The wizard starts by trimming the donkey's hooves

Chapter 355: Ice Claw Bear Mercenary Group (two chapters in one)

"Yes!"

In an instant, Ryan felt the silver mist in his spiritual sea begin to increase rapidly, and soon, a new area expanded in his spiritual sea.

At this point, nearly 70% of the area within the spiritual sea has been filled with silver mist.

Ryan glanced at the system panel:
Spirit: 68 (vaporization 68%)

"Huh? I added 4 points of spirit during the previous battle, and the degree of atomization increased to 53%. Now it has reached 68%. With this calculation, one soul energy crystal has increased it by exactly 3%."

"From this perspective, if I want to increase my ability to over 90%, I will need at least seven or eight soul energy crystals."

"wrong!"

"The effect may become worse again. From this point of view, it would be safer to have ten more soul energy crystals."

At this moment, as if he had thought of something, Ryan took out the parchment scroll (map) from his arms, spread it out and began to look at it.

Before setting off, you should of course check the map carefully.

There is only an obvious red dot located on the seashore of Howling Fjord, with a rime cliff marked on it. There is also an obvious shipwreck sign not far away.

"It's a very obvious sign. It shouldn't be difficult to find." Ryan nodded and thought to himself.

At this time, there was another knock on the door.

"Boom boom boom!"

"Please come in!"

"Lord Ryan." Melita, wearing a slim-fitting white wizard robe, called out hesitantly at the door, and then continued, "Lord Ryan, that matter."

"Sir Melita, this matter has nothing to do with you, don't mind it." Ryan said with a smile.

"By the way, Lord Ryan, this is what my mentor asked me to give you." Melita walked up quickly and handed a piece of information to Ryan.

I don’t know if it was because of nervousness, but when Melita was about to reach Ryan, suddenly, her foot twisted and she fell on Ryan.

Ryan's original hand was naturally used to receive the information.

Unexpectedly, Melita suddenly fell down, so he instinctively used his right hand to support her.
The position of the support was not good, and it happened to be on the other person's white and towering body.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Lord Ryan!" Melita was about to get up, but her sensitive part was touched, and she fell limply on Ryan again.

Ryan only felt a warm and soft jade in his arms, but when he pinched it, he found something wrong, so he naturally helped the cotton-like Melita up immediately.

But at this time, Melita's face was flushed and her head was almost buried in her chest.

Because when Melita thought about her actions just now, she felt her face burning, and even she felt that it was like she was throwing herself into someone's arms.

But Melita swore it was an accident.

Ryan was naturally a little embarrassed because he touched the other person's sensitive spot, so the two of them froze in place for a while.

At this time, Ryan looked at Melita naturally. He saw that she had a firm chest, a round butt, a slender waist, and a perfect figure. Moreover, the wizard robe she wore this time was the same as last time, with a slit at the collar and fastened with a brooch.

Even though Melita lowered her head, Ryan could still clearly see her large area of ​​white and smooth skin.

"Ryan. Melita. You guys?" At this time, Anna's voice suddenly sounded outside the door.

This made Melita almost jump up in fright like a rabbit. She quickly bent down to pick up the information on the ground, handed it to Ryan, and said, "Miss Anna, I'm sending a document to Lord Ryan."

"Good night you two."

The next second, Melita left in a slightly panicked manner.

"Huh? Melita looks a little strange." Anna walked in from the half-open door, not forgetting to look back at Melita and said.

"Cough, huh? I'm not too sure, maybe it's because of this incident." Ryan coughed, pointed at the information of the Soul-Eating Giant Moth, and said.

Anna nodded and said, "Well, Melita still cares about this matter, no wonder."

Early the next morning.

Considering that this trip to Howling Fjord was somewhat dangerous, Ryan originally planned to persuade Anna to stay at Winterhold College.

However, Anna said that she would wait for him in the forest near the destination, so Ryan had to agree to take Anna with him.

