novelraw Chapter 35 I Don't Have Their Strength
Chapter 35 I Don't Have Their Strength
"...Overall, the Northern Territory is now a cesspool, with various races and forces all wanting to get involved, making it quite chaotic."
Listening to Mordi's unrestrained comments, Elena was stunned, and her fingers, which had been unconsciously rubbing together, stopped moving.
What kind of world have I come to?
Dragons in the sky are causing havoc, lords on earth are launching rebellions, and even the underworld is in turmoil, with many restless alien races lurking in the shadows.
With her small frame, will she be able to survive?
Elena's furrowed brow added to her melancholy air.
By the way, this Lord Mormontis is clearly no ordinary person, daring to speak so eloquently and belittle important figures including the Frostfire Lord, the Dark Elf Matriarch, and the Headmaster of the Frost Tower Mage Academy.
It must be very strong, right?
"Lord Mormontis, I'd like to ask, what are you planning to do in White River Town?"
They must be up to something big.
"What else can I do? Just run some small business."
Modi laughed and patted the box next to him. "These are the goods we're preparing to sell. In the end, we're just an ordinary mercenary team, and we occasionally do business as well."
What he said wasn't wrong; it was a small business, meaning they took action, while the robbers gave up their gold and silver treasures.
"Huh?" Elena was incredulous. Putting everything else aside, she couldn't believe that these three black-robed men, who hadn't uttered a word until now and were as cold as ice, were ordinary mercenaries.
Would ordinary mercenaries have this kind of discipline?
"Lord Mormontis looks so strong, yet he's just an ordinary mercenary?"
"Of course, compared to court mages or outstanding graduates of the Frost Tower, I am at best a nobody, and I don't have their kind of power."
Mordy looked sincere, but he forgot he was wearing a helmet, which was a real waste of his superb acting skills.
"I see..." Elena was inevitably disappointed, but she did not blame Mordy for it.
"In any case, he helped me. Taking me to the nearest human town was already more than enough; I shouldn't ask for more."
She fiddled with her fingers, looked down, and noticed that her clothes were rather thin and of poor quality.
She had been so focused on gathering useful information that she had overlooked this point, and now that she realized it, she felt a chill run down her spine.
Especially her bare feet, which had turned purple from the cold, were pressed tightly together, with her toes curled up.
Modi noticed her unnatural expression, and after slightly lowering his head, he immediately understood.
After a few seconds of thought, he bent down and took out a set of clothes he had obtained from the bandits from the box, and handed them to Elena.
"This..." Elena's face was flushed, whether from the cold or something else, it was hard to tell.
"Just wear it for now, it's just a fur outfit anyway."
Modi has a kind heart, though not much, but he does show it in these trivial matters.
If it involves something important, he will be even more generous.
And they replaced language criticism with criticism of weapons.
"...Thank you, I will always remember your kindness." Elena blushed, took the clothes, and put them on without hesitation.
After putting on a full set of fur clothes and shoes, she immediately felt much warmer, and her gaze toward Modi was filled with a hint of curiosity.
I was curious about what kind of face he had under his helmet.
Modi naturally noticed her gaze, but didn't pay much attention to it.
After all, with his ferocious and terrifying appearance, it's hard not to attract attention.
That's exactly the effect he wanted—to shock the enemy and demoralize them before the battle even began.
"We'll be in Baihe Town soon. Once we get there, we'll go our separate ways."
The outline of a town was already visible in the distance, but Modi glanced at it and then looked away.
"The four of us are mercenaries; it's not appropriate for an ordinary person like you to be with us."
"Oh, I see... Thank you for bringing me here."
The girl forced a smile, her tone tinged with disappointment.
"What is she expecting?" Mordy vaguely sensed her disappointment, pondered for a moment, and came to a conclusion:
"I get it all. She probably feels insecure without me, this tough guy."
But so what? He can't have a burden who knows nothing by his side.
To stay by his side, one must at least prove oneself useful, and Elena clearly could not.
He gave Elena, who seemed to be from another world, some survival supplies, which was more than enough.
"Here you go." He tossed a small bag to Elena.
"What's this?" Elena caught the bag but didn't open it immediately.
"Some currency, and something to help you, an amnesiac girl, survive."
Modi then gave her a sword, a crossbow, and a quiver full of crossbow bolts.
They were all taken from robbers, without spending a single penny, a truly free purchase.
"Elena, if you want to survive in this world, you must remember my words."
His voice turned serious, as if he were imparting a profound truth: "If anyone wants to hurt you, don't care who they are or what they say, just kill them."
"Whether male or female, you have to be careful if someone is good-looking, especially those who dress in a particularly flashy way. You'd better stay away from them. If they harass you, just kill them."
