Resting Dragon Nest Tavern Hall.
A spot in the corner with a wide view, where both the inn’s main entrance and the second-floor staircase are visible.
As if unable to withstand the weight of the metal plate armor, the four chair legs on the ground trembled slightly, emitting a piercing wail.
Terry William leaned back, resting lightly against the chair back.
On his handsome face remained a natural and kind smile.
Behind him, the table where Xia Nan and his group had been sitting was now only sparsely occupied with a few plates, as the tavern server swiftly cleared the table.
On the other side, from the staircase leading to the second floor, came the faint sound of receding footsteps.
"Captain, how is it?"
A subordinate leaned in close, lowering his voice to ask.
"It’s probably not them." The smile on his face faded with a light tap of his fingers on the table, replaced by a deeper contemplation.
Terry William shook his head almost imperceptibly.
"Perhaps they just happened to pass by."
"Really, just by chance?" Sitting across the table, a knight wearing the same uniform, though slightly less good in quality, expressed surprise, "At this exact time, a second son of a City Lord from distant Neum suddenly appears in Melted Scale Town?"
"Captain, I don’t think it’s that simple."
In response, Terry William didn’t answer but instead poured himself a glass of ice water.
He drank it all in one gulp, wiping away the water from the corner of his mouth.
The eyes which never lacked kindness in front of Hai’an and others were now as cold as the chill running down his throat and into his chest.
As the youngest Knight Captain under Duke Morton’s command, having raised his Professional Level to lv5 before the age of thirty, aiming to advance to the [Silver Plated Knight] position.
Among the five knights accompanying him, all professionals, Terry William held the highest leadership and was the squad captain.
Their journey from Nianshu Territory over the mountains to Melted Scale Town was certainly not for leisure or for delivering a message.
The reason he refused to escort Hai’an back to his territory wasn’t a randomly concocted excuse.
There was indeed an important task at hand, requiring them to remain stationed in the town.
Terry William knew the "Quanya Squad" and recognized the squad leader "Lawson."
He also knew clearly that those audacious adventurers were scheming something.
Attempting to break into the nest of an adult Red Dragon and safely retrieve an item is something even Duke Morton would find difficult to accomplish.
The "Quanya Squad" had planned this action for nearly two years, and as former comrades—though Lawson left service when Terry was becoming a professional—their unusual behavior was detected a year ago by the Duke’s spies.
Large acquisitions of tools for detecting and disarming Magic Traps, Flame Resistance Potion, and even a bid at an auction for a Dragon breaking Dagger...
Anyone interested in investigating could easily guess the plan of the "Quanya Squad."
And their target, given that Lawson had once served as a guard at the Duke’s estate and might know some secrets, as well as being a firsthand witness to the Red Dragon attack...
Is likely only one thing—
Duke Morton’s lost family heirloom. Official source is NoveIꜰire.net
To be honest, neither Terry himself nor the Duke believed that the adventurer team, which didn’t even have a single Extraordinary Level professional, had any chance of success in their audacious plan.
But because it involved the Morton Family’s heirloom, even if the possibility was as small as 0.001%, it needed confirmation.
This was the reason Terry William and his team were stationed in Melted Scale Town.
Staying in the only human settlement near the Red Dragon’s Nest, whether the Quanya Squad succeeded or not, if anyone survived, they would have to come here for supplies and rest.
Failure was expected, but if by chance Lawson and his people were genuinely favored by the Goddess of Fortune...
The Morton Family’s treasure naturally should be personally escorted back to the territory by the Duke’s most loyal and brave knight.
When Lawson returned to the town, the scouts they stationed at the town’s entrance immediately reported the situation to Terry William and the others, allowing them to intercept at the Resting Dragon Nest Inn according to the route.
But to their surprise, before seeing Lawson, Terry first spotted a silver-haired, silver-eyed Half Elf, visibly carrying a Longbow, at the tavern door.
The second son of Neum City Lord.
Due to the relationship between the Duke and Wakefield City Lord, Terry William had some acquaintance with Hai’an.
Given the other party’s personality, he might already consider Terry a close friend.
Terry William certainly wouldn’t refuse such an unexpectedly gained connection, but if this relationship were to impact his status within the Morton Family, hindering his current chance to acquire resources for his promotion...
He knew where to draw the line.
At the moment, considering what he heard recently about the high-level changes over in Neum.
It seems reasonable for Hai’an to cross such a distance to seek refuge in Yuan Sha Province.
But as his subordinate just mentioned, it’s too coincidental.
Right at the moment when Lawson’s operation ended and he returned to the tavern, Hai’an and his group just happened to appear.
This made him skeptical even though he believed the other party’s assertion of just passing through Melted Scale Town.
According to him, that veteran guard Wood, usually inseparable, was also in town as he recalled.
Perhaps, like himself, Hai’an wasn’t lying but merely withheld some critical information.