Chapter 89: Convergence

Chapter 89: Convergence

The three immediately looked in the direction where a dark figure could be seen, but it was pitch black inside.

However, Rain, who possessed dark vision, could already see two tall, dark figures flashing past at the end of the alley, each with a half-human-sized bag on their backs that seemed to be writhing incessantly.

"That's Quinn's patrol area, Captain. Should we go check it out?" Mateo obviously noticed something amiss.

"There are two of them, each carrying a large bag," Rain said in a low voice, already associating it with something unpleasant.

Velen and Mateo couldn't help but look at Rain in astonishment, as if to say, "How can you see that clearly?"

"Let's go! Follow them," Velen thought for a moment and decided to chase after them.

Led by Cookie, the three quickly caught up.

Apparently aware of the dog and the three people chasing closely behind, the two black figures ahead seemed a little flustered. In a panic, the two men suddenly threw off the hemp bags they were carrying and fled with even greater speed.

Just as Rain was about to chase after them, a tangerine-colored signal flare suddenly flashed in the air, its location in the northwest corner above Rain and the others.

"That's our distress signal."

"We must go there immediately." Velen looked at Rain solemnly and said.

"Boss, it's the children!" Mateo had already opened the two large bags that had been thrown on the ground.

Inside were two children, each with their mouths gagged and their hands and feet tied. The two children, upon seeing the night watchmen in black leather armor, struggled frantically.

"Mateo, you stay here and take care of the children."

"Rain and I will go over there immediately. You stay safe!" Velen quickly assigned tasks.

"Okay, boss. You guys go, I'll take care of the children," Mateo said as he untied the children.

Rain turned to look at the two slave traders who had already disappeared from sight, knowing that now was not the right time to pursue them.

After all, rescuing their colleagues was more important.

However, when Rain and Velen arrived at the northwest corner of the town, they found that the crisis had already been resolved. The night watchmen in this area also encountered slave traders, but this time, the opponents seemed a bit stronger, as they forcefully broke through the encirclement of three night watchmen and escaped calmly.

Additionally, one of the night watchmen was stabbed while blocking the slave traders.

Although the slave traders had already left, Rain still felt that something was amiss. The group that had been selling children recently had been too rampant and frequent!

This matter naturally infuriated Sheriff Hamilton of Flashgold Town, who immediately strengthened the night shift personnel in the town.

However, for three consecutive nights after that day, the area of Rain's night patrol remained peaceful.

It seemed that the slave traders' arrogance had been effectively curbed.

At the same time, Rain gradually became familiar with the work of the night watchmen.

The night watchmen of Flashgold Town were mainly responsible for maintaining the town's security at night, fighting fires, dealing with wild beast disturbances, and warning of significant dangers. During the day, the work was handled by the sheriff's deputies.

Since the daytime was relatively safer than the night, the combat capabilities of the night watchmen were generally one level higher than those of the deputies.

Naturally, the same was true for their compensation.

The monthly salary of an ordinary night watchman reached 8 imperial silver coins, while Rain, as an elite, earned 1 imperial gold coin.

Additionally, there would be 1-2 days of rest each week, arranged by the captain.

A night without sleep was not tiring for Rain, who had been practicing the breathing technique.

As long as he went back for a short nap and woke up again, Rain would be full of energy.

The remaining time during the day was perfect for other activities, such as practicing the breathing technique in his room, improving his riding skills at John's farm, or practicing swordsmanship and archery at the training grounds.

Rain also learned from Captain Velen that the empire strictly limited the teaching of breathing techniques and extraordinary swordsmanship to commoners, as evidenced by the need for a large number of merit points to acquire them.

However, the empire was very 'tolerant' of the nobility.

Nobles could teach their followers breathing techniques and extraordinary swordsmanship!

This also explained why so many commoners were eager to become servants or guards of the nobility.

This system had been in place for a long time and had gained widespread approval from nobles of all levels.

Conversely, it was extremely difficult for commoners to rise to the top on their own.

Rain briefly summarized the challenges that commoners faced in becoming extraordinary.

First, they had to join an official organization of the empire, accumulate enough merit points over time, and learn breathing techniques and extraordinary combat skills.

Then, they would continue to accumulate merit points to exchange for 'advanced potions.' If they were lucky enough to become extraordinary and undergo the imperial ennoblement, they could become the lowest-ranking nobility—non-hereditary knights.