"besides......"
He rambled on and on, his entire speech revolving around the word "kill," leaving Elena deeply shocked.
Beside them, three silent White Walkers nodded to each other.
I've learned so much about the rules in the human world.
"...That's about it. Have you remembered everything?"
"remember......"
"It doesn't matter if you can't remember clearly, just remember 'kill' and that's it." Modi shrugged.
Elena stopped herself from saying anything more and looked down at the bag he had given her.
It contained some currency, including gold, silver, and copper, and it felt heavy in my hand.
There was also a booklet with the title "Basic Swordsmanship of the Wandering Swordsman" on the cover.
She had assumed it was a swordsmanship instruction manual, but when she opened the first page, this is what she saw:
[First, as a wandering swordsman, one must naturally use any means necessary; poison if possible, bow and crossbow if necessary, and the sword is always the last resort.]
[Part Two, Key Points of Poisoning... Formula...]
[Part Three: Tips for Stealing While in Stealth...]
【...】
Is this really a swordsmanship instruction manual?
Elena stared blankly as she flipped through the pages, finally finding the swordplay tutorial on the last two pages.
[...The core principle of swordsmanship: When an enemy is sparring with you in swordsmanship, take advantage of their unpreparedness and unleash a hidden weapon.]
No wonder he's a wandering swordsman; what legitimate swordsman would use such methods?
For a moment, the way she looked at Mo Di became quite strange.
The carriage soon arrived at Baihe Town, where it was stopped by soldiers stationed at the outer wall.
"Who are you?" Harov looked at the carriage warily, his gaze lingering for a moment on Mordi, who had just jumped off, and Elena beside him.
"Mormontis, a mercenary, came to White River Town to purchase some supplies, that's all," Mordy replied.
Harov stared at his helmet, trying to see the expression behind it, but he couldn't see anything and could only look away.
Immediately, he noticed the shoulder armor on the man in front of him.
Unlike most knights, this tall man wore a pale white skull as shoulder armor, and without a doubt, every Northerner could tell at a glance what kind of creature it came from.
"This is a Wendigo skull. You killed a Wendigo!"
Haroff's wariness quickly turned into shock and admiration. For the Northerners, nothing was more honorable than hunting a Wendigo.
Oh, actually there is one: hunting a dragon.
"Yes, when I first met this Wendigo, it actually tried to eat people right in front of me."
Mordy begins to portray a monster hunter full of a sense of justice, removing his helmet to reveal his resolute face.
"My sense of justice wouldn't allow me to stand idly by, so I grabbed an axe and fought the Wendigo. In the end, I managed to kill it and made it into a trophy."
He patted the Wendigo skull on his right shoulder and then showed off his Wendigo shawl.
After glancing at the two Wendigo spoils and looking at his warrior-like face, Haroff's trust in him grew significantly.
People who can do this kind of thing and have this kind of appearance are generally not bad people.
"I believe you, but what about her? Is she one of you too?"
Haroff then pointed to Elena, who was staring blankly at Mordy's face, seemingly lost in thought.
"Her? She was a civilian we met on the road. She seemed to have lost her memory. We felt sorry for her, so we gave her a ride and brought her to the nearest human town."
Mordi glanced at Elena, who immediately snapped out of her daze and blushed to the roots of her ears.
"I see," Harov said with pity. "But White River Town has been anything but peaceful lately; many people have witnessed the dragon."
Moreover, every night, terrifying roars emanate from the nearby Winter's Maw, where a dragon is believed to dwell. You'd better leave immediately.
dragon?
Elena looked surprised; she hadn't expected there to be a dragon near this small town of Baihe.
"According to typical game mechanics, shouldn't the first town I encounter be the starting area? Why are there dangerous creatures like dragons nearby?"
She glanced at Mo Di, her gaze lingering for a moment on his handsome, masculine face, and a guess formed in her mind.
"Could this also be part of the new player tutorial?"
In her mind, the dragon was probably just there for show, and Modi, this reliable older brother who clearly was a novice guide, would likely perish together with the dragon, thus leading her down the path of dragon slaying...
And Modi's next sentence confirmed her guess.
"To be honest, besides replenishing our supplies, another purpose of our visit is to prepare for the dragon hunt."
Hey big brother, I don't want you to become a jailer!
Elena's eyes widened, as did Harov's.
If anyone else had said that to him, Harov would have just assumed they were drunk and bragging.
But the person in front of me is different. He is the human who hunted Wendigo, a powerful monster hunter.
Just by looking at the massive sword on his back and the full suit of armor, you can tell he's no ordinary man.
Dragon hunting might not be impossible for him.
After a moment's thought, Harov made a decision: "Please wait in town for a while, I will go and inform the mayor."