Koum Beast

Jia Ruo and Neeko finished getting ready and headed straight for the north gate of Placidium.

The sky was just beginning to brighten when they made their way along the nearly deserted main road and arrived at the north gate.

After crossing the magnificent drawbridge, they saw a giant beast about four or five meters tall and twenty meters long, including its tail.

Master Percy was standing on the beast's head, while several of the summoned guards were already seated on its back.

"You're here. Come on up."

Percy beckoned them over.

As he drew closer, Jia Ruo thought the beast looked like a giant turtle without a shell. A layer of pale green vegetation grew across its broad back, though he couldn't tell whether it was grass or moss.

Jia Ruo wrapped an arm around Neeko's slender waist and sprang up onto the beast with a quick hop.

Once he had his footing, he spotted a familiar face sitting among the others.

"Brother Laleno, you're already here."

As he spoke, Jia Ruo greeted the other guards as well. Whether he knew them or not, they were all his seniors.

Laleno sat casually against the beast's spine and gestured for Jia Ruo to sit beside him.

"You're lucky, kid. Since the Hall of Tranquility was founded, Azure Carved Golems have appeared in Ionia only twice. One showed up two years ago, and now you've run into the second one."

Jia Ruo copied Laleno's relaxed pose, sat beside him, and grinned.

"Brother, what's this beast we're sitting on?"

"This kind of beast lives on the Southern Plains. It's called a Koum. Some of the local nomadic tribes build their homes on their backs. They say Koums carry them to places with plenty of water and pasture. The waystation outside Placidium keeps dozens of them to transport supplies for the council or deal with situations like this."

Laleno patted the vegetation beneath him. "They say Koum Beasts can live for ten days or half a month just by drinking water and basking in the sun."

So was it a plant or an animal? Jia Ruo marveled to himself. Ionia really was full of strange wonders.

"Brother Laleno, I thought you were in the Guard Group?"

"That's right. I'm not on rotation this month. Our Guard Group is pretty similar to your Investigator Group, except our job isn't to hunt down ordinary people. We patrol Placidium for a month every other month. The rest of the time, we can take on other jobs too. The more work you do, the more you earn. The Hall of Tranquility pays a minimum of twelve gold a month, with no upper limit. It all depends on how capable you are."

"Just curious, how much do you get for guarding Placidium for a month?"

"It depends on your ability. Someone like me gets three hundred and fifty gold a month."

Wow. If only he'd known, he would've joined the Guard Group too. Placidium was so peaceful that hardly anything ever happened. Sure, they had to patrol all day, but getting three hundred and fifty gold with no risk sounded great.

After the incident with Lady Lesthara, the Hall of Tranquility's logistics department had assessed the job and paid him only seventy gold. Sigh. When would he have enough money to buy that Sorcery Potion?

Jia Ruo hadn't even seen the Azure Carved Golem yet, but he was already calculating his share of the spoils.

"I heard from Lyle that if we go with Master Percy to kill the Azure Carved Golem, we'll get the right to buy a Sorcery Potion at half price."

"That was how it worked last time, anyway. It's worth it. Azure Carved Golems really are dangerous, but risk and reward go hand in hand. Even with Master Percy leading us, we'll still have to do our part."

The reward was worth at least five thousand gold. Jia Ruo already had a good idea of how dangerous this mission was.

"Everyone's here. No time to waste. We're setting out now."

With his hands clasped behind his back, Master Percy climbed down from the Koum Beast's head and addressed the group.

A large leather pouch hung at his waist. That must be where he kept his weapons.

As Percy finished speaking, a young woman standing on the Koum Beast's neck moved close to its head.

She gave a whistle, and the Koum Beast began to stride forward.

"Everyone, gather around. We need to discuss our strategy."

The twelve guards gathered around Percy.

"Azure Carved Golems are usually enormous, but they're not particularly slow. Their entire bodies are made of stone and are difficult to damage, so the quickest way to take one down is to destroy the Crown of Insight on its head."

Percy looked around to make sure everyone understood.

"My plan is for you to distract and hold off the Azure Carved Golem while I wait for an opening and use Secret Arts to extract the Crown of Insight."

That was it? Jia Ruo didn't dare speak up, but wasn't the battle plan a little too brief?

"Though it sounds simple, holding off an Azure Carved Golem is no easy task. Last time, we lost two guards. I don't want to see that happen again. Your lives must come first."

A heavy silence settled over the group.

After a long while, Percy spoke again. "When facing an Azure Carved Golem, having more people isn't necessarily an advantage. You're all extraordinary members of the Hall, and more agile than ordinary people. But remember, do not draw too much of the Azure Carved Golem's attention on your own. You only need to hold it off and avoid all its attacks. If you do that, you'll have done your job perfectly."

Percy's tone grew more serious.

"Does everyone understand? We probably won't arrive until dawn tomorrow. For now, get some rest and conserve your strength."

"Yes, Master Percy."

Everyone nodded, then split into small groups to rest or meditate on the Koum Beast's back.