Yarra’s Adventure Notes
Chapter 258 - 24 - Ill-intentioned Group of Magical Beasts_1

Chapter 258: Chapter 24 - Ill-intentioned Group of Magical Beasts_1

"My warriors, I feel the boiling courage and passion within your hearts, I see the longing for victory in your eyes. Therefore, warriors, brave ones, go forth, fight, kill, and bring back the glory that belongs to you." In the luxurious carriage, Freya’s voice was melodious and soaring: "Now, the hunting competition begins."

"Awoooo." A group of youngsters, who had finally escaped their afternoon lethargy, howled as they charged out on their horses, waving bows and arrows in their hands, they dispersed in all directions on the open field.

"Ah, young men, they’re always like this." After the excited city guards left, Freya sighed leisurely, speaking softly with a delicate tone: "Always keen to pretend and show off in front of women, like male peacocks, using colourful feathers to highlight their uniqueness. I’m not fond of this. Why must one always pretend? Why show off in front of the opposite sex? Splendour always fades, beauty always withers. What truly lasts are the mundane and the genuine. So, why can’t we show our genuine, mundane side to the opposite sex?"

"Perhaps, they feel that their genuine selves have many flaws that their beloved women cannot accept." Pannis said, "After all, everyone has some bad habits. It wouldn’t be right to display these in front of the women they admire."

After the young city guards left, only Pannis was left to guard next to the luxurious carriage. The three girls from the adventure team had no team spirit whatsoever, leaving Pannis alone to accompany Freya. They had returned to their carriage to rest, sneakily peeking at Pannis’s troubled face as he accompanied Freya.

Pannis was indeed troubled. Once Vivian left, nobody could restore Freya to a normal mood when she started mourning. Besides, Freya had a certain resistance towards men she wasn’t familiar with, making their conversation quite uncomfortable.

"But that’s hypocritical." Freya whispered, "Pretending to be brave when they’re scared, pretending to be calm when they’re excited, pretending to ignore when they’re interested. That’s deceit. I hate such deception. I’d rather show my ugliest and truest self to Wesker. Only if he can accept such a me, it means he truly loves me."

"Is that so? Perhaps." Pannis shrugged nonchalantly, "After all, everyone has their own thoughts. There’s no need to reach a unified view."

"Mr. Pannis, you... seem to be brushing me off. It seems like you don’t enjoy talking to me?" Freya picked up on the coldness and evasion in Pannis’s words, "Do you dislike me?"

"Haha, how could it be." Pannis chuckled awkwardly, saying distractedly, "You’re beautiful, have a lovely voice, and a nice personality. Who could possibly dislike you? That’s just your imagination. I never brushed you off at all."

"Is it?" Freya laughed with a hint of self-mockery, yet said nothing more. The carriage was shrouded in silence, with only the sound of the axles turning tirelessly.

"They’re back quickly," Pannis’s ears twitched, as he mumbled to himself. "They found their prey so smoothly?"

"Hahaha, I am the first one." A team member triumphantly raised a small magical beast, galloping back excitedly. "I won, I won. Hahaha. I won’t have to work tonight."

"Ah, I was a step too late." Another horse’s hoofbeats echoed from another direction. The second returning member lamented with a gloomy face, "This is unfair. The carriage is moving forward. If it had stopped, I would have gotten there first."

"Who told you to choose that side?" The victor put his hand on his hip, looking smug, "You picked the wrong path, who’s to blame? Admit defeat, hahaha."

While the two were bickering, a third figure appeared on the open field, also holding a small magical beast in his hand.

"Mr. Pannis," Freya seemed to have caught on to something interesting, "Why are your eyebrows so furrowed? Does staying here make you that uncomfortable?"

"Not that, there’s something else." Pannis called out to Ayrland, who was at the forefront of the group, "Captain, come back. I have something to discuss with you."

"Have you found any problems, Mr. Pannis?" Freya’s speaking tone became more formal, "I remember Catherine saying that you often spot overlooked hidden dangers. Very impressive."

"Don’t you find it strange?" Pannis said, "Those youngsters came back too quickly."

"Haha, it’s good to be quick," Ayrland had just come over when he heard Pannis’s words, "Being quick indicates that the youngsters have improved in their hunting skills and can quickly gain results."

"No, Captain Ayrland." Catherine’s sudden appearance startled Ayrland. "It’s not normal. If all those returning have catches, they must have easily hunted at least twenty preys. You’ve traveled this route several times as well. Given the density of magical beasts and beasts in the area, is this speed possible?"

