Chapter 553 - Strange Beastmen on the Plains (2/2)

Just as Link was about to reply, he felt unfriendly eyes on him. He turned to see Shallie’s father, Olan. He procured magic material and had some fame. He didn’t like it when his daughter was with Link, but he clearly couldn’t control his daughter.

Link gestured at the water bowl to thank Olan. Then he smiled to the girl. “Shallie, your father probably told you before that solo merchants like me are dangerous. You should stay away, right?”

Link had the Song of Tomorrow sword hanging at his waist. Of course, he hadn’t unsheathed it yet, and it looked like a plain metal sword.

Shallie didn’t care. “Oh, he says that but he’s old. I don’t care. Brother Link, you have a sword and walk through the plains alone. You’re good at swordsmanship, right?”

“I’m okay,” Link said, chuckling.

“Can you teach me?” Shallie finally revealed her ulterior motive. She wanted to learn martial arts.

Link burst into laughter. He figured this out at their first meeting. Her eyes brightened whenever she saw someone with a sword. She would often look at the mercenaries of the Red Earth Firm, but they’d killed people before. She was like a scared little deer, only daring to look but not to approach them. Now that the harmless-looking Link was here, she started getting ideas.

“I don’t mind, but you need your father’s permission. He might not allow it.”

It was just some swordsmanship techniques. Shallie had worked hard in bringing him clean water these days. When he finished speaking, he drank all the water and handed the bowl back. “Go ask your father,” he said. “Remember, you can’t just send the message. He must tell me personally.”

Shallie gaped at him. “Huh? That’s too hard. My father will never agree. Can you change to another requirement?”

Link wagged his finger at him. “No. This isn’t up to discussion. Compared to swordsmanship, this is nothing.”

“Fine, I’ll try.” Shallie walked away, both excited and depressed.

Left alone again, Link continued reading again. A few minutes later, a pained cry broke out near the creek.

Then Link saw a mercenary sprint back. His face was covered in blood, and an eyeball had fallen out of his socket. It swung before his face. Grasping his face, he screamed while running. After a few steps, he fell and rolled on the ground. Perhaps he’d given up because he couldn’t get back up. His cries weakened too, and he just panted heavily on the ground.

His companions hurried over to check. A few ran to the creek with their swords too. A short while later, Link could hear the cries of fighting.

The merchants in the caravan waited anxiously. The mercenaries returned with many wounds. Link remembered that the leader was called Miro. He was a Warrior at the pinnacle of Level-4. This was great for a common soldier.

At this time, he held a strange black head in his hand.

Link looked carefully. The head was like a human… No, it was most likely a Beastman. But strangely enough, the skin was dark green. The blood dripping from it was dark green too. The grass didn’t change when the blood dropped onto it, but Link could see that the grass’ vitality was disappearing rapidly.

The blood was poisonous. In fact, it was a slow-acting toxin and hard to notice. It also emanated an indescribable aura.

It felt familiar to Link. It was like…Natural poison, but at closer inspection, it felt different too. In other words, he’d never seen this type of power.

Link also noticed that the Beastman’s eyes were pure black. There were no eye-whites. The rest of his skin had patches of grayish marks like scars after getting burned.

Are there Beastmen like this? Link found it strange. He’d never seen something like this in the game.

A message suddenly flashed past his vision.

Activate Mission: Strange Beastmen

Mission Content: Some strange Beastmen have appeared on the Golden Plains. They seem combative. Investigate why they appeared.

Reward: 50 Omni Points

The reward wasn’t much, but it was better than nothing. Link chose to accept it.

While everyone in the caravan was observing the head, he slipped to the creek. He had to investigate these Beastmen.