After once again declining Batalov's suggestion to send Melita to accompany them, Ryan and Anna boarded the Hippogryph.

The two of them waved to Luther, Batalov and other senior members of Winterhold Academy who came to see them off. Then, Blood Feather flapped its wings vigorously, and quickly surrounded them with the light blue airflow.

"Whoosh!"

The two of them flew high into the sky and gradually disappeared into the horizon.

Melita, who was in the crowd, could not hide the disappointment on her face.

A few hours later.

Ryan and Anna arrived in the woodlands near a small town called Ilgara.

This is also the nearest town to the destination, with a straight-line distance of only over a hundred miles. In addition, this is also the location of the last broad-leaved forest. As a druid, Anna is safe in the forest.

In addition, with the advance warning and support from the Blood-Feathered Hippogryph in the air, Ryan did not need to worry too much about Anna's safety.

Anna took the initiative to hug Ryan, then quickly kissed him. Her pretty face flushed, and her beautiful eyes looked into Ryan's eyes seriously, saying, "Ryan, be careful."

"Don't worry." Ryan ruffled Anna's hair and smiled.

"Hmm!" Looking at Ryan's receding back, Anna couldn't help feeling a little lost for a moment.

Unexpectedly, after she became a druid, the gap between her strength and Ryan became wider and wider.

"Oh, you still have to work hard!"

"I have to learn how to transform into a giant bear and an eagle as soon as possible!" Anna waved her white little fist and made up her mind.

The small town of Ilgala is about a hundred miles away from the rime cliffs shown on the map. It is considered an important border town in Fjord County and is still under the control of the empire.

The reason why Ryan planned to ride on horseback through the town of Ilgala overland was that he did not want to attract the attention of the Poseidon Cult in this area.

After all, a flying knight is too conspicuous.

In addition, considering that a set of mithril carved plate armor or demonized thirium plate armor would be too eye-catching, Ryan, like before, put on a gray-white wizard robe on the outside.

At the same time, Ryan did not carry any other weapons, but only held a cane transformed from hardened platinum in his hand. He looked like a young wizard apprentice.

Soon, Ryan arrived at a horse farm near the town of Ilgala.

It seems that due to the turbulent situation, quite a few people are buying horses.

"Boss, how much is this brown horse?" Ryan asked, pointing to a brown horse in the fence that looked quite agile.

"Twenty gold, but I haven't had time to restride its shoes yet. If you're not in a hurry, sir, you can come back this afternoon." The owner of the stable was a short and strong middle-aged man. He gestured a price, pointed at the brown horse's hoof, and spoke loudly.

"Boss, it's okay. Here's twenty gold coins." Ryan smiled slightly and handed the other party twenty gold coins.

"Sir, you have to be careful. The horseshoe of the right rear hoof is a bit loose and cannot support you in a long journey." The short and strong boss gave a special reminder and took the gold coins from Ryan.

As a boss, there is no reason not to do business. Just give a reminder.

"Well, thank you." Ryan nodded and said.

Several other people who were buying horses looked at Ryan with a little surprise as he led the horses away.

This young man seems to be in a hurry?

But the horseshoes must be fixed properly, otherwise if the horse's leg is lame, the horse will be completely ruined.

Ryan led the horse to the roadside beside the horse farm and stopped.

He lifted up the right hind hoof of the brown horse and took a look. The next second, he saw a flash of witchcraft in his hand, and a brand new metal horseshoe appeared in his palm.

After gently removing the original horseshoe, Ryan put the horseshoe on with his bare hands, and transformed it into seven iron nails again, which he quickly pressed in one by one.

It only takes a few seconds to replace a horseshoe, which is countless times faster than the most skilled blacksmith.

After all, there is no metal wizard who would do the job of horseshoeing!

The brown horse seemed a little dumbfounded as well. It blinked its big eyes and its head was a little confused.

After finishing, Ryan smiled, shook his hands, mounted his horse and headed towards the town of Ilgala.

