Chapter 81: The People of the “Tree”

Enrique’s question naturally went unanswered by anyone present. After some casual chatter, they all went back to focusing on the journey ahead.

At this point, they had completely left the influence of the Coastal City of Leila and had entered a neighboring province. This area was also plagued by missing persons cases, and the situation was even more severe than in Leila.

The Ost Empire practiced semi-militarized management, with provinces administered by their own cities. The main city in this area was named Adelaide, a bustling metropolis that was slightly less prosperous than the Coastal City of Leila, but still boasted a population of over a million. Although it lacked the presence of top-tier organizations like the Lingyin Merchant Association, it had all the usual urban institutions such as the Adventurer’s Guild, Mercenary Association, and Magic Research Institute.

In summary, it was a standard large city, somewhat unremarkable but without any glaring flaws. The chain organizations like the Adventurer’s Guild here were considered to be of a slightly lower standard compared to those in Leila.

From what Enrique had gathered, Adelaide likely didn’t have legendary adventurers like their own team stationed there, let alone a fully-fledged squad.

Due to the distance, the Adventurer’s Guild here had collaborated with the Coastal City of Leila multiple times to handle large commissions, and they frequently exchanged information regarding the current missing persons case, so Enrique was somewhat informed about the situation here.

However, this joint tracking operation with the Priestess was strictly confidential; besides their own team members, only the president and vice president of the Adventurer’s Guild in Leila were aware, and they hadn’t informed anyone in Adelaide yet.

In the words of the “Tree Bow,” the incident seemed suspicious, leading him to suspect that there were moles within the guild and even the higher-ups of the empire, which was why the investigation faced many setbacks and made slow progress.

Moreover, there might be more than just one or two moles.

As they followed the traces left by Little Dragon Daughter and moved for a while, Enrique noticed the day was getting darker and signaled to a short, unremarkable-looking youth with short hair and a mask in their party.

“Alright, this is it for today. We’re now in the mountains, and it’s a bit remote here. Let’s see if we can find a village to stay in, or we’ll have to camp out.”

The youth nodded in understanding, leaped up, and quickly disappeared into the treetops amid the rustling leaves.

After a few days together, Miss Vilyric had gotten a good grasp of their team composition. The young man she just saw was called “Tree Monkey,” a scout for Enrique’s team. Of course, that wasn’t his real name; it was a nickname used for convenience within the team.

Most experienced high-level adventurers had similar titles because this profession wasn’t particularly safe, and at times, could even offend people. Having codenames wasn’t just for show; it served as a protective measure for the adventurers.

“Tree Monkey” wasn’t a pure human but had a part of the “Climbing Monkey” bloodline. He hadn’t disclosed his specific abilities, but Vilyric could roughly gauge them from his previous actions and the aura he emanated.

At the very least, he was at a sky-level ability or above. In terms of speed and agility over complex terrains, he likely outclassed most normal legends. Without an extraordinary skill, he’d never have been able to join such a legendary adventurer team.

The group rested momentarily, and soon after, “Tree Monkey” returned with information from his scouting.

“There aren’t any large building districts within a few kilometers, but if we climb over this low mountain we’re on, there might be a village at the foot of the other side. I saw some faint smoke rising from that direction while I was up high.”

“Smoke? Are you sure it’s at the foot of this mountain?”

“Yeah.”

For some reason, Enrique frowned slightly, but he didn’t rush to express his thoughts, only turning to the black-haired girl representing another party.

“Tree Monkey’s scouting ability is trustworthy. If he says he saw smoke, then he definitely did.”

The black-haired girl was silently observing something on the mountain path, and suddenly looked up and said, “That caravan… has also been to the village below.”

Exchanging glances with the Priestess, “Tree Bow” quickly set aside his original serious expression and nodded with a smile.

“Then there’s no need to hesitate. Let’s go.”

Navigating through the dark undergrowth at night was a rather dangerous endeavor for most people. The roads in remote areas weren’t neatly laid out like those in scenic spots; they were literally “trails forged by walking.”

Also, since the mountain faced away from the sun, the paths were consistently muddy and slippery. It might be somewhat manageable during the day, but at night, when one couldn’t see their feet, tripping and falling was quite common, and it wasn’t impossible to tumble down the hillside.

Although the adventurers in this group were generally above land and sky level and far more physically capable than the average person, it didn’t mean accidents couldn’t happen.

“Ah!”

“Hey! Be careful!”

At a girl’s urgent cry, Miss Le Qiao Qiao, who was closest, quickly grabbed her arm to prevent her from slipping on the soft mud after losing focus.

“What happened? An enemy attack?”

The Tree Spirit Siblings at the front immediately stopped and turned back, while the Priestess called forth a floating light spirit that illuminated the space around the two girls involved in the incident.

“Ah, I’m so sorry! I was a bit lost in thought, thank you, Qiao Qiao…”

The girl who suddenly embarrassed herself was the youngest member of Enrique’s team, known as Qionghua. Although it sounded like a title, it was reportedly her real name.

Qionghua was a very pure human, dressed in standard wizard robes, wearing a single crystal lens, her black short hair pressed beneath a large wizard hat, and she held a small wand. Usually silent and somewhat introverted, her abilities were among the lowest in the team, as she had just recently advanced to the land level.

Given her current age and species, reaching this level was quite impressive, but the adventurer team didn’t care about talent like a magic academy; all they required was genuine strength.

Thus, Qionghua must have some special traits.

Hearing the endless thanks from the other girl, the Miss Thief just smiled broadly, patting the frail shoulders of the mage girl and said, “It’s fine! But you’ve been a bit fidgety since just now, and your gaze keeps drifting upward. Is there something up there?”

Surprised, Qionghua glanced at Miss Le Qiao Qiao and noticed the other teammates had already gathered around. The timid mage girl could only nod awkwardly.

“You have quite a keen eye; no wonder you were recommended by the Priestess… What I was actually doing was looking for gaps in the trees to observe the stars… The night sky in this area is strange, oppressive, disordered. It’s very unusual, and I wanted to deduce as much information as possible, which is why I…”

“Observing the stars?”

Hearing this, Vilyric, who had come closer, immediately realized Qionghua’s profession and looked at the unremarkable, introverted girl with curiosity.

“You’re an Astrologer?”

   

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