The Record of Unusual Creatures

Hao Ren wondered why Ophra, a grand marshal had to come here in person. But, he did not have the chance to ask her about it. After the marshal told them about the matter, she asked them regarding their mercenary group and the process of finding the Orb of the Holy Synod. It was not the first time that people asked about these things, so they managed to answer fluently. In the end, Becky asked the marshal about the four ascetics, "When will the four masters come back?"     

Actually, Becky was not concerned about the four ascetics at all. She was just trying to let Ophra notice her existence.     

Ophra shook her head and said, "The four masters need to rest in their rooms. They will have long prayers and meditation according to the canon. You will probably not see them until the next time you leave."     

Hao Ren had something else on his mind. He had no interest in the so-called rewards. He looked up and asked, "That... Do we have to go to the capital to accept the rewards?"     

Ophra was surprised and raised her eyebrows. She looked at Hao Ren for quite a long time, and then asked, "What do you mean?"     

"We want to stay here and help," Hao Ren explained. "I've seen the situation here. Those rock monsters are a big threat and I'm good at dealing with them. I think it'd be more useful to stay here and fight than go to the capital to get rewards."     

Hao Ren's explanation was dignified. Of course, he was not going to admit that the real reason he wanted to stay was to study the secrets of Dragonspine Ridge and the Blood Lake. Wealth and fame in The Plane of Dreams were meaningless to him. The only thing that could help him raise his wages was figuring out the legend behind the end of the world 10,000 years ago...     

However, Ophra had no idea what Hao Ren was thinking. She was just surprised that this seemingly plain "mercenary" could say such a thing. She looked at Hao Ren firmly for a while, looking for any signs of false pretenses from Hao Ren's face. Then, she got up as her armour rattled. "We'll talk about this later. One or two more men who can fight won't change the situation now. The true end to this current mess lies in Bishop Gelton's knowledge. Of course, you can still apply to stay here after you come back from the capital. We have a long-term vacancy here."     

After Oprah finished talking, she left without any further delay. After the marshal left, Becky was relieved. She quickly rushed to Hao Ren and said, "Hello! What were you thinking just now? What if Lady Ophra had really agreed to cancelling our reward?"     

Hao Ren gave Becky a sideways glance and said, "I have an important task. And, the reward here is useless to me."     

Becky almost jumped and said, "But to me... Oh, it seems useless to me as well..."     

Hao Ren then said, "...Alright, let's put this aside. Our time is limited. We have no time to come back after we go to the capital. The next time we come back will roughly be one month later. God knows how many accidents would have happened in this place. I'm going to go to the mountains tonight and you guys can help out…"     

Hao Ren then discussed that evening's plan of action with them. After Ophra left the room, instead of going to the church, she rode on her steed and went straight to the Royal Knights' station. In front of the their camp, an old man who looked just like a regular groom was waiting there. "I've met with them, including the four masters and a group of mercenaries who appeared out of nowhere," she said as she put the reins in the man's hands.     

The old groom kept silent while he led the horse and walked beside Ophra. Shortly after, he posed her question as though he was talking about the weather, "How are things? Is it true?"     

They did not lower their voices at all, but no one could hear what the conversation was about two metres away from them. A peculiar mental disturbance pervaded throughout Ophra's surroundings, causing all who tried to eavesdrop to only hear a buzzing noise in their minds.     

"I didn't see the Orb, but it should be with one of the masters. They abide by the teachings. They will not give the Orb to me to verify its authenticity easily even if they are in front of the bishop. But, the Orb is supposedly real," said Ophra, looking back with a calm smile, "because the four masters are real. I can tell it from their vibes."     

"So, the return of the Orb is true?" the old groom asked, steadily following Ophra to the camp. "Looks like, this isn't anyone's arrangement. What about the mercenaries?"     

"They claim to be wizards from the northern Hognar Empire. They've been travelling around to increase their knowledge. Their involvement in the Orb and the rescue of the four masters were purely coincidental. The whole story was watertight. It's just that I have this feeling that they're hiding something." Ophra paused slightly and asked, "How's your investigation, Elson?"     

