This adventurer is overly righteous.

A team of fifteen adventurers is an extremely powerful force at any time. It is only possible to assemble such a team when heading into the Misty Forest. Right now, they are in a cave located in the inner territory of the kingdom. Theoretically, there should be no powerful monsters here, after all, those monsters know that humans are not easy to mess with.

Henry walked at the very center of the group, controlling the pace of their advance and making sure to thoroughly investigate every possible hidden hole in the rock face to prevent any enemy attacks from behind.

The experience of exploring the cave was not pleasant; it made it difficult to breathe. As we went deeper, a faint stench began to linger around our noses, seemingly the smell of excrement and the decay of some kind of creature.

Without a doubt, this was a cave teeming with monsters, and the adventurer party began to be on high alert.

The firelight began to flicker, and the adventurer at the front of the group lowered his center of gravity and moved forward, gradually illuminating the darkness.

"Ugh!"

Shouts came from ahead.

A swarm of enormous bats emerged from the darkness, flapping their wings and charging toward the adventurer, weaving through the gaps in his body and overhead. They had red eyes.

"They're just bats..."

A quick-thinking adventurer drew his sword and cleaved the bat flying overhead in two. The body fell to the ground beside him, and it was confirmed that these bats were not the kind that feed on human blood.

  

Bats are quite common creatures in cave exploration. They are afraid of firelight, and they must have been startled by the light of the torches, so they followed their instincts and scattered.

The adventurers were slightly annoyed by their scouts' excessive surprise, but Henry ordered them to quell the commotion and continue onward, so they had no choice but to comply.

"Let's go."

The adventurer at the back of the group nudged his companion and continued away with the torch. As the flames moved, the severed bat corpses were gradually shrouded in shadow, and then rotted at an extremely rapid speed, turning into a pool of black water.

.......

"A day and a night have passed..."

"Mr. Croya, what's wrong?"

"It's nothing, I'm just feeling a bit sentimental."

At the hunter's house, Croya sat in a chair, deep in thought. This caught the attention of the host, who had been brewing tea and preparing medicine for Croya, but now couldn't help but ask with concern.

"Have there been any goblin attacks lately?" Kroya asked as he wiped his sword. "Are goblins still frequently seen in the wild?"

These hunters live in the mountains and often deal with monsters like goblins. Their familiarity with goblins is no less than that of adventurers.

The same applies to strength; an excellent hunter's attributes can reach the level of a veteran adventurer.

These people would also hunt down some of the stray goblins when they were rampaging, since goblins would interfere with their hunting. Kroya had worked with these hunters before and they were quite familiar with each other, so they were more reliable than unfamiliar adventurers.

"Fewer than usual." The hunter was a middle-aged man, the strongest among the hunters, and the core of the team during hunts. "I'm talking about before the goblin infestation."

"It seems the goblins will be quiet for a while."

Roslett's tone carried a hint of relief. As a hunter living in the wilderness, he didn't want his prey to be dragged away by goblins, and going out hunting when goblins were everywhere was definitely not a good decision.

"Goblins reproduce very quickly, but if you're willing to kill them, you can eventually wipe them out..."

Roslett couldn't help but complain again, saying that in just one month, the Adventurers' Guild had achieved remarkable results in clearing out the goblins, and the goblins were powerless to resist when faced with the mobilized adventurers.

However, he knew that goblins could never be completely eradicated, and hunters would inevitably come into contact with adventurers as they moved through the wilderness.

Those guys knew perfectly well why they deliberately released the goblins.

"If only all adventurers could be like you, Mr. Kroya." Kroya was the first adventurer Roslet had ever met who showed no mercy to goblins, and he had an excellent reputation in various villages, even among the hunters.

They had joined forces with Kroya several times, and he had demonstrated strength that earned their respect, as well as character that matched the rumors, which made the hunters regard Kroya as an honored guest.

"Would you like to stay for a meal?"

Roslett knew that Kroya must be heading out to hunt goblins again after coming to him to buy the medicine powder, but it was almost lunchtime, and it was not their way of treating guests to leave hungry.

"Then I won't stand on ceremony."

Kroya sheathed his sword and set it aside without any formalities, knowing he could hardly resist their enthusiasm.

Moreover, he had a premonition that exploring the main lair would be more dangerous than he imagined.

A day and a night had passed since the adventurers entered the goblin's main lair. Given the size of a normal goblin lair, they should have already turned it upside down, wiped out all the goblins, and left only a few survivors as seeds.

However, the ability of [Bloodline Tracing] still guided Kroya to that cave, and the faint feeling within him did not diminish in the slightest.

This means that all fifteen adventurers have probably perished.

An adventurer team consisting of fourteen veteran adventurers and one elite adventurer perished together. What exactly was hidden inside that cave?

Kroya considered whether to ask the Adventurers' Guild for help, or write to his adoptive father to see if he could find an expert to handle the situation.

Unfortunately, due to the influence of some unscrupulous predecessors, the reputation of adventurers has been reduced to that of gamblers who have become obsessed with gambling in the eyes of the Adventurers' Guild. No one will believe what they say unless they can provide sufficient evidence.

After all, the Adventurers' Guild has its own intelligence gathering system, and they prefer to use the intelligence gathered by their own people. Moreover, dispatching and mobilizing strong individuals is not an easy task. With all these factors combined, Kroya did not believe that he could persuade them with words alone, even though he had a good reputation.

As for informing his adoptive father, Kroya believed that his adoptive father would trust him. However, the business of clearing monsters had nothing to do with the church, and acting in a different field would inevitably have an impact on his adoptive father. Kroya knew that his adoptive father had enemies in the church and among secular nobles because of his impartiality, and they might take the opportunity to cause trouble.

After all, both the church and the kingdom have regulations stipulating that pastors cannot get involved in secular wars and mundane affairs.