Along a winding little path, the adventuring party came upon a sparse collection of civilian houses.
They weren't exactly houses, but rather dilapidated structures made from piles of straw.
In the center of the small village, a fence had been built from wooden planks.
Within the fenced area, a few wild boars were rooting around on the ground.
Johnny, walking in the lead, relaxed his posture slightly.
For him, facing monsters required constant vigilance, but the common folk were nothing more than playthings for him and his companions to bully at will.
With that thought, Johnny turned around and said, "How about we rest here for a bit? There are a few houses, and we can eat something to regain some strength."
"Sounds good."
"No problem."
The others agreed enthusiastically.
Johnny took the lead and, along with two other adventurers clearing the way, quickly approached, easily stabbing the wild boars to death.
"Where are the people? Get someone to process these pigs for us." One adventurer said gruffly, kicking open the door of a house, only to find it empty.
"No one home. Guess you're lucky." He muttered.
Sivis, standing nearby, felt a twitch in his eyelid.
He recognized these wild boars; they were the ones he had taught the villagers to handle. By castrating them and raising them, they could be slaughtered for meat or sold to make some money.
He recalled using the old Goblin to pass on the information, and the villagers had been deeply moved, bowing and thanking him over and over…
In the territory, Sivis would occasionally see these farmers. Apart from working their fields, they would wake up before dawn to gather grasses and berries to feed the pigs.
They even refrained from eating some of the edible fruits themselves.
Because the old Goblin had passed on the pig-raising technique under the lord's name, Sivis had overheard the villagers praying fervently as they watched the boars devour their food.
"Great Monster Lord, we hope under your protection, we can raise these pigs well."
"We only wish to save a few copper coins from them."
Now, with Johnny and the others' swords, the villagers' dreams were shattered in an instant. The wild boars, raised for less than two months.
And they had all died.
Sivis remembered the villagers' devout expressions. For some reason, his anger was fiercer than before.
He stepped forward and said, "Let me try. I've also dabbled in cooking at home."
During his time undercover, Sivis had thought about how to cause trouble, and the answer was...
Poison.
The more complicated the plan, the more likely it was to be exposed.
Poisoning was simple and direct!
As a result, Sivis had shown off some culinary skills earlier, so his statement was flawless.
"Alright, let's see what you can do."
The adventurers didn't think twice.
The young priestess behind them smiled cheerfully and said, "Thank you for this, Sivis."
"No problem." Sivis smiled, expertly skinning and preparing one of the wild boars.
After walking for a while, everyone was a bit tired, and two medium-sized wild boars would be enough to feed them.
Sivis, with a calm expression, tossed the remaining boars aside, not wanting the adventurers to ruin them.
"They'll still last a few days for the villagers."
His face turned cold as he meticulously carved the meat into chunks, then collected some firewood, set it ablaze, and sprinkled a heap of seasoning on top. Among the spices, there was clearly some pale gray powder.
Sivis's original plan for poisoning wasn't to use the roasted meat, but rather to take advantage of the rest period to release a colorless, odorless poison, similar to perfume.
He had planned to add the poison to the adventurers' provisions under the pretense of helping them prepare food.
With the opportunity to cook the meat, however, he no longer needed an excuse.
While Sivis was busy with the preparations, Johnny furrowed his brow.
He had checked the area, and to his surprise, several of the homes were completely deserted.
This didn't seem right!
Johnny took a closer look at the inside of the houses and found that the rags and bundles of plants, meant to provide warmth, were scattered in disarray, as though the villagers had left in a hurry.
"This feels off. It's like the villagers suddenly ran away. These wild boars must have been theirs, and they didn't take such an important asset with them—this must have been a very hurried evacuation."
"Could they have been attacked by beasts or monsters?" Johnny speculated.
"Maybe we should pull back for now. Sivis, why don't you do another sweep?"
He suggested cautiously.
