The Smiling Death

Marcus let out a disappointed sigh.

"I questioned more than twenty people, but none of them knew from which area of the forest and hills they come from."

Aisha nodded.

"The stories are all similar. They appear suddenly, rob travelers, and vanish into the forest before anyone can organize a pursuit."

Eliana folded her arms thoughtfully.

"Still, we did learn something useful."

Everyone turned toward her curiously.

"The attacks aren’t completely random."

She pointed toward a rough map of the surrounding area that had been drawn on the ground with a stick.

"Most robberies happen along these trade routes."

She marked several narrow roads leading through the forest.

"According to the villagers, merchants and travelers passing through these paths are attacked every few weeks, almost always after dark. But they only attacks weak travelers. They never attack too rich people."

Seraphina crouched beside the map.

"I heard the same."

She marked several spots deeper within the forest.

"A handful of hunters claimed they occasionally spotted suspicious figures in these areas. They disappeared before anyone could approach, but it’s possible they were members of the bandit group."

Amon studied the crude map for a few moments.

"They probably avoid staying in one place for too long."

"That’s likely," Seraphina agreed. "If they’re experienced, they would constantly change their movements to avoid being discovered."

Marcus cracked his knuckles.

"So what’s the plan?"

Seraphina stood up.

"We’ll investigate these forest areas first."

She pointed toward the marked locations.

"After that, we’ll search the roads where attacks occur most frequently. If we’re lucky, we might discover tracks, abandoned camps, or something that leads us to their hideout."

The others nodded.

It wasn’t much.

But it was the first solid lead they had found since arriving in the village.

Without wasting any more time, the group gathered their belongings and headed toward the forest, hoping the next clue would finally bring them face to face with the bandits.

---

This time, the group entered the forest together.

The peaceful village gradually disappeared behind them as towering trees surrounded the narrow trail. Sunlight filtered through the thick canopy above, casting shifting patterns of light and shadow across the forest floor.

Unlike their earlier investigation, everyone remained alert from the very beginning.

One piece of good news greatly boosted the group’s confidence.

Both Aisha and Eliana had successfully broken through to the Master Rank.

With two more Master Rank among them, their overall strength had increased considerably, making the mission much safer than before.

As they reached a fork in the forest, Amon looked around before turning to the others.

"Should we split up?"

Seraphina paused for a moment, carefully studying the surroundings.

"I think we should."

She took out a rough map of the area they had drawn earlier and pointed toward two different sections of the forest.

"There are several locations we still haven’t investigated."

After thinking for a few moments, she made her decision.

"Amon and I will search the eastern side of the forest. Marcus, Eliana, and Aisha will investigate the western side."

Marcus nodded without objection.

The decision made perfect sense.

Although their numbers would be reduced, Amon and Seraphina were the strongest members of the group. Even if they encountered danger, the two of them had enough strength to deal with most situations on their own.

Meanwhile, Marcus’s group had the advantage of numbers, allowing them to support one another if they ran into trouble.

Amon wasn’t surprised by Seraphina’s decision.

It was the most logical arrangement.

"Alright. Let’s meet back here before sunset," Seraphina added.

"If anyone discovers something important, don’t chase the bandits alone. Signal the others first."

Everyone agreed.

After exchanging one last nod, the group split into two teams.

Amon and Seraphina headed deeper into the eastern forest.

The two searched every place that seemed suspicious.

They inspected abandoned clearings, examined footprints left in the dirt, looked for traces of campfires, broken branches, discarded equipment, or anything that might indicate human activity.

Whenever they found footprints, they carefully followed them.

Unfortunately, most belonged to monsters or wild animals.

The forest had some monsters but they were very weak ones.

Amon and Seraphina encountered them, but they were too weak so it was easy to kill them.

Several times they discovered what looked like old campsites, only to realize they had been used by traveling merchants or other travelers. Since they were too close to trade route.

Hours passed as they continued their search.

The afternoon slowly faded into evening.

The golden sunlight filtering through the trees gradually turned orange before the forest became increasingly dim.

Despite searching every suspicious location they could find...

They discovered nothing.

Not a single clue pointed toward the bandits’ hideout.

By the time Amon and Seraphina returned to the meeting point, Marcus’s group had already arrived.

Judging from their expressions, they had experienced the same disappointment.

Marcus sighed heavily.

"Nothing."

Aisha shook her head.

"We searched every marked location. No tracks, no camps, nothing."

Eliana folded her arms.

"They’re better at hiding than we expected."

Seraphina remained calm despite the disappointing results.

"I expected this much."

She looked toward the sky, where the sun was already disappearing beyond the mountains.

"The villagers all said the bandits become active after nightfall."

She turned toward the others.

"If searching for them during the day doesn’t work... We were just trying see any clue or trace but there’s none...then we’ll wait for them to make the first move."

Everyone understood what she meant.

Amon smiled.

"So we’re setting up an ambush?"

Seraphina nodded.

"Exactly."

She pointed toward one of the trade routes where merchants had been attacked several times according to the villagers.

"We’ll hide near the road and observe the area. If the bandits appear tonight, we’ll follow them back to their hideout instead of attacking immediately."

"Sounds like a plan," Marcus replied.

Without wasting another moment, the group quietly made their way toward the village.

They would wait until night comes and then go back to forest and hide near trade route.