No one knew what kind of price had to be paid to kill a Chosen—not even Anser himself.
So he decided to follow behind Evan and the Magic Research Society and observe first. He wouldn't rush to take the lead. Instead, he would play the role of a top-tier support and only go for the kill if the opportunity presented itself.
"I... support you." Iris admitted that she wasn't confident either, but she had chosen this man herself. Even if she was worried sick, she had to accept it.
"Relax. Isn't this an opportunity as well?" Anser gazed blankly toward the northwest, as if his eyes had fallen upon the trade city where he had lived for twenty years.
The memories of those years spent fleeing were carved deep into his bones.
He didn't want to run anymore.
Iris bumped his shoulder with hers.
"The Flamerule Mercenary Company is here. They're all waiting in the teleportation hall."
"Good. You're coming too. I'll take you all hunting."
"Hm?"
"Don't ask yet."
The two headed downstairs together and arrived at one of the castle's side halls.
Makaria was already waiting there with more than sixty mercenaries. Two attendants stood nearby serving them, while the tables were covered with food and wine.
After exchanging a few words, Anser activated a Teleportation Circle and sent most of the mercenaries to White Stone Island, leaving behind only Makaria, Amnon, and a handful of others.
He also brought Giant Tail over while he was at it.
Besides Makaria, Amnon was one of only two elite-class professionals in the mercenary company. An 8th-level Battle Master, he had long served as the deputy commander and was experienced in both leadership and troop training.
Anser arranged for him to take command of Durlag's city guard.
The others were all helpers Anser had personally selected and would officially assume command positions today.
The city guard lacked capable leadership. The former sheriff, Pardo, was too weak and could only manage the watch patrols.
As for the Lizardfolk king, Giant Tail, he would oversee the military forces on White Stone Island. That place was their main base, and Anser needed someone trustworthy to hold it.
"I've already spoken with the people on White Stone Island. No work will be assigned to them for now. You'll have a week to choose a location for the tiefling settlement," Anser reassured them.
"You really do think of everything." Makaria nodded approvingly before adding, "Everyone else has been assigned a job, so what about me?"
Even after becoming his subordinate, she remained as carefree and outspoken as ever. Her tone had not become any more humble.
Anser was quite pleased by that.
Compared to the recently joined bearded Adolf, he preferred straightforward people like Makaria.
It had nothing to do with gender or appearance.
"I've formed a battle group and would like to invite you to join it. It might even help you advance into the ranks of high-level professionals..."
The invitation sounded deliberately vague.
Makaria looked puzzled but agreed anyway.
"Sure. Whatever you say..."
Before she could finish speaking, a tingling sensation suddenly spread through her body.
A magical sigil shaped like a six-winged creature quietly branded itself onto the back of her hand.
"Huh?"
Iris opened the Party Storage, took down the notice posted on the bulletin board, and handed it to her.
"Read through it. If there's anything you don't understand, ask me."
"Thanks."
Makaria accepted it with both hands and discovered that beneath the lengthy announcement were six comments written in the blank space below.
Most simply read "Read" followed by a signature.
Iris, Bratt, Finn...
Anser paid her no further attention.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, he summoned the Dragonfly Ship and then entered Holrewen, bringing Bratt, Finn, and Salian back with him.
Afterward, he ordered everyone aboard and personally piloted the vessel toward the Durlag Union.
Once Amnon and the others had been handed over to Councilor Graham, he called for Kaleno, and the group immediately set sail toward the Wood of Sharp Teeth.
Other than himself, only seven members of the Adventuring Party were aboard the Dragonfly Ship.
Every one of them was one of his own people.
Adolf, Lin Qiancheng, and the others still needed further observation. For the time being, they would not be invited into the party.
"This is our team's first group operation. From now on, we'll conduct at least one every week, mainly focused on hunting," Anser explained with a smile while seated at the ship's magical helm.
"I thought it was something urgent. I've still got a mountain of work waiting for me."
Kaleno looked rather helpless.
The reason was simple: he was the President's assistant and was effectively regarded as his agent, so he really was quite busy.
