Star Forge Titan

"I have to say, you surprise me unexpectedly, newbie." The half-elf wizard who was silent in Andre's mouth could not help but speak again.

"Probably because I've been to many places on the mainland." Ivan shrugged and answered without a single mistake.

"That's great! I've always wanted to visit Genoa!"

Lilith jumped up. She seemed very curious about the country that was good at shipbuilding, navigation and business.

"Once we catch the giant sandworm, you can go wherever you want." Andre promised with a smile.

In response, Lilith rolled her eyes.

Even though she was the last one to join the team, she had become immune to such words.

In fact, the sandworm hunter is actually a profession somewhat similar to the meteorite hunter in Alvin's previous life.

They are usually not much different from ordinary adventurers. Only when they learn about information related to sandworms from a certain place will they immediately go to the local area to investigate and search for traces of sandworms.

This is not surprising, as every large sandworm that develops large enough to grow scent glands is of enormous value.

They are like rare and valuable meteorites, constantly chased by sandworm hunters who have mastered the methods to deal with these creatures.

However, during this period, there were only a handful of hunters who could actually find the giant sandworm, and even fewer who successfully captured their target.

But because of the current situation that the fragrance of time is priced but not in demand.

Without exception, those hunters who successfully found and hunted the giant sandworms became truly wealthy.

"Ha, there's one last member." Ignoring the female thief's teasing, Andre came to the last member of the team.

"This is the squad's incredibly powerful archer and reserve fighter, Kag Gaoshan, an outstanding warrior from the border of the Silent Desert."

Compared to the druid that Alvin once knew who was only partially orcish, the archer in front of him, although also called an orc, did not show any beast elements.

This is due to a very remote information dissemination accident.

The term "Orcs" of Palladio has been seriously confused in its dissemination process.

First of all, there is a sub-human race living in the Great Wild Forest that possesses some beast elements. Parts of their bodies will show the characteristics of beasts, but their overall structure tends to be human.

Secondly, in the border areas of the Silent Desert, there lived another kind of creature also called "Orcs." They were a primitive savage with green skin.

However, as the names spread, the two ethnic groups were confused with each other by humans who lived far away from them.

Later, when transportation methods changed and exchanges between different regions gradually strengthened, this fallacy was naturally corrected.

However, there are people in different places who are accustomed to different names, so when necessary, we have to call the former the hairy people according to their physical characteristics, and the latter the "barbarian orcs" or continue to use the name "orcs".

At this moment, standing in front of Alvin was a standard barbarian orc.

His skin was a vibrant green, and he was obviously not very old. He was over two meters tall, only about a head shorter than Alvin. The brown hair on his head was tied into a traditional ponytail in accordance with the barbarian orc tradition.

What is noteworthy is that the bow held by this barbarian orc is of astonishing size, and the bow arm is even made of a mixture of steel and wood in proportion.

In addition, the huge quiver on his back only contained a few long arrows, but each of them looked like a short spear that could be lifted up and stabbed people!

The result of the combination of the two must be an arrow as destructive as the wind and thunder!

A pure power archer?

Ivan was stunned for a moment. He didn't expect that besides players, there were also people in the real Paladin who chose this route.

But Fist Fighter...what is this?

"May the scorching wind bless you, my new friend." Although he looked a bit rough, the orc Kag's attitude was unexpectedly warm, perhaps because they were of similar height.

"You too." Alvin shook hands with the other person. They both felt the reassuring strength of the hand and couldn't help but get closer.

This also made the black-haired boy casually ask the doubts in his heart.

"I know about archers, but what are fist fighters? I've never heard of that name before."

As soon as Alvin finished speaking, he saw the other three members of the team immediately cover their foreheads with their hands and look as if they couldn't bear it.

At the same time, the orc Kagquan in front of him almost had his eyes glowing.

"Friend, you don't know what a Fist Fighter is!?! Then, allow me to introduce you to the most noble profession in this silent desert!"

Kag took a deep breath and put on an extremely serious look.

"They follow in the footsteps of the legendary Fist of the Sky. They are warriors who fight against tyranny and oppression, and they are also brave warriors who bring liberation to the people!"

