This adventurer is overly righteous.

Just as Kroya and Carter were talking, a subtle gaze was observing the two of them. This gaze came from a drunkard sitting in the corner of the White Mushroom Tavern, who seemed to be completely drunk and unconscious. By the nameplate hanging around his neck, it was easy to know that the man was a veteran adventurer.

He pretended to be drunk from the beginning, and after the three of them got up and left, he regained his sober appearance a moment later. He walked out of the tavern and wandered around the city consciously until he came to an inn. He went up to a large room on the second floor and opened the door to see several faces that were commonly seen in the Adventurers' Guild.

There were about ten of them, and most of them wore brass nameplates around their necks. Only one person stood in the center of the group, with a scar across his face that exuded a menacing aura. The nameplate around his neck was a gleaming silver, indicating that he was an elite adventurer.

The people in the room weren't all there; in fact, there were others keeping watch in all the places where adventurers frequented throughout Whitestone Town, and they would only return once they received news.

"Carter had a meal with that kid." The adventurer, who was acting as a scout, gave a detailed account of what he had seen. "I think he guessed what we were going to do and gave the kid a heads-up. They seem to get along well."

All the adventurers in the room revered the only elite adventurer as their leader and awaited his judgment.

"Hmph, even if Carter is willing to act as that kid's bodyguard, we have no reason to give up." The scarred adventurer sneered, his tone cold and confident. "You are unwilling to confront him, but I am not afraid. Ten of you can work together to deal with that kid and then come help me. We can even try to keep Carter here as well."

Such large-scale cooperation among adventurers is rare, and it is even rarer for them to cooperate in order to defeat another adventurer.

The only thing that can unite selfish adventurers is a sufficiently compelling interest.

"Remember to knock him unconscious, not kill him. We still need to get the method for tracking goblins from that guy..."

The scarred adventurer emphasized earnestly that Carter was right; adventurers had indeed noticed Kroya's unusual behavior.

Even without direct evidence, adventurers always prefer to believe it rather than not, and killing comes at no cost to them.

"Besides, if we want to get the ransom from that guy, we shouldn't hurt his hands; we should make him write home himself."

This was something Carter hadn't anticipated. In Carter's mind, at most a few veteran adventurers would be interested in Kroa, since goblins weren't particularly valuable monsters, and the method of tracking goblin lairs was only valuable at specific times.

However, he did not expect that rumors about Kroya's background would spread like wildfire among adventurers. There were many versions, but they all boiled down to the fact that Kroya must have come from an extremely wealthy family, because only such an environment could have nurtured someone like Kroya.

Perhaps some adventurers already disliked Kroya, and driven by self-interest, they assembled a rather large team, including even elite adventurers like the Scarface Adventurer.

Perhaps at first it was just a few adventurers who wanted to get the method of tracking goblins from Kroya, but now the nature of the entire hunt has changed. Kidnapping Kroya for ransom has become the main objective, while obtaining the method of tracking goblins has become secondary.

"Once we get the ransom, we'll silence him," the scarred adventurer reiterated. In their eyes, Kroya was already doomed. "After all, he's a menace to us."

"That's right, the goblin population is decreasing too quickly, it must be related to Kroya." An adventurer chimed in. If Kroya were here, he would definitely recognize the man as the one who deliberately let the goblins escape back then. "He never shows mercy to goblins, sooner or later he will kill all the goblins in the entire region, and then we won't be able to earn money from the Adventurers' Guild anymore."

For both novice and veteran adventurers, goblins are an important source of income, and few other monsters can replace them.

Kroya's ruthless actions had already aroused the dissatisfaction of the adventurers, and at the same time, they had labeled this kidnapping operation as "justice" in their hearts.

As the number of people increased, more and more adventurers came specifically to get a share of the pie. If the scarred adventurer hadn't refused them with a firm attitude, the number of adventurers in the room might have doubled by now.

"With our strength, catching that kid is a sure thing."

Capture and combat are two different concepts. If it's just combat, the scarred adventurer is confident that he can take down Kroya by himself. However, if he tries to capture him in the wilderness, he will be outmatched and will need multiple people to work together to chase him. The current number of people is enough. If there are too many people, it will breed parasites who do not contribute but only take the money.

After all, the opponent was able to hunt goblins in various villages. A rough calculation would reveal the guy's approximate speed. He was indeed quite good, but not so agile as to be impossible to catch.

  

"Everything will be easy..."

The scarred adventurer's words filled the other adventurers with confidence. They were happy to participate in this operation. They never considered whether killing was right or wrong, and the villagers living in the wilderness simply equated these adventurers with bandits and robbers.

"O goddess who rules over death..."

Meanwhile, Kroya was sincerely praying before the statue of the goddess, praying to the one whom the believers considered an ominous figure.

But in Kroya's eyes, wasn't it the right thing to ask the Goddess of Death whether his trip would bring him death?

After all, she controls death.

However, from the perspective of the native inhabitants of this world, Kroya's behavior was rather terrifying, to the point that Carter and Leijin stared at each other for a long time, speechless.

A chilling female voice entered Kroya's ears as he closed his eyes, so clear it seemed to explode directly into his soul. The voice said:

"Son of man, you are not bound by death."

The voice lingered in Croa's mind, as if endless echoes reverberated within his head.

However, this is definitely a good omen!

Kroya made up his mind. Since the goddess who controlled death had spoken, how could he hesitate?

"I will return safely, my revered God has told me," Kroya said to Laken and Carter, who were waiting nearby.

The two looked at Croa's radiant appearance, then at the sinister statue behind him, their expressions becoming even more bizarre.