Chapter 36: Chapter 36 Passionate Baron Tony

Steward Zeman led the group into the castle, which looked to have some years on it. One side of the castle was already covered in lush green ivy, giving off a sense of the passage of time.Although this castle was not very large, and couldn't compare to the massive fortresses that occupy entire mountaintops, it was nevertheless complete with all the necessary facilities such as walls, stables, and training grounds.

Lis and the other four members of the party were taken to the castle's banquet hall, where a sumptuous dinner had already been prepared. Standing before the table was a worried-looking, portly man in luxurious attire.

"Presumably, you are the famous Yaya Adventure Group; the Magic Beast my territory has encountered this time will wholly depend on you heroes!"

The man before them was the lord of the territory, Zet Tony, who looked like he hadn't slept well in days, his heavy dark circles especially noticeable.

Arsen, as the adventure team's representative, naturally stepped forward to greet Baron Tony, saying:

"You flatter us, sir. I am Arsen. Since we have accepted your commission, we will naturally complete the mission properly and help you eliminate that Magic Beast."

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Seeing Arsen's assurance, Zet Tony finally breathed a sigh of relief; these past few days had been torturous for him as a Baron.

"You've all had a long and tiring journey today. I've prepared dinner and a place for you to rest."

Zet, noticing that Arsen showed no intention of introducing the others, didn't mind and swiftly invited Lis and the rest to take their seats.

He had prepared this rich dinner in advance and had Steward Zeman greet them in town, all based on the advice of a friend from the Mercenary Guild in Bright City who had helped him issue the task.

That friend had especially sent word yesterday that the team taking up his territory's extermination commission was not ordinary, and as long as there were no issues, they would definitely be able to deal with the Magic Beast.

Zet initially had his doubts about his friend's words, after all, there had been Silver Level mercenaries who'd pledged with certainty that they could complete the task, only for one of them to end up not even coming back alive.

But the messenger's last sentence had dispelled all of Zet's doubts.

Among the mercenaries who had come was a Golden Warrior!

A Golden Warrior was a one-in-ten-thousand powerhouse; just swearing fealty to His Majesty the King would earn him an immediate title as a Court Baron!

That was far superior to inheriting a title from his uncle, as he had done.

Thinking about the sizable sum of money he had paid to hire a Golden Warrior, Baron Tony wasn't feeling quite as pained about the cost.

The Golden Warrior must be this man named Arsen, who seemed to be the leader of their group!

Such an aura, truly befitting of a Golden Warrior!

He certainly looked much stronger than the little girl who kept looking around curiously next to him!

With this in mind, Zet's tone in speaking to Arsen became even more courteous.

Lis and the others also took their seats at the dining table. The main courses for dinner were stewed fish and roasted steak; although it couldn't compare to the fare in Bright City, for this relatively remote town, Baron Tony had gone to great lengths.

All of them declined Baron Tony's offer to sample the local grape wine, including the Dwarf, Lunbos, who was typically quite fond of alcohol. After all, they were about to face danger and couldn't afford to have their reflexes dulled by alcohol.

However, Ailina did seem to enjoy the local grapes quite a lot. They weren't the sour type used for wine-making; the locality must also have planted some ordinary sweet grape varieties, which tasted quite good, carrying a distinctive flavor of sunshine and rain.

"Baron, may I ask if you could introduce us to the situation in your territory?"

Arsen saw that everyone had nearly finished their meal and rest, so he spoke to Baron Tony.

"Ah," the Baron sighed, recalling the events as he introduced them to the group.

"That was two weeks ago one evening, when my steward reported to me that some of the goats, which the villagers were grazing near the vineyard on the eastern side of my domain, had disappeared, and many of the vineyard's structures were damaged."

"At first, I thought it was the Tusked Wild Boars or wild wolves, so I sent my Guard Captain with some men to check it out, but then the trouble began."

"The Guard Captain came back with an arm missing, and out of the three men who went with him, only one returned."

"My Guard Captain had just advanced to Silver Warrior last year, so I knew at once that I couldn't deal with it myself and had to ask a friend to post a commission at the Mercenary Guild."

"In the past few days, quite a few mercenaries came to eradicate this Magic Beast, but many failed to find it. Then, that very night, a Silver Level mercenary was stealthily killed by the Magic Beast, and many mercenaries were scared off and abandoned the mission."

"You are my last hope. If this can't be resolved, I'll have no choice but to report to the King and request a military extermination."

Baron Tony said helplessly, really not wanting to alarm the Kingdom. If it came to that, he might not even be able to keep his Baron title.

Not reporting was also not an option—if the Magic Beast kept ravaging his domain without a solution, putting his own safety aside, the entirety of his lands might deteriorate rapidly, and then what would be the point of being a Lord?

That's why he bit the bullet and offered one thousand gold coins as a reward—this was the annual surplus from the plantations of his domain after all.

Upon hearing this, Lis and Arsen had a fairly good grasp of the situation.

Arsen then asked the Baron:

"What kind of Magic Beast is it, and what does it look like? Have these things been confirmed?"

"Not sure, because this beast appears only at night. Those who came back alive didn't see it clearly, they say it's a black, four-legged monster, similar to leopards or wolves."

"Where exactly has it attacked the townsfolk and the mercenaries?"

"At first, all attacks happened near the plantation on the eastern edge of the domain, but last night, there were attacks inside the town. Everyone is petrified. Today, they all stayed home, afraid to leave. I had the guards call all people living outside the town back, and now they're all staying in the castle, except for the guards at the castle, everyone else is patrolling the town."

Hearing this, Lis glanced at Baron Tony, not expecting this Lord to be so responsible for his people, making proper arrangements.

"Understood. Leave the rest to us, Baron. You can rest assured," Arsen assured the Baron.

The Baron also repeatedly instructed Arsen and others to ensure safety. If even Golden Warriors couldn't handle this, then he really had no solution left. Was he supposed to pray that the beast would leave on its own?

Arsen gathered everyone and said:

"You should all have heard about the Magic Beast the Baron described. What do you all think it might be?"

"It sounds like a beast that's mainly active at night. I think there's a good chance it's some kind of leopard beast, like the Night Leopard or the Shadow Leopard, though it could also be a Horror Wolf," Ailina analyzed, her background as an Elf Hunter made her familiar with various types of beasts.

The group nodded in agreement, finding Ailina's perspective quite credible.

"I have some thoughts as well," Lis interjected.