Derley paid no mind to Luman Thomas's actions.
To him, outsiders like them were troublesome, but not exactly a threat.
He looked around at the common folk, his gaze focusing on Adam.
How could he ignore him?
Adam stood out the most in this place.
He was tall and his features were different from the locals, giving him an exotic allure.
The wounds and blood all over his body, coupled with his somewhat broken long sword, seemed to suggest that he was unique.
"Who is that guy?"
Looking at Adam, Derley subconsciously furrowed his eyebrows.
As the chief lawman in this area, he was responsible for the security of these lands.
He had encountered most of the outsiders in the vicinity.
However, Adam was clearly a new face that he had never seen before.
And given his current state, his identity certainly wasn't that of an ordinary outsider.
"That's a knight who traveled from afar."
Seeing Derley's gaze fixed on Adam, Luman Thomas quickly spoke up.
Having been on the receiving end before, he was very aware of the lawman's power.
It wouldn't be good if he caused any friction between him and Adam.
It'd be troublesome no matter which side ended up at a disadvantage.
So he hastily stepped forward, intending to explain the situation.
"He dared to assault an entire bandit group alone?"
Hearing Luman Thomas's account, Derley was somewhat skeptical and suspicion arose within him.
Not because he was paranoid, but rather because the tale seemed rather incredible.
Daring to single-handedly attack a bandit group with nearly a hundred members, and not only vanquishing them almost single-handedly but also appearing mostly unharmed.
Such a story would usually invite doubts from anyone who hears it.
And given Luman Thomas and the other's outsiders' past misconduct, it was only natural for him to be suspicious.
Luckily, there were a number of people nearby who had witnessed the preceding incidents.
Soon, Derley called over a few people, inquired carefully, and finally drew a conclusion.
It was actually true.
The young man in front of him, although looking quite young, was indeed an extraordinary figure.
All of a sudden, Derley became interested.
So he took the initiative to ride forward, approaching where Adam was.
His action quickly caught Adam's attention.
The clopping of horse hooves was loud enough that it was hard to ignore.
As soon as Derley and his people arrived, Adam noticed them.
He saw Derley's conversation with Luman Thomas and others, just not clear about what Derley wanted.
Friend or foe?
Being cautious, Adam instinctively straightened up, his hand already reaching for his long sword.
Despite its damage, the long sword was still a functional weapon.
In the hands of Adam, killing was as easy as breathing.
Fortunately, Derley's hostility was not apparent.
Seemingly aware of Adam's vigilance, Derley thought for a moment, then dismounted, placed his weapon to the side, and opened his hands to show he had no hostile intentions.
The meaning of such action was clear.
Adam observed Derley's actions, and also consciously put down his long sword, carefully placing it aside.
"I heard you're a knight, from a distant land?"
The voice of Derley echoed in front of him.
But listening to his words, Adam's expression remained puzzled.
That's because he still could not understand.
Derley observed Adam's reaction, and secretly nodded to himself.
It didn't look like he was pretending.
After questioning Luman Thomas and others, he knew that Adam didn't speak the local language, but he still wanted to try it himself.
Looking at his current appearance, it seemed there should be no problem with his identity.
His face was distinct from ordinary people and the different language made it clear he was a foreigner.
Looking closely at the details on Adam's body, he appeared to be an aristocrat.
Whether he was as formidable as others had said, he would have to see for himself.
With this in mind, Derley's face relaxed a lot.
He didn't say much, just kept a smile on his face, and gestured with his hands.
It took Adam a while to understand his intentions.
It seemed that he wanted to invite him as a guest.
Thinking for a moment, Adam nodded.
Though it might seem hasty, Adam really had nowhere to go right now.
For him, this was a completely unfamiliar place, and nothing around was recognizable to him.
Judging from the people's reactions around them, Derley, the man in front of them, must be a well-known figure from the local area, perhaps the knight charged with safeguarding this region.
Having just rescued this merchant caravan from robbers, his position should align with Derley's, so there shouldn't be much chance of friction between them, right?
That's what he was thinking.
