A blackened fire pot sat beneath the chimney in the room, wood crackling inside, gradually raising the temperature and warding off the cold air outside.
The middle-aged Village Chief, wearing a round cap, with a sturdy build and dark skin, looked at Tang Zheng and Anri with a hint of apology.
"The environment is simple, I hope you two don't mind," the middle-aged Village Chief said softly, a little embarrassed.
This was the Village Chief's home in Karn Village, and Tang Zheng's group had been invited here as soon as they appeared.
Besides the Village Chief, Lachimo, the village hunter, stood quietly to the side, leaning against the wooden wall, his gaze sweeping over Tang Zheng and the Emerald Witch with some trepidation.
Especially the gold-crafted nameplate hanging on Tang Zheng's waist, made Lachimo couldn't help but glance at it a few more times.
It was proof of a "Gold Rank" Adventurer!
The value of that nameplate alone, if sold, would be enough to feed a family for two or three months.
This was a big shot he had never even come close to before.
Lachimo remembered the last time he saw Tang Zheng, the other party wasn't even an Adventurer. He hadn't expected that in just a few months, the other party was already a "Gold Rank" Adventurer.
Truly remarkable—
Lachimo glanced at Tang Zheng's young face, and the beautiful, green-haired girl beside him, quickly withdrawing his gaze, not daring to stare too much.
They're from a completely different world.
"It's us who are disturbing you," Tang Zheng shook his head, speaking calmly, "Village Chief, you don't need to be so polite. It's not my first time in Karn Village, and I thank you for your hospitality before."
Hearing this, the middle-aged Village Chief's face showed a flattered expression, "Your Excellency is too kind, these are just small matters."
Although the Black-Haired Youth before him was visiting their village for the third time, it was completely different from the previous two times.
The middle-aged Village Chief remembered that the other party was wearing cheap linen clothes, and didn't seem too remarkable. It was a far cry from his current image in a pure white Priest Robe with an exquisite black inner layer.
Especially the Evil Spirit Dog Demon Creature, more than one person tall, squatting outside the door, all indicated that the Black-Haired Youth before him was no longer someone they villagers could reach.
Thinking of some of the women in the village, who occasionally joked about Tang Zheng helping Anri, that little girl, carry straw before, the middle-aged Village Chief couldn't help but feel a pang of anxiety.
Fortunately, Tang Zheng didn't know about this. The middle-aged Village Chief didn't think that a big shot like Tang Zheng would care about the village women's jokes. On the contrary, if he heard it, it was likely to cause his dissatisfaction, and even affect the village.
"I wonder if Anri is still in the village?" Tang Zheng's calm voice sounded.
"Ah, ah?"
The middle-aged Village Chief was stunned for a moment, then suddenly widened his eyes, a layer of cold sweat breaking out on his forehead.
"What's wrong? Is Anri not here?"
Tang Zheng was a little strange, looking at the obviously nervous middle-aged Village Chief, and said with some surprise.
"Yes, she is."
"Your Excellency, is there something you need?" the middle-aged Village Chief asked softly, a little guilty and nervous.
Lachimo's body also became tense.
"I came to Karn Village this time to see Anri. I discovered last time that Anri has a special talent."
"So I wanted to ask if she would be willing to leave the village," Tang Zheng patiently explained, facing the surprised Village Chief and Lachimo.
Hearing this, the middle-aged Village Chief and Lachimo exchanged glances, feeling relieved and pleasantly surprised at the same time.
They didn't know what talent Anri had that could be valued by Tang Zheng, but they knew that this was an opportunity for both Anri and Karn Village.
"Lachimo, take a trip to Emmot's house, and also call Emmot over," the middle-aged Village Chief turned his head, and said to Lachimo in a serious tone.
This matter was a good thing for the village, but they also needed to hear Anri herself, and Anri's father Emmot's opinion.
Lachimo nodded, quickly left the room, and turned to leave.
Tang Zheng then chatted with the Karn Village Village Chief, learning about whether anything major had happened in the Re-Estize Kingdom during this time.
"What a pity."
Karn Village was too remote, and the middle-aged Village Chief didn't know much.
Beside them.
The Emerald Witch, watching Tang Zheng communicate with a weak human, had a face that was still expressionless, but her heart was full of surprise and incomprehension.
She really couldn't understand it.
