Gaius was the first one to get up from the chopped-down tree that they were sitting on. But before his other two companions could do the same, he said one last thing to them,
"Listen up. I need you guys to stay close behind one of the NPC guards, alright? When the fifth young master of the Ogre Clan shows up, and he gives the signal to attack, make sure to quickly take out the NPC guard in front of you. Am I clear?"
"We understand," Nixon replied.
"Good. Let's hurry up and join the others then."
And so, the three of them moved to Valedd's group of NPCs. They saw that Draken and Casanova were already there, and the two idiots seemed to have patched up whatever argument it was that they were having a few moments ago.
"Everyone's here. Now then, we're all going back to Nebuchadnezzar, and I suggest that we avoid the monsters that we encounter if we can because our supply of potions has been used up by the Mongrel wave we just experienced. Thus, we shall take the safest route back home. Does anyone of you have anything else to say?"
Valedd looked at the expedition team members, particularly the players as opposed to the NPC guards, but it seemed like no one had something to add or say to him.
"Okay then, since it seems to me that everyone's well-rested and ready; let us depart."
Leading the way, Valedd began treading through the forest's unbeaten path. The white-grey mist and fog were still everywhere, and the black bark of the trees, as well as its bright flaming-colored leaves, exhibited a sense of contrasting elements to the surroundings.
Their current objective was apparently to find the paved trail of Grim Rock Woods and follow it back to town, as it was much safer that way since monsters tend to avoid it owing to the fact that a lot of people traveled there. The fog over at the paved trail was also scarcer because of streetlamps and other forms of illumination being put there.
They still however got a long way to go from reaching it, since they were pretty deep into the woods at this point, probably somewhere around the middle or central area. As for the paved trail, it concluded at the ending perimeters of the Nebuchadnezzar town, hence their journey back will take about half an hour or so.
The atmosphere around the expedition team was unnatural, as they silently trekked on without speaking a word to each other; even the two idiots were strangely quiet for some reason. The only sounds that could be heard were the crunching of the earth underneath their feet and the occasional leaves that they would step on.
At this point in time, Gaius was more so confused by this peculiar mood hanging over them.
'What's going on…? Why is everybody suddenly so quiet…'
He couldn't help but think to himself. As a result, it made him feel tense and uneasy like there was some sort of invisible pressure weighing down on him. In the meantime, he locked eyes and exchanged glances with his two companions, Tunok and Nixon, yet they were equally as puzzled as him; they just didn't dare speak out in this situation.
'Seriously, what the hell is going on right now?!'
Gaius unconsciously gripped his humungous axe tighter as he continued to mutely trudge forward, all the time eyeing the back of his chosen NPC guard prey.
Ten minutes later, the entire expedition team abruptly halted. Gaius looked up from staring at the ground and was then greeted by a scene he already expected to witness.
"Hahaha! Well, well, well. If it isn't the youngest master of the Aswang Clan—Young Master Valedd. What a pleasant surprise, I did not expect for the life of me to bump into you here in this huge Grim Rock Woods. Ah, there must be some kind of coincidental fate at play here!"
A scratchy voice that was aggravating to the eardrums sounded from the front. What came to view was a pot-bellied ogre draping a piece of luxurious, loose-fitting robes. Disgustingly enough, his big pig belly was poking out from the front of his robes, and it was even full of gross, overgrown scraggly hair that would make children vomit at the sight.
The massive and arrogant ogre youth had a toothy grin on his ugly mug, causing anyone to want to instinctively wipe that smug look off his pigface. On the other hand, seeing an unwanted acquaintance appearing here at a strange time, Valedd deeply frowned and instinctively moved his hand to the scabbard equipped on his waist.
"Fifth Young Master of the Ogre Clan, Yahtorn, it is indeed an unexpected coincidence to meet you here… This youngest master of the Aswang Clan would like to send his warmest greetings to you."
"Puhahaha! Really, now? Are you sure about that, Young Master Valedd? If so, then why does your pose appear to be so belligerent right now? I mean no harm, look."
Saying that Yahtorn held up his flabby arms and shook them both from left to right. They jiggled like crazy, which did nothing more than showcase how absurdly obese the guy truly was.
"Yes, I can clearly see that you are no real threat, Yahtorn. But, I really can't say the same thing to your ten other friends over there."
Valedd shifted his gaze from Yahtorn to the ten individuals that were following him around. They were all ogres who were presumably servants or bodyguards that his rich mother gave to him.
'Why is Yahtorn here? What does he want when we are so close to reaching the main trail leading to town?'
Naturally, Valedd was suspicious of this unsightly person's true intentions. In fact, he could acutely sense that something seriously bad was about to transpire from meeting him right here and now. On the flip side, Valedd had another thought that what was about to happen next was an inevitability when it comes to this walking ill-willed abomination.
"Oh, you mean these guys. Don't worry about them, they're as harmless as rabbits. Actually, why don't you have a go at them yourself to see how awfully non-threatening they really are. Hehehe." Yahtorn snickered ominously.
'Here it comes…!'
"Sic 'em boys."