Chapter 556: Chapter 282: The Season of Blossoms, Old Acquaintances (Part 2)
Moreover… It’s unrealistic to think he could go back to the life of a “ascetic” in the Green Blood Team as an adventurer now.
Unconsciously, many memories flooded his mind, and Abi’s initially relaxed face took on a hint of sadness.
The dark-skinned young man in front of him didn’t notice his expression, lost in the beautiful future Abi had painted, unable to extricate himself.
In twenty minutes, he had even decided on how many children to have and what style of house to build.
It wasn’t until the team leader spoke to command the team to move forward that he finally snapped out of his reverie, a joyful smile tugging at his lips as he light-footedly followed the team.
The middle-aged man leading them was experienced; the group of four had only made their way through the woods for a little over half an hour before reaching their destination.
A small goblin nest.
“Did you remember everything I told you?” The middle-aged man glanced at the dark cave entrance ahead, significantly higher than the surrounding ground, and asked the young man in front of him.
“I… I’ve remembered everything, Captain!” The young man, his skin slightly dark, grew nervous again, his hands gripping the Wooden Shield handle so tightly that his palms were turning pale, “Don’t worry, I won’t hold the team back!”
As a newcomer recruited by the team, his job in this mission was to be at the front when they delve into the lair, scouting ahead and, if encountering danger, to buy time for the veterans behind him.
Whether to retreat or advance, he just needed to follow orders.
The young man was certainly aware of the dangers, but as a novice clearly lagging behind his other team members both in experience and combat abilities, this was what he had to do to formally join the team.
Coming from the countryside and having worked in the fields since childhood, the simple belief of “hard work pays off” had long been integrated into his words and actions.
Without a trace of complaint.
Hearing this, the middle-aged man nodded satisfactorily, gave him an encouraging pat on the shoulder, then turned his gaze to Abi and another team member.
“You guys stay sharp too, be cautious to minimize unnecessary losses, and once we’re back, we’ll have a good few rounds of drinks, on me.”
“Wow, Captain, you’re really generous!”
“Don’t worry, we understand.”
Seeing that everyone was ready for battle, the middle-aged man hesitated no longer, gesturing for the young man to hold the Wooden Shield at the forefront as the group of four edged towards the cave entrance.
But as they barely took two or three steps, a flurry of hurried footsteps suddenly echoed from the cave, accompanied by the goblin’s distinct, sharp wails.
“Have we been discovered?” The young man at the front of the group was also panicking, his legs trembling slightly.
In contrast, the three experienced seniors behind him had expressions of caution and confusion.
With years of facing hundreds, if not thousands, of goblins between them, they could clearly differentiate that the goblin cries coming from the pitch-black passage right now did not carry the usual frenzy and savage bloodlust, but rather eerily contained a hint of… Fear?
It felt absurd, but facing the quickly approaching footsteps, everyone instinctively assumed a battle-ready formation.
“Screech!”
The unmistakable, sharp cry reverberated off the rocky walls, as a small, gaunt figure came into view.
Sores covered its pus-green skin, limbs spindly like tree branches, its features ugly with slime dribbling from its mouth…
It was a commonplace Green-skinned Goblin.
Everyone was very familiar with it.
But now, the goblin sprinting down the cave passage towards them wasn’t showing the greedy cruelty it displayed when ravaging human villages, nor the bloodthirsty frenzy it had when attacking countless adventurers in the forest.
Instead, it was expressing a human-like emotion, one that even the most skilled actor would struggle to replicate, stemming from its innermost being—
Despair and Fear.
What happened?
What kind of terror could bring such a reaction from a creature like a goblin?
A giant dragon?
It sounded ridiculous, but in that moment, Abi genuinely considered the possibility of a dragon hiding deep in the cave.
The next second, the scene before him shattered his fantasy.
A hand with long, slender fingers appeared, pale-skinned, with a silver ring on the index and ring fingers, stains of blood on the surface.
It darted out from the darkness, swift and precise, and grabbed the goblin’s neck as it ran.
Like a rooster seized by the throat, the goblin’s panicked cries abruptly stopped, echoing in the cave.
With a sudden exertion of force, like lifting a chick, the Green-skinned Goblin’s feet left the ground as it writhed and struggled, dragged back into the darkness by that hand.
The hallway was dimly lit, so none of them could see clearly what was happening inside.
But they could vaguely hear some nerve-wracking, hair-raising noises.
The sound of nails scraping against the floor and wall during struggle, and the meaningless “uh-uh” as its throat was choked.
“Crunch.”
The crisp sound of bones breaking.
Finally, there was a sudden, dull, sickening tearing sound of flesh and spurting blood.
They paused momentarily.
Then, the footsteps started again.
Compared to the goblin’s earlier panicked haste, these footsteps were slow and deliberate, with a faint metallic scraping sound.
The four of them stood pale-faced, maintaining the battle-ready formation, but no one dared to move.
As those steps grew closer, the air filled with an increasingly pungent smell of blood, along with a heavy, inexplicable sense of oppression pressing down on them.
Even the middle-aged team leader felt parched lips and his eyelids twitching uncontrollably.
“Drip.”
Residue warmth, sticky blood dripping.
A slender silhouette, black as ink, slowly emerged from the darkness.
A young man with half his face shaded by the passage’s shadows, features sharp, demeanor chillingly fearsome, with black hair.
Unlike the four adventurers clad in protective gear, this youth wore no apparent armor on his upper body, just a dark shirt dyed deep crimson from the blood, a metal necklace tucked into the neckline, bone white, delicate Leg Armor reflecting faint light in the dimness, a flail hanging stained at his waist, and the hilts of two distinctively designed Longswords protruding from behind him.
His eyes were dark as a forest pool, devoid of any emotional ripple.
Yet with just a glance, one could feel the immense pressure contained within them, as if holding his gaze for more than half a second would result in decapitation for provocation.
“Professional! And an unusual type!”
Despair filled the middle-aged man’s heart, sweat silently slicking his back; the suffocating sense of his life being subject to the stranger’s whim left him breathless.
Or rather, even breathing became cautious, fearing that taking just one more breath might anger him.
And at this moment, a slightly hesitant voice from behind stopped his heart, freezing his thoughts.
“You, you’re…”
Abi! How dare he!
Is this the time to get chummy!?
I knew he’d be unreliable, shouldn’t have agreed to take him in for Adeline’s sake!
What to do? How to salvage this?
As expected, that icy, suffocating gaze swept over at the sound.
Clenching his teeth firmly, the middle-aged man mustered courage, forcing a stiff smile onto his face, stepping forward with the intent to explain.
But then he saw the sharp-featured youth with black hair raise an eyebrow, and a hint of surprise flickered in his eyes:
“Abi?”
His gaze swept over the other three in the group.
“What coincidence, out on a mission?”
They know each other!?
The middle-aged man’s heart was astonished.
Suddenly, the gossip that spread through the town months ago surfaced in his mind.
Professional, “Green Blood” Team, Abi and Adeline…
Could it be—
“Gray Sword”!?