Green Monster Epic

Chapter 1131: Adventurers in the Valley

In the blink of an eye, eighteen years had passed.

“… … %# @ … …”

Deep within the Katohr Mountains, a gnome, left hand holding a strange one-handed shield and right hand gripping a one-handed cutlass, chanted words under his breath. As he finished his devout and solemn incantation, a burst of white divine magic erupted from his sharp, rectangular cutlass, showering the 3-4 companions ahead who were engaged in a fierce battle.

Empowered by this surge of divine energy, the gradually tiring adventurers were invigorated as if they had taken stimulants, launching a fierce counterattack against the three two-meter-tall, four-armed apes before them.

The three besieged long-armed apes were already covered in numerous wounds, large and small. Although their nascent intellect allowed them to use crude wooden sticks as weapons, they were facing intelligent beings clad in fine metal armor, wielding sharp metal weapons, and possessing knowledge of magic and divine arts, capable of coordinated combat. With the individual strength of both sides being relatively equal, the final outcome was self-evident.

Thwack!

The last four-armed ape was pierced through the heart by a gnoll assassin who appeared like a phantom from a blind spot, collapsing lifelessly. The six adventurers in the field breathed a collective sigh of relief, easing the tension that had gripped them throughout the intense battle.

It was hard to say whether they were lucky or unlucky. They had encountered these three four-armed apes as soon as they entered this valley. Coincidentally, one of them had received a natural blessing, ascending to a mid-tier magic beast capable of casting Stone Armor.

With a team of five mid-tier combat professionals and one peak low-tier, their well-balanced composition was evenly matched against these three ferocious beasts. However, the risk was relatively high. If that mid-tier magic beast knew one or two more spells, they would have suffered greatly.

However, after repeated probing in the early stages, they discovered that this magic beast only knew this single spell. What was particularly surprising was that it could cast Stone Armor on its companions. With this extra protection, the three long-armed apes, already known for their speed and strength, became very difficult to deal with.

Fortunately, this adventurer team was not a temporary assembly but a fixed group with established synergy. After a thrilling and stimulating battle, they finally managed to kill these three ferocious beasts.

“… … * @ QA ￥ … …”

The gnome hung his one-handed shield on his waist and walked towards the ogre shield warrior companion who had withstood the majority of the attacks. He resumed chanting his prayer, and as the final syllable of the prayer fell, a green healing divine magic enveloped the ogre's battered body, and the wounds began to heal at a slow pace.

At the same time, the gnoll assassin skillfully used his sharp dagger to cut into the corpses of the three four-armed apes, collecting the most valuable parts of their bodies.

“The magic gland on this magic beast is really big, and it hasn't been damaged by our battle. I reckon we can negotiate a good price when we take it back for sale. We can make a small fortune again!”

The other three companions continued to hold their weapons, guarding in three directions, occasionally turning their heads to watch their companion's dismemberment, their mouths slightly raised as they began to chat.

“Speaking of which, when we return to Green Lake City this time, I should have saved enough for that pair of longswords I've been eyeing for a long time.”

The dark elf female, with a lithe figure and phoenix eyes rippling like spring waves, was also exceptionally happy when her companion identified the harvested materials, lightly parting her cherry lips to speak.

“It would be great if we could encounter a magic beast like this every time we come out!”

“Who says it wouldn’t be??”

“With the flesh and blood of this magic beast as ingredients, Todd, you'll have no more excuses about the ingredients not being good enough to cook magical dishes, right?”

The ogre, sitting on the ground, grimaced as he treated his injuries, while resentfully speaking to the gnome companion who was healing him. His eyes drifted to the not-so-small corpse of the mid-tier magic beast, his throat involuntarily wriggling, as if images of delicious delicacies were already flashing in his mind.

The gnome priest, called Todd, carefully treated his companions' injuries one by one. He took down the shield hanging from his waist again and placed it on the ground. A piece of cut meat was placed on the concave surface of the shield. It turned out that this shield could also be used as a frying pan.

“These ingredients are not bad, but the spices and auxiliary materials I brought don’t match it. I can't guarantee…”

The gnome contentedly identified the usable ingredients, but began to make excuses.

