The minds of the adventurer's went blank at the sight of the seemingly endless swarm of snakes.
No one knew who spoke, but someone yelled exactly what everyone else was thinking.
"RUN!"
At the end of this word, all hell broke loose.
"Shit! Get out of my way!"
"Fuck! I'm out of here!"
The adventurers began pushing themselves as they ran with all their might towards the exit.
Too bad that they wouldn't be going anywhere.
"Guards, close the gate! No one is allowed to leave"
From within the Missionary, a loud and clear voice rang out to everyone. All the agents of the Missionary immediately came alive all over the outpost as they stood against the running mob of adventurers.
"You bastards! Move out of the way!"
One of the adventurers rushed towards them and swung his ax to cut them down.
But instead…
*Swish*Clang*