Chapter 81: Forest Encounter
Several days passed, and the anticipated encounter did not occur.
The Adalatte River was not only calmer than other rivers in the northern part of the continent, but it also had no drowners.
However, this tranquility could not erase the worry in the witcher's heart.
Sir Royce and his subordinates also noticed the oppressive stillness, like the calm before a storm.
The only ones who felt happy were Tyrion and his caravan guards, and the bard who stared at the river and the forests on both sides, trying to compose a poem about a non-existent river battle.
Although the Adalatte River belonged to both the Kingdom of Kaerak and the Kingdom of Cidaris, there were hardly any Cidarian merchant ships on the river.
This was not surprising. Cidarian caravans either went overland, directly north of the northern forest of Brokilon, straight to Temeria's Velen province.
Or they could go by sea.
Naturally, there was no need to compete with Kaerak for navigation rights on the Adalatte River.
After all, the source of the Adalatte River was the northern forest of Brokilon, from which no one returned.
When the barge finally stopped, nearly a week had passed since they had set off from Kaerak City.
Sir Royce was the first to disembark with his men, securing advantageous positions on land.
After confirming there was no danger, the Golden Lion caravan slowly disembarked.
Since the purpose of this trip was not business, the caravan did not carry any goods. All they had were essential supplies for wilderness survival.
In addition, considering the inconvenience of using wagons in the forest, the Golden Lion caravan chose to use packhorses to carry the team's supplies.
After everyone else had disembarked, Lynn, Triss, and Marillian, who was both nervous and somewhat curious, were the last to step onto land.
"Sir Royce, we will now return to Kaerak City. Wishing you all the best."
After the captain waved goodbye to Sir Royce, the barge returned along the way it had come.
Sir Royce began to assign tasks.
He divided the 10 soldiers he had brought into two teams.
He himself, riding a tall warhorse, along with 2 attendants specially brought to care for the horses and 4 soldiers as scouts, walked at the forefront of the group.
The remaining 6 soldiers walked at the very back.
This way, Tyrion and his 5 caravan guards and 1 cook could be protected in the middle.
In addition, Lynn, Triss, and the bard Marillian accompanied Tyrion's caravan, receiving the protection of the soldiers.
After the arrangements were made, Sir Royce looked at Lynn. "Witcher, is there anything to add?"
Sir Royce's arrangements were fine.
Placing the supply train and non-combat personnel in the center of the formation was also a common practice.
Lynn nodded. "I have no objections. Let's do it this way."
The group walked through the dim forest, the twisted trees resembling desperate arms reaching towards the sky.
The dense forest completely blocked the sunlight.
The smell of decay came from the mud in the forest, constantly bubbling with rotting matter. The stagnant swamps were like traps waiting for prey to fall in, and just looking at them made one's scalp tingle.
No one in the group spoke.
Even Marillian, who had been talking non-stop about his poems on the boat, had now closed his mouth.
One could even see that the poet somewhat regretted joining this journey.
The atmosphere was silent and oppressive.
Suddenly, Lynn, walking in the middle of the group, lowered his voice and shouted.
"Stop!"
The entire line wasn't long, so even though the witcher's voice wasn't loud, Sir Royce and the others at the front heard it.
He had the soldiers in front stop, and he himself rode his horse to Lynn's side in the middle of the group.
"Witcher, what's wrong?"
Not only Sir Royce, but Tyrion and his caravan guards also looked at Lynn with confusion. Lynn made a gesture for everyone to be quiet. "Did you hear that?"
Hearing this, everyone quickly pricked up their ears to listen.
But they heard nothing.
"The forest is very quiet, there's no sound at all."
"Me too."
"Witcher Master, could you have misheard?"
The others said in low voices, one after another.
The witcher said to them, "The fact that you didn't hear anything is the point. Don't you think it's too eerie that such a large forest doesn't even have the sound of insects or birds?"
Only then did everyone realize the unusualness.
Indeed.
Even a noble's garden carefully tended by a horticulturalist would have the sounds of insects and birds.
But they had been in this forest for so long and hadn't heard a single sound.
It was eerily quiet.
With a soft "pop," the witcher bit off the cork of a superior potion and poured a bottle of Superior Thunderbolt into his mouth.
Then came Superior Blizzard, Superior Petri's Philter, and Superior Tawny Owl.
The "Mutation Enhancement" specialization reduced the toxicity of the potions.
Lynn, who could previously only drink a maximum of three potions, still had room after consecutively taking four superior potions.
However, the side effects of the potions clearly appeared on his face, making his complexion look terrible.
The surrounding people subconsciously took a few steps back, moving further away from the witcher.
Lynn didn't care about their small actions, and just said in a low voice,
"Get ready, they're coming soon."
"Form ranks!"
Sir Royce roared.
The 10 soldiers quickly ran over, forming a circle, forcefully planting their shields on the soft muddy ground.
Tyrion and his 1 cook and 5 caravan guards somewhat慌乱地 took crossbows and bolts from the packages carried by the horses.
Although they weren't as well-equipped as Sir Royce's men, they had received some weapons training.
They could still act as auxiliary troops to support Sir Royce's soldiers.
"Please, in the name of the goddess Melitele, give me a crossbow too."
The bard Marillian said with a mournful face.
But no one paid him any attention.
A helpless burden was better than a burden with a crossbow in hand.
Look at this guy shaking like a quail.
If he were given a weapon, they would have to worry not only about the front but also about their backs.
The air in the forest felt heavy and oppressive.
Everyone was so nervous that their palms were sweating, and their hearts were pounding wildly.
Terror wasn't just felt when terrifying things were present; when one knew that terrifying things were about to happen but hadn't yet arrived, the oppressive feeling could also suffocate people.
Fortunately, this long and agonizing wait didn't last too long.
Finally, after waiting for a while, everyone heard the sound of something moving quickly through the woods, rubbing against leaves and branches.
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