Chapter 33 Departure
The next morning, a common carriage rocked gently as it left through the east gate of Bright City amidst the bustling crowd, heading to the southeast.
This was precisely Ya'er Adventure Team's group of five, with Arsen having rented a carriage to take them to the destination of their commission.
After a period of inspection and discussion yesterday, Ya'er and her team had finally confirmed the commission they would accept.
[Advanced Extermination Commission: Baron Zete Toney's vineyard has been invaded by an unidentified Magic Beast (suspected to be Silver Level), resulting in the deaths of more than a dozen people (including a Silver Level mercenary). The task is to eliminate the Magic Beast and clear all threats from the vineyard. Fee: 1000 Gold Coins, Duration: one week]
As Lis had predicted, new missions also appeared in the system.
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[Silver Level Mercenary Mission: Magic Beast Extermination]
[Mission Requirements: Follow the Ya'er Adventure Team to eliminate the Magic Beast causing trouble in Baron Tony's Domain]
[Mission Reward: Experience Points 700,000, Gold Coins 100]
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It was indeed a Silver Level task, and the reward for Experience Points was truly substantial, enough to raise one's level by three.
Just as he had thought, joining the Ya'er Adventure Team allowed one to take higher-level missions, and this was truly worth holding onto.
While thinking, Lis leaned against the side of the carriage, sitting on dry straw filled with the scent of sunlight, as many farmers began their busy day in the fields around the road.
The carriage was not fast, and although the destination vineyard was not very far from Bright City, it still required more than a day's walk. To conserve energy for any sudden emergencies, Arsen had still opted to rent a carriage.
It wasn't that they couldn't afford a more comfortable coach, but such coaches were not suitable for the bumpy dirt roads in the wilderness and were far less convenient and fast than the current light carriage.
Ya'er and the others were already accustomed to this mode of travel. As for Lis, needless to say, in his previous life, long-distance travel early in the game was mostly dependent on such light carriages, while high-level means like Transmission Arrays were used later on.
"Speaking of which, the commission fee for the mission we've taken is very generous, isn't it? It's about half more than the usual Silver Level commissions," said Lis to Arsen, who was driving the carriage.
Ya'er was currently leaning on the side of the carriage, observing the nearby farmers at work, while casually waving a twig as thick as a thumb that she had picked up from somewhere.
Although she was the leader, she generally never managed the affairs of the adventure team, leaving everything to Arsen, the handy laborer, to decide.
"You're quite aware," Arsen nodded and flicked the reins to steer the carriage forward as he replied,
"Because this mission is rather special. I asked the guild, and it has previously been picked up by some mercenaries; however, none completed the mission, and moreover, a Silver Level mercenary was killed in an ambush by the Magic Beast. So, now few people take this mission, and the commissioning party raised the fee for that reason as well."
"There must be more to it, right?" Lis continued.
"Right, you also hold a noble title, though without a fief, but you must have realized,"
Arsen paused, then said, "As a Noble Lord, the people in the domain pledge loyalty to the Lord, who must also ensure the safety of the people within the domain. This is the most basic and crucial duty of a Lord."
"And as Baron Zete Toney, being the Lord, the severe casualties in the domain that he couldn't manage properly not only severely affected the normal operation of his vineyard, causing heavy economic losses, but more importantly, it could cause the Royal Family to question his ability to govern his domain."
"This would be inconsequential if his domain were on the periphery of the Kingdom, but his domain is only a day's journey from the Royal Capital, Bright City, which is very critical. If he can't manage it for a long time, he might not be able to retain his noble title and domain."
"Exactly!" Lis nodded, just as he had speculated.
Gaia World was indeed different from the world Arsen had known in his previous life; not only humans lived here, but also countless intelligent races and magical beasts, as well as wild beasts.
In order to govern the country better, the state had allotted land beyond the control of the Royal Family to others, which was the origin of the nobility.
People living within the noble domains obeyed the Lord, paid taxes, all in return for the Lord's protection.
After all, the wilderness was too harsh for ordinary people.
The existence of Magic Power meant that various extraordinary creatures were widely spread across this world, even within the Human Kingdom. Between territories and cities, all sorts of extraordinary creatures and magical beasts roamed, and even though the kingdom's army repeatedly attempted to eliminate them, they could only keep the numbers of these creatures at a relatively low level.
Even the weakest extraordinary creatures, such as goblins, dog-headed men, and slimes, posed a lethal threat to ordinary people.
So, even though living within the territories required paying hefty taxes, the common people still flocked there, unwilling to leave, perhaps due to the sense of security provided by the walls and the Lord's army.
But humans were such a fascinating race: the weak couldn't defeat even a slime, yet the strong stood at the peak of the gods, overlooking all beings.
Lis reflected on this, perhaps that was why humans now occupied most of the prime land in Gaia World. After all, in the Temple of the Gods, the Human God System held the most seats.
As the carriage slowly progressed, the scenery on both sides of the road became more desolate: no people in sight, only overgrown grass and trees.
Lis and his companions heightened their vigilance. In the wilderness, the most forbidden thing was to be careless and let down their guard; even as a Golden Warrior, how could you be sure there wouldn't be an Ancient Red Dragon jumping out from the roadside, sending you to meet the God of Dawn with a single breath?
The chances of that were not high, but never zero!
Every old mercenary who had survived numerous adventures outdoors remembered this.
Just as Lis was multitasking, being vigilant around him while simulating Magic Models in his mind, something happened in the bushes beside the road in front—
"Ah~"
Two small creatures suddenly burst out, shouting at Lis and his carriage.
Arsen pulled the carriage to a halt, not panicked at all; he had already recognized what these creatures were.
"Lis, this is your first time out of the city on a mission, right? Do you recognize these?"
Lis certainly recognized them, and was quite familiar; he saw at a glance that these two were not humans.
Pff~, these were actually one of the most commonly encountered extraordinary creatures in the wilderness—Dog-headed Men.
The Dog-headed Men were short, with an ordinary Dog-headed Man standing just about two feet tall. Their skin was scaly, ranging in color from dark brown to black. They had two light-colored small horns, glowing eyes, and straight tails like rodents.
Dog-headed Men were timid, cunning, excelled at hiding and ambushing, and tended to torment other creatures. They feared bright light, generally lived in dark areas, such as underground or in densely foliaged forests.
It was said that Dog-headed Men had a hint of dragon's blood, which might be why Dragon Vein Mages appeared among them.
Even though Lis had encountered the creature Dog-headed Men countless times, looking at them from left to right, he couldn't believe that such an ugly creature could catch the eye of a dragon.
Perhaps the Dragon Clan really did have those so-called eyes that discovered beauty.
Watching the two Dog-headed Men hopping and rushing towards the carriage, Arsen said to Lis:
"Since you recognized them, how about you try your hand with these two?"