touchnovel Chapter 165 The Raven's Three-Legged Leg
Chapter 165 The Raven's Three-Legged Leg
Chapter 165 The Crow's Three-Pronged Kick
The woman with the sword looked at Gebu with a complicated expression, a hint of disdain in her eyes.
"You goblin, what are you thinking about all day?"
"—It's not like I picked this place," Gebu said. "How much do you know about this Silver Moon Corridor? For a brothel, isn't that a bit too elegant a name?"
"You've never seen the world—" the swordswoman snorted. "Martiana isn't some backwater like Red Town. It's the capital of the New Kingdom, the most prosperous city on this side of Shanhaiguan, without a doubt. That Silver Moon Corridor is in the Upper City, a place for nobles and the wealthy to entertain themselves, so its style is naturally much higher."
"Hey, no matter how high-class it is, it's still the same old stuff inside," Gebu casually remarked.
"Can we change the subject—"
"I'm telling you, as a mercenary who risks his life for money, crawling and rolling around in mud, you should have seen everything by now," Gebu asked the woman directly. "Fighting alongside a bunch of grown men in the military camp, you must have had your share of funny stories. But I feel like you're sometimes more conservative than a nun."
"—That's precisely why, if I don't draw a clear line, others will only take advantage of me." The swordswoman crossed her arms in front of her chest and said with a hint of defensiveness, "Joking around is harmless, but I'm warning you, don't get any funny ideas, or I'll chop you up."
"Oh ho, you're really something." Gebu retorted without letting up. "Fine, I understand. But I'm a straightforward person, so if I offend you in any way, you have to let me know—you know, I haven't been in human society for long, and I have to learn your rules slowly."
"Not long yet? I think you're more shrewd than anyone else," the swordswoman said bluntly, then lowered her voice and added, "No offense intended—so far, you've performed quite well."
After saying that, the female mercenary seemed a little embarrassed. Before Gebu could answer, she got up and put away the weapon that was leaning against her leg.
"I'm going to sleep now; I still have to travel tonight."
Gebu waved to the woman with the sword and watched her go upstairs. He then ordered a glass of watered-down mead, drank it, and felt a little sleepy before returning to his room—where he saw the woman with the sword lying quietly asleep on her side in bed.
Sleeping bags have already been laid out on the ground.
As she slept, she revealed an unusually unguarded expression, her chest rising and falling gently and rhythmically. The woman's body was slender and well-proportioned, radiating a calm and beautiful vitality, like a young doe.
"If she took off her armor, the swordswoman would be quite a beauty," Geb thought. Unfortunately, life didn't allow her to live a carefree life like a noblewoman.
A good woman, just a little short-tempered.
Gebu couldn't imagine this guy enjoying a happy and peaceful married life. Whoever married her would be taking his life—that was no joke. When this woman got angry, she was entirely capable of killing someone.
She's gone; she'll never get married.
So as not to wake the woman, Geb took off his shoes, tiptoed to lock the doors and windows, removed his mask, transformed back into his goblin form, and then crawled into his sleeping bag, put on his eye mask, and began to meditate.
As evening approached, the two tidied up, ate a simple meal, retrieved their horses, bid farewell to the small village, and continued their journey eastward. The night passed uneventfully. During the day, the two camped in the wild. Gebu steamed some beans with salted fish and served them with his own fermented bread. The two ate, then took turns keeping watch, each getting a few hours of sleep before setting off again in the evening.
Another night of travel. In the early morning of the sixth day after their agreement, the two climbed over the hills and finally saw the capital of the Rose Kingdom, Martina.
A river divides the land into two sides, flowing into the sea. The long coastline forms a smooth arc against the sky. At the confluence of the river and the sea, there lies a bright white city, shimmering in the rising sun, like white jade sprinkled with diamond dust, delicately scattered at the boundary between the land and the sea.
This was the first time Gebu had ever seen the sea, and also the first time he had ever seen such a magnificent city. "So beautiful—"
Gebu was stunned for a long time, speechless and choked with emotion, only managing to utter this half-sentence of sigh.
The swordswoman smiled slightly as she looked at Gebu's shocked expression.
"This is what a human city should be like, isn't it beautiful?"
"I always thought Akabo was beautiful—but compared to Matiana, it's just a small village."
