Chapter 175 - 174: Clue

Chapter 175: Chapter 174: Clue

Hom sullenly shut his mouth.

His brow furrowed as he stared at the terrible hand he was holding. He shot a glance at Huck, who had already won three hands in a row, and grumbled, "Huck, I’d bet my last pair of clean underwear that you cheated when you shuffled just now! Even if the Goddess of Luck were dead drunk, she wouldn’t kiss that face of yours—the one that looks like it’s been trampled by a Frogman—three times in a row!"

Huck grinned, revealing a mouth full of yellow teeth. "Hom, just admit it. Your brain must have been sucked dry by swamp mosquitoes. If you spent as much energy counting cards as you do complaining, you might’ve won back enough for a mug of ale."

A low wave of laughter rippled through the surrounding patrons.

Hom sullenly threw down his cards and was about to get up to buy another drink to drown his sorrows.

BANG—CREAK—

The door was pushed open.

A rush of damp, cold air swept in, making a few people near the door shiver in annoyance.

Hom’s gaze fell on the people who entered, and he subconsciously froze in the middle of getting up.

The first to enter was a short woman with chestnut-colored hair. She wore the robes of a Holy Professional, but carried a warhammer that seemed disproportionate to her frame. Her expression was gentle.

Following closely behind her was a young man in plain white Cloth Armor. He carried a large, wrapped Magic Wand on his back. His face was calm, but his eyes gave off a steady, composed feeling.

A rather well-fed dog wagged its tail at his feet, looking around curiously.

Next came a kind-faced, middle-aged Priest with glasses.

The last to enter was a tall Warrior wearing a studded fur coat and carrying a Broadsword on his back.

But his face was expressionless, and his gaze was distant, as if he were weighed down by some heavy thoughts.

The composition of the group was quite conspicuous, immediately drawing curious and appraising glances from the tavern’s few patrons.

Perhaps they were remembering what had happened to the last Adventurer Squad.

"Look, another team of frog killers," Huck whispered, nudging the card player next to him. His voice was tinged with the relish of a spectator. "I’ll bet one Silver Scale they won’t last three days before they come crawling out of the swamp, bawling."

The man beside him squinted, sizing up the newcomers, then sneered, "One Silver Scale? I wouldn’t even bet a rusty copper nail on them. Look at that dog. It’s so fat you could render lard from it. Do they think this is a picnic?"

They had deliberately lowered their voices, but they clearly hadn’t expected the fat dog to hear every word.

A low growl rumbled from under the table.

Before the two men could locate the source of the sound, two sparks shot toward their heads.

The sparks weren’t large, but the last time the two men had washed their greasy hair was when they’d bathed in the river last summer.

"AHH! My hair!"

"Water! Quick, get some water!"

The two men shrieked and jumped to their feet, frantically patting out the flames on their heads before finally rushing toward the water trough in the tavern’s backyard amidst a chorus of laughter.

Hayley, who had also overheard their conversation, had initially been frowning.

But now, an irrepressible "pfft" escaped her lips.

She quickly composed herself, acting as if nothing had happened, and walked straight to the counter.

"Good day. We’re the Adventurers from Rose Town who accepted the Frogman extermination quest. Is a Mr. Nick here?"

"I’m Old Nick. Proof."

Hayley handed over the quest scroll from the Rose Town Adventurer Guild.

Old Nick examined the seal on it carefully, then nodded.

"Hmm, from Rose Town... The road wasn’t too peaceful, I take it?" he asked, seemingly casually, as he handed the scroll back. His gaze swept over Grek, who looked unwell at the rear of the group, and took in their party’s composition, which was clearly short one member.

Hayley took the scroll and answered simply, "We ran into some trouble, but we handled it. Regarding the quest details, especially the Frogmen’s recent movements—is there any new information you can give us?"

Old Nick pointed to an empty table nearby. "Sit. It’s a damn long story..."

...

"One hundred and fifty Golden Shields?"

Hayley was a little surprised to hear the number he quoted.

Old Nick sighed. "That’s right. It couldn’t be helped. The number of Frogmen is far greater than initially estimated, and the last few squads that came all suffered heavy losses. After some discussion, the merchant’s association had no choice but to increase the reward."

"They also added a standing bounty," he added. "You can redeem every pair of Frogman feet for ten Silver Scales at the Adventurer Guild. The hope is to encourage freelance Adventurers to participate and at least clear out the perimeter."

"Of course, the original quest you accepted is still valid. We’re mainly hoping a more professional Adventurer Squad like yours can solve this problem for good."

"Sigh... As long as you can resolve the root cause of the Frogman uprising and find out why they’ve gone mad, all the remaining Golden Shields are yours. Otherwise, this town is done for."

Hearing this, Hayley looked at her teammates.

After the brutal battle on their way here, the group had already re-evaluated one another.

Although their encounter with the powerful Jackal Wolfman Leader had resulted in Logan’s death and depleted their ranks, Hayley and Hughes remained determined to complete the quest, and Hesia naturally had no objections.

Having witnessed the strength of his three teammates, Grek had also decided to continue.

Logan’s death had left him in a funk for two days, but this old veteran, long accustomed to living on the edge, had quickly pulled himself together.

He simply no longer dared to be as blatant in his advances toward Hayley. Instead, he would occasionally sidle up to Hesia to share some "insider information" on which waitress at the Gasp River Puffer Tavern had the best ass, trying to use this as a way to get closer to the Mage.

Hesia was the first to speak. "The increased reward and number of Frogmen is actually a good thing. It just means we’ll have to exterminate more of them. As for finding the cause of the uprising, something like that was never guaranteed anyway."

"I have no objections," Grek said gruffly.

Mr. Hughes nodded as well.

Old Nick seemed to be pinning all his hopes on this out-of-town Adventurer Squad.

He first reminded them of the precautions for the swamp. After learning that Hayley’s group had already prepared waterproof gear and Antidotes, he then suggested, "It would still be best to hire a guide. The terrain inside the swamp is extremely complex, riddled with traps and hidden pits."

Finally, he hesitated for a moment before leaning in and lowering his voice. "The Adventurer Squad from Shiya Town—they have a Professional with them. They went deep into the swamp to investigate, and... one of their own was carried back, seriously injured. If you’re also planning to go that deep, you might want to ask them if they encountered anything out of the ordinary."

Old Nick had been worried this would discourage the Adventurers from delving deep into the swamp. But he knew that if the same thing happened again and this seemingly powerful squad also met with disaster, it was likely no other team would ever dare to investigate the root cause.

Fortunately, these Adventurers showed no signs of backing down. Hayley immediately pressed, "A Professional? What Profession? Where are they?"

"I think it’s someone who uses Casting Magic. Very secretive, I don’t really get the details myself. They’re staying at the inn out back, in the rooms at the far end of the second floor."

Seeing all the Adventurers turn to look at him in unison,

Old Nick gave an awkward smile. "Er, I own that place too."

Hayley looked at her teammates, who all nodded.

"We’ll go ask them."

Old Nick pointed to the back door. "It’s just across the yard.

Hom, who had been listening with pricked ears the whole time, watched their retreating backs, hesitated for a moment, then snatched the hat with the faded feather from the table and hurried after them.