Guardian sun slid onto the western side, and evening warm winds were caressing Kent’s long hair strands.
Hovering in the skies, both Sophia and Kent stared at the small town below. Out of all the places they saw during this journey, this town is a very small one. A big mountain surrounded the town in an inverted ‘U’ shape, giving it the name Horse Shoe Town.
The entire down is embedded inside the cave in a ‘U’ shape, and a large rock wall is constructed linearly.
After exchanging a chuckling glance, both Sophia and Kent descended near the entrance gate of the town. A weak teenage young man, who stood at the entrance gate with a spear, hurriedly stood up in fear after seeing the descending beasts.
He shredded and quickly grabbed the coir thread and began ringing the large brass bell tied to the entrance gate. Loud noise echoed all around by touching the surrounding mountain.
“Don’t come closer. We don’t have any gold.” While pointing the saber, the slender young man warned Kent and Sophia. Soon, several villagers came running towards the entrance while holding all types of common weapons.
Sophia stood opposite Kent and spoke in a loud tone. “We came here to meet the Zi family head. He requested a mission from the Eternal Sun sect. We mean no harm.”
Like a time bomb defused, the fierce faces of all the villagers changed at once, and an elderly man, wearing a deep ski on his shoulder, came forward. With a heavy, bushy beard and bug mustache, the elderly man appeared authoritative.
“Are you from the Eternal Sun sect?” The elderly man asked with a serious look.
“Yes, this is my identity token.” Sophia shoed her crimson jade token.
After verifying the Jade token, the attitude of the elder man completely changed. He hurriedly bowed in respect. “My lady, I’m Zi Fan. Head of this small town. I am the one who issued the mission.” The elderly man replied while taking Kent and Sophia inside the town.
The villagers hurriedly moved while giving a passage to the guests. The elderly man directly took them to the central gathering place, which is a large stone shaded by a big tree. All the people gathered around the stone platform.
“When we came here, why did you all try to attack?” Sophia asked while sitting on the stone chair. The elderly man resisted sitting in the remaining stone chair. With a sigh, Kent occupied the remaining seat beside Sophia.
“My lady, robbers are frequent visitors here. So, we are always on guard to protect ourselves.” The elder replied while leaning slightly.
“Okey, can you please tell me about the mission you requested? Which valuable herb do we need to harvest?” Sophia asked in a serious tone, putting all other matters aside.
The elder didn’t reply immediately. He turned towards the villagers with a hesitating look.
“Why are you not saying anything? Elder, I should leave before nightfall. So, please say everything about the mission; don’t hide any details.” Sophia said while staring at the elder, who put on a hesitating face.
“My lady, please don’t get angry. Actually, the problem is that a human-sized serpent beast is guarding a Golden root plant. The beast occupied the herbal land of our village, which is the main source of income for all families in this place.
My entire village will be indebted to you if you can expel that beast deep into the forest. You can have that valuable root herb; we only want that beast to leave us in peace.” Elder Fan requested in a begging tone.
“Sophia fell into a thought after hearing their request. She can understand how powerful the serpent beast can be if this entire village fails to expel it.
“Elder, you should have requested a mission for beat-taming. Why did you choose the herb-collecting mission? Do you know how hard it is for a healer to handle powerful beasts?” Sophia asked with a serious look as she felt frustrated by the task at hand.
“My Lady, for requesting this mission, my entire village saved our revenue for 3 months. Among all the ‘urgent and important’ missions at your sect, only herb collecting is the cheapest one. Please forgive us for the mistake and show your generosity.” The elder Fan directly fell to his knees in a begging posture.
All the villagers also fell to their knees and began shouting in sorrow.
“Sophia, we will see that serpent beast first. After that, we can worry about these things. It’s okay even if you can’t handle this mission. They won’t punish me for failing the mission. Let’s go.” Kent said, standing up from the stone chair.
The elder hurriedly stood up and bowed his head to Kent while thanking him repeatedly.
While the elder led the way on his house eagle, Kent and Sophia followed him on their pets. They flew along the mountain terrain on the usual path where villagers traveled.
Soon they reached broad, cultivated fields with several herbs growing in small units. Most of the herbs got wilted and dried out due to lack of attention.
“Sir, flying is not good here. That serpent can spray venom.” Elder Fan spoke while slowly descending to the edge of the cultivation fields.
After a brief run on the ground, they reached a large, well-like structure. After careful observation, Kent saw the serpent beast, which circles around the well-like structure. It’s head, which is double the size of humans, is placed close to the herb plant.
“T-that’s a golden root plant.” Sophia’s mouth went wide open as she stared at the small plant close to the head of the serpent beast.
All three of them came to a stop, maintaining a safe distance from the beast. While Sophia is observing the plant, Kent’s gaze moves onto the serpent beast. The elder Fan stood in wait with an anticipated look.
Soon, the surprised gaze of Sophia changed into fear. As she recognized the serpent-beast strength, the thought of completing the mission completely died down.
“Okey, where do we start?” Kent asked, taking out his bow.
“Are you mad? Can’t you see its strength? Let’s go back.” Sophia replied in a serious tone while mounting her mountain lion.