Chapter 82 - 29: [Eve of Departure]

Chapter 82: Chapter 29: [Eve of Departure]

She polished off the jam slushie in front of her and set down her spoon.

"It’s been six months; the aftermath of the Burning Sand Coup should have died down by now." The dancer stood up and called out to the bearded man. "This is our last meal in Luojie City. It’s time we prepare to return home."

"Ah, but we still have to watch out for Demon King Sitti Ka’s Slave Warriors. How are we supposed to find a new patron? Who would dare take in the remnants of the Sultan’s Scorpion Warriors now?" The bearded man in the turban sighed gloomily. "Are we really not going to try and rescue the Sultan? He brought me into the Imperial Palace filled with Gold, and gifted me cattle and sheep to feed my family. If I don’t repay him, how am I any different from a jackal?"

The dancer hesitated for a moment before sighing.

"We need to secure the treasure first, establish a foothold, and rally the remaining Scorpion Warriors before we even talk about rescuing the Sultan... Otherwise, storming the Imperial Palace would just be a suicide mission. Ibushin Pasha wouldn’t dare kill the Sultan right now; he needs a puppet to maintain his rule." She continued, "Let’s follow the footprints in the sand before we are swallowed by the quicksand."

The two of them left the tavern, but the rowdiness inside carried on.

"So many Advanced Adventurers have just retired outright... I wonder how much money they made from that trip down the Valak Dungeon..."

"If only my level was high enough. I really wish I could’ve gone to the Inner Ring..."

"Don’t be stupid! Half the people who went in died! That includes Flame Spike Augusta, and he was level eleven..."

"Wasn’t that just Augusta being an idiot? We’re not idiots..."

"You’re not an idiot, you’re just greedy!"

"Have you heard? An incredibly sneaky Undead Swordsman recently appeared on the edge of the Beast Bone Hills. It only knows two combat skills: [Footwork Focus] and [Blade Counter Stance]. If you turn your back on it, it uses [Footwork Focus] to sneakily tail you, and the second you turn around, it strikes a [Blade Counter Stance]! It’s so wretched!

"It’s not exactly hard to deal with, but its behavior patterns are completely twisted. When it runs into an Advanced Adventurer with a formation-breaking skill, it just turns and runs the moment its counter stance is broken! Being a lightweight sack of bones, it runs absurdly fast with [Footwork Focus]—you can’t even catch it! And since low-level adventurers don’t know combat skills, all they can do is cover their butts and walk backward when they run into it!

"That sleazy Undead Swordsman is actually pretty famous now. The people who’ve been to the Beast Bone Hills gave it a nickname: the [Butt Killer]!"

"Oh!" Samael snapped out of his eavesdropping. "That is the very first Undead Swordsman I used for testing," he realized. "I forgot to empty its combat skill slots before burying it back in the dirt!"

"Is something wrong, Samo Cultivator?" Randall asked from across the table.

"N-no, nothing," Samael replied guiltily.

The two of them sat at a corner table in the small tavern, discussing matters regarding their trip to the Ederic Empire. However, Samael had zoned out midway through the conversation. He discovered that his helmet’s UI could intercept specific audio in chaotic environments, splitting and extracting it so he could freely eavesdrop on a chosen conversation despite the noise.

The two Eastern Supar Empire Scorpion Warrior remnants had been speaking very softly, their voices bordering on whispers that would be practically impossible to hear over the din. But after clumsily fiddling around for quite a while, Samael managed to hear everything clearly thanks to his helmet UI’s audio extraction and amplification.

The name "Demon King Sitti Ka" was very familiar. During his first encounter with Valak, the Demon Monarch had mentioned "Sittika and Marina"—two Demon Race Monarchs who had sent troops to hunt down Talia, and who were also involved in the destruction of Rondolan.

While they talked, Samael took the opportunity to search his database for the term [Witch Gold], another type of Demonized metal alongside [Nether Copper] and [Blood Steel]. Judging by the description, it seemed to be used for forging precision instruments and complex scientific equipment—including Spiritual Implants.

Samael pondered, "It sounds like the Desert Tyrant Sittika also possesses some technology from the Divine Era Ruins. Perhaps every Demon Race Monarch, as well as the major kingdoms, races, and factions of this world, hold fragments of Divine Era Technology, using these various remnants to build up their own forces. Though Valak has never shown anything related to Divine Era Technology, he couldn’t have become a Demon Monarch and built his own Underground City purely through violent suppression."

