SWNOVELS Chapter 107.2: Monster X2
Chapter 107.2: Monster X2
While Wagner was puzzled, a few more men entered the town hall courtyard.
At first glance, these men seemed to fit Wagner's understanding of laborers, but… they appeared unfriendly, and their demeanor was far from decent.
Wagner's brows furrowed when he laid eyes on these men, and even had a sense of hostility rise in him. Undoubtedly, if he ever saw such individuals in Indahl, he would certainly stop them and inquire about their background.
Unlike the hurried comings and goings of before, these men stopped in their tracks and stood there, glaring at Wagner and his men.
"Hal. You guys are here."
The young man that had pushed the bicycle in earlier called out to this bunch from a distance.
"Ah, yeah," Hal said gruffly.
"You guys take over and quickly settle these people before it gets dark." Rex, accustomed to Hal's unfriendliness, was unfazed.
As he approached the men tied up beneath the courtyard wall, Rex effortlessly identified the strongest among them; it was an easy task at his level to recognize fellow professional levels.
"May I know your name?" Rex met Wagner's gaze and nodded slightly.
Wagner remained unflinching, and no one would know he had actually been startled.
It was only when Rex approached that he realized this young man's strength wasn't ordinary.
"Wagner Pitt," Wagner said stiffly. "First Sergeant in the Indahl City Defense Force."
"Hello, Sergeant Pitt." Rex nodded again. "I am Charlie Rex."
Wagner was taken aback. A man with such strength had an extraordinary status. This wasn't something Wagner wasn't able to accept.
But Wagner couldn't help scrutinizing Rex's shoes and pants.
The sweat and dust on Rex's face seemed to have been washed off, but the mud on his shoes and thighs made Wagner's eyelids twitch.
Are you really a noble?!
"Your unexpected arrival took me by surprise. I hadn't received any letter from Indahl beforehand," said Rex.
Indahl's city defense force was a regular army, and the transfer of troops to another territory required communication between the two lords, even if it was just a steward coming over to explain in advance.
Adra III, however, evidently hadn't observed this etiquette—in other words, Rex, Weisshem's lord, had the reason to treat Wagner and the others as invading enemies. As long as he wasn't afraid of retaliation from Adra III, the head of the Bartalis family, Rex could kill or sell off every one of these men from the cavalry squad.
Wagner was well aware of the intricacies involved and chose to remain silent.
Rex paused and continued, "I believe this may be a misunderstanding. Until the misunderstanding is cleared up, I can only ask you all to stay temporarily and be my guests in Weisshem. What do you think, Sergeant Pitt?"
Wagner remained silent for a bit, then lowered his head. "I apologize for the inconvenience then, Mr. Rex."
Rex had noble lineage and actually possessed territory. It was only a matter of time before he received the corresponding title. Until Rex officially received his title, calling him "Mr." was the safest and least likely to go wrong in any situation.
"Then please follow our friend who is in charge, and he'll settle you guys in temporarily," Rex gestured behind him.
Hal stood unmoving on his spot, like an old master.
The others weren't so bold and didn't dare confront Rex, who had been raised to a high position by Yang, either. Jerome, Finley, and Tuttle approached and untied the ropes binding the soldiers' feet.
They only untied the feet to prevent these guys from running away or hurting others.
When the soldiers were lined up, Hal waved his hands and brought these people away.
Wagner was about to follow but was stopped by Rex.
"Sergeant Pitt is a non-commissioned officer. Non-commissioned officers should enjoy preferential treatment according to customs. Please come with me," Rex politely said.
Wagner understood very well how nobles' politeness on the surface worked and followed like a conscientious captive…
Five minutes later, Rex personally led Wagner to a large house two blocks away from the town hall.
When Wagner saw this large house, he thought it was Rex's residence and that he was going to be personally guarded by Rex—then, he was before two men in robes.
"Good evening, Inspector Lowell, Yang. This is Wagner Pitt, First Sergeant in the Indahl City Defense Force."
In the hall, Rex greeted Lowell politely before introducing the still-bound Wagner to the two.
Yang had already known about Wagner from viewing the perspectives of different players. He casually waved and said, "Untie our guest. There's no need for so much apprehension here."
Rex promptly untied Wagner.
Despite finally regaining his freedom, Wagner couldn't feel relaxed at all, glancing suspiciously at Yang and Lowell.
These two, who looked younger than him but had strong auras, made Wagner's tense nerves scream. Even though he was standing and the two were sitting, Wagner felt like he was a child crawling at the feet of adults!
Yang flashed a slight smile. "I am Black Mage Yang. My undead have been in your care, Sergeant Pitt."
Wagner: "…"
Wagner had, of course, heard stories about the Nightmare Butcher when he was younger. This monster, who had lived for several centuries, was now sitting in front of him, looking younger than Wagner himself.
