The onlookers felt envious as a few people were rewarded by the world itself!
First was Alex, who had taken down the highest number of beasts in the Beast Tide.
Second was Marshall, whose strategic planning and tactical insights had ensured minimal losses on their side.
His leadership from the rear lines played a critical role in their victory over the Beast Tide.
And the last one was Val, who with his bravery have raised the morale of his teammates while simultaneously shattering the morale of the enemies with his cunning and ability.
At the height of the enemy’s morale, he had struck with all his might and shattered their spirit, sowing chaos in their rank and ensuring an easy victory against the beast tide.
A notification popped up in front of Val.
[Ding! Congratulations, Host. You’ve been rewarded with the Spiritroot of the Verdant Giant by the will of the world!]
The Spiritroot materialized in front of Val from thin air.
It was about the size of his fist, shaped like a root of a tree, with veins of silver gleaming within its green structure. It was radiating a soothing green light and emitting a rich and earthy comforting smell that filled Val and the people nearby with a sense of tranquility.
The eyes of the onlookers naturally turned to the treasure.
Noticing their gazes, Val didn’t waste a moment before he grabbed the Spiritroot and slipped it into the pocket of his windbreaker.
A thoughtful look crossed Val’s face.
‘Now I am in possession of two of the three ingredients needed to concoct the Level 3 Whitemore Bloodline Upgrading Potion.’
‘The only piece of the puzzle I am missing is the scales of an Eldertail snake.’
‘But it hasn’t appeared in the market.’
‘I can only search for it myself.’
He knew the name of the area where the source of the last ingredient resided — the Shadow Valley.
However, the exact location of this place was unknown to him. There was no information about the Shadow Valley on the map given to him by the Head Butler of the Whitemore family’s head either.
“I have no other option but to go to the Treasure Pavilion and buy information regarding the Shadow Valley. Given the substantial amount of contribution points I’ve earned from dealing with the Beast Tide, it should be feasible…” he murmured to himself, a glint of determination flashing in his eyes.
“Marshall, the sun is setting. Let’s recall our men,” Jareth the captain of the Barrage Team said with a solemn expression.
“But what about all the loot?” Yona, the Vice-captain of the same team, protested.
Jareth shot her a stern look. She felt offended by his gaze as he was looking at her with disgust.
“Night is quickly approaching. At night, devils and zombies become active. We can see the zombies coming, but devils kill in mysterious ways. Do you know how many people will die if we don’t recall them before it gets dark? Will you take responsibility for their deaths?” he asked her.
Jareth didn’t like Yona in the slightest. She appeared out of nowhere and quickly rose up the ranks, despite making no notable achievement, having no qualities of a leader, and being ignorant.
He suspected she had lived a sheltered life and had a formidable backing.
Despite this, he had no intention of showing her respect.
He believed that respect wasn’t a privilege.
It should be earned.
Hearing his words, Yona felt embarrassed and hurt. She lowered her eyes and pouted, her red and plump lips glistening under the setting sun, “You… You didn’t have to be so rude.”
Jareth scoffed, “Sometimes it’s hard to get the message across without being direct.”
Yona turned to the leader of the lower city guards and asked, “What do you think?”
“Jareth is right, Yona. We can’t risk lives for material gains. Although it’s a bit regretful to leave the corpses behind as there is a chance of them getting picked up by the beasts of the forest and the creatures of the night, we must do what’s necessary,” Marshall said.
He then turned towards the people outside the frontier and ordered, “Everyone in the Shield Team, leave the loot and head inside the city gates immediately!”
Despite his words, several people seemed unwilling to leave the loot behind.
The meat of the beasts, if left untouched, would rot by the next sunrise, and this much meat could feed the entire population of the Northern Frontier for months.
Moreover, many of the warriors in the Shield Team actually lived hand to mouth as they had an entire family of normies to support, and the opportunity to bring home a decent chunk of meat was rare and cherished.
Thus, the prospect of leaving behind such a wealth of food was unthinkable to them.
There was also the possibility of the corpses being looted.
As a result, they were worried that all of their efforts would go to waste.
“The city gates will be sealed shut after dusk. Then, you won’t be able to get inside even if you want to. You will have to face the dangers of the night alone.”
Seeing that they were unwilling, Marshall spoke up once again to make the situation clear to them.
His words were harsh but effective.
The reluctant members of Team Shield immediately rushed inside the city through the city gates.
With a thunderous sound, the gates closed behind the last of the men.
Once inside the lower city, a person who had settled down in the frontier at the same time as Val, complained, “Why are the rules of this place so harsh? You can’t be outside the frontier when it’s night. And you’re also expected to be locked up inside your house at midnight. Or else you’ll be punished. This place sucks.”
“You’re not wrong, but these laws were put in place for your own good,” Oliver said.
“How can killing me with boredom be for my own good?”
Oliver, who was always willing to help the ignorant, looked at the person and explained calmly, “The area outside the northern frontier gates transforms into a no man’s land after dusk. It basically becomes a dangerous zone with a high mortality rate for humans.”
“Even within the city, safety isn’t entirely guaranteed at night. There have been cases of devils preying on innocent and unsuspecting people inside the city. And all the murders happened at night. To combat this, it became mandatory to hang amulets on the entrance to one’s house at night. The curfew forbidding you from leaving the house is implemented every night for the exact same reason, to protect you from becoming the next victim of the devils.”
“Violation of these rules does results in punishment, but it is done to make a point. We don’t tolerate reckless behavior.”
“I hope that clears every misunderstanding you have about my birthplace.” 𝗈𝚟𝓵ℯxt.𝕔𝑂𝔪
After listening to Oliver, the person who had complained felt embarrassed and no longer spoke as if afraid to make himself look any more stupid.