Baleg grinned at them when they turned in the confirmation that the quests were successful. His eyes landed on the three pixies, each perched on top of a shoulder of a member of the Budding Lilies, and he chuckled.

"Battle companions?" He teased, and Florifel smiled and gave him the thumbs up.

"We are the best battle companions for the best all-girl party in the entire Huergaz," one of the pixies informed them.

"The Budding Lilies are the only all-girl party," Morris said with a snort. The pixies and their humans turned to glare at him.

"Even so, even if there was competition, they would have still been the best," another pixie poked her tiny tongue at the ginger, and he chuckled.

"Anyway, do you eight want to stay on as a platoon? Because a quest came that requests a platoon," Baleg cut the charade, before it began. The Budding Lilies grinned, while the Try Hard Party looked on, suspicious.

"What is the quest?" Dorian asked, and Baleg pulled out a scroll.

"Scarletting Basilica has been filled with goblins again," Baleg handed Dorian the scroll. "A couple of women that lived at the foot of the Dreadlocks mountains have disappeared."

The blood in the veins of the five froze. Atha flashed in their mind. The Naga had advanced healing on his side. The women were not so lucky. Or sturdy.

"We'll take it. Come on, Lilies. We need to get there before..." Dorian began, but then he stopped. Chances were, the women were already raped. But, were they also dead?

"This quest fills in fifty quests slots. There shouldn't be a dungeon core in the basilica. However, if there is one, crush it," Baleg then nodded to the party behind platoon 23 and the platoon stepped to the side.  

"Should we be taking the girls with us? I mean, the goblins could..." Morris did not finish his sentence. The Budding Lilies were good friends of theirs. They had done a couple of formation training sessions together. He did not want to consider them to be victims.

"We can handle some goblins!" Florifel protested and her partners nodded. "We have cleared goblin nests before."

"We can always ambush the goblins. Do the ruins of the Scarletting Basilica even need to be kept standing?" Leander asked. With four mages and two archers, they could bring down the ruins on the goblins' heads.

"I don't think they do. I mean, the place was cursed by Asmodeos long ago. No one goes to it. Perhaps, if we destroy it, the curse will be lifted, and the land can be reclaimed?" Jean mused.

"We can't keep talking and planning. We have no time for that! There are women out there suffering horrors that I don't even want to think about. Let us go," Alberta snapped. She knew that the Try Hard Party liked to plan to the smallest detail. But this time things were more urgent than normal.

Dorian did the sign for formation, and everyone got in place. The only thing they were missing was a rogue to go to the right spot. They jogged out and went to the community stables.

In the quest file, it was written that horses were covered for this mission. They could pick whatever horse they wished. As long as it was within the price range of 10 silver coins per day.

That was a reasonable price for a horse, and they soon found eight horses that looked hardy enough. They mounted up, and left Huergaz behind.

The Dreadlocks mountains were a mountain chain that spanned the entire upper Alcandino. It did not go down to the savanna. Down there, the Harpy's Claw's peaks dominated the normally flat landscape.

The wide path gave way to goat trails, and they had to ride one after the other. Carefully, so that their horses won't throw them off, or, worse, break their legs.

They didn't even stop for the night, using mana flashlights to light the way. Even so, they all had the feeling like it wasn't enough. If the quest covered griffins, they would have taken those. Flight was faster than riding.

But they were a C ranked platoon and clients did not bother paying for griffins for C ranked platoons. Leander felt the guild eating away at him. If he had done better at the battle evaluation, they might have gotten griffins now.

It was not unheard of for someone to be able to rank more than one level. Especially when the guild master was the one who they fought against.

But the Try Hard Party had been outclassed, despite them outnumbering the two SS class combatants. Leander reflected on the duel.

He liked to think that his heals had come fast. But, in a real battle, too many of them would put his partners' bodies in a state of shock. And anything that got someone out of commission was to be avoided.

Seven quick heals, that was how many the average person could handle when wounded. They hadn't tested how many the Try Hard Party could handle, seeing as that meant them getting hurt, and Leander had been deaf to the arguments of his partners that it was better to find out somewhere safe, than later. Out in the field.

Leander had reminded the other four that they were a level-headed party, and they only took calculated risks. Besides, guild master Alklair had a history of demoting adventurers when they intentionally harmed one another.

To prepare, Leander had read everything he could find about how to get someone in a calm state, after their brain went in shock. The trick was to disrupt their mana, and then force it to pulse like normal. Rinse and repeat until the eyes of the patient opened again.

"Can you hear that?" Lilia was right in front of him, and she was straining her ears to hear something. Leander, too, did the same. Then, he heard it. A terrified scream. It sounded like a woman's. And it was followed by laughter.

Dorian spurred his horse, and they all galloped in the direction of the sound. What greeted them was the sight of a woman being tied to a stick, one a person might use to roast a lamb on, and screaming as goblins stocked a fire underneath her.

"Charge!" Dorian screamed, forgetting all about formation training at that moment. They charged, not seeing the goblins hiding in the trees above them.