Surveying his surroundings, Motan discovered a five-meter long sub-dragon creature with seven or eight people riding on it. Behind them were several horse-drawn carriages and people seated on a variety of beasts, mainly horses, all of whom appeared to have a certain level of combat capabilities.
[Quest Triggered: Protect The Forest Spirit Trade Convoy]
"Hey, kid." A large hand suddenly patted Motan's shoulder twice. He turned his head to see a red-faced, bearded dwarf looking at him cheerfully.
Motan nodded in confusion: "Hello, how can I..."
"Mage, Mage·Rolling Iron ~" The dwarf made a comical face: "We had to take off in a hurry earlier so didn't get to introduce myself properly. I'm the captain of the Savage Ground Dragon Mercenary Group, and the guard captain of these… um… green-skinned shorties on this trip."
Motan nodded slightly, not presuming to speak too soon, as the other party had not yet revealed his own 'current' identity...
"You folks are pretty lucky ~" Mage winked towards Motan and the area behind him: "Since we're both headed to Kusi City, you get to hitch a ride with us~"
Us?!
Motan immediately had a hunch in his mind. As soon as he turned his head, he saw a handsome young man winking at him. The man was dressed similarly to him in hemp cloth, empty-handed and lacked scales and a tail.
From any angle, he seemed to be a player just like Motan.
"Thank you, Mr. Rolling Iron." Motan gave the young man a knowing look. Then Motan turned to Rolling Iron and extended his hand: "I'm Mor."
"Gale Sean!" Replied the jovial human youth as he raised his hand.
A dwarf warrior clad in chainmail hugged Motan fiercely, causing his life points to drop a bit. The dwarf then slap hands with Gale Sean: "Just call me Mage. By the way, kid..."
He looked towards Gale Sean: "What on earth are you staring at?"
"Uh...." The young man stuttered a bit, but Motan had already guessed that the young man had received the same quest as him. His previous actions were probably meant to keep an eye out for unknown enemies.
Just then, a man riding a plateau pony came next to the land dragon and laughed: "Mage! You dare to drink during the mission because you're the captain, don't you?!"
"Beat me in a fight, and I'll share my drink~ " Mage rolled his eyes, brandishing an axe nearly as tall as himself at the pony rider.
"Scram, I'm afraid you'll cut my dick off with that!" The pony rider spat on the ground and shrugged: "But this route shouldn't present any dangers~"
Everyone knows that at this time, this phrase means trouble. It's just like when a character in a horror movie exclaims at the end 'There are no ghosts here after all~'
And then, they bite the dust...
"Watch out!" Motan suddenly kicked the pony rider and sent him flying. His innate strength of seven plus his half-dragon bloodline were enough to kick a seasoned... ten... well, a seasoned mercenary.
"What the… " Mage's eyes widened, he wanted to grab Motan's collar when an arrow whistled through the air and stabbed into the ground, narrowly missing the little horse's back.
Seeing this, Mage shouted a warning: "Stay vigilant!" He disembarked from the dragon, landed smoothly on the ground, and gave an approving thumbs up.
"Hmm, I owe you one, buddy." The pony rider got up from the ground and nodded to Motan: "Thanks."
Motan gave him a smile. He wasn't particularly alert, just that when the pony rider was delivering that ominous line, he subconsciously surveyed his surroundings. He found the place was an ideal ambush spot, hence, he looked up and saw a glint in the sky that in retrospect was probably an arrowhead.
As for why a modern person would be so experienced... that blame falls on 'Tan Mo', who shares his memories and experiences in the game.
"It's the Sand Goblins!" Shouted a kneeling elf ranger atop the sub-dragon. "The numbers, they're vast! They're very many!"
"'Many' means how many exactly?!" Mage shouted back dissatisfied. "Second-in-command, bring me my Idari Firearm!"
A lizardman riding a giant lizard whizzed by him and shouted without looking back: "You old drunk, get it yourself! I'm going to check the front!"
"You two, can you handle a sword?" Asked a scar-faced elf ranger.
Motan and Gale Sean nodded at the same time. Whether driven by the need to complete the quest or personal principle, both of them knew they couldn't stand idle at this moment.
"The weapons are under the board, try to stay back and protect yourselves during the battle!" The elf spoke rapidly while drawing three Black Feather Arrows from his quiver and firing.
The enemy's first wave of assault had arrived!
The path at this point was a smooth slope, offering bad visibility. To the right was a small cliff – the origin of the first arrow. On the left, observed Motan, was a rare plain marsh…
Just as Motan and Gale Sean had picked up their weapons, a large number of dark figures emerged into their line of sight. At the same time, several clumps of black mud carrying murky water splashed towards them from the left!
"Mudfish People!"
A thin barrier opened up around the convoy. A figure appeared wearing a scarlet robe and wielding a Red Gold Magic Wand. She ran from the back, crying, "Mudfish People? How can they be here!"
Chapter Four: The End