Chương 29: Into Silverbark Forest

"Knock- Knock-" The village chief's first son, the man who had opened the door to Kyle, quickly ran out to open it. He had been standing in the corner of the room, his presence was so faint that Kyle had nearly forgotten about him. A few moments later, the man's voice sounded, "Dad! The hunter, Mark, is here!" The village chief picked up his walking stick and struggled to stand up.

"Cough! Esteemed adventurers, the guide you've been waiting for is here." he coughed, struggling to gain his breath, his face haggard.

"Please save those young girls…" The elder took a step forward and bent his knees, but Doyle promptly stopped him before he could fully kneel.

"No need to kneel, old gentleman; we will exterminate the goblins and bring those girls back safely to the village. Leave it to us." Doyle gently said before turning away and walking out.

"Let's go," Doyle said as he walked towards the gate. The rest of the team, including Kyle, followed behind. Upon reaching the open door, many people came into their sight. Apart from the hunter and the two sons of the village chief, there were also several different distraught families. Judging by their pale faces and reddened eyes, they were likely the families of the kidnapped girls. Doyle reassured the families again before walking towards the four horses.

The horses wouldn't be able to travel deep into the forest, but they could greatly shorten the journey through the outer woodland trails.

"Mark, was it? Please get on the horse and point us to the correct place." Doyle turned to look at the young hunter, Mark, and said.

"Kyle, you'll ride with Luke," Doyle said as he grabbed the reins of one of the horses.

"To reach the settlement as soon as possible, we'll use the horses until we reach the outer forest trails."

"It's fine with me." Kyle nodded in agreement. Although he doesn't know how to ride a horse, riding with someone experienced shouldn't be an issue.

"Tina, sit behind me," Doyle said as he jumped on the horse's back.

"Okay." She nodded with a calm expression on her face before sitting behind Doyle.

"I'm not sharing my horse," Aaron said as he mounted his horse.

"No one is asking you to share it," Luke replied with a speechless expression.

"Esteemed adventurers, please follow me." Mark, the young hunter, said before driving the horse towards the village gate. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. The team quickly followed behind. After leaving the village, they quickly veered off the official road and onto the grass. According to the guild's info, this village was about 4 kilometers away from the Silverbark Forest, and the goblin settlement is within the shallow layer. Kyle sat behind Luke.

Looking at the quickly shifting scenery, he tightened his grip on the horse.

'This horse is much faster than expected. Is it due to the existence of mana? Or is it just this breed?' Kyle wondered. Kyle glanced ahead. Doyle rode at the front calmly, with Tina sitting elegantly behind, her robes fluttering in the wind.

'Judging by our interactions so far, they seem like a good-natured and responsible adventure party. Even the most arrogant guy isn't a pure stupid villain.' His gaze drifted past Aaron, finally settling on Doyle.

'The one that left the deepest impression is undoubtedly Doyle. However, I wonder if what he's displaying is his true nature or if it's all an act.'

'Nevertheless, I should keep my guard up.'

"Hey! Kid, how old are you?" A voice suddenly broke the silent atmosphere. Kyle's gaze drifted to the source of the sound. It was Aaron. He was riding side by side, looking at him with an inquisitive expression. Kyle raised his eyebrow. After thinking for a moment, he decided to humor him.

"16, why do you ask?" He calmly replied. Hearing this, even Luke and Tina, not far away, glanced back, a bit surprised.

"16? And you're already a professional? Are you the son of some wealthy merchant from this place? Or are you related to the Baron?" Aaron quickly asked.

"No, it's just that my father was also an adventurer." There wasn't a need to conceal this, so Kyle didn't bother lying. Aaron fell silent, and a thoughtful look flashed on his face. To be honest, even now, he's still finding it hard to accept that Kyle was already a professional at such a young age while he was still an apprentice at 18. It was generally more difficult for mages to reach the rank 1, professional level than warriors due to the complexity of spells, but still… Kyle chuckled upon seeing this.

"I'm somewhat talented, I suppose."

"Cheeky bastard…" Aaron cursed under his breath. Kyle deliberated whether to extract information about these guys' backgrounds for a moment before deciding against it. Now wasn't the time to get acquainted. Looking at the gradually approaching Silverbark Forest from a distance, Kyle looked at Mark and asked.

"Can you tell me about what happened yesterday? What was so unusual about these goblins?" Mark's expression turned grave.

"The numbers don't match. Usually, a small team of 3 to 5 goblins harasses our village every day, stealing crops and sometimes small livestock, but they are usually driven away by the strong men of the village." Mark grit his teeth in hatred as he talked about them.

"These cowardly creatures usually escape at the slightest sign of a threat. I was one of the hunters who tracked them back to their settlement before the village chief posted the quest in the adventure guild."

"However…" He paused for a moment, as if he recalled a painful memory.

"Last night, these monsters launched a surprise raid on our village. They numbered over 30, but the most unusual thing was their movements. They were… organized." Mark paused. He was still digesting this news himself.

"It was as if they were moving with purpose. This is very different from how they were before." Doyle nodded upon hearing this.

"Indeed, we have judged by the different course of action and their unusual numbers that a new mutant has appeared in that settlement."

"Perhaps… Two settlements have merged, or some unknown change occurred." Doyle mused with a somber expression.

"I see." Kyle nodded solemnly. He was even a bit relieved internally. If he stumbled across such a settlement that was very inconsistent with the information he received, he might have faced serious danger.

'I guess meeting this team before I proceeded to the settlement was also my luck.' During the course of their conversation, they had entered Silverbark Forest. They followed a dirt trail, passing by the bushes and trees. The atmosphere gradually grew quieter. Even the sounds of birds had disappeared. Mark slowed his horse near the hills, his face tense.

"We've arrived."