After Keyzier, Donovan, and Novalia vanished behind the bustling crowds of Antrows City, the atmosphere in front of the main gate, which had been so tense, gradually fell silent. However, this was not a relieving calm. It was a silence thick with haunting questions.
The gate guards remained standing stiffly, while the citizens who had been watching began to disperse with whispers that refused to end.
Rin, the healer of the Gold Wings party, famous for her restorative magic did not immediately follow her companions. She stepped slowly toward the gate guards who had nearly triggered a bloodbath.
Rin crossed her arms over her chest, staring at the soldiers with an unreadable gaze a mixture of pity and a grave warning.
"It's lucky we arrived just in time." Rin said in a very calm tone, though it carried a sharp edge of firmness. "And it's lucky those two, especially Keyzier, decided not to attack you. I truly cannot imagine what would have happened if they lost their patience and attacked all of you right here!"
Hearing this, the gate guard furrowed his brow. His pride as an official soldier of the kingdom was stung by the woman's words. Even though he deeply respected the Gold Wings as S-Rank adventurers, he felt his dignity being stepped on.
"Lady Rin, what do you mean by that? Are you underestimating us, the official guards of Antrows?" the sergeant asked in a strained voice. "We have archers, defensive mages, trained swordmen and trained spearmen. Facing two village youths is not an impossible task for us."
Rin gave a small snort and then offered a thin smile, a cold smile from a healer who had seen far too many lives slip away on the battlefield.
"Of course not! I am not underestimating you!" Rin replied. "I am merely telling the truth based on the facts! It is because the five of us, members of the Gold Wings, know their background and the true extent of their power! Even if every soldier in this city were deployed to surround, attack, or try to kill them both at the same time, I guarantee... you would not be able to win!"
Rin's final words were like a thunderclap on a clear day. The soldiers were stunned. The other four members of the Gold Wings: Ronan, Oliver, Chloe, and Harold—who stood not far behind Rin, nodded in unison with deadly serious expressions. There was not a shred of doubt in the eyes of the kingdom's heroes.
Upon hearing this, the gate guards fell into a heavy silence. Their tongues felt tied. If top-tier adventurers like the Gold Wings had acknowledged the strength of those two youths, then it was no mere boast.
They realized they had just been standing on the edge of an abyss without even knowing it.
Ronan, the leader of the Gold Wings, stepped forward to join Rin. He looked at the soldiers with a deeper, more authoritative gaze. His silver armor reflected the twilight, giving his presence a mystical aura.
"Oh, and there is one more thing I must tell you," Ronan said, looking sharply at the sergeant. "But only you soldiers should know this. Do not spread it to civilians; keep it among yourselves so that no one misuses the name of Noive Village."
The soldiers instinctively leaned in, closing ranks as if listening to a top-secret state matter.
"What is it, Master Ronan?" the sergeant asked in a whisper, his curiosity now far outweighing his soldier's ego.
Ronan took a long breath before continuing, "If in the future anyone else comes and claims to be from Noive Village, as much as possible, please avoid conflict with them! Never look for trouble, let alone provoke them."
The soldiers looked at each other in confusion, as if asking, Why should such a small, remote village receive such special treatment?
"Is there something special about that village, sir? Is it a forbidden village?" one guard asked with a trembling voice.
"Years ago, we lived in that village for a time." Ronan answered, his eyes drifting as if remembering the days when they were still carving out their careers. "We know very well what the people there are like. They are not ordinary villagers. Noive Village is a gathering place for monsters in human form. And the people from there very rarely leave the village just to wander into the city."
"Then what about those two?" the sergeant pointed toward the city streets where Keyzier and Donovan had entered.
"Years ago, when they were children, we saved them from a monster attack in Death Forest!" Ronan continued in a heavier tone. "And since then, they have desired to become adventurers just like us. They have trained for years in the most extreme environment under the guidance of the strongest people I have ever known."
Hearing the name "Death Forest" leave Ronan's mouth, every gate guard swallowed hard. The hair on their necks stood up, and some shuddered in horror, their hands gripping their spears beginning to tremble.
Everyone in the Altoria Kingdom knew the terror of the Death Forest. It was a forbidden territory filled with ferocious monsters, and the forest itself was like a living labyrinth, a place where the laws of nature did not apply and humans usually wouldn't survive more than ten minutes without extreme preparation.
Even A-Rank adventurers would think a thousand times before even approaching the border of that forest.
Hearing the name of the forest alone was enough to make people shiver with fear, let alone imagining two boys who had survived there since childhood and had now grown into young men ready for battle.
"D-Death Forest?" the sergeant muttered, his face turning deathly pale. "You mean to say they are people who managed to survive that place since they were small?"
"Exactly!" Rin replied with a smirk.
Ronan then signaled to the other members of the Gold Wings to continue their journey. "My warning has been delivered. Consider today's encounter the greatest stroke of luck in your lives because you are still breathing."
Without waiting for a reply, the Gold Wings group walked away from the gate, entering the city to finalize their mission preparations. Meanwhile, the gate guards remained frozen in place.
They watched the backs of the Gold Wings members slowly moving away from the city gate with a completely different perspective. A sense of dread had just been planted deep within their souls.