He planned to go to the pub to find out the situation first.

A middle-aged man dressed as a mercenary who was also purchasing horses in the distance was watching Ryan's actions from afar with a look of shock on his face.

"Was that the metal magic 'Sharpness'?"

"The other party is a rare metal wizard?"

"No, judging from his age, he is most likely a third-level wizard apprentice."

"Could it be that the other party also came here because of the bounty? But how could he be alone? However, if he is alone, then it is possible," the middle-aged man quickly judged in his mind.

After thinking for a while, the middle-aged man dressed as a mercenary purchased two horses and quickly headed towards the town.

The town of Yilgala.

The Fjord Tavern in the center of the town was bustling with noise.

Ryan found an empty double seat by the window and sat down. With a quick glance, he discovered that most of the people were mercenaries wearing leather armor, chain mail, and carrying various weapons.

But what is a bit strange is that most of the mercenaries carry a bow on their backs.

Although a small number of them did not carry bows, they carried thick shields, and their equipment was also slightly different. Most of them wore thick plate armor, or a mixture of plate armor and mail armor.

In addition, there are a few second- and third-level wizard apprentices interspersed among them.

This couldn't help but make Ryan feel a little confused.

Is there some kind of bounty or mission here?
Otherwise, how could they attract so many mercenaries? "Sir, this is Storm Liquor, a specialty of the Fjords. Would you like to have a drink?" A middle-aged man came to Ryan with a bottle of wine and said with a smile.

Ryan glanced at the other person and immediately remembered that he seemed to have seen him at the horse farm not long ago.

This reminded Ryan of something in an instant. He smiled and nodded, saying, "Of course, please sit down."

After a few glasses of stormy liquor and some small talk.

Ryan also knew that the middle-aged man opposite was named Fandral, and he was also the leader of a group of mercenaries called Ice Claw Bear.

This time, they also received a high reward from the Empire for the invading sea tribes, and came to the Howling Fjord specifically.

This also made Ryan understand why so many powerful mercenary groups gathered in a small town on the imperial border.

The area selected by the Ice Claw Bear Mercenaries was to search the wreckage of the shipwreck on the Frost Cliff. Although the destination was slightly different from the area Ryan was going to, the difference was less than ten miles and roughly overlapped.

Vandal is 37 years old. He has been a mercenary since he was 18 years old. He has a unique eye for people. Almost every member of the Ice Claw Bear Mercenary Group was discovered by him, and the entire mercenary group was also established by him.

Since that time at the racecourse, he felt that Ryan seemed quite extraordinary and had an extraordinary bearing, but there seemed to be a layer of fog shrouding the other person, and it was difficult to see the depth of the other person.

But that's not a bad thing.

Having worked in the mercenary group for so many years, Fandral believes in his own intuition and judgment.

At this time, seeing that the atmosphere was right, Fandral couldn't help but take the initiative to talk about the main topic.

"Sir Ryan, have you also accepted the reward from the Empire to kill the sea creatures? If so, how about joining our team?"

After hearing what their leader Fandral said, several members of the Ice Claw Bear Mercenary Group couldn't help but wonder why their leader suddenly invited a stranger.

Although the young man seemed to be a wizard apprentice judging by his attire, a relatively mature mercenary group like theirs was still rather taboo about a stranger suddenly joining them before carrying out a mission.

After all, the cooperation between the elderly people is already very tacit, and the sudden addition of one person will more or less disrupt this sense of tacit understanding.

Moreover, the other party’s background is unknown, which may cause big problems for the team.

"Well, it can be considered as going to kill the sea creatures."

"Since Captain Vandal has invited you so kindly, that's fine." Ryan thought about it, nodded, and agreed.

Although Luther has some information about the Poseidon Cult, it is mainly about the general direction. As for the specific strength and distribution of the Poseidon Cult near the Frost Cliff, it is not so clear. It would be most appropriate to conduct an on-site investigation.

