Jade Forest, afternoon.
Light snow falls once more, with icy grains swirling plaintively in the branches enveloped by a biting wind.
The harsh energy of the winter hunt permeates the increasingly frigid weather.
Warrior Blake’s heavy shoulder armor accumulates frost, and with each step he takes, his boots sink deeply into the thin snow-covered layer of decaying leaves, producing a dull creaking sound.
His companions move forward, trying to warm up their chilled bodies.
"Damn this weather... It’s just barely warmed up in the morning, and now it’s freezing again in the afternoon, still can’t find any ’prey’..."
Mage Pierrot, in the center of the group, has cheeks chilled to the point of turning blue as he strives to maintain the glow of his detection magic.
He’s the least tolerant of cold in the group, and even wrapped in thick winter clothes, he can’t compare to the constitution advantage of the melee combat professionals.
"No worries." Rogue Dylan rubs his hands together, exhaling a puff of white breath, a sly glint in his eyes.
"Let’s probe a bit further, and if we really find nothing..." He deliberately pauses, waiting for his companions to focus their attention on him. "We can take a look at the ’neighbors’."
"I’ve noticed it when I came. The area next to us is that two-person team, a man and a woman. Given their efficiency... hehe." He doesn’t finish his sentence, but the soft laugh is enough.
The other three people hear this, and an understanding smile spreads across their faces.
Snatching monsters is unorthodox, but among equally matched bronze-level adventurers, numbers are the real deal.
If they should blame someone, blame them for having just two people in their team.
"Shh!!"
"Stay alert!"
Blake, at the front, suddenly growls, swinging his greatsword horizontally before him.
In the next moment, three dire wolves with glowing green eyes burst out from the side bushes!
Caught off guard by the sudden encounter, both sides are unprepared, and the battle erupts instantly!
"Ha!" Blake roars, swinging his greatsword with a heavy whistle towards the dire wolf charging at the forefront.
The beast cannot adjust its pouncing posture and crashes into the cold blade.
"Pshhh—slash!"
A teeth-clenching ripping sound echoes.
A menacing line of blood tears from the wolf’s neck straight to its abdomen, with hot wolf’s blood and innards spilling across the snowy ground in a huge, eye-catching splash of crimson, the wolf’s body split in two, flying heavily back!
As Blake strikes, the other two dire wolves are quickly dealt with by his companions.
"I say, Blake, next time, keep it down!" Pierrot grimaces, dodging the splattering warm wolf’s blood with disgust.
Blake remains oblivious, eyes fixed intensely on the direction the dire wolves emerged from.
These dire wolves differ from ordinary wild wolves, boasting outstanding endurance and combat prowess, often allied with elite goblins, beastmen, or other demons, serving as mounts or guards.
Rumor has it they were originally transformed into war beasts through magic, but generations of breeding have degraded their bloodlines, and nowadays dire wolves don’t possess overly formidable combat capabilities, but the habit of aligning with demons remains ingrained in their blood.
Their presence often indicates a sizable monster stronghold nearby.
The other two clearly thought of this too, their eyes lighting up.
"We finally found something." The rogue complains. "Only took down one weak point all morning, I thought we might return to the camp empty-handed today."
"It’s getting late, let’s get to the spot early and finish this quickly." The priest urges.
Since the leads lie in their "territory," the group naturally abandons the idea of picking easy gains at the "neighbors’," as it’s better to avoid extra trouble; their team always values peace...
Rogue Dylan leads the way at the front, quickly tracing the disordered but fresh wolf paw prints on the snow.
However, as they delve deeper, the expressions of the group shift from excitement to confusion.
They encountered several more waves of fleeing monsters, a few panicking kobolds, a limping timid ogre... seemingly fleeing a terrifying threat behind them in haste.
"Be careful."
Doubt lingers heavily in their minds.
Did someone get there before them? But the nearby teams have similar abilities; logically, their speed shouldn’t be that fast?
Could the monster community here have run into some indigenous demon creature in the forest and conflict erupted?
With mounting suspicion, the four traverse a dense coniferous forest, and the view suddenly opens up.
An open space amid the forest appears before them.
In the distance, a man wielding a sword adeptly moves within the remaining monster horde, weaving and darting effortlessly.
With every step.
Every precise thrust, marking the collapse of another monster in its place.