Ayrland had been in a high position in the city guard for many years and had lost his original vigilance. Only now, upon being reminded by Catherine, did he realize the abnormality. With a solemn face, he beckoned a team member to ask, "Did you notice anything unusual during your hunt?"

"No, Captain." The team member, still unaware of what had happened, excitedly said, "I just found this little fox poking its head out of a patch of parched grass in the wilderness. As for other situations, there is none."

"Where exactly?" Ayrland pressed on, "Where did you find it?"

"Uh, the location... it’s not far from here, about two kilometers maybe." The member voiced his confusion in response to Ayrland’s demeanor, "Captain, is something wrong?"

"Everyone, are the prey you found all nearby?" Instead of answering, Ayrland raised his voice to ask, only to have everybody nod affirmatively.

"See, definitely something’s fishy." Catherine remarked, "The density of game here is too high, it seems... as if someone is helping us by driving them this way."

"It’s not driving. When driving, you should be able to see the driver’s traces." Realizing she had missed a beat, Pannis was already back on the carriage looking around, "Within two, no, three kilometers, I guarantee that there are no signs of human activity."

"Damn it, Mikado, quickly take the carriage to the side of the road and set up defensive positions with the carriage." The moment Ayrland identified the problem, he directed, in a calm manner, "Bastards, you too get to help, be quick. It seems the magical beasts in the vicinity are going to collectively come at us."

"Why would magical beasts gather, someone is planning to attack us?" The difference between rookies and veterans became apparent as rookies were still asking questions, while veterans had already begun to set up defenses with the carriage according to the captain’s command.

The caravan used by the wedding party was of a special model with surprisingly strong safety features. The walls of the carriage were made from thick, heavy double-layered solid timber with a thin layer of metals embedded between the two layers of timber, offering an impressive level of protection against impacts and piercing. Once several carriages were simply linked together, it formed a solid defense.

Members of the wedding party were all ordinary people who had no idea this would happen. They sat helplessly in the carriage, and, feeling helpless himself, Ayrland had to get several female members to go in and soothe them, telling them all they needed to do was sit calmly in the carriage without causing a ruckus. After everyone in every carriage was reassured, the members shut the exterior windows of the carriages, plunged the metal shields outside down the windows and locked them in place, presenting a solid and impenetrable circular defense setup on the open ground from the roadside.

"Captain, is someone really attacking us?" Only then did the old hands ask Ayrland, loosening up, "Who? The local gang of thieves?"

"Are you kidding? With the Holy City so close, there can’t be a gang of thieves?"

"Idiot, besides the thieves, who do you think would dare to attack the city’s guard troops so rashly?"

"Maybe it’s spontaneous on the part of the magical beasts, like the annual Magical Beast Invasion from Shining Forest and the Beast Tide of Magical Beast Forest."

"I told you not to read so many novels, they turn you stupid. And you don’t think, can this place be comparable to the two you’re talking about? It’s totally incomparable."

"Everyone shut up." Pannis finally put an end to the disruptive noise with a roar, now finally being able to probe the surroundings in a quiet environment, "I hear it, many magical beasts are indeed coming. Everyone, hurry to the top of the carriage to establish defense, this time the other party seems to be making a big move."

"The other party? You mean someone’s really going against us?" A city guard was surprised, "That can’t be possible. This is Neutral Land, who would dare?"

"Enough talk." Ayrland was the first to jump onto the roof of the carriage. "First and second teams, go to number one carriage, third team, number five carriage, the fourth team is to provide long-range support, Miss Catherine, the other side’s carriages three and four are left to you. No pressure, right?"

"No problem." Catherine walked back and forth on the roof a few times to make sure it’s sturdy, "Leave it to us. These are basically lower-rank magical beasts here, easy to defend. Tell everyone not to be too nervous, just do what you were trained to do. If you encounter anything tough, make a loud warning. We’ll handle it right away."

"Pannis." Lina looked towards the distance from atop the carriage, "With the current situation, is someone controlling these magical beasts?"

"Hard to say." Pannis scoffed. "I suspect it’s a Druid, yet another rare profession for humans. Looks like we’re up against rare professions this time, I am curious to see what odd creatures will turn up."

"The more I think about it, the more it appears Chairman Kara is scheming behind the scenes." Catherine said with a bitter smile. "Besides the Chairman of the Mercenary Guild, who else could have the ability to mobilize so many odd and rare professions?" (To be continued. If you like this work, feel free to recommend it on Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation. Users on mobile devices can read at m.qidian.com.)