Chapter 89 : Chapter 89
Chapter 89: Subjugation Preparations
There was indeed a mission to subjugate the Strangler at the Adventurers’ Guild.
However, the mission to subjugate the Strangler required five S-rank Adventurers before it could be accepted.
Clearly, Erich was trying to make Ryan and the others retreat in the face of difficulty.
Unfortunately, he had miscalculated.
That was because the Ryan standing before him was very different from the S-rank Adventurers in his imagination.
Especially after Ryan listened to Mira’s introduction of the Strangler, he felt that the Strangler was very suitable for their squad to kill.
That was because whether it was the spider silk or the poisonous mist, they would only take effect if one approached the Strangler.
Ryan and the others’ weapons were firearms.
They could launch attacks from several hundred meters away.
As long as Ryan and the others paid attention to the distance, there was a very high possibility that they could kill the Strangler without taking any injuries.
Lia gnashed her teeth as she looked at Erich.
Although she knew that Ryan was an extremely powerful adventurer, the intimidating reputation of the S-rank Monster Strangler made Lia lack confidence.
“No problem. We will defeat the Strangler!” Ryan replied.
“Ryan, don’t be hasty. You don’t need to use the Strangler to prove your strength,” Lia hurriedly said. “Under normal circumstances, Stranglers do not exist alone. They usually appear in groups, with one powerful female Strangler leading many offspring.”
“To subjugate even a single adult Strangler requires a great deal of manpower and resources. Not to mention, no one can say for sure what the exact situation is like in the east.”
“Lia, don’t worry. We’re just going to take a look. If we really can’t defeat it, we’ll leave,” Ryan said softly as he looked at Lia.
He was telling the truth.
He had no intention of risking his life just to prove himself.
If the situation was truly impossible, he would definitely take his women and run.
“Mr. Ryan...”
Lia’s eyes reddened with tears.
Ryan looked at Kurt. “Village Chief Kurt, if we can bring back the Strangler’s corpse, you will acknowledge our strength, correct?”
“I understand. That is indeed the case,” Kurt said flatly.
“In that case, Father, I will also follow Mr. Ryan’s squad and go with them to subjugate the Strangler!” Lia said through her tears.
“Nonsense, Lia. I will not allow you to go!” Kurt rebuked angrily.
He understood the terror of the Strangler better than others.
He had once seen many adventurers challenge the Strangler.
But what was the result?
The Strangler was still alive and well even now.
As for those adventurers who had challenged it, the grass on each of their graves had already grown tall.
He did not want his daughter to face something so dangerous.
“No, Father. Mr. Ryan came because I invited him here. If something happens to Mr. Ryan because of this, I will never forgive myself. So I must go with Mr. Ryan!” Lia wiped away her tears and said solemnly.
Kurt saw the look in Lia’s eyes.
A moment later, Kurt was the first to give in.
“Fine. I agree to let you go with them. Bring Mira along. Have Mira protect you.”
After Kurt finished speaking, he looked at Mira.
Meeting Kurt’s gaze, Mira nodded firmly.
She would protect Lia with her life.
“Heh, I look forward to seeing the S-rank Adventurer display his skills!”
Erich laughed.
After that, Kurt and Erich turned and left.
Talia asked with a smile, “Second Sister, can I go with you?”
“No!”
Lia’s expression turned stern.
“Talia, we are not going there to play. We can’t possibly bring you along!”
“Tch. Why can Second Sister go, but I can’t?” Talia curled her lips.
“Talia!”
Lia shouted loudly. “I’m warning you, you are not allowed to go near that place. If I find out you disobeyed, I’ll lock you up for one hundred years!”
“If I can’t go, then I won’t go...” Talia muttered quietly.
Lia turned to face Ryan and said in shame, “I’m sorry, Mr. Ryan. My people were far too rude!”
“Lia, you don’t need to mind it. I didn’t take it to heart at all.”
Ryan waved his hand. “After all, you are the mission issuer. I am only here to complete the mission and obtain the reward.”
“Your people’s doubts do have some reason behind them. Our age indeed makes it easy for people to distrust us.”
After that, Ryan looked toward Fina and the other three women. “All right, for the remaining time, let’s discuss tactics.”
Ryan and the others returned to the accommodations Lia had arranged.
After dinner, everyone began an enthusiastic discussion.
During the discussion, Ryan decided that for this subjugation of the Strangler, he would take out the new weapons from the previous two months.
When Fina and the other three women heard Ryan’s decision, they immediately became extremely happy.
They had already familiarized themselves with the new weapons for a long time.
However, they had never had a chance to use them.
Now, during this subjugation of the Strangler, they could finally use them.
The tactical discussion continued until late at night.
Only when everyone truly could not endure their sleepiness anymore did it finally end.
......
The preparations took an entire day.
During this day, Ryan and the others also recovered.
The fatigue from their previous long journey by airship had already eased.
Now, everyone was in peak condition.
On the morning of the third day, everyone woke up early, washed up, and ate breakfast. Afterward, Lia arrived with the prepared supplies.
“Good morning, everyone.”
“Good morning!”
Today, Lia and Mira had put on their combat equipment.
