Chapter 151: Hidden Crisis

“My name is Kruje, and this is my sister, Kruse.” Kruje introduced themselves in a very friendly way.

Blue Maple glanced over as Kruse nodded her head shyly in response.

“Also, this is our uncle, Klubdi.” He pointed flatly at Klubdi.

“Hello, kind and brave human youth.” Klubdi smiled warmly.

“My name is Blue Maple.” Blue Maple nodded slightly as he answered.

Blue Maple was no longer that concerned about whether his name would be exposed, so he just said his own name directly. He was talking to NPCs after all.

Of course, the main reason for that was because there no longer anything to be worried about. He could go into hiding in this game anytime he wished. He had already lived outside for two months.

“Many thanks to you. If not for you, we would have experienced severe losses.” Kruje’s expression of gratitude was very sincere, and Blue Maple could faintly feel the trauma in his tone.

Blue Maple didn’t think much of their gratitude. Instead, he was concerned about whether they had any special quests for him. That was his main reason for coming here.

“Yes. Do you guys need some help?” Blue Maple asked directly.

Blue Maple inquired without concealing his intentions at all, and his question stunned Kruje and the others momentarily but they quickly recovered.

“Ahem. Yes, we do need some help.” Kruje felt a little awkward as he spoke.

“My younger sister and her bodyguards accidentally discovered and killed several heavily injured demon solders and obtained an important item that the Demons were transporting. We discovered afterwards that the escorting demons had been intercepted by one of your human generals, but the most important item among them was secretly taken away by several demon soldiers who had managed to escape.”

“The demon soldiers were probably panicking back then, and they were forced to run this way. They attacked and killed the defensively weaker border guards and escaped here. Of course, there was a Demon General who had helped break through the defences. Of course, even though the border guard has never been involved in a proper war before, their defensive capability is still decent.”

The border between the Demons and the Human Gods had a vast and wide buffer zone with sentries everywhere. There were occasional tiny teams who leaked through the perimeter and crossed over, but that was understandable.

“They managed to escape, but my sister and I ran into them. Therefore, this item is now in our hands.”

Kruje had an embarrassed expression on his face after he spoke, and Blue Maple immediately understood.

Kruje and the others were definitely not just going out. He was probably out with his bodyguards to play, and Kruje could evidently tell that Blue Maple understood that, so he felt a little embarrassed.

“Ahem. But this item seems connected to the demons, and it keeps sending demonized beasts to pursue and attack us. Now, we must send this item to our elders. Are you willing to escort us? Of course, we can talk about your reward.”

Kruje looked very hopeful as he witnessed Blue Maple’s formidable power when he was killing the Boss. Blue Maple also looked like he possessed skills from two different classes.

Ding! Announcement: “Are you willing to accept this escort quest? You are to escort Kruje and his sister towards their tribe.”

Blue Maple wasn’t worried about revealing his abilities as a Looming Shadow. He knew how to go invisible before that anyway, so it was still acceptable that he had learned some Thieves’ skills. The old man didn’t tell him that he couldn’t use his skills in normal times back then, so he wasn’t too concerned.

“I can think about that. How long is the journey? I’m heading to Gong Liang City after a few days,” said Blue Maple plainly.

What Blue Maple wanted to convey was obvious. He could help with their affairs, as long as they didn’t delay his own business.

Kruje immediately revealed a happy look on his face when he heard Blue Maple’s response.

“That’s fantastic. Our tribe is not far away from Gong Liang City, so we will not hinder your plans.”

“Perfect.” Blue Maple still had an emotionless look on his face.

He accepted the quest.

Ding! Announcement: “You have accepted this quest to escort Kruje and his sister to their tribe. Furthermore, you have to protect the item so that it isn’t stolen to complete this quest. Your reward will be cut by half if the item is stolen.”

Seems like the siblings’ lives are more valuable. Blue Maple thought to himself.

“We should be safe tonight, for now. Let’s camp here. The remnants of these beasts’ auras should be enough to save us some rouble.” Klubdi spoke with experience.

Blue Maple approved of his idea. Blue Maple chose to sleep near where he had killed the formidable Boss when he was sleeping in Elven Forest. The weaker monsters didn’t dare to come, while the stronger ones went for the corpse. That was relatively safer.

Of course, that solution was only relevant for the lack of a better place to stay.

But Blue Maple was most curious about how they camped out. Would they be using tents and whatnot? The stores in the city didn’t sell those things. At least, he hadn’t seen any in the Rank 3 Main City, and he… hadn’t gone to Rank 2 Main City yet.

Blue Maple was always early everywhere he went. He was early to leave Novice Village, he was early to visit Town, and to Rank 3 Main City. Rank 2 Main City had been open for quite a while now, but he hadn’t been to it yet.

It would appear like that was because Blue Maple’s movement wasn’t hindered anymore.

