It’s well-known that the phrase ‘unreasonable request’ is usually followed by something unpleasant. Unlike ‘a great responsibility falls upon one’s shoulders,’ which is just an excuse for one’s own misfortune, the former typically refers to troublesome matters that are initially unrelated to the person involved but become a huge headache once they are ‘requested’ to deal with them.
If Tan Mo had been sitting here, he probably would have gotten up and left the moment the other party finished speaking, or immediately started plotting how to preemptively screw them over before they could screw him, finding something to drag the other party down with him…
However, Mo Tan at this moment had no such thoughts; in fact, quite the opposite. He very much hoped to do something for the Forest Sprite merchant caravan that had just helped him solve a big problem, so he immediately adopted an attentive posture: “Please speak~”
Meanwhile, Ya Ya, beside him, was playing with her fingers with a troubled expression, muttering, “Un-Woof-able… request? Unreasonable woof-quest?”
It seemed Elder Brokenbranch was right not to care about her following along; this girl’s big, watery eyes already seemed to be swirling with mosquito coils.
“Many years ago, my clan had an agreement with a group of transcendent beings,” Elder Brokenbranch said softly, stroking his long, leek-like beard with the Forest Sprite’s characteristic sharp voice. “Tens of thousands of years, even though Forest Sprites are a long-lived species with lifespans almost equal to elves, it’s still long enough for us, like a story.”
Mo Tan nodded, his gaze focused and clear.
“Tens of woof-years…Woo?” Ya Ya mumbled softly and indistinctly.
Mo Tan: “……”
“But some time ago, those beings who had disappeared for who knows how many years suddenly contacted us,” Elder Brokenbranch continued, playing with the leeks on his chin, undisturbed by the barking (…). “They want my clan to fulfill our promise, and as soon as possible.”
“So the purpose of this merchant caravan is actually…” Mo Tan was very smart; upon hearing this, he had already made some basic connections.
He had heard Mag say before that the Forest Sprite clan rarely ventured outside the forest where they resided. Their usual trade with other races also had fixed channels and routes, and he had almost never heard of them organizing long-distance merchant caravans.
So, although it wasn’t a huge piece of news, this matter had genuinely perplexed the drunkard for quite some time.
And the answer now seemed to be surfacing…
“Woof!” Ya Ya tugged on Mo Tan’s sleeve, her expression suddenly becoming very excited: “Tens of woof-years!”
This girl was simply a mood killer!
Perhaps because he usually cared for small animals, Mo Tan subconsciously reached out and patted Ya Ya’s head, then pinched her ear, signaling the dog-girl to be quiet for a moment.
And then…
Sorry, there were no sensitive spots or blushing settings; Ya Ya just obediently shrank her neck and truly quieted down.
“Alright, let’s continue,” Elder Brokenbranch said, seeing Mo Tan’s ‘True Tranquility Soothing’ was quite effective. “As you thought, our purpose this time is to fulfill that past agreement. Forest Sprites have always been a trustworthy race; even for a favor from ten thousand years ago, my clan always remembers it at our roots.”
Hmm… it probably means something similar to ‘engraved in one’s heart’…
“But the journey to complete the mission has not been smooth,” Brokenbranch suddenly looked serious (Mo Tan guessed), and said in a deep voice: “Because it was of great importance, to confuse those evil people, my clan sent out twenty-one merchant caravans simultaneously, varying in both route and scale, yet they were all still targeted.”
Mo Tan frowned slightly: “Evil people? Are you referring to… the group that attacked the merchant caravan last time?”
“They are only a part of it,” Brokenbranch shook his head. “Some time ago, an unknown force suddenly spread rumors across the entire continent, claiming that my clan was about to escort a treasure to a certain place. But at that time, the plan could no longer be delayed, and we had no choice but to embark on the journey within the scheduled time, and in our haste, we thought of this method of confusing them.”
Mo Tan had no intention of digging deeper, he just nodded gently: “What can I do to help you?”
“The merchant caravan will set off again soon,” Brokenbranch said softly. “But no one can guarantee that those greedy Chaos and evil ones won’t come knocking again, so I would like to ask you to keep this for me…”
Crack!
At this point, the Forest Sprite Elder actually broke off his right arm and handed it to Mo Tan.
What’s going on? Did he mutilate himself in excitement? Or was this arm, no thicker than a wheat stalk, the legendary Qilin Arm of a thousand years?
