Chapter 355: The Origins of Boar's Howl

"What?!"

The gold dragon looked astonished.

"Felicia, you want to become an adventurer?"

"Yes. I've decided to temper myself through combat."

"Hmm... That is indeed a good way to go about it. I'll pass on my years of adventuring experience to you."

"Thank you very much."

"To become a qualified adventurer, the first thing you must learn is how to run away. Out in the wilderness, accidents can happen at any moment—an unbeatable enemy, suddenly collapsing ruins... Therefore, an adventurer must be prepared for anything."

"..."

After talking for quite a while, the gold dragon shared all his basic adventuring knowledge, common beginner mistakes, and personal experience dealing with dangerous creatures with Felicia.

"Alright, that's all I can teach you. The rest you must put into practice yourself to become a true adventurer. Since you are a rookie with absolutely no experience, I suggest you join an adventurer group and rely on a team's strength to survive the high-mortality novice phase."

"Then, Senior Leopold, do you have a suitable adventurer group to recommend?"

"I've been away from the Abyss for decades, so I don't know how things have changed. You might as well go check out Boar's Howl; they have the latest news."

"Thank you for your guidance. I look forward to our next meeting."

Felicia stood up, bowed, and headed for the door. The White Dragon Lord followed her out of the gold dragon's room.

"Felicia, the Boar's Howl Tavern is right on the main street leading from the city gates. I'll take you there."

The White Dragon Lord and Felicia made their way to Boar's Howl and explained their intentions to Ailonia Moonseeker, who stood behind the bar.

"An adventurer group? There are only two in Blackrock Fortress with legendary squads. One is Fallen Moon. They're lunatics with no bottom line when it comes to wealth, so I wouldn't recommend Her Highness Felicia join them."

"Isn't there another one?"

"That would be us, Boar's Howl. That's the name of our adventurer group as well. In fact, we only opened this tavern to give our members a place to rest, and incidentally took on posting quests while we were at it."

Ailonia Moonseeker smiled, petting the small wild boar in her arms, looking very much like a sly fox that had just stolen a chicken.

"Allow me to introduce ourselves to you two noble dragons. The Boar's Howl Adventurer Group was established nine thousand years ago. We have a long history, immense strength, and an excellent reputation. Our headquarters is located in the City of Naxxramas, and we maintain a long-term partnership with the Alliance..."

"Within Boar's Howl, we have two regular legendary squads, each consisting of five members. Aside from those legendary squads that only accept high-tier tasks, Boar's Howl also has five regular adventurer groups led by legendary powerhouses. No matter which team Her Highness Felicia joins, her talents won't be wasted."

Just then, the small wild boar in Ailonia Moonseeker's arms snorted and rooted around. Glancing down at the piglet, the elf suddenly remembered something.

"Oh, apologies. I forgot to introduce our commander."

"Our commander is Namagani Skyhowler. Her true form is a High-Tier Legendary Level transcendent beast—a Moon-Howling Demon Pig. She is also this little guy's mother."

Ailonia Moonseeker hoisted up the small wild boar, which let out a proud grunt.

"Er..."

The White Dragon Lord and Felicia exchanged glances. No matter how they looked at it, a wild boar acting as a commander didn't seem very reliable.

"Ahem, speaking of which, our commander actually has some history with your Dragon Race. I wonder if Your Excellency Amos knows of the druid dragon—Hakmudiro Desert Bane?"

"Of course I do. He was the first dragon in Nordhill's history to become a druid."

Inwardly, the White Dragon Lord added, And the second druid dragon happens to be from my family.

"Exactly. Our commander was once Senior Hakmudiro's animal companion. After Senior Hakmudiro left Nordhill to roam the Star Realm, our commander came to the Abyss and founded the Boar's Howl Adventurer Group."

"I see."

Realization dawned on the White Dragon Lord; he finally understood how Boar's Howl had established ties with the Alliance.

The druid dragon Hakmudiro Desert Bane had also been a council member of the Nordhill Guardian Council. Bringing an animal companion along for the rotation and hooking them up with the Alliance wouldn't have been difficult at all.

The White Dragon Lord gave the elf an apologetic glance before erecting a Magic Barrier to envelop himself and Felicia.

"Felicia, what do you think of Boar's Howl?"

"I think it will work. For Boar's Howl to have survived in the Abyss for nearly ten thousand years, this Namagani Skyhowler must be no simple character. Coupled with her past ties to the Dragon Race, she shouldn't have any prejudice against dragons. Plus, there are many people from the Nordhill Plane in this adventurer group, which puts my mind at ease."

