Four Split Personalities

Game Time PM22:45

Spirit Monster Wilderness, Parsel Avenue

"Let’s stop here, we can’t go any further."

Henry Tattler, the steward of the Anka Merchant Alliance, dismounted from the carriage, pulled out a handkerchief to wipe the sweat from his brow, and asked somewhat nervously to a middle-aged Dwarf holding a short staff next to him, "What do you think, Pars?"

With an indifferent shrug, Pars High Furnace, the leader of the Black Goat adventurer team, indicated he had no objections, then turned to look at the Half-Dragon Knight standing next to him and asked with a grin, "So, shall we set camp here tonight?"

"I don’t care where we set up camp."

Actually, before he even spoke, his mount lying behind him took the initiative to speak, grumbling in a deep and muffled voice, "I just want to know when the meal is starting."

The Half-Dragon Knight with a steady demeanor and handsome appearance—Motan—glared fiercely at the more than two-meter long Wang Ba lying behind him, and discreetly gave it a light kick before nodding somewhat awkwardly, "I’ll follow the arrangements of Elder Pars and Mr. Henry."

"Don’t mention Elder this, Elder that, I’ve just mingled around a few more years, that’s all. We’re both C-rank teams, and your Woof Woof Team is much more famous than our Black Goat."

Pars High Furnace laughed heartily and patted Motan’s shoulder, then turned back to Henry, who could be called the temporary official in charge representing the Anka Market, and smiled, "Let’s do it this way then. Have your people herd the pack beasts together first, and then we, as guards, will set up camp around them. It’s no big issue to form a circular defensive perimeter if we huddle up a bit. The Woof Woof Team can rest closer to the inner side of the avenue, while us Black Goats will take the outer side. How about letting the Tyrannosaurus Team and the Buzzing Crowd take their positions on the east and west sides respectively, okay?"

The last question was directed at Motan, but it was obviously just a formality to ask for his opinion. This was not due to the man being overbearing, but because it had already been agreed upon before the departure that the Black Goat adventurer team, the most experienced, would take the main responsibility for protection. As the team leader, this was naturally Pars’ duty; gathering everyone to brainstorm would actually seem unprofessional.

And of course, Motan would not have any objections, so he readily agreed.

"Leon, go let everyone know."

Pars gestured to his assassin companion not far away, then winked at Wang Badan, "We’ll start cooking once we’ve set up camp."

Wang Ba nodded slowly, tossed a ’You know what’s good for you’ look at the former, and retracted into its shell, leaving Motan awkwardly smiling once again.

Twenty minutes later

Game Time PM23:09

Near Parsel Avenue, a dozen pack beasts hauling heavy loads had been gathered together. Under the recommendation of Pars High Furnace, Henry did not separate them from the cargo. Instead, he simply tied them together to maintain high mobility and to avoid wasting time in panic during any foreseeable crisis.

Centered around the cargo in the middle, Pars’ C-rank adventurer team, [Black Goat], was stationed to the south, a total of eight members with an average strength at the Middle Stage Peak; to the west was the C-rank adventurer team [Tyannosaurus], of the same size and also with an average strength at the Middle Stage Peak; to the east was the D+ rank adventurer team [Buzzing Crowd], only five members, seemingly all just entered the Middle Rank; and to the north were the officials led by Anka Merchant Alliance’s steward Henry Talt, thirteen people in total, and the C-rank adventurer team [Woof Woof Team] led by Motan, naturally comprising Ya Ya, Jadka, Anthony Davis, and Wang Badan. Strictly speaking, they were only four people, but if you separate Anthony from Davis and count Wang Badan as its own entity, then it wouldn’t be wrong to regard them as six people, their theoretical average strength being at the Middle Stage Peak.

Since the camping site chosen by Pars was less than a hundred meters south of the avenue, from an objective point of view, teams like Black Goat, Tyannosaurus, and the Buzzing Crowd were relatively more at risk. The Anka Merchant Alliance members located centrally to the north were the safest, while the Woof Woof Team, although closer to the avenue and therefore more at ease, had the main task of protecting the ’employer team’ in case of an emergency, meaning their burden was not light either.

This was a very proper arrangement. Having the most experienced Black Goat team stationed on the outermost boundary was reassuring, while the west passage, also potentially a weak point, was guarded by the Tyannosaurus adventurer team. The Woof Woof Team, fewer in number but more agile, provided ’close protection’ for the employer throughout, while the Buzzing Crowd, also fewer and not as strong, were placed on the east side, near the way they came. This arrangement not only greatly reduced their pressure but also considered the young people’s pride.

That’s what you call a seasoned adventurer. Although the strength might not be that great, Pars’ arrangements could be said to be perfectly apt, leaving no more room for improvements.

"At least that’s how it looks on the surface..."

Motan sat on a stump, toying with the fire in front of him, his eyebrows slightly furrowed as he murmured softly.

To his left lay a big Wang Ba, over two meters long, leisurely stretching its short and stout limbs, appearing quite lazy.