Chapter 30: Stories in the Tavern

George thought more and more about the way the threshold was made and found it very interesting, so he pointed at it with a puzzled expression and asked the owner, “Which gentleman gave you such an idea in the first place?”

“I don’t tell this to just anyone,” the owner said in a low voice, his eyes darting around, “but since you are such a generous guest, I will tell you. It was an idea from an Elf Bard who happened to be there at the time. By the way, the man who just told you about the function of this threshold is named Sinar, and he is a formal Adventurer. However, he probably had no bad intentions in answering your questions. As you know, because of what happened that night, many Adventurers have temporarily lost their jobs, so he probably hopes to be hired by you.”

‘So it was just to increase his favorability? No wonder he was the only one who suddenly answered my question back then!’ George thought to himself, finding it a bit funny, ‘He is someone with some vision and ideas, but he is a bit too slick. I just don’t know his actual strength or character. Also, why would the owner of this Tavern mention this? Did he get some benefit from Sinar, or do they not get along? I am not some young master who knows nothing about the world.’

At this moment, a drunken voice came from behind George’s left side, “Green, old man, old man said the other day that there are no more of those troublemaking Halflings, should we, should we replace that stone! Fortunately, fortunately we didn’t have time, that night we owed a lot to, owed a lot to it.”

Hearing this, George became interested and turned to look in that direction. He saw a very drunk man propping himself up with his right hand to avoid falling onto the table. This guy was obviously not quite sober; as he spoke, he picked up an empty wine cup with his left hand, shook it, and then turned it upside down to look at it. Seeing him like this, George knew that even if he knew something, he probably wouldn’t get any clear answer.

“Heh! Heh! Heh! Young Master, don’t listen to him show off. At the very beginning of that night, he spent all the money he had with him and was sleeping on the tavern table. He only woke up after the fight started. If we are talking about the very beginning, he never experienced it himself; he only heard it from others.” The big man next to the drunkard, who seemed to be his friend, slapped his shoulder hard while speaking, making him fall completely onto the table. Soon, snoring sounds came out of the drunkard’s mouth.

“Oh! Can you help explain it then?” George asked with some interest. The big man casually grabbed a strip of meat, put it in his mouth, chewed it, and then spoke, “Actually, I am not very clear about the specific situation myself! Although I joined the fight quite quickly at the time, I only saw that threshold make the short Goblins, like those Halflings, have trouble coming in and out. This gave us a little advantage. If you really want to know the whole story from start to finish, you should ask him.”

Saying this, the big man pointed to a yellow-bearded man with a scar on his left cheek sitting at another table. George looked closely at the latter and found that he seemed to be drinking alone without much interaction with the people next to him. Even in this situation, the man was wearing tight-fitting leather armor, and his weapon was not hanging at his waist but leaning diagonally on the table within easy reach. If not for that strange threshold and the interruption by the big-bearded man later, George should have noticed this kind of person first in the Tavern.

“I didn’t expect that after living two lives, I still have such immature moments. It seems that after being around young people for so long, I have been somewhat assimilated too,” George thought with some embarrassment.

Thinking like this, George took a slice of sausage, put it in his mouth, and chewed it. His train of thought suddenly changed for no reason, “It’s so bland. No wonder there is a small pinch of salt next to it.”

He got up, held his plate, and sat down next to the yellow-bearded man, saying, “Then, can this hero answer my previous question for me?”

The other person did not speak but just pointed to his cup with his finger.

Click—George snapped his fingers crisply, turned around, and called out, “Waiter, bring another mug of Ale for this hero, charge it to my account.”

“What do you want to hear?” The yellow-bearded man’s reply was clean and efficient.

George said directly, “The story of what you experienced that night, from beginning to end.”

“That is not enough yet, bring three more cups. Others know more or less, but piecing their scattered stories together is a bit troublesome. Although it is not a secret, I think my story is worth the cost of these drinks.” The man said slowly and calmly.

“Good!” George turned and said, “Waiter, bring three more cups.”

“That night, I felt I had drunk enough. Plus, wearing this gear made me feel very hot, so I sat near the door to blow some air. Do you see the wooden board behind that stone slab?” The yellow-bearded man said, pointing his finger there. George looked thoughtful. Other guests in the Tavern noticed the man starting to tell a story and slowed down their tasks to listen with their ears perked up.

