Please be my partner.

The servant nodded and ushered them in.

After arriving at the living room, the three of them discovered that it seemed that they were not the only ones who had accepted this mission. There were already four people sitting in the living room, and judging from their attire, they were undoubtedly wilderness hunters.

One of the middle-aged men, a bald man with dark skin, laughed and said, "Wow! There are so many people who have accepted this task. There are already so many people in just a short time."

A woman who was wiping her scimitar said, "It's not dangerous, and the reward is generous. The only requirement is that you can tell at least one fairy tale that hasn't been recorded by the person who issued the quest. Anyone who sees this kind of quest will generally accept it."

A frivolous young man looked at Anis with a lecherous expression and said, "I don't know what the person who issued the task was thinking. Is he trying to write a fairy tale about the Kingdom of Crow? It can't be that he has too many gold coins to burn, right?"

The bald middle-aged man curled his lips and said, "Who knows? We can't guess what rich people think."

While a few people were chatting casually, a few more people arrived, making the spacious living room a little crowded.

Just then, a fat man with a pot belly, dressed like a butler, walked in. He clapped his hands gently to interrupt the discussion, then said, "Thank you all for accepting my master's mission. However, to avoid wasting your time, please fill out this information first."

As they spoke, the two servants handed each of the Wilderness Hunters present a piece of paper.

Ada took it and looked at it. She needed to fill in her name, background, and the beginning of the fairy tale she wanted to tell.

Some wilderness hunters cursed, but for the sake of the generous mission rewards, they still patiently picked up the pen and started writing.

After a while, everyone finished writing. The fat butler collected them and looked through them carefully one by one without getting tired of it.

After reading through all the information, the fat butler smiled and said, "I have read everything you have written. There is no problem. Next, please follow me to the manor outside the city to meet my master."

The bald man frowned and asked, "The mission only requires us to tell a fairy tale, but there's no part about leaving Florence and going to a manor."

The fat butler smiled calmly, saying, "The master has something urgent to deal with at the manor, so he can't come back for the time being. I have no choice but to trouble you all."

"My master's manor is just over ten miles south of Florence. If you find it troublesome, you can abandon this mission. Of course, my master, as an apology, has already stated that anyone willing to make the extra trip will have their mission reward doubled, and will also receive VIP treatment at the manor."

As soon as these words were spoken, the eyes of the crowd, who were originally a little noisy, immediately lit up.

Even the bald man who raised the question remained silent.

Didn't they become wilderness hunters just to earn more gold coins?

Now, just by taking a few more steps, the already generous mission rewards can be doubled again, which is certainly a good thing for them.

Seeing that a few people were still hesitant, the fat butler's voice turned cold. "I'm sure you've all heard of my master, Mr. Linette. He's not only incredibly wealthy, but he's also one of the most prominent figures in the entire Crow Kingdom. Missions are also issued through the Wilderness Hunter Guild. Do you think my master would harm you? If you don't want to go, you can leave now."

Everyone thought about it and agreed.

In the end, no one left, even Ada and the other two chose to stay.

Seeing this, the fat butler smiled again and said, "I have the carriage ready. Everyone, let's set off now. Don't make my master wait anxiously."

Everyone filed into the luxurious carriage and headed out of the city.

After an hour, the carriages stopped in front of a luxurious manor covering a large area.

The fat butler said to everyone, "Everyone, please follow the manor servants to the living room to eat some delicious food and drink some fine wine. I will go and inform the master."

Led by the servants, everyone went to the living room of the manor.

Looking at the backs of the crowd, the fat butler curled his lips into a sneer.

Not long after, the fat butler came to the study and saw his master staring at a document in a daze. He did not dare to disturb him and stood quietly by the side.

After a long moment, Linette came back to his senses from his thoughts and asked, "Is everything done?"

The fat butler replied respectfully, "Yes, Master. Among the more than ten people summoned this time, although a few fairy tales are obviously fabricated, most of them are true."

Seeing that the master stopped talking, the fat butler hesitated for a moment and asked, "Master, is it really okay for us to do this?"

Linette stood up and walked to the huge floor-to-ceiling window. After a moment's silence, he spoke as if to himself, "Forbidden objects all possess willpower, just like the well-known 'Swallowing Swamp.' Many third-tier experts borrowed its power to form the Devouring Council, and it, in turn, relied on those third-tier experts to expand itself. This is a mutually beneficial relationship."

"If they can succeed, then so can we! As long as the united forces of Florence can cultivate 'Fairy Tale Town', we too can become a powerful force rivaling the kingdom level."

"If you want to cultivate a 'Fairy Tale Town', you need to feed it enough 'food', and this 'food' naturally refers to fairy tales from all over the world."

