Chapter 33: Sudden Enemy Attack

Chapter 33: Chapter 33: Sudden Enemy Attack

For most Adventurer Squads, the beginning of any adventure is usually relaxed and cheerful.

Supplies are ample, energy is high, morale is soaring, and camaraderie is strong.

This is especially true for newly formed squads.

After all, the members don’t know each other well yet, and with no conflicts of interest to sour things, there’s always plenty to talk about.

Their origins, experiences, and dreams.

Unverified gossip, the Kingdom’s latest laws.

What they’d do once they had money, and what they’d do once they had *a lot* of money...

In short, as long as it had nothing to do with adventuring, anything and everything was a topic for conversation.

It was the same for Lu Wei’s trio.

So, having only just entered the forest, Furen couldn’t wait to ask about Bai Ya’s background.

According to her, her hometown was Shixi Town, on the other side of Kalin Port.

Unlike Heitai Town, there weren’t any Adventurer’s Lands near Shixi Town, so most people there made a living by farming or raising livestock.

Bai Ya’s parents were the same, just two Ordinary, hardworking farmers.

Every year, after paying rent to the landlord, the remaining grain was barely enough to get by. Only in years with an exceptionally good harvest could they save a little money.

If things had continued like that, in a few more years, they should have been able to save up enough for Bai Ya’s dowry and marry her off to some able-bodied young man of a similar age in town.

That’s right. In this world, the woman’s side had to pay for a marriage.

That detail broke Lu Wei’s brain a little.

But none of that was important. What was important was that three months ago, a fire suddenly broke out at Bai Ya’s house.

And "firefighting" in this day and age basically meant waiting for the fire to burn itself out. As one might expect, her house was reduced to a pile of rubble.

Because it was nighttime, her parents didn’t make it out.

Only Bai Ya, who had snuck out to pick mushrooms, escaped the disaster.

"Picking mushrooms?"

Hearing this, both Lu Wei and Furen were completely baffled, not understanding why she would go out picking mushrooms in the middle of the night instead of sleeping.

"There are too many people during the day, so I wouldn’t be able to get any."

Bai Ya fidgeted with her fingers and answered honestly, "I can pick a lot at night, and they’re still fresh the next day, so I can sell them to the merchants all the same."

"I see. So why did you come to Heitai Town afterward?"

Perhaps afraid of bringing up painful memories, Furen deliberately skipped past the part about burying her parents and leaving home, jumping straight to:

"Why not find a job in Shixi Town, or even Kalin Port?"

"I didn’t want to stay in Shixi Town, and as for Kalin Port..."

Bai Ya’s voice trailed off, and she mumbled dejectedly, "I actually went there, but I got scammed while looking for a job."

"They said if I just paid five Silver Coins, they could guarantee me a great job."

"I gave them the money, and they put me on a carriage to Heitai Town, saying someone would meet me here."

"But there was no one..."

’Good heavens, so she fell for such a basic scam?’

Finally understanding the whole story, Lu Wei was not only surprised but also felt a sense of urgency.

’I can’t believe employment agency scams already exist in this era.’

’Looks like the competition is working hard.’

’I’d better step up my game...’

"How despicable! Swindlers and Crafty Merchants should all be thrown in prison!"

Before Lu Wei could finish his reflection, Furen’s furious voice cut in.

He looked absolutely furious, his fists clenched and his eyes burning with rage.

Bai Ya, however, hung her head and blamed herself.

"It’s really just because I was too stupid."

"No, how can you blame yourself for that! It’s entirely the Swindlers’ fault!"

"I know, but if I had just been a little more careful, I wouldn’t have... ah, wait a second!"

Suddenly, Bai Ya seemed to have discovered something and stopped in her tracks without any warning.

This sudden change stunned both Lu Wei and Furen for a moment.

Immediately after, the two of them reacted.

SHING! Furen drew his Longsword. He gripped the hilt with both hands and lowered his body slightly, ready to fight at a moment’s notice.

Lu Wei, for his part, drew his Dagger. His gaze swept over the bushes and trees on both sides of the forest path as he tried to find the enemy hiding in the shadows.

It had to be said that while their first fight came as a complete surprise, both of them reacted competently.

At least they didn’t wait until a monster was right in their faces before scrambling to draw their weapons.

Their swift actions also made Bai Ya instantly tense up.

A complete rookie, faced with such a sudden situation, would most likely have frozen up.

Fortunately, she had just encountered a group of Kobolds a few days ago... even if it was just as bait, it had still given her a little Experience, so she knew what she should be doing now.

Just a second later, Bai Ya snapped back to her senses. She quickly moved closer to Lu Wei and Furen, clumsily drew the Dagger from her waist, and held her breath. Facing the woods, she did her best to assume a defensive stance, following the guidance from the Adventurer’s Manual.

Lu Wei and Furen did the same. After failing to spot the enemy right away, they didn’t act rashly. Instead, they quickly closed ranks, forming a back-to-back, three-person defensive formation with Bai Ya.

For a squad that had never worked together before, such coordination was quite rare.

But the enemy didn’t seem to be cooperating.

More than ten seconds had passed since Bai Ya noticed something was off, but the surroundings remained completely silent.

More importantly, even with a Perception stat as high as 18, Lu Wei couldn’t find the target at all!

This was definitely not something that Low Level Monsters like goblins or Giant Spiders could do!

’Holy shit!’

’Aren’t we still on the fucking outskirts?!’

’We haven’t even reached the Tree of Origin yet, so how could a High Level monster show up??’

’Did I use up all my luck over the last few days??’

Straining to notice any sign of movement, Lu Wei frantically cursed in his mind while trying to figure out what to do next.

The Adventurer’s Manual did offer guidance for this kind of situation:

If you are ambushed or accidentally enter a High Level monster’s territory, do not flee immediately. Instead, maintain your defensive formation and slowly retreat toward a safe area.

’But where the hell is a safe area??’

’I don’t even know which direction the enemy is in!’

’This won’t do. I have to figure that out first!’

After waiting another ten-plus seconds, Lu Wei decided he couldn’t just sit around and wait for death. He quietly poked Bai Ya’s arm and asked in a low voice:

"Where’s the enemy?"

"Huh?"

Bai Ya’s voice was extremely tense. "I don’t know."

’You don’t know??’

Lu Wei froze. "Then why did you suddenly stop walking?"

"I..."

Turning to look at the suspicious expressions on Lu Wei and Furen’s faces, Bai Ya seemed to realize something, and her cheeks visibly started to flush red.

"Come on, spit it out!"

Seeing this, Lu Wei was getting anxious. "What on earth did you see?"

"I... I..."

Tightly clutching the corner of her clothes, Bai Ya looked like she was about to cry. She stammered for a long time without being able to form a complete sentence.

After seven or eight seconds of this, she probably couldn’t take it anymore and suddenly turned and ran behind a patch of bushes by the side of the path.

Then, she quickly crouched down. RUSTLE, RUSTLE. It was impossible to tell what she was doing.

A few more seconds passed...

"It’s... it’s this..."

To the astonishment of Lu Wei and Furen, Bai Ya finally stood up, her face bright red.

In her hand was a white, umbrella-shaped plant about the size of her face.

"A... a mushroom..."