“Get lost!! If you can't cook a magical dish this time, we won't let you use the ingredients we harvest in the future, you lousy cook!!”

“That’s right!! Every time we go out on an adventure, you waste a lot of the ingredients we harvest, but you haven't cooked many magical dishes in total, and the permanent attributes they add are very lackluster!!”

“Remember the burrowing rat we managed to kill last time? You even failed to cook the ingredients of a low-tier magic beast…”

Hearing his companion preemptively making excuses for his failure, the adventurers immediately became unwilling, and all sorts of squeezing and threatening words came one after another, making the gnome, who was picking up various materials, feel somewhat embarrassed.

“Isn't it just a magic beast?? What's so great about it? The number of magic beasts in the Northern Border will only increase in the future.”

“Bullshit!! Magic beasts are something that you can only encounter by chance. Didn't you see that the prices of magic beast glands and various materials outside are still high!!”

“Then you take us to find another magic beast!!”

Hearing Todd's sophistry, his companions once again focused their fire on him. Amidst the teasing, the battlefield was basically cleaned up.

“I'll tell you a secret, but don't spread it around!!”

The gnome, Todd, was indeed squeezed hard, and he really felt a little sorry for his partners. Therefore, when building a temporary stove, he beckoned his companions to his side and said mysteriously: “Our tribe will build a very, very large-scale magic network on the edge of the Tagan Desert, north of Rapid Current Bay, in a few years. At that time, the magic network will spontaneously absorb magic power, which will attract those creatures that are sensitive to magic power to live in the magic network area.”

“At that time, if we want to find the traces of magic beasts, we can just go to the Tagan Desert. We won't have to worry about not finding magic beasts!!”

“Who did you hear this from?”

His companions asked with doubtful eyes, but they all knew that this companion of theirs was a branch of a goblin family with a low status in Green Lake City, and also a priest of the God of Food Church, so it was normal to know some secrets that everyone else didn't know in advance.

“Haven't you noticed that in the Green Lake City Adventurers' Guild over the past decade, there have been many tasks related to the Tagan Desert and collecting resources? These are all issued by our Thorns Ring organization in order to open up strongholds and deploy magic network devices in the desert.”

If he didn't thoroughly understand the personalities and character of his teammates, Todd wouldn't have shared this secret that hadn't even spread widely within the Green Field Tribe. In fact, he was planning to wait until this adventure was over and then find a way to encourage everyone to take on missions in the desert, to familiarize themselves with the local environment sooner and gain a bit of an advantage.

"Why would your tribe choose to build a Mythallar in that godforsaken desert? Are there any important resources there?"

What a Mythallar was, in reality, was only vaguely known to these ordinary adventurers. They didn't personally experience its specific effects and power, only hearing countless stories proclaiming its strength. However, one thing everyone was very clear about was that the Mythallar was a gold-devouring beast, not only priceless but also incredibly expensive to use. It was said that each activation of the Mythallar consumed the equivalent of a legendary-grade piece of equipment.

Adventurers like them might spend their entire lives to acquire a high-level, standard-issue magic item, but legendary-grade equipment was something they wouldn't even dare to dream of!

"Heh, this involves another secret!"

Todd began to prepare the ingredients while preparing to play coy: "If you want to know, then you have to promise me that all the ingredients you harvest on future adventures will be given to me to cook."

"Okay, okay, okay!! All yours!!"

"It's as if we've ever actually sold any of the ingredients before!!"

"Exactly."

"Just tell us already!!"

The teammates' interest was piqued, and they readily agreed to Todd's not-so-excessive request. In reality, everyone knew that the dishes Todd cooked would eventually end up in their mouths.

Their complaints about Todd earlier were simply because his cooking skills were stuck at the threshold of an intermediate magic chef, unable to improve. He had been trying to break through for the past dozen or so cooking sessions without success, instead wasting good ingredients, which made everyone feel a little heartache.

But to be fair, Todd, as a cleric of the God of Food, provided various enhancement spells in battle, which was also a crucial guarantee for the team's ability to venture three hundred miles deep into the Kator Mountains. Moreover, as a native of Green Lake City, Todd could always secure the greatest benefits for everyone when purchasing supplies or selling the spoils of their adventures.

