Starting with the goblin extermination

Arandor Calendar 3563, Ashwood, Outskirts

It was already dark when Soben led his team through the forest at a rapid pace.

They are heading towards their destination.

The forest was silent; no one spoke except for the incessant chatter of Ga Gu.

As a half-orc, he lowered his voice, but it was still louder than a normal person's:

"Soben, why did the guild suddenly issue this internal commission? Don't guilds usually not get involved in these kinds of dirty work? Is it because those guys upstairs finally want to start a war against Bloody Hyenas—"

"Um."

"What 'hmm'? Do you think I'm right or wrong?"

"wrong."

"What's wrong with it? Tell me!"

Soben did not answer, continuing to follow the wandering knight who was leading the way with complete concentration.

Ga Gu thought for three seconds.

"...Oh, is it because there have been too many disappearances lately? In the past year, more than a dozen low-level adventurer guilds disappeared without a second thought, but this time—"

"Um."

"So that means it's really serious. The guild is going to crack down on these unruly scum." Ga Gu grinned, revealing his uneven teeth, and spat on the ground. "Serves them right. Who told those bastards to be so greedy? No matter how many adventurers there are, they can't withstand this kind of crackdown. Soon, newcomers won't dare to come, and nobody will want to be an adventurer—"

"Um."

"These beasts," Ga Gu spat again, "it all comes down to money in the end."

"Um."

The human ranger Monte rolled his eyes at the half-elf mage Tavi beside him.

The mage Tavi curled her lip and replied.

Neither of them spoke; they were used to this scene.

After a brief silence, Gagu continued to speak.

"Soben, how many people do you estimate are in the base?"

"have no idea."

"Huh? You don't know? You're the captain—"

"Um."

Ranger Monte rolled his eyes at mage Tavi once again.

This time, Tavi didn't even bother to lift her eyelids.

"...Alright, let's kill them all and then count them." Ga Gu touched the two short axes hanging at his waist, his voice filled with anticipation. "They're all just Bloodthirsty Hyena minions anyway, I'll kill as many as they come!"

After that sentence, the woods were quiet for about thirty seconds.

Driven by instinct, Ranger Monte suddenly raised his right hand, and the entire group quickly scattered.

Whoosh!Whoosh!Whoosh!

Three blinding white lights shot towards them in an instant.

"court death!"

The ranger Monte fired two arrows as he rolled.

With a violent blast of air, the arrow collided precisely with two beams of white light in mid-air.

The third beam of white light was severed by Soben, who leaped into the air and drew his sword.

It turns out that the so-called white light was also an arrow.

"Strange combat techniques."

Soben pointed his sword at the distant woods.

Gagu stopped talking and slowly gripped his short axe.

A person emerged from the darkness.

Blonde hair, greatsword, plate armor, followed by three equally fully armed adventurers.

The blond man stood with his hands behind his back, his movements relaxed, like an old friend he hadn't seen for years.

"Instructor Somoto."

His voice was steady and sounded very sincere. "It's a pleasure to meet you all."

"The strength of the [Silent Ones] team is indeed well-deserved."

Soben didn't speak, his eyes scanning the blond man from head to toe.

Professionals, even those like themselves.

Level 2 professional.

Appearing from this direction is not a coincidence.

Their whereabouts have been exposed.

There are ghosts.

Soben suppressed this conclusion, remaining outwardly calm.

"To be honest," the blond man's gaze lingered on the half-elf and half-orc for a moment, a hint of disgust flashing across his face, "we also have some things to do tonight, which happen to conflict with your mission, Instructor."

He spread his hands, making a helpless gesture, "I don't want to fight you, so I'd like to ask the instructor to consider a possibility—"

"Go back the way you came, and we'll pretend we never received tonight's request, okay?"

His tone was sincere, as if he were genuinely offering a suggestion that would benefit both parties, rather than a threat.

Soben remained silent.

His left hand moved at his waist, his index finger pointing down and bending twice.

Gagu saw it, Tavi saw it, and Monte saw it too.

No one spoke. Ranger Monte's bowstring was drawn taut, and mage Tavi's staff glowed red.

"It's a pity."

The blond man slowly raised the greatsword.

Battle is imminent.

boom--!!!

A loud roar came from afar!

A huge explosion rang out, and a flash of fire streaked through the forest, heading straight for the location of the logging camp.

Everyone froze.

Soben remained outwardly calm, but inwardly he was somewhat taken aback.

Did the guild appoint someone else?

The blond man also came to his senses. He glanced at the direction of the firelight, then turned back, his expression showing a mixture of surprise and admiration.