This young orc seemed to be preaching at this moment, and his slightly trembling voice and equally trembling body revealed an undisguised piety.

"They are... the Holy Warriors of the Fist of Freedom!"

Chapter 17 Harsh Iron Tax

Perhaps because of his overly protruding mandible and protruding fangs, this barbarian beastman with the surname "Gaoshan" has a very strange accent, occasionally mixed with local slang.

But this could not hide the strong longing and yearning that filled his words when he mentioned the 'Fist of Freedom'.

This made Alvin even more curious about the resistance organization called 'Freedom Fist'.

At the same time, he also became interested in the 'Fist Fighter', a job he had only heard of in the Silent Desert area.

However, judging by the word "candidate" used in Andre's introduction, just like how he described Kalani as the "future archmage", the orc Gaoshan did not complete the promotion to that class. Perhaps it was simply because he admired the Fist of Freedom that he wanted to follow in their footsteps and become a Holy Fist fighter.

However, isn't it a bit inappropriate to discuss matters related to the resistance at the gate where there are guards on duty?

As he was thinking, Alvin noticed that the guards stationed near the East Gate were whispering to each other.

"Oh, this is a bit troublesome." Although he said this, Andre did not seem to be panicked.

"Plan A or Plan B?" Lilim also looked accustomed to it.

"The latter." Kalani sparingly uttered the word.

"...Sorry, I couldn't help it." Gao Shan slapped his forehead with his big hand, looking very embarrassed.

"Then..." Andre looked at the team members and then turned his gaze to Ivan.

"What does Plan B mean?" the black-haired boy asked directly.

"It's very simple." The strong middle-aged man carrying a big sword began to stretch his hands and feet. Lilim also jumped a few times to warm up. Even the half-elf wizard who looked thin began to do chest expansion exercises.

Their performance gave Alvin a somewhat ominous guess.

"Let's run!" Andre blew a whistle and took the lead to run towards the camel that had been rented in advance not far away.

"Who's faster?" Lilimping raised her hands and followed closely behind happily.

“…” Kalani remained silent, but his hands swung back and forth rhythmically, and he ran towards the camel rented by the team in a quick and elegant manner.

"Newcomer, run quickly, otherwise those vicious dogs will come to blackmail us. It's not easy to make money from gold sand!" The orc Gaoshan was very honest and explained to Ivan before running away.

He is indeed an adventurer making a living in a semi-feudal and semi-slave country.

Or are all of you desert people so tough? In the eyes of the rulers, you're just a bunch of unruly people, right?!

But... I like it!

Although the urge to complain was almost bursting out, Alvin felt a sense of joy in his heart instead.

Not having to think about those stressful world-ending events for the time being made him more relaxed than usual, and his perspective on things became freer.

Therefore, the Savage Titans of the North gave up thinking of other more appropriate solutions and quickly integrated into the Seeker Team, where the team atmosphere was particularly cheerful, through practical actions.

He nimbly flipped over and jumped onto the Mountain King, then disappeared into the distance amid the coughing and complaints of other passers-by.

The guards who had just been discussing how to blackmail the adventurers could only stare in amazement and curse loudly behind them.

This bunch of cunning and unruly people haven't taken any action yet!

After riding their mounts for several hundred meters, the members of the tracker team slowed down.

Even at a full sprint, the distance covered wouldn't break a sweat for the Mountain King. Furthermore, even the ordinary camels they'd rented didn't show any signs of fatigue.

"Won't there be any trouble on the way back?" Alvin asked casually.

The black-haired boy's attitude was relaxed; he wasn't afraid of trouble. And most people would be quite relaxed about things that were within their capabilities.

"It's okay, at worst we can just find another way to enter the city. Those guys are mostly lazy idiots who don't want to bother with anything. If we don't catch them in the act, they'll probably forget about it in a few days."

"After all, the guards are probably just trying to extort a small amount of money. Extorting passing merchants is much more profitable. There's no need to get too involved with dangerous people like us adventurers."

Andre shrugged. He had experienced this kind of thing too many times.