Todd savored the feeling of being the center of attention for a moment, and then, before everyone could get angry, he began to speak, slowly recounting the news he had heard from his family: "It's said that our tribe's great leader obtained a demiplane, which will be used for the training and advancement of outstanding warriors under our Thorns Ring organization. Eventually, the entrance and exit passage of this demiplane will be placed on the Tagan Desert side."

"Therefore, the tribe will build a Mythallar in the desert."

"Demiplane?? What is that??"

The gnoll assassin from a remote small tribe helped Todd clean up the ingredients, lit the fire, and set up the stove, then asked with a puzzled tone.

"I heard it's like a completely enclosed space, with a space area equivalent to a dozen Green Lake Cities, right?"

"That was snatched from the hands of many, many powerful individuals by our great patriarch, my idol, during an adventure in the Misty Forest. It is said that he was facing the attacks of 7-8 Saints at the time..."

"Wow, you guys from big tribes have it good. You have complete inheritances and various opportunities for advancement."

After listening to Todd's bragging, the gnoll assassin sighed enviously.

Some of the other teammates also felt the same way and nodded slightly, while the teammates who didn't nod were from one of the several tribes under the Thorns Ring organization and were quite satisfied with their current situation.

"You also have the opportunity to join our Thorns Ring tribes. It would be nice to settle down here at that time!!"

Todd quite liked his current teammates. Although they often bickered and quarreled, they could entrust their backs to each other in the face of real danger. This kind of trust was rare among adventurers, so he hoped that everyone could get along for a long time.

"It's not that easy!"

Several teammates from ordinary tribes shook their heads, saying with some unwillingness and regret.

"Not to mention whether your northern tribes would be willing to accept us, just finding a suitable place to settle down in the current northern territory would cost a considerable amount of money."

"If you want to settle down here, I do have a channel that can allow you to receive the same treatment as the members of our Thorns Ring tribe."

Todd had prepared the preliminary work for cooking and was now just waiting for this conversation to end before starting his 13th attempt at cooking an intermediate-level magic dish.

"Oh? Really?"

"Tell us about it."

Several teammates' eyes lit up, obviously somewhat tempted.

"Isn't there an army under our Thorns Ring organization? They recruit a certain number of soldiers from the outside every year. As long as their strength reaches the intermediate level or above, they can join these legions after passing the assessment."

"During their service in the army, legion soldiers enjoy the same rights as the tribal members of the Thorns Ring organization, and their monthly salary is also very considerable, not worse than what we earn from adventuring outside. The most important thing is stability."

"As long as you serve in the army for more than ten years and perform well, then after you retire, you can freely choose to join any tribe in our Thorns Ring and settle down and live in their territory, becoming a formal member of their tribe."

"With your strength, I believe there will be no problem passing the assessment."

After all, Todd came from a large family and naturally possessed a vision and various information channels that many ordinary adventurers could not reach. At this time, the news he revealed entered the ears of the few partners in the team who came from small tribes, as if helping them open a shining window.

"But I heard that if foreign warriors want to join the army, they must have a guarantee and recommendation from a member of the Thorns Ring. Not everyone is qualified."

The dark elf female, Joanna, was also a member of the Thorns Ring, so she naturally heard about this matter, but the information she heard seemed to be somewhat different from Todd's.

"There are always channels for recommendation letters. As long as everyone has this idea, I can inquire through my family channels, and maybe there will be news soon!"

"...Well, I have to think about this carefully."

"After all, that's joining the army. Who knows when the elves in the north will have another crazy idea and come to invade our wilderness!"

"...That's right..."

"Anyway, I've told you what I know. It's up to you how to choose. Next, don't bother me anymore. I have to concentrate on preparing the cooking, otherwise you'll blame me again if the cooking fails later!!"

"Tch!! You're already trying to shirk responsibility before you even start..."

Sizzle ~ ~ ~

As the oil fumes in the pan heated up, a sizzling sound and a scorched aroma of food quickly floated up, permeating the top of this secluded and remote valley.