Chapter 279: [Umbral Scale Plate Guard]

Hegu Town.

Thanks to the Mist Forest where monsters are entrenched nearby, this remote town that gathers a large number of adventurers all year round can be said to be the most "free" human gathering place in the entire Pan Yun Province.

In large cities with developed economy and culture like "Niumu," the extravagance and enjoyment of nobles and rich merchants go without saying. Even the poorest kid in the slums who doesn't pay attention to anything will wipe a handful of hair wax stolen from somewhere before going out, cover the patches on his shirt, and maintain a most basic decency;

While coming to rural villages, dealing with wheat and bean seedlings in the fields all day, not even seeing a few outsiders on weekdays, and carrying heavy tax pressure on their shoulders, poor farmers can only hang simple smiles on their faces. The filth hidden in the shadows naturally exists, but the nature of being human has long been suppressed deep in the body by the scorching and poisonous sun. Unless one gets close and understands deeply, everyone looks like a robot produced on an assembly line, with similar personalities and ways of doing things.

Hegu Town is completely different.

Its unique nature as an "adventure town" makes this town show a strange style rarely seen on this continent.

To put it nicely, it is "free," "individual," and "unconstrained."

To put it ugly, using the saying popular on the internet in Xia Nan's past life, it is...

Uh, "gods" everywhere.

"Gurgle..."

The sound of wooden wheels rolling, accompanied by a pungent stench, came from the road next to it.

A few bottom-level human adventurers in simple clothes were dragging a large cart of corpses piled up by various creatures, coming from outside the town.

Just what Xia Nan caught a glimpse of included five goblins, two unknown deer-like creatures, a jungle leopard that had been skinned, and a few "cute" little creatures crawling out from the wounds of the corpses, feasting greedily.

He didn't know where the corpses of these creatures were being sent.

He had some vague guesses, and made up his mind that for the recent period, he would only solve his three meals a day at the Baishanque, and absolutely would not be greedy at the small stalls on the street outside.

By the side of the road, two dwarves who looked dusty and tired picked up a few stones on the ground to pad them high as a "stage," and were singing a traditional ballad from their hometown with great emotion, as if they wanted to earn some travel and wine money by singing.

As for how they sang... it could only be said that even Xia Nan, who was used to various musical styles in his past life and had his resistance maxed out by countless internet garbage, couldn't help but quicken his pace when passing by.

Well, at least their voices were loud.

But it really had to be said that being loud had its benefits; their roaring attracted many of their dwarf compatriots, who contributed many copper coins in between, which was enough for these two "street artists" to enjoy themselves in the tavern for a night.

The half-orc beside him seemed to have the same taste as Xia Nan, unable to bear the noise made by the two shorties.

It was just that his temper was more irritable, and his brain circuit was relatively short.

Regardless of the beast-skin apron that was as simple as a savage and almost exposed half of his buttocks, he strode directly into the field, and in front of a group of dwarf spectators, sprayed saliva wildly at the two street artists.

The insulting words sprayed from his mouth were nothing more than racial discrimination terms like "slag" and "stone belly" that carried extreme malice.

And what happened next could be foreseen.

Consciously blocking the sound of fighting and insults behind him, Xia Nan walked on the street, recalling his experience in the Mist Forest before.

It wasn't that he wanted to delay time in the forest, but when passing by, he happened to encounter a team of green-skinned goblins out hunting.

The Goddess of Luck was so kind, he naturally couldn't live up to her kindness.

Also, based on the idea that it was not easy to finish the mission, having traveled such a long distance, he wanted to reward himself well and relieve the pressure in his heart.

He followed the squad all the way to their lair, and enjoyed venting his fire fiercely with a flail and both hands.

As for Abi and the others, they were just a small episode on the way back, and nothing to care about.

Many days ago, when he was chatting with Edwinna in the tavern, the other party mentioned that this kid was not satisfied with the current income and had complaints about the control in the team, wanting to leave the team. For this reason, Edwinna specifically found connections to let people take care of him more.

Knowing that the adventurer environment was like this, and that he and the other party had only been temporary teammates for a short period, and that the relationship had faded and gradually drifted apart later, he didn't get involved.

It had been a long time since the two last met, and he didn't expect to meet in the forest.

At that time, he was thinking about chatting with the other party for a while and asking about his recent situation.

But this kid, who had been painted with indescribable colors in the dyeing vat of adventurers, naturally showed fear and alienation toward professionals, which made Xia Nan feel it was meaningless.

Only chatting a few words, he left alone and returned to town.

No longer thinking about it, Xia Nan walked beside the busy street where people came and went, his face showing a thoughtful expression.

He entered the goblin lair, venting his desire was one aspect, but on the other hand, he was actually thinking about using actual combat to train the combat technique he had just acquired, to see if he could get started early.

Now, many days had passed since he obtained 【Ember Echo】 in the secret realm.

In terms of progress... although it couldn't be said to be very fast, it couldn't be said that there was no progress at all.

At least he gradually felt that invisible power that was brewing and lingering in his body, scorching and dilapidated, it was just that he couldn't mobilize it yet.

Similar to the personal guidance of the legendary barbarian mentor "Fugang" when training 【Tooth Hunt】, and the "Titan Umbilical Cord · Gravity Core" summoned by 【Fate Coin】 that caused the qualitative change and awakening of 【Gravity Control】.

The flame crystal he crushed at the tip of the staff infused him with detailed training techniques related to this combat technique, making it possible for him to train calmly while walking even if he was alone.

Xia Nan estimated that according to this progress, if he adjusted his training plan slightly, and if he didn't encounter any bottlenecks in the middle, it wouldn't be long before he could completely get started with 【Ember Echo】 and practice it to the extent that it could be displayed on the attribute panel.

Not urgent, just step by step.

Right now, ending the long journey, having finally returned to Hegu Town from the escort mission, he had many things to organize.

First, go back to the Baishanque tavern, pack up the luggage that should be put away, and by the way, drink a bowl of long-lost, fragrant, steaming cream mushroom soup with rich milk fragrance and dense, delicious taste.

Then find a grocery store, deal with the scattered spoils on his body cleanly, and by the way, find someone to estimate the price of the 【Iron Stomach Flail】, or simply entrust it to the association for consignment.

Of course, before all of the above, he had to go to the "Rock Hammer" blacksmith shop, buy a set of fine-quality, well-fitting armor, and ask if there was any possibility of repairing the decapitation longsword, and about the usage method of the 【Melted Grey Silver Ingot】.

And that most important piece, which had cost Xia Nan a full one thousand gold coins after providing the main materials, and for which an upgrade plan had been formulated a few months ago, created from the tough materials from the exotic secret realm—

【Snake Scale Arm Shield】!

"Rock Hammer," as one of the blacksmith shops with the best reputation in the entire Hegu Town, the equipment produced there has always been known for its high quality, sturdiness, and durability.

Even if the price is significantly more expensive than other shops, it has cultivated a large group of followers because of the shop owner's high requirements for the works in his hands.

It's just that I don't know what the reason is recently, the blacksmith shop owner Ba'en suddenly conducted a detailed and comprehensive inspection of the durability and sturdiness of the products in the shop, especially armor and defensive gear.

I don't know what kind of stimulation he received, which even led to a significant decrease in the output of the blacksmith shop.

When Xia Nan walked into the blacksmith shop, he didn't even see Ba'en, only vaguely hearing the "ding-ding" sound of the forging hammer coming from the back room.

He greeted with his mouth, and the hammering sound stopped, replaced by hurried footsteps approaching gradually.

"Creak."

The wooden door was pushed open violently from the inside out. ===== CHAPTER 280 =====