The Enthusiastic Baron Tony

Butler Zeman led them into the castle. It looked rather old, with one side already covered in lush green ivy, lending it a sense of time's passage.

Though the castle was not particularly large and could not compare to the massive fortresses that occupied entire hilltops, it had everything it needed despite its small size: walls, stables, training grounds, and more.

Li Si and his five companions were brought to the castle's banquet hall. A lavish dinner had already been laid out on the long table, and standing before it was a portly man in fine clothes, his face clouded with worry.

"You must be the renowned Ya Er Adventurer Team. The monster in my territory will have to be dealt with by you heroes!"

The man before them was Zet Tony, the lord of this territory. He looked as though he had not slept well in days, the dark circles beneath his eyes especially pronounced.

As the adventurer team's representative, Arsen naturally stepped forward to salute Baron Tony and said,

"You're too kind. I'm Arsen. Since we've accepted your commission, we will naturally complete this mission properly and help you eliminate that monster."

"I know, I know. Then I'll be relying on all of you!"

Seeing Arsen make his promise, Zet Tony finally breathed a sigh of relief. The past few days had truly worn this baron down.

"You must be exhausted from your journey today. I've already prepared dinner and rooms for you to rest in."

Seeing that Arsen had no intention of introducing the other members, Zet did not mind. He quickly invited Li Si and the others to take their seats.

He had prepared this lavish dinner in advance and sent Butler Zeman to welcome them at the town entrance because the friend who had helped him post the commission at the Mercenary Guild in Can Guang City had specifically sent someone to warn him yesterday. The people who had accepted this monster-subjugation commission were no ordinary mercenaries. As long as nothing went wrong, they would certainly be able to deal with the monster.

At first, Zet had been somewhat doubtful of his friend's words. After all, Silver-level mercenaries had previously assured him they could complete the mission, but what had happened? One of them had not even escaped with his life.

But the messenger's final words immediately dispelled all his doubts.

Among the mercenaries who had come this time was a Gold Warrior!

A Gold Warrior! Such people were exceptional experts, one in ten thousand. As long as they swore loyalty to His Majesty the King, they would be directly granted the title of Court Baron!

They were far more impressive than someone like him, who had inherited his title from his uncle.

He had never expected that his payment could hire a Gold Warrior. Thinking of it that way, Baron Tony no longer felt quite so pained over the enormous sum of money.

That Gold Warrior had to be this Arsen fellow. He looked like the leader of their party!

That bearing—he truly was worthy of being a Gold Warrior!

He was clearly much more impressive than that little girl beside him, who kept looking around everywhere!

With that thought, Zet's tone toward Arsen became even more courteous.

Li Si, Ya Er, and the others also took their seats at the table. The dinner's main dishes were stewed fish and grilled steak. Though it could not compare to Can Guang City, preparing such fare in this relatively remote town showed that Baron Tony had put considerable thought into it.

They all declined Baron Tony's invitation to sample the local specialty wine, including even Lunbos, the dwarf who loved drink more than life itself. They were about to face danger, after all, and could not let alcohol dull their reflexes.

Elena, however, quite liked the grapes here. They were not the tart variety used for winemaking; the locals must have also grown ordinary table grapes. They tasted quite good, with a distinctive flavor of sunshine and rain.

"Baron, could you tell us about the situation in your territory?"

Once everyone had finished eating and rested enough, Arsen asked Baron Tony.

"Ah..." The baron let out a long sigh and began recounting the events to them.

"It was one evening two weeks ago. My butler reported that several goats being grazed by the people near the vineyards in the eastern part of the territory had disappeared, and many of the vineyard trellises had been damaged."

"At first, I thought it was some fierce beast like a Tusked Boar or a wild wolf, so I had my Guard Captain take some men to investigate. Then something happened."

"The Guard Captain returned after losing an arm. Of the three men who went with him, only one came back."

"My Guard Captain had only broken through to become a Silver Warrior last year, so the moment I heard that, I knew I could not handle this myself. I could only ask a friend to post a commission at the Mercenary Guild."

"Quite a few mercenaries came over the past few days, hoping to clear out the monster. But many of them could not even find it. Then that very night, a Silver-level mercenary was killed in a sneak attack by the monster. Many mercenaries became frightened, gave up the mission, and left."

"You are my last hope. If you cannot resolve this either, I can only report it to the king and request that the army conduct a campaign to eliminate it."

Baron Tony spoke helplessly. He truly did not want to alert the kingdom. If that happened, he might not even be able to keep his baronial title.

Yet he had no choice but to report it. If the monster continued harassing the territory without being dealt with, setting aside his own safety, the entire territory could decline in a very short time. What would be the point of remaining its lord then?

That was why he had gritted his teeth and offered one thousand Gold Coins as payment. That was the annual surplus from his territory's plantations.

After hearing this, Li Si and Arsen had a rough idea of the situation.

Arsen then asked the baron,

"Have you determined what species that monster is and what it looks like?"

"No. It always appears at night, and none of those who returned alive saw it clearly. They said it was a black, four-legged beast, something like a fierce predator such as a leopard or wolf."

"Where has it been attacking the townspeople and mercenaries?"

"At first, all the incidents happened near the plantations in the eastern part of the territory. But last night, it began attacking people inside the town. Everyone is terrified. They have stayed indoors all day and do not dare go out. I had the guards bring back everyone living outside the town, and they are now all staying in the castle. Aside from the guards defending the castle, everyone else is patrolling the town."

Hearing that, Li Si glanced at Baron Tony. He had not expected this lord to be fairly responsible toward his people. His arrangements were quite thorough.

"I understand. Leave the rest to us, Baron. Please rest assured," Arsen promised him.

The baron repeatedly reminded Arsen and the others to stay safe. If even a Gold Warrior could not handle this matter, then he truly had no solution. Could he only pray that the monster would leave on its own?

Arsen gathered everyone together and said,

"You all heard the baron's description of the monster. What do you think it is?"

"From the sound of it, it is a monster that primarily moves about at night. I think it is very likely a feline monster. It could be a Night Leopard or a Shadow Leopard, though it could also be a Dire Wolf."

Elena analyzed the situation. As an elven hunter, she was very familiar with the various types of monsters.

Everyone nodded. They all trusted Elena's judgment.

"I have an idea too," Li Si said.