Fearless.
Those adventurers made no effort to hide their gaze; the lust in their greedy eyes almost overflowed.
"Polly!"
"Didn't I tell you to stay inside the house and not come out? Why are you joining in? Get back inside, now!"
Sensing the ill intent in the adventurers' eyes, the village chief's already grim expression grew more anxious.
He hurriedly squeezed through the crowd, shouting angrily while using his thin, bony hands to push the blonde girl back toward the village.
Although she lived near River Valley Town, the girl named Polly had never actually had any real contact with the town's adventurers.
Whenever there was the slightest commotion, her relatives would forcibly lock her in the house and forbid her from leaving.
Now, with the adventurer party that had helped the villagers clear out a nearby goblin nest currently in the village, she could no longer suppress her curiosity and had sneaked out of her home.
Only... it seemed different from what she had imagined.
There were no marble-like handsome faces as described by the bards, nor was there smooth blonde hair that reflected the brilliance of the sun.
They weren't even as strong as Uncle Jack, who had been carried away by a giant eagle last year.
Jagged, brownish-yellow rotten teeth; a foul stench emanating from a long lack of bathing; an arrogant attitude as if treating others like servants; and those eerie gazes that felt almost tangible, sending a chill down her spine...
At this moment, Polly suddenly remembered the rumors about the nearby villages that Grandpa Chief had specifically told her to make her stay obediently at home.
They were vague, but she was no longer very young and vaguely understood their meaning.
But it was like the bedtime stories about "hags" from her childhood.
Until those things actually happen to you, no one takes them seriously.
Polly suddenly felt a wave of regret.
Perhaps she shouldn't have come out.
However, it was too late. By the time she reacted to the chief's scolding and turned to leave, the adventurer with the facial scar and a sinister smile—prompted by a teammate—noticed the blonde girl with freckles on her cheeks.
"Eh, why the rush to leave?"
"It's not like we're going to eat you."
The adventurers behind him laughed, their faces filled with blatant, naked malice.
"Little girl, you're not that old; it's normal to be curious about adventurers."
"How about it? Want to go to town with Uncle for a couple of days?"
As soon as he spoke, the previously noisy crowd suddenly fell silent.
The village chief shielded the blonde girl behind him and pleaded
"My Lord, Polly didn't mean it. Please... please let her go."
Sensing a subtle shift in the atmosphere, Scar rested his right hand on the hilt of the sword at his waist. He drew it slightly, the blade reflecting a cold light.
With a gloomy face, his gaze slowly swept across the crowd.
No one dared to meet his eyes.
Yet, the anger in his heart rose instead of subsided.
He stared gloomily at the hunched old man before him, curling his lip
"Move."
"My Lord, I will definitely gather the hundred gold you asked for. If it's really not enough, I'll take from the granary..."
"Move!"
The cold glint of the sword was so piercing that the old man could barely keep his eyes open, yet his feet remained motionless, firmly blocking Polly.
That resolute attitude, combined with the sudden silence of the surrounding villagers, seemed to make Scar feel that the armor symbolizing his status as an "adventurer" had been invisibly insulted.
*Vroom—*
Gripping the hilt, he drew the one-handed sword from its sheath.
He took two sudden steps forward.
Suddenly, a pulling force came from behind.
He paused and frowned, looking back.
He saw the sharp-featured, monkey-faced adventurer—who had just been swaggering with him in front of the villagers—now looking somewhat panicked.
Leaning in, the man lowered his voice and pointed toward the road.
"Boss, some... someone's coming."
"They look... kind of familiar!"
Scar's gaze followed the direction the man pointed.
Coming into view were four figures gradually approaching on the rural dirt road.
The most eye-catching was naturally the youthful man in the middle of the group, carrying heavy luggage.
Without needing further observation, that raw, simple aura—no different from the surrounding villagers—made it clear at a single glance that he was a complete novice.
Greedy eyes instinctively scanned the bulging backpack on his back, and a different thought sprouted in Scar's mind.
"Looks like they've got quite a bit of loot..."
His gaze swept over them, as if weighing whether the composition of this four-person party was within a range they could handle.
After all, compared to the rural peasants who couldn't even afford a meal, as a "colleague," he knew exactly how many gold coins those dust- and blood-stained, dirty-looking pieces of equipment could fetch at a general store.
