York Town

The Great Axe Adventurer Group was clearly not a wealthy adventurer group. They rarely had spare money to buy drinks. When Charlotte treated them to alcohol, not only the three male members but even blonde Hannah and short-haired, light-brown-haired Hermontha were delighted.

Old John also brought over a roasted wild boar knuckle as a bonus for Charlotte's purchase of drinks. Everyone used small knives to shave off thin slices to go with the alcohol, and the atmosphere soon warmed up.

More than two hours after Charlotte entered the village, a seven-man team also arrived in the little village. They all wore the same black coats as Wells and Addison, the signature attire of the Fiery Steed Detective Agency. These black coats were highly waterproof and windproof, could even withstand some slashes and thrusts from blades, and had multiple hidden pockets inside, making them very convenient for long journeys.

Winterburn said, "It's too late to keep traveling. We'll stay in this village for the night."

"Addison, go ask who in the village can put us up."

Winterburn was the leader of this team. Forty-eight years old, a Fourth-Order Transcendent, and a mid-level officer of the Fiery Steed Detective Agency, he had a considerable reputation among his peers and considerable authority within the agency.

Addison hurried off and returned shortly afterward. "Old John's house at the entrance of the village can take us in."

The team quickly got moving. When they knocked on Old John's front door, Charlotte, who had already gone to sleep, was jolted awake by the sound. He immediately activated Insight, covering Old John's entire house.

The Fiery Steed Detective Agency? How did they catch up?

Charlotte was shocked. After hesitating for a moment, he did not flee at once. Any movement now would be tantamount to exposing himself.

This team from the Fiery Steed Detective Agency had clearly not noticed that the target they were hunting was right under their noses. Winterburn learned that an adventurer group had checked in ahead of them and said nothing more. He ordered some food, ate hastily with the detectives, then slept in another room as Old John arranged.

Charlotte did not dare sleep again. He closed his eyes and slowly circulated Bloody Glory, enduring with great difficulty until dawn.

The people from the Fiery Steed Detective Agency set off as soon as day broke.

Charlotte let out a huge sigh of relief.

A while later, the members of the Great Axe Adventurer Group woke up one after another. They were adventurers, after all, and possessed basic vigilance. They all knew another group had arrived last night, but since the newcomers had done nothing, they did not react.

Charlotte joined the others for a simple breakfast, then they set out for York Town.

Charlotte felt rather unaccustomed to it. He rarely walked in Strasbourg and had long grown used to taking public carriages. Yet this trip to York Town required traveling on foot the entire way, because the route was all mountain roads that carriages simply could not traverse. Even if they could, the Great Axe Adventurer Group would not hire one, since renting a carriage for a long journey outside the city was far too expensive.

Though he had advanced to Third-Order Transcendent, Charlotte still found it exhausting. I need to train harder, condense the Bloody Vortex in my right leg as well, and form the runes for the Agility Technique and Spirit Spider Technique as soon as possible.

Or I could buy a carriage and drive it myself...

The team led by Winterburn had already reached the manor Charlotte had designated yesterday. They stayed there for over an hour, questioned people all around, and, after confirming that Charlotte was not there, continued onward along the road.

Although the Fiery Steed Detective Agency had many detectives, it had only one Transcendent who followed the diviner path, like Wells. Before setting out, they had asked a wizard to attempt to track Charlotte. The wizard had provided only a direction, with few other details.

Charlotte still did not know that he had temporarily escaped disaster. Amid his silent complaints, he finally arrived in York Town.

It was quite a large town with nearly a thousand residents. In the center of town, the famous Demon Hunter White Wolf had built an enormous log cabin from timber. Forty or fifty people had already gathered in front of it, divided into more than a dozen small groups, whispering among themselves.

The arrival of the Great Axe Adventurer Group was met with universal hostility. After all, there was now another group of competitors.

During the journey, Charlotte had become quite familiar with his five teammates. He learned that it was their leader, Mason, who wanted to become a Demon Hunter, while the other four members had come along with him.

As a low-level adventurer group, they had all learned some Breathing Techniques, but only Mason and Hermontha had condensed Seeds of Power. Hermontha was younger and still had a chance to break through. Mason, already past forty, had little hope of breaking out of his cocoon and becoming a knight with battle aura.

Hannah was very interested in Charlotte. Along the way, it was this blonde girl who chatted with him the most.

Charlotte knew why. He had at least revealed that he possessed Transcendent cultivation and was a knight with battle aura, making him a fairly good prospect for Hannah.

Of course, an even higher priority was that Charlotte was quite handsome.

Otherwise, he would not have won Anne Brittany's affection.

After all, sometimes the result of a hero saving a beauty was her offering herself in marriage, and sometimes it was a promise to repay him in the next life...

The Great Axe Adventurer Group claimed a spot in front of the giant log cabin. Mason went to ask an acquaintance for information, then returned and told everyone, "White Wolf won't show up tonight. He's still a day's journey away and won't return until tomorrow."

"Most people have found places to stay in town. These people are guarding this place only because they couldn't find lodging. We'll probably have to camp here tonight too."

Aside from Charlotte, the other five all had experience surviving in the wilderness. Besides, an open space in town was much safer than the actual wilds. They quickly made a small campfire and sat or lay down to rest, easing the fatigue of a full day's travel.

Charlotte had no interest in becoming a Demon Hunter, and Hannah did not think she had much of a chance either. When Hannah suggested that the two of them find somewhere to have a drink, Charlotte readily agreed. What he had not expected was that Hermontha wanted to come too.

Charlotte greeted their leader Mason, then left with the two girls, much to the inward grumbling of the other two male teammates.

Though Charlotte had traveled all day, he was still a Third-Order Transcendent. After circulating Bloody Glory a little, more than half his fatigue was relieved.

The two women clearly did not possess his abilities. The exhaustion on their faces could no longer be concealed.

Charlotte checked two taverns in York Town, but both were packed without a single vacant seat. Too many adventurer groups had arrived over the past few days. He did not bother looking for a third. Instead, he bought a pile of food and a large barrel of ale at the second tavern, then returned to the giant log cabin with the two girls.

When Charlotte shared the food and ale with his teammates, the slight displeasure of the two men vanished into thin air.

After returning, Hannah ate a little, then used her backpack as a pillow and fell into a deep sleep.

Hermontha was doing a little better and talked with everyone for a while longer, but she too looked as though she could no longer hold on. Mason and the two male teammates were not much better off, so Charlotte simply suggested that he stand watch for the first half of the night and everyone else take turns during the second half.

Even in town, they still needed to keep watch at night.