Goblin Heavy Dependence

Chapter 446 concludes, reputation takes hold.

"Ellie... my little Ellie..."

Baron Faro knelt on one knee and embraced the girl tightly in front of him, his voice choked with emotion.

His eyes were red-rimmed, and the muscles on his extremely haggard face trembled, revealing his undisguised excitement.

In contrast, the Baron's daughter, Miss Ellie, appeared bewildered, staring blankly at the wall behind her father with her bright, innocent eyes.

It's not impossible to understand if you put yourself in her shoes.

On the one hand, the girl has just recovered from a large dose of sleeping pills and is still not fully awake. She is in a dazed state after a long period of unconsciousness, and her brain is sluggish, so she has not figured out the current situation.

On the other hand, although the disappearance of his daughter has been agonizing for the Baron, and even though it hasn't been 24 hours yet, his mental and physical energy has been greatly depleted by worry.

From Ellie's perspective, the biggest shock she experienced throughout the entire incident was the attack on her carriage on her way home yesterday evening.

He then fell into a coma under the influence of the drug.

For her, it could be said that one second she was in the carriage, and the next second she was being held in the arms of her emotionally charged father.

I couldn't feel any of the twists and turns involved.

Xia Nan and his group were treated with great gratitude and hospitality by the Baron's butler, Grace, who completely disregarded the blood and rainwater still on their bodies and practically forced them to sit on the soft sofa in the living room to rest.

Xia Nan took a sip of the tea respectfully offered by the maid beside her, and looked at the two people who were having a touching reunion with their father, but felt a little strange.

After all, the baron's daughter had been kidnapped for less than 24 hours. Wasn't Baron Faro's reaction a bit too extreme?

However, having never been a father, whether in this life or the past, he could hardly empathize with her. Considering the chaotic environment of Barracuda Bay, he guessed that Baron Faro had already prepared for the worst when he discovered his daughter was missing. Now that Ellie had been kidnapped and returned home unharmed, his behavior was somewhat understandable.

After a long while, as the frequency of the Baron's shoulders gradually slowed down and his inner emotions calmed down a bit, he swayed as he got up, held his daughter's hand tightly, and came to them.

The group put down their hot tea and politely stood up.

“I…I don’t know what to say.” Baron Faro’s voice was even hoarser, but the anxiety and worry on his face had vanished. “You’ve brought back my most important treasure.”

Having served as the special franchisor for Suyu Bay, he had said countless platitudes, but now he seemed somewhat at a loss for words. In the end, he decided to stop wasting each other's time with those pointless words.

"Please rest assured, everyone will receive their due compensation, not a single copper coin will be shortchanged."

The baron's attitude was more sincere than ever before, and his words were incredibly earnest.

"Perhaps there is nothing I can do, but from this day forward, in Suyu Bay, you will always be my friends."

He made his promise.

Of course, this does not mean that Xia Nan can use this as an excuse to make endless demands on the other party.

In his understanding, this was equivalent to an additional favor, in addition to the reward for the task itself, which was extremely limited by the Baron's authority.

How to use it, or rather, when to use it, still needs careful consideration.

Regardless, this provides Xia Nan with a decent safety net for her life in Suoyu Bay.

If he were the kind of low-level adventurer who was content with the status quo and indulged in drinking and gambling, as long as he didn't go too far, he might be able to live a relatively decent life for the rest of his days just by relying on this favor.

Lost in thought, Ellie, whose hand was being held tightly by Baron Faro, gradually regained some of her composure.

A pair of bright, sparkling eyes, filled with curiosity and gratitude from her father beside her, gazed at Xia Nan across from her.

From the girl's perspective, it's truly amazing that the stranger she met at the tailor shop not long ago has now become her savior.

Noticing the other person's gaze, Xia Nan snapped out of his daze and politely smiled at the girl.

Ellie responded with a bright and cheerful smile, while the guards from the governor's mansion on both sides of the room, whose breathing had been steady, suddenly became slightly disordered, their expressions subtle.

