Chapter 30

With the three of them rushing to the scene, they start to notice that the sound of battle became louder and louder, and as it did, the tide of the battle didn’t seem all that favorable for the hunters.

“Looks like things aren’t getting any better for the people here. Little White, go look around and see where weakest link would be.”(Renya)

Immediately taking off, Little White began going around the city walls while Renya and Nabila followed after. Since the situation was looking dire, Little White flew faster than usual. But Renya and Nabila had no trouble keeping up with her.

After several streets and turns, Little White dived back down to Renya’s side as she flew by his right shoulder. She glanced at Renya, signaling him to follow after to which he and Nabila did. Soon they arrived on to the scene at the western gate of the city.

“Quickly! Barricade the main gate! If they break in then all hope will be lost!”(???)

Turning his gaze to where the voice came from, he saw a middle aged topless man on top of the walls who wore a set of thick dark leather tassets with his upper body and face being covered by a myriad of white paint. His skin was of a slightly darker color his head was devoid of hair, looking a bit savage even.

Below him were dozens of hunters who wore full sets of leather armor, the same type of armor as the man and had face paint instead, albeit less intimidating.

“You there! Get out of here and ask for more reinforcement from the guild!”(Man)

He said as he held his crimson two-handed saber with one hand before pointing it at Renya and Nabila. As he did so, Renya stepped forward.

“We’re more than enough for reinforcement. Nabila, help out down here and little White, stay behind just in case. I’ll take care of the immediate threats.”(Renya)

“Mm..”(Nabila)

She replied as she was handed her newly bought weapon, to which she gracefully swung a few times. Renya then activated [Wind Sprint], a [Low Grade level 3] skill that increases movement speed and agility, before sprinting towards one of the buildings before leaping forward and kicking the walls of said building to propel himself towards another taller building. He repeated this process a few times before reaching the top of the wall where the man from before stood.

“What the?! Where did you come from?”(???)

He said before noticing the bow strapped to his back.

“Blah! Forget about it, I need your help the other archers in shooting the sand beasts down below!”(???)

Not questioning him any further, Renya followed his instructions. However, His way of doing so was a tad bit different from what the man intended. Renya re-casted [Wind Sprint] before jumping down the wall, sliding as he did since the wall was slightly inclined, straight to the fray below.

“This idiot! Quickly! Provide supporting fire and try to prolong the life of the idiot!”(???)

The man said as he jumped down after Renya in an attempt to save him. But as he did, Renya began his fight against the sand beasts which consisted of Sandstorm Hunters, Great Sand Beetles which look to be enormous 3-4 meter tall and 4-6 beetles with a golden brown colored exoskeletons with a bright red gem like colored eyes, and a Desert Salamander which looked like a large salamander that has a dry dessert rock like skin with multiple horns protruding out from its head all the way to the tail.

Renya shot an arrow filled his currently limited level 67 strength, causing the arrow to go straight through the Great Sand Beetle’s supposedly impenetrable shell. Seeing this scene caused the man’s eyes to widen as he descended from the wall. But Renya did not stop there, he continued to pull three arrows, one after another as they flew straight to their targets, killing the beasts instantly as the arrows pierced through their heads seamlessly.

The man was a bit speechless, but he did not sit idle the moment his feet touched the ground. He immediately began an assault on the other desert beasts in order to diminish their numbers.

The man was good, a skilled and talented warrior as he stabbed and slashed his two-handed saber at the beasts’ vitals in the most efficient way possible by him.  He moved along the battle field, seeming to dance even as he did so. While the two of them fought in the field, the archers from above provided support by shooting the beasts that the two aren’t able to focus on. 

A few minutes after the brawl outside began, Renya and the man eventually met up as they fought.

“Tsk, you’re pretty damn strong, HAAHH!”(Man)

He shouted as he stabbed his two-handed saber in between the cracks of a Desert Salamander’s stone skin while Renya shoots an arrow by the man’s shoulder and into a Sandstorm Hunter’s gaping mouth as it was getting ready to attack.

“Not so bad yourself.”(Renya)

And with that, the two of them began working together in sync to kill the threats around them one by one before they eventually cleared the area.

“*Hahh*... Explain yourself.”(Man)

The man said, holding his two-handed saber with one hand before pointing towards Renya as he caught his breath. Renya glanced back and pondered for a second.

“Explain myself? Hmm… Well, I came, I saw, I slaughtered…

With a bit of help from you of course.”(Renya)

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The man didn’t answer back for a while, as if lost in deep thought.

“What’s your name?”(Man)

“Renya, a hunter. Yours?

