Chapter 498

Chapter 498: Abandoned Village

That afternoon, Jesse arranged to meet Greed at the entrance of a small inn on the way to the Stormwind gate. Jesse noticed that there were scaffolds and workers coming in and out near the city gate.

The main bridge in the Valley of Heroes has been mostly rebuilt. When Jesse returned from The Black Morass earlier, he had noticed that the central pedestal belonging to Marshal Turalyon in front of the city gate had been completed.

After observing the workers at the gate for a while, Greed placed his bags beside him and asked, "What are you looking at?"

Jesse turned around and saw him wearing a black metal helmet with a rather aggressive design, resembling a broken blade on top of his head.

"What’s this thing?" he asked about the dwarf’s helmet, "Where did you get it from?"

"Didn’t you ask me about rewards?" Greed tapped his helmet and said, "This is the reward. Do you know how long it took me to find a helmet that fits my head perfectly like this one?"

"Wait a moment," Jesse paused and asked, "Is this the Demon Guard’s helmet?"

"That’s right," Greed smiled and said, "Do you know how resistant this ugly thing is to fire and shadow damage? When a Mo’arg Demon spits fire at my face, I just tilt my head and I’m fine! Of course, the neck guard has to be reliable too."

"But, this doesn’t really fit your head," Jesse shook the helmet with the broken sword, "This helmet is a bit bigger than your head, I feel like it won’t stay put."

Greed chuckled and said, "It’ll fit perfectly once I transform!"

"What if in the future your transformed size becomes even bigger?" Jesse asked.

"Uh," Greed patted the helmet and said, "I can ask the blacksmith to make it more adjustable."

"That’s not important, what matters is if the holy water has arrived, Greed?" Jesse asked.

"Of course," Greed said, "I heard that after I joined the battle at the Dark Portal, the monks at the Cathedral of Light gave me a lot, so much that we can even use it as water. But to deal with ghosts, I guess your spells are also essential, how many Mana Potions did you bring?"

Jesse patted the new medicine pouch on his waist and said, "I also have three bottles of potion that my Alchemist gave me before our last journey outside. Since I didn’t encounter any decent fights throughout, I didn’t need to drink them."

Talking about it, Ursula didn’t seem to be in the basement when she went there last time to meet Surena and Erlan to discuss the new robes.

She felt like she had been spending less time in the basement these days.

As long as the Felhound Basadre was still there, guarding the door obediently, she shouldn’t have any problems.

Since the start of the Dark Portal battle, Jesse found Darkshire to be more familiar than Goldshire. He had made multiple trips here as a stopover, and surprisingly, Darkshire had become livelier after the battle at the Dark Portal.

Moreover, more and more people were starting to refer to this place as Darkshire. Jesse could clearly sense that the name Grand Town was gradually being forgotten.

Setting off from Darkshire again, Jesse and Greed traveled for two days with the caravan transporting goods towards Nethergarde, until they reached a valley deep in Deadwind Pass. People on the caravan were surprised when they decided to get off there.

Every time they passed through the valley, all caravan and patrollers wanted to quickly go through without stopping, so they couldn’t imagine anyone getting off there.

After the leader of the caravan convinced themselves that Jesse and Greed were not seeking trouble but actually had some business there, they decided to leave.

Jesse and Greed walked towards the ruins of a village hidden in a gorge that Jesse had noticed when he came here with Aubergine’s group last time. It was midnight, and they were both a bit tired, planning to investigate there and rest for the night.

From far away, the village looked like an abandoned settlement at the foot of the mountains, with seven or eight houses and a few rundown pens that might be for cows or pigs. It was dull and boring.

But as Jesse approached the village, with the gray mountains in the distance and the eerie black dry branches of trees surrounding it, there was an unsettling, chilly smell of dark shadows. Looking at the dark doorways of the houses, Jesse couldn’t help but feel a tingling sensation on his scalp.

He glanced at Greed beside him, the dwarf’s gaze shifting nervously between the different buildings, showing signs of anxiety.

"As soldiers who have faced demon armies head-on at the Dark Portal, are we not embarrassed by our performance, Jesse Seso?" the dwarf said.

Jesse gripped his Azuresong Mageblade at his waist and said, "We can never be too careful."

"I think sleeping in the forest would be better than resting in this village," Greed suggested.

"There are Ogres in the forest," Jesse said. "Haven’t you heard?"

"At least I can hear the footsteps when Ogres come," Greed said.

"Remember the Ogre thieves?" Jesse asked. "If even Orc Sages have appeared, wouldn’t Ogre thieves be close by too?"

Greed walked up to a small house’s entrance and peeked inside, saying, "I still don’t believe Ogre thieves exist."

"But Ogres do have mages, you must know this, right?" Jesse asked.

"The ones with two heads," Greed replied. "Of course, I know."

The two of them approached a larger two-story house. Jesse pushed open the slightly ajar door and glanced inside, then continued, "You know, footsteps can be silenced using magic, there’s a spell that can make you lighter, allowing you to fall from a height as light as a feather, gently landing on the ground. So, even Ogres, with the help of their mages, can sneak up quietly at night and grab you."

Greed straightened his back and said, "That sounds pretty good."

"Huh?" Jesse asked.

"I mean," Greed clarified, "that spell for falling gently – if each Gryphon Rider had a mage cast that before going into battle… No, Gryphon Riders must never abandon their comrades fighting together."

Jesse pulled Saenor out of the bag and threw him on the ground, saying, "Go check upstairs, Saenor, we’ll search downstairs."

"Master, you’re really timid!" Saenor remarked. "You should let Molofeel help you. That female ogre, just to sip a bit of your energy, she’s willing to go through the Dark Portal, let alone going upstairs!"

Despite this, it quickly ran up the stairs, leaving behind eerie footprints.

Greed leaned over and nudged Jesse with his shoulder, quietly asking, "Does taking a sip of energy mean what I think it does?"