The forest to the east of Loren Town was generally called Crim Forest by the locals.
It was said that it had once been the place where a certain emperor in Kurand’s history had passed through Loren Town and executed traitors.
Though the name and the legend sounded a little eerie, it didn’t really affect the daily lives of the townspeople.
In warm weather, hunters would go in to hunt as usual.
When winter approached, the town’s carpenters would bundle up in thick cotton coats, grab their axes in groups, and head into the forest, returning with bundles of firewood to sell to the residents for heating.
Crim Forest could be called an “old friend” that some townspeople relied on for their livelihood.
At least, that was true before those demon beasts appeared.
Ed poked his head out from behind a bush and stared at the wide cave entrance dozens of steps away.
“This is the spot?”
“Latest information. Can’t be wrong,” Kelta whispered, poking his head out beside him.
“The last injured person sent to the priest for treatment was bitten by these two. No matter how special demon bears are, they’re still bears. With the weather getting colder every day, they shouldn’t be wandering around aimlessly.”
Ed looked at the several large claw prints of varying depths in the mud at the cave entrance and nodded slowly.
The two of them pulled back.
“How was it? How was it!”
The moment they returned to the agreed meeting point, Bailis rushed over impatiently.
“Are they big? Are they taller than a house and stronger than an elephant?”
“Miss Bailis, Mr. Ed and I didn’t actually see them,” the young adventurer said. “But I caught a distant glimpse of them once. Their size is indeed very large, but not quite to the extent Miss Bailis described…”
“But that’s what the books say,” the girl grumbled.
“What the books say isn’t always accurate. Maybe they just made it up to scare children,” Ed chimed in.
“You’re calling me a child again?”
Bailis glared at him, seeming a little angry, but then her expression softened as if she had thought of something.
“Just you wait,” the girl muttered under her breath. “In two more years, you won’t be able to call me a child anymore…”
Ed chose to ignore her.
He had had the chance to refuse earlier, but seeing the girl’s pitiful look, he simply couldn’t bring himself to do it.
At this point, he could only keep avoiding the topic for now and wait until the current trouble was resolved before finding a good time to be honest with Bailis.
“Sylvia, where are the supporting adventurers now?” Ed turned and asked.
“They’ve already gathered nearby, Mr. Ed,” the young apothecary girl answered.
“Good.” Ed nodded.
“Tell them that during our fight, they must prevent any scattered remnant demon beasts in the area from getting close.”
“You don’t want them to join the subjugation of the demon bears?” Sylvia asked, surprised.
“No need.”
Ed shook his head.
“More people isn’t necessarily better. I can make sure the four of us follow the plan precisely, but what about the others? Even if they seem obedient on the surface, mistakes will always happen when it comes to actual execution—and those mistakes are often fatal.”
“But the demon bears…” Kelta still looked hesitant.
He remembered the Level 4 adventurers who had been chased all over by the bears.
Could the four of them really handle such monsters?
“Don’t worry.”
Ed patted his shoulder.
“I’ve hunted demon bears alone before. They’re not as terrifying as you think—just beasts that are a bit stronger and faster than ordinary demon beasts. Besides, the traps I prepared beforehand aren’t for show.”
Before coming to subjugate the demon bears, the four of them had already cleared out the higher-threat demon beasts in the surrounding area, leaving only the scattered or weaker ones for the other adventurers to handle.
In addition, Ed had set up several spell traps around the demon bears’ nest that were more powerful than ordinary traps and not easily triggered by regular demon beasts.
“But how are we supposed to lure them over?”
Kelta frowned.
“Demon beasts aren’t like ordinary wild animals. They aren’t that drawn to blood. We can’t just kill an animal and use the blood to guide them onto the traps.”
He paused and thought for a moment.
“Uh, or we could send someone to…”
He stopped mid-sentence.
Sending one person to run to the outskirts of the demon bears’ nest—or even inside it—to draw their attention was indeed a feasible plan.
But the question was, who would do it?
These were third-tier demon beasts.
Once they started running, their speed was shockingly fast, and a single swipe of their paw could turn a person into a bloody mess.
Kelta asked himself honestly: he didn’t have the strength to take on such a dangerous task.
Even though he had been diligently practicing his blade work and training his body, such a short amount of time wouldn’t produce any obvious results.
Facing those two demon bears head-on, Kelta didn’t think he would fare any better than those Level 4 adventurers.
But someone had to do this dangerous job.
The young adventurer took a deep breath, his gaze turning resolute.
“I’ll go—”
“I’ll lure them over.”
Before Kelta could speak, Ed’s voice rang out first.
The young adventurer’s face instantly filled with shock.
“No! Mr. Ed is the main force in this fight. If anything happens to you, the rest of us won’t survive!”
Bailis panicked too and tugged hard on Ed’s clothes.
“Ed, you idiot! You moron! What are you thinking?! Since the demon bears are so dangerous, let’s go back and discuss it again. We can find a safer, more reliable way! Why do you have to take such a huge risk to subjugate them?”
The golden-haired youth turned to look at the girl.
Bailis froze.
In those deep blue eyes, the familiar yet unfamiliar ripple appeared once more.
“Because—” he said. His voice sounded calm, but the unease in his eyes could not escape Bailis’s notice.
“I’ve already delayed here for too long. I’m afraid that if I keep going like this, everything will be too late…”
The girl suddenly remembered that he wasn’t just an ordinary boy she liked.
He also carried the heavy mission of defeating the demons and saving his hometown.
That heavy burden had weighed on him for far too long.
From the moment they left the cave until today, Ed had disguised it so well that Bailis had almost forgotten about it.
She suddenly realized that her confession a few days ago might have become part of that burden, slowly crushing the seemingly strong youth in front of her.
“Ed…”
The girl opened her mouth, wanting to say something to comfort him, but in the end she could only silently take his hand.
The delicate touch traveled along his skin and into his body, spreading a bit of warmth from her palm.
“Thank you.”
The golden-haired youth did not pull his hand away.
He simply spoke softly.
Kelta was stunned too.
He had no idea what the two of them were talking about.
But the slightly oppressive atmosphere still made him keep his mouth shut and not ask questions at a time like this.
After a few breaths.
“Then it’s decided.”
The golden-haired youth spoke again.
He gripped the hilt of his sword.
The snow-white blade reflected a dazzling halo under the sunlight, almost blinding Kelta.
The swordsman smiled, as if the earlier gloom had been nothing more than Kelta’s imagination.
“I will be the one to lure them to the designated spot.”
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