Chapter 109 - 107: The Greatest Mockery

Chapter 109: Chapter 107: The Greatest Mockery

WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

"You two, make sure you stay close!"

Meanwhile, in a dense forest shrouded by a torrential downpour.

The rain was like countless violent, transparent whips, lashing madly at everything in sight. Leaves and branches trembled violently under the relentless assault, their rustling becoming an endless roar. Runoff cascaded from high places, crashing onto low shrubs and the thick layer of fallen leaves, kicking up a white spray.

BOOM!

An occasional flash of lightning, like a twisted silver serpent, would illuminate the surroundings in stark detail.

But in the ensuing thunder, everything would plunge back into darkness.

Even though it was noon, the double canopy of storm clouds and trees made the environment as gloomy as the line between dusk and night. It even had a bit of an "end of the world" feel to it.

And this made Furen, who was "leading a team" for the first time, a little nervous.

’If I were alone, I would only have to be responsible for myself.’

’But now, I’m the leader of this ’temporary squad.’ Every decision affects the fate of my teammates...’ It sounded a bit dramatic, but that was genuinely how Furen saw it.

Because of this, his nerves were constantly on edge, terrified that a moment of carelessness on his part would lead to a terrible mistake.

’Hmm... If Lu Wei were here right now, he’d probably laugh his ass off at me.’

"What’s there to be nervous about? Is being a leader that hard? If you run into enemies, you fight. If you can’t win, you run. It’s that simple!"

"No one wants an accident to happen, but if one does, it’s got nothing to do with you. It’s just bad luck!"

"An excessive sense of responsibility will only be your downfall!"

And so on.

Admittedly, Lu Wei’s "no-responsibility leadership philosophy" was great for reducing psychological pressure, allowing one to make the fastest, most rational decisions when problems arose.

But even if he had truly taught it to Furen, the latter probably wouldn’t have been able to learn it.

After all, the biggest common flaw of a "Hero" and "one who wants to be a Hero" is that damned sense of responsibility.

Poverty, sickness, slaves, prostitutes... It was as if all the suffering in the world was their business.

This sense of responsibility for all the world’s troubles left them constantly mired in pain, self-reproach, and confusion.

And it was precisely this that allowed them to become the "Heroes" that Ordinary people could never be.

"When we get there, I’ll stand guard. Bai Ya, you help the two men gather the Moon Grass as quickly as possible."

Looking back once more, Furen first instructed Bai Ya, then turned to the two men and said:

"Sirs, once the rain stops, you must get to the Dome Pillar as soon as you can. Then, follow the people there back to town."

"Once you get back and turn in the quest, don’t take on any new commissions. After all, even the simplest one is too dangerous for you."

"How about this? Take these few Silver Coins..."

As he spoke, Furen reached under his Cloak, fumbled with his money pouch, and pulled out a few Silver Coins.

"It’s not much, but it should be enough to support you until you find jobs."

"Or you can use it for travel expenses to return to Kalin Port."

"In any case, just don’t go adventuring in the forest again."

Raindrops pattered against the Silver Coins. Furen looked at the two men, his expression sincere and his tone solemn.

After the incident with Zovir, he had learned the lesson that "helping others means more than just solving surface-level problems." That’s why he said so much at once, trying to convince the two men to give up the idea of adventuring.

The two men, however, froze for a moment when they saw the Silver Coins.

Then, they glanced at each other and refused in unison, waving their hands.

"No, no, we can’t take this money!"

"Please, don’t refuse," Furen insisted.

"But... all right then."

After a moment’s hesitation, the man in the tattered Leather Armor reluctantly took the Silver Coins and muttered under his breath—

"Such a pointless gesture..."

"Hm?"

Furen was confused. "Sir, what do you mean by that?"

"Oh, oh, I’m so sorry. I’m not very good with words."

The man hastily explained, "I mean, even if you hadn’t given us money, we wouldn’t have dared to come back to the forest anyway."

