked at each other.

“The fur is exceptionally fine?”

“That means they’ve been eating well.”

“But the guard said migrations were observed?”

“And you just said migrations are mainly due to food shortages?”

Something was definitely wrong.

I quickly headed toward where our companions were.

“Wait, everyone gather around. You too, miss.”

“What’s the matter?”

Eve, who had been busy loading the troll blood that Ian had diligently collected into containers onto the cart, turned and asked.

“What is it? What’s going on?”

“Something’s wrong. We need to leave right now.”

“Wrong how?”

That was as far as we got.

-Wheeeeeet.

A whistle echoed through the forest.

For some reason, it was a high, long sound.

It was so unexpected that even Haven, who was about to explain the oddity, paused and turned his head to locate the source.

It was clearly coming from one direction.

Out of an ominous feeling, I happened to look in the opposite direction.

“Duck!”

Seeing something bright flying toward us, I quickly threw myself forward.

As I fell, grabbing Eve, I heard something embedding itself nearby.

An arrow-like object was now stuck where Eve’s body had been moments before.

“Crossbows! We’re under attack!”

Haven shouted, and everyone acted swiftly.

They took cover in the direction opposite from where the crossbow bolt had come.

Haven drew his shield, and I also hid behind a nearby tree with Eve.

“Have you seen this before too?”

I asked Eve.

But she shook her head.

“What I saw was myself dying from my perspective.”

“Then…”

“I don’t know how I died.”

At least now I had an idea.

It must have been these attackers.

‘Did I draw the short straw…’

I inwardly fumed at our bad luck.

“Did they attack because they saw we were about to leave?”

“That’s possible.”

Eve answered in her usual tone.

Still, her face showed clear tension.

We needed to continue monitoring the situation.

The crossbow barrage was ongoing, making it impossible to venture out.

“Argh!”

“Urghh!”

From our hiding spot, I could see they were firing from three locations.

The adventurers and merchants who had been focused on recovering materials and cargo couldn’t react quickly enough, and many were inevitably hit and dying from crossbow bolts.

Of course, not everyone was a sitting duck, and some managed to take cover, but they were few compared to the casualties.

After a while, the attack stopped.

“Is it over?”

I heard Ravi’s voice.

But usually when this happens…

“They’ll come to confirm kills. Be ready.”

As if answering Haven’s words, three robed figures appeared.

I could see the emblems of the Emiris Order hanging from their necks.

‘These crazy cultists.’

That emblem reminded me of something.

The name of this forest.

This forest was called “Emiris God’s Hunting Ground.”