The only regret these past few days was that Sheriff Hamilton, the town's sheriff, was extremely busy with his work.

Rain had planned to seek advice on swordsmanship from him and, in the process, gain some 'experience points.' However, he couldn't find a suitable opportunity.

After three days, the profession that made the most progress for Rain was still the Dog Trainer, which had cost him a 'hefty price'. Surprisingly, he had reached level 2 (223/300).

Part of the reason for this was that Rain had been patrolling with Cookie all night, which the system recognized as 'walking the dog'.

Previously, Rain had calculated that about fifteen minutes of 'walking the dog' would earn him one experience point for the Dog Trainer profession.

So, staying up all night 'walking the dog' naturally resulted in a rapid increase in experience.

The only thing that slightly annoyed Rain was that, compared to other places, the Flashgold Town Night Watch had very few skilled members.

In the Administrative Hall's training ground, Rain had no real challenge when using the Grizzly Sword Technique.

Therefore, when sparring with other Night Watch members, Rain used the Half-Sword with the Dragon Empire Military Swordsmanship, and he also practiced his archery skills in his free time.

After a few days, the results were quite satisfying.

His Night Watch profession reached level 3 (247/500), while his Dragon Empire Military Swordsmanship and Basic Archery skills improved even more, reaching level 2 (245/300) and level 2 (245/300) respectively.

Before he knew it, three days had passed.

As the morning dawned, Rain finished his night patrol and returned home. Soon after, a guard notified him that Lord Hamilton wanted to see him.

Rain thought for a moment and then brought along his dual-bladed greatsword, wrapped in a parchments, and wore the black uniform of the Night Watch. He headed to the Administrative Hall.

Inside the office, Lord Hamilton handed Rain a parchment scroll.

"For this mission, we'll have to go there ourselves."

Rain took the scroll and skillfully flipped through it. The first part described the situation: multiple miners had gone missing in the Elm Mine, and three bounty hunters who had gone to investigate had also disappeared without a trace.

It continued, stating that as of yesterday, the number of missing miners had exceeded ten, and now all the miners at the Elm Mine were terrified. None of them dared to work there anymore, forcing the mine to shut down.

"Hmm! Elm Mine? I seem to recall hearing about this before."

"I didn't expect it to remain unsolved."

"The situation now is clearly more severe!"

Rain immediately recalled the news about the Elm Mine that he had heard while working for Lord Hamilton.

As Rain continued reading the scroll, he found a single sentence at the end detailing the mission: "Investigate and find out what happened in the Elm Mine."

"Is this a mere investigation mission?" Rain looked at Lord Hamilton in surprise.

Normally, for a simple investigation mission, the imperial authorities wouldn't get involved. They would usually offer a reward for information instead.

Rain's hunch about the importance of the Elm Gold Mine was confirmed by Lord Hamilton's next words.

"Although the Elm Mine's production has been declining year by year, its importance to Master County remains significant. My superiors want me to find out what's happening in the Elm Mine as soon as possible."

"Additionally, even though this is just an investigation mission, there's a possibility that a mysterious incident has occurred in the mine." Lord Hamilton's expression turned solemn.

"Mysterious incident?" Rain pondered these four words.

"That's right! With three experienced bounty hunters going missing, one after another, it can be classified as a mysterious incident. This means there might be a monster or some supernatural phenomenon inside the mine."

"My lord, if it's a monster, why not offer a bounty for monster hunters? Of course, I'm not afraid, just curious." Rain asked.

After all, it was Lord Hamilton who had told him that he could find monster hunters in the county city to purchase bear meat.

"Because one of the bounty hunters, Nedved, is also an experienced monster hunter. His disappearance has made it so that no monster hunter in the county city dares to take on this task."

After hearing Lord Hamilton's explanation, Rain nodded.

The disappearance of three bounty hunters, one of whom was an experienced monster hunter, left Rain with an unsettling feeling.

"Lord Hamilton, what do you think has happened in the mine?" Rain couldn't help but ask, knowing that Lord Hamilton was well-traveled and would likely have some insight into the situation.

Lord Hamilton paused before replying, "Initially, I suspected that dog-headed men might have appeared in the Elm Mine, but they aren't very strong, and they usually travel in large numbers. However, there hasn't been any news of anyone seeing dog-headed men."