"They appeared out of nowhere. They first appeared in the southern grasslands of Lamberg town. No one knew about the group up until that point. Additionally, I've checked the record of border crossings and found no history of them. They just vanished out of thin air. My people tried everything, but still found no clues. I also found some mercenaries who came into contact with the group. The mercenaries mentioned that their way of fighting was so bizarre that they did not seem like wizards at all, or people with any known combat occupation. They relied more on instinct and talent. Maybe they're some kind of esoteric warrior we do not know of."     

Ophra stared at the ground and asked, "...They came and went like shadows? You can't even find any clues on when they suddenly disappeared? Has your wolf nose stopped working, or can they really jump worlds?"     

 "You are the same as always; the jokes are never funny." The old groom's expression remained unchanged. "Is there a problem with those mercenaries?"     

 "They are fine. At least my instincts are sure that they are harmless, innocent, and not greedy. That last point is the most surprising one. Their leader tried to reject the rewards and there was no hypocrisy in his emotions. Thee man gave off a feeling of somone as pure as a saint. He didn't even pay a tiny bit of attention to fame and fortune, but..." Ophra suddenly stopped talking. She looked up and said, "Their dubious origins are the biggest issue."     

 "Then keep investigating," the old groom nodded and said. "Although I don't see why a bunch of mercenaries are worth so much attention... your instincts have always been accurate."     

"My intuition..." Ophra was talking to herself as she looked up to the sky. "I hope my intuition can help me solve the trouble here. I have a bad feeling. The sacred ground is shrouded in gloom and some of the uncoordinated areas are hidden around us. Our Bishop Gelton, the only one who can control the situation, is an old priest who is pious, but lacks resilience. "     

Undercurrent was surging under the ancient and mysterious sacred grounds, however most people were unaware of this. They were constantly fighting off the monster attacks and had gotten numb in battle. As night fell, Dragonspine Ridge ended its restless day, followed by an equally restless night.     

Under the cover of night and the Power of Shadows, Hao Ren and the rest of them left Leyton at the foot of the hill and approached higher ground not far from the town.     

"Even though I want to stay and investigate the situation here, after thinking about it, it's necessary to go to the capital." Hao Ren saw that everybody was there, just sitting cross-legged on the ground. He then said, "It's said that there's a big library in the capital, which contains various files accumulated since the founding of Holletta. The cathedral and the palace also have secret archives that have been handed down from the previous civilisation. These are all necessary information in our investigation. We will spend a lot of energy in this world and it is necessary to integrate with the upper-class society. So, this is a good opportunity. Let's look into the rock monsters' movements tonight; mainly to figure out how much Dragonspine Ridge has changed since we left it two months ago. Also, the Blood Lake—Vivian and Lily, you two move fast, so the both of you go to the Blood Lake again. I haven't forgotten about the tunnel. Last time, we only discovered one direction of the tunnel. This time, you two go and see where the other direction of the tunnel leads to."     

Lily looked a little excited. Apparently, this "midnight undercover operation" made her feel very powerful. After hearing Hao Ren's instructions, she immediately nodded and jumped on the big rock beside her, howling. "Awwwwwwooooo—Woof!"     

Her howling echoed across the mountain. Vivian immediately rushed towards Lily, but was unable to cover her mouth…     

"It's okay," Hao Ren shook his head and said, "It's normal to have wolves on the mountain."     

Vivian stared at him and said, "But it's not normal to end the howling with woof!"     

Hao Ren waved his hand and looked at Y'zaks as he said, "You and Becky are a team. You have strong combat capabilities and Becky has a lot of local experience. You two go to the northern side of the main peak. Apparently, it's one of the peaks where the rock monsters have surged out from. See if there's any change in the number of monsters and look out especially if the monsters split from the rocks but don't attack the town... What are they trying to do? I thought mindless creatures like the rock monsters aren't capable of something clever such as planning an attack. Yet, they did plan a sneak attack and pierce the line of defense half a month ago."     

"Lastly, Nangong Wuyue and I will go to the 'overpass' together." Hao Ren tossed the Data Terminal in his hand and said, "A mountain doesn't change its shape for no reason. There has to be some secret behind this. The people here don't have energy detectors, but haha, I do."