The Discovery of Tuka's Team
Ereccia was a small frontier city on the edge of the Eastern Empire. Most of its residents had gathered there after hearing of the Eastern Empire's great power, fleeing from nations ravaged by war.
Starting as scattered settlements, the city eventually attracted the attention of the Eastern Empire as more and more refugees fled there. Under the direction of people sent by the Empire, the refugees worked together to build the city, bit by bit.
After living there for several decades, all the residents had come to regard it as their home. They had settled down, raised families, and gradually made the city prosperous.
Today, as usual, Ereccia was peaceful. On the stone-paved streets, children's laughter, vendors' cries, and the chatter of the crowds rose and fell one after another. From time to time, adventurers in armor and carrying weapons passed through the crowds.
Whenever adventurers passed by, the vendors and pedestrians would warmly greet them. When the children at play saw those imposing adventurers, admiration and yearning would inevitably shine in their wide eyes.
Scenes like this took place on every street in the city. To the residents, this city was the home they had built together, brick by brick. Moreover, with tens of thousands of residents living in a city that was not very large, people were always bound to run into one another over various matters, filling the city's inhabitants with warmth toward each other.
Most of the adventurers in the city were descendants of that original batch of refugees as well. Thus, they lacked the aloof, difficult-to-approach air of other adventurers and were friendly toward the city's residents.
"Hey! Tuka, aren't you going to the sewers today?"
Inside a tavern outside the Adventurer's Guild, the idle tavern owner suddenly spotted Tuka's team passing down the street. He hurriedly waved to Tuka and teased him. Quite a few people in the city had heard of Tuka's team, which had steadfastly devoted itself to cleaning the sewers.
Tuka's steady, responsible, and serious attitude had also made him friends with many people in the city. The tasks they regularly assigned to Tuka's team were one of their main sources of income besides cleaning the sewers.
"I'm not cleaning the sewers today. I accepted a job from Miss Lysa to repair the damage to her house."
When Tuka heard someone call his name, he turned around and saw the tavern owner waving at him from nearby. He nodded with a cheerful smile and told him about today's task. Originally, because of Keith's complaints earlier, Tuka had planned to accept a relatively easy extermination job outside the city today.
Strangely, however, something seemed to have happened at the Adventurer's Guild today. Not only were most of the staff absent from the guild, but all tasks concerning the area outside the city had been canceled as well, leaving only tasks posted by the city's residents.
Tuka had even asked the young woman at the counter about it out of curiosity. He had heard that the city lord had summoned the Adventurer's Guild and all the Empire's personnel in the city over some matter, then left the city early that morning.
Before leaving, the city lord had told those who remained to cancel all tasks concerning the area outside the city. He said he would resolve the matter outside the city by tomorrow at the latest, at which point tasks concerning that area would be reopened.
Although those who stayed behind found it a little strange, they did not think too much of it. After all, they had once heard of many small cities on the Empire's borders being destroyed by monsters, so after the city lord left, they all began wondering whether some powerful monster had appeared nearby.
For the safety of the entire city, the city lord had summoned everyone to go and exterminate it.
As for whether the city lord might flee, no one who knew about the matter would entertain such a thought. When the city lord had first been sent to organize the refugees, he had personally hunted monsters and beasts to provide them with food. During the city's construction, he had worked alongside the laborers with his own hands and guarded everyone's safety at night.
The city itself had been named after him out of gratitude for everything he had done. Even after the city was completed, its residents had been able to live and work in peace because of the city lord's leadership.
It could be said that the city lord of Ereccia was respected and supported by every resident. Many residents had even come to regard the city lord as their faith.
As for Tuka, after learning about the matter, he did not pay much attention to it. He had even worried for a while about the city lord and those who had left. Then he casually accepted a task from the quest board and led his team to begin the day's work.
"Captain, something's wrong!"
Keith's voice suddenly interrupted Tuka's recollections. When Tuka came back to his senses, he also noticed that something was wrong with their surroundings. This area was close to the city's wealthy district, and although it was usually somewhat quiet, it was never as eerily silent as it was now.
"Gordon!"
"Understood."
Tuka did not need to say anything more. Their long-standing tacit understanding allowed Gordon to grasp Tuka's meaning from a single glance. He carefully drew the dagger coated in deadly poison, nimbly leaped onto a wall, and then jumped onto the highest nearby rooftop. He did not make a single unnecessary movement from start to finish.
"Keith, protect Nina. Also, if anything goes wrong later, you take Nina and run toward the Adventurer's Guild."
After saying that, Tuka took the brand-new shield from his back and held it in his hand. Compared to the round shield made of iron sheets and wood that he had used before, the shield he now carried was half a meter wide and nearly as tall as a person, made entirely of refined steel.
Although it was much heavier, it gave Tuka an unparalleled sense of security. Combined with his practiced shield techniques, he could hold back even an ordinary D-rank monster (Mid-tier Monster) until he fell. It was precisely because he had this shield that Tuka was confident he could lead Keith and the others out of the city to exterminate monsters.
Smack!
"Tuka, there's no one around. Everyone has disappeared."
Gordon's figure suddenly landed beside Tuka. With a grim expression, he told his companions everything he had seen. The part of the wealthy district where they were located was completely deserted. Moreover, according to Gordon's observations, quite a few of the houses had already been emptied. It was clear that their owners had not left on a whim but had prepared to leave long ago.
The owners of those spotless houses were all Imperial officials without exception—in other words, the city's administrators. Aside from those houses, the remaining few were in complete disarray, and there were bloodstains inside the rooms.
"Something's wrong. None of this is right. Something we don't know about must have happened!"
At that moment, Tuka's expression became extremely grim. A shadow like a fog enveloped his heart. As he stared at the deserted wealthy district before him, his unease grew heavier, as if the district were a monster with its jaws wide open, waiting to devour everything.