"Don't be fooled by the city's appearance. Once you go inside, you'll find that it's still just people, and people are still busy with the same things," the woman said with a hint of cynicism. "If you've seen enough, let's hurry up and leave. Seeing is believing, and we still have half a day's journey to reach Matiana."
Gebu reluctantly memorized the beautiful scenery before him and continued on his way with the swordswoman.
As they came down the hill, the two were stopped by an unexpected situation.
Gebu had already caught a whiff of blood in the air, so he told the swordswoman to stop her horse and find a hiding place. Then he sent out his big-eyed bats to scout ahead.
An overturned carriage lay across the road, its driver and passengers nowhere to be seen. There were signs of a struggle on the road, bloodstains everywhere, and several footprints leading to disturbed bushes by the roadside.
The air was filled with the stench of wolfhounds.
"Gnoll," Geb telepathically communicated to the swordswoman.
The swordswoman instinctively gripped the half-sword at her waist and pulled down her mask.
"Don't worry, it looks like they've already left," Gebu deduced by observing how dry the bloodstains were.
"Then let's leave quickly," the swordswoman replied.
Geb nodded in agreement. He had Big Eye circle around the area, and then had his magical pet track the direction in which the footprints disappeared at the limit of his synesthesia—but he did not see any gnolls or the carriage owner.
"Poor fellow," Geb thought to himself. Gnolls were considered a stupid and cruel race among humanoids, with almost no language ability. The only difference between them and wild beasts was that they walked on two legs and could use the most basic spears and bows.
They don't even know how to make fire; they only eat raw meat and drink blood. Goblins wouldn't even deign to associate with them.
Of course, these creatures are stronger than goblins and kobolds, with sharp teeth and claws. A tribe wouldn't provoke them unnecessarily.
If they fall into the hands of the jackals, their fate is to be disemboweled and devoured alive.
Geb had little interest in being a hero; he and the swordswoman pushed the carriage a few feet aside to let the horses pass.
————=——."
Just as the swordswoman was about to exert her strength, Gebu suddenly called out to her, "Wait!"
"Ouch—I almost threw out my back! What are you doing?!"
Geb's eyes widened as his gaze was drawn to a hidden mark on the wheel hub.
A three-pronged bird claw.
Is this the Grey Ravens' carriage?!
According to the book "Shadow of the Grey Ravens," the Grey Ravens have a strict system of coded symbols used to mark various noteworthy locations and objects.
For example, a circle with an eye represents a sweetwater well: this shop or house has been scouted and is worth stealing. If the eye in the circle is replaced with a line, it means there's nothing to steal, or the place is too heavily guarded to be worth a try.
Three bird eggs are hidden under a semicircle, representing a sanctuary: the owner of this place is related to the Gray Raven Society and will provide shelter for its members.
A three-pronged bird claw represents a passenger pigeon: this carriage, or boat, carries important items or information from the Grey Crows Society.
The bribed town guards, upon seeing this symbol, will not harass the carriage or boat and will let it pass. Members of the Grey Raven Society, if they see a vehicle marked "Passenger Pigeon" in trouble, will do everything in their power to help it get out of trouble.
The gnolls don't care about passenger pigeons. The owner of this carriage was unlucky and ran into the wolf's mouth—but the important things from the Gray Ravens should still be on them!
Geb suddenly realized that this was a golden opportunity. He had been worried that the Gray Raven Society would interfere with his deal with the Golden Mask—if he could establish a connection with the Gray Raven Society, wouldn't he be able to infiltrate the enemy ranks?
If the crows don't intend to harm me, then consider it a precaution; if they do intend to harm me, then I can deal with it calmly.
The members of the Gray Raven Society probably don't know that the halflings are disguised. With the help of the slang and insider knowledge they've learned from books, infiltrating the group shouldn't be a problem.
The swordswoman looked at Gebu, who was deep in thought, and patted him on the shoulder.
"Are you up to something again?"
Geb turned his head and gave the woman a goblin-like, toothy grin.
"Hehe, Rose Knight, would you like to be a hero again?"
The swordswoman looked at the half-human ghost and sighed helplessly.
"Let me guess, fighting gnolls?"
"Fight the gnolls!"
"Big guy! Hold on, don't let go!" the dark-skinned half-elf woman shouted anxiously.
"I'll take it!" the orc burly man replied in a gruff voice, his drooping eyes revealing a dull yet resolute determination.