Ryan had planned to do the same thing before.

Van Dale was immediately delighted and said with a smile: "That's great! Sir Ryan, cheers! I hope we can have a pleasant cooperation!"

"Cheers~"

"Sir Ryan, excuse me, you should be a rare metal wizard apprentice, right?"

"Oh? How did Captain Fandral know?" Ryan showed a certain surprise at the right time and smiled.

"Haha, I just saw Lord Ryan performing the 'Sharp Technique' at the horse farm. The power seemed unusual," Fandral said with a smile.

When the other members of the Ice Claw Bear Mercenary Group heard this, they all showed expressions of sudden enlightenment.

No wonder their leader suddenly invited a stranger to join the team. It turned out that the other party was a rare metal wizard apprentice.

It all makes sense!

Except for the leader's sister Georgia, who is an archer and a second-level wizard apprentice, everyone else in their mercenary group is a warrior or ranger.

If there could be a metal wizard apprentice who could use the 'sharpness technique' during battle, it would greatly improve the team.

This made some members of the Ice Claw Bear Mercenary Group no longer so resistant to Ryan's joining.

noon.

Ryan and Fandral's mercenary group headed towards the wreckage of the shipwreck.

Along the way, Ryan also learned that not only the Ice Claw Bear Mercenary Group, but also other mercenary groups were attracted by the high bounty offered by the Imperial Marne Province and came to the Howling Fjord.

The bustle in the Fjord Tavern just now also proves this point.

On the other hand, the endless stream of various sea creatures bewitched by the Poseidon Cult still put a lot of pressure on the empire's defense line.

"Captain Fandral, what is our plan this time?" Ryan asked casually.

"Our goal this time is to kill one hundred thick-shelled lobstermen and bring back their giant claws as proof of the mission." A plate-armored knight holding a tower shield next to him smiled innocently and answered Ryan's question.

"Of course, it would be even better if we could kill a few more Slippery Blade Nagas." The other party added with a smile.

"Slippery Blade Naga?" Ryan asked with interest.

"Well, Lord Ryan, haven't you learned about this? The Slippery Blade Naga are high-level sea creatures. Their general strength is above that of a formal knight, and some of them can even reach the strength of a great knight. The amount of the bounty is naturally several times that of a thick-shelled lobster man."

"However, once we encounter it, we must be more careful." The other party reminded.

At this time, the other people looked at Ryan with a strange look.

After all, not everyone in the team welcomes Ryan's joining.

It seems that although the wizard apprentice in front of him is a rare metal-related person, he seems to be a novice.

Could it be that he has just come out of the wizarding school to gain experience?
It's not a good idea for an inexperienced wizard apprentice, even if he has a rare metal element.

What was the captain thinking? He invited the other party to join without even asking clearly.

"I see. Is there anything more powerful?" Ryan continued to ask.

"Of course, although Lord Ryan is here to hunt the sea creatures, it seems that his preparations are not sufficient." A crisp voice came from behind.

"If you encounter a deep-sea giant, you will be scared and run away!" A slim young woman wearing leather armor and carrying a bow on her back said with a hint of sarcasm on her face, riding a horse forward.

Georgia is an archer and a second-level wizard apprentice. She strongly disagrees with her brother's invitation to Ryan.

Because Ryan was so young, wearing a white wizard robe and holding an iron cane.

Who does he think he is, the ancient legendary wizard Rockdilo? !
Most likely he is a rookie who has just graduated from the wizarding school.

"Georgia, watch your attitude." Fandral said in a deep voice.

"Sir Ryan, I'm sorry, this is my sister Georgia, an archer and a second-level wizard apprentice. I usually spoil her, so she has a bit of a spoiled personality." Fandral said apologetically.

"How strong is the deep-sea giant?" Ryan waved his hand, not caring at all.

"Well, last time I saw from afar the battle between the famous Blood Wolf Mercenaries in the Frost Tundra and a deep-sea giant. The opponent showed very strong combat power."

