When the morning light once again caressed the roofs of Osborne Town, it could not erase the loneliness of the streets.
The wooden door of the Grizzly Bear Tavern was wide open, and a faint aroma of cheap beer and barbecue wafted out.
Compared to before the disaster, the ordinary townspeople in the market next to the Grizzly Bear Tavern were still as noisy as before, but the voices of people shopping seemed a little sparse.
Large areas of space in the once crowded street morning market stalls are now empty, as if a piece of space had been carved out by an invisible hand.
The Adventurer's Guild's notice board outside the Grizzly Bear Tavern was covered with brand new parchment.
The most eye-catching thing is the "Special Recruitment Order" with a sword and gold coin pattern outlined in dark red paint.
"'Recruiting new people'..."
Beta squeezed in front of the crowd, his rough fingers running across the wet ink as he complained about the notice to the adventurers, whose literacy rate was less than 30%. "Ten gold coins for every first-level recruit? Twenty gold coins for a second-level recruit? That's a huge expense! Is the guild going to spend all their savings? Guilds seem to be very generous lately!"
Behind him, the Mad Wolf Captain crossed his arms, his bronze muscles bulging beneath his leather armor, and his voice was loud, yet it couldn't conceal a hint of anticipation:
"It's a lot of money! After all, so many adventurers have died. How long will it take for Osborne Town to recover if only the young people come to it on their own? The guild wants us to act as nannies, protecting those newbies along the way to prevent them from being scared away by those bandit gangs!"
The warrant clearly states: All adventure groups with a strength of level three or above are required to accept this mission.
The purpose is to deter those bandit gangs that are entrenched on both sides of the trade route, stalking lone travelers like vultures.
Someone picked up on the Wild Wolf leader's words, "Hey, I heard that the Mountain Tiger Bandits were also involved in this heretical rebellion. Is that true?"
"Who knows? But I haven't seen One-Eyed Pabbie, Blood Claw and those guys for a long time. Maybe it's true." Someone also responded.
"It's good that the Mountain Tiger Bandits have been wiped out! Those bastards don't follow the rules. They even robbed people after paying protection fees!"
…
In the room of Chunhui Hotel, Mark's team's luggage has been packed.
Enzo wiped his heavy square-peen hammer repeatedly with a clean cotton cloth, and the sound of metal friction was harsh:
"Tsk, running errands and being a bodyguard? I'd rather just go to a blacksmith shop and swing a hammer! Worse still, I can go into the mountains and hammer monsters! Go into the mountains..."
A gleam flashed in his small eyes. "Maybe we can stop by and see which rat hole that rot dragon cub is recovering from its wounds! And that werewolf that got away... Mark, isn't that right?"
Anna was carefully arranging the magic-breaking arrows into her quiver. Now she was the best-equipped person in the team.
Ordinary arrows were no longer needed, as every one of them was a magic-breaking arrow. Moreover, the thirty arrows he carried with him were specially engraved with a magic storage array by someone from the magic workshop.
As the saying goes, killing people and setting fires will earn you a gold belt, and this truth is unshakable even in another world.
The gold coin legacy that archer Colin exchanged for mithril made Mark's team rich, and Mark's headaches for a week were not in vain.
Anna raised her head when she heard Enzo's words. Her pointed elf ears moved slightly, and she habitually retorted in a cold voice:
"Shorty, don't be so arrogant! Those two guys are both high-level. They were previously unable to move freely due to the altar ritual, so they were passively attacked by us. You don't really think our team can match them, do you? We were already busy dodging them!"
Mark's team didn't know that one of the two huge hidden dangers had been silently wiped out by the sword, and the other had become a well-behaved pet.
Mark was putting bottles of Xiao Mu's rations that he had prepared over the past two days into the gap between the stars.
He rubbed his still slightly swollen forehead and nodded. "Anna is right. We shouldn't risk entering the Monster Mountain Range for now. This time, we've accepted the mandatory mission from the Adventurer's Guild, so just treat it as... rest. We can consider entering the mountains after the Church of Holy Light has swept the area around the Monster Mountain Range."
Compared to the bloody battle with the Enlightenment Society, the nerve-wracking encounters with high-level beings and church leaders, guarding the newcomers was indeed as easy as a vacation.
————
Monica sat quietly by the window, her fingertips unconsciously teasing Xiao Mu, who was curled up on her legs and warmed by the sun.
Occasionally, a faint mark of a magic circle flashed in her wine-red pupils. That was the panel where she was using identification skills to fight against Xiao Mu.
Starting from Xiaomu's race, she felt that Xiaomu must not be an ordinary slime.
As long as she can identify Xiaomu's true race first, she will be able to successfully solve Xiaomu's secret.
"Get ready to go."
Mark took a deep breath, put on the small backpack he used to disguise himself, and called on the team members.
As soon as the group stepped out of the hotel and walked to the square in the center of the town, two pure and eye-catching holy light auras appeared before them without any obstruction, like the first rays of sunlight in the morning.
Ruby Montoya stood directly in front of Mark, her silver-black nun's uniform starched and crisply washed, the hem carefully dusted off.
The flail pendant hung calmly at his side, but his gaze was like a red-hot iron, burning into the Holy Flame Cross Sword badge on Mark's leather armor.
Kyle, who was standing beside her, was still wearing the clean robes of a clergyman, his golden hair shining in the morning light, and a gentle expression on his face.
"Trainee Inquisitor, Mark Stewart."
Ruby's voice was not loud, but every word was as powerful as a hammer, with the commanding tone unique to Sister Blazing. Her eyes penetrated Mark directly, as if she wanted to see through the truth of the two abnormal imprints in his soul.
Mark felt that the cold badge suddenly became hot and burned his flesh.
He stopped, his right hand subconsciously touching the badge, and replied helplessly: "Sister Ruby."
Ever since Ruby helped him apply for the badge, she has been going to Chunhui Hotel every now and then.
Then she stared at him with this look for two minutes, and finally left inexplicably.
But Mark couldn't defect.
After all, he had been a proxy priest and knew the hierarchy within the Holy Light Church.
This badge was not easy to come by, so we can't give it up easily.
With a heretical organization like the Enlightenment Society as an enemy, wouldn't it be better to find a powerful church to back you up?
"The incident in Osborne Town has come to an end, but the foundation of Holy Light cannot be weakened in the slightest."
Ruby ignored his slightly stiff movements and issued an order as if reciting unquestionable scripture. "Since you've decided to temporarily leave Osborne Town, I will assign you your first apprenticeship mission. Take this opportunity to escort the newcomer on his journey and inspect the villages, towns, and settlements along the northern border of the kingdom leading to Osborne Town."
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