The Adventurer's Mission Log

Chapter 33 The Restlessness of the Beasts

The river water was icy cold, and the dwarf's body instinctively resisted this unnatural feeling of floating.

He was being gripped by the back of his neck by the lizardman's powerful claws, half of his body submerged in the water, leaving a heavy trail underwater.

His single eye was wide open, staring intently at the approaching beastman shadow on the shore, as he gulped down a mouthful of salty, fishy river water.

He coughed, then unleashed a roar, fueled by all the rage he could muster, amidst the splashing water: "Release your claws, Tenor! I, Gottlieb Bardinson, am not your spoils!"

His short legs kicked instinctively in the water, and in the struggle he choked on another mouthful of water, spitting out a spray of water and swear words in Khazali.

Unfortunately, Tenor couldn't understand Dwarven language, and profanity is meaningless without an audience. He could understand the first half of the Imperial language, but he wasn't going to give up.

He lifted the dwarf, using his strong body to push through the turbulent undercurrents, and quickly caught up with the elf. "Catch me!" he shouted to the elf, accelerating after the elf grabbed his spines.

He noticed a change – his feet had spontaneously unfolded their webbed feet, and he swam very smoothly.

He is faster than he was in the sewers, can swim underwater for longer, and is more agile in the water than when he was awakened.

This might be a special ability gained after advancing to a higher level.

It turns out that advancing to the next level not only increased his strength and defense, but also awakened his affinity for water, a fact he had overlooked because he had never swum in the water.

The beastman fired a volley of arrows into the water, but to no avail. Then a huge rock was hurled at him, but it also missed.

Turner looked back and saw the Minotaur standing on the shore, tearing off beams and building materials and throwing them over.

If they were hit, Tenor might not care, but dwarves and elves would probably end up with bruises all over their bodies.

Fortunately, the accuracy deviation of the Gurmon is just as large as its own.

The dwarf had vomited up most of the river water he had swallowed. With nothing else to do, he wrung the water out of his beard and whispered in Tenor's ear, "Listen to me, Tenor."

I don't believe him, not even a little bit.

Ternor knew perfectly well who the dwarf was, but he hoped the dwarf would lower his voice. "So?"

The dwarf narrowed his one eye, lowering his voice even further: "This is Ragedia, human land. You know the conflict between human children and elves, right? They're always at war. What's an elven magic swordsman doing here, all alone? Just sightseeing?"

It was somewhat suspicious, but Tenor still hoped the dwarf would keep his voice down, because for now, their private conversation sounded like a grand discussion.

He deliberately lowered his voice, as if to imply to the dwarf, "You suspect he's a spy? A scout?"

The dwarf blew his nose hard and lowered his voice, but it still carried the sound of cursing: "The Beastmen came after him; we were just in their way."

He didn't explain anything from beginning to end, did he? Did you notice, you Southerners? Those long-eared people never explain; they think you and I aren't worthy to listen.

The magic swordsman listened politely to the entire conversation, letting river water drip from his hair. After the dwarf finished speaking, he paused at just the right moment before replying, "Absolutely correct."

His tone was flat, as if he were commenting on something that had nothing to do with him.

He disdained to maintain the usual elven social etiquette with the dwarves, because if he were to be slightly more subtle, the dwarves would not understand. He had to be direct and speak as rudely as humans, not in the way elven people communicate.

Tenor understood; what else could an elf have in the Empire's territory?

"I was a scout, and the Beastmen did indeed come after me," he continued, under the squinting gaze of the Lizardman's vertical pupils, as if correcting an apprentice's spelling error rather than responding to an accusation.

"I found evidence of their aggregation."

A large Imperial legion was ambushed in the forest; the battlefield remains indicate that the army was utterly defeated.

The traces there tell me that they were ambushed by a tribe, with at least a thousand horned beasts... or hundreds of minotaurs.

There will be even more inferior unicorns and unicorns, possibly thousands or even tens of thousands.

This is no ordinary herd of beasts; this is an army.

Legion brigade... that is, a thousand-man squad...

Being a legionary soldier in the Empire is no easy feat. Even professionals must undergo selection, and only the elite among professionals can be chosen.

The soldiers of the Imperial Legion were all of the same caliber as Ronan knights.

The imperial treasury provides a guarantee for the army, and the equipment level of the legion soldiers far exceeds that of ordinary adventurers.

To defeat such a well-trained superhuman army, the opposing side would need to deploy at least the same number... or even more professionals.

Now that this army has been defeated, it means the Beastmen can obtain a considerable amount of runic equipment from their corpses...

Tenor didn't know what to say. The good news was that so many beasts had gathered, not just for him.

The bad news is that the beast horde may be planning another war, targeting Laghettia, and no one in the city can escape.

The lizardman head of Tenor might be an excellent prize for some unicorn champions, whose gods would greatly appreciate it.

"Continue," Tenor gestured to the elf. The dwarf, bewildered by the exposure of their secret conversation, was trying to hide his embarrassment with profanity and anger.

The elf ignored the dwarf's interference, "I followed the animal trail to their gathering place, and then they discovered me."

After I defeated the Beastman Shaman, the Gur beasts they released kept chasing me, but they changed direction halfway through. I guessed there was an accident, so I followed them.

You all know what happened after that.

Tenor finally understood why the fight with Anthony was interrupted by the Beast.