"Of course, feeding them comes with certain requirements and taboos. For example, the most basic point is that the carriers of these 'fairy tales' must have believed at least at some point in their lives that these 'fairy tales' are real. Only then can the corresponding 'fairy tales' be generated in 'Fairy Tale Town'."

"Incidentally, these carriers of 'fairy tales' are also our best tools for exploring the rules of 'Fairy Tale Town'."

While Linette was talking to himself, the fat butler listened attentively. He knew that these words were not spoken to him, but were just the thinking habits of his master.

After a brief pause, Linette said confidently, "It won't be a problem. We've already reached a tacit understanding with Once Upon a Time and have mastered many fairy tales. This is the basis for our cooperation!"

Seeing his master say this, the fat butler didn't dare to say anything more and asked, "Master, do you want to meet those wilderness hunters?"

Linette waved her hand casually and said, "Take them to the entrance tonight to meet up with the others."

The fat butler responded respectfully and left.

In the living room of the manor, by the time the wilderness hunters realized something was wrong, it was already too late.

The fat butler looked at the unconscious Wilderness Hunter and nodded with satisfaction.

A servant said respectfully, "Master Steward, the amount of sleeping potion we used is enough to keep them asleep for a whole day."

The fat butler said, "Don't be careless. Tie them all up and put them on the carriage. We will set off in the evening."

"Yes!"

In the evening, a large number of carriages set out from the manor and headed deep into the wilderness.

After the carriage passed, Mellen walked out from the shadows on the side of the road with a strange look on his face.

He went to Lennon's Chamber of Commerce today, but the result was not ideal.

He learned from the Chamber of Commerce that Lennon was still out, but when he wanted to contact him, he was refused on the grounds that it was inconvenient to contact him.

There are no convenient things like mobile phones in this world, and there are no fixed telephone lines in Florence. If you want to get in touch, you can basically only rely on correspondence.

If Lennon was still in Roland City at this time, it would take at least a week to contact him.

Of course, Mellen guessed that the reason why Lennon dared to leave without worry was probably because he had some means of timely communication.

However, although Mellen claimed to be Lennon's friend, he had no tokens to prove it, and the people in the Chamber of Commerce probably wouldn't believe him, let alone because he used the means of timely contact.

Then, just when Melen was worried, he sensed that the trio who had agreed to take a day off had left Florence.

Without thinking much, he followed quietly.

After waiting outside the manor for a long time and still not seeing the trio come out, Mellen realized something was wrong and went into the manor to investigate.

Although there are many strong men in the manor, they are all defending key positions, and the outer areas are still guarded by ordinary guards.

With Mellen's ability, it was natural for him to sneak in easily.

Then he saw and heard a lot of remarkable information.

Especially when the carriage carrying many wilderness hunters, including the trio, headed deep into the wilderness, Mellen had a premonition that perhaps the fate he had been pursuing was already at hand.

Thinking of this, Mellen followed without hesitation.

With Yi Meng as his guide, he followed from a considerable distance, which basically eliminated the possibility of being discovered.

The carriage was moving neither fast nor slow. As time gradually approached late at night, Mellen's eyes became brighter and brighter.

Because unknowingly, the surrounding environment has become extremely familiar in his eyes!

Chapter 117: Fairy Tale Town? No, this is...

In the shaking carriage, Ada suddenly opened his eyes, and after confirming the surrounding environment, he smiled bitterly.

After all, they were too young. They had noticed something was wrong before, but they didn't pay too much attention to it.

If the other wilderness hunters were blinded by profit and luckily thought that nothing would happen with so many people together, then the trio suffered completely from lack of experience.

Ada calmly touched the mark on her forearm and breathed a sigh of relief when she found it was still there.

This mark is both a protection and a seal, and will be automatically triggered when he is in danger.

At this moment, other wilderness hunters also woke up one after another. Some of them realized their situation and immediately started cursing and were about to take action.

However, the effects of the residual medicine in their bodies still made them weak and powerless. After jumping twice, they fell down again.

Aida looked at Yanis and Yimeng and asked, "Are you okay?"

Yi Meng shook his head and took off the shield on his back, then he had enough strength to stand up.

Yanis curled her lips and said, "If I had known earlier, I would have just spent the day in Florence. Why do you think we took this mission?"

Ada was speechless. They had already understood how dangerous society was before leaving home, but it was still beyond their expectations that it could be so dangerous.

He said, "It seems we won't be able to return to Florence tomorrow. Uncle Jifeng might think we are untrustworthy because of our broken promise."

Yanis raised her voice and said, "Ada, it's already this late, and you're still thinking about this? Shouldn't you be concerned about our safety first?"

Ada said calmly, "They just made us unconscious and powerless. They didn't even touch our equipment. They probably want us to do something, so for the time being, we are safe."