The profit from "robbing the robbers" was far greater than what they earned from painstakingly completing quests.
His mind wandered, and he couldn't help but lick his dry lips.
But in the next second, when Scar's gaze reached the front of the party and saw the sturdy woman with a flat-top haircut and an iron hammer hanging from her waist;
And beside her, the black-haired youth carrying twin swords.
His eyes, which had been cold and menacing, instantly cleared.
"Green Blood, Grey Sword..."
The extremely distinct visual characteristics allowed Scar—who had stayed in River Valley Town for many years and considered himself quite shrewd—to recognize their identities in an instant.
"Damn it, why meet them in a place like this!"
The expression on his face immediately became incredibly ugly.
Just a moment ago, because of the other party's substantial gains, he had arrogantly considered whether to "rob the robbers."
Now, having identified Adeline and Shanan, Scar's concern was whether he would become the one "robbed" in that scenario.
As a bottom-tier adventurer who spent his years hanging around the town's taverns, making a living off simple goblin quests and occasionally earning grey income by selling his gear, he had naturally heard of the "Green Blood Party."
Especially after the notorious "Gap-toothed" Bennett was beheaded in a single strike by that sharp-featured black-haired youth, along with his three teammates and six goblins (according to tavern rumors).
Almost half the town's bottom-tier adventurers knew that a ruthless man who frequently used a grey two-handed longsword had joined the Green Blood party.
He was absolutely not someone Scar could handle!
In the past, small fry like Scar would take a detour when they encountered "Gap-toothed" Bennett in the tavern, fearing they would be targeted.
Now, encountering figures like "Green Blood" and "Grey Sword," who were equally active in tavern rumors and had even greater reputations.
Even though they had never fought or even spoken, the arrogance he had shown the villagers was instantly extinguished and cooled.
He instinctively placed himself in the position of a subordinate.
Moreover, from another perspective, their party had just finished a mission and hadn't returned to River Valley Town to recover yet; they were all carrying loot...
Thinking of this, Scar felt a chill down his spine and became restless.
He coughed twice, forced a stiff smile onto his face, and before the group could get closer, he called out from a distance to Borg, the only one he had seen twice in the tavern
"Hey, Borg!"
"Just getting back? Must have been hard work."
"We didn't finish our drinks last time. Tomorrow at the White Tit, this little brother's treating! Let's have a few good rounds!"
Silence.
As if he had no impression of him, Borg's face was full of confusion, and he didn't respond.
Scar felt something was wrong.
His eyes shifted, thinking of befriending the others in the party.
But when his gaze landed on the black-haired youth.
It was just like the villagers who hadn't dared to lift their heads before him.
Those deep, calm, pitch-black eyes clearly didn't carry a shred of extra emotion.
Yet, it made him instinctively avoid the other's gaze, not daring to make eye contact.
His mind involuntarily recalled the rumors he had heard countless times in the tavern.
An unnatural chill suddenly brushed against his neck, and goosebumps rose on his skin.
He lowered his head; his forehead was covered in cold sweat without him realizing it.
Shanan looked at the few adventurers by the roadside.
His expression remained unchanged, but he felt strange.
Coming from a modern society and having received normal moral education, he naturally disliked the actions of these people.
Coincidentally, the party leader, Adeline, seemed to have some acquaintance with the village chief, and she wanted to lend a hand.
So, he had already prepared himself to act.
Just now, he had even pre-observed their positioning, pondering whether to use [Fang Hunt] to close in and first chop off the head of the leader-like adventurer with the facial scar.
Or whether to dive straight into the back row to disrupt their formation.
But to his surprise, before he even had a chance to move, just by getting slightly closer, these adventurers—who had been ferocious toward the villagers—seemed to have lost their will to fight.
The sharp-featured one had even quietly retreated to the end of the line, looking as if he would abandon his comrades and flee in the next second.
"Lady Adeline, it's been a long time."
"I wonder if things have been going smoothly for you lately?"
Seeing the situation turn for the better, the village chief, who had been blocked by the adventurers, naturally wouldn't miss this opportunity.
He stepped forward and greeted Adeline.
Goblins could never be fully eradicated.
Emerald Creek Village was located near the Misty Forest and was harassed by goblins almost every so often, frequently seeking help from the association's adventurers.
Like Scar and his group, Adeline had once helped the villagers clear out nearby goblin nests.