That monster must have been hunting mages, so it was attracted by Anthony, and the beastman followed.

Tenor stumbled into danger by accident, but thankfully, as long as it wasn't a deliberate attempt to kill him...

"A herd of beasts gathering~ Hmph!" Gotley narrowed his one eye, his lips beneath his beard pressed into a thin line, and he gave a low hum.

"That makes sense. I came all the way from the south, passing through four villages, all of which were burned to the ground. Not even a guard dog was left. The skulls were piled up higher than me."

This height doesn't seem difficult.

"Do you know what the Beastmen do?" Tenor suddenly realized that he had been kept in the dark.

Gotley gave Tenor a strange look, then repeated his earlier words in a low voice in an odd tone, "I am the troll butcher. I will either kill Beastmaster Kazar Bloodhoof or be killed by the beastmen."

He knew there was a Beast King, but he didn't realize that the Beastmen had grown so large that they were making such a big move.

Tenor realized that the dwarf had probably heard something from somewhere and then rushed into the forest with an axe. Hoping he would get clues about the Beastmen was like hoping that the Beast King Qazar would choke to death while drinking water.

Before long, he swam ashore, and the dwarf excitedly jumped ashore, clearly relaxing much after stepping on the mud.

It's safe for now. The group of beastmen are still trying to cross from the other side, but they won't be able to get across anytime soon.

As Tenor reverted to his human form, the magic swordsman's gaze lingered on him for a moment, a fleeting look of surprise in his eyes.

He didn't know much about Thoros either, and assumed that the lizardmen had been given some kind of disguise magic.

Only the Ancient Saint knew about the Lizardmen, and he wouldn't be surprised by anything that happened.

"I will return to Orodlin to report. The Queen's army needs to know what's in the forest. What about you?" He didn't look at anyone in particular, but Tenor had already answered, "Return to Laghettia. Governor Clothos will need to know what happened today."

This was just a side trip; more importantly, there was a bounty on the head of the fugitive Anthony, and he could collect the money while he was at the governor's mansion.

Gottri stared intently at the elf, remaining silent. Tenor said helplessly, "And you?"

Gotley spat, wiped his mouth with his thumb, and said in a low voice to Tenor, "I'll go with you."

He quickly added, "Don't overthink it. It's not because you're anything special. You owe me. I helped you kill that dark wizard today! This debt needs to be settled."

So the first thing: once we get to Laghettia, you buy me drinks, enough to make a butcher forget what he's worried about.

Tenor isn't short of money for drinks.

Gottlieb has some influence, so maintaining the relationship is necessary and can also be seen as expanding one's network.

The dwarves' rank is immeasurable; they don't follow the path of 'awakening of will,' and they have no mages...

While elves can determine their warrior rank based on mage ratings, dwarves are completely different.

Even seasoned warriors struggle to defeat fully armed dwarven warriors and may even be killed in the process—dwarves are practically iron turtles in their full-body rune plate armor.

But when the dwarf warrior takes off his tortoise shell, even a novice warrior has a chance to kill him... If the dwarf then pulls out a musket, that's a different story.

Trolls are classified as sixth-tier monsters, but Butchers can also kill monsters of higher tiers through luck and runic weapons.

The runic axe in the dwarf's hand is extraordinary; it can easily be used as nail clippers for dragons. With a bit of luck, it could even kill a troll.

"Troll Butcher" is just a title; who knows how strong he was before he became the butcher?

Unless they actively seek out a mage to have their rank determined, no one will know.

They are, after all, a different power system.

If you can get dwarves to fight every day just by treating them to a few drinks, then the hiring fee is too cheap. If you book the tavern, Tenor can hire an entire dwarf army.

He patted his chest and assured the dwarf:

"No problem, I'll let you drink to your heart's content after I'm done with business."

"May the goddess Isa bless you." The magic swordsman nodded to Tenor.

The dwarf muttered to himself, "Pointy ears!"

"You can call me Flandir the Windbreaker." The magic swordsman Flandir turned his head to look at the dwarf indifferently, a gesture that the dwarf found insulting.

Before they started fighting, Tenor led the dwarf north along the river, intending to find a bridge back, or perhaps swim back after resting.

The two parted ways, but the matter was not over.

Tenor secretly resolved that he must find clues about the shapeshifters and demons before the Beastmen attack the city and complete his advancement; otherwise, given his attraction to chaotic creatures, he would be in grave danger during the war.

Mission: Kill Anthony

Difficulty: Medium

[Reward: Regeneration Potion *3]

Status: Completed

He received the reward and materialized the three rubies directly into his pocket.

Now that he has three lives, his margin for error is much higher, and it won't be so easy for the Beastman to kill him!

While he was pondering, he and the dwarf arrived at the nearest village.

A bloody aura filled the air, and Tenor's gaze suddenly sharpened.

The bodies were scattered haphazardly throughout the village; the houses had not been looted, and the bodies had not been gnawed on.

There was no looting, no plundering, no humiliation; it was as if the sole purpose was slaughter.

The tall skulls were piled up in the square in the center of the village.

Judging from the freshness of the body, the perpetrator has not gone far.

The Iron Blood Brotherhood's doing... Tenor's expression turned grave.

Mission: Eliminate the raiders in Contopoli Village

Difficulty: Medium

Status: Available

Tenor's tense mood immediately relaxed. It was only of medium difficulty, which meant that he was the hunter.