Chương 22: Numerous Difficulties

After walking for about five or six minutes, Richard led Grace to the "Sleeping Tree Spirit".

The tavern is located on the northeast corner of an intersection. It is a three-story building made of stone and wood, with vines hanging on the exterior walls and a large oar made from a boat hanging above the door, which rattles in the wind.

Richard, smelling the familiar mingled scents of ale, fried fish, and vomit in the air, explained to Grace:

"This is the happy old home of Phoenix City adventurers. Although it looks ordinary on the outside, their homemade ale is full of flavor—and it's cheap too!"

"I used to sing here for a while, and my beautiful voice earned me countless cheers..."

... that's weird.

The statement above was purely Richard bragging.

He did sing here, but his performance was only average, and he earned very little money. After paying for his food and lodging, he had hardly any money left.

However, Grace couldn't discern these details; her eyes lit up as she listened, and she exclaimed:

"It's a pity I didn't hear it."

"Haha, that's definitely your regret~"

"You were so popular back then, did any female adventurers have a crush on you?"

"Well..."

"Did you do that kind of thing? How many times? What positions? How many people were there at most? Did you get paid afterward?"

Noticing Grace's increasingly intense gaze, Richard's Adam's apple bobbed slightly, unsure whether she was genuinely curious or just trying to tease him again.

It's time to change the subject.

He coughed twice and said, "It's getting dark soon, let's get down to business..."

With that, he stepped forward, pushed open the tavern door, and went inside.

Facing you is the tavern's main hall, about ten meters square, which is warmed by the fireplace on the side.

In the center was a round table, where many adventurers sat, including fierce-looking orcs, beautiful girls in armor, and even a pair of dwarves less than a meter tall in the corner, drinking onion soup and whispering to each other.

At the far end is the bar, a classic long wooden table, behind which stands the chubby owner Andy wiping glasses. Further back is a large cabinet containing a wide variety of liquors and some decorative items to enhance the atmosphere.

For example, a shield with an arrow stuck in it, a goblin head preserved in a glass jar, and a lute with iron trim...

No, what the heck is this lute?

Why is it inlaid with iron horns? Could it be that some bard is planning to use it as a warhammer?

How strange! I've only been gone for a month, and there are already so many unfamiliar things in this tavern...

Richard sighed inwardly, then pulled Grace to the bar, expertly booked two rooms, and ordered three glasses of ale.

Because of the change in appearance and Richard's deliberate use of a high-pitched voice, old Andy did not recognize the man in front of him as the poet who had once sung here. After wishing him a good night, he brought up the room key and the wine.

Richard put away the keys, took three glasses of wine, and sat down at a table in the corner.

There was already someone at the table. He had messy long curly hair, wore a wrinkled robe, and was slumped over the table, seemingly asleep.

Without saying a word, Richard pushed a glass of ale in front of the man.

Grace asked curiously in a low voice, "What are you doing?"

Richard answered in a low voice, "He's a retired middle-aged adventurer, a heavy drinker who frequents various taverns. As a result, he's well-informed. If you buy him a drink, you can find out a lot of interesting things."

Just then, the curly-haired man across the table sniffed, then sat up abruptly, picked up the ale, and drank half of it in one gulp.

He then looked at Richard and said, "Hiccup! Thanks, bro. What do you want to know?"

Richard smiled slightly and chose to start by talking about the prices of some common goods in Phoenix.

After chatting for quite a while, he casually shifted the topic to anecdotes among adventurers, and when the curly-haired man brought up the Starlight Sword, he pretended to be curious and started asking questions.

The curly-haired man said:

"The Starlight Swords, they've made a fortune lately!"

"Some guessed they raided an ogre's house, others guessed they robbed a foreign caravan or persuaded a wealthy widow..."

"No one knows the correct answer; they just got lucky..."

"Ah, no, not everyone was lucky. For example, the thief in the group was killed by bandits, and the new poet, because he was too cowardly, ran into the forest and was eventually eaten by wild animals..."

Wait a minute, is the thief Wushao dead? Are you sure?

And me? How did I become a coward?

Richard was stunned for a moment, then couldn't help but curse inwardly: These bastards not only betrayed him, but also made up stories about him after they came back! Damn it, it's always the poets who make up stories about others, but now they've turned the tables on him!