Lia wore light armor specially made by the Elf Race. The armor plates were made from moonlight silver mixed with linen fibers. They were pale silver and covered her chest, back, and waist. The edges of the plates had tiny ventilation holes.
The armor plates at her shoulders were curved and did not affect the movement of her arms. Around her waist, a brown leather belt was fastened tightly. Two leather pouches hung from the belt, one containing magic scrolls and the other holding medicinal herbs used for treatment.
On her lower body were dark green trousers, their cuffs tucked into brown leather boots. The boot shafts reached below her knees, and anti-slip patterns were sewn onto the surface. Thin iron plates were embedded into the toes and heels, allowing her to borrow force when climbing.
The magic staff in her hand was about one point two meters long. The shaft was made from the trunk of a silverleaf pine. Its surface had been polished smooth and was light brown, with spiral magic patterns carved into it. Fine star-silver powder was embedded within the patterns, glimmering faintly under the light.
A green crystal the size of a pigeon egg was set into the top of the staff. It was a natural crystal mined from the roots of the Sacred Tree and could strengthen control over plant-type magic.
The end of the staff was fitted with a copper base to prevent wear when it was inserted into the soil.
Mira wore a brown leather short cuirass on her upper body. The armor plates covered both shoulders and her chest, with leather strips connecting the plates to allow flexible movement.
Underneath, she wore a white linen short-sleeved shirt. The cuffs were tightened to avoid obstructing her movements.
On her lower body was a dark brown leather skirt that reached the middle of her thighs. The skirt had slits on both sides to make running easier. Beneath the skirt, she wore black fitted trousers, and the cuffs were also tucked into leather boots. Her leather boots were heavier than Lia’s, with two leather buckles on the shafts that could secure the greaves around her calves.
She had two weapons.
A longsword was slung diagonally across her back. The scabbard was made of dark brown leather, with a simple anti-slip clasp sewn in silver thread. The sword hilt was wrapped in black hemp rope, giving it a firm grip, and the guard was made of copper in the shape of a cross.
A quiver hung on the left side of her waist, with twenty arrows inside. The shafts were made from white birch, the fletching from owl feathers, and the arrowheads were three-edged iron tips that had been tempered with a slight paralytic poison.
A short bow hung on her right side. The bow was made of yew wood, and its string was made from the tendons of a magical beast. Grooves for adjusting draw weight were carved into the ox horn at both ends of the bow.
Mira wore leather bracers on her arms. Small pouches were sewn onto the bracers, holding flint and a small knife. The knife was foldable, with a blade only ten centimeters long, used to process prey or cut vines.
Her hair was combed into a tight bun behind her head and fixed in place with a wooden hairpin. Behind her ears were two silver leaves, which Lia had cultivated with magic. They could give off a faint sound as a warning in times of danger.
Ryan was somewhat surprised by the two women’s outfits.
“May I ask, is something wrong?” Lia asked.
“Ahem.”
Ryan coughed lightly. “Nothing...”
He could not say that Lia looked very beautiful in this equipment.
It made many manga scenes from his previous life resurface in his mind.
Immediately afterward, everyone headed outside Tree Sea Village.
Lia had already prepared the means of travel: Windleaf Boards.
These were boards made from lightwood and moonlight silver. Simple wind runes were engraved on the bottom, allowing them to glide using the air currents in the forest. When they moved close to the ground, they were almost silent.
The undersides of the Windleaf Boards had already been fitted with wind-attribute Magic Crystals in advance, enough for everyone to reach their destination.
They still needed to travel a certain distance from Tree Sea Village to the Strangler’s territory in the east.
In order to preserve their strength, they chose this method of travel.
Lia brought along an oversized spatial backpack. The supplies inside were enough food and clean water for everyone to survive for one month.
No one knew how long this subjugation of the Strangler would take.
Lia placed as many supplies as possible into the spatial backpack.
“Is everyone ready?”
Ryan straightened and looked at everyone.
Everyone responded to Ryan with a look of confirmation.
Ryan looked at Lia. “Lia, let’s set out!”
“All right, Mr. Ryan. Everyone, prepare yourselves. I’m going to start!”
Lia nodded and began to move both hands.
Among everyone present, the one most skilled in wind-attribute magic was Lia.
Therefore, everyone’s Windleaf Boards were controlled by Lia.
“WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!”
The seven boards hovered about five to ten centimeters above the ground and glided eastward along the small path at the village entrance.
The runes on the bottoms of the boards continued to glow. As they glided forward, they made almost no sound. Only when they occasionally brushed against low branches would the moonlight silver edges produce a faint scraping noise.
The wind in the forest passed through the branches and leaves, stirring everyone’s hair and the corners of their clothes.
The group gradually moved away from Tree Sea Village and advanced in the direction of the Strangler.
Before long, everyone arrived at a stretch of woodland.
Dense thickets of brambles could faintly be seen between the trees. That was the area where the giant poisonous spider, the Strangler, appeared.
Lia slowed the boards and turned back to make a gesture to everyone.
Everyone nodded one after another.
Immediately afterward, the height of the boards lowered a little more, almost gliding against the ground as they merged into the shadows of the forest and slowly approached.