The yellow-bearded man took a sip of wine and continued, “At that time, the wooden board made a ‘bang’ sound. Although the sound was not loud, I definitely heard it. But when I turned my head, there was no one there. I am not boasting, I have been wandering around several nearby countries for many years, and my strength is actually quite good. Especially back then, I went to the battlefield to sell my life for money, so my sense of danger is not poor. It was the combination of these two things that allowed me to dodge the enemy’s sneak attack. I just never expected that the big Ogre was invisible. It showed its form only after slicing off a corner of the table with one knife.”

Immediately, a noisy sound came from the guests in the Tavern.

“I told you, some of those monsters are invisible. You still don’t believe it.”

“Who would believe what you said back then? Everyone thought you were drunk. Only a sober person like Pick who never gets drunk would be believed.” It seemed like some banter between partners.

“…, …”

“…, …” There were also some comparisons with what they had encountered.

These scattered bits of information helped George understand some gossip and gave him a rough idea of the character of these Adventurers present. However, George always felt that the yellow-bearded man stopped at this moment on purpose so he could hear these things. George had to sigh that no one who has been around in society for so long is simple.

“What those guys said is right; there were several invisible big Ogres that came in. To be honest, at first, we were indeed a bit panicked, but later in the fight, we didn’t gain any advantage either. I have been adventuring for over ten years, and I have never seen such a strong Goblin force. Even during the civil war in the Southern Kingdom of Mori, I did not see many private troops of ordinary Lords that were stronger than them. At that time, we were quite desperate. Perhaps I could fight my way out to create a gap and escape to save my life, but my two companions following me probably could not be saved.” Saying this, he patted a companion sitting on his right. His eyes looked a bit downcast, suggesting that his other companion was either seriously injured and would not come down today or was already dead.

If he could still be sure to break out under such circumstances, he must have reached the Red Iron Rank, and he might have even moved past the unstable introductory stage. This is very rare among Adventurers. According to the calculation in martial arts novels, the corresponding level should be that of Linghu Chong in “The Smiling, Proud Wanderer” before he learned the Dugu Nine Swords. I didn’t expect to see talent like this here. Also, what he just said about the invisible big Ogres confirmed George’s judgment. When he knew about the Ogre Wizards, he had already had such doubts. After all, it was really unreliable for so many big Ogres to have stealth abilities at the Shadow Thief level; it was mostly likely due to the power of Magic.

“To be honest, if a team of Guards had not come to support us later, we would have had many more deaths. Even if our fighting power could hold out, we would collapse after the house was completely set on fire. However, that team must have been the personal Guard of some noble who happened to pass by. Those charging in the front were all led by Red Iron Rank members, a group of high-level Gray Rock Knights. No wonder they call the Duchy of Nohan the Northern Knight Group; this is rare in those wealthy kingdoms in the South.” The yellow-bearded man’s words showed not only relief but also envy.

“Envy? Do you want to gain strength or something else? But this has little to do with me. I came out just to relax. Coming to the Tavern to listen to stories is just for entertainment. Of course, these useless bits of information are probably known by Knight Val anyway. I guess he also thinks there is no need to talk about this kind of thing specifically with me. In the end, it is just that the dead Ogre Wizard had a special talent, and his invisibility spell lasted quite long. Or it was just that the tactical arrangement of that group of Goblins was clever and their execution was precise.” These thoughts flashed through George’s mind in an instant.

“The attack that night seemed to leave the guards in the Caravan short-handed. Maybe we should recruit a batch here first to handle the situation. If anyone tries to sneak in and cause trouble, Knight Val should be able to discover them first. And the Tavern owner said there are many people looking for work, so why not use them?” Having made his decision, George stood up and shouted loudly, “Quiet down, everyone, please quiet down! My Caravan also suffered significant losses that night. We are now recruiting manpower. The recruitment location is at the square in the center of the town. If anyone asks, tell them Lord Bolerum sent you.”

Hearing this news, the Tavern erupted in excitement, and at the same time, people looked at George with different eyes. Many people left their wine tables right away, apparently to make preparations for something.

Feeling the situation was quite satisfactory, George quickly finished all the food on his plate like a whirlwind and then left the Tavern directly.