Chapter 61: Chapter 61
South of the Sis Territory, Qiumu Sentry Post.
Morris no longer looked as neat and composed as he had during the day. His originally black armor was now coated in a layer of blood paint, and strands of dark red minced meat were still stuck in some of the connecting gaps.
Only the longsword he temporarily used as a cane still boasted a pristine blade, as if it had never experienced battle. At this moment, Morris leaned against the base of the watchtower wall, supporting himself on the longsword with one hand while chugging water from a water skin with the other.
His breathing was rather unsteady as he gazed into the pitch-black Qiumu Forest to the south. His eyes were filled with exhaustion, yet his will remained resolute.
Only after he took a moment to catch his breath did a teammate beside Morris speak up to ask, “What’s the situation in the south right now?”
“We don’t know why, but the Aberrant Beasts suddenly appeared. Earlier at dusk, two of them almost made it to Blackstone Sentry Post. We were training apprentices there at the time, and Young Master Waynes was there too. We were really careless there!”
At this point, Morris couldn’t help but complain to his teammates, “Why did it take you so long to get here! Arnold and the rest of us nearly died in the forest!”
He and Arnold’s group had formed a temporary team. Even though their combined individual prowess might surpass his own squad, an operation as a whole meant that his tightly-knit squad, forged through long-term coordination, was far superior to such a hastily assembled party.
“Weren’t we on leave? We rushed over the instant we received the news.”
“Did you bring the potions?”
“We did.”
“Give me one.”
“Here.”
Saying so, the teammate handed two potion vials radiating blazing light to Morris. “Take these for now. I know this happened suddenly and you didn’t have time to bring anything. Besides, we’ll be distributing more later.”
“Alright then. I’ll pay you back after we return from this.”
Morris wasn’t overly sentimental; after all, they were comrades who had shared life-and-death experiences. He stowed one of the vials away, then directly uncorked the other and drained it in one gulp.
Subsequently, a brilliant fiery glint flashed through Morris’s eyes, turning ice-cold in the next moment. After taking two such breaths, he began to eat rapidly while instructing his other teammates:
“Go get me some food. Raw is fine too, just hurry!”
Excluding the teammate who had just spoken, the remaining five immediately ran out. Right by the north wall of the watchtower, several large pots were already boiling. From time to time, someone would reach directly into the pots to fish out massive chunks of meat, either for themselves or to bring to their teammates.
The members of Morris’s squad were long accustomed to this. They too reached directly into the pots to grab the meat, each taking two pieces before heading to the south wall of the watchtower.
By this time, Morris had already finished all the food he and his teammates had carried with them. Seeing the pale, boiled meat his teammates brought, he immediately grabbed a piece and tore into it.
He didn’t forget to gulp down some water in between bites. Knowing that a battle was imminent, his teammates had brought water mixed with salt. This not only replenished what their bodies needed but also added a bit of saltiness to the otherwise unseasoned boiled meat.
Just like this, Morris ate until he couldn’t take another bite before finally stopping. After stretching his limbs a few times, he felt his strength surge back.
He then looked toward his teammates. “Do you guys want to replenish your energy as well? The upcoming battle will likely be fierce. Someone from the front sent word back saying they spotted cultists. Young Master Waynes has already issued an absolute order: we must kill every single one of those cultists.”
“Cultists? The Holy Spirit Cult or the Knights of Supreme Good?” a teammate asked.
“I don’t know. But for them to show up around here, it’s most likely the Holy Spirit Cult. During the autumn harvest, people from the Mailin Merchant Guild brought news that the Holy Spirit Cult orchestrated four or five massive sacrifices in the eastern borders today. They even asked me if we had noticed any anomalies around the Sis Territory.”
“No wonder Young Master Waynes had us keep an eye on the territory’s surroundings after the autumn harvest, and no wonder Vice Commander Paige has been staying here the whole time.”
“It’s good that you know! Those cultists are extremely persistent, so don’t say I didn’t warn you.” At this point, Morris seemed to suddenly think of something and asked abruptly:
“By the way, Garrick, how many Kingdom Gold Coins did you bring with you this time?”
“We prepared for the possibility of fierce combat. We brought all the gold coins our squad had saved up, a total of 205 coins.”
Garrick replied to Morris while retrieving a coin pouch from another teammate. He handed the pouch to Morris and said, “It’s all in here.”
Morris didn’t take the pouch. He merely counted out 20 coins from inside, then said to Garrick, “Each person takes 20 coins. The rest stays at the watchtower for now; resupply whenever needed.”
After speaking, he began to adjust his armor, though the main purpose was to place those twenty Kingdom Gold Coins into the individual slots sewn into the inner lining of his armor.
To ordinary people, these Kingdom Gold Coins were simply normal gold coins, though ordinary people might not necessarily ever get the chance to use them.
But to the Knights who frequently ventured outside the territory to carry out missions, these Kingdom Gold Coins were like amulets, allowing them to resist external pressure and even the corruption of the Aberrant Beasts.
As long as one had enough gold coins, they could even pave a path safe enough for an ordinary person to reach the Royal Capital of Helios.
However, all the Kingdom Gold Coins in the Sis Territory came from foreign merchant guilds, and they only had the chance to obtain them during the autumn harvest each year, making their actual reserves incredibly scarce.
Yet these were also consumables. Once the text and patterns on the Kingdom Gold Coins became blurred, it meant the amulet effect of the coins was beginning to fade; once the coins became distorted, it meant the amulet effect had completely vanished.
Of course, even distorted gold coins were still gold coins. Foreign merchant guilds would recycle them at half price, allowing them to barely recoup some of their losses through this method.
If they became completely useless upon distorting, no one would be able to afford such amulets anyway.
…
Right after the seven members of Morris’s squad equipped their Kingdom Gold Coins, the sound of rallying Bone Whistles suddenly echoed from the south of the watchtower.
The Knights, including Morris’s squad, immediately dropped whatever they were doing. Grabbing their weapons and gear, they charged south. Those who were fully dressed rushed to the very front, while those still fixing gaps in their equipment followed slightly behind.
Meanwhile, south of the Qiumu Watchtower, on the first line of defense deep within the Qiumu Forest, Waynes stared calmly into the darkness ahead. The light from the torches behind him could only penetrate less than a hundred steps into the tangled, twisted branches of the forest.
It didn’t even cover the distance of a Knight’s occasional forward thrust.
When Morris and the others arrived, no battle was currently taking place at the front lines. The surroundings were perfectly silent, save for the heavy, rhythmic breathing of the Knights.
“Where are the Aberrant Beasts?” Morris wondered inwardly.
Just then, Vice Commander Paige stepped in front of the crowd. “Everyone, a messenger raven just spotted the tracks of the Aberrant Beasts. They are no longer charging straight at us; they’ve started to scatter.”
“All signs indicate that there must be a controller behind these Aberrant Beasts. Your mission right now is to head into the forest, intercept the scattered Aberrant Beasts, and search for the potential controller, namely, the cultists.”