Thus, Adam followed Derley away from this region.
Behind him, Luman Thomas and his companion followed closely without hesitation.
They could not bring themselves to abandon a great ally like Adam.
Since the opening of the Noah World, tens of millions of players have already entered this world.
However, up to this point, very few have been able to trigger missions.
It appears as though there are some limitations in place. Ordinary characters can't give out assignments to players, only unique individuals can do so.
To them, each NPC capable of giving out missions is a treasure waiting to be unearthed.
Now that they've found one, they need to guard it closely, right?
That's why they stuck close to Adam, with no intentions of leaving.
It's fortunate that they are familiar faces to Derley. Seeing them following, he didn't try to chase them away, simply acknowledging their presence.
"To express gratitude for his expulsion of the robbers and his heroism in saving the innocent, I hereby appoint this gentleman as a member of the Guardians in the name of the Office of Public Safety."
Derley began to speak: "If you two choose to stay, go ahead and convey this to him."
He was very interested in Adam.
On their journey back, he witnessed Adam's capabilities.
It was a direwolf that had strayed into their camp.
These direwolves, local beasts that have undergone demonization from exposure to magical objects, can be occasionally seen in these parts. They are formidable demonic creatures.
Normally, at least three elite warriors wearing leather armour are required to deal one comfortably.
But this isn't necessary for Adam.
When the direwolf appeared near the camp, probably planning an ambush as they were eating, it wound up being easily slain by Adam.
Derley could not forget Adam's performance.
Facing a demonic creature that far surpassed an average person's capabilities, he was able to suppress it with his own strength.
He didn't even draw his sword, using only a rough spear he had on hand to effortlessly slay the direwolf; the whole process was incredibly relaxed.
It looked more like he was squishing a small bug than slaying a ferocious beast.
From then on, Derley resolved to keep this knight by his side.
The world is not safe, with various demonic nests creeping in from the wilderness, occasional outbreaks from the demonkind would bring immense pain to humanity.
Under such circumstances, the remote towns are not safe, the people there are struggling with outside threats at all times.
Every year many similar towns are wiped out, falling beneath the surge of the beasts.
In such crises, if a valiant knight like this can join, it would greatly strengthen the town's defences.
That's what Derley thought.
As for why Derley wanted Luman Thomas to deliver the message, he simply didn't want to go through the hassle.
The communication issues due to the language barrier were problematic. Derley had already experienced it.
In any case, Luman Thomas and the others, despite their lack of strength, were quite clever in other respects.
This task suited them.
Having received Derley's mission, Luman Thomas was quite enthusiastic.
They had already wanted to stick around Adam, hoping to be with him at all times.
If they can trigger more missions in the future, that will be a huge win for them.
If Adam can become one of the guardians of the region, they can naturally latch onto his coattails.
The negotiation process was exceedingly difficult.
However, in the end, Adam was able to understand Derley's intentions.
He agreed, but there was a small caveat.
"I might not be able to stay here for long and might leave soon."
He indicated the possibility.
Adam said this as a warning.
After he was sent to this place, the golden hourglass in his body didn't disappear, but continued to exist.
After one teleportation, the golden hourglass had reset, and the golden sand within was flowing again.
Based on the pattern of last time, when the golden hourglass resets again, he will be teleported again.
Whether he will be sent back to the place he came from or to a completely new place, Adam wasn't sure.
So he could only give a warning like this, gently informing the other party about his impending departure.
Luman Thomas and his friend understood what Adam meant, but they didn't think too much about it, merely assuming that Adam would travel elsewhere.
After all, he portrays the image of someone who is constantly traveling to hone his skills.
Such a person would not likely stay put for long.
After short contemplation, they decided to omit this information when relaying Adam's message.
Yes, they didn't tell Derley about this point.
There is no benefit to communicating this information.
If Derley finds out Adam will eventually leave, would he still offer Adam the same level of treatment? And worse still, would he give all the dangerous tasks to them?
Since you are eventually leaving, might as well utilize what's left of your 'heat'.
It's not a big deal if you aren't one of our own, even if it leads to death.