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Join the ServerBy the small river, Mulee Hua was diligently training Votila.
Meanwhile, the Doremi Militia, a dishevelled group, returned to town, their faces etched with exhaustion.
As soon as they reached the office, their leader, Odur, anxiously asked Gusede, who had led the search, “Well? Did you find the child?”
Gusede looked at the leader’s troubled face and shook his head. “I’m sorry, Commander. We’ve searched all the forests around town, but we still haven’t found her. We’ve also questioned the local villagers, and no one has seen her.”
“Ugh!” Odur slammed his fist on the table in frustration, making a cup tremble. “Agnes, that child! Where in the world has she run off to, especially at a time like this?”
A team member murmured, “Could something have happened? Like encountering a demonic beast in the forest…”
“Gaude! Don’t speak nonsense,” Gusede reprimanded.
Gaude, a slightly plump, short team member, was Gusede’s close friend. They had joined the militia together.
After Gusede’s rebuke, Gaude realized the impropriety of his words. He fell silent, not daring to continue.
Odur rubbed his slightly feverish forehead. After a long moment, he finally spoke. “Agnes has been with the squad for several months now. She should know the gravity of the situation. The forest has been very dangerous lately; she wouldn’t go in there alone.”
“However, she genuinely isn’t in town. No one has seen Agnes since she returned from our last mission,” Gusede pondered, then continued, “We also checked her residence, and her landlord said she hasn’t been home for several days. Yet, her luggage and belongings are still there, so it doesn’t seem like she left.”
“Hmm…” Odur fell into deep thought for a moment. “Regardless of whether the child has truly left town, do not casually discuss her disappearance outside. After all, she is currently the town’s only Archmage. If news of her vanishing spreads, it could cause unnecessary panic.”
“Understood, Commander.”
“Alright, you’ve searched for so long; you must be exhausted. Go get some rest. I will arrange for others to temporarily cover your posts.”
With that, Odur returned to his seat and pulled out a document. He looked up to find Gusede still standing there and couldn’t help but ask, “What’s wrong, Gusede? You seem to have something on your mind.”
“Commander, I wanted to ask about the monster I encountered at the East Village entrance last time, and also about Oz Apocalys…”
“Wait a moment.” Odur raised a hand, gesturing for Gusede to pause. “Why are you suddenly asking about this?”
“Someone said that when Commander Oz disappeared five years ago, this monster also appeared.”
Odur tilted his head, glancing behind Gusede. The other people in the office were busy with their own tasks and hadn’t noticed their conversation.
“Let’s go inside to talk.”
Odur led Gusede to the inner room, a private space reserved for the commander’s rest, ensuring no outsiders would disturb them.
Pouring two cups of inferior tea, Odur handed one to Gusede. He took a sip from his own cup before slowly beginning. “Actually, not many in the squad know about this matter, but you are my chosen successor for the next commander, so I can tell you.”
Gusede was startled, slightly surprised by the commander’s words. Could there truly be a hidden secret within this?
“It’s not really a secret. Five years ago, a group of terrifying monsters suddenly emerged from the forest outside town. It was said that the leader of these creatures resembled a mass of flesh stitched together from corpses, with a giant mouth like a barbed suction cup, and eight enormous tentacles.”
“Besides the leader, there were also seven or eight smaller, ape-like monsters with coarse fur and tiny eyes. They dominated the forest, frequently attacking villagers, much like the demonic wolves we face now, and even attempted to assault the town itself.”
“The monsters were incredibly powerful. At that time, there were three or four Archmages in the squad. The mayor organized the squad’s elite for an expedition, but that battle nearly wiped out the entire garrison.”
“Afterward, the entire town was plunged into panic, and many villagers fled.”
“It was then that someone suggested inviting the former commander, Oz, who had retired due to an old illness, to intervene.”
“Although Oz was elderly, he remained a very powerful Archmage, and he was also the hero who protected the town twenty years ago. Only with his intervention was there hope of defeating the monster.”
Upon hearing this, Gusede instinctively asked, “Did he agree?”
Odur shook his head. “Not at first. He believed the monster was too powerful and advised the mayor to evacuate the entire town.”
“But the mayor and the town elders were unwilling to abandon the land and legacy left by their ancestors. They felt Oz was trying to shirk his responsibility and refused to act.”
“Shirk responsibility?” Gusede didn’t understand why they would say that; Oz’s suggestion seemed perfectly reasonable. “Why would they say that?”
“The elders believed that Oz, as the strongest Archmage in town and its protector, had a duty and obligation to eliminate the monster. They thought Oz was unwilling to confront the creature because he was afraid and abandoning his post.”
“This…” Gusede was at a loss for words. He wondered if he would have thought the same if he were in their shoes. “So, what happened next?”
“To force Oz to act, the elders…” As Odur spoke, a look of contempt crossed his face, “They had people abduct Oz’s two children.”
“Mulee Hua and her brother, Siegfried?” Gusede exclaimed in shock. “How could they do such a thing?”
“They were a group of deranged, prejudiced old fogeys; nothing they did would be surprising.” Odur’s fingers, clutching the teacup, turned white. “They warned Oz that if he didn’t deal with that monster, he would never see his son again.”
“Wasn’t Oz a High-tier Archmage? Why didn’t he just go and get them back?” Gusede thought to himself that if his own son were abducted, the first thing he would do would be to rescue him.
“They hid Oz’s two children in different locations and warned him that if he acted recklessly, they would immediately kill the other child…”
“That’s truly… despicable…” Gusede could think of no other fitting adjective than ‘despicable’.
“You already know the rest. Oz went into the forest and never returned, and the monster also vanished with him…”
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