Johnny was the leader of this adventuring party, as well as their "caretaker." His goal was to make sure that these noblemen and women gained real combat experience and were safely brought back.
Except for Sivis, the rest of the group had been recruited along the way, and they trusted him implicitly.
So, when Johnny spoke up, the other adventurers didn't argue. Doubts were visible on their faces, though.
"Then... should we listen to Johnny?" the young priestess asked.
At that moment, Sivis spoke up, "I already scouted last night. Doing it again might actually alert any monsters nearby."
"The time since my last scout hasn't been long enough for any new, powerful monsters to have appeared, has it? If there were such a monster, how could these commoners possibly have escaped?"
"In my opinion, they probably fled to avoid the tax collectors," Sivis explained.
The others listened, and found his explanation reasonable.
The commoners couldn't possibly be more alert than they were, could they?
Johnny nodded in agreement.
As the strongest and most experienced member of the group, Johnny still had a nagging feeling that something about the situation wasn't quite right.
But Sivis's explanation made sense.
"I'll take another look," Johnny said seriously, and began carefully inspecting the area again.
As Sivis had said, it was clear that the ordinary villagers had all fled. There were no signs of monsters anywhere.
Feeling a bit more at ease, Johnny returned to the group, where Sivis had already finished cooking the meat. The rich aroma of the roasted boar filled the air, tempting everyone's appetites.
Johnny gazed at the sizzling, oil-dripping meat, swallowing instinctively. There was still a small lingering worry in his mind, but he couldn't bring himself to suspect Sivis.
"Thanks for your hard work, Sivis."
He stepped to the side.
Sivis smiled in response. "No trouble at all, Captain. Out here, we look out for each other." He then handed Johnny a large, golden-brown, crispy piece of roasted wild boar meat.
Johnny took the piece of meat, biting into it, the tender juices of the meat spreading in his mouth.
Sivis's cooking skills were average, but the flavor of the castrated pig was excellent, and Johnny found himself somewhat entranced by it.
The other adventurers gathered around, praising Sivis's culinary talents while devouring the meat hungrily.
Sivis casually pushed up his sleeve and pulled out a crystal vial, discreetly releasing the perfume-like poison into the air.
Thanks to his body being infused with the Evil God's essence, ordinary toxins had no effect on him. To avoid raising suspicion from his teammates, he ate the roasted meat with the same casual demeanor as everyone else.
While the adventuring party enjoyed the meat, a little farther off, the three attendants, burdened with their gear and heavy loads, stood watching with longing eyes, silently swallowing their saliva.
Sivis noticed that the old man and his two sons had gained a few more fresh scars on their faces.
Clearly, after he had left yesterday, the three had endured more abuse.
"It's alright, it'll be over soon. These people will all die!"
"I promise."
Sivis whispered to himself.
Then…
Rustle.
A sound came from the trees at the edge of the camp.
It was a few Goblins appearing, their presence far weaker than the adventurers'.
Johnny and the others, who had been enjoying the meat, immediately sprang to their feet.
Out here in the wilderness, they never let down their guard.
A cold smile appeared at the corner of Johnny's mouth as he drew his sword and charged forward.
As soon as the Goblins appeared and saw the adventurers' strength, they fled desperately toward the core of the monster's territory.
The adventurers followed hot on their heels, glancing at Johnny, their leader.
"Follow me and kill them! You three, come with us!" Johnny commanded, shouting at the three attendants.
The old man and his two sons quickly hefted their heavy gear and rushed to follow.
The adventurers' faces were filled with excitement, their eyes glinting with the thrill of unleashing violence.
"This monster territory is exactly as Sivis scouted—just a bunch of low-level Goblins!"
"It looks like this mission will be over easily!"
"Come on! Let's kill all these monsters!"
The adventurers shouted excitedly.
Sivis watched the scene, his own expression equally thrilled.
Because...
These Goblins that had suddenly appeared were all part of his plan.
The hunt...
Had begun!