Several goblins started taking out items and parts from their own backpacks one after another before they hurriedly and quickly assembled them together. Tents quickly took shape one after another, while some of them were relatively grander than the others. Evidently, they were for Kruje and his family.

They really are using tents.

Kruje made sure all the arrangements were complete before he came to Blue Maple and gestured to a particular tent.

“That’s your tent, Blue Maple. There were casualties along the way, so there are extra tents that you can use. My apologies if they are a little too simple for your liking.” Kruje was very polite.

“Yes. As long as I’ll have a place to sleep.” Blue Maple still had that plain look on his face.

Yes, as long as he had a place to sleep. Blue Maple was most concerned about his sleep, and he was more than happy to have that dealt with in no time.

He was still contemplating whether he should ask them for a tent at the end because assembling it was relatively simple.

Dwarves were adept with buildings things in the first place. Tents were already pretty useful, and dwarven tents were especially simple and convenient.

There was a huge problem, however, as their specially crafted tents were… a little small…

Blue Maple glanced at his tent. It looked like one that would have otherwise been shared between several dwarves, so it was barely enough to accommodate him…

However, truly exquisite craftsmanship required goblins. They were adept with all kinds of machinery and other kinds of precision instruments. They were considered a race who had discovered advanced technology in this game’s setting of ancient society.

Blue Maple could tell with his glasses which items were unique in this game’s ancient society.

“I’m going to rest, then. You should rest earlier too as we have to travel tomorrow. We should be able to get back on the third day if nothing unexpected happens.” Kruje left after he spoke.

He could tell that Blue Maple didn’t talk much, and any more words on his part would be superfluous.

Blue Maple surveyed his surroundings after Kruje left and realized that the other dwarves were so lazy that they only had traps that only set off alarms, before he walked straight to the tent that Kruje had reserved for him to sleep.

Kruje and Klubdi were chatting in their own tent after Blue Maple went to bed.

“Do you think Blue Maple is alright, uncle?” Kruje asked.

“He should have no problem. I can roughly tell that he likes to do things by himself, so he was probably just passing by, just as he said. However, I think the reason why he’s chosen to help us is because he was passing by, and he has nothing better to do. His behavior is just too casual. Furthermore…” Klubdi started contemplating.

“What?” Kruje was a little confused.

“Did you notice his glasses?” Klubdi asked.

“Glasses? It looks like a pair of Goblin Glasses. Can he have any ties with goblins? Isn’t that better?” Kruje was even more confused.

The Dwarven race and the Goblin race had always been close allies with each other.

“I don’t think he has any ties with goblins. That pair of glasses should have been obtained by his senior from goblins, and that pair of glasses should have a function that suppresses his strength.” Klubdi’s eyes sparkled as he speculated boldly.

“That can’t be right. He already looks very strong. Can his power possibly still be suppressed?!” Kruje was shocked as he spoke.

“Yes. I discovered when we were fighting that he had some strength contained within his body that he hadn’t unleashed. That’s probably due to his Goblin Glasses’ suppression.”

Klubdi could only feel the Goblin Glasses’ suppression, but he couldn’t sense Old Man Fang’s seal. That was because their powers were too far apart.

“If that’s the case, we shouldn’t have much trouble with the rest of our journey, right?”

“Not certainly. You should know how valuable the item that your sister accidentally discovered is, so the Demons will send soldiers after us. After all, that’s an ancient ring which can increase your Strength by 50%. Even the elder demons will want it.” Klubdi’s face was very solemn.

They actually obtained a ring which can increase the user’s Strength by 50%. That was a terrifying statistic!

Anyone could tell by comparing with Blue Maple’s explosive power after removing his glasses that this ring was different. The user would have a permanent boost to his Strength as long as he was wearing this ring. Furthermore, there were probably more rings that amplified other attributes, while these other rings probably had equally immense attribute bonuses!

“Yes. The demonic aura on the ring is too strong. It will definitely be a very powerful item once our elders have purified it!” Kruje’s eyes flickered with excitement.

“Yes. Go to sleep, we’ll be on our way tomorrow.” Klubdi appeared very calm.

“Alright.”

……

……

Blue Maple was completely clueless about their discussion as he had already fallen into a deep sleep. He was probably just a little tired today…

The forest was exceptionally quiet in this night as the surrounding bugs and animals seemed to have been scared away by the beasts’ auras. The night passed calmly and quietly. At least, they didn’t suffer any ambushes out of nowhere.

……

……

In this moment.

In a camp along the borders of demon territory.

A demon who appeared very powerful was together with a group of other demons, who were clad in hoods and cloaks like they were mages, and they were activating and channelling a large magic formation. They were teleporting a demon who was surrounded by demonic energy within, but nobody could see how this demon looked like.

If Blue Maple had been here, he could probably feel that this was a spatial teleportation formation even if he couldn’t recognize it.

But nobody knew where this demon was being teleported to…