In a remote town, Barrett carried a small jar of dye and a few wood combs, walking over the cobblestone streets that were lightly dusted with snow, heading towards the outskirts of the town. EeDeChi was waiting for him there.

The two adventurers had trekked for several days, and the winter was already three-quarters over. The raging blizzards had finally subsided, and the merchants, who had huddled indoors, slowly began to open their snow-covered windows, sweep the snow from their doorsteps, and resume their winter business.

Inside a general store, Barrett sold some of the spoils from his recent monster hunts, including fur, teeth, bones, and magical sacs. At the same time, he bought two pairs of leather boots lined with fleece, three maps, and a jar of golden hair dye, which he now carried in his hand.

He bought the boots because after the long journey, his shoes had worn out completely, the heels completely gone. As for the hair dye, that was Barrett's idea. Dyeing EeDeChi's noticeable black hair golden would probably help with their disguise.

Turning down a narrow path, Barrett met up with EeDeChi, and the two squatted in the desolate outskirts to begin their transformation. Barrett mixed the hair dye with water, then dipped the comb into the liquid before applying the golden dye to EeDeChi's hair.

Barrett had once been a wanted man, so although his hair-dyeing skills were rusty, they were still serviceable. After a while, the dye dried, and Barrett picked up a long-handled wooden comb to style EeDeChi's hair, making it stand up straight, to alter her appearance further.

EeDeChi picked up a mirror to check out her new look.

In the reflection, her previously sleek black short hair was now a striking golden color. Perhaps due to the setting agent in the dye, each strand of hair stood up straight, as though it were a burning golden torch. Only a small lock of hair hung down on her forehead.

"Is this... a Super Saiyan?" EeDeChi turned her neck and looked around in the mirror.

image [https://i.pinimg.com/736x/ab/60/9e/ab609e0f0d0b5c31beb7d4e97ea00f8f.jpg]

"How's it look? Pretty cool, right?" Barrett was pleased with his handiwork. Though he didn't understand what "Super Saiyan" meant, he could tell that, after the hairstyle change, EeDeChi's appearance had drastically transformed at first glance.

"Eh, it's fine," EeDeChi wasn't one to care much about her looks. She tossed the mirror to Barrett, and the two of them packed up their things. They spread out the map again to confirm their direction and headed toward a nearby forest.

They would pass along the edge of the forest, bypass the Nightwhisper Town marked on the map, and head in the direction of the Slane Theocracy.

...

The winter forest was eerily quiet, the black tree branches broken under the weight of the snow, crossing each other in tangled patterns. The snow on the ground still hadn't fully melted, and two sets of disordered footprints stretched deeper into the forest. But these footprints didn't belong to EeDeChi and Barrett.

"The prints are still fresh," Barrett crouched down to examine them closely. "From the size and the patterns on the soles, I'd say it's a man and a woman."

"Why are their steps all over the place?" EeDeChi asked, confused. The two sets of prints looked like a group of lost ants crawling around in a mess.

"They might be fellow adventurers," Barrett speculated. "They're probably working together, one ahead and one behind, scanning the area as they go."

Barrett stood up and gazed deeper into the forest. "There's something important in there, I can feel it."

Normally, Barrett would have followed the footprints to investigate, maybe see if he could find something useful along the way. But today, he didn't feel like it.

The two of them veered away from the direction of the tracks and walked along the edge of the forest. After crossing an icy river, it wasn't long before they spotted some unnatural marks in the landscape.

A few tree barks had been stripped away, and crude carvings marred the wood, as if a rough stone knife had hacked into the trunks. Beneath the snow, they also found an abandoned animal trap made of twine and branches. It had clearly been left to decay.

"A gnoll tribe is in the forest," Barrett said. "They might have migrated here from the wasteland to spend the winter."

The two adventurers used their machetes to hack through fallen tree trunks and dense branches as they continued forward. The forest gradually thinned out, revealing a vast plain in the distance, with low hills dotting the horizon. Further away, scattered farmhouses and wooden cottages could be seen.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

They reached the edge of the forest, where the plains began. In the distance, the sound of horse hooves pounding on the frozen ground echoed, and a line of dozens of knights appeared, moving toward them like a winding black thread. Behind them were militia armed with spears, swords, and shields, charging in a disorganized formation.

"We've been spotted?" EeDeChi asked nervously. The bounty from the Sorcerer Kingdom was still active in this region—was she about to cut a bloody path through human knights?

"That doesn't make sense," Barrett said, glancing at EeDeChi's golden hair standing on end. "My name's not on the bounty. There's no way they could recognize you."

EeDeChi covered the lower half of her face with a wool scarf, and just then, there was a rustling noise behind them in the forest. The crisp sound of snapping branches reached their ears.

Both adventurers turned around to see a group of gnolls crashing through the snow-covered thicket, charging toward them. There were almost a hundred gnolls, by Barrett's rough estimate.