Niang Xipi!

After hurling a string of insults, he finally asked the curly-haired man about the whereabouts of the remaining people.

"The remaining three people... hiccup..."

"The mage William went to the Empire."

"Pastor Bill also left the group and returned to the temple of the goddess of wealth. No one has seen him since. I heard he was promoted and is now receiving one-on-one guidance from the high priest."

"Warrior Jostein, ha, that guy's pretty impressive!"

The curly-haired man's eyes lit up as he spoke, clearly showing great envy:

"He assembled a mercenary group, and he's always surrounded by a large entourage wherever he goes!"

"They also used an otherworldly summoning scroll to contract a mid-level, particularly mysterious follower. It's said to be not human, but a semi-transparent monster that looks like a slime with arms and legs!"

"Anyway, hiccup, he's really made it big now. I reckon it won't be long before we're calling him 'Master'!"

"I wish I could have done that back then..."

As he finished speaking, the curly-haired man seemed to recall some past events, and his eyes became hazy again.

Before long, he was drunk again and passed out at the table, his foul-smelling drool covering half the table.

Richard and Grace moved to another empty table to discuss their next steps.

"Things are proving much more difficult than expected..."

He tapped the table with his index finger, looking somewhat worried.

Currently, since the Starlight Sword Squad has effectively disbanded, his revenge can only proceed one step at a time.

Among them, Wushao is most likely dead, or it may not be dead and is hiding somewhere. In any case, it should be placed later in the order.

William, on the other hand, simply went to the Empire...

In the geography of Terella, Phoenix City is located on the western coast of the Protoss, also known as the Gulf region, while the so-called Empire, whose full name is the Holy Roland Empire, is a powerful nation that occupies the central and southeastern parts of the continent.

The two are far apart, and Richard certainly won't be able to catch up in a short time.

Therefore, the only people still in Phoenix who are within reach are Priest Bill and Warrior Jostein.

The former is very difficult to handle.

If Richard were still of sound mind, he would never have dared to storm the temple of the goddess of fortune.

After all, that was the territory of a mid-level god!

Moreover, since the Goddess of Wealth is in charge of trade and money, which aligns with the concept of Phoenix City as a free port without a suzerain state, her church wields considerable power within the city. Naturally, the temple, as the core stronghold of the church, is heavily guarded and staffed with numerous experts.

Even if Zoya, the Red Dragon, were to charge in her full form, she would most likely not fare well.

So, if Bill doesn't leave the temple, Richard really can't do anything about it.

This matter can only be discussed in detail later.

In the end, the only remaining target to consider is Jostein...

"That guy's contracted follower is probably a mollusk."

As Richard pondered, Grace beside him offered a suggestion: "I saw them twice when I was young. They are intelligent beings from another world, closely related to slimes. You can think of them as humanoid slimes that can talk and use combat skills and magic."

Richard briefly imagined it and marveled at how magical the world was, with such an amazing race.

He then asked, "Is it difficult to deal with?"

Grace replied, "You definitely can't handle it. As for me, I could win without going all out, but it would be a bit troublesome... and if someone else gets in the way, it would be even more troublesome."

Richard understood what Grace meant.

As a fully grown dragon, Grace undoubtedly possesses the powerful strength of a master-level being.

However, in order to prevent Zoya from regaining control, she cannot use her full strength casually. In her human form, her combat power can only be stuck between the mid-level and high-level, that is, level 9 to 10.

The dragon form would certainly be much stronger, but it would also easily attract unnecessary trouble—after all, no one can ignore a red dragon that appears near a city.

In this situation, Miss Red Copper Dragon is reliable, but cannot be relied upon indefinitely.

You can't expect her to fight off a whole group of enemies by herself.

From this perspective, Jostein, who has followers and mercenaries under his command, is not so easy to deal with.

And those mercenaries...

To be honest, even putting aside combat ability, Richard didn't really want to face a group of mercenaries. After all, strictly speaking, those people had no grudge against him, and if he attacked them hard, it would definitely be considered harming innocent people.

So what should we do? Set up an ambush? Perform an assassination?

For a moment, Richard fell into deep thought...