"Additionally, with three experienced bounty hunters missing, it's unlikely that the culprit is a creature like the dog-headed men."

"So, I suspect there's a monster in the mine that's skilled at ambushing and attacking."

"For example, the Poison Sting Scorpion is excellent at ambushing and attacking, and they also prefer deep and damp environments like mines. If they hit a miner or bounty hunter, it could be fatal."

"Even the scream couldn't be heard."

"Of course, it could also be other groups of monsters that are good at ambushing, such as troglodytes, and so on. It's hard to say for now."

Upon hearing Hamilton's reasonable analysis, Will couldn't help but nod, his worries easing significantly.

With an experienced officer like him leading the team, safety shouldn't be a major concern.

"Will, aren't you planning to earn more merit points to exchange for Advanced Potions?"

"This might be a good opportunity. Usually, the merit points for such mysterious events are three to five times that of regular missions, or even higher." Hamilton smiled and said to Will.

Will immediately raised his eyebrows and also laughed.

In fact, if Will knew that this mission had such a generous reward, he would have volunteered to join.

Will himself was well aware that he was not far from becoming a knight, as Hamilton had said, and he didn't need to wait another half a year.

If everything went smoothly, he could meet the other knight promotion conditions, except for the 'Advanced Potion', in one or two months.

Therefore, Will currently lacked merit points to exchange for the 'Advanced Potion'.

Although this mission had some risks, with the formal knight Hamilton personally leading the team, the danger should be relatively controllable.

Will felt that as long as he was careful, there shouldn't be any major issues.

"That's the best. By the way, sir, when are we departing?"

"We'll set off once everyone arrives. This time, the county city also sent people over. After they arrive, we'll depart together."

"Also, I asked Velen to prepare some antidote, ropes, and fishing nets, and so on."

"Will, if you need to prepare anything, there's still time."

"Yes, sir." Will nodded upon hearing that people from the county city were also coming.

In fact, Will had brought along most of the necessary items.

However, Will considered bringing along 'Cookie', as dogs have much more sensitive hearing and smell than humans.

So, Will returned home once more to bring 'Cookie' with him.

When he returned to the town's administrative hall, he noticed a new group of people, and Hamilton also came out, walking towards this group.

"Lord Hamilton, it's been a while!" A middle-aged man with a goatee, wearing a well-fitted hunting outfit, bowed slightly towards Hamilton.

Will could vaguely sense that the other party's strength was not weak, and although he wasn't a formal knight, he was clearly a knight attendant.

"Master Perez! Greetings." Hamilton smiled and nodded.

"Lord Hamilton, Viscount Hamadi originally wanted to come personally, but the Viscount is busy with affairs, so he asked me to come and check the Elm Gold Mine."

"Viscount Hamadi and Earl Habsburg are both very concerned about the situation in the gold mine." Master Perez, the middle-aged man, said with a smile.

"This time, besides inviting the knowledgeable bard, Sir Endry, to join us..."

"I also specially recruited three experienced bounty hunters from the county city."

Master Perez extended his hand and introduced the bearded, grey-robed, staff-wielding old man beside him.

The old man took off his grey hood and bowed slightly towards Hamilton: "Lord Hamilton, it's an honor to meet you."

"Sir Endry, it's a pleasure to meet you." Hamilton nodded in response.

Upon hearing the other party's introduction as a knowledgeable bard, Will couldn't help but take a closer look.

"I wonder if he recognizes the unknown text in my 'Beast Taming Diary'."

"Unfortunately, my current identity and timing are not suitable."

At this moment, Master Perez also pointed to the three people in grey leather armor: "These three are experienced bounty hunters."

"Lord Hamilton, Master Falujia, Master Selin, and Master Asim are at your service." The three sturdy bounty hunters stepped forward and bowed to Hamilton.

"Welcome!" Hamilton nodded slightly.

Although he was leading the team this time, he was well aware that the Night Watch forces were more adept at cooperative combat. Compared to searching and scouting, experienced bounty hunters would be more skilled.

At this moment, Hamilton saw Will had also arrived and nodded slightly.

"Since everyone's here, shall we set off now?"

"Of course, the earlier we depart, the sooner we complete the scouting mission." Master Perez smiled and nodded in agreement.

Thus, twelve elite Night Watch members, along with Master Perez's five people, set off on horseback towards the Elm Gold Mine in the southwest of Shangjin Town.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end