Chapter 46: Tier III Trial II

"You’re human too?" Miriel asked, looking at Liam with a surprised expression.

Liam glanced at her and nodded.

"Yeah."

He raised his hands slightly, examining his transformed body with some interest.

Miriel looked him over. Unlike his usual appearance, he now looked like an ordinary human knight. There wasn’t even a trace of his demonic features.

"That’s quite convenient," she remarked.

"Don’t get too excited. It’s only temporary."

Liam then glanced at the knights riding nearby. A few of them had already begun looking in their direction, seemingly curious about their conversation.

"Now, don’t say anything unnecessary or make a scene," he warned her.

Miriel blinked.

"Why?"

"What do you mean, why? Are you an idiot?" Liam asked, giving her an incredulous look.

Miriel scratched her head before nodding.

"Okay."

Liam sighed inwardly.

He didn’t want to attract unnecessary attention. They were currently part of a merchant caravan’s escort team, and making themselves stand out before understanding their identities and circumstances would only create trouble.

"Let’s first figure out who we’re supposed to be and understand the situation. We don’t know how closely this scenario follows the original events, so it’s better to observe things before making any moves."

"Understood."

The two continued riding alongside the caravan.

A few moments later, Liam noticed a middle-aged knight approaching them. He wore silver armor bearing a golden emblem on his chest, and his horse was considerably better equipped than those of the other knights.

The man briefly glanced at Liam before directing his attention toward Miriel.

"Lady Miriel, is everything all right?"

Liam raised an eyebrow.

’Lady?’

Miriel was momentarily surprised by the way he addressed her, but she quickly composed herself.

"Yes, I’m fine. Is there something you need?"

The middle-aged knight shook his head.

"Nothing in particular. I was simply checking on the condition of our escort team. We’ve already entered the deeper regions of Mistfall Forest, so everyone needs to remain vigilant."

His expression turned slightly serious as he glanced toward the surrounding trees.

"According to the information provided by the merchant group, this forest isn’t particularly safe. Although we haven’t encountered any trouble so far, we shouldn’t let our guard down."

"I understand," Miriel replied.

The knight nodded before turning his horse and returning toward the front of the caravan.

Liam watched him leave.

’Interesting. It seems she’s been assigned some rather unusual identity.’

He turned toward Miriel.

"Looks like you’re someone important here."

Miriel nodded.

"Apparently."

Liam chuckled before looking ahead.

"Well, let’s see how things develop."

Although the surroundings appeared peaceful, he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was lurking within the depths of the forest.

Liam continued riding alongside Miriel, occasionally glancing at the trees surrounding the road.

Meanwhile, he began thinking about the information provided by the trial notification.

There were two main possibilities that came to mind.

’There are basically two ways this could have happened. Either some powerful monster attacked the caravan and slaughtered everyone, or the entire incident was an organized assassination.’

His eyes narrowed slightly.

The Golden Pig Merchant Group clearly wasn’t an ordinary merchant organization. It possessed enough wealth to hire an entire escort team, including a Tier 3 Guard Captain.

An organization of that size was bound to have its fair share of enemies.

’Perhaps a rival merchant group arranged an ambush, or someone had a personal grudge against one of the people traveling with them.’

Of course, he couldn’t rule out other possibilities. The Mistfall Forest might be home to some particularly dangerous creatures, or perhaps the original caravan had accidentally stumbled upon something it shouldn’t have.

Still, Liam wasn’t interested in making assumptions without evidence.

’I’ll find out soon enough.’

He relaxed slightly in his saddle, continuing to observe their surroundings.

The caravan maintained a steady pace along the forest road. The knights remained positioned around the merchant wagons, while several guards rode ahead to scout the route.

For the moment, everything seemed perfectly normal.

However, that didn’t last long.

Liam suddenly sensed something.

His expression remained unchanged, but his eyes shifted slightly toward the trees on his left.

’...Someone’s watching us.’

The presence was extremely faint. An ordinary person would probably never have noticed it, but Liam’s heightened senses allowed him to detect something observing the caravan from within the forest.

He didn’t react immediately.

Instead, he continued riding as though he hadn’t noticed anything.

’Interesting.’

His earlier suspicions became considerably stronger.

’My bet is on an assassination now.’

If this had been an ordinary monster attack, the creature would most likely have revealed itself already, especially with such a large group of people passing through its territory.

But whatever was watching them had remained hidden.

It was observing the caravan rather than attacking it.

That suggested a certain degree of patience and possibly even intelligence.

Of course, Liam wasn’t going to rule out the possibility of a cunning monster. However, the chances of this being an organized ambush seemed increasingly likely.

He casually glanced at Miriel, who was still riding beside him, seemingly unaware of the presence in the forest.

’Let’s see what happens next.’

For now, there was no reason to expose himself.

If someone really was planning to ambush the caravan, he would rather let them make the first move.

The caravan continued its journey for another twenty minutes.

The deeper they ventured into Mistfall Forest, the denser the trees became. The sunlight gradually disappeared beneath the thick canopy, and the temperature seemed to drop slightly.

Liam remained alert, occasionally glancing toward the surrounding trees.

However, the presence he had sensed earlier had disappeared.

’Did they retreat?’

He wasn’t particularly concerned. If anything, the disappearance made him even more suspicious.

Suddenly, a loud voice came from the front of the caravan.

"Everyone, stop!"

The knights immediately pulled on their reins, bringing their horses to a halt.

Liam looked ahead.

A fallen tree was lying across the road, completely blocking their path.

"What’s going on?" Miriel asked.

Before anyone could answer, the middle-aged knight from earlier rode toward the obstruction.

"Captain! There’s a fallen tree blocking the road!"

One of the scouts had already dismounted and was examining it.

The middle-aged knight frowned.

"How inconvenient. Can we move it?"

"It’ll take some time. The trunk is too thick for us to move without several people."

The knight glanced toward the surrounding forest.

"All right. Have a few men assist him. The rest of you, remain alert. Don’t wander away from the caravan."

"Understood!"

Several knights dismounted and approached the fallen tree.

Liam watched the scene silently.

’How convenient.’

His gaze shifted toward the trees.

The fallen tree didn’t look particularly old. Its exposed surface was relatively fresh, and several smaller branches had been broken recently.

’Someone deliberately placed it here?’

He wasn’t certain, but the possibility was worth considering.

"Miriel."

"Hm?"

"Stay close to me."

Miriel looked at him before nodding.

"Okay."

Liam continued observing the surroundings.

A few moments later, one of the knights attempting to move the tree suddenly stopped.

"Captain! Come over here!"

The middle-aged knight immediately approached.

"What is it?"

The knight pointed toward something beneath the fallen trunk.

There were several strange markings carved into its surface.

The middle-aged knight crouched down and examined them.

His expression gradually changed.

"...These aren’t natural markings."

Liam’s eyes narrowed.

’Interesting.’

Just as he was about to examine them more closely, a faint sound reached his ears.

Whoosh!

His head turned slightly.

An arrow was flying straight toward the middle-aged knight’s back.

"Watch out!"

Liam’s voice rang out.

However, before the knight could even turn around, another arrow came flying from the opposite direction.

And this time, its target was Miriel.