CHAPTER 77: SIGNS OF HUMANS (1).

"Going deeper into the forest will get us killed."

The scent of burnt wood still lingered in the air as the last embers of the campfire was out.

Right underneath a giant Burworl Tree was a party of six; a large man with a stern face and a broadsword in his hip. He wore a set of rusty, steal armor and had on steel-toed leather boots.

He sat on the root of the tree staring at the map in his hand.

His lips parted as he replied,

"Malady’s Garden is a large place. We’ll be fine as long as we stick relatively close to the outskirts."

"You will get us all killed, Garrick!" One of the other six hissed. He was a slender man dressed in armor of similar make and quality to the first man called Garrick. However, his choice of weapons was a pair of short swords attached to his hips and a crossbow attached to his back.

Garrick frowned. He raised his gaze and turned his glare towards the slender man,

"Obed, I hope you realize we’ll be dead if we do not complete this mission."

Garrick rose to his full height, towering over Obed by an entire head.

Obed’s expression was dark, but he refused to look away,

"Our job is already dangerous as is. We barely have what it takes to defeat a small pack of Mad Wolves!"

Obed raised his hands in defeat, "All for the sake of some damn quota?! Fuck the quota! What does the quota matter if we are all dead?! I’ll take the damn punishment if it means—!"

Obed crumpled to the ground, hand on his face and eyes wide in shock and horror.

Garrick slowly took his fist down,

"The armor on your chest and your weapons in their sheaths were given to you by the church not our of fucking good will. It is so you can work for them. The moment you no longer do your job, you become useless and expendable. You won’t be able to feed your children anymore, and you will starve through the winter. Is that what you want?! Get yourself together!"

Obed lay on the ground, still too stunned to speak.

Garrick huffed then turned to face the others— two females and two more males.

"Do any of you also have something to say?"

The rest remained silent.

Garrick sighed.

He was the leader of a hunting squad commissioned by the Church to hunt and forage within Malady’s Garden which bordered the town of Liedenstorm.

Liedenstorm was a large place with more than a million people due to its size and proximity to the capital, it could be said to be a fairly prosperous city.

However, the reality of it was far from ideal.

In reality, all the wealth of the city was concentrated in the hands of the nobility, merchants, and of course, the Church.

Most of the common people had to resort to trades to make ends meets.

However, the vast majority of them had to rely on the provisions of the Church’s institution.

The so called "Hunters", were a direct result of this. They were less hunters and more scavengers and foragers.

Most of them couldn’t battle against even the weakest type of Abomination on their own. Plus, the air within Malady’s Garden was rather dangerous to normal humans.

To make matters worse, the forest, plump body of a human was the favorite target of ghosts to possess.

The rate of Eldritch manifestations breaking out within the City was at an all time high thanks to the rise in the numbers of hunters trying to make a living by delving into the edges of the mad world.

Garrick looked around. He had been a hunter for a few years already. In that time, he had seen the true horrors of the world.

He had seen people torn to pieces and defecated out as bloody sludge.

He had seen humans go mad and claw out their own brains after a possession.

Every day, he was filled with fear for his life.

But he had no choice. Trying to escape the church after signing up as a hunter meant he would be liable to targeting, his weapons and armor would be taken away, and of course he would lose access to his income, which he required to feed his family.

In short, he could not afford to lose it at all.

Darkness swelled in his eyes.

Even if he had to do some rather despicable things.

Seeing that they remained silent, Garrick nodded then spoke up,

"Very soon, we will reach the river. Our goal is to get the herbs and get out. Remember, this isn’t a hunting mission."

The only reason he had decided to take the quest, was because it wasn’t required of them to hunt anything. Hunting quests were far more dangerous.

In his hands was a map that detailed the location a specific type of herb— The Oasis Flower.

The branch of the Church that existed within Liedenstorm fell under the Order of the Verdant Ash Sea, which meant most of what they required were the various strange plants, herbs, fungus, and even strange barks of strange trees within Malady’s Garden. Very rarely did they need a part from an Abomination.

Of course, that didn’t mean the danger was completely eliminated.

After all, evil was the most abundant thing within the forest.

Garrick turned to Obed who had risen from the ground, his expression unreadable.

A dark look flashed in his eyes again, but he managed to suppress it. Then he extended his hand forward,

"No hard feelings." He said slowly, making sure to stress every syllable.

Obed looked up, a mix for fear and rage in his eyes.

Compared to him, Garrick was much more powerful. He had once taken on a Grade E Abomination alone. And he had managed to not only push it back, but also came very close to defeating it.

If they got into a fight here, he was sure he would be killed mercilessly. And so ce the Church didn’t care what the fate of the insignificants was, the matter was sure to be swept under the ground.

He would die for nothing.

The only thing he could do was suppress his rage and hatred.

He sucked in a deep breath then nodded as he took the outstretched arm,

"No hard feelings. I was just a bit pissed since you didn’t inform us of this before hand."

Garrick smirked, "If I did, you wouldn’t have come along."

Without waiting for a reply, Garrick turned to pick up his rucksack,

"We should reach the river long before nightfall. Check to make sure your charms are still active."