“Renz, a proud warrior of the Western Tribes.”(Renz)

“Western tribes huh?”(Renya)

“Yes, a tribe near the border of the dark sector and the Notus empire. I am not surprised that you have never heard of it.”(Renz)

“Really? Is it that secretive?”(Renya)

“No…”(Renz)

He said as he closed his eyes before making his way towards the gate.

“Open the gate!”(Man)

And with that, the large and severely beaten and mangled metal door slowly opened to just enough for the two of them squeeze through. As they did, they were greeted with a round of cheers from the nearby hunters and city guards. Amongst the crowd was Nabila with Little White on her shoulder.

“We’ll meet again in the future most likely. Till then.”(Renz)

He mumbled by Renya’s side before going on his own way with his men. As for Renya, he went to where Nabila and Little White were.

“So, how were things inside the city?”(Renya)

He asked Nabila as the two of them walked side by side.

“Boring…”(Nabila)

“Is that so?”(Renya)

He said as he placed his hand on her head before rustling her hair a few times before looking up to see the sky redden as the sun sets.

“Let’s search for an inn then get something to eat.”(Renya)

-•••••-

[In an inn inside Ferron City.]

A group of men from are celebrating as they filled a long stone table with food and drinks. The overall atmosphere of the inn was merry and festive, almost as an event of great significance occurred and of course, it did.

“Brother Renz! Let us celebrate our victory for today!”(???)

“Yes! We managed to defend the city yet again!”(???)

The men around Renz joyfully drank and ate food. However, the same cannot be said about Renz. His face was of complete annoyance, and his nonexistent eye brows furrowed.

“You lot, you drink and cheer for a small victory. The only reason we managed to hold the gate was because of that archer! If not the gates would’ve been broken long ago!”(Renz)

He said as he slammed his fist on the table.

“Not only that, but today’s attack came earlier than what we expected! This means that they could come and strike at any time! And we’re sitting here celebrating over a small victory?!

Keep this in mind, that we’ve yet to hear back about the tribe! Our friends, our families could be dead for all we know! This isn’t the time for petty celebrations.”(Renz)

The room became silent after. The face of his men darkened, and the other customers and staff even so. But the silence did not last long, as the doors of the inn swung open.

“Hmm, this place is not so bad…”(???)

At the doorway stood Renya, Nabila and Little white on her shoulder. But seeing the quiet atmosphere in the inn, he became a bit confused.

“Did I walk into the wrong inn?”(Renya)

“No, just at the wrong time.”(???)

A woman beside the counter replied before giving Renya and the two a sweet smile.

“So, welcome to the [White Iron Inn], what can we do for you?”(Inn Keeper)

“We’re looking for a place to stay at for a while. A few days, but a week at most. Around four days?”(Renya)

“Sure, it’s a three silver and fifty copper a night.”(Inn Keeper)

“That’s a bit expensive.”(Renya)

“Can’t help it, the decline of the supply of food is slowly decreasing by the day due to the attacks. I’m afraid we’re gonna have to increase it to 4 silvers by the end of the week.”(Inn Keeper)

The inn keeper said as she heaved a long sigh.

“Well, we can only hope for the best.”(Renya)

“Yeah… The best…”(Inn Keeper)

She muttered under her breath before quickly returning to her previous state.

“AH! I’m sorry about that! I didn’t mean to make the mood all depressing haha~”(Inn Keeper)

“No, it’s fine. Any ways, we’ll stay for four nights.”(Renya)

He said as he placed fourteen pieces of silver on the desk.

“Oh, and how much for a meal?”(Renya)

“50 Copper per meal, today’s dish is Salamander stew with a potato side dish.”(Inn Keeper)

“Three servings, just place the meals to our tables when they’re ready. Need to talk to a good friend in the meantime.”(Renya)

“Okay?”(Inn Keeper)

The inn keeper replied in a confused manner as Renya placed a silver and a silver and fifty copper on the table to pay for the meal before heading towards a peculiar location in the inn. Soon Nabila and Little White followed after.

“Hey, it’s been a while.”(Renya)

“And by a while you mean a few hours?”(Renz)

“Yeah, fancy meeting you here.”(Renya)

He said as he and Nabila took a seat on the vacant chairs on Renz’s table. Renz’s men were a bit irritated that these tow just joined them nonchalantly, but seeing Renz’s calm and indifferent face, they decided to let things be for the mean time.

“You can go back, I need to have a talk with this man.”(Renz)

As he said that, his men went on their ways and went outside of the inn.