"Samo Cultivator?" Randall’s voice rang out.

"Oh, sorry. I spaced out for a second." Samael snapped back to reality.

"The spoils our party captured during the bandit quest—the three wagons and two horses—haven’t been sold. We had a Blacksmith patch them up and modify them a bit, so they’re drivable now," Randall said. "We can finally go on a long journey.

"Lately, many traveling merchants have purchased large quantities of high-level Demonized materials to transport back to the Ederic Empire or the Floren Kingdom. Because of the massive sums of money involved, they’re hiring multiple adventurer parties for escort duty at the same time.

"There are also some Advanced Adventurers who plan to retire as soon as they sell their goods. However, to maximize their profits, they refuse to sell to the merchants in Luojie City, preferring to transport the goods into the habitable zone themselves. These Advanced Adventurers are also issuing temporary quests to hire a few low-level adventurer squads to accompany and escort their cargo.

"We can take an escort quest heading to the Ederic Empire. Once it’s complete, we can drop Ruby off at the Imperial Capital Elysium for her exam along the way, and the two of you can go wherever you’d like. Samo Cultivator, which type of quest do you think is better to take?" Randall asked. "A merchant’s or an adventurer’s?"

"Uh... a merchant’s. A merchant’s quest would be fine," Samael replied instinctively. He thought, "Advanced Adventurers are too sharp. Traveling together means prolonged contact is inevitable, which brings the potential risk of exposing my identity."

"Alright, no problem!" Randall replied briskly. "Anything else to add? If not, I’ll go accept a merchant quest."

"Oh, right, get the horseshoes replaced." Samael remembered what Talia had pointed out earlier. "Those two horses seem to be Empire warhorses that the bandits picked up and used. Their horseshoes bear the Empire’s sword-and-crown insignia."

"Really!?" Randall was taken aback. He pulled out a small notebook and frantically jotted it down. "I’ll go get them changed right away... Good thing you reminded me."

SMACK! A hand clamped onto Randall’s shoulder.

"Riska." A familiar voice spoke. "Long time no see."

The two of them looked up, and Samael nearly shuddered.

Clad in a blue robe and steel armor, Norman Passat stood beside the table with a fine steel Longsword strapped to his back, his hand resting heavily on Randall’s shoulder.

"Good morning, Senior," Randall said, standing up to pull over a chair and gesturing for Norman to sit. "It has been a while. Did everything go smoothly in the Valak Dungeon?"

"It was alright." Norman gripped the back of the chair but didn’t sit down. "A man must know how to be content, otherwise he loses everything. Contentment brings happiness."

He scrutinized Samael, noticing the wooden cup full of light ale in front of Randall, while the table in front of Samael was completely empty.

"Are you not going to offer this Warrior Knight a drink?" he asked, looking at Randall.

"The Samo Cultivator is from a Monastery. He is fasting today," Randall answered.

"Oh, my apologies for offending your religious traditions." Norman looked up at Samael and replied casually. "How did you two meet? It gave me quite a scare when I saw him in your party earlier."

"We were introduced by Uncle Robin and Uncle Carlisle, who were on duty at the city gate," Randall volunteered. "I honestly suspect the Alliance Guards might know every single adventurer in this whole city."

"I see." Norman nodded slowly. "I won’t sit down, so take your time and chat. I’ll be leading my team back to the Floren Kingdom in a few days to escort my..."

He seemed to want to say "daughter," then "niece," then "fellow townsman," and then "friend’s child," but in the end, he couldn’t bring himself to say any of those words.

"To go back and sell some Demonized materials, and escort someone along the way," he said casually. "I’m just about ready to set off. Figured I’d come say hello and bid you farewell before I leave, since it’s been a while.

"I’ll be taking my leave." He let go of the chair. "Take care of yourself, Riska. You can never go wrong with a slow and steady approach. Even though I only left my home to become an adventurer out of necessity to make a living, you remain one of the proudest honors of my arduous career."

"Yes, Senior Norman!" Randall stood up and waved goodbye. "See you around, Senior!"

Norman waved back, turning around and walking away.

Randall and Samael exchanged a look, remaining silent for a moment.

"It’s fine," Randall said, shaking his head.

Samael breathed a sigh of relief.

"We’ll take a merchant escort quest and prepare to depart around tomorrow," he nodded. "Heading to the Ederic Empire’s border."