After all... this baron's daughter was rescued from the storeroom of the shed and only woke up from her coma in the carriage back to the baron's mansion;
These governor's guards actually walked through the shed filled with the corpses of the Shark Gang members, and saw with their own eyes the indistinct, mangled pieces of flesh, as well as human heads that had been completely severed, with the remaining expressions of fear on their faces.

Even knowing that these were gang members who had committed countless evil deeds, Xia Nan still couldn't help but feel a chill in his heart when faced with such a tragic scene. He deeply remembered Xia Nan's sharp-featured face and marked him as a dangerous person who needed to be paid extra attention to.

After Xia Nan and the others returned Ellie to her father's side, they did not stay at the Baron's mansion for too long. After all, the father and daughter had been reunited after a crisis, and it was better to give them some time to themselves.

The reward for the mission will certainly be substantial, but now is clearly not the time to discuss that. It's better to wait until the Baron has finished dealing with the remaining tasks and has calmed down before engaging in deeper discussions.

Furthermore, the specific distribution of rewards was also carefully considered. Xia Nan made the greatest contribution in this operation, and everyone in the team recognized his outstanding performance in the battle. However, Hein also made a crucial contribution by helping the team track down the Horned Shark Gang's hideout based on the corpse of "Bloody Nose Rat" Jerry.

If we're being honest, did Alton, who seems to be blessed by Lady Luck, play a role in their finding Jerry's body?

Finally, we also need to add the twin warriors to assist us. If we simply use gold coins as the mission reward, we need to discuss the distribution carefully among the group.

In addition, the spoils from the Shark Gang also need to be dealt with.

Of course, that's a story for another time.

Right now, the group of five has returned to the Three-Legged Seal Tavern after leaving the Baron's mansion.

It was noticeable that as the group entered the door, the previously noisy atmosphere inside the house paused slightly before returning to normal.

But unknowingly, countless gazes swept across from all directions, with the main focus naturally on Xia Nan.

Besides the few of them, many adventurers who were already in the vicinity and came after hearing the commotion also witnessed the whole scene on the coast in the afternoon.

I almost watched as the pitch-black wolf, seemingly from the abyss, leaped across the sea and tore the small wooden boat, which had already drifted away, to shreds along with the escapees it carried.

The horrific scene inside the Shark Gang's shack was not concealed by the gang members; even now, the severed limbs and pieces of flesh are still soaking in the rain and have not yet been cleaned up.

As the key figure and "culprit" who caused all of this, Xia Nan's image, deeds, and even his new nickname gradually spread among the adventurers in Suckerfish Bay.

Of course, it takes time for the truth to develop. But right now, even though only a few hours have passed since the specific events, in the "Three-Legged Seal" tavern, a hub of intelligence in Barracuda Bay, his actions have already become known to many interested individuals under the influence of alcohol.

Xia Nan felt a strong sense of déjà vu, as if he had returned to the "White Sparrow Tavern" in River Valley Town.

The reason is obvious.

The battle inside the shed left a rather messy scene, but to be honest, the members of the Shark Gang inside were all humans, not some green-skinned goblins. He had no intention of torturing or enjoying himself, as evidenced by the cleanly severed heads.

Xia Nan treated it as a serious battle.

However, it must be admitted that the fierce energy inherent in [Fang Hunt] is very useful in group battles where the average strength of the enemies is relatively low. It can save him a lot of energy and can also greatly improve his harvesting efficiency.

Therefore, even though the scene looked a little messy after the battle, Xia Nan accepted it.

As for the black wolf running across the sea... that was just a little idea that suddenly popped into his head.

When Xia Nan first arrived at Suoyu Bay, he was already thinking about what he should do if he accidentally fell into the sea during a battle, or had to fight the enemy in the water.

The battle against the Shark Beast on Cliffy Isle further deepened his concerns.

After all, if that monster had simply escaped and dived into the sea, he really wouldn't have been able to do anything about it.

Just now, facing the enemy sailing away in a small boat, the anxiety from the depths of his heart about the enemy's possible future retaliation, as well as his consideration of naval warfare during his time at Suoyu Bay, allowed him to seize a flash of inspiration and combine all his knowledge to the fullest.

