Chapter 367: A Few People Died
This time, nearly ten thousand adventurers were organized, split into dozens of teams, and set off one after another.
Yuliya’s team had a few hundred people, and after a brief wait, they also set off.
The Offering Ceremony was the biggest event in this world, with three countries each holding various actions of different scales.
When you add together the forced and voluntary adventurers, there were hundreds of thousands participating.
They headed toward the monster gathering area, sweeping through the place like a broomsweeper on a cleaning spree.
While holding the ceremony, they also cleared out monsters to maintain a long-lasting peace.
Yuliya chatted with her four-person adventurer team along the way.
The only girl among them was Dazzy, while the other three were Brook, Silio, and Porta.
“Where is Riya from?”
“Jade Emperor Kingdom.”
“Never heard of it! Where is that?”
“To the east, quite a distance away, but it’s a magnificent major country.”
“Is that so? Maybe we’ll have a chance to visit it someday. So, Riya, how long have you been out here, all by yourself?”
Yuliya thought for a moment before replying, “I’ve been on my own for over six months.”
She couldn’t exactly say she had only just come out a few weeks ago, right?
Most people can’t keep up the pace, but she could fly—way faster than the average legendary strongman!
“Impressive! At your age, you’re brave enough to go out alone! When I was your age, I was probably still in school. But now, we’ve been out for almost three years—pretty mature adventurers, if I do say so myself.”
For the most part, it was just the two girls chatting, while the other three struggled to interject but perked their ears to listen.
“Hey, Riya, why are you still wearing that mask? And you’re all wrapped up in that black robe! You don’t look like a kid your age at all.”
“Better safe than sorry while I’m out here.”
“Well, now that we’re friends, can you take off your mask so I can see?”
“No way. We’re only traveling together for now; we’re not really friends yet.”
“Aw.”
“Dazzy, you should take a page out of other people’s books,” Brook, who was the strongest among them, finally chimed in. “Adventurers out there can’t be so careless; at least have some awareness!”
Then Brook turned to Yuliya: “I don’t mean to target Miss Riya specifically. Just using Dazzy as an example—her personality makes her prone to trouble.”
“Got it.”
“I’m spot on when it comes to judging people! You can tell right away if someone is bad! Riya is definitely a good person! She even kindly told us about this ceremony!”
Hearing this, everyone chuckled lightly.
Dazzy had always been like this; it was hard to change her, so the others in the group just had to be more cautious.
But sometimes, her personality did bring benefits to the team; chatting with others often helped gather information or resources.
“So, Riya, how old are you now? With that mask on, I can’t tell; I only know you’re younger than me.”
“A girl’s age is a secret.”
“Huh? Not even for the young?”
“Nope.”
Dazzy kept asking Yuliya all sorts of questions along the way, while Yuliya responded in a casual manner.
The atmosphere on the journey was generally harmonious.
Of course, this was only true for their little group.
Most of the other adventurers in the team, including the nearly a hundred soldiers leading the way, had rather grim faces, either serious or worried.
They were heading into monster territory; you could say it felt less like a hunt and more like a one-way ticket to d*ath. Whether they made it back really depended on luck.
Leaving the city, crossing borders, encountering enemies, killing monsters.
And just like that, one day went by.
It took half a day to cross the border, and the second half was spent in areas where monsters were fewer, so they hardly encountered enemies or fought, resulting in minimal casualties.
As night fell, everyone set up camp to rest on the spot.
All adventurers and soldiers had rich outdoor survival skills; they used their supplies to quickly take care of their hunger before settling down.
Many people formed their own little teams, setting up small tents to take turns resting.
Dazzy and her team were among them.
Their tent was undoubtedly the most extravagant and eye-catching, drawing curious glances from others.
But upon closer inspection and sensing the powerful aura radiating from them, many quickly looked away.
In any case, strong people always enjoy certain privileges.
However, Yuliya thought they were a bit too conspicuous.
There were more than just these golden-level adventurers in the team; others either had nothing or were just the most ordinary.
Such is the folly of youth.
Sigh, not like me, who possesses the wisdom of maturity.
“Riya! Want to join us? We have plenty of space; adding you in is no problem!”
“Me? No thanks, I’m not used to sharing space with others.”
Yuliya glanced at a nearby tree, hopped a couple of times, and quickly perched herself on a branch to rest.
Dazzy sighed, “Looks like little Riya and I aren’t that close after all.”
“What did you expect? She’s been out here alone for so long; of course, she’s on high alert.”
“But I’m not a bad person! She must think you all are! Especially you, Silio! I’ve noticed you’ve been trying to sneak peeks at Riya.”
“I…” Silio wanted to argue but ended up biting his tongue, “Aren’t you all curious? What’s Riya really like?”
“Riya’s voice is lovely; she must be a stunning beauty!”
Porta, who had been quiet until now, chimed in, “Voices can be deceiving; she could actually be a buff muscular ‘Barbie’ who can knock people out with a single punch.”
Hearing that, Yuliya felt a vein pop on her forehead.
“You’re the ‘Barbie’! Your whole family is! I’ll knock you flying with one punch if you keep this up!”
Whatever, I’m a mature adult now; I shouldn’t stoop to their level.
The night quickly passed, and with the rustling of the trees at dawn, the next day arrived.
But soon, someone shouted.
“Not good! Someone’s dead!!”
After that yell, everyone quickly sprang up to check the situation.
About a kilometer from their camp, they indeed found four corpses.
The bodies were bleeding from the mouths; some had obvious head trauma, but the rest seemed okay.
The soldier leader arrived, took a quick look, and asked the first person who discovered the bodies.
It appeared these corpses had been crushed to d*ath by blunt force or shock. Since they were still within the camp’s range, the soldier leader promptly determined they had gone out at night and been killed by monsters.
d*ath was too normal. They were practically here to d*e.
After warning everyone not to leave the camp at night unnecessarily, he sent everyone back.
