Chapter 34: Searching for Traces

Although everyone was somewhat helpless about Julian’s proposal, they had no choice but to accept it. After all, they had no other options at the moment, especially those adventurers who understood the habits of beasts better. Although they had injured several people in the previous capture attempt, they had also wounded that variant. Based on their experience, if they didn’t eliminate this beast quickly, it would only become more cunning after suffering a loss. If it ran back to hide deep in the forest, then everything would be too late. That’s why they wanted to try to seek help through Julian, and that’s also why they agreed to Julian’s request.

On normal days, these adventurers would never act together with nobles. Not to mention their arrogant personalities, if anything happened to these nobles, those accompanying them naturally wouldn’t be able to escape unscathed. In this era, there was no concept of personal responsibility. Even if it was because of the noble’s foolish self-destruction, these accompanying adventurers would not escape punishment. After all, they were just mercenaries and farmers, not nobles with status and position. They had no way to defend themselves. In other words, even if they did defend themselves, absolutely no one would listen.

Because of this, the adventurers were not very accepting of Julian’s proposal. However, considering that this noble seemed reasonable, they finally nodded in agreement. You should know, if it were those arrogant nobles, they wouldn’t even care about the requests of these little people. More often than not, they would just reject them.

Now, looking at the figure leisurely strolling in the jungle, the adventurers became less confident in their choice.

“What do you think?” A young swordsman walking at the back gently nudged his companion, then turned his gaze towards Julian not far ahead. In their view, this noble was really stupid. They were going into the deep mountains, but he didn’t even change his clothes, just running around in noble attire. Who was he showing off to? If it were on the street, it could be seen as a symbol of displaying status, but doing so in the deep mountains and old forests where there were no people was meaningless. After all, beasts don’t care whether you’re a noble, adventurer, or mountain dweller – in their eyes, you’re all just delicious food.

Moreover, in the adventurers’ view, Julian’s sword was also placed quite inappropriately. A longsword slanted at the back of the waist could easily hinder movement. Looking at it this way, the young man before them seemed more like an uneducated noble youth thirsting for excitement. In the adventurers’ minds, they had already concluded that he had made such a request to go into the deep mountains and old forests for adventure and excitement.

“It’s around here, respected sir,” While listening to the militia captain’s explanation, Julian raised his head and looked at the jungle before him. This was still the outskirts of Twilight Forest, but there was no one coming and going. Because of Twilight Castle, the forest of the same name was also shrouded in a layer of shadow. People said there were ghosts, evil and terrifying monsters, and curses of death here. Even those bandits who also used Twilight Forest as their base were unwilling to venture too deep into this forest. Of course, sometimes they would rely on this legend to intimidate and attack ignorant merchants and travelers. And now, this forest under the bright sunlight appeared so beautiful and charming, not at all as dark and ghostly as the rumors said.

But at this moment, what appeared in Julian’s eyes was a different scene.

Tree branches were scattered on the ground, the originally dense bushes had been trampled flat, and even thin tree trunks had been broken. It was as if a powerful and violent whirlwind had rushed into the forest, leaving such shocking traces.

“We encountered that monster here last night, sir,” The militia captain was a man in his thirties, but even so, when talking about this matter, a trace of fear flashed across his steady face. Obviously, last night’s encounter was not ideal for them.

“Although we had prepared traps and weapons, we still underestimated its ferocity,” The militia captain sighed softly, then shook his head.

“Despite our best efforts, we still couldn’t subdue this ferocious beast, and it escaped in the end… Look, it’s right here.”

Saying this, the militia captain reached out, pointing to the small path forcibly opened in the forest. Obviously, this was the trace left by the beast in its panic-stricken, mad rush.

“I see,” Julian nodded, then stepped forward to continue into the depths of the forest. At this moment, the adventurers who had been following behind him exchanged glances, then immediately caught up and blocked Julian’s path.

“Look, sir, you’ve seen how formidable this beast is now, right? So can you call the guard to handle this matter? Honestly, faced with such an animal, we’re absolutely no match for it.”

The younger swordsman spoke up, and although the older one didn’t say anything, his expression showed that he strongly agreed with his companion’s opinion.

“But I haven’t seen the beast yet,” Julian raised an eyebrow, the corner of his mouth slightly curling up, revealing a sly smile.

“What I’ve seen now are just these traces. According to what you said, the beast has already run deep into the jungle, hasn’t it? If we can’t find its lair, what’s the point of all this?”

“Perhaps you don’t understand how formidable these beasts are,” The young swordsman had obviously completely taken Julian for an uneducated young master seeking excitement. Look at his leisurely and lazy appearance, how does he look like he’s going into the mountains to hunt? They were all so nervous, afraid that the injured and enraged creature would rush out, yet this young man still wanted to deliver himself to its doorstep? Did he really think this was an outdoor picnic?

What the young swordsman didn’t realize was that Julian indeed treated this as an outdoor picnic.

“I can tell you, that beast is already injured and easily frightened. Even if we catch up and find that fellow, we’re absolutely no match for it. Sir, I think we’d better leave here quickly and return to the village. Continuing to chase like this is not a solution.”

The last sentence already had quite an impolite tone, but Julian didn’t change because of this. He pondered for a moment, then shrugged.

“Thank you for your reminder, but I want to go in and take a look. There’s no harm in it anyway… According to what you said, there’s only one beast, right? I think even if it discovers us, we won’t be helpless.”

“You…” Hearing this, the young swordsman’s expression changed slightly. He really wanted to punch this young noble hard in the face, knock him out and throw him out. Nobles are indeed nobles. He had said so much, but the other party still wouldn’t listen. Obviously, he didn’t take their words seriously at all!