By using [gravity control] to reduce the gravity acting on his body, although it is not to the point of flying or gliding briefly, it is enough to achieve the effect of an astronaut walking on the moon.

Then, using the [Fang Hunt] skill, which has reached the level of lv5 mastery, as the core, he fully utilized his strength and agility attributes, and instantly pulled his horizontal speed to the extreme.

Finally, utilize the agility bonus granted by the [Tidal Steadiness] feat on unstable planes to maintain balance while moving at high speeds.

Through a combination of factors, the scene of "the black wolf running across the sea" was finally achieved, and the wanderer who thought he had escaped was successfully beheaded.

Even now, Xia Nan still remembers the horrified expression on that sinister face when he saw Xia Nan approaching on the waves.

It is worth mentioning that, due to his numerous experiences since his transmigration, his perception attribute has reached a very high level, while his intelligence attribute has never had any chance to improve and remains at the average level of this world, perhaps slightly higher than that of ordinary people.
Regardless, the numerical difference between the two attributes has made him, especially in combat, an intuitive being.

Therefore, when Xia Nan drove the [Fang Hunt] out of the coast under the impetus of a flash of inspiration, he didn't think too much about it.

This also caused him to lose the burst of speed granted by [Fang Hunt] after shattering the wooden boat with his sword, and he fell directly into the sea.

The more dashing he looked as he chased after the waves, with black wolf phantoms appearing all around him, the more embarrassed he felt when he swam back.

Fortunately, the people on the shore did not seem to realize what he was thinking; they were only surprised by the scene in the wolf howl.

"Pleasant to work with."

The greeting from beside her brought Xia Nan back to reality from her slightly scattered thoughts.

Beside him, Hein smiled and looked at him with a complicated expression, one hand outstretched and suspended in mid-air.

—Considering the silver ring snake "A-Yin" wrapped around her wrist like a bracelet on the left, she uses her right hand.

Not rejecting the other party's gesture of goodwill, Xia Nan nodded slightly and shook hands with them, saying:
"Pleasant to work with."

Haiyin's impression of Xia Nan had been refreshed again and again in just half a day.

When they first met in the Adventurers' Guild's trading room, they had already guessed the young adventurer's strength because of the faint sense of danger he exuded.

But unexpectedly, they still underestimated their opponent.

Involuntarily, his mind recalled the severed limbs and pieces of flesh flying everywhere like a meat grinder inside the shed, as well as the heads that spun and fell amidst the sharp blades.
Recalling that jet-black winter wolf leaping on the crest of the wave, and the utterly dead "Hornshark" Riley and "Broken Eyebrow" Buddy...

This black-haired adventurer from the inland region is probably already at level 5 or higher.

Even in the Southern Islands, he would be considered a prominent figure.

Thinking of this, Hein even began to recall whether she had offended Xia Nan during their time together. She didn't want to bring such an enemy into her life or her fleet for no reason.

"I need to go back and report to the captain about the Baron's reward and the distribution of the Shark Gang's spoils. We'll talk about that after we finish up there."

"That's it for today...?"

Hein pointed to the staircase leading to the second floor of the tavern and tentatively asked Xia Nan.

There is nothing wrong with that.

After such a long day, Xia Nan wanted to treat himself to a bowl of delicious seafood cream mushroom soup. The other person's suggestion was exactly what he wanted, so he nodded in agreement.

Seeing that Xia Nan had no objections, Hein breathed a slight sigh of relief and then left the tavern hall with the twin warriors behind her, who had once again fallen silent after the battle.

Xia Nan withdrew his gaze from the three figures disappearing behind the stairs, ignoring the occasional glances from the surrounding adventurers, and called to the halfling Alton beside him:

"What are you having for dinner? Would you like a couple of drinks?"

Before the two could even get close, a mature female voice with a touch of magnetism came from behind the bar.

"came back?"

"You've caused quite a stir this time."

The tavern owner, Hera, had her hands on the counter, leaning slightly forward, her emerald green eyes searching for Xia Nan with great interest.

"Hmm...we'll talk about this later."

"Serve two bowls of cream of mushroom soup first."

(End of this chapter)