"My thoughts exactly."

The White Dragon Lord nodded and stood up.

"Alright then. You can hash out the details with them yourself."

Leaving behind money for the drinks, the White Dragon Lord stepped out of the tavern.

That night in the White Tower, the White Dragon Lord and Felicia sat across from each other, sharing fine food and wine.

"How did it go? Smoothly?"

"Very smoothly. I'm officially a member of Boar's Howl now. However, I need to go to the headquarters in the City of Naxxramas. I won't be able to stay in Blackrock Fortress with you."

"That's perfectly normal. A large adventurer group like Boar's Howl wouldn't stay in a frontline city. Best of luck, my dear sister."

The White Dragon Lord raised his glass.

"Cheers!"

Clink!

The two crystal glasses met, conveying both a brother's heartfelt blessing and a celebration of Felicia officially becoming an adventurer.

...

After Felicia's departure, the White Dragon Lord's life returned to its usual routine. He spent most of his time holed up in his laboratory, only occasionally coming out to relax or handle important matters for Blackrock Fortress.

That was until two months later, when a piece of intelligence was delivered to his hands.

The rotation internship period had concluded, and the last former lord of the ten frontline cities had departed yesterday. This meant that aside from Blackrock Fortress, the other nine demon frontline cities were left with only one high-tier legendary powerhouse each. The Abyssal lords, having pent up a bellyful of fury, were highly likely to lash out.

"Gurgalu! Post a notice telling the adventurers in the city that the demons might be more active soon. It's best not to venture out hunting demons these next few days. Even if they must, they need to form large teams and stay hyper-vigilant."

"Also, notify Lomana Ironfeather to double our patrol forces. The demons might launch an attack soon."

"As you command!"

Having lost the mood to continue his magic experiments, the White Dragon Lord headed to the central hall of Blackrock Fortress.

Sure enough, it didn't take long before an incident occurred involving the adventurers outside.

An adventurer, the blood on his body not yet wiped clean, was brought before the White Dragon Lord by ogre guards.

"Lord Castellan, I am Udi, a high-tier rogue of the Night Cat Adventure Squad. I bring news of the demons."

Seeing the freshly scabbed wound on Udi's arm, the White Dragon Lord casually tossed out a Water Moistening Spell.

"Speak. What happened?"

The high-tier rogue shivered, his spirit lifting. He glanced up at the White Dragon Lord before quickly dropping his gaze to his toes.

"Our adventure squad didn't see the notice you posted, so we went out to hunt demons as usual."

The White Dragon Lord raised an eyebrow. It likely wasn't that they hadn't seen it, but that greed had gotten the better of them. Nevertheless, he didn't expose the lie and continued to listen.

"After crossing the border, our adventure squad was ambushed by the regular army of a demon city."

"Wait!"

Gurgalu voiced his doubt.

"How can you be sure they were a regular demon army? Ten Thousand Blades Fortress is already destroyed."

"Yes, Ten Thousand Blades Fortress is destroyed, and the demons in that area are low-level now, so our squad chose a route leaning toward Incineration City. Plus, those demons appeared in squads. Their leader possessed master-tier strength, and its subordinates were all Mid-Tier Demons and High-Tier Demons. Some of them were even wielding weapons. That's not something wild demons can manage."

The White Dragon Lord nodded. A wild demon leader would undoubtedly have Low-Tier Demons under its command. A force entirely comprised of Mid-Tier Demons and above, with some armed, was highly likely the regular army of Incineration City.

"Continue."

"Our adventure squad suffered a surprise attack. I was the only one who escaped. They chased me, and fortunately, I ran into a patrolling harpy. Otherwise, I would have died out there too."

Seeing that the rogue Udi had no more information to offer, the White Dragon Lord took out a Divine Power Gold Coin and handed it over using Mage Hand.

"This is your reward for delivering the news. You may leave."

"Thank you, Lord Castellan!"

A single Divine Power Gold Coin could be exchanged for ten thousand ordinary gold coins—equivalent to the entire value of a High-Tier Demon's corpse. This reward was by no means small.

"Lomana! I need intelligence on these demons. How many soldiers from their regular army are active on the border? Are they just planning to harass the border, or are they preparing for a full-scale invasion?!"

"As you command!"

Lomana Ironfeather took flight.