Thinking back on how he and his soldiers had killed at least a thousand undead, Wagner broke into a cold sweat…
Inspector Lowell glanced at Yang weirdly. Is it that fun to tease a youngster?
Yang Qiu, who had no intention of mistreating Wagner, smiled gently. "The Indahl City Defense Force's unannounced arrival must have been a misunderstanding between Adra III and Rex. Until the misunderstanding is cleared up, I hope you won't mind accompanying us, two old men, for the time being."
Wagner shuddered deep down but quickly nodded. "Of course."
A monster like the Nightmare Butcher… and there were two of them!
"Go about your business, Rex." Yang Qiu nodded at Rex. Then, he pointed to the small coal stove in the living room and smiled at Wagner. "I accidentally put out the fire. Could you help us get it going again? It's hard for us old folks to bear going without hot water for tea. Firewood and coal are in the backyard."
Wagner silently picked up the small coal stove and went to the backyard as directed by Yang Qiu…
After Wagner lit the fire and brought the small coal stove back to the hall, Yang Qiu instructed him to boil water, warm the cups, brew oatmeal milk tea, clean the house, handle the rubbish in the yard that had piled up for several days… and so on.
A professional level could handle such labor efficiently. Wagner finished these household chores that an ordinary person would spend half a day to clear in under an hour.
After dividing the self-heating hotpots that Inspector Lowell had personally prepared (mainly because Lowell was worried that Wagner, being clumsy, might mess it up), Yang Qiu generously said to the knight who had worked up a sweat, "You sleep in the guest room over there. Get up early tomorrow, tidy up the garden for us, clean the curtains, and change the sofa covers. Oh, and wash the dirty cushions in the living room."
Wagner held his small hotpot and silently walked away…
"Why did you bring him here?" With the subject gone, Inspector Lowell asked Yang Qiu.
"It would prove troublesome for Hal to manage if the sergeant and his men are kept together; Rex is so busy while we're free, so it's good to help Rex relieve some of his burden," said Yang Qiu as he nonchalantly uncovered the lid of his small hotpot.
"This young man is rather efficient at doing household chores. Looks like he often helps his wife with them. What a pleasant surprise."
Inspector Lowell didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Only you would be able to use a family knight as a servant!
"At least you wouldn't have to heat the bathwater yourself," Yang Qiu quipped.
Inspector Lowell shut his mouth and started to work on his own small hotpot.
There was no gas pipeline in Weisshem, and taking a bath was a troublesome affair—just heating water would take a long time.
Even though this private mansion, built by the former mayor for his own personal enjoyment, had a bathtub with a heating pipe in the bathroom, there was still a need to use the heating port from the outside after filling it with water. On top of that, the water had to be heated at least half an hour in advance and the fire must be watched.
Inspector Lowell wasn't a particularly fastidious person. He could accept bathing once every ten days or so. But, when living with Yang Qiu, who was always fresh and clean, with even a faint hint of fragrance, Inspector Lowell naturally couldn't lose…
While Yang Qiu and Inspector Lowell were enjoying the quiet night with someone else serving them, the players entered the final round of Inner Demon instance dungeons for the weekend event.
With the experience of having successfully cleared the instance once and the added bonuses of newly acquired shiny equipment flowing into the player community, the number of players participating in the Inner Demon instance dungeons at this time reached a new peak.
The loot… no, equipment seized this time was way too much. Even the big spenders like Brother Lahong and Qin Guan couldn't monopolize it all. Many casual players also obtained one or two pieces of equipment through the copper coins they had saved, significantly boosting their combat power. Naturally, the number of people wanting to challenge their limits also increased.
Two hours in the game passed, and these casual players were thoroughly schooled and finally realized how inflated their heads were… The monsters in the instance were completely different from the ordinary mobs!
These casual players grumbled as they withdrew, either logging out and waiting for the in-game dawn to return or heading to Desolate Outpost or Weisshem to play around. Anything was better than spending half the day forming a team, only to be wiped out in less than three minutes inside the instance.
Of course, not all casual players would give up so easily.
Two players, decked out in extremely luxurious equipment from helmet to knee guards, appeared in Exile Town's Third Street. They stood at the spot where people teamed up for the most popular Hal's Inner Demon instance and hollered, "Two bosses looking for mercenaries to carry us through! Any strong fighters available? 100 yuan red envelope for everyone upon successful clear!"
"It's not certain to beat the instance even with a full squad of 11. Who can even handle a 9+2 formation now?" A nearby player, who was also seeking a team, shook his head.
One of the two bosses glanced at this player, then raised his hand and shouted loudly, "Sincerely recruiting powerful workers, 200 yuan red envelope for each successful completion! 300 yuan for the team leader! Long-term partnership!"contemporary romance
"The heck!" Now, not only the players nearby were stunned. Everyone else in the area looking for teams was taken aback.
Regardless of whether others were tempted, Yang Ying was definitely intrigued and immediately went to drag her companions over…
done.co