The forest was imnse. The southern region alone was much larger than Valentine County.
Besides, nine years had passed. Things were no longer as they once were.
Just as the two of them were about to give up, Coulson, an expert on the forest, appeared before them.
Lira was delighted to find an Adventurer so familiar with the edges of the Nightmare Forest. Hope rekindled in her heart.
"Actually, we’re also looking for teammates. If we can find soone trustworthy, we’d be open to a long-term party," Lira said, choosing her words carefully.
"Is that so? Wonderful! Having a long-term Healing Personnel on the team would be a magnificent thing." Coulson smiled and gave a slight bow.
"Not at all. We’re the ones relying on you, our living map." Lira smiled and waved her hand dismissively.
A few minutes later.
"We’re here. This is the spot." Coulson led the party to a large, barren patch of grass.
"This is it?" Lira asked, looking doubtfully at the patch of grass before them.
"Looks like our luck is bad. Soone beat us to it." Coulson sounded regretful. ’Today’s earnings are going to be lower again.’
"It’s alright. We can keep looking," Lira said encouragingly.
"Wait, there seems to be sothing over there." Coulson’s sharp eyes spotted sothing gray in the grass.
He strode over and opened a bundle. "Leaves from the Blue Thorn Grass, already picked."
"There must be 2 Gold Coins’ worth here." He lifted the bundle, weighing it in his hand.
"Did soone forget it here?" Lira asked.
"I’m not sure. It’s too much to have been left behind on purpose. It was probably dropped during a hasty retreat."
"This is a gift from the gods!" Luna exclaid happily.
"In that case, we should leave quickly. There might be danger." Coulson made a snap decision, preparing to move to another spot before continuing.
"Why don’t we wait a bit? The people who left this might co back for it," Lira suggested.
"I think we’d better not. The forest is dangerous, and there are goblins everywhere." Coulson shook his head. "Grant, stop eating. Co carry this."
Grant was about to put his snack back inside his clothes, but Luna stopped him and grabbed another handful.
Then Grant walked over, brushing past Lira.
"Grant, let’s head back," Coulson said.
One-Eyed Grant’s lips curled into a smirk. He quickly drew his Great Sword, spun around, and with a CRACK, sent Lira flying with a Horizontal Sweep.
Fortunately, Luna had previously cast a Stone Skin Technique on her, and along with her Iron Hand Armor, it had absorbed so of the blow.
"You...?" Luna was utterly shocked, but she didn’t forget to imdiately cast a Bright Healing Skill on her sister.
"You two are Reapers," Lira said, clutching her left arm as she got to her feet, staring at them.
"No, you’re mistaken," Coulson said, wagging his finger elegantly.
"You’re not?"
"We are Reapers, but there aren’t just two of us."
"Ugh." Luna grunted and stumbled forward a few steps.
A fat man stood behind her, his form below the knees hidden in shadow.
"An Infiltrator! Luna, are you alright?" Lira said anxiously. She drew the Great Sword from her back and cautiously hurried toward her sister.
"I’m fine, sister. The Inner Armor from the Church blocked the stab, but it still hurts a lot," Luna said, simultaneously casting a Shield of Radiance on herself.
"Allow to introduce my teammate, Leo. He enjoys hiding in the shadows. And he has a... peculiar hobby."
"Ears... pretty ears," Leo repeated, charging at Luna.
"Bastard! Get away from my sister!" Lira raised her Great Sword, ready to rush in and help. She bitterly regretted agreeing to Coulson’s request yesterday. Just monts ago, she’d been naively planning their future together, but now it was clear they were unlikely to survive the day.
’No matter what, I have to tie up all three of them so my sister can escape. I’ll even sacrifice my own life if I have to.’
But with a CLANG, her sword clashed with Grant’s. The jarring pain that shot through the web of her thumb made her even more anxious.
"Luna, run!" Lira unleashed a flurry of strikes, forcing Grant back as she prepared to rush to her sister’s side.
WHOOSH. A Flying Knife stabbed into the ground in front of her, blocking her path.
"Leo, hurry it up," Coulson said with a smile.
