Please, go beat the boss CHAPTER 38.2

Part 2

Lance, however, didn’t show a shred of anxiety. He first asked Ashby if he could use magic to transport them directly outside Skyreach City. But Ashby told him that while he could use magic to bring them here from Samuel’s estate because this was his domain, large cities like Skyreach usually had magic circles set up by Kingdom Mages outside the town to block teleportation magic from “malicious elements.”

Unfortunately, Archdemon Ashby fell squarely into the category of “malicious elements.”

Without a human summoning circle, breaking through those shielding spells would be quite difficult for Ashby.

As for the others… Arlo didn’t seem to have strong enough magic—or rather, he wasn’t proficient in teleportation. Samuel couldn’t even conjure a spark. Deventer, the useless prince, wasn’t worth considering. Misha…

Lance looked at Misha.

Misha looked away awkwardly, letting out a very forced laugh.

“I… I’m also a Divine Messenger who just woke up, ahaha,” Misha said awkwardly. “Teleportation magic and such… I’m still studying it.”

He certainly wasn’t going to say that he was also in the “malicious elements” category!

Although the low-level magic circles of the Kingdom’s mages wouldn’t affect him much, the ability to teleport anywhere at will was high-tier magic that consumed a lot of mana. It was definitely not magic that an ordinary, just-awakened Divine Messenger should know.

He naturally couldn’t admit he could do it. And even if he could, he didn’t want to use teleportation magic to carry so many people in one go.

He refused to attempt something so exhausting. He needed to save his mana to prepare for the infinite accidents the Hero might cause next.

“Looks like we have to walk,” Lance sighed deeply. “How many days does it take to walk back from here?”

“Ashby should be able to provide us with fast mounts!” Misha raised his voice. “Don’t worry, Lord Lance. We can return to Skyreach City in less than a day.”

Misha looked at Ashby, waiting for him to summon the Skeleton Warhorses he had painstakingly raised. They were a peculiar species between living creature and necromancy construct. They had no flesh, their bodies were white bones surrounded by purple ghost fire, and their hooves trod upon the flames of doom from hell. They were cool and incredibly handsome; Misha had once wanted to get one for his Demon King Castle.

However, since there were so many of them, simple horses obviously wouldn’t suffice. Ashby clapped his hands, and instantly, a luxurious carriage pulled by two skeleton horses appeared before them. Ashby opened the door with the gold-inlaid handle, turned slightly to the group, and said, “Please—”

Lance: “Seems a bit overloaded.”

Ashby: “…”

Misha: “…”

“This carriage is too small, and there are so many of us,” Lance frowned. “Can you be a little nicer to the horses?”

Ashby: “…”

Misha: “…”

Don’t obsess over details in such a weird situation!

Misha couldn’t figure it out.

Such handsome, rare, and obviously formidable Skeleton Horses appeared in front of the Hero, yet all the Hero thought about was something so bizarre.

Ashby took a deep breath, trying to explain the Skeleton Horses’ abilities to Lance.

“They aren’t like ordinary human horses!” Ashby said loudly. “The Skeleton Horses I raised myself can really haul!”

Lance fell into deep thought.

Frowning, Lance ruthlessly plucked an unknown but plump fruit from a nearby tree and held it out to one of the Skeleton Horses.

Misha: “…”

He had a bad feeling about this.

Wait, can Skeleton Horses… actually eat?

But the cool, dashing Skeleton Horse lowered its noble head, leaned into Lance’s hand, bit the small fruit, and crunched it a few times. The bones seemed to make a swallowing motion, and then the crushed fruit fell plop-plop right through the ribcage and onto Lance’s shoe.

Lance shook his foot and reached his final conclusion.

Lance: “They really can dump.”

Ashby: “…”

Misha: “…”

Misha gasped, unable to control his volume, and trembled as he said to Lance, “Not that kind of dump!”

Lance circled back to the original topic.

Lance: “Be nicer to the horses.”

Ashby: “…”

Ashby decisively switched to a large, eight-horse carriage for Lance.