Now the adventurers were somewhat regretting coming along. Although this young noble was indeed more gentle and polite than others, it seemed their essence hadn’t changed – stubborn, self-centered, not listening to others’ dissuasions.

Might as well let him be eaten by that beast.

Thinking of this, the young swordsman no longer tried to dissuade. He coldly glared at Julian, then cleared the way. Julian, as if he hadn’t seen the other’s action at all, smiled and nodded at him, then stepped along this small path towards the depths of the forest. The militiamen looked at each other for a moment, obviously, this was also quite hesitant for them. After all, the militiamen also knew how formidable that beast was. Like those adventurers, the militiamen naturally didn’t believe this young noble dressed in fine clothes had the ability to eliminate that beast. But unlike the adventurers, they had no way to just leave. Mercenaries could be from anywhere, it would be impossible to find them. But militiamen were different. Many people had seen them take this noble lord up the mountain. If anything happened, when the authorities investigated, none of them could escape. They might even implicate their families. So after much consideration, these militiamen had to grit their teeth, grip their swords and spears, and continue to follow Julian into the depths of the jungle.

“Pah!” Watching Julian’s back, the young swordsman spat viciously.

“These nobles are all the same, what kind of thing, do they really think they become knights just by carrying a sword? If you want to play so much, go in and play by yourself. What’s the point of involving others, really…”

The young swordsman’s words were not finished. His companion had already shouldered his sword and continued forward. It seemed he didn’t intend to just leave like this. Seeing his companion, the young swordsman could only sigh inwardly and follow behind, grumbling. However, this time his gaze towards Julian had a few more traces of hostility.

If anything happens, noble or not, I’m going to beat him up to vent my anger!

Although somewhat angry, the young adventurer still secretly prayed, praying that the beast had run far enough away. This way, that noble young master wouldn’t find any traces of the beast, and after getting bored, he would give up this fanciful idea and return to the village.

Unfortunately, it seemed his luck wasn’t very good. After walking along that path forcibly opened by brute force for nearly two hours, everyone discovered the shadow of that terrifying monster by a small stream.

“My lord, you can’t go any further,” The militia captain grabbed Julian’s clothes, absolutely unable to let him go any further. He widened his eyes, vigilantly and fearfully watching that huge figure by the small stream that wasn’t moving, and lowered his voice.

“That beast is very sensitive. Last time we got too close and were discovered by it…”

It was a wild boar.

In Julian’s view, this wild boar didn’t seem much different from other wild boars. No, no, no, that might not be quite right, because other wild boars weren’t this big. Even from this distance, it was clear that this wild boar’s size far exceeded its kind, even half as tall as a person. Its tusks were also white and sharp, protruding from the corners of its mouth like two curved swords. Just looking at those shiny, sharp, and hard protrusions, perhaps even armor made of fine steel would have difficulty withstanding its attack.

What caught Julian’s attention most was the boar’s fur. Dark brown, armor-like fur covered its body, emitting a psychedelic color under the sunlight.

Protective aura.

Julian frowned. This was indeed a variant – after all, ordinary beasts absolutely couldn’t possess such a fierce thing as a protective aura. Otherwise, humans wouldn’t be dominating this continent.

Variants refer to mutated beasts, but it’s not a congenital product like DNA genetic mutation. On the contrary, these mutated creatures are generally the result of strong external magical interference, or from eating something with powerful magic, thus producing a mutated species. They possess very powerful strength, and some variants even have power comparable to high-rank swordsmen or even knights. These variants are a very terrifying threat to ordinary people. No wonder these militiamen panicked and sought help from the guard after discovering it was a variant. A wild boar that has gained a protective aura, without deploying intermediate swordsmen or similar existences, could even destroy a village.

Now, this half-man-tall wild boar was quietly resting by the small stream. It seemed the previous battle had obviously consumed a lot of its strength.

“Alright, sir, I think you’ve seen it now. Can we retreat?” The young swordsman said impatiently, while also becoming increasingly nervous. You know, this was almost at the limit of that damn beast’s sensing range. If they went any further, they might be discovered!

Julian didn’t answer the young swordsman’s words. He was staring intently at the wild boar before him, pondering a question. You know, variants aren’t found everywhere. Only two factors can induce these ordinary beasts to mutate. If it’s the latter, that’s fine, but if it’s the former…

Thinking of this, Julian couldn’t help but lick his lips. He had originally planned to come out to revisit mercenary life and take a break, but could he pick up a treasure like this?

“Hey!” Perhaps dissatisfied with Julian’s silence, the young swordsman snorted again. He walked forward, trying to grab this noble to make him listen seriously to what he was saying. At this moment, a crisp, low sound suddenly came from under his feet.

“Crack.”

The sound itself wasn’t very loud, but in the quiet jungle, it was so clear. Even the huge wild boar that was originally resting by the river suddenly stood up, vigilantly looking towards where everyone was.

The young swordsman’s face turned pale. He looked down at the twig he had stepped on, probably feeling like he wanted to die at this moment. This was great, he had always thought this noble young master was an idiot, but what happened? He had made a mistake even more idiotic than him! There were traces left by that beast’s mad rush all along the way, how could he forget to be careful?

Now he could only pray, pray that the beast hadn’t noticed their presence…

Unfortunately, it seemed his luck wasn’t very good.

The wild boar gently moved its nose, then suddenly let out a low roar. Then, its figure flashed, and it charged towards everyone with a roar.

“What are you stunned for!” At this moment, the young swordsman’s companion, that silent tall man, jumped out. He grabbed the young swordsman and then shouted loudly.

“Don’t panic, spread out immediately! Prepare for battle!”

Saying this, the man drew the longsword from his back. He took a deep breath, then, on that huge two-handed sword, a faint radiance flickered.

Seeing this scene, everyone was shocked.

An intermediate swordsman?!