Furen nodded. "That’s for the best. I’m relieved to hear that."

"Um... oh, right."

As if remembering something, the man suddenly looked at the hilt of the Sword on Furen’s back and asked respectfully in a low voice:

"Sir, is your Sword made of Tessares Steel?"

"Yes, it is. You have a good eye."

"Ah, I don’t know anything about these things. It’s just that the foreman at our wharf also carries a Tessares Steel Sword, and I thought it looked a bit like yours."

"Is that so? Which wharf did you work at before?"

"Widow’s Wharf."

The man gave the name without hesitation.

This made Furen pause for a moment.

Because the operating rights for "Widow’s Wharf" belonged to his father—or rather, the Delaroca Clan.

’Did they not notice my family crest before...?’

Furen subconsciously touched his chest, puzzled.

But before he could think it over, the man continued asking with an envious look on his face:

"Since you use such a fine Sword, you must have mastered Combat Skills, right?"

"Yes." Furen lifted his chin slightly, quite proud.

"And this young lady?"

"Yes, she has as well."

"Ah, in that case, we really are lucky."

...

...

「Over half an hour later.」

Generally, though forest rains come on strong, they don’t usually last long.

But for some reason, today’s storm had already been going for four or five hours and showed no signs of stopping.

Fortunately, Furen’s group of four hadn’t run into any goblins that were still "working" in the rain. So, despite their slow pace, they successfully reached their destination—

The foot of a cliff.

For some unknown reason, the cliff was shaped like a "U." Its only opening faced north, meaning the recessed area below received almost no sunlight.

And this was one of the key conditions for Moon Grass to grow.

"I see it! Over there!"

Pointing to a patch of small, pale-blue grass swaying in the rain not far away, Bai Ya said excitedly, "It looks like there’s a lot of it!"

"Good. Let’s gather it quickly, but be careful."

Seeing that the mission was halfway done, Furen relaxed a little, his pace involuntarily quickening.

Bai Ya followed close by his side, but the two men behind them seemed to be tiring, gradually falling a few steps behind.

Then, just as the four of them had followed the narrow animal trail for another dozen or so meters, when they were only a few dozen meters away from the patch of Moon Grass...

TWANG!

Suddenly, the sound of hemp ropes snapping echoed from several large trees at almost the same time!

Immediately after, a giant net fell from above with incredible speed, instantly enveloping the unprepared Furen and Bai Ya!

"AH—!"

Bai Ya’s shriek was lost in the sound of the rain. She struggled frantically, but no matter how she thrashed, she couldn’t break free from the giant net’s restraints. Instead, she tripped on a tree root and fell ungracefully into a mud puddle.

Furen’s Perception was fine, after all, so his reaction was much faster than hers. He even managed to draw his Longsword before the net came down.

However, it changed nothing.

He swung his Sword with all his might, trying to sever the ropes, but they were too thick. Soaked with rainwater, their weight had increased several times over, severely restricting his ability to put force into his swings.

After just a moment, he couldn’t even move his arms, let alone cut the ropes.

"Dammit!"

Gritting his teeth, Furen let out a low growl. His Cloak was thrown off in the struggle, his face a mask of fury.

He knew that he and Bai Ya wouldn’t be able to escape anytime soon, but thankfully, their enemies hadn’t appeared yet. He immediately turned his head and shouted:

"You two, run!!"

"Don’t worry about us!! Just run!!"

"Hurry!!"

WHOOSH—WHOOSH—WHOOSH—

Without his Cloak for cover, the rain washed down mercilessly, blurring Furen’s vision.

He was afraid the two men would freeze and miss their chance to escape, so he kept shouting while trying to reach out and pull Bai Ya, who was still struggling in the mud puddle.

But at that very moment, the men’s unbridled laughter, filled with the utmost sarcasm and mockery for him, pierced the curtain of rain and flooded his ears.

"Hahaha! He still hasn’t realized he’s been had?"

"What an idiot!"

"Hahahaha!"