“Uh?” Even with the latter’s strong acceptance, he was still a bit confused for a moment: “I don’t quite understand.”
“It would be strange if I, named ‘Brokenbranch,’ had all my limbs intact,” the Forest Sprite Elder chuckled, raising his sole remaining left ‘hand’ and gently tracing a line across the wheat stalk in front of Mo Tan: “It’s just a little trick of the eye.”
A distorted light curtain rippled in front of Mo Tan, and then he heard Ya Ya, who had been trying hard to stay quiet beside him, let out an ‘awooo’ of surprise.
“Woof-form!”
The ‘broken arm’ that had shed its disguise had completely transformed into something else. It looked like a pure white, prismatic crystal, faintly emitting four colors of light—azure, emerald, crimson, and pale gold. If one observed closely, they would also find countless lines flowing within it.
“I hope you can temporarily keep this thing for a few days,” Brokenbranch held the crystal in front of Mo Tan, stating solemnly: “Both what I have seen with my own eyes and the feedback from the Mother Tree tell me that you are trustworthy.”
Mo Tan at this moment was certainly trustworthy; he himself was well aware of this. And now that he thought about it, Elder Brokenbranch must have witnessed the scene where he redeemed the… girl earlier. As for the Mother Tree’s feedback, perhaps it was related to his ‘lawful good’ alignment.
But he still didn’t take it rashly…
“Thank you for your trust,” Mo Tan said somewhat awkwardly. “But my strength might not be enough to complete this task. To be honest, even those Sand Goblins we encountered last time, if there were a few more of them, they could have chopped me up. So…”
Unexpectedly, Elder Brokenbranch shook his head: “The target of those villains should only be our Forest Sprite merchant caravan, so there’s no reason for them to come after you. And if this contractual item isn’t in our hands, the other party might not pursue us to the death, after all, Mr. Mag and his team are not weak.”
“In other words,” Mo Tan said thoughtfully, “this way you will also be much safer?”
“Precisely.”
“Alright,” Mo Tan finally agreed, taking the seemingly significant crystal prism in front of him, and said solemnly: “I will do my best to protect it.”
This was only in the game; if it were in reality, Mo Tan probably wouldn’t dare to accept this thing. Not for any other reason, but mainly to guard against himself…
After all, Mo Tan was capable of slicing up or reselling something entrusted to him if his personality accidentally switched.
【eternal crystal】
Unique Quest Item, Equipment
Equipment Restriction: ???
Attributes: ???
Trait: Core Power Source
【Note: In most cases, this thing is useless. It’s even too heavy to be used for lighting.】
In short, it was — though unknown, it felt formidable.
Then a system prompt sounded in Mo Tan’s ear.
【You have triggered a World Quest: Escort the eternal crystal. Quest Reward: None; Failure Penalty: World Collapse Degree +3%】
???
Mo Tan suddenly felt his shoulders sink!
It didn’t matter that there was no quest reward…
But what was this ‘World Collapse Degree’?
He just accepted a quest, just helping someone out, how did the event level suddenly escalate to such a height!?
“Someone will come to pick you up in three days,” Elder Brokenbranch nodded to Mo Tan. “Then our merchant caravan and Captain Mag’s team will set off first.”
Mo Tan nodded somewhat stiffly, momentarily at a loss for words.
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Elder Brokenbranch and his two attendants bid farewell and left, while Mo Tan, under Ya Ya’s curious gaze, put the highly significant eternal crystal into his satchel.
Although the latter was slightly regretful that the ‘shiny thing was gone,’ she wasn’t too surprised, as spatial magic items didn’t seem to be rare in this world.
After briefly comforting the dog-girl, Mo Tan left the Adventurers' Guild alone. Although the former had a great deal of goodwill towards him, Mo Tan had no intention of making her his bonded companion. Firstly, he was somewhat worried that interacting with Ya Ya at this moment might put her in danger. Although Brokenbranch stated that this commission was relatively safe, the previous large-scale attack still left him with some lingering fear.
Secondly, he was preparing to switch accounts to check on the Fenrir Squad’s situation, and was eager to find a secluded place to log off…
Looking at it from another perspective, being offline also had great benefits for protecting that eternal crystal.
However, there was a small interlude on the way.
