Chapter Nine : Tavern Turmoil Part Two

Witnessing this scene, the adventurers in the tavern were all stunned, including the usually knowledgeable Barrett.

Wood's arm was nearly four times thicker than EeDeChi's, and his rough hands with bulging veins forcefully twisted EeDeChi's arm, trying to break it. However, the effect was like trying to knead dough on a Adamantite rod, completely unable to move her arm at all.

Wood's face turned red, and the scar on his face looked even more ferocious. Clenching his hands into fists the size of small pumpkins, he pounded EeDeChi's face with each blow making a dull "thud! thud!" sound!

Barrett had once seen Wood swing a heavy Bloodline Battle Axe and cut an Iron Armor Fire Lizard in half, and had even fought with Wood over the division of spoils. So, he knew just how much power Wood's fists, as big as an Ogre's, contained.

However, EeDeChi seemed like a bronze statue anchored to the ground, her head being punched again and again, yet she still stretched out her arm and grabbed Wood's neck without any reaction.

She pursed her lips and said, "It's quite good outside the tavern, why don't you go there instead?"

With that, EeDeChi made a throwing motion, and Wood flew out like a cannonball launched by a siege engine, soaring over the heads of the adventurers in the tavern, smashing through the tavern's waist-high door, and heavily crashing outside the tavern.

"Ouch!" Wood's miserable cry upon landing echoed from afar. Judging from the sound, it could be inferred that Wood didn't just fall outside the tavern, but very likely on the other side of the street.

Several burly adventurers rushed out of the door to rescue Wood. They were companions from the same adventurer team as Wood, but at this moment, they obviously dared not come to seek an explanation from EeDeChi.

"Scarface Bladebearer" Valent silently retreated into the crowd of patrons with his drink, and the people in the tavern also averted their gazes from EeDeChi, continuing the discussion they had before Barrett entered the tavern.

EeDeChi calmly adjusted her collar as if the earlier scene was just a trivial incident. She continued to inquire of Barrett, "I need to find a guide to cross the Mistwood and reach Golden Sheaf City on the other side. I think you're suitable for this task. The hiring fee for this activity is 40 gold coins, if it's not enough, I can add more."

A Orichalcum-level adventurer wants to hire me as a guide? Barrett instinctively wanted to refuse. Generally, behind Orichalcum-level and Adamantite-level elite adventurers, there is a reliable and taciturn adventurer team. They wouldn't let an unpolished outsider join, as dragging behind is one thing, but disrupting the rhythm of an elite adventurer team is another matter entirely.

Moreover, for a Orichalcum-level adventurer team, crossing the Mistwood is no small feat. Is there a need to come to him? Even a group of Mithril-level adventurers temporarily formed in Montell City could easily make two round trips in the Mistwood.

Barrett waved his hand, indicating that he didn't want to do it.

"80 gold coins," EeDeChi doubled the reward without hesitation.

Eighty gold coins was not a small amount; it was enough to buy a large estate with a backyard in Montell City. But Barrett still didn't want to take on this task. What puzzled him was why this fellow chose him out of all the adventurers in the Marina Tavern.

What Barrett didn't know was that in EeDeChi's view, the number representing Justice Value above his head was 146, and the only person in the tavern with a higher value was the counter girl with a Justice Value of 154. EeDeChi's sole criterion for judging people was almost solely based on the Justice Value above each person's head.

"95 gold coins!" Seeing Barrett's hesitant expression, EeDeChi raised the reward once again.

"Barrett, just agree to her, with such a high reward, even I'm tempted! After you finish this task, you can go to the monastery with this lady. She'll be a nun and you'll be a priest, and you won't have to do this dangerous work anymore."

Hearing EeDeChi continuously raising the reward, a talkative short adventurer beside him couldn't help but interject. Seeing EeDeChi's old-fashioned appearance, he naturally judged her to be a former nun.

EeDeChi coldly glared at this guy with a Justice Value of 52, scaring him into shrinking his neck and continuing to drink his black rye beer.

Barrett once again expressed his refusal. To be honest, the higher the reward, the more wary he became. Rewards often corresponded directly to the danger of the task, a rule that applied to the vast majority of adventure businesses.

If he became EeDeChi's guide, who knew if this terrifying and strange girl would one day throw him into the sky like she did with Wood!

"120 gold coins!" EeDeChi's beautiful black eyebrows furrowed, once again raising the price of the reward.

Seeing EeDeChi's slightly angry expression, Barrett felt increasingly uneasy.

He lightly placed his right hand on his sword, while his left foot took a small step back. If EeDeChi were to erupt like she did against Wood, he would immediately counterattack or run out of the tavern.

In an industry with such a high casualty rate for adventurers, Barrett had been in it for nearly twenty years, relying on constant caution and vigilance! Not like some new adventurers who would sacrifice their limbs or even their lives for a little profit.

Of course, walking by the river will make your shoes wet sooner or later, and he had recently given away a part of his body.

"150 gold coins!" EeDeChi snorted heavily.

"Deal!" Barrett firmly grasped EeDeChi's right hand with both hands, his azure eyes earnestly staring into her black eyes, his tone resolute and powerful: "I guarantee that I can help you cross the Mistwood with ease!"

After all, who would refuse to get along with glittering gold coins?