The adventurer at the bottom is fantasizing again.

Old Henry was the town's hunter, a bachelor in his early forties who loved to go to the tavern in the afternoon for a glass of ale and then go home for a nice nap.

Today is no different.

He leaned back in his chair with his legs crossed, picked up a piece of cheese and put it in his mouth, chewed it, and then took a sip of ale.

"Oh...that feels good." He exhaled.

"You wouldn't believe it! That one sword strike! *Crack*, and that goblin was dead!"

Old Hunter turned his head to look.

It was a young man, his face flushed from drinking, holding a wine glass in one hand and slamming his other hand on the table, boasting to a few peers beside him:

"All its companions ran away! Not a single one was left! I chased them for half a mile and cut down three of them! Three!"

"Do you know how fast goblins can run? Whoosh!"

"laugh."

Old Henry chuckled dismissively.

Goblins? He could take down two with a pitchfork when he was eight! What's there to brag about?

"What do you mean! Are you mocking me, you old man!" The young man stood up angrily upon hearing his laughter.

Young people these days are really outrageous.

Old Henry squinted, just as he was about to teach him a lesson, when...

"Bang—"

The tavern door was kicked open, and two people walked in.

The leader was a tall young man with short black hair that was a bit messy from the wind. His face had burn marks from the flames, and there was some frost on his eyebrows. He looked travel-worn.

He carried a tattered backpack, had a huge bundle on his shoulder, and two swords at his waist, making him walk with a swaying gait.

Following behind was... a dwarf?

He looked very burly, with a long-handled warhammer lying across his backpack, tied together with two short spears.

Both of their clothes were tattered and had a strange smell about them.

"Hahahaha! What are you two doing here? Are you refugees?" the drunken young man laughed, pointing at them.

Old Henry pursed his lips, lowered his head, and cursed inwardly, "What an idiot."

In his more than forty years of life, he had only ever seen this kind of attire on one type of person—adventurers.

Only seasoned adventurers who have achieved a professional rank can reap such rewards from a single mission.

Can't this idiot use his brain? How can an ordinary person carry so much stuff?

I just hope I don't get caught in the crossfire...

"Bang!"

Another sharp crack startled old Henry.

The adventurer at the door suddenly appeared in front of the young man and slammed his head onto the table.

"Don't be a fool," he said coldly.

"I...I'm sorry, sir...I didn't mean to...offend you, please..." The young man was so frightened that his pants were wet.

A... a spellcaster?!

Old Henry buried his head in his wine glass.

"Hahaha! Lorraine, why are you scaring that little kid!" Haifu laughed as he came out of the kitchen carrying a basin of grilled fish.

Lorraine released his grip and said softly, "Get lost."

The young man ignored his companions and scrambled away.

"Hey, what happened to your face, kid?" Hef then noticed the burn marks on Lorraine's face.

Lorraine touched his face; the wound from before had been treated twice with minor injury therapy and was now almost healed.

"It's nothing, just a minor injury from the battle. Mr. Hef, you really screwed us over this time!"

He placed the package on the ground, carefully took off his backpack, and put it on the bar counter.

"See for yourself," he said.

Haifu put down the grilled fish, walked over looking confused, and started rummaging through his backpack.

"What the heck? Why are you being so mysterious?"

He looked down.

"Holy shit!?"

What is this?! A kobold's egg?

Weren't they supposed to be clearing out the reconnaissance team? Why are they going to raid someone else's territory?!

That's not right, there's no way the two of them could defeat an entire kobold tribe.

Could it be...

"The kobold expedition outpost, that's not a reconnaissance team." Lorraine plopped down at the bar and poured himself and Piper a glass of ale.

"Hiss... Huff..."

"Do you know what we saw after we went in?" he asked, glancing at Haif.

Haif asked cautiously, "What did you see?...?"

"A dragon shield guard and a scale mage."

Haif nearly dropped his backpack on the table.

"What!? Luckily you guys ran fast. Looks like I need to ask for backup. I can't take them on my own." He said with a headache.

He seemed to believe that the two men cleared the perimeter, stole an egg, and ran away.

The patrons in the tavern reacted even more strongly; some threw down their money and hurried away, while others whispered among themselves.

"We're willing to help you, Mr. Haif!"

The young man's companion couldn't sit still any longer, and a young girl stepped forward, seemingly wanting to prove herself.

Lorraine glanced at her.

The leather armor underneath the coat was crooked and the body was so thin that he probably couldn't even wield a one-handed sword. He was most likely a child who had run away from a local family.

He waved his hand and said, "No need."

The girl's face flushed red instantly, and she said angrily, "Are you looking down on us? Although we're no match for those two guys, if it's just to hold off the kobolds..."

"That's not what I meant," Lorraine sighed softly. "Pip, show it to them."

"Hehe, okay."

Piper jumped off the chair, rummaged through his backpack for a moment, and pulled out two spherical objects wrapped tightly in burlap.

He untied it, and a stench immediately filled the air, revealing two dog-headed heads inside.

"vomit--"

The girl covered her mouth and ran out.

Haifu stepped forward and took a look, then froze on the spot. He exclaimed in astonishment, "This...this...you took care of both of them?!"

"Hmm, there should be a bounty on these, right?"

Lorraine nodded and then gestured for Piper to take out the remaining ten tail tips.

"A regular kobold is worth two silver coins, a Dragon Shield Guardian is worth ten gold coins, and a kobold scale sorcerer is worth fifteen." Hef choked, his emotions becoming somewhat disjointed.

"But do you know what this means?!" he exclaimed.

Lorraine scratched his head and answered without hesitation, "Uh...does that mean 26 gold coins?"

"It means you saved Shallow Beach Town, you are the great heroes of Shallow Beach Town!" Haif exclaimed excitedly.

"what?"

"Oh! Young people, you have no idea what you've done."

Haifu exclaimed:

"So many merchants come and go in Shallow Beach Town every day. They transport goods from here and Frost Valley to various cities, and they also bring a lot of goods and food."

"If that expeditionary outpost isn't eliminated in time, this place will face a constant stream of kobold attacks."

He gave a wry smile and then said:

"This concerns the livelihoods of tens of thousands of people!"

Upon hearing this, Lorraine was utterly astonished. He asked, "Such an important place, and you're the only officially certified professional there?!"