The Record of Unusual Creatures

As Marshal Ophra's voice trailed off, everyone in the hall was dumbstruck. It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Becky's jaw dropped to the ground: she was in the midst of reconstructing her perception and temporarily refused to believe in reality. It was not until Lily patted the mercenary on the back with her tail that Becky jumped to her feet and said, "That's it?! You're... Oh yeah, I know. It's definitely a secret. You don't want to talk about it..."     

"That's it," said Ophra, nodding with a smile. "I know what's going on outside. For hundreds of years, I heard many versions of the story. I minded at first, but now, I could not care less about the bards. In the beginning, what happened between Geddon and I was really simple. When I was an adventurer in the Lawless District, I could barely make ends meet. Then, I met Geddon by accident. He couldn't fight, but he had sharp eyes. He sae that I could fight, so he said to me, 'Help me fight, and I'll give you my men, plus 20 gold Denars.' I thought about it for a while and said, 'That's a good deal.' Then I became his commander, but at the time, I didn't know he had more than 200,000 men. If I had known earlier, I would've asked him for more."     

Covering his face with his hand, Hao Ren refrained from commenting. He finally figured why Ophra said that Becky reminded her of the time when she was an adventurer. Meanwhile, Becky was still trying to wrap her brains around what she had just heard. After a short while, she said, "Then, the 400 years of commitment..."     

"I told Geddon III that I would stay here as long as I had a stable pay," said Ophra, smiling. "Of course, this was the case in the very beginning. Later, when the country became stable and I became its marshal, staying in the country turned into a responsibility and... I grew affectionate of it."     

Ophra glanced at Becky. "But at the very beginning, I did so because of money."     

Putting her head in her hands, Becky said, "I need some time to make sense of all of this."     

Ophra found the mercenary's reaction very interesting. After smiling for a moment, she suddenly asked, "Becky, do you know that you're already a hero? The church spares no effort in promoting the legendary mercenary who died a martyr in Beinz."     

"Oh, I know," said Becky, raising her head and wondering why Ophra mentioned this all of a sudden. "It just feels surreal."     

Ophra pointed at Hao Ren and asked Becky, "Why did you follow the foreigners to Dragonspine Ridge?"     

"For the reward," Becky said matter-of-factly. "I would be rich if I found the Orb!"     

Ophra shrugged. "In the future, your admirers and the bards will make up stories that you won't even be able to imagine. They'll glorify you and say that you were inspired by the goddess; for love and honor; guided by prophet; to kill the devil; to embark on a journey to save the world; but, the real reason you set foot on that journey was simply because the Church was paying high rewards. So, don't believe what the bards say. They're just doing it to get attention. The first battle to save the world for most heroes is often motivated by money."     

Becky nodded thoughtfully. Ophra looked at the girl with a forced smile. "Of course, this is the first time I've ever seen a hero still thinking of money after saving the world. Your purpose is simple enough."     

Nangong Wuyue grunted. "What more do you expect from her?"     

They had some light refreshments in Ophra's house. The Royal Palace's banquet would not begin until evening, so they got some shut-eye in their respective rooms. At sunset, a royal knight dressed in gorgeous armor came to the marshal's residence. Ophra called everyone out.     

"Mhoren, the King of Holletta has prepared a banquet in the Royal Palace to welcome all of you. The pope will also be present—both of them are making a rare appearance in public." On the way to the palace, Ophra briefed them about the meeting. "This is a secret meeting. The banquet will be very moderate because it is essentially a meeting. You can raise any questionsif you have any. I've already reported everything that happened in Dragonspine Ridge to them... Well, everything that I know. In the two months that you left, the pope and His Majesty had several intense discussions. Eventually they decided to give up on their stubborn stance. They'll give you all the information concerning the Disciples of Glory and the legend of the goddess. But on one condition: you musn't shake the foundation of the kingdom and leak the information to the public."     

"There's no reason for us to do that." Vivian nodded. "As otherworldly visitors, we pose no harm to you, because all the worldly interests of your world have nothing to do with us; we're only interested in the First Born."     

