Chapter 15: Such brazen request

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"Master Motoyasu!"

The adventurers nearby turned their heads to the sight of Kitamura Motoyasu soaring through the air. The angle of his neck shifted rapidly, going from a lean of 30 degrees to 50 degrees, until it approached nearly 90 degrees.

No one anticipated that Motoyasu, already equipped with top-tier gear, would be dispatched so swiftly by Jason in yet another decisive victory.

Myne stood frozen in shock, her mind spinning in confusion. She had intended to secretly assist Motoyasu during the confrontation between him and Jason. Little did she know that the duel would be over in less than a second—an event that left no room for her involvement. The speed and finality of it all surpassed anything she could have imagined.

"Hey~~~ Master Motoyasu seems to be flying this way!"

As Myne struggled to process what had just occurred, she heard the voices of the surrounding adventurers. A flicker of relief washed over her as she instinctively looked up.

To her horror, she saw Motoyasu descending from above, seemingly on a collision course with her.

"Boom!!!"

Myne barely had time to react before Motoyasu's head collided into hers with a resounding thud. It was vital to note that Motoyasu still possessed the force of his descent, making the impact extraordinarily jarring.

The two plummeted to the ground, their bodies rolling as they lost consciousness. Their eyes glazed over, foam at the corners of their mouths, and their limbs twitched involuntarily.

"Master Motoyasu! Myne! Are you both okay?"

The adventurers surrounding them inquired anxiously. In their current state, it was clear that neither Myne nor Motoyasu could respond.

Meanwhile, Jason remained at a distance, secretly celebrating his victory. He had intentionally targeted Myne, launching Motoyasu directly into her.

"Hurry! Master Motoyasu and Myne are in need of medical attention!"

Seeing their lack of response, the adventurers rushed to gather them, intent on locating a healer.

"Wait... 300 silver coins!"

Jason hadn't collected the silver coins just yet, so he was unwilling to let them depart without recompense.

Putting aside Myne for the moment, Motoyasu was in dire straits. The adventurers hastily retrieved their coin purses, extracting a total of 300 silver coins and tossing them to Jason.

After receiving the coin pouch, Jason weighed it in his hands before securing it to his waist.

"Ding! The selection conditions are complete. Reward card template is now 1% complete; template completion reaches 10%!"

Feeling a surge of power within him, Jason exhaled in relief. He then called out to Ren and Itsuki , who were standing a bit further away: "You both need to verify that I did not rob Motoyasu of these silver coins. His defeat was fair and square—completely justifiable!"

Ren and Itsuki exchanged looks before speaking in unison: "Let's not tangle with this guy in the future!"

Jason ignored their remarks, taking a few steps back. He spotted a large bag much bigger than his own head lying on the grassland and he hoisted it onto his shoulder as he made his way toward the city.

"I can't believe it! I haven't seen him for just one night, and that guy has gotten even stronger!"

"Yeah, it seems he's been leveling up all night long. He must have advanced several levels by now."

"So... the reason there are no balloon monsters around is that they've all been eliminated by Jason?"

"That has to be it. Otherwise, it's hard to explain. Alright, let's get leveling! If Jason can become this powerful, there's no reason we can't catch up a bit. We at least need to close the gap!"

Ren and Itsuki glanced back at Jason's retreating figure before turning to venture further away. With no balloon monsters in sight, they hoped to find monsters in more distant areas.

They didn't believe that Jason had wiped out every monster in the entire grassland in just one night; surely, there would still be places suitable for leveling.

A short while later, Jason approached the city gates. Suddenly, he spotted a middle-aged man in standard armor rushing toward him, flanked by several soldiers.

The armor worn by the middle-aged man appeared to be of a much higher quality than that of the guard soldiers, indicating his elevated rank.

"This must be the chief guard and his men. I wonder what has them in such a hurry?"

Little did Jason know that the chief guard had braved the cold winds all night, waiting for the opportunity to confront him. Upon seeing Jason draw near, the guard's fury ignited.

"Stop!"

The captain of the guard shouted as he sprinted forward.

With no one else around, Jason could tell he was the target, prompting him to halt. "What's going on?"

"I am the chief of city defense. I suspect you are carrying contraband and need you to cooperate with an inspection!"

The guard chief's gaze was fixed intently on the large bag slung over Jason's shoulder.

"Alright!"

Jason responded amiably, choosing not to resist as he effortlessly tossed the bag onto the ground.

The guard chief hadn't anticipated Jason's willingness to cooperate so readily, which left him feeling a bit perplexed. However, he quickly ordered his soldiers to investigate the contents of the bag.

As they opened the bag, a mound of balloon monster fragments spilled out, likely weighing as much as hundreds of the creatures themselves.

"Master Guard, the materials dropped by the balloon monsters shouldn't be considered contraband, right?"

Jason feigned a tone of cautious inquiry.

The guard chief immediately grasped the implication: Jason had likely spent the entire night in the grassland battling balloon monsters. However, he wasn't about to let Jason off so easily during this encounter.

"While they aren't exactly contraband, you've only been out for one night, making it impossible to collect such a significant quantity. I now suspect you are partaking in activities that threaten the safety of the nation," the chief guard stated with feigned righteous indignation, secretly admiring his own cunning—how clever of him to concoct such a reason based on balloon monsters.

Despite his bravado, even the simplest of minds could see through the chief guard's transparent reasoning.

"Ding! Please choose!"

Let the head of the guard punish you. No rewards.

Refute the chief guard's claims, earning a double experience card for 1 hour.

Attack the chief guard directly, earning double experience cards for 6 hours.

Noticing the options presented to him by the system, Jason didn't find the rewards particularly enticing, but he figured they were better than nothing. Naturally, he chose option '3.'

He turned slowly towards the chief guard and began, "Chief of the guard... You seem to think that I lack the strength to defeat such a multitude of balloon monsters in a single night. Is that right?"

"Absolutely!" the chief guard responded with confidence.

"Then, doesn't that imply I should have the means to prove my strength? But who exactly do I need to prove it to?" Jason inquired further.

"Of course, you must prove it to me…"

Before the guard could finish his sentence, he noticed Jason's fist closing in rapidly on his face.

Boom!

The impact echoed like a cannon blast as Jason's fist smashed into the chief guard's face. The guard flew backward for a good ten meters before colliding with the city wall, lying motionless, unsure if he was alive or dead.

The soldiers around were left dumbfounded by the scene that unfolded before them.

"Don't look at me like that. He insisted that I demonstrate my strength and wanted me to hit him. Well… I believe I've proved my strength now," Jason shrugged casually, picking up the weighty bag from the ground and continuing into the city. As he walked away, he muttered, "What an outrageous request; I've never encountered anything like it in my life."

The soldiers exchanged glances, momentarily paralyzed and unsure of how to respond.

Should they arrest Jason?

They collectively shuddered at the thought, having witnessed the chief guard sent flying yards away by Jason's punch. What could they possibly do, charging in to face a similar fate?

"I can't handle this! I can't handle this!"

Finally, one of the soldiers yelled, "Let's go check if the chief guard is still alive!"

Only then did the soldiers spring into action, rushing towards the fallen chief.

Meanwhile, Jason had already entered the city and began to consider his next steps. "First things first, a hearty breakfast is in order, then I'll sell the balloon monster materials. Ah, I should stop by the slave trader… Sounds like a plan!"

"However," he pondered, "the merchant who buys these materials tends to be a bit unscrupulous, so I'd better be cautious."

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