Chapter 117 Plans For The Night

Hao Ren was puzzled as to why Marshal Aufra would personally make a trip here, but he couldn't find an opportunity to ask. After the female marshal finished relaying the information, she casually inquired about the mercenary group's situation and the retrieval of the Sacred Church's Jewel. As this wasn't the first time someone had asked about these matters, everyone naturally answered fluently. Finally, Becky proactively asked about Big Beard and the others, "When will the four masters return?"

Actually, Becky wasn't concerned about the four ascetic monks at all; she merely wanted to increase her presence in front of Marshal Aufra.

Aufra shook her head, "The four masters naturally need to rest in the clerics' quarters, and they must perform lengthy prayers and meditations according to the scriptures. You probably won't see them before the next departure."

Hao Ren had been thinking about other things. He wasn't interested in the so-called rewards, so he raised his head and asked, "Um... is it necessary to go to the royal capital to receive the awards?"

Aufra raised an eyebrow in surprise, her gaze lingering on Hao Ren's face for a long time, "What do you mean by that?"

"We want to stay here and help," Hao Ren spread his hands. "I've seen the situation here. Those stone giants are a major threat, and I'm good at dealing with them. I think it's more valuable to stay here and help you fight than to go back to the royal capital for reward money."

Hao Ren's words sounded noble and righteous. He couldn't very well admit that the real reason he wanted to stay was to investigate the secrets of the Dragon Spine Mountains and the Blood Lake – the wealth and fame of the Dream Plane were meaningless to him. Only by understanding the world-destroying legend of ten thousand years ago could he get that one-level salary increase...

But Aufra certainly didn't know what Hao Ren was thinking. She was just surprised that this seemingly unremarkable "mercenary" could say such a thing. She stared at Hao Ren for a while, seemingly trying to find any traces of hypocrisy on the latter's face. Then she stood up, her armor clanking, "We'll talk about these things later. One or two more fighters won't change the overall situation much. Ultimately, ending the current chaotic situation still depends on the knowledge of the district chief, Gelton. Of course, you can still apply to stay here and fight after you return from the royal capital. We're short on people here in the long run."

Aufra left these words and then took her leave, departing decisively. Only after the female marshal left did Becky dare to breathe freely. Then she rushed in front of Hao Ren in a flash, "Hey, hey! What were you thinking just now?! What if Lady Aufra really thinks you're patriotic and cancels our rewards?!"

Hao Ren glanced sideways at Becky, "Don't I have important matters to attend to? The rewards here aren't of much use to me anyway."

Becky almost jumped up, "But they're useful to me... oh, they don't seem to be of much use to me either..."

Hao Ren: "... Alright, let's put these things aside for now. Our time is limited. There probably won't be another chance to return here after going to the royal capital. The next time we enter might be another month later. Heaven knows how many more accidents will happen in this place. Tonight, I plan to go into the mountains. You guys can help investigate other..."

While Hao Ren was discussing the evening's activities, Aufra left the resting place specially prepared for the mercenary group but didn't go to the church. Instead, she rode her warhorse directly through half the town to the kingdom's Knights Order's garrison. In front of the Knights Order's camp, an old man who looked no different from an ordinary groom was waiting. Aufra dismounted and handed the reins to the old groom, "I've met with them, including the four masters and that group of mercenaries who suddenly appeared."

The old groom, leading the horse, silently followed Aufra, casually asking as if discussing the weather, "How was it? Is it real?"

The two's conversation wasn't deliberately lowered, yet as long as they were more than two meters away, no one could clearly hear what the conversation was about. A strange mental interference permeated around Aufra, causing anyone who tried to eavesdrop on the conversation to only hear a buzzing noise that constantly echoed in their minds.

"I didn't see the jewel, but it should be on one of the masters. They adhere strictly to the teachings, and even in front of District Chief Gelton, they wouldn't easily take out the jewel for me to verify its authenticity, but the jewel should be real," Aufra turned her head and revealed a light smile. "Because those four masters are real. I can distinguish their aura."

"So, the return of the jewel is certain," the old groom unhurriedly followed Aufra towards the depths of the camp. "It seems this wasn't someone's arrangement. What about that group of mercenaries?"

"They claim to be wandering mages from the Northern Horner Empire, traveling around to broaden their knowledge. Getting involved in the jewel incident and rescuing the four masters were basically coincidences. The whole story is watertight, but my instincts tell me they're hiding something," Aufra's footsteps paused slightly. "Elson, what's your investigation shown?"