"Go find a few assistants when you get back. Why work yourself so hard?" Anser waved a hand dismissively. "Trust me, hunting is more important than any job."
"Hunting sounds good too. Holrewen is short on meat anyway." Bratt idly played with his handaxe, anticipation written all over his face.
For some reason, during his routine training earlier that day, he had felt a slight improvement in athletic techniques that had been stagnant for a long time. At first, he had thought it was merely his imagination.
It wasn't until he saw Finn seriously practicing his archery for the first time ever that he connected the change to the magical sigil on the back of his hand.
Aside from Kaleno, none of the others were particularly busy. Everyone chimed in one after another, and the atmosphere inside the cockpit quickly became lively.
Ever since Anser had become President, everyone had been occupied with their own responsibilities. Opportunities like this, where they could all gather together, had become rare.
As they laughed and chatted, the Dragonfly Ship flew past the outskirts of the Wood of Sharp Teeth and entered the remote depths of the forest.
"Prepare for combat. Remember, the purpose of this trip is combat training. Everyone needs to participate as much as possible and personally kill their own prey..."
"Understood..."
After patrolling for a while, the Dragonfly Ship failed to encounter any reckless wyverns. Instead, they discovered a small goblin tribe hidden deep within the forest.
Anser's eyes lit up.
Opening the hatch, he cast Feather Fall and Longstrider on the group.
"Go. Stay safe."
"Woohoo~"
Bratt let out a strange laugh and jumped down first.
The others immediately followed. Aside from Iris, none of them could fly.
Once everyone had descended, Anser stored away the Dragonfly Ship and sent Nornoth and the pseudodragon Rex into battle as well.
Meanwhile, he and Iris remained overhead to provide support and prevent any accidents.
The goblin tribe wasn't large, containing only forty to fifty goblins. Their strength was fairly mediocre as well.
However, this was Bratt and the others' first time fighting together.
Although the party members could communicate through Telepathy, their teamwork was still far from seamless.
The danger level wasn't high, but the experience distribution was rather poor. Bratt in particular scored very few kills. Even though he was only a little over two hundred experience points away from leveling up, he still failed to gather enough.
'At least none of the experience points from combat went to waste.'
That was one of the advantages of fighting as a team.
After a brief round of looting, they continued hunting.
The Wood of Sharp Teeth was rich in resources, and with Anser and Iris acting as aerial radar, finding ordinary prey wasn't difficult.
The group carried out a series of coordinated hunts, and their teamwork steadily improved.
To better integrate into the team, Makaria deliberately restrained her bloodlust and gave up prey to Bratt and the others.
Anser and Iris focused on driving prey toward the group and eliminating stronger leaders.
Ironically, Anser ended up earning the most experience points.
After all, casting spells like Longstrider and Jump on his party members also granted him small amounts of experience.
As for the carcasses, they were all sent back to Holrewen, where workers promptly skinned and processed them before storing them in the ice cellar.
Before long, night fell.
Everyone was somewhat exhausted, so they simply built a campfire on the spot and shamelessly feasted on roasted meat in the middle of the forest.
The Wood of Sharp Teeth was filled with monsters, but very few posed a threat to a group like theirs.
As long as they maintained proper vigilance, it would be difficult for anything to go wrong.
Anser quietly opened his Character Sheet.
He had gained a little over a thousand experience points himself.
Not bad.
Bratt, Finn, Kaleno, the pseudodragon Rex, and Nornoth all had overflowing experience and could level up at any moment.
Even Giant Tail was only a few hundred experience points short.
'This is insane. Maybe I should seriously consider the Killing domain.'
He clicked his tongue inwardly.
He decided to slow down the pace at which his members leveled up. Otherwise, the rapid growth might frighten them and lead to unwanted speculation.
The experience gain itself, however, couldn't be allowed to stop.
The more they accumulated, the better prepared they would be for unexpected situations.
'Once everyone's strength improves, we can start targeting werewolf packs and troll settlements...'
Earlier, he had deliberately avoided powerful enemies and focused mainly on goblins and wild beasts.
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