Adventurer Team

"Uncle John, doesn't doing this make your conscience uneasy?"

Walking along the empty streets at night, Parr ducked his head right after asking the question, but the blow he had expected never came.

Sigh! John walked slowly, lifting his eyes to the starry sky with a complicated expression. Then, in a somewhat heavy voice, he said something incomprehensible. "Kid, so what if my conscience is uneasy? I can't stop anymore."

Then John returned to normal, raised a hand, and smacked the back of Parr's head as he lectured him.

"Don't you ever learn from me!"

"..."

Parr clutched the back of his head and rolled his eyes, utterly speechless. So John knew he was scum too! And he was telling him not to learn from him? Was he that kind of person? How could that be? Even if it killed him, he would never become a scumbag!...

John and Parr did not leave the city immediately. With John's current reputation in Azure Stone City, they should have been able to get out even after the gates closed at night, but he still had something to do.

What was it?

Mail a letter!

That was right! Mail a letter! John led Parr all the way to the Adventurers' Association in Azure Stone City. After pushing open the door, he headed straight for the counter. Ignoring the flirtatious glances repeatedly thrown his way by the female staff member from before, he solemnly took several sheets of white paper from his clothes.

If Parr was not mistaken, these were the things John would sometimes write at night during their journey.

"So he was writing letters!"

Next, Parr watched John exchange a few words with the female staff member before the two went upstairs. A short while later, they came back down.

"Uncle John, how did you mail the letter?" Parr finally could not suppress his curiosity any longer.

"Just like that!"

John spread his hands and asked, "Kid, do you want to mail a letter too?"

"Yeah."

Parr nodded. He wanted to send a letter to Old Man Jack in Haystack Village, telling him that he was doing well now.

"Just go tell the staff member directly." John pointed at the Adventurers' Association staff.

"Oh."

Parr ran over. After asking around, he finally understood that the Adventurers' Association had another service: delivering letters. As long as one provided an address and recipient, this organization, spread across the entire continent, could deliver it. The fee varied by distance, with the minimum being one Silver Coin. Its main customers were adventurers and merchants who traveled from place to place.

Sending a letter from the Azure Stone Viscount Territory to the White Deer Baron Territory cost five Silver Coins, because there was no direct route between the two territories. It had to be sent through other nobles' lands.

"I want to mail a letter!"

Parr did not hesitate and chose to send a letter to Old Man Jack. After everything was done, his remaining two Gold Coins had dwindled to just five Silver Coins.

Why?

It was not because the Adventurers' Association charged for paper and pens. Parr had tucked one Gold Coin inside the letter. People away from home always found ways to tell their families that they were doing well and not to worry.

Nor did Parr need to worry that the Adventurers' Association would pocket the Gold Coin in the letter, because the Adventurers' Association had always put its reputation first.

After mailing the letter, John and Parr still did not leave the city. Instead, they entered the small Tavern outside the Adventurers' Association and ate a hearty meal. Then, without renting rooms, they simply occupied their seats and rested. No one dared say anything, because John was strong.

At dawn, Parr opened his eyes right on time. Fully refreshed, he stood and stretched. Hearing the movement, John opened his eyes as well and stretched too.

"Hungry..."

The small Tavern no longer had last night's lively atmosphere. Several drunken men were sprawled across nearby wooden tables, with others lying on the floor, their snores shaking the place. Everyone else had either gone home or rented rooms upstairs to sleep.

"Let's go."

John and Parr gathered their things, stepped over the drunks lying on the floor, and left the small Tavern. They headed toward Azure Stone City's South Gate, rented a crude carriage not far from the gate, and left the city.

Near evening, the carriage, which had been traveling steadily along the road, suddenly stopped.

"Sir Knight? Sir Knight?"

The driver called cautiously toward the carriage compartment several times.

"Are we there?"

John, who had been dozing off, shook his head. After jumping down from the carriage, he looked around. The road continued ahead, but it had already entered the Deep Forest.

"Sir Knight, here's the thing..."

The driver, who usually made a living transporting miners to the Lapis Lazuli Mine and was very familiar with the area, pointed cautiously at the road leading into the Deep Forest.

"Not far ahead is the Mine you mentioned. But a band of bandits arrived there more than half a month ago, so I don't dare go any farther. You see..."

"Mm, I understand."

John nodded, then took five Silver Coins from his pocket and weighed them in his hand. After tossing two to the driver, he held the remaining three and said, "The first two are the fare. If you want these three in my hand as well, wait here or somewhere nearby until we return. If we're not back by noon tomorrow, leave on your own."

"This..."

The driver stared at the three Silver Coins in John's hand, hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and nodded.

"Fine."

"Good."

John tossed the Silver Coins to the driver, unconcerned that he might take the money and run. He turned around, dragged Parr, who was still asleep in the carriage, out and shook him, then firmly set him on the ground.

"Kid, we're going."

"Oh!"

