Chapter 49 News of Death

I practically rushed over and used the "Azure Crown" to heal him, my eyes filled with disbelief and... disbelief.

Pro was the first person I met in the guild besides Martha; he was the captain of the "Glory of Knights" squad.

He has a sunny and cheerful personality, but he can also be shy around girls. However, he often bickers with Leah and has a certain fondness for her.

He possesses rich adventure experience and excellent swordsmanship, but he is not complacent because of this. Before each mission, he spends a whole day gathering information.

In short, he is a man who makes people feel very at ease.

I remember that in the morning, they had accepted a commission to investigate wetland forests.

But he came back alone?

What about Marta and Lydia?

He is the kind of person who would never abandon his comrades to survive alone, which means...

The two of them are in grave danger...

I recalled the scene of Pro inviting me this morning, but I declined...

"Damn it! Why at this crucial moment..."

I blame myself a little; if I had gone with Pro, things wouldn't have turned out this way...

The "Azure Crown" cannot heal most wounds, so his severed right arm cannot regenerate...

"What exactly happened?"

With the help of other adventurers, we returned to the inn. In his current state, if he were to enter the guild, he would only be met with fervent stares and harsh words from others who were eager to make a scene.

"Pro... what exactly happened?"

I looked at Pro, who was slumped on the ground, looking extremely depressed.

He didn't answer my question, and his listless appearance made my heart ache, even though we had greeted each other that morning.

Lilith must have gone to carry out a mission, I haven't seen her in the room, and at times like this, I'm really feeling uneasy being alone.

“Pro...Lia and Marta…”

I tried to inquire about their situation, and although I knew the odds were against them, I still held onto a sliver of hope.

"Dead..."

He buried his head very low and began to sob silently, his body trembling.

"..."

When I first heard the news, I couldn't believe it, but then I accepted it.

I know that the work of an adventurer is inherently dangerous. For example, when I faced the entire Taralu bear pack, if it weren't for Lilith, I'm afraid...

Seeing Pro's appearance, one can't help but feel frustrated. He has taken good care of her, so what can she do now?

He didn't say anything more, just kept muttering to himself...

It's all my fault, it's all my fault, and so on.

I understand that as the squad leader, Pro must be under tremendous psychological pressure after something like this happened.

I have to do something...

"Wetland forest?"

I put on a thick coat, placed the large backpack that was on the floor on the table, and checked the spare food and water.

"Sylvia...please bless me!"

Clutching the necklace at my chest, I knew that this trip might be futile, but I had no choice but to go.

There's no other reason, probably because they just can't accept the news of Marta and Lia's deaths.

...

The wetland forest is not far away, only about two hours from the center of the lake.

It contains various swamps, hence the name Wetland Forest. It is often shrouded in fog, making it a habitat for many monsters, but the highest level monsters there are only B-rank.

I believe that something capable of killing Martha and Lia, and even torturing Pro to the point of being unrecognizable, is definitely more than just a B-rank monster.

In other words, the intelligence for the B-level investigation commission was flawed. After all, the so-called intelligence was obtained by adventurers through inquiries, which has a certain degree of uncertainty.

While intelligence is generally reliable, there are too many unknowns when it comes to wetland forests.

Fortunately, it's a clear night.

The recent snowfall has left the snow in the forest unmelted, making it a bit difficult to walk around.

I was very grateful for the snow here, because by following the footprints, I could quickly find the place where Pro and the others had their accident.

The trees here are crooked and twisted, their leaves gone yet able to block out the sky. The area illuminated by the torch is limited, so I can only move forward slowly, step by step.

Awooo...

The occasional howl of a forest wolf echoed through the woods, making the entire forest seem eerie; the dark depths of the forest resembled the mouth of a giant monster.

I looked behind me and realized that I could no longer see the exit. The footprints in front of me stretched out and were clearly human footprints.

I didn't want to follow the monster's footprints directly to its lair, so I deliberately squatted down to take a good look before moving forward.

...

After arriving at an open area, the footprints disappeared, and there were obvious signs of a battle on the ground. It seemed that this was the place.

Lia and Marta are nearby.

I dared not shout, for that would only attract monsters, or even if Lia and Martha were not dead, they might not be able to respond to me. I could only grope around.

At that moment, I heard a rustling sound nearby, and I realized that monsters were coming, and judging from the noise, there were quite a few of them.

I tried to hide myself, but it was too late. Several shadowy figures had already jumped out; they were Timberwolves.

Awooo...

The first tigress to jump out appeared behind me; it must have come by smelling my scent.

A moment later, more wolves appeared and surrounded me.

This is giving me a huge headache. Despite being an F-type monster, it has the audacity to target me as prey.

"mud……"

I dare not use wide-range attack magic, as that would attract unknown monsters.

"Earth Spike"

Immediately afterwards, visible spikes emerged from the ground. The forest wolf, trying to dodge, was clearly not as fast as me and was pierced through on the spot.

The clever combination of mud and earth spikes caught the wolf pack off guard, causing them to become agitated and realize that their prey seemed to be beyond their hunting range.

"Earth Spike"

It took me some effort to deal with the wolf pack. Although many escaped, the forest finally became quiet.

I continued exploring the area and could see scattered human footprints, indicating that the battle had affected a considerable area.

Just then, I felt the forest suddenly get cold, and when I turned around, I realized that white mist had risen up without me noticing.

"This is so troublesome..."

This made my visibility in the forest very low, and the snow made me very slow.

creak...

I felt something hard under my feet, buried under the snow. I felt around in the snow with my hands and found that it was a bow and arrow.

"It's Leah's!"

I naturally recognized this weapon, which I had fought many times; it was Lia's weapon, as an archer.

"Lia..."

Although his relationship with Lia wasn't very good, they were still comrades-in-arms who had fought together.

"Ugh...sigh..."

I sighed. Leah was dead after all.