Chapter 4 Bounty Hunter

  As soon as Leica walked out of the Stormcrow Tavern, he had a feeling of being stared at like prey. He quietly gathered his fourth-stage Dou Qi to investigate and found that two third-stage mercenary bandits were following behind him.

  Those two suspicious-looking men were drenched from head to toe, apparently having waited at the entrance of the tavern for a long time, just waiting for Leiga to come out and follow him. Once they figured out Leiga's movements, they would go back and report.

  With the Qingying sword in hand, it would be easy for Lei to kill them off, but this was after all Crow Ridge, a den of thieves and mercenaries. Casually drawing out the Qingying sword would only attract more bandits, and land him in even greater trouble.

  Lei Ga continued to move forward quietly, pretending to be unaware of the follower.

  After walking for an hour, a rope bridge spanning the river appeared in front of Le Ga. The bridge was made entirely of wooden planks that had been strung together, and after decades of wind and sun exposure, it looked worn out. The water under the bridge was turbulent, with a drop of over 10 meters, and just looking at it from afar would make one's heart skip a beat.

  The sky had completely darkened, and the rain was getting heavier and heavier. The scent of cedar wood and moss blended with the biting cold wind, shaking the wooden suspension bridge as it swayed in the wind. In such terrible weather conditions, even walking on the road was very difficult, let alone crossing the wooden suspension bridge.

  Lei Ga's mouth corners floated a barely perceptible smile as he walked steadily onto the swaying wooden suspension bridge.

  The two mercenaries who were following behind him were completely stunned, even if the wooden bridge could withstand their weight, they didn't have the guts to try. The two of them could only stop in place, watching helplessly as Lega stepped further and further out of their line of sight.

  The rushing river water rumbled lowly under the distant feet, like countless vicious dogs about to let out a growl. Lei Ga walked steadily on the wooden bridge, paying no attention to its swaying.

  Rainwater falls from the iron-black sky, as if millions of sharp swords are piercing into the deep green torrent. Tree branches broken by the strong wind fall into the river, with their tips stretching out of the swirling water, and their twigs resembling the arms of a drowning person blindly grasping towards the sky. In the distance, some pale and swollen objects float down from the upper reaches of the river, perhaps deer, perhaps horses, or perhaps the corpses of unknown animals.

  He didn't stop, continuing to walk along the riverbank. The further upstream he went, the more animal carcasses floated in the water. It seemed that the situation was far more severe than what the bounty notice had said. Savage beasts only killed for food and mating, but the increasing number of animal corpses indicated that there were things lurking in the forest that took pleasure in slaughter.

  After advancing for several more li, Leiga finally saw the Wind Forest Village mentioned on the wanted poster. From a distance, the village was lit up with starry lights that formed a long, winding band of light, and from time to time, there were warning shouts. The entire village was like it was facing a great enemy. The outskirts of the village had been abandoned, with animal carcasses scattered everywhere, broken tiles and bricks, overturned millstones, and collapsed animal pens.

  It seems that such a terrible situation has been going on for some time and has not been resolved, otherwise the village chief of Fenglin Village would not have dared to put up the wanted list in the violent crow tavern full of robbers.

  Lei Ga stopped beside the corpse of a sheep, squatting down to turn over the wound. The sheep's abdomen was bulging high, its intestines spilling out, and flesh-colored maggots were crawling back and forth inside, eating with gusto. From the sheep's eyes, nose, and mouth oozed black-green bodily fluids, under which was a pungent smell of sulfur.

  "Monster..."

  When this word came out of his mouth, Lei Ga felt that the Qinghe Sword behind him seemed to be burning.

  "Who's there!"

  As a loud shout sounded, Lei Ga heard the sound of a bowstring being tightened. He raised his head to see a sharp arrowhead gleaming with a pale blue light peeking out from the gap between the high door bars, aiming at him. The bow and arrow had wind attributes, which could increase their attack speed. Judging from the aura surrounding the archer's body, he was a fourth-stage warrior. It was clear that this archer was also a bounty hunter invited by Fenglin Village from elsewhere.

  "I'm here on a mission." Rega stood up, his hood down, and his cloak flapping loudly in the strong wind.

  The archer hesitated for a moment, "Good heavens, you're just a kid..." He relaxed his bowstring and let the longbow hang by his thigh, "Scram, kid. This isn't a playground."

  Lei Ga walked slowly to the door and said, "I told you, I'm here on a mission." He took out a diamond-shaped wanted poster and showed it to the archer.

  The archer saw the emblem of the Violent Crow Tavern on the wanted poster and immediately became uneasy, adjusting his worn leather armor. "You are... a mercenary from Crow Ridge?"

  "No."

  Lei Ga replied: "My name is Lei Ga."

  The archer let out a big sigh of relief, "Alright, Rega, you wait here, I'll go find the village chief to come over." After finishing speaking, he carried his bow and arrow, turned around and rushed into the rain.