Someone with such powerful strength and a terrifying master was actually communicating with a human who could be killed with a wave of his hand in an equal manner.
Even if she didn't know much about the human world, she was clear that with her master's strength, there probably weren't many like him in the human race.
Could it be that the person called Anri is also a human powerhouse? the Emerald Witch thought to herself.
About two minutes later.
Laqimeng came in with a brown-haired, nervous man, and Anri, who was fidgeting with her fingers, followed behind.
The Emerald Witch immediately looked at the three of them and found that they were all very weak fellows, and the look of doubt in her eyes deepened.
"Sister, these humans don't seem to know the master's strength," the White Mist Witch's voice sounded in the Emerald Witch's heart.
The Emerald Witch nodded lightly, her pupils thoughtful. After seeing the scene before her, she also vaguely realized that the master was deliberately hiding his strength.
"Long time no see, Anri."
Tang Zheng looked at Anri with a smile and greeted her with a chuckle.
"Lord," Anri said hurriedly, bowing in a flustered manner.
The following things were much simpler.
Not surprisingly, whether it was Anri's father or the Karn Village Chief, they were very supportive of Anri accepting his invitation.
For the poor villagers living in the border village, Tang Zheng's invitation was a great opportunity in their eyes.
In fact, it was indeed the case.
The only difference was that the original Anri belonged to the Undead King's camp in the future, but now she had joined Tang Zheng and stood on the opposite side of the Undead King.
After deliberately staying in Karn Village for a day to allow Anri to say goodbye to her family.
The next day.
A carriage drove out of Karn Village.
The carriage was pulled by Evil Spirit Dogs, and Tang Zheng and the other two sat in the back. The carriage was naturally sponsored by the Village Chief.
On the swaying carriage.
Anri was wrapped in thick clothes, her cheeks were red from the cold wind, and she looked up cautiously at Tang Zheng and the expressionless Emerald Witch.
Even though the weather was so cold.
Neither Tang Zheng nor the Emerald Witch were wearing much, as if the cold temperature had no effect on them at all.
"What's wrong? If you have anything you want to ask, feel free to ask," Tang Zheng said with a chuckle, noticing Anri's gaze.
"I, do I really have the talent that you mentioned, my lord?"
Anri shrank her neck, wrapped her old clothes tightly around herself, and her fingers, frozen white, were exposed from her sleeves.
Even now, Anri felt like she was dreaming, full of confusion and helplessness, listening to her father and Laqimeng Uncle.
The lord in front of her was a "Gold Rank" Adventurer, a powerful figure who could earn a lot of money.
But.
Apart from farm work, she couldn't do anything else.
"Believe me, you have a talent that you don't know about," Tang Zheng said very definitely, and then changed the subject, "However..."
Anri quickly looked up, her brown pupils anxiously watching Tang Zheng.
"I've mentioned it once before, but I still want to say it to you again, following me can be a bit dangerous," Tang Zheng said.
Anri raised her fair neck and said as if to cheer herself up, "I'm not afraid!"
There aren't many ways to make money in the village. Besides growing crops like wheat and picking medicinal herbs in the forest, there are no other ways to earn money.
Anri also wanted to earn more money, even enough to help the village. She wasn't stupid and knew why the Village Chief wanted her to accept the invitation to follow Tang Zheng.
The carriage returned to silence.
Anri really wanted to talk to the Emerald Witch next to her, but the indifferent attitude she displayed made Anri's heart beat fast, and she didn't dare to speak first.
"Xiao Hei, faster," Tang Zheng said to the Evil Spirit Dog pulling the carriage.
"Awoo."
The Evil Spirit Dog howled and its limbs moved quickly, starting to run on the snow.
The sudden increase in speed made the cold wind blowing in their faces even stronger. Tang Zheng and the Emerald Witch were naturally unaffected.
But Anri, as an ordinary person, couldn't help but shiver even though she was wrapped in thick clothes.
"Emerald."
Tang Zheng glanced at the Emerald Witch beside him.
"Yes." The Emerald Witch quickly nodded respectfully, raised her slender arm, and a green light emanated from her palm: "Plant Growth."
Several leaves flew out from the Emerald Witch's body, rapidly growing and expanding in mid-air, forming a plant barrier that wrapped around the open carriage, blocking the oncoming cold wind.