The Skeleton Horses rarely performed missions as a group like this, and the atmosphere was very tense. Misha felt they might start fighting at any moment. Ashby also had a headache; to prevent the violent-tempered Skeleton Horses from trampling each other, he—one of the four great demons, King of the Succubi—had to sit at the front of the carriage and act as the Hero’s driver.

Ashby wasn’t wrong; the Skeleton Horses were very fast. Aside from a few scuffles on the road where some bones were gnawed off, they encountered almost no problems.

Before dark, they successfully returned to the forest outside Skyreach City. Ashby stopped the carriage to avoid getting too close to the city and having humans discover the demonic Skeleton Warhorses, which would cause unnecessary accidents.

From there, they switched to walking. The road wasn’t long, and they soon arrived outside Skyreach City.

The guards at the gate recognized Samuel and Lance, and someone actively went to report their return to the Lord. Deventer was nervous to the extreme. Now that they were back in Skyreach City, holding Ashby’s hand was obviously inappropriate.

This was the first time he had returned to a human city in so many years. Everything before him was familiar yet strange. He remained silent, simply looking up slightly at the sky.

The Lord and the Bishop arrived very quickly.

Hearing that the Hero who went to crusade against the Archdemon had returned in triumph, they practically jogged all the way to meet him. Although Deventer had changed significantly, it wasn’t to the point where the Lord couldn’t recognize him. He confirmed Deventer’s identity almost at a glance, then hurriedly turned to the Bishop behind him and said, “It is His Highness the Prince.”

The Bishop could hardly contain his excitement. He swallowed several times before he could speak a complete sentence: “Thank the Goddess, His Highness has returned!”

Compared to the excitement of the Bishop and the Lord, Lance appeared very calm.

He asked about the current situation in the Royal Capital. The King and Queen happened to be visiting the Dragon Clan and would need a few days to return. Since Misha wanted to stay in Skyreach City for a few more days… the timing was perfect. Lance asked Arlo to explain the Oracle received from the Goddess last night to the Lord and Bishop.

They would stay in Skyreach City until the King and Queen returned to the capital. During these few days of free time, Misha would take Lance to check out the Adventurer’s Guild in the city.

According to Misha’s understanding of human cities, every city always had a lively little tavern where adventurers from all over gathered to exchange information and accept various tasks within the city.

This place was generally called the Adventurer’s Guild. Anyone who registered their name and proved they had sufficient ability had the right to accept tasks.

The Adventurer’s Guild had its own point system. Accumulating points to a certain stage unlocked more difficult and rewarding tasks. Based on Misha’s knowledge of Lance’s love for making money, he felt that this task system alone, with its potential for rich profits, would keep the Hero addicted for a long time.

So, Misha actively asked for directions to the Adventurer’s Guild. armed with a letter of recommendation issued by the Church, he led Lance to that tavern.

Everything was exactly as Misha had guessed.

A bustling tavern, gathered adventurers, and a quest board covered in commissions.

Misha handed the Church’s recommendation letter directly to the tavern proprietress, then dragged Lance toward the quest board.

“Lord Lance,” Misha said. “You can look at the tasks here first. Many have handsome rewards and can provide significant financial aid for the early stages of your adventure.”

Lance: “…”

He lowered his voice and whispered, “I don’t lack money.”

Misha: “…”

Misha forced himself to rephrase. “It can provide significant equipment aid for the early stages of your adventure.”

Lance: “…”

Seeing Lance seemed to have more to say, Misha hurriedly took a step forward, looked directly at the commissions on the board, and read one out loud: “Help resident Fais find his lost cow… Lord Lance, this one looks simple and nice.”

Without even looking, Lance ripped that quest sheet off the board.

Misha: “Eh? You aren’t going to choose?”

Lance paused slightly, looking at the other commissions nearby.

Misha: “That task is… go to the deep mist of the forest to find traces of the Death Grass—”

Lance ripped that sheet off without hesitation.

Misha froze, subconsciously saying, “One… one is a bit too few. These two tasks are close to each other, so we can handle them on the way.”

Lance ripped off a third commission sheet.

Misha: “Although it’s a bit of a detour, three is okay too!”

Lance ripped off a fourth sheet.

Misha: “…Four is getting to be a bit much!”

Fifth sheet—

Misha: “Lord Lance, we won’t make the deadlines!”