"They appeared suddenly, first appearing in Lumber Town in the southern grasslands. Before that, no one knew about this group of people, and even after searching all the border crossing records, we couldn't find their origins. Their disappearance for more than a month was as if they vanished into thin air. Our informants almost ran their legs off but couldn't find a single clue. In addition, I found some mercenaries who had contact with that group of people. Those mercenaries mentioned that their fighting style was extremely strange. They're not mages at all, not even any known combat profession. It's more akin to instinct and talent, perhaps some kind of secret warrior we don't know about."

Aufra lowered her eyes. "... Appearing and disappearing unpredictably... Even you couldn't find any clues after they suddenly disappeared? Has your wolf nose deteriorated, or can they really escape the bounds of heaven and earth?"

"You're the same as before, your jokes never have any humor," the old "groom's" expression remained unchanged. "Are there any problems with those mercenaries?"

"There's no problem with them personally, at least my hunting instincts can confirm that they have no malice, no evil thoughts, not even greed. That last point is what surprised me the most. Their leader frankly tried to refuse the reward, and there was no pretense in his emotions. I even felt that the person's thoughts at the time were as pure as a saint. He didn't even focus one-ten-thousandth of his attention on fame and fortune, but..." Aufra paused here, suddenly raising her head, "Unknown origins are the biggest problem in themselves."

"Then continue the investigation," the old groom nodded. "Although I don't think a group of mercenaries are worth paying attention to... but your intuition is always accurate."

"Intuition..." Aufra muttered to herself, looking up at the sky. "I hope my intuition can help me solve the troubles here. I have some bad premonitions. This holy land is shrouded in a cloud of gloom, and some discordant fellows are hiding around us – but the only one who can keep things under control, District Chief Gelton, is an old priest who is more than devout but lacks adaptability."

Undercurrents surged beneath this ancient and mysterious holy land, but most of the people in the undercurrents were completely unaware of it, just as they always had been, running around trying to escape the monsters' harassment, becoming increasingly numb in battle. Night gradually fell, and the Dragon Spine Mountains ended a day that was not peaceful, followed by a night that would be equally restless.

Under the cover of night and shadow power, Hao Ren and the others left Leyton Town at the foot of the mountains and came to a high ground not far outside the town.

"Although I thought about staying here to investigate the matter thoroughly, after thinking it over, it's also necessary to go to the royal capital," Hao Ren saw that everyone had arrived, so he simply sat cross-legged on the ground. "It's said that the royal capital has a large library that stores various documents accumulated over the millennia since the founding of Holletta. The cathedral and the palace also have secret files passed down from the previous civilization. It's necessary to investigate these. We'll be spending a lot of effort in this world, and it's also necessary to integrate into the upper echelons of this place. Taking advantage of this knighting ceremony is a good opportunity. Tonight, we'll just investigate the movements of the stone giants, mainly to figure out how much the Dragon Spine Mountains have changed since we left here two months ago. Also, there's the Blood Lake – Vivian and Lily, you two are fast, go to the Blood Lake again. I'm still very concerned about that tunnel. Last time we only went in one direction. This time, go and see where the other direction of the tunnel leads."

Lily seemed a little excited. Obviously, this "secret mission in the middle of the night" scene made her feel very powerful. Hearing Hao Ren's instructions, she immediately nodded and jumped onto a large rock next to her, letting out a long howl, "Awoo – Woof!"

The wolf howl echoed in the mountains and forests. Vivian, with quick eyes and hands, rushed up but still couldn't cover it...

"It's okay," Hao Ren shook his head. "It's normal for there to be wolves in the mountains."

Vivian glared, "But it's not normal for a wolf to follow up a howl with a woof!"

Hao Ren waved his hand, looking at Izhaks, "You and Becky go together. You have strong combat power, and Becky has extensive local experience. You two go to the main peak in the north. It's said that it's one of the mountains where stone giants are rapidly increasing. Observe whether there are any changes in the monsters' splitting and proliferation, especially when those monsters split off but don't launch an attack on the town. What exactly are they doing? I always feel that stone giants, a mindless creature, wouldn't make such a clever move as planning an attack, but they did design to sneak attack and break through the defense line half a month ago."

"Finally, I'll go to the 'Sky Bridge' in the south with Nangong Wuyue," Hao Ren tossed the data terminal in his hand. "A mountain won't deform out of thin air. There must be some secret there. The locals don't have energy detectors. Hehe, I do."