"So amazing." Anri opened her mouth slightly, a look of surprise on her face.
With the Evil Spirit Dog's accelerated running.
The original journey of half a day was shortened to two hours.
Tall city walls and towers appeared on the horizon ahead, the border city of E-Rantel had arrived.
The soldiers guarding the city gate were stunned and nervous when faced with the Evil Spirit Dog pulling the carriage, its imposing aura frightening. They subconsciously picked up their weapons and watched the approaching carriage warily.
"Stop!!"
A soldier shouted, his voice trembling.
The Evil Spirit Dog's current huge size was full of danger, and it was not something ordinary soldiers like them could handle.
The Evil Spirit Dog slowed down, taking leisurely steps, lowering its head and revealing its ferocious face, its beast eyes looking down at the soldiers blocking the city gate with disdain.
Just one look.
Made these soldiers tremble all over.
"Alright, Xiao Hei." A helpless voice came from the carriage.
The Evil Spirit Dog paused, the Bone Chains on its body tightened slightly, allowing the pulled carriage to stop easily.
Whoosh!
The plant barrier covering the top of the carriage turned into a large number of leaves and fell.
Tang Zheng got up and jumped off the carriage, took out the Adventurer's badge from his waist, and walked towards the soldiers guarding the city.
"I am an Adventurer."
Tang Zheng spoke while gesturing with the Adventurer's proof in his hand.
Looking at the Gold Rank badge.
All the soldiers guarding the city did not show surprised expressions on their faces. Ordinary Adventurers could not make Demon Creatures like the Evil Spirit Dog pull a carriage.
After a little more inspection.
These soldiers quickly made way. Compared to the last time he returned to E-Rantel from the Tove Great Forest, the intensity of the inspection was significantly relaxed.
Tang Zheng guessed that it was probably because the war between the Re-Estize Kingdom and the Bahharuth Empire had ended.
Although he didn't know the result, the probability of the kingdom's defeat was obviously higher.
Just as Tang Zheng was about to turn around and return to the carriage, suddenly, an excited voice rang out.
"Sir, are you the 'Free Will' Adventurer?"
A soldier who was closer to Tang Zheng glanced at the words on the Gold Rank badge, and his spirit was lifted.
Eh? Tang Zheng paused in his turning motion, looking at the soldier with some surprise, a hint of confusion in his heart.
When he initially registered as the Adventurer "Free Will," he should have been relatively unknown. Moreover, he spent most of his time outside the kingdom and hadn't undertaken many adventurer's quests.
He shouldn't be that famous.
" 'Free Will'?"
"Is it the 'Free Will'?"
"As expected, black hair!"
"The black-haired genius alchemist, indeed an adventurer from our kingdom."
"..."
The surrounding city guard soldiers, hearing the excited voice of the first soldier, all turned to look.
When they clearly saw Tang Zheng's somewhat conspicuous black hair, their faces also revealed excited and fervent expressions, looking at Tang Zheng with admiration.
Faced with such gazes, Tang Zheng frowned slightly.
He realized that the plan he had originally intended to implement seemed to have... deviated somewhat.
The reason Tang Zheng was acting in an ordinary manner this time was to implement a plan to "increase his reputation," laying the groundwork for his next objective.
However! Seeing the appearance of these soldiers before him, Tang Zheng realized that his prepared plan had clearly gone awry.
But now is not the time to adjust the plan, but to figure out what exactly happened.
He didn't recall making any major moves within the Re-Estize Kingdom, or perhaps someone was acting under his name? "Everyone, I wonder if you could tell me what happened?" Tang Zheng asked the soldier who spoke first, several thoughts flashing through his mind.
"You don't know?" Seeing that Tang Zheng seemed completely unaware, the soldier spoke with continued excitement, "You are now the most famous Gold Rank adventurer among adventurers."
The other soldiers around also gathered around, vying to speak. Although it was somewhat chaotic, Tang Zheng finally understood what was going on.
As expected, the Martial King Go Gin had left the Empire, as he had planned, and headed to the Abelion Hills.
And it was precisely because of this matter that the Empire experienced a significant upheaval, even affecting the front-line troops, allowing the Kingdom's side to catch their breath.
The final impact of this matter was the Bloody Emperor's fury.
"So, I'm wanted by the Empire now, right?" Tang Zheng raised an eyebrow.
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