The bulky giant used all his strength to press the door down firmly. The howls of jackals echoed outside the abandoned chapel. The repeated impacts made the wooden door tremble slightly, and dust rose up, causing the orc and his dark-skinned half-elf companion to cough incessantly.
With the enemy at the front, the two people, one big and one small, were trapped in the church—it was hardly an ideal situation, but the half-elf was delighted.
"Luckily, this church is made of brick—otherwise, the big bad wolf would have blown it away in one breath!"
The large orc stared blankly at the dark-skinned half-elf, not understanding what she was saying.
"Haven't you heard the story of the Three Little Pigs? Thatched house, wooden house, brick house—watch out above!!"
In an instant, the dark-skinned half-elf noticed a large hole in the dilapidated roof of the church, from which a wolf's mouth peeked out. The half-elf pulled out his crossbow, pulled the trigger, and accurately sent a red-tipped bolt into the wolf's mouth!
"Awooo!!"
The gnoll on the roof let out a mournful howl. The crossbow had a low draw weight, and the bolt hadn't killed it; it had only stuck a palm-sized wooden splinter in the gnoll's mouth. The gnoll was completely enraged and began to tear apart the roof, widening the hole little by little, by gnawing and scratching at it.
The half-elf busied himself loading arrows into the crossbow, muttering incessantly, "You really are a big bad wolf, huh?! So cooperative, starting to sneak into the chimney, huh?!"
The orc called "Big Guy" wanted to pick something up and throw it at the jackal on the roof, but he didn't dare leave the doorway. His mind went blank, and he stood there dumbfounded.
Just then, a loud crash came from outside the door, and the door panel was smashed off the frame by the enormous impact! Three gnolls piled on top of each other on the door panel, pushing the big guy out. "Run, big guy!" The dark-skinned half-elf reacted quickly, abandoning his crossbow, and pulled the orc along as they ran into the chapel. The big guy released the door panel and followed the half-elf to the innermost part of the chapel.
The orc picked up a dusty tall candlestick, while the dark-skinned half-elf held a crossbow in one hand and pulled a banjo from behind his back with the other, turning it upside down as a weapon. Both of them were dressed as grooms, without armor, and faced off against the gnolls who surged in, looking quite disheveled.
"Ah—we're doomed." The dark-skinned half-elf laughed nervously, facing the gnolls eyeing him menacingly. "Gnoll brothers—look at me, my skin is burnt, my meat is rotten and dry, while these are plump and fragrant. Aren't you all—"
"Huh? Didn't Ayi always complain about how smelly I am? She even urged me to take a shower this morning—" the orc said, looking confused.
Before Blackie could reply, a deep voice came from among the gnolls, accompanied by a muffled gurgling sound.
"----Meat."
A burly, scarred gnoll emerged from the pack of wolves; its face was ferocious and its body was covered in bite marks and knife scars.
As soon as Scarface passed by, the once ferocious jackals fell silent and tucked their tails between their legs.
The dark-skinned half-elf nervously swallowed, secretly taking a step back and hiding behind the large orc.
"----Meat."
Scarface repeated the word again, baring his teeth at the two men in front of him—his jackal minions also began to imitate their leader, and in an instant, a row of gleaming white fangs appeared in the abandoned chapel.
"May the Queen of Ravens protect us—" the half-elf whispered, counting the gnolls in the church. Including the leader, there were ten of them.
Eleven pairs of eyes stared in bewilderment at Scarface's self-mutilation. The gnolls widened their eyes as they watched their leader greedily devour his own arm. One gnoll cautiously approached, wanting to touch his leader—but Scarface turned and bit the gnoll's neck, snapping it with a sharp crack.
Scarface threw the gnoll's corpse to the ground: "Meat, mine! Don't try to take it from me!"
Then he continued to gnaw on his own arm, tearing the bloody flesh off the bone.
While the gnolls were confused, a javelin pierced the air and shot through the doorway, instantly piercing the back of one of the gnolls, sending him flying forward and pinning him directly to the brick wall!
"Aww!"
"middle!"
The church instantly descended into chaos. The jackals turned around and stared intently! They saw a tall female knight holding a longsword in one hand and a javelin in the other, her black hair flowing past her sharp, grey-blue eyes.
Behind the female knight, a small figure peeked out, leisurely turned halfway around, stood in front of the woman, and gave the jackals a bright smile.
"Good boys, line up, I'm going to chop your heads off!"