Knights and Magic Wand
Chapter 750: 351 The First Adventure Mission

Chapter 750: Chapter 351 The First Adventure Mission

The warm sunlight poured over the small town in the countryside.

This was not only at the border of Baron Avalon’s territory but also at the junction of Glade County and Mamor County.

During the rare midday break, the town clock tower had just been rung not long ago. Tekatu and a few other children from farming families on the outskirts of town slipped away from their still-lunching and resting parents like unbridled colts, stepping on the bumpy roads towards the “Ranger Inn” said to have been built by the Lord in town.

Not for anything else, but because the minstrel living in that inn tells legendary tales from the ends of the earth to the town’s residents for free every day.

More importantly, listeners don’t have to pay; as long as they have time, they can listen until sunset because it is said that the kind and just Griffin Baron has already paid these poets.

This wonderful opportunity has led the town and country folks to gather at the Ranger Inn every few days to listen to stories, becoming an excellent entertainment in their monotonous lives.

However, even though one could enjoy the minstrel’s songs and tales for free, there weren’t many idle people in this era.

Typically, those who could carry chairs to listen and cheer were either women and children from the mayor’s family or relatively wealthy freemen in town. In contrast, ordinary farmers, busy with cultivating and working all day, had little chance to come here for leisure except on rare holidays.

On this day, naturally, town residents had gathered around the minstrel early on.

Tekatu and other children of serf descent didn’t dare to squeeze into the front row filled with people in complete clothing, so they found a corner as close to the poet as possible, watching and listening intently.

Even if they couldn’t connect the segments they’d heard before, they could still immerse themselves in gripping stories as if they were part of those tragic or heroic legends.

Tekatu’s eyes flickered with reverence for heroes and a longing for distant and mysterious lands.

The thin boy held a straight branch he found and quietly mimicked the slashing sounds of a long sword, listening to the story while imagining himself as Baron Leon slaying the evil undead.

However, beautiful dreams are always short-lived, and his naive fantasies were ruthlessly shattered by a large hand.

A harsh shout came from behind, and Tekatu felt his shoulder being yanked sharply, revealing his old father with a face full of wrinkles in front of him.

The old farmer didn’t say a word, grabbing Tekatu by the nape and dragging his son from among the other children like a chick.

“You little brat, slacking here again? Get back and help your mother with the vegetable picking. The baskets at home aren’t even finished yet!”

“Just let me listen a little longer, it’s at a crucial point, about to end!”

Tekatu resisted unwillingly, pleading persistently.

However, his father gave him a hard kick on the butt, making the boy stumble and reluctantly shut his mouth, fearing further punishment.

As he walked home, Tekatu grumbled, looking back unwillingly:

“Why don’t we move to Andville County like Uncle Langke? That Baron has already wiped out the undead, and the speaker from Avalon Castle said there is a lot of land there. Farming there can exempt you from grain tax for several years, and if you pay the full tax during the tax-free period, we could even become freemen, truly owning our own land… Uncle Langke’s family has been there for so long; they might be living a good life this year.”

As Tekatu spoke, he began to faintly imagine… becoming a freeman… going to the Lord’s castle when grown-up, becoming a squire of a certain Lord Knight… and then… getting knighted, becoming a brave Avalon Knight!

Just halfway through his thoughts, his father disdainfully smacked him on the head, glaring at him to pull the boy back to reality.

The old farmer whispered a scolding: “What do you know! Such a good deal, you think it’d come to us? You think the lord doesn’t have relatives for those free lands? Besides, do you know where Andville County is? How far it is? Even if we walk there without dying on the road, what if the south is full of undead monsters, and we can’t even keep our lives, what’s the use of tax exemption? You and your mother fled to the back, having never seen how terrifying those monsters are.”

Having once been forced to serve as militia, picking up a spear to resist the undead, he only caught a glimpse of the bloody and terrifying army of the dead from afar, almost wetting his pants.

Thanks to the gods’ blessing, after those terrible monsters retreated south, now he should go south too?

For what? To die for nothing?

He doesn’t believe in the Orland lord’s nonsense.

Instead of indulging in some so-called southern expansion, it’d be better to think about how to find excuses to deceive the lord’s tax collectors and store more food in the forest cellar with this year’s harvest.

Young Tekatu couldn’t out-argue his father, reluctantly turned his head, watching the inn’s direction with longing, as the minstrel’s hero stories seemed to still echo in his ears.

With a restless heart, he returned home, helping his mother with the tedious and endless farm and household chores that seemed never-ending…

His mind never calmed down, eagerly remembering the unfinished minstrel’s story, Tekatu hurriedly finished most of the chores with his mother before dark fell.

With some cajoling, he finally got his mother’s reluctant permission and immediately seized the moment before his father returned from the fields, sprinting back into town, reaching the front of the Ranger Inn.

However, to his disappointment, under the twilight, the crowd had already dispersed, and the minstrel seemed to have retired to the inn to rest, nowhere to be seen.

However, outside the open door, a fine horse was tethered, and inside the Ranger Inn, where ordinary people were not allowed to enter, Tekatu saw a man with a knife at his waist, wearing a cloak and half armor, seemingly posting something on the bulletin board.

In that instant, the boy’s eyes sparkled.

Could it be… the legendary ‘Ranger Knight’!?

Tekatu, filled with excitement and curiosity, approached, peering inside from the doorway, his admiration rising.

Once a few Ranger Knights passed through the town, he had missed the chance to see the legendary heroes in person, but now he wanted to speak but dared not easily disturb, feeling as itchy as a cat’s scratching in his heart.

Though Tekatu remained silent, the knife-wielding man still heard his approaching footsteps.

After posting the Urian Language notice in his hand, he turned back, asking the skinny boy at the door in fluent Urian Language: “Hey kid, what do you want?”

Tekatu was startled, but soon subdued by the man’s amiable attitude, could not contain his excitement, offering a humble bow before hurriedly asking: “…Sir! Are you a Ranger Knight?”

The knife-wielding man paused, then shook his head.

“Sorry to disappoint you, my superior is a Ranger, but I’m definitely not. I am one of the roaming Sheriffs of Avalon Territory.”