In the Depths of the Great Tob Forest
This was a deep area, more than 150 meters from the forest's edge. Untouched by artificial mining and destruction, it maintained its pristine forest condition. Tree roots, vines, and low-lying plants on the ground grew so densely that it was difficult to find a foothold. The lush canopy above almost completely blocked out the light, casting the surroundings into deep gloom.
Click!
The sound of branches and grass stems being trodden upon echoed. A group of about ten adventurers arrived at a not-so-spacious clearing within the forest, intending to rest there for a moment. Their presence seemed to have drawn the attention of the forest's monsters. Beneath the shadows of the trees, several pairs of glowing green eyes slowly emerged, their pupils filled with bloodthirsty ferocity.
Thump!
The leader of the adventurers, who was walking at the front of the team, seemed to sense that something was amiss with the surrounding atmosphere and immediately stopped. He held a black sword in both hands and remained vigilant, while warning his comrades behind him, "We're surrounded by monsters, prepare for battle."
There was no trace of fear or panic in his voice; he appeared calm and collected. If he wasn't an ignorant fool, it meant he was quite confident in his own abilities. Not just him, four other people in the team showed similar composure. The ten-person team gradually formed a circular defensive formation. Five warriors and a cleric protected two mages, a beast tamer, and two archers in the center, ready to face the monster attack.
The monsters lurking in the shadows seemed unable to hold back any longer and burst out from behind the tree trunks! Their fur was entirely black, and their appearance was similar to wolf-dogs, except they had two horns on their heads and black chains wrapped around their bodies.
These monsters were called Hellhounds. In addition to the agility and ferocity of wolves, they could also unleash the chains on their bodies to launch large-scale attacks. Typically, to deal with Hellhounds, one had to be at least a Gold-tier adventurer.
All the adventurers present carried Silver-tier identification badges, one tier lower than Gold. They would be in great danger if surrounded by three Hellhounds.
"I'll do it!"
The battle began with a shout from the black-armored warrior. He charged towards the Hellhound closest to him. Seeing this, the cleric beside him immediately cast buff magic.
[Shield Wall]![Greater Ability Increase]![Enchanted Arrow Magic]!
Flickering magical light enveloped the black-armored warrior's body, and he was strengthened and entered the range of the Hellhound's attack. The charging Hellhound suddenly leaped and used the horns on its head to launch an attack towards the black-armored warrior. This move could even easily pierce ordinary armor.
"Martial Arts - [Fortress]!"
The black-armored warrior deeply planted his left foot into the ground and instantly stopped, with the red light of martial arts radiating from his body. The Hellhound's horns struck his horizontal left armguard and were immediately deflected by the martial arts' power.
Seizing this opportunity, the black-armored warrior raised his sword high and reactivated his move, "[Steelbreaker]!" With a swift and sharp sword, the Hellhound's head was easily severed like tofu, completely announcing its demise!
In other directions, the two remaining Hellhounds were pierced through the body by [Lightning Strike] and [Wind Arrow], meeting the fate of their comrades.
After the battle ended easily, the adventurers came forward to gather usable materials from the Hellhounds, and then found another place to rest and regroup.
"Oh, Sir Witt, you guys are truly amazing!" An adventurer praised the black-armored warrior. Although this wasn't the first time, there was still emotion in his voice and envy in his eyes.
Witt humbly shook his head and replied with a smile, "All this is the grace of the Gods. Actually, I'm not as amazing as you say."
Although he wasn't a cleric or a high priest, he was deeply adored by the Gods. Coupled with the high-strength black armor on his body, Witt's identity was clear. He was one of the young adventurers from Carne Village.
Although E-Rantel had just experienced a major disaster, after a few days, the city's order had basically returned to normal and reconstruction work had begun. However, the residents of Carne Village who had just moved to the city actually had no land, so there wasn't a need for too many people to stay in the city. Some who couldn't stand the loneliness accepted adventurer missions and began new adventures.
Witt's team consisted of five people in total, and the other five were another adventurer team they met in the forest. At that time, this adventurer team was attacked by monsters and almost wiped out. Thanks to the support of Witt and the others, they were able to survive.
Witt came to the Great Tob Forest this time with two main tasks. One was to gather herbal plants on behalf of the Adventurer's Guild, and the other was to find traces of the "Wise Forest King" according to the Gods' command.
"O, Wise Forest King…" Witt stared into the dark depths of the forest and couldn't help but sigh inwardly. When they lived in Carne Village, because the entire village was within the forest ruler's territory, they were rarely attacked by monsters, which was considered a kindness.
I wonder, what is the God looking for from such a large monster… Well, let's go back and tell Enri to ask the Gods not to kill the Wise Forest King.
After a short rest, Witt stood up and said to everyone, "Let's continue our journey and try to complete the herb gathering task before dark so we don't have to spend the night in the forest."
"That's right," Everyone had no objection to this and stood up and continued to move forward.
After they all left the area, several figures walked out from the dark shadows of the trees and looked in the direction they had left.
"Lord Ainz, do you want to kill all these human adventurers?" Aura scratched her head and asked Ainz Ooal Gown beside her.
They had just met Cocytus and were about to conquer the Wise Forest King, but they encountered these human adventurers who had broken into Cocytus's garrison territory, and they didn't know what they were here for. To be safe, Aura thought that this group of people should be killed to prevent news of Cocytus and his army's activities in the forest from leaking.
Ainz pondered for a long time, and finally shook his head, refusing Aura's suggestion, "It's better not to take risks."
"If I remember correctly, there seemed to be some people who were very devoted to the God among those people. Killing them is not the best way to keep things secret until I figure out how I was exposed last time," Ainz explained.
"So that's it, them!" Aura's eyes suddenly became sharp. Kael had not only opposed Lord Ainz but also killed Shalltear. So Aura naturally wouldn't have a good impression of the God's believers who were connected to him.
"Lord Ainz, since we can't kill them, it shouldn't be a problem to use monsters to drive them away, right?" Aura asked, a cunning idea flashing through her mind.
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