Warriors will die if they charge.

The old witch's expression changed; her cloudy, grayish-white eyes became empty and devoid of anything. Marcus had seen similar eyes before.

It's not seen on human faces, but in the Bodhisattva statues in the Dunhuang Grottoes. Those transcendent and ethereal deities look down upon the mortals who make wishes with this indifferent yet pitying, empty gaze.

He holds clues about Navatter, and the witch is the key to unlocking the mystery.

What we need to deal with now is not the mystery of the rainforest, but the old world returning from the north.

That "civilization" that once abandoned miners and slaves in the rainforest, leaving them to be swallowed up by the Queen of the Water Demons and the Nileka River.

"I'll talk to you about this later, I promise." Marcus nodded to the old witch, then asked Fielding, who knew the most about the Northern Griffin Kingdom:

"Who has ever seen silver? Silver ore is dug out of the ground by hand, not just by talking. Rumors are circulating that silver has appeared near Linhe Town again."

"It's irrelevant, Marcus..." Fielding shook his head, seemingly crushed by the news overnight.

"We must consider how to deal with the Visi family and the laws of the Griffin Kingdom that they brought with them."

"Think? No, there's no possibility of thinking! They just want us dead!" Kuran transformed into an enraged hound, with Silver as his captive.

"..."

The council chamber was in complete chaos, with people expressing their opinions, each harboring their own prejudices and realities, yet all presenting a seemingly reasonable viewpoint.

Welcome, compromise, resistance? Everything seemed perfectly appropriate, but no one could successfully persuade the other.

Watching the elders argue incessantly, Marcus sighed inwardly. He had originally thought that Riverside Town had nothing to do with politics, but perhaps everyone was just too good at pretending. No matter where you are, you will be divided into three factions.

Fielding, who compromised; Hank, who tried to smooth things over; and Hawke, who rebelled.

How should I choose?

Marcus returned to the beer garden with a question that was difficult to answer.

Today was a rare day of overcast skies and mist. Having shed her composed demeanor from her adventures, Trish was loosening the soil in the central courtyard with a small shovel.

She found some beautiful flowers in the riverside forest, with a large number of them being a type of purplish-red rose.

The rose has a cool and elegant color, and its petals have a cold, glassy quality on a cloudy day. Like her, it is beautiful yet fragile.

She wore a soft, un-sizing grey linen blouse that was almost the same color as her skin, and the mist pouring in from the fence made her eyes sparkle.

If you asked Marcus to describe the appearance of a mixed-race drow, he would only use one word—blood silver.

His eyes were like the blood moon, and his hair and skin were silver-white.

Hearing the familiar footsteps, Zhuo'er didn't even look up, continuing to dig a small hole, planting the rose in the soft soil, and pressing it down firmly with her hands, like a farmer's wife at work.

"Have you discussed it? What is the reason that this dilapidated town, which looks like a goblin's den, has welcomed its former owners?"

"Silver, these cute little things are beautiful and charming, but like you, they usually have some blood on them."

Zhuoer looked up and rolled her eyes at Marcus, who had started making witty remarks:

"This has nothing to do with you. If Baron Visi dared to let you into the silver mine, I'll kill him. If the number of nobles from the Griffin Kingdom that follow is too large and I get tired of killing them, then we'll run away and become professional adventurers."

Marcus chuckled. Is this how Zhuo Er expresses concern? How awkward.

He found a chair and sat down, resting his chin on his hand, watching Zhuo'er working in the soil. Ever since she fell into the abyss and he caught her, she seemed to have become a little gentler...

Of course, this gentleness refers to the situation when no one else is around.

"What you said makes a lot of sense. After all, the pay in Linhe Town is low and the danger is high. It's nothing like what Badin said, where you can earn hundreds of gold coins a time by working as a bodyguard or thug in the city."

With your eyesight, my brain, and Bardin's strength, Rye Wine can find suitable work anywhere.

"Hmm~" Zhuo Er hummed softly for a moment, clearly agreeing with the statement.

"But Trissy, if we choose to be professional adventurers, we'll wander in taverns, wastelands, and caves. Once we've earned enough money, we'll go to the city, stay in a palace-like place for a few days, buy our equipment and supplies, and then continue with our next adventure."

The roses you're planting now will soon be handed over to someone else to look after, and I'll have to sell the yard, including the old house on the muddy road.

Zhuo Er stopped what she was doing and looked at the man sitting in the chair, who seemed rather heavy-hearted:

"You mean that as professional adventurers, we lose something?"

"Yes, I won't buy you a nice bed, wardrobe, or tables and chairs anymore, because we've abandoned this hard-won courtyard with our own hands. When I make money, I might consider giving you good equipment and beautiful jewelry, but not..."

Marcus paused, then said jokingly, "A yard where you can freely farm. Adventure is work, but it can't replace life. We'll earn money, and you can use it to buy some flowers and plants..."

"And you can also go to the tavern to play cards!" Zhuo'er's tense face turned into a gentle smile after a moment.

She patted the dirt off her hands and placed the last bunch of roses in the wooden box:

"I understand. Although I find it hard to comprehend, according to Zhuo'er's view, a residence is a place that provides shelter and a sense of security. If one encounters unforeseen dangers, one should move to another place of residence."

"But here." She gazed at the rose garden, her eyes curving into crescents:

"Perhaps this is what the surface dwellers call home, a place they are unwilling to give up."

"Yes, home." Marcus nodded, stating his decision:

"Stay here. If anyone touches this yard, I'll rip their head off."

"Okay, I'll bury your head in the ground for you."

While the two were discussing, Bardin, who was responsible for taking May to the union to exchange for money, also came to the yard with two large bottles of ale. He looked at the roses that had just been picked in the courtyard and Trish's disgusted back, and muttered something.

"Damn it, I thought she was picking flowers to make poison."

The rewards are distributed strictly according to the team rules, with each person receiving 16.66 gold coins.

Unable to find change in copper coins, Bardin could only use ale instead. Curious, he inquired about the Visi family, and upon learning the reason stemmed from silver, the dwarf suddenly picked up his pipe and lit it with some half-burnt charcoal he carried.

"Silver...could it be related to Emma? We all saw with our own eyes that the troll turned an underground river into silver. Given the devil's penchant for manipulating human nature, he might have expanded a game of five people into an entire town."

Marcus glanced at the completed mission and the ordinary-level coupons that had just arrived in his account, and casually replied:

"I don't know. I don't even know who leaked this news."