Chapter 56: Holy Fire Team

The next morning.

When Rod went downstairs to the inn for breakfast, he found Gema sitting and talking with a half-dragon.

As soon as she spotted Rod, she controlled the magical puppet beneath her to wave.

"Mr. Rod, over here!"

"Good morning, Gema."

"Our guide has been found. Look, this is Xia Li, the best open-air maze traversal expert in Scorching City. She could traverse alone at five and without any supplies at eight. Getting her to join cost me quite a bit of effort."

Gema introduced the half-dragon.

She was a female half-dragon of the Red Dragon lineage, with curved dragon horns growing from the top of her head, covered in a layer of red scales.

Xia Li waved her hand, looking as if she wished to never speak of the past again.

Then, upon seeing Rod, her eyes lit up.

She took the initiative to shake his hand.

"Rest assured, Mr. Rod, traversing the maze is the simplest thing in the world for me."

Her palm was very hot, perhaps over forty degrees.

It was said that half-dragons inherit the spiritual heart of great dragons, pumping blood containing high-temperature energy.

Sensing the other party secretly squeezing his palm, Rod could only laugh helplessly and had to pull his hand away.

Xia Li licked her lips, the aggression in her eyes speaking volumes.

"I heard you are heading to Emerald City. May I ask why?"

"I go for the Domain."

"Oh—Emerald Domain. That is something only nobles and princes can enjoy. Ordinary people have very limited quotas, and they must compete to obtain them. I advise you not to hold out too much hope."

"Hehe, it doesn't matter if I don't make it. Just wandering around is quite nice."

Rod did not tell anyone he possessed a recommendation letter from the Argyle family, to avoid trouble.

"Emerald City is indeed a good place, close enough to the Emerald Court of the elves. With Mr. Rod's appearance, you might even hook up with a stray elven lady."

Gema coughed lightly twice, interrupting the idle chat.

"Xia Li, why don't you tell us about the taboos of the maze first?"

"Very simple. First, listen to me. Second, do not stray an inch. Take note: there are a certain number of natives within the maze who worship the maze. They each have their own customs, which are hard to summarize in a few words. In short, whatever I say at the time, you just follow."

"Understood."

The group walked towards the commercial street.

They still needed to buy some equipment.

Many people adventuring in the open-air maze rested and recuperated in Scorching City, so there was a production line here for products that suppressed maze monsters.

Furthermore, it was to deal with the natives inside the maze.

"They are the Fufeng people, perhaps a type of human."

Xia Li said while picking at a towel on a display stand.

"Two hundred years ago? Or how many years ago, I've forgotten. Anyway, that area of the open-air maze had three villages. From the moment the maze descended, the land and the humans alike underwent mutation, becoming a new race."

"Like witches?"

Another new race formed from humans? This made Rod think of Dimia the witch in Shi Ying Town.

"About the same, except witches at least still look somewhat human."

"Then what are they doing inside the maze? Isn't it better there than in that place?" Tally asked.

She had transformed into a girl with somewhat dark skin, wearing a veil and a headscarf like a local, with a short crop top on her upper body, revealing healthy abs and defined abdominal muscles.

"Their appearance and thoughts have both changed. Scorching City once considered accepting them, but they were firmly rejected."

The half-dragon held up a long towel in her hand and said with a smile:

"Look, one of the Fufeng tribes likes to make loincloths out of this kind of towel. It pleases them."

The group picked and chose, filling a large bag.

Recently, the price of supplies in Scorching City had surged greatly; just this one bag cost two Jin Along.

Not far away.

Rod saw the group holding high torches from last night again.

They lined up in a row, walking along the street, moving the high torches up and down with numb expressions.

"Who are those people?"

He asked.

Xia Li showed disgust.

"The Holy Fire Team. A group of humans who worship the Holy Fire. Isn't it strange? The Holy Fire is something for the lizardmen, yet this group of humans has made it so peculiar."

Rod noticed their numbers had grown larger.

Moreover, similar people kept drilling out of the streets to join them. In a short while, they stood densely packed along the street.

These people were all emaciated and ragged, looking more like vagrants.

"Just a bunch of lazy humans who don't do any proper work," the half-dragon Xia Li spat.

The group moved to the side of the street, avoiding the Holy Fire Team.

The Holy Fire Team, the neighboring Kaoi tribe, the surging prices, and the reduced harvest of orchid berries.

These several problems added up, occurring within a city that was otherwise peaceful.

Even if you forced yourself to say the city was safe and sound, Rod really didn't believe it.

He had originally planned to rest here for two days, but now he only wanted to set off as soon as possible.

Rod was just about to speak to Xia Li.

A small hand slipped into his palm.

This was not Tally's warmth.

He looked down.

He saw a young girl at the tail end of the Holy Fire Team, one hand holding a high torch, the other clutching his palm.

"?"

She looked pitiful, her face smeared black with falling ash.

"Dad."

"What?" Rod thought he had misheard.

"Dad!"

She suddenly screamed, drawing everyone on the street's attention.

The members of the Holy Fire Team turned in unison, their numb pupils fixed on him.

Rod's expression turned cold, and he flung the girl away.

Just then, a man in red-and-white armor walked over, carrying a steel spear in his hand; he was clearly a soldier of Scorch City.

"Are you her father?"

"No."

The girl screamed "Dad" again and tried to hug him, but Rod pushed her away.

The soldier's face instantly grew stern.

"Do you know that abandonment is a grave crime in Scorch City?"

Rod now understood they were colluding.

In his peripheral vision, he saw the shopkeeper who had just taken two Jin Along coins sneering at them.

Had he shown off his wealth?

"Hey, Maxine! What are you doing! This is my customer!"

The half-dragon blocked in front of Rod and shouted fiercely.

"Get lost! This has nothing to do with you!"

"You!"

As he spoke, the members of the Holy Fire Team raised their torches high, surrounding them in layers within layers.

Tally stood beside Rod, barely moving.

"Want to resist?! Hah!"

The armored soldier roared.

His face was very close, spit already spraying onto Rod's face.

The girl crawled up, sobbing, saying things like "Dad, don't abandon me."

"Then what do you want?"

"It's not what I want, but how the law sentences you! Scum!"

At that moment, another older armored soldier walked over.

He wore a kindly expression and gently scolded that Maxine a few times.

Then, playing the peacemaker, he separated the two and warmly shook Rod's hand.

He said he could understand Rod and believed in his innocence, but since someone had raised the issue, an investigation was needed; he would mediate, but they needed to cooperate.

It was nothing but the good-cop, bad-cop routine, simply trying to extort Jin Along coins.

Rod was a direct person.

"How much? Say it."

"Not much, five hundred Jin Along coins. Of course, I will give you time to raise the money; during that time, your few companions here will need to stay with us for a few days."

The old soldier spoke earnestly, with an expression of concern for them.

Rod then noticed that both old soldiers kept glancing at Tally from time to time.

Was it not because he had shown off his wealth?

Another purpose?

Immediately, he grew tired of wasting words and punched the old soldier hard, sending him flying.

Maxine looked shocked; before the word "bold" could leave his lips, he too flew into the crowd in the same manner.

"F*** you, you two idiots, and you little idiot too."

Rod kicked the girl down, and she immediately burst into wailing tears.

Then Tally grabbed his hand.

Along with Xia Li and Miss Gaima, they vanished from the spot in a 【Flash】.

(End of this chapter)