Just as everyone was cursing, discussing, or concentrating calmly, a small door opened at the driver's seat of the carriage. Then, a cold gaze swept across, carrying a real chill that caused the temperature in the carriage to drop a little, and everyone immediately fell silent.

After a long while, someone whispered to himself, "Level 2? Or Level 3?!"

Everyone stopped talking. After all, the situation was stronger than them. They were all only at the first level. Not to mention that they were in a powerless state now, even in their prime, they would probably be defeated by the other side one by one. There would definitely be very few who could successfully escape.

This does not mean that their strength is not good. In fact, for ordinary extraordinary professionals, there is no qualitative difference between the first and second levels.

If the wilderness hunters present cooperated tacitly and risked their lives, it would be more than enough to deal with two or three second-level strongmen.

However, even if there are smart people who can think of this, it is absolutely impossible to achieve it. Most wilderness hunters are like hyenas chasing after profit. They are good at kicking people when they are down and using clubs and guns to sneak attack them.

Expect them to cooperate tacitly? To risk their lives?

It's simply as difficult as ascending to heaven!

Ada winked at Yanis and Yimeng, signaling them to stay calm.

Although the current situation is dangerous, they are not completely without ways to deal with it. It’s just a matter of how much it costs.

In that case, why not see what those guys are up to?

The carriage was moving forward slowly and not very fast, which showed that they were not in a hurry.

Although the people in the carriage did not dare to make too much noise, they continued to whisper and communicate secretly, and the strong man outside did not pay any attention to them.

In the wilderness, a figure was walking calmly. He was not moving fast, as if he was taking a leisurely stroll at night, and he did not take the danger of the wilderness seriously at all.

Suddenly, he paused and said calmly, "Come out! You've been following me for so long, do you really think I didn't notice you?"

The wilderness was peaceful except for the howling wind.

He sneered with disdain, and a five-meter-tall iron monster suddenly appeared behind him.

This iron monster seems to be made of discarded iron sheets, iron rings, iron barrels, rivets and other objects. It holds a sickle for mowing grass in its left hand and a rake for plowing the land in its right hand. There are large areas of rust and damage on the whole body, and the craftsmanship is extremely rough. Through the cracks, you can still see the straw filling it.

Such a crudely made iron monster exudes an aura comparable to that of a third-level strongman.

The iron monster suddenly turned its head in a certain direction and swung the sickle in its hand, leaving a bright mark in the void.

A figure retreated awkwardly, avoiding the attack.

But it wasn't over yet. The straw exposed on the broken part of the iron monster's arm grew and extended rapidly, interweaving into a large net, trying to cover the dodging figure.

Several streams of water suddenly burst out from around the dodging figure. These streams began to spin wildly, and the edges became sharp, tearing the straw like a cutting machine.

The person who summoned the iron monster said calmly, "In the Bansai River region in the west of the kingdom, there's a terrifying fairy tale..."

"Legend has it that farmers there would forge iron monsters out of discarded iron products, fill them with straw, and place them in rice paddies to scare away wild animals or sneaking rats that tried to enter the paddies!"

"It was obvious that the lifeless iron monster couldn't do its job, so, at the farmers' prayers, it became a real monster and began to hunt all life that entered the rice fields."

"Of course, this fairy tale wasn't originally a horror story. Its purpose was simply to scare the children so they wouldn't trample on the rice paddies. That's all."

"However, fairy tales are constantly evolving based on time and geography. This is one of the rules of Once Upon a Time: 'Fairy Tale Uncertainty'. That is, every 'fairy tale' may have uncertain consequences due to various derivations. The 'fairy tale' you know may only be a part of it!"

He looked at the figure enveloped by the current and said with a smile, "According to the 'fairy tale', the Iron Monster possesses powerful detection and search capabilities. Therefore, you have been invisible to me from the beginning, Mr. K of the Alphabet Corps."

Mr. K's face was gloomy. He hadn't expected his underwater realm technique to be completely seen through by the other party. He said in a cold voice, "Kadier, you people in Florence are actually secretly researching forbidden objects. Are you trying to betray the Kingdom of Crow?"

Kadir gave an exaggerated smile and said, "As expected of the Special Affairs Bureau, they really know how to put labels on people!"

Then his expression turned gloomy, and he said, "Your Special Affairs Bureau cannot represent the Kingdom of Crow. Besides, do you think you can go back?"

Mr. K seemed to sense something and his expression suddenly changed drastically.

But, it's too late.

Within a radius of 100 meters, countless straws suddenly pierced through the ground and shot up into the sky, forming a straw cage that wrapped Mr. K inside. All of these straws extended from the damaged areas under the feet of the iron monster.

Countless streams of water exploded around Mr. K, cutting the straw frantically and trying to break out.

But there was too much straw, and finally, amid Mr. K's desperate roar, he was buried in the straw and died.