"Gurgalu, spread the news about the Night Cat Adventure Squad. Let's see if they still dare to ignore warnings."

"Yes!"

Adventurers were a vital force in the fight against the demons, so the White Dragon Lord couldn't just let them throw their lives away.

"Wait!"

Gurgalu, who had just reached the door, paused. The White Dragon Lord added:

"Find some time to post a quest at Boar's Howl. Task Level: Rank A. Objective: Scout the demon situation on the border. Reward: 30 Divine Power Gold Coins."

"As you wish."

Gurgalu exited the room, leaving the White Dragon Lord sitting in the hall deep in thought.

Of the two rivals facing Blackrock Fortress, Ten Thousand Blades Fortress was already destroyed, leaving only Incineration City. Meanwhile, Incineration City's opponents weren't limited to Blackrock Fortress; they also had to contend with Riverrun, which was overseen by Master Sular Grey Dove. If it was just a conventional standoff, Blackrock Fortress wouldn't face much of a threat.

But if the Abyssal lords planned to wage all-out war, then Blackrock Fortress—which had just annihilated Ten Thousand Blades Fortress—would likely become a prime target and draw their concentrated fury.

Between the two scenarios, the level of threat to Blackrock Fortress was worlds apart.

However, until news returned from the frontlines, the White Dragon Lord could only wait passively.

"Bring it on! Let's see who fears whom!"

Armed with the two great weapons of the White Tower and Blackrock Fortress, even if an Abomination Rank Abyssal lord arrived in person, the White Dragon Lord could put up a fight and hold the line until Alliance reinforcements arrived.

Adventurers and harpies brought back one piece of intelligence after another, delivering them directly to the White Dragon Lord. Three days passed, and the situation on the frontlines grew clearer.

Based on the gathered intel, the White Dragon Lord concluded that the demons were simply venting their pent-up anger by ambushing adventurers. This brought him a wave of relief.

According to the experience Master Owen had shared, this kind of situation had happened many times before—a demon lord dispatching their regular army to blockade the border and slaughter adventurers.

Just because it happened often didn't mean it wasn't a major problem. With the demon army blockading the borders, adventurers couldn't make a profit. Over time, the adventurers in Blackrock Fortress would migrate to other cities. Without the crucial support of the adventurers, the White Castle Army would have a very hard time.

In the past, successive castellans had always responded by sending their grand armies to clash head-on with the demon regulars, while encouraging adventurers to team up and join the hunt. After all, the regular demon troops were of high quality, and a successful hunt yielded massive rewards.

As long as the regular army suffered enough casualties, the demon lord would withdraw their forces, and the borders would return to normal.

The White Dragon Lord intended to follow the example of former castellans. He summoned the upper echelon of Blackrock Fortress. The White Dragon Lord, the gold dragon, Gurgalu, Sman Wolfheart, and Lomana Ironfeather all gathered together.

"Lomana, share the intel you've gathered with everyone."

"Yes!"

The legendary harpy stood up and pointed at the map on the table with the tip of her gray wing.

"Incineration City has established three demon camps along the border. The exact situation inside the camps is still unclear, but the presence of Legendary Demons has been confirmed. Furthermore, we've observed that demons leave the camps every morning to patrol and return at night. The leaders of these patrol squads are all Master-Tier Demons..."

The harpy sat back down, and the White Dragon Lord picked up where she left off.

"I'm sure you all understand the situation. Incineration City has set up three camps across the long border, using them as bases to blockade the region and intercept adventurers."

"The adventurers are a disorganized bunch. Letting them hunt lone demons and fight easy battles is fine, but expecting them to charge large demon camps is simply a pipe dream. Therefore, this glorious task must be completed by the White Castle."

"Gurgalu, I order you to lead half the army to the border and eradicate the demon camps."

"Yes, Lord!"

Gurgalu accepted the command.

The three retainers left to prepare for the expedition, leaving only the White Dragon Lord and the gold dragon in the hall.

"Amos, are we going to follow them?"

The White Dragon Lord tapped his finger lightly on the table, pondering.

"There are two of us, and with such a short distance, we can provide support at any time. Leopold, why don't you follow them secretly and keep an eye on things? But don't make a move unless it's absolutely necessary."

"Why?"

"Doing so would escalate the conflict and create more uncontrollable variables. If you make a move, the fire demon will be forced to act as well, which will lead to an all-out war. Now is not the time to wage a full-scale war with Incineration City. Trust Gurgalu. He has never let me down."