Faerun: The arcane mage is still too imprisoned.

Seeing his expression, Arya couldn't help but ask, "You're not planning to go alone, are you?"

Lance shook his head: "How could that be? It would be too risky for a fragile and powerless little mage like me to go alone."

He paused for a moment, then said, "I need an adventurer team, preferably experienced professionals with good teamwork and a good reputation. On top of that, the higher their level, the better."

Arya raised an eyebrow: "Are you going to form a team to hunt down monsters?"

"right."

Arya thought for a moment and said, "The best adventurer team in Rild City is 'Iron Fist'."

Lance looked at her: "Iron Fist?"

"This four-person team is the only all-elite adventurer team in Rield City." Arya held up a finger—

"Captain Durak, Level 5 Warrior, Dwarf, specializes in shield combat."

"Vice-Captain Greta, Level 5 Warrior, Human, Two-handed Sword, Main DPS."

"Logan the Wanderer, Level 5 Human, Dagger Specialist, with exceptional scouting and lockpicking skills."

"Archer Finn, a level 5 human, is skilled with a longbow and can easily penetrate iron armor from 200 meters away."

Arya paused for a moment, "The rankings might be a little inaccurate... but they are definitely all elite-level professionals who have been working together for over five years, have a 100% mission completion rate, and have excellent reputations."

"The only drawback is..."

"What are the drawbacks?"

"expensive."

Arya laughed. "Their daily commission is twenty gold coins, and they get extra money in dangerous situations."

"Actually, it's quite cheap."

Lance nodded: "Okay, they're the ones."

Arya froze: "Aren't you going to reconsider?"

"I won't consider it." Lance stood up. "Tomorrow morning, please arrange for them to come to the police station office."

The next morning, on the second floor of the Public Security Bureau.

Lance sat behind his desk, Little Black lay on the windowsill sunbathing, and Cielsa stood beside him.

There was a knock on the door.

"Come in."

The door opened, and four people filed in.

The person walking at the front was a dwarf, less than 1.5 meters tall, but almost as wide as tall.

With a thick brown beard adorned with several metal rings, and a two-handed battle axe as wide as himself in his hand, he stood there like a wall.

"Lord Lance!" The dwarf's voice boomed like thunder, rattling the windows. "I am Durak! Captain of the Iron Fist Squad!"

Behind him followed a tall human woman in her thirties with short brown hair and an old scar that ran diagonally from her eyebrow to her jaw, but it did not detract from her sharp, edgy aura.

She didn't speak, but simply nodded to Lance.

Then there's Logan. Tall and thin, with short gray-brown hair, he has a slightly roguish smile, but his gray-green eyes are piercing and sharp, clearly indicating he's no pushover.

"Lord Lance, it's an honor to meet you." He cupped his hands in a casual gesture, but his eyes had already scanned the office—windows, doors, and escape routes, he had gone over them all.

Finn was the last to enter. He had long, golden hair tied in a low ponytail, with his ears peeking out from between the strands. He carried a longbow taller than himself on his back, with a quiver hanging at his waist.

He glanced at Lance, then at Cielsa, and nodded slightly as a greeting.

Lance glanced at the top of their heads—

Except for Durak, who is level 6, the rest are level 5.

"They're all elite-level, perfect."

"Please have a seat," Lance said, gesturing to the sofa.

The four people sat down on the sofa in unison—Dulak and Greta sat on either side, while Logan and Finn sat in the middle. The four of them filled the sofa perfectly, yet maintained a distance from each other that allowed them to get up at any time.

Durac cut to the chase: "Lord Lance, Lady Arya said you want to hire us? What for?"

Lance spread the map out on the table and marked several red circles.

"Slay the monster."

Four people gathered around to look.

Durac frowned: "The gnolls of the Deadwood Forest, the kobolds of the Abandoned Mines, the goblins of Ash Hills, the frostwolf of Frostwolf Mountain... are you clearing the area out?"

"Yes." Lance nodded, "Sweep through as many enemies as you can, take them all down."

Logan whistled: "That's a big spender."

Greta finally spoke, her voice lower than expected: "I am grateful for Lord Lance's high regard, but... I'm afraid we are not capable of defeating these monsters."

"Don't worry," Lance waved his hand.

"I am the main force in their campaign."

"what?"

Drucker was startled. "How can we let our employers fight while we slack off!"

"It's alright, this is your job. Just protect me during my retreat if anything unexpected happens."

"Alright then..." Dulak scratched his head, choosing not to press the mage for his thoughts.

"However, these monsters are scattered in four directions, and they are not close together. Even taking the shortest route, it will take fifteen or sixteen days to deal with them all."

"Then fifteen or sixteen days," Lance said. "The commission is calculated daily, thirty gold coins a day, with extra pay for dangerous situations."

The four people exchanged a glance.

Logan scratched his head: "Lord Lance, if I may ask, what are you after? These monsters aren't worth much, and their fur and materials don't fetch much either."

Lance looked at him and said calmly, "That's none of your business."

Logan paused for a moment, then gave a simple, honest smile.

"Alright!" He slapped his thigh. "You're the employer, you're in charge!"

Dulac leaned closer: "Lord Lance, we can't really let you be the main player, after all, you're the employer."

"Then let's fight together," Lance said. "I'll take care of the damage output, you guys cover me, and if you have the capacity, try to keep some alive."

"Yes!" ×4

Logan whispered to Finn, "I heard this man is a formidable figure who has even killed elite-level priests..."

Drucker glared at him, and Logan immediately shut up.

"Then it's settled." Lance stood up. "We're leaving tomorrow. Any questions?"

"No!" the four answered in unison.

Lance nodded and stood up from his chair: "Then it's settled. But since we're going to cooperate, we should at least get to know each other a bit."

"I'll treat you to a nice lunch today, and we can talk about the specific arrangements."

Drak's eyes lit up: "Oh, Lord Lance, you're too kind! I can't accept this!"

He said he was sorry, but his beard was shaking with laughter, clearly unable to resist the words "have a good meal".

Logan muttered quietly beside him, "Captain, you're drooling."

Dulac glared at him, but subconsciously touched the corner of his mouth.

Lance looked at Cielsa: "Do you know which is the best restaurant in town?"

Sissa thought for a moment: "It should be 'Golden Oak Leaf'. It's in the city center, and I heard their signature dishes are grilled rock lizard legs and mead-braised wild boar."

"Then let's go there." Lance waved his hand. "Let's go."

Golden Oak Leaf Restaurant is indeed impressive.

The three-story wooden and stone structure has a gilded signboard hanging at the entrance, and two magic lanterns that burn day and night.