"Don't worry, newbie. Those guys are really afraid of trouble." Lilim, standing on the camel's hump with excellent physical coordination, said with a smile:

Then, the lively halfling chick turned her attention to the Mountain King.

"By the way, your horse..." Lilith's expression became strange.

"Is it really a horse?"

"Puff puff puff!" As if he could understand what people were saying, the Mountain King immediately retorted to the halfling female thief, literally.

"Wow, so disgusting!" Lilith rolled over and hung on the side of the camel like a nimble little monkey, using her high hump to block the spit sprayed by the Mountain King. The innocent camel looked confused.

"Don't say that. Sanwang is very smart."

Like a master trying to stop his husky from chasing a mouse, Alvin pulled the reins helplessly and pulled the Mountain King, who had turned into a spitting machine gun, back to his original position.

"As for whether it is a horse, the merchant who gave it to me said it was a horse." The black-haired boy showed an awkward but polite smile, but there was a hint of uncertainty in his tone.

"?" The giant black horse tilted its head, revealing a silly expression that did not match its strong body.

"Anyway, Sanwang is a good kid, just a little naughty."

As he was speaking, the Mountain King joyfully crushed a large stone slab on the road with one hoof, while making a strange "Pululu" sound.

“…” Everyone looked at each other, and then very rationally chose to skip this topic.

"By the way, Gao Shan hasn't finished what he was saying just now. Let's continue talking about the Fist Fighter. I'm quite interested."

"Ah, there is actually someone who is willing to be converted by Tall One. That's really rare." Lilith turned over and lay back on the camel, looking at Ivan with some surprise.

"I've only been in the Silent Desert for a short time, and I know almost nothing about what's going on here. I don't even know why people don't use metal weapons." The black-haired boy said calmly.

"I see." Andre nodded, somewhat understanding some of Ivan's strange actions.

Then, he took the obsidian sword from his back.

"This matter is actually related to those greedy wizard kings."

"Thirty years ago, the Witch Kings enacted a special policy called the Iron Tax. Except for the nobles and the Witch King's army, no one else was allowed to retain more than a certain amount of iron and steel. At the same time, people had to pay an additional tax every year for this little bit of iron."

"Excessive greed will only bring pain." The half-elf wizard whose full name is difficult to pronounce shook his head and expressed his attitude with an elven proverb.

Andre nodded. Although they were all adventurers, they were also very unhappy about this kind of thing.

"It was the pressure of these taxes that forced many poor people to use stone or even wooden tools to work rather than buy iron tools. They simply couldn't afford it."

"At the same time, the Witch King and his noble lackeys will severely crack down on the smuggling of steel. Although there are no mummies at the East Gate, there are many mummies hanging at the South Gate. Those are left by the smugglers who were dried out."

Having said this, Andre then did something that greatly surprised Alvin.

He simply pulled out the obsidian sword, and the shiny stone shell separated like a scabbard, revealing the real sword body hidden inside, which was made of normal metal.

"However, as long as we adventurers are willing to spend a little more money, we can still secretly prepare some metal weapons. Although they are expensive and the quantity is very limited, we still have to be careful to conceal them on weekdays."

What's the point of this policy then? Ivan looked puzzled.

Then he heard Andre continue:

"In fact, everyone speculates that the real purpose of the Witch Kings enacting the Iron Tax is to prevent the Free Fists rebels from being able to equip metal weapons on a large scale, and that is indeed what happened."

Hearing Andre's words, the orc Gaoshan couldn't help but sigh heavily.

"Yes, so the good people of the Free Fists can only use their bare hands to fight the Witch King's army, which is armed with weapons."

But soon, that brilliant expression of pride appeared on his face again.

"That's why we have boxing techniques and boxing fighters!"

Chapter 18: First Mission

Riding a camel and strolling through the sand dunes, you can hear the sound of camel bells.

The orc Gaoshan tells the newly joined Ivan the story of his relationship with the Fist of Freedom.

"When I was a child, my family and I were captured by slave traders and sold to the bloody arena in Shakara as prey for show."

Even after so many years, Gao Shan's tone seemed very calm even when talking about such a cruel past.