  Before long, a gaunt old man followed behind the archer, running over with a gasp. He was round and stout, bald on top, with only a patch of dark gray hair left at the back of his head, which was blown into strands by the rain and hung in front of his forehead, looking rather comical.

  "Where is the bounty hunter from Crow's Peak?"

  He looked around hopefully and vigilantly, his eyes sweeping over Lega several times without stopping.

  The archer scratched his face and pointed at Laga, saying: "He says he is——"

  The village chief's eyes widened as big as a startled horse, "...... Are you kidding me?!"

  Lei Ga ignored the village chief's tone and raised the wanted poster in his hand, saying: "I've accepted your mission."

  The village head took the wanted poster, wiping off the blurry rainwater. "That's right, this is indeed my release. But what I want is the mercenary of Crow Ridge, a large group of men who are born cruel and fight fiercely, not a weak child. Holy light, look at that ridiculous sword, I even doubt if you can lift it! Shep must be crazy to give my wanted poster to you."

  "I killed Dirk." Rega said nonchalantly.

  The village head was taken aback for a moment, "Which Dirk are you talking about? The Dirk who kills without blinking?"

  "Yes."

  "He died without blinking an eye."

  "This is impossible, this is impossible..."

  The village chief furrowed his brow, secretly calculating for a moment in his heart, then turned to Lei Ga and said: "Kid, I don't believe you, but since Fenglin Village is in danger, having one more person won't hurt, come on in, join the other bounty hunters, and be responsible for tonight's night patrol..."

  The archer beside him flashed a hint of hostility in his eyes, one more bounty hunter meant less money to be divided, if it was to be shared with a stronger bounty hunter, he naturally had nothing to say, but sharing it with a 14 or 15-year-old kid made him very unwilling. He only opened the door a tiny crack and said gruffly: "Aren't you coming in?"

  Lei Ga stood still, like a stone statue in the rain. "I'm here to complete my mission, not to help you guys keep watch."

  The village head had already turned to leave, but upon hearing this sentence, he immediately turned back and sneered: "How, do you think this task can be completed by one person? Do you know how terrifying some of these barbaric beasts are?"

  Lei Ga shook his head, "Sulfur is the breath of hell, what you are facing is not a wild beast, but a demon."

  The archer's face showed a look of surprise, and he turned his head towards the village chief.

  The village head nodded, "The Holy Light of the Four Kings Continent shines everywhere, and there's no such thing as a demon beast. You're just trying to scare people. I asked you to keep watch for me tonight, if nothing dangerous happens, I'll give you a full meal plus ten copper coins."

  "No."

  Lei Ga bluntly interrupted the village chief's words, "I'll kill the thing in the forest for you, and you give me sixty silver coins. That's the agreement of the bounty mission."

  The village head chuckled and said, "It seems you're quite good at haggling. Alright, one silver coin then. This night watch price is already the same as an adult's."

  The archer nodded in agreement and reluctantly pulled the gate open a bit wider.

  Lei Ga remained unmoving. "Sixty silver coins, not a single cent less."

  The village head glared at him angrily, "I'll give you one last chance. Either take a silver coin or don't enter my village. I'm reminding you that it's nighttime now and the rain is getting heavier, it won't stop before dawn. This is exactly when those ferocious beasts in the forest like to come out."

  "Come back to see me when you are willing to pay sixty silver coins. Until then, all the consequences are caused by you alone and have nothing to do with me." Leiga turned around and walked to the overturned millstone, sat cross-legged, closed his eyes and meditated.

  The village head was thoroughly enraged, he shouted sharply: "Go dream! Guardian, close the door! Eyes staring at the darkness, if those monsters appear, don't forget to tell me how they were eaten away! What a waste of my time!" After finishing speaking, he turned around and submerged into the rain.

  "You don't even earn a single silver coin in a day, you deserve to freeze to death in the rain." The archer's face was filled with obvious mockery as he quickly closed the gate, his sharp eyes gazing in the direction of the forest, his hands once again placed on his bow and arrow.

  The rainwater dripped down from Leika's hood, gathering at his knee joints to form a stream. The strong wind billowed his black cloak, slapping against his icy skin, but he sat motionless in place, quietly waiting...

  After several hours, the heavy rain stopped and dawn was approaching. The firelight in the village gradually went out, and those bounty hunters who were responsible for keeping watch also fell asleep.

  Something was moving between the trees, and the ground gave a slight tremble. Lei Gac slowly opened his eyes, alertly gazing into the darkness.

  Those things stuck to the ground, crawling silently, black bodies, many legs, each as big as a wheel. The fastest one had already rushed into the range of flames without hesitation, emitting a high-pitched and piercing whistle, a pungent smell of sulfur spraying from its mouthparts, turning into a thick green fog.

  The monster has arrived.