Transmigrated as a Ghost

"Ah, Franco, your back. How was your mission? Is everything still as expected?"

"Things went well, I am certain we weren't spotted. We watched them leave from the gate and tailed them for a few days to make sure that no one else was going to meet up with 'em. Our initial intel was a bit off though, they left with eleven more guards than expected." Franco said to his boss.

"Eleven more, that is not too many. What did you think of them? Did they seem strong enough to ruin our plan?"

"Nah, they all looked pretty weak. None of them even had any weapons on 'em or wore armor. I bet that they were just hired at the last minute for some extra numbers. They're probably just some rookie adventurers looking to make some coin."

"Ha, weaponless guards. They must have been pretty desperate for some extra hands if they hired schmucks like those." Axel, the boss of the large brigand group that was targeting the caravan Marcus' party was apart of said while laughing.

He figured that the eleven extra guards must be weak and poor if they could not even afford basic weapons. However, what he did not know was that none of them carried weapons with them because they did not need any for something as simple as guard work.

"Well, if nothing else has changed then we will go ahead with the plan. Gather up eight of our newest members and get them prepped."

"So, you are still planning on doing that. It could pose some risk to us if we are not careful. Plus, moral will take a hit." Franco said, looking hesitant to enact the strategy his boss had come up with.

"Gah, there is nothing to worry about. We will stay far enough away to not be noticed, and we've got a half dozen fire magic wands just in case. As for the eight "runners", just tell them that they can expect a big reward once this is all over. Tell them they will be showering in gold and fine booze once we finish this job."

"If you're set on it, boss, then I guess I'll just have to pick the guys we'll miss the least. With what they are going to be luring, I doubt any of them survive."

"Just make sure that they aren't too slow. Don't want them all getting killed before they bring those monsters to the caravan."

"Understood boss. I'll gather 'em up and get 'em ready." Franco said, leaving Axel's large tent.

As he did, his boss could not help the giant grin that appeared on his face. He could already envision the riches he was going to obtain from this big score.

…

"Those are some impressive trees. I'm not sure if I have ever seen any as big in Borealia." Mrazivý commented as the caravan approached what looked like a giant wall of brown and green.

For as far as the eye could see, a massive forest stretched out in front of them from one end of the horizon to the other.

The forest was not filled with normal trees, but ones that looked like redwoods on steroids. Even the juvenile trees fighting for their place in the forest stood at a towering three hundred meters, while the ones that were fully grown easily reached around seven hundred meters.

"They are pretty big, but honestly, they don't hold a candle to the World Tree I once saw. That thing was so large that it grew all the way to the edge of the atmosphere. Some time we will have to go and check it out together." Marcus said.

"That sounds like fun. But first how are we planning on getting through the forest. It doesn't seem like we are planning to go around." Mrazivý said, enhancing her eyes and closely scanning the edge of the forest.

Quickly enough she noticed a conspicuous hole that cut through the trees and a what looked like a well-traveled dirt path. It would seem that at some point a road had been cut through the forest.

The road was not particularly wide, though. For a caravan as large as the one they were currently traveling with, they would have to change their formation that had many vehicles moving together side by side to more of a long line.

"I'm' betting that this is where those guys that have been scouting us out plan to attack. With how long the caravan is going to become it will spread the guards pretty thin. Plus, the trees will serve as perfect cover to launch an ambush and retreat once things are finished." Mrazivý said, telling Marcus her conjecture.

Naturally he was inclined to agree with her. For the last few several rotating groups of scouts had been constantly keeping an eye on the caravan's movements. They were already fairly far from any population center so the fact that an attack had not happened yet was likely because they were waiting for an opportune moment.

"Well, we will just need to be on our guard and ready to respond to whatever happens."

A few hours after the forest had come into view, the caravan finally reached the entrance to the road that cut through it and slowly formed a line that had only two vehicles next to each other. Then they slowly entered the forest with Louis's carriage leading the way.

Up until around sunset the journey through the forest was mostly uneventful, with only a few curious beasts coming to check out the commotion before running back into the woods and disappearing.

However, not long before the caravan was going to stop for the night at a large clearing that had been made specifically for travelers, five human presences pinged Marcus' life sense skill.

'It is too few to be a raiding party. Are they a group of adventurers that got lost or something? Or maybe they are with the brigands and are trying to join the caravan secretly by acting like they are in distress?' Marcus thought, unsure who these people he was sensing were or what they might be doing this far into the woods.

Yet it did not take long before his skill picked up on several more clearly inhuman entities chasing after the five people he had detected. Something a lot worse than regular people was coming their way at a fast pace.