"So Instructor Soben also dispatched a separate team." He nodded slightly. "Well thought out, truly worthy of being an elite member of the guild—"

"Ha!" Gagu's voice rang out, "I fucking know! You guys have spies in the guild! You deliberately ambushed us, but you didn't expect Soben to see through it!"

He twirled the two axes in his hands, making a clicking sound.

The mage Tavi rolled her eyes at the ranger Monte, and Monte returned the eye roll.

The blond man's finger twitched.

"And—" Ga Gu's mouth wasn't going to stop there. He glanced at the three team members behind the blond man, "Do you four even think you're qualified to block the [Silent Ones] team?"

He tilted his head and looked at the blond man with the kind of look one would give someone mentally challenged.

"Are you guys out of your minds?"

A white light suddenly shone from the blond man's greatsword.

"Kill this thing."

His voice lost its calmness.

......

Elsa's dagger calmed him down.

She retreated to the dark corner between the fences, dragged the sentry's body over, and casually stuffed a milky-white ball into the body's pocket.

She hid in the logging camp for almost an hour.

On the makeshift watchtower made of wooden planks, the sentry was drowsy. Every now and then, he would bend down and add charcoal to the brazier, giving Elsa the opportunity to act.

She has already figured out the location of the stronghold.

The slaves were being held in three makeshift barracks on the west side, which were clearly newly built.

The first three places to appear are the lumber pile, haystack, and sawmill. Fire and explosions will then fill the entire settlement with smoke. She will find Lily, and the two will escape safely amidst the chaos.

no problem.

She gripped the textured dagger tightly, making sure her hand wouldn't tremble as she killed.

Then she went to the next location.

The sound of patrolling footsteps circled around from the east side. The sentry on the lookout tower bent down and poked at the brazier. Elsa was no longer there.

She slipped sideways through the gap in the fence, moving silently along the shadows. [Shadow Step] didn't make her vanish into thin air, but rather allowed her to blend into the surrounding darkness like a shadow.

She moved to a cubicle near the barracks and squatted down.

The smell of excrement mingled with the stench of blood. Elsa could hear the wails of slaves in the barracks and the sounds of people moving around in their cubicles.

She held the three fuses between her left fingers at the same time, and gripped the lighter tightly with her right hand.

The fuses were lit simultaneously.

One, two, three, four, five.

The first one flew out, the second one, the third one, with an interval of no more than two seconds.

She was already waiting for her prey in the cubicle.

boom!

Flames rose from the haystack before her eyes, the orange flames turning the southwest corner of the stronghold into daylight, followed by the spread of gray smoke.

boom!

A second sound came from the house in the center of the stronghold. Someone shouted something inside, followed by the sound of a corpse falling off a chair.

boom.

A muffled thud came from the sawmill, not as loud as the previous two, but the fire immediately burst out of the house, followed by billowing smoke that reduced visibility in the entire stronghold by half.

The entire stronghold was in complete chaos.

The administrator rushed out of the cubicle, carrying a long knife. Before he could even process what had happened, a dagger plunged into his temple and he collapsed to the ground.

Elsa yanked the keychain from her waist and opened the first barracks.

There were about a dozen people huddled in the darkness, young and old, all dressed in rags. Some were huddled in a corner screaming, while others instinctively rushed toward the door.

Lily is not here.

"Run," she said, turning to the second shop, "don't stop."

Some hesitated, while others had already run out.

The door opened, but that familiar figure was still nowhere to be seen.

A piercing scream came from behind her, but she did not turn around.

The entire stronghold has been turned into a battlefield.

Thick smoke, carried by the night wind, enveloped the entire stronghold, drastically reducing visibility. The raging fire turned the shadows orange-red, stretching and shrinking them, making each moving silhouette look like two people superimposed on each other.

The escaped slaves and the henchmen of the Blood Hyenas mingled in the same space. In the firelight, smoke, and darkness, it was impossible to tell who was who. The only distinguishable thing was who had a weapon. Some slaves grabbed weapons and tore the henchmen to pieces, while others went up unarmed and were hacked to pieces.

The situation is completely out of control.

Heart-wrenching screams echoed through the smoke.

Elsa moved through the chaos, her feet occasionally stepping on something soft, but she didn't look down.

The wall of the third barracks cracked under the impact of the explosion, extending to the corner, causing the entire wall to collapse.

The gate was deformed, and the slaves rushed out of the room. The huge impact pushed the entire gate and frame down.

A thin figure stumbled and was pushed through the crowd.

"Lily!"

Elsa rushed forward and grabbed him.

The figure raised its head, revealing blue eyes filled with tears.

Elsa was overwhelmed with immense joy.