**Chapter 371: Everyone’s Gonna d*e**
Whether they wanted to or not, the team trudged onward.
Yuliya was still positioned at the front, flanked by Dazzy and the others.
After pondering for a moment, Yuliya reminded them, “You guys should be extra careful today. Trouble might be lurking around.”
Dazzy replied, her expression serious, “We’ve always been careful.”
“I mean, be careful during the day too. It’s best to conserve your strength; you don’t have to go all out against monsters. Just hang back like I do.”
“Ah? Why?”
“Just a hunch.”
Not wanting to say more, Yuliya scanned the surroundings.
Dazzy and the others exchanged glances and eventually nodded.
Better safe than sorry—last night’s d*ath toll was no joke.
They had even encountered gold-level monsters yesterday, and today’s encounter might be even worse.
Even with their gold-level prowess, walking around here felt like being on a tightrope over a pit of crocodiles—better keep some strength in reserve.
“Hey Riya, you…”
“Relax, I have my own tricks. You guys don’t need to worry too much about me.”
Yuliya was a seasoned slacker; even if she accidentally mopped everyone out, she could still carry on!
As they had expected, the battles on this seventh day were the toughest yet.
The monsters they faced were feral, and gold-level ones appeared more frequently than a bad rom-com on TV.
This time, five gold-level monsters popped up like they were at a monster convention.
The Soldier Leader could only hold off one of them, while the rest charged straight for the crowd.
Dazzy and her crew jumped to action, but Brook, being the team leader, discreetly ordered everyone to avoid the gold-level monsters.
In the end, they only focused on one gold-level monster.
But more of those pesky gold-level threats lingered nearby, and their intentions were anyone’s guess. The result? One gold-level monster, unopposed, wreaked havoc among the masses.
The battlefield echoed with screams—shouts, pleas for mercy, roars, and wails.
bl**d splattered across the forest, from both monsters and humans alike.
The brutal showdown lasted an hour, ending with the annihilation of all gold-level monsters while most other creatures were dispatched as well, with a few making a run for it.
The gold-level monster surged into the crowd without opposition, but the sheer number of silver-level adventurers forced it down with sheer blunt force.
However, the cost was staggering.
Half of the two hundred adventurers had met their end.
Looking at the adventurers sprawled out among the dead, the Soldier Leader sighed, “Take a few steps forward and let’s regroup.”
After moving about fifty meters away, the crew plopped down to rest.
Yuliya approached Dazzy and the others. She gave them a once-over and nodded.
Not bad, they seemed to have heeded her warning. Their condition wasn’t too shabby.
Earlier in the fray, Yuliya noticed that the four were circling a fledgling gold-level monster, taking forever to defeat it.
That was some serious slacking!
Oh, but one particular person slacked even more. Hehe.
“Riya, you okay? I didn’t see you during the fight.”
“Of course, I’m fine. Living my best life here.”
Only now did Dazzy realize that Riya, of all people, hadn’t even gotten a speck of dust on her.
“Did you… sneak away? Did you come back after the fight ended?”
Yuliya chuckled, “More or less.”
“No wonder you managed to escape. I’m actually a bit impressed.”
The five of them huddled together, snacking and chatting aimlessly.
They had somewhat been isolated by the other adventurers, settling in a rather secluded spot.
Suddenly, Yuliya furrowed her brow and glanced around. “Be careful. Something smells fishy.”
“Fishy?”
“Whatever it is, hold your breath.”
They seemed to sense something too, immediately covering their mouths and noses, standing up to survey the area.
Then, a scream pierced the air not far from them.
Followed by several more.
“Wait! What’s going on? Someone’s been murdered!”
“Traitors! They’re traitors! Soldier Leader! Catch them!”
“Wait! Where are the soldiers?!”
It was only then that they realized the soldiers seemed to have vanished.
No, not vanished.
When they looked further afield, it looked like they… had formed a circle around them?
Everyone sensed something was awry and immediately began to resist.
But at the moment they moved, they recognized something was off; their bodies felt strange, and their spirits dulled, growing drowsy.
“We’ve been poisoned!”
“It’s their doing! And those soldiers too! They’ve teamed up to k*ll us all!”
Just after surviving a life-or-d*ath battle, the adventurers were faced yet again with the kn*fe from “their own people.”
A few in the poisoned ranks began killing at random, while the surrounding soldiers closed in like a noose.
Brook, Dazzy, and the team immediately reacted, preparing to fight back.
They were adventurers too, and they certainly wouldn’t escape this grim fate.
But the moment they decided to act, they realized the situation was dire.
“Wait! We need to run!”
The soldiers now matched the number of surviving adventurers, but the soldiers clearly had the upper hand, and the adventurers were poisoned.
Plus, those traitors? They clearly looked stronger, several were gold-level for goodness’ sake.
“You won’t escape. You’ll all d*e here,” barked the Soldier Leader as he stepped forward, flanked by another figure, who looked just like an adventurer.
Yet, the Soldier Leader stood slightly behind him, a tad deferential.
That person coldly gazed at the five and sighed, “Surrender quietly. Everyone’s destined to perish in this forest.”
Brook furrowed his brow, drawing his sword, ready to fight, but someone stepped right in front of him.
“Oh, so the traitors aren’t just five but six? I missed one.” Yuliya murmured as she stepped forward, calmly asking, “Everyone? Including you guys?”
“Riya! Now’s our chance! While they’re distracted with the others, we can break through!”
“No, some things need clarification. If everyone—including them—is destined to d*e, breaking through doesn’t mean much, does it? Plus, I don’t believe you have much hope of breaking out. That guy’s pretty strong.”
“You can tell?” The stranger frowned. “That’s right… our plan has already been delayed a day because of you lot. It was supposed to end yesterday.”
“Let’s do some introductions. I’m Walian, one of the organizers of this Offering Ceremony in Kolai City, and I’m Emerald Level.”
“Emerald Level mid-tier,” Yuliya added.
Walian’s expression soured, but he nodded, “Correct. I’ve never been able to read you. Who are you exactly, and why are you here? You’ve been obstructing my plans yet seem completely unbothered.”
“I’m just a passing adventurer. I stuck around purely to see what this Offering Ceremony was all about. As for hindering you, it was just luck, really.”
Honestly, I was just passing by, curious to see what was up, and ended up in this mess.