Of course, her reputation was much better than that of the average adventurer; she hadn't demanded extra rewards.
Because of this, the simple and friendly villagers had invited her for a meal, and she had formed a friendship with the chief of Emerald Creek Village.
Now, since simply using her name could help these poor villagers avoid a disaster, Adeline naturally didn't mind.
She gave the chief a slight nod, acknowledging his greeting.
Seeing this, the expressions of Scar and his group became even stiffer.
But as for regret... there wasn't actually much of it.
They just felt they were unlucky to run into the "Green Blood Party" on their way to extort money.
"Haha, so you all know each other. What a coincidence."
Scar chuckled awkwardly, quietly shifting his feet.
"Well, you guys chat. I won't disturb you."
As he spoke, he led his party away, their steps hurried as they fled in the opposite direction of the group.
Because Shanan and the others were blocking the road and Emerald Creek Village was behind them, the direction they fled was toward the other side of the wilderness.
Clearly, they intended to take a long detour before returning to River Valley Town.
Shanan stood in place, watching the pathetic escape of the adventurers, and frowned slightly.
But seeing that the others, including Adeline, had no intention of pursuing, he simply watched their figures disappear into the distant woods before withdrawing his gaze.
"Lady Adeline... everyone, thank you so much!"
"If you hadn't been here today, I wouldn't have known how to end this."
The departure of Scar and his group caused the village chief's tense body to suddenly slump; he barely managed to stand steady with the support of the villagers behind him.
Abby stood in the party, looking somewhat like a "fox borrowing the tiger's prestige," and spat harshly in the direction Scar had fled.
"Pah! Daring to make money like that, aren't they afraid of divine punishment one day!"
As he spoke, he seemed to think of something, a look of worry appearing on his face as he asked Adeline
"Those guys were scared off today, but in a couple of days, after we leave, will they..."
Before he could finish, he was interrupted by Borg's laughter from behind
"You kid, you think too much."
"If you're really that kind-hearted, work harder to raise your combat power, kill those guys and bury them, and then you won't have to worry, right?"
Hearing this, the village chief, who was telling the villagers to disperse, couldn't help but sigh.
Emerald Creek Village was located between the Misty Forest and River Valley Town, which naturally had its conveniences.
Whether it was trade or basic lodging services, the generous adventurers allowed the village residents to enjoy a level of income that other frontier villages lacked.
But on the other hand, adventurers were a mixed bag. There were certainly good people, but a large portion prioritized gold coins above all else, disregarding even life and morality.
Under these circumstances, over the course of a year, the losses caused to Emerald Creek Village by adventurers were actually greater than those caused by the dangerous monsters that occasionally emerged from the Misty Forest to forage in the outskirts.
Two months ago, a drunk adventurer had almost set fire to the village granary.
Shanan stood in the party without saying a word, listening to the others talk with the chief, absorbing useful information while experiencing the local customs.
Suddenly, he felt a gaze.
He frowned and looked over.
He saw the blonde girl, who had been the target of Scar's harassment, looking down with a pale face, as if she had been frightened by him and didn't dare to make eye contact.
It was normal; after all, he had just finished a mission and still had bloodstains from gnolls on him. He hadn't fully exited his combat state—to put it poetically, he still carried a "killing intent."
Combined with Shanan's sharp facial features, while he might not be able to stop a child from crying at night, he certainly didn't look like a benevolent person at first glance.
He preferred the peace and quiet.
After listening to the others exchange pleasantries for a while, they declined the chief's invitation to stay overnight.
The party was preparing to leave.
Suddenly, from the wilderness nearby, a series of hurried footsteps echoed.
The air surged, carrying a faint scent of blood and a heart-wrenching scream
"Help!"
"Goblins... it's all goblins, those goblins..."
From a distance, only a few words were vaguely audible.
Turning to look, the person appearing before them was none other than Scar, who had left not long ago.
However, now, his teammates were nowhere to be seen.
Crimson blood flowed from his forehead, covering half his cheek.
His right arm was twisted, exposing shards of bone. With a pained and distorted expression, he sprinted toward the group.
His mouth was wide open, seemingly screaming something.
But before Shanan and the others could fully hear him, a bone club flew out from the woods behind him.
With a whistling sound like a baby's cry, it smashed his skull to pieces.
(End of Chapter)