"That's exactly why they decided to give in," said Ophra, sighing. "Those two men are like old souls trapped in young bodies. I've been persuading them for half a month."     

Hao Ren could not help but roll his eyes at Ophra's old-fashioned tone. Then, he looked at Vivian who was beside him, thinking that there was no one more qualified than Vivian when it came to that description: after all, among those in the carriage, no one was as old as Vivian...     

Vivian stared back at Hao Ren, baring her teeth. "Why are you staring at me like that? I'm still young, alright!"     

The carriage drove past the high wall of the palace. Nangong Sanba looked out the magnificent and exotic architecture outside. The majestic, magic-powered Royal Palace was the first of its kind that he had ever seen in his entire life; it was something that could only be seen in places where imperial power was dominant. It was extravagant as much as it was mind-blowing. He turned his head back and solemnly nodded at Hao Ren. "I've decided. I'll join your company no matter what. This is too f*cking interesting."     

Hao Ren lay back in his soft chair, squinting. "You talk as though you have a choice."     

Nangong Wuyue twitched her mouth and said, "You won't find it that interesting once you follow us into battles."     

Finally, under the protection and supervision of a group of valets, the group of country bumpkins—at least Becky and Nangong Sanba seemed to be so—entered the palace. They passed through a long corridor into a long, magnificent hall where they were traversed below the watchful "eyes" of the sculptures of the previous kings as well as historical figures.     

As Ophra mentioned, it was a little secret meeting. It was not luxurious, but its significance was unprecedented.     

In the meeting room, several elderly men and women with serious faces were sitting at a long table. Their identities were unknown. Five to six officers who were qualified to stand in for the secret meeting arrived at the palace on time. The rest were either not qualified or too far away.     

Each time Hao Ren and his men came, they appeared out of nowhere. These foreigners who always appeared without notice had bewildered the king and his officers: they were used to following strict rules in everything, including meeting with foreign envoys and domestic lords. Obviously, this group of people from the outside world did not follow the international law and customary practice. With such a short notice, that was the best preparation they could do.     

As the guests showed up, the VIPs at the table got to their feet and nodded intently. Ophra introduced them out one by one. "His Majesty, Mhoren, the King of Holletta, is currently one of the most intelligent kings in the world; the pope of Disciples of Glory, the highest representative of the authority of God, is one of the most reputable persons in the entire world; Prince Hoffman, who is responsible for assessing the influence of the First Born and what to do if an unexpected disaster occurs; the red-robe Cardinal Orben was one who stationed men guarding the entrance of the other two sacred caves. The last two First Borns are under his supervision."     

Then Ophra proceed to introduce the other people. But Hao Ren didn't think he needed to remember everyone of them: he was not here to socialize.     

He only remembered the characteristics of several important figures: King Mhoren, who was an old man with a white hair and a little hunchback, seemed to very good in temperament, if it were not for the robe it wore it would be difficult to associate him as the king. The Pope was a alert old man with white hair, wearing an expensive purple and gold robe, his face deadpan, and often fell into a contemplative look. Prince Hoffman was a middle-aged man, slight chubby, and a little bald. The red bishop was a bald middle-aged man, he was the most recognisable figure because of his scriptural and religious symbol tattoo which had even spread up on his face which made the red bishop look a bit frightening. His serious attitude was accompanied by an unapproachable vibe. He was sizing up Hao Ren and his entourage since the moment they entered the door.     

Vivian and Hao Ren shared the same attitude here; they were indifferent. Vivian had seen more great and smarter people whom she had chatted up and then kicked them down in the moat.     

But Becky was very nervous as she bowed to everyone at the scene. The girl had butterflies in her stomach. Most of the people standing in front of her were the figures she had heard since she was young. Before this, she had only heard about their names when she was bragging with people in taverns. But now these great people were standing right in front of her, nodding and smiling at her. The poor mercenary girl had cold sweat trickling down her back as she pinched herself at the back. "Am I dreaming? Hmmm, I don't feel pain. It's a dream."     

Lily scolded her and said, "Why are you pinching my tail?"     

Vivian facepalmed and sighed. "I knew it would be like this."