Chapter 50: CH. 50 | Unexpected Attack

Theo tied the man up with rope and, with Avara’s help, slung him up onto one of the tree branches.

The man now hung there above the ground, gagged and bound. At least that way Theo could be sure he’d be safe until nightfall, when he’d need him for the task ahead.

Avara swept her hand through the air, and a burst of black feathers swirled around her body as she shifted back into crow form.

The crow flew up and landed on Theo’s shoulder, and he started walking to leave the forest.

But then, surprisingly, he stopped in his tracks when a notification panel appeared right in front of him.

[Congratulations! You’ve obtained a new Authority Quest!]

[5th Authority Quest:]

[Objective: Kill five monsters ranked above F-Rank after predicting their attacks (0/5)]

[Reward: 50exp || 100authexp]

Theo went quiet for a moment as he read through the objective of this fifth Authority Quest. According to the system panel, he needed to kill at least five monsters ranked above F to complete it.

There was also a specific condition attached to the quest, that Theo had to use his Foresight skill first to read their attacks, and only then kill them.

The Black Ink Lizards I’m about to fight tonight... could their rank actually be above F?

Guess I’ll just have to bet on luck for that one.

Theo swiped the panel away and continued walking out of the forest. He reached the village and ran into Thalia, but her expression looked off.

"You said you were washing your feet and face?"

"Yeah."

Thalia’s eyes drifted down toward Theo’s shoes. He followed her gaze, looking down at the same spot.

"The path was muddy coming back from the river," Theo answered.

"Whatever you say, Theo."

"We need to plan out a strategy against those lizards. But before we do that, we should gather more information," Thalia said. "Maybe there’s someone in the village who can help us."

"You don’t need to worry about that. I already went and talked to the village chief, he told me everything he knows about them," Theo answered.

"Well, that’s good then. We can just go over what you learned and put together a plan for tonight together."

Theo and Thalia headed into the inn, opened the door to room three, and found Lily and Aya already inside.

Avara flew off Theo’s shoulder and landed on the windowsill of their room, startling Lily and Aya a bit.

"This afternoon, we’re going to go over our plan for hunting down those lizard monsters. We got lucky since Theo already gathered information while we were at the river," Thalia said.

"That’s great. We can save some time that way," Lily said.

Theo pulled up a wooden chair and sat down, looking straight ahead at everyone, "I’ll walk you through everything I found out. Please listen carefully, then feel free to share your thoughts."

"I’m hoping we can wrap up this mission tonight so we can head back to the city tomorrow."

***

Time passed quickly, and Theo got himself ready right after sunset, with Thalia and the others doing the same.

According to the plan, once the sun went down, Theo and the others would head north into the Black Tree Forest to hunt the Black Ink Lizards.

He’d already explained everything to them, and his explanation had been clear enough that they’d all understood quickly.

"Sir Theo?"

Theo heard someone calling out to him, the voice clearly coming from outside the inn. He glanced briefly at Thalia, and she responded with a quick nod.

Not just him, but Thalia, Aya, and Lily also left their room and stepped outside the inn. Theo was startled to see several villagers standing outside carrying torches, Jack among them.

"Chief Jack?"

"Looks like you and your party are ready, Sir Theo," Jack said, "I’ve already gathered the young men of the village. They’ll be in charge of guarding the village while you go after their nest."

"Good luck with—"

"Chief Jack?!"

His words got cut off when he heard someone calling out from behind him. Two young men came running with their torches, gasping for breath, faces pale with fear.

"What’s wrong?!"

"AAAAH!"

A scream rang out clearly from the north. Jack’s eyes went wide, and he turned to look at Theo.

"They’re attacking!" Theo said firmly.

"The young men and I will hold them off," Jack answered. "You get ready quickly and help us out."

Theo smiled, then glanced back and saw that Thalia and the others were already fully prepared. He drew his sword and looked Jack straight in the eye.

"We’re ready!"

He turned back to Thalia and the others, "Let’s do this as we planned."

"Understood."

Theo ran off alongside the other young men from the village, while Aya and the others were assigned to hold the rear line.

He ordered Aya and Thalia to climb up onto a rooftop to get a clearer view of the situation, while Lily would focus on helping with evacuations if the monsters pushed into the village.

Given the situation, it was clear the lizards were attacking the village and threatening everyone in it. Theo couldn’t afford to waste any more time. He had to act fast.

"Watch over Lily, Thalia!" Theo said firmly.

"Yeah, sure," Thalia said.

Theo ran past several villagers and out through the wooden fence. Looking ahead, gripping his sword tightly, he spotted several large lizards with black backs charging straight toward him.

[Swift Pace Skill Activated]

He activated his Swift Pace skill and moved with far greater speed. Theo swung his sword at the lizards, but the sideways swing let them slip right past his attack.

I can’t hit their backs. So what am I supposed to do here?

Theo glanced to the side and saw the villagers shouting loudly, trying to drive the lizards off by waving their burning torches.

He wasn’t just checking on their safety, he was also watching how the lizards reacted to the fire.

Surprising! He saw one of the lizards rear up, as if trying to reach for the man holding the torch. That sent the man stumbling backward in fear.

"That’s it!"

"I know how to kill them!"