Mag, who learned that Mo Tan could no longer travel with the merchant caravan for some reason, intercepted him on the road immediately. After instructing Mo Tan to work hard to improve his strength and adventurer rank, and to consider joining the Savage Earth Dragon Mercenary Group once he became a bit stronger, he then handed him an item.
【Safe Escape Device Version 2714】
One-time consumable
Usage: Safely ejects you.
【Note: The latest escape device from the Goblin Engineering Alliance, allowing you to quickly escape danger while enjoying a refreshing and graceful journey. Its safety is absolutely guaranteed. PS: Don’t believe it】
To be honest, if it weren’t for that last supplementary remark, Mo Tan felt he would have been even more grateful to this straightforward dwarf warrior.
Dusk was falling.
…
【Your mental connection has been detected. Personal information is being synchronized.】
【Connection complete. Character information is being read.】
【Welcome back, Absolute Neutral Black Vatican. Innocent World is about to load. Good night.】
When Mo Tan appeared in front of the Fenrir Squad’s encampment, the Innocent Continent had already welcomed the night. In the real world, it was already difficult to see the sky full of Prosperity Star intertwining into a magnificent spectacle, illuminating a distant land in their future with the fleeting moments of their lives…
However, despite wanting to linger a bit longer, Mo Tan still hurried to the military camp after logging in. After all, he knew very well that he could be kicked offline at any time, and he didn’t even know by which ‘self’…
Some thoughts from the day made him uneasy.
“Yo!” A crisp voice interrupted his increasingly ominous thoughts. Yinna, the sharpest-eyed member of the squad, spotted Mo Tan first and immediately yelled, “Our Commander is here!”
Ned, shirtless with a thick roll of bandages around his waist, glared at her, then smiled at the approaching Mo Tan: “Actually, it’s fine if you don’t come. We’re resting these two days.”
“I was a bit worried about everyone,” Mo Tan shrugged. “So I came to check.”
Salazar, whose arm was tightly splinted with a wooden board, shook his head and leaned against a log by the campfire, giving Mo Tan a rather ungraceful smile: “Just a minor injury, it’s nothing.”
“Hey!” Krab, almost entirely wrapped in bandages like a zongzi, called out discontentedly: “There are more seriously injured people here, alright! Black Vatican, come help!”
Shuang Ye, who seemed to have been online all night, stood beside Yinna and snorted softly: “Don’t mind that big guy, he’s faking it. Just now he tried to trick me into giving him a massage, saying he needed to get his muscles and veins flowing.”
“And then~” Mo Tan was completely relaxed now, asking with a chuckle, “You ignored him?”
“No,” Yinna giggled. “Shuang Ye learned some joint locks from Salazar and then helped Krab loosen his bones.”
The orc strongman, unable to keep up the act, sat up with a sigh and a bitter face: “She almost burned off all my hair with a fireball.”
Everyone burst into a relaxed and hearty laugh~
The most efficient way for people to bond is undoubtedly through shared experiences of overcoming great crises together…
“Rest well for two days, I’ve already applied for leave for everyone,” Ned said, then went into the barracks and took out a small bag: “And this time we earned a small merit, the higher-ups sent money!”
“Hey! Why didn’t you say something so important earlier?!”
“Black Vatican wasn’t here yet, and I wanted to keep it a secret a bit longer…”
“Tsk tsk, Captain, you’re not being honest.”
“Get lost! How many times have you freeloaded drinks off me?!”
“Ah~ Waiting specially for Black Vatican to come back~~ So romantic~”
“Yinna, do you believe I can still beat you even with injuries?!”
“Shuang Ye, save me!”
“No, don’t you think Captain is cute when he’s shy…?”
“You guys are going too far!!”
…
Near Dieyan City, on the edge of the Firefang Territory, a certain location.
“Karon, sir! We can prepare to retreat. The chieftain said we must bring that bastard back as soon as possible!”
“What’s the rush…” The orc officer in charge of guarding and escorting a certain fugitive looked up at the starry sky and said softly, “I’m waiting for that guy to come. He will definitely come, I can feel it, it’ll be within these few days, soon, very soon…”
The heavy tusked battle-axe crashed to the ground, blood-red eyes filled with malice and hatred…
“Only blood… can wash away…”
A thunderous battle roar exploded, almost shattering the ear-drums of the messenger.
“Humiliation!!”
Chapter Thirty-Seven: End