Gnolls had hyena-like heads but human-sized bodies, with thick, dark brown manes on their backs like a horse's. Their fur was speckled with dark patches.

They wielded stone axes, wooden shields, and spears, wearing simple armor made of animal pelts. With a relentless energy, they charged at the two adventurers.

"Gnolls and humans teaming up to hunt me down?" EeDeChi said, speechless, "Wow, the Great Unity of the world's people, huh?"

A small squad of fully armed knights had already ridden up, and the leader of the group shouted something loudly, as if ordering them to leave.

"I get it now," Barrett said, a look of realization crossing his face. "We've stumbled right into the local militia's operation to wipe out a gnoll tribe. Or maybe the gnolls are using us as cover to charge at the cavalry."

In the distance, the knights drew their long swords, shouting slogans about avenging the innocent dead as they lined up and charged. The poorly equipped militia formed a ragtag line, their spears jutting out like lonely branches, advancing together behind their round shields.

The growls of the gnolls behind EeDeChi grew louder. A short arrow whizzed past EeDeChi's ear. Several gnolls armed with stout wooden clubs came charging straight at them, their white, sharp fangs bared in a vicious, beastly grin. It was clear they had made up their minds to capture the two travelers and use them as human shields.

Barrett shook his head. "If gnolls had a bit more brainpower, they'd realize that anyone still out here traveling on foot in the middle of deep winter probably shouldn't be messed with."

"Give me a heavy hammer," EeDeChi said to Barrett, "I don't want to get blood on my hands." To avoid revealing herself, she couldn't use her signature giant sword.

Barrett casually handed her a battle hammer, almost as tall as she was, with a mix of Adamantite to reinforce the head. This kind of heavy weapon was made to crack skulls of enemies in full armor, so it was clearly overkill for gnolls wearing only animal pelts and carrying wooden shields.

He himself pulled out a thick, metal-bound square shield from his spatial ring and charged toward the gnolls, going straight against their oncoming attack.

The shield blocked several vicious arrows, and one large gnoll warrior, confident in his size and strength, swung a massive club at Barrett. To its surprise, Barrett shoved the gnoll to the ground with the force of the shield, then swiftly slashed its throat with his long sword.

Using the shield as a barrier, Barrett rushed deep into the gnoll ranks. It quickly became clear he had made a major mistake. He was surrounded on all sides by enemies, with a dozen or so gnolls armed with axes and knives closing in on him.

Barrett discarded his shield, drawing his most skilled two-handed sword. Nearly as tall as he was, the blade glinted with a chilling gleam. Barrett initiated his Martial Art, the two-handed sword whirling into a giant windmill, like the Grim Reaper's scythe harvesting every life around him.

In the distance, several knights covered in blood had just finished their battle with the enemy. They paused when they saw the chaos unfolding within the gnoll ranks, completely stunned.

What shocked them the most wasn't Barrett, but a man with hair as brilliant as fire and a pale gray scarf covering his face. No matter how many arrows or magic attacks the gnoll shamans and hunters sent his way, they couldn't touch him.

The man wasn't tall, but he wielded a armor-piercing hammer like a savage king from ancient legends, leading the charge in the battlefield. He cut through the gnolls as if they were nothing, his hammer smashing them into pieces, and wherever it struck, the gnolls scattered in fear. Even the strongest gnoll chieftain was sent flying by a single blow, crashing into the ground and taking down several gnolls with him.

One knight, clad in silver armor, remained frozen in place atop his horse, staring at the two lone warriors who were cutting down the gnolls with ease, too stunned to even raise his sword.

Another knight rode up, his bloodstained iron faceplate lifted. He asked, "My Lord, are these adventurers you hired? Did they really only cost 100 gold coins? That's insane…"

His voice wavered. "This... this has nothing to do with us. To wipe out the gnoll tribe, these two are all we need."

The knight, referred to as "Lord," removed his helmet and held it in his arms. His face was weathered, and his light brown, curly hair was streaked with silver.

There was confusion in his eyes as he spoke. "They're not the adventurers I hired. I hired a ranger skilled in fire magic, and a half-elf priestess. These two warriors... I don't know where they came from. But thankfully, they're on our side."

Suddenly, a towering inferno erupted from the forest in the distance, sending a flock of black birds flying. The Lord pointed toward the flames and said, "That's the adventurers I hired. I sent them to raid the gnolls' lair."

"BOOM!" The roaring flames suddenly shrank, as if a giant foot had stomped down on them. Pine trees fell and snapped in rapid succession, their thunderous crash echoing through the air, signaling the approach of something massive.

The knight's face turned pale. He asked the Lord, "Do you remember? There's a rumor that says a stone golem sleeps in Sutton Forest. Do you think your adventurers have... awakened it?"