The nimble and lethal steps appear as if dancing amidst the battlefield.
"Damn! Someone really beat us here?!" Mage Pierrot curses, his frostbitten face turning red.
To him, the opponent appearing so promptly there indicates rule-breaking, crossing boundaries to snatch without clearing their own area first.
Although they had just planned this way earlier, now being the victim themselves, the feeling is completely different!
"Is it him?" The Wanderer Dylan squinted his eyes, his piercing gaze cutting through the drifting snowflakes, finally seeing clearly the face that seemed exceptionally calm under the black hair.
"You know him?"
"Hmm, it’s just like I said earlier, the two-person team beside us, and I just remembered, this person seems to be the Goblin Slayer that people in town have been joking about lately, black hair, rapier..."
"Strong?" The Priest asked quietly.
"Unclear." Dylan shook his head. "I’ve only heard people say he seems to specialize in targeting goblins."
"Someone who only likes bullying weak demons, how strong can he be?" The Mage Pierro shivered slightly from the cold, and the thought of their afternoon efforts in the snowy search being ruthlessly ’stolen’ by the other party ignited an inexplicable anger within him.
These are indeed gold coins, and if the hunt had gone unnoticed by the others, it would be fine, but it had been witnessed in the midst of the killing.
"Should we...give them a lesson?" Blake asked in a low voice.
In the distance, the battle at the center of the clearing had already concluded.
Gauss flicked his wrist, shaking off the blood from his rapier, precisely pinning the last Mud Monster, attempting to meld into the muddy ground, onto the frozen soil.
A hint of satisfaction appeared on his face.
The third half-ogre leader.
And...
"Total monster kills: 801"
Along with the unlocking of the fifteenth ordinary monster in the Monster Atlas, [Mud Monster].
Everything was proceeding in an orderly manner.
However...
His gaze suddenly shifted to a certain spot.
Four figures were slowly emerging from the forest at the edge of the clearing.
Gauss somewhat remembered these people; they were one of the teams participating in this winter hunt.
Moreover, there’s a high probability they are outsiders, unfamiliar faces unseen before, likely arriving at Gray Rock Town in the past two or three weeks due to the winter hunt.
He moved without any panic, calmly retrieving a special green signal flare from his waist and igniting it.
A thick green pillar of smoke shot up into the sky, exceptionally noticeable in the gray snowy sky, announcing the completion of the clearing task in this place.
"I say, sir Goblin Slayer, aren’t you being a bit underhanded here?"
The Mage in the team saw the scene akin to a declaration of sovereignty, frowned, and was the first to speak.
"Is there a problem?" Gauss slightly turned his head, still chewing the Demon Frog Meat leisurely.
"This is our territory!" the Mage said discontentedly. "Besides, you came over so quickly, you haven’t even searched your designated clearing area, have you?"
Gauss’ gaze slowly swept over the remaining few people.
They hadn’t spoken, but it was evidently the same sentiment.
Behind him, Aaliyah and Ulfen, who had been in the distance, quickly jogged over.
"So what do you want?"
Gauss knew well that explaining he came over only after finishing the clearing task at this point was completely pointless.
The opponents came with aggressive intent, not to seek verification.
"Since you broke the guild rules first, share half the proceeds of this clearing task with us, and we won’t file a complaint," the Mage continued.
His gaze hovered between Gauss and Aaliyah.
Although they cleared a community with only two people, he acknowledged the strength they might possess, but they had just finished a hard battle, while his side had four individuals ready and relaxed, also holding a numerical advantage.
The situation favors them.
He believed his demands to be fair.
"You’re breaking the rules, our Gray Rock Town’s winter hunt doesn’t allow such forceful appropriation," Aaliyah spoke up behind Gauss.
She felt this group of outsiders was indeed not abiding by the rules.
But the four ignored her, continuing to focus their attention on Gauss.
Gauss stuffed another piece of meat into his mouth, continued chewing, his gaze fixed on the four.
Heavy-armored Warrior, Mage, Wanderer, and a Priest with not much presence, all with bronze One-star Adventurer’s Badge.
The cold wind mixed with snowflakes wafted his bangs.
Gauss remained silent for a moment, the chewing motion carrying a peculiar rhythm, creating a subtle pressure among the four waiting for his response.
Finally, he slowly, clearly shook his head.
"I do not accept."
"If you want to complain, go ahead."