"Moreover, his strength was exceptionally outstanding. The leader of the Blood Wolf Group was a senior knight. He was holding a tower shield, but he couldn't withstand the opponent's hammer and was knocked away and injured. In the end, we had to rely on guerrilla warfare and lose several people before we were able to kill him."

"If our team encounters it, I'm afraid our chances of winning are slim. We have to avoid it immediately." Vandal mentioned the deep-sea giants with a serious expression.

Ryan nodded and said with a smile: "Then the bounty for this deep-sea giant should be even higher, right? Now that I'm here, maybe we can give it a try."

"Having you here won't change the outcome. Of course, it's best not to encounter a deep-sea giant!" Georgia was already unhappy about being scolded by her brother, so she interrupted immediately.

"New here, my brother said that your sharpness technique is unusually powerful, why don't you show it to everyone."

"Haha, when we encounter a battle, I will naturally use it. Using it now will only waste my mental energy." Ryan was not angry because he also has a sister.

However, he did not do as Georgia asked, but just waved his hand.

But Ryan's words made Georgia angry. She snorted heavily, shook the reins, and controlled the horse to walk away.

As the team moved towards the wreckage of the ship, the broad-leaved forest around it became increasingly sparse.

Soon, the team walked out of the woods and came to a tidal flat area closer to the sea, where the vegetation was mainly low bushes and meadows.

Ryan chatted with Fandral along the way in the team, and soon he had a better understanding of the situation of the sea creatures that had come ashore to harass nearby.

At this time, Ryan also brought the topic to the Poseidon Church.

"In fact, the most difficult ones to deal with are the Poseidon Cult members. Some of them are weaker in controlling sea eagles and are the easiest to deal with. We call them Eagle Riders, and they are roughly as strong as senior or peak knights."

"The others, wearing black robes with giant octopuses tattooed on their chests, are deacons of the Poseidon Cult. Each of them has the strength of a formal wizard and is very difficult to deal with."

"But whether dealing with the Eagle Rider or the Seagod Cult deacon, archers are the best candidates. Therefore, most of the mercenaries that came this time are archers or rangers. This is the reason."

As Fandral spoke, he turned his head slightly to indicate why half of the team were carrying bows.

"I see." Ryan immediately understood.

No wonder he felt it was a little strange, why almost half of the mercenaries in the Fjord Bar were holding a bow, and the rest were warriors carrying various shields.

"Captain Fandral, do you know if there are any strong people from the Poseidon Cult nearby?" Ryan asked again.

"Well, the most famous and powerful person in the Poseidon Cult in Howling Fjord should be a high-level wizard named Havers, nicknamed 'Shadow Burner'. It is said that he has legendary strength."

"During this period, the enemy has successively killed two imperial major generals who were responsible for the defense of this area." Fandral said solemnly.

"But don't be such a pessimist. If we really meet the 'Shadow Burner', we will all be doomed!" Georgia, who heard the conversation between her brother and Ryan, couldn't help but complain in a low voice.

"Georgia!" Fandral turned around and scolded.

"I'm sorry, Lord Ryan. As for other powerful people in the Poseidon Cult, I'm not too sure. After all, this kind of information is considered confidential even in the cult, and I'm sure that the Empire may not know about it." Fandral said apologetically.

"Yeah." Ryan nodded.

At this moment, Ryan suddenly looked up at the sky.

A few seconds later, the archer on guard whispered, "Captain, it's the Iron-beaked Sea Eagle! There's an eagle rider from the Sea God Cult nearby!"

"Everyone on alert!" Fandral whispered.

"Swish!"

All the members of the Ice Claw Bear Mercenaries dismounted from their horses with serious expressions, quickly took out their bows, drew their arrows, and took aim.

"Whatever you ask, it happens as soon as I mention the Poseidon Cult. I'm so pissed off!" Georgia rolled her eyes at Ryan while aiming, muttering angrily.

(End of this chapter)