That bard is such a charmer!

Chapter 45 Fortress and Serpent People

As it turns out, if you're looking for something in the wilderness, an elven ranger with a hunting dog is definitely the teammate you'll crave most.

"Come with me."

Levin found a scale and some strange slime in the bushes, then led the group away from the path, through a dense thicket, and finally to a stream.

It was here that they saw the debris scattered among the pebbles, as well as the human corpse with its heart ripped out. Judging from its attire, it must have been a traveling merchant.

"Poor guy."

Richard stepped forward, closed the corpse's eyes, glanced at the bloodstains around him that were just beginning to turn dark red, and said, "It should have happened within an hour."

Levin nodded and crossed the stream:

"There's no time to bury him. Those guys probably haven't gone far. If we're lucky, we might be able to track them down to their hideout."

After saying that, he patted the hunting dog on the head and disappeared into the dense forest behind it.

Richard and the rest of the group immediately followed.

Perhaps because they had seen the body, everyone became noticeably more focused for the rest of the journey, moving quietly and holding their breath.

They walked until the sun was setting in the west.

"Damn, is it that far?"

Short-armed and short-legged Hammer was getting impatient. He began to regret not bringing a pony, and then looked at Mendel with expectant eyes, asking:

"Could you become...?"

"cannot!"

Mendel provided the answer with uncanny foresight.

"Stop fooling around, you two." Levin pushed aside the branches in front of him and encouraged his companion, "Hang in there, the marks are getting fresher, we should be there soon... Shh!"

He suddenly made a shushing gesture halfway through his sentence.

After crouching down to observe for a moment, he waved to everyone, signaling them to come closer to him.

Richard stepped forward and peered through the gaps in the branches into the distance. To his surprise, he discovered a fortress standing tall on the opposite ridge!

The fortress consists of a tower with a beacon tower and several sections of stone wall. It has clearly been abandoned for a long time, so much so that most of the tower and wall have collapsed, revealing the internal structure like a cross-section.

At this moment, Mendel, who was standing nearby, said:

"Hey, I know this place!"

"This is the Stone Fortress. The chief mentor in the camp once told me that it was built two hundred years ago during the continental war by the city-state alliance in the Gulf region to prevent the Empire from launching a surprise attack via a back road."

"After the war ended, the imperial forces retreated east of the mountains, and this place gradually fell into ruin..."

Richard pursed his lips, thinking that he had heard this history before.

At that time, the Holy Roland Empire was at its zenith, expanding in all directions, causing surrounding countries to become construction maniacs, building castles all over the map.

Nowadays, most of the abandoned castles that adventurers encounter in the wild are remnants of that era.

I never expected there would be one in this remote mountain valley.

Levin took out a brass telescope from his luggage, examined the Stonecastle closely for a while, and then said to Mendel:

"Your mentor's news needs an update. This place is far from being abandoned; on the contrary, it's quite lively now."

Richard borrowed a telescope and also looked out.

really.

The snake-man they had been tracking for most of the day was now inside this fortress.

Through the gaps exposed after the collapse, you can probably see eight or nine of them.

Its head and lower body are those of a snake, but it has the chest and hands of a human, wielding weapons such as spears and scimitars, and crawling among the rocks.

One of them was clearly different, wearing leather armor and a robe, a Mayan-style headdress made of feathers, and holding a book in its hand.

Is he the spellcaster?

Richard raised an eyebrow and attempted to activate his Eye of Insight from an extremely long distance.

Fortunately, he actually succeeded!

A line of text quickly appeared before his eyes:

[Name: Serkiss Erosion Tooth]

[Race: Snake People]

[Class: Shaman lv4]

[Attributes: Strength 11, Agility 13, Constitution 11, Intelligence 10, Perception 14, Charisma 10]

[Standard Skill: Snakespeaking]

[Extraordinary Skills - Spells: Poison Gas Spray (Tier 0), Mind Wedge (Tier 0), Druid Trick (Tier 0), Healing Mantra (Tier 1), Charm (Tier 1), Tree Skin (Tier 2), Poison Breath (Tier 2)]

[Extraordinary Skills - Combat Techniques: None]

[Talents: Heat perception, toxin immunity, telepathy]

Specialty: Winding Body

Title: None

It's good to be at a higher level.

Wouldn't all the enemy's intelligence come at once?

Richard curled the corners of his mouth, then turned his gaze to the book in the other person's arms.

【Name: Book of Gray Scales (Can be charmed)】

Rank: Rare

Note: This item is carefully crafted using scales from juvenile snake people. It can help spellcasters (snake people only) reduce magic consumption. Additionally, it's very cool to hold in your arms during the summer.

Great, now I even have someone to seduce!

Richard was so excited he couldn't help but rub his hands together.

However, the next second, when he moved the telescope down a bit, his smile vanished instantly.

Inside the walls of the Stone Fortress, besides the slithering snake-men, there were three humans wearing metal collars shaped like rattlesnakes around their necks, locked in a wooden cage in the corner...

Ten minutes later.

Everyone used binoculars to look across the other side, then sat in a circle to analyze the situation.

"I've seen those snake people. Aside from the ones wearing robes, which is a bit of a hassle, I could kill the rest with a single axe strike! If Mendel could add some poison protection, I could be even more efficient!"

The dwarf Ironhammer spoke first, spitting everywhere, clearly eager to start the fight.

However, Levin shook his head.

"I have no doubt that we can win in a direct confrontation."

"The problem lies with those who were arrested."

"As far as I know, the snake people really enjoy capturing other races as slaves, and they control them with collars engraved with electric magic."

"What if they drive those people out as human shields during our attack? What should we do?"

"The snake people can sense hot and cold, making it difficult for us to sneak in and rescue them, at least not for a wandering swordsman like me."

Upon hearing this, Iron Hammer tugged at his beard, clearly having no good ideas.

Mendel, who was only good at studying plants but not at giving on-the-spot commands, immediately shrank back like a nerdy guy in an American high school who had just met the captain of the football team.

Grace didn't even think about it; she simply smiled and looked at Richard.

Richard: ?

Miss Copper Dragon, you must have come up with some bad idea but are too lazy to say it, so you just want to see me scratch my head, right?

Richard's lips curled into a smirk as he began to think.

He actually does have an idea.

It's not quite perfect yet; it needs a spark of inspiration...

At this time.

Mendel, who was on the other side, thought that everyone was at a loss and suggested, "Why don't we find a secluded place to set up camp first? It's going to rain soon, and I don't want to get soaked."

Will it rain?

Oh right, these druids are capable of predicting the weather!

In an instant, Richard's mind became as clear as if he had taken Wallace, and he opened his eyes wide and said:

"Gentlemen, I have a plan that can both save the slaves and eliminate these snake-men!"