The Lapis Lazuli Mines in the Azure Stone Viscount Territory were all open-pit mines. They were easy to discover and easy to excavate, so even those located in the Deep Forest had been developed into Lapis Lazuli Mines of various sizes.

John and Parr's target was a small Lapis Lazuli Mine on the outskirts of the Deep Forest. It had only been developed for less than two months, so its scale was not large.

A band of bandits had arrived some days ago and occupied the Mine. According to those who had luckily escaped, the bandits had not killed anyone. Instead, they made the miners continue digging.

"..."

Under the dim sky, John and Parr crept through the woods to the edge of the Mine. They found several bonfires burning within the Mine, which had a large wooden house. In the firelight, the miners were still working desperately in the shallow pits, using various tools to excavate Lapis Lazuli.

Fifteen burly men wearing black Shell Sheepskin Armor or bare-chested sat or stood around them. Some sat beside the bonfires, tearing into meat. Some stood behind the miners with whips, occasionally lashing those who worked too slowly. Others were chatting and boasting.

Besides that, several thick wooden poles stood in front of the wooden house. Hanging from them were several naked, emaciated corpses.

"That's..."

As a Bronze-level Knight, John had excellent eyesight. By the firelight, he saw who the dead people hanging from the wooden poles were. Were they not the Patrol Team Leader and several of his subordinates whom Kunna had commissioned to solve the problem when they entered the city a few days ago? "How did this happen?"

Parr, who possessed Dark Vision, also recognized the dead. What shocked him was not that they had died, but how the previously imposing and robust Patrol Team Leader and the others had become so emaciated that they were almost unrecognizable.

"Something's wrong here. Let's go back first."

John pulled Parr back some distance, then leaned against a tree, rubbing his chin as he lowered his head in thought.

Parr was thinking too, but with his lack of experience, he could not figure anything out. He only thought of one thing. "Uncle John, I don't think those people look like bandits either!"

"They really don't."

John slowly nodded and said, "If I'm not mistaken, they should be a Small Adventurer Team."

"An Adventurer Team?"

Parr froze for a moment, but quickly understood. From the name alone, an Adventurer Team had to be connected to adventurers. Sure enough, John casually explained, "An Adventurer Team is a group formed by adventurers. Some are permanent, while others are temporary. Based on their numbers, they are divided into small, medium, large, and super-large teams."

"But why would a Small Adventurer Team appear here?" Parr tilted his head and asked.

"That's exactly what puzzles me."

John straightened up and turned toward the small Mine. Rubbing his chin, he said softly, "Adventurer Teams are groups that pursue profit. They must have their own purpose for occupying this small Lapis Lazuli Mine, and that purpose definitely isn't mining Lapis Lazuli. With that time, they could make more money by taking an escort mission for a merchant caravan!"

After a pause, John changed the subject, his voice growing somewhat grave.

"That isn't the most important part. The most important thing is those dead Patrol Team members. Why haven't Azure Stone City's Patrol Team come to avenge them?"

"Could it be that Azure Stone City's Patrol Team doesn't know yet?"

Parr offered a guess, then said, "Uncle John, should we go back and notify Azure Stone City's Patrol Team?"

It was not that Parr was cowardly. Earlier, using Elemental Vision, he had seen three people among that group giving off faint glimmers. What the hell was that? Battle Qi! Though it was weak and nowhere near John's, they had three Bronze-level Knights!

Even two fists could not fight four hands, let alone twelve Knight Apprentices who clearly did not look easy to deal with! "No!"

John shook his head and slowly voiced his thoughts.

"No, something is very wrong. On the day we purged the cultists, I didn't see that Team Leader. That means he may have already come here by then, bringing people with him. It's been several days without any news. Azure Stone City's Patrol Team should have sent people to look for them by now. But did you see any Patrol Team members along the way here?"

"None."

Parr scratched his hair and thought with his eyes closed. There really had been no sign of the Patrol Team along the way.

"Then there's only one possibility."

John raised a finger and waved it. "There's a traitor in the Patrol Team. They concealed the news from here, concealed the news of the Team Leader's death, and their position isn't low."

"If that's the case, what should we do now?"

When Parr asked that, John gripped the hilt of the Dark-colored One-Handed Sword and said with an utterly matter-of-fact expression, "Since we can't go back and notify the Patrol Team, then of course we'll deal with those people ourselves!"

"Can we beat them?"

"Of course. I'm an Advanced Bronze Knight!"

A confident expression appeared on John's face as he started walking. His voice, carrying a trace of amusement, followed.

"I'm very curious. What could make an Adventurer Team with three Bronze-level Knights occupy this small Lapis Lazuli Mine? That thing must be quite valuable, right?"

So John had seen through that group's strength as well, but he was not afraid at all. Those three were only Elementary Bronze-level Knights, and he was confident he could defeat them.

"Is that so?"

Parr paused, then curiosity appeared on his little face as he hurried after John.

"I'm curious too!"

Please vote! Please bookmark! Please invest! Tips would be even better.