“Did I ruin the moment? Cause I could’ve sworn that you guys were in the middle something.”(Renya)

“No, just a quick reminder of our current situation.”(Renz)

“I see, you won’t mind if we are to join in the conversation now would you?”(Renya)

“No, actually I would like you to join us. You appear to be someone new to this city after all.”(Renz)

He then crossed his arms before leaning back on his chair. 

“Yeah we are.”(Renya)

“And that child…”(Renz)

He said as he directed his gaze at Nabila.

“Hmm? Nabila? She’s strong, don’t let her small appearance foo-”(Renya)

“I know.”(Renz)

Renz cut him off before he could even finish his sentence.

“Really now, did you use an [Inspect] her or something?”(Renya)

“Inspect? I’ve never heard of such a skill, but no. [Warrior’s Intuition].”(Renz)

Hearing him not know about [Inspect] made Renya a bit confused. But he decided to not question it any further and keep it at the back of his mind for now.

“I see, but [Warrior’s Intuition] huh. Are you a Berserker?”(Renya)

“No, something close, but not a Berserker. An [Elite High Lander], what about you?”(Renz)

“Hmm, an [Elite Arcane Archer].”(Renya)

“Heh, I expected as much. And the girl?”(Renz)

“I don’t really know. Hey Nabila can y-”(Renya)

“Don’t want to tell…”(Nabila)

“Okay…”(Renya)

For a second time, Renya was cut off again. He then had thoughts of using [Inspect] on her, but thought otherwise.

“Well then, back on topic. The recent attacks, how much do you know?”(Renz)

“It’s been increasing ever since an massive earthquake occurred, and there have been an increasing amount of monster attackers with each quake that occurred afterwards.”(Renya)

Hearing this, Renz nodded.

“You know enough. Though I’m guessing you’ve heard of the enormous figure in the sandstorm?”(Renz)

“…”(Nabila)

The moment he mentioned the figure, Nabila flinched for second, but it was enough for Renya to notice.

“… Yeah.”(Renya)

“We’re the last group that managed to get back, with heavy losses however.”(Renz)

He narrowed his eyes as he said this.

“The only reason we managed to survive was because the path we travelled was one that we knew like the back of our hands. The path back to our tribe.”(Renz)

He then closed his eyes after saying this.

“You plan on going back there?”(Renya)

“Yes, we have to.”(Renz)

Opening his eyes, he looked back at Renya.

‘I see, well since the golem you saw is along the way I might as well help. I want to know the cause of this. I’m guessing Nabila does too.”(Renya)

He said as he glanced at Nabila who sat by his side to which she glanced back. She looked back in silence for a while before eventually nodding her head, which put a smile on Renya’s face, even though it was half hidden by the white the cloth mask.

“*Cough* You wish to help us?”(Renz)

“Yeah, at the same time we want to see that figure.”(Renya)

“*Sigh* Fine, but with your capability, you could easily go and take a look yourself.”(Renz)

“Nah, I’d rather kill two birds with one stone.”(Renya)

“Alright then. But I wish to know, what is your reason for doing so?”(Renz)

“Simple, you don’t look as bad as you do.”(Renya)

After he answered, the corner of Renz’s mouth curved slightly upwards.

“Uhm…”(???)

“Hmm?”(Renya)

He turned his head, only to see the inn keeper carrying three trays at once.

“Ah right, sorry about that.”(Renya)

He then stood up from his chair before moving it out of the way to allow the inn keeper to place the trays on the table. After she did, Little White hopped down form Nabila’s shoulder and began eating her portion while Nabila followed after.

“That owl… Is she a snow owl?”(Renz)

“No.”(Renya)

He paused his sentence as he took a sip of the stew.

“She’s a White Frost Owl.”(Renya)

“Never heard of it.”(Renz)

“Well, it’s not as common in these areas.”(Renya)

He said as he took another sip, before eating a bit of the mashed potatoes.

“This food is pretty good.”(Renya)

“Yeah, that’s because the chef is a [Rank: B] retired hunter who’ve hunted lots of monsters all around the continent back in the days.”(Renz)

“Hmm, do you know the guy?”(Renya)

“No, it’s just that he visited our tribe once back in the days. I recognized him, but unfortunately he didn’t recognize me.”(Renz)

He said as Renya sipped some more of the stew before answering back.

“You’re telling me this because?”(Renya)

“Even though we may know the path to our tribe like the back of our hands, we don’t know much about everything else. That man however, he knows a more than us about this desert.”(Renz)

“That’s great and all, but where can we find him?”

“You don’t need to search for me. I already heard enough.”(???)

Looking behind his chair, he sees a small statured man dressed in an apron.

“You are?”(Renya)

“Kyle.”(???)