Fat Leo was rapidly stabbing at the Shield of Radiance, and cracks were already beginning to appear on its surface.
"Luna, go! If we both die, there will be no one left to look for Dad!" Lira shouted while fending off Grant’s attacks.
But Luna just kept casting Magic on Lira—a Healing Technique, an Acceleration Technique, a Blessing Technique—chanting and casting without pause.
"Luna!" Lira cried out.
"Don’t shout, sister. I don’t want to live without you."
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Such touching sisterly love. I used to fantasize about having a younger brother myself, so that when danger arose, I could push him out in front of ." Coulson clapped softly for the two sisters.
Then, he sauntered over to the bundle. "But it can’t be helped. Your sister is worth far more than you are. You’ll both have to stay here."
With that, he picked up the bundle. "Today’s profits are quite substantial."
TWANG! The sound of a bowstring reverberated, followed by a grunt from Coulson. A Crossbow Arrow was sticking out of his shoulder.
Though he had reacted quickly, he was still hit.
Imdiately after, several ropes dropped from the surrounding trees, and a group of goblins slid down. They charged at him, the one in the lead with a scar on its forehead.
"Goblins?" Coulson shouted in alarm.
He had killed so many goblins, but this was the first ti he’d ever seen sothing like this. He reacted instantly. "Leo, get over here and kill the goblins! I’ll take care of the Priest."
Leo ignored him, still preoccupied with cracking the shell. "Ears... give your ears," he muttered.
"Dammit, he’s lost in his obsession at a ti like this! Grant, stop holding back!" Coulson drew his Longsword and Shield and faced the goblins.
Grant let out a furious roar, and a faint red mist began to appear around his body.
"You’re a Berserker from the Saruo Islands!" Lira’s eyes widened. She knew Berserkers were difficult to deal with.
"AARGH—" Leo cried out in pain. He had also been hit by a Crossbow Arrow, but it only seed to infla his savagery. "Ears! Ears!"
THWIP. The next Crossbow Arrow pierced straight through his neck.
At the sa ti, Shire shouted a command from the trees, "Throw Long Spears at the two Great Sword Warriors!"
WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH. Six Long Spears flew through the air. Grant and Lira were both hit, but Lira had a Devout Shield cast on her by Luna, so she wasn’t badly injured.
Grant, on the other hand, was struck by two spears, one of which pierced his back. He went berserk, knocking Lira’s Great Sword from her hands with a wild sweep, then turned and charged the goblins.
"Throw!" Shire commanded. Two Double Ball Flying Ropes were flung out, wrapping directly around Grant’s legs. He lost his balance and crashed to the ground, where several goblins sward him and began bludgeoning him relentlessly.
Coulson was tied up by the two goblins, Scarface and Red Eyes, and was growing extrely anxious.
’These two little runts... if I were fighting them one-on-one, I could easily win. But now that I’m injured, they have at a disadvantage.’
Seeing both of his companions killed, he panicked. He unleashed a few vicious attacks, saw an opening, and turned to run.
He hadn’t taken two steps before he cried out and pitched forward, two short blades buried in his back—Abbot’s Double Blade, thrown by Shire.
Shire slid down a rope and walked up to Coulson.
"Don’t kill ! Do you speak the Common Speech?" Coulson pleaded in panic, scrambling backward on the ground.
"Fucking Adventurers, daring to steal my grass," Shire said, grinding his teeth.
"Ah, you do speak the Common Speech! Don’t kill ! I’ll give you money! How about 2 Gold Coins?" Coulson said with a fawning smile.
Shire ran him through with a spear. "Broke-ass."
In the clearing of Blue Thorn Grass, the slaughter was over. Shire glanced back; the two sisters were long gone.
"You got off easy."
He walked over, preparing to loot the bodies of the three n.
Just then, a series of bird calls ca from a nearby tree.
"COO-COO-COO-COO-COO-COO—"
’So urgent. What kind of big shot is coming now?’ Shire ordered everyone to climb back up into the trees.
Then he saw Scarface hiding sothing behind his back. It looked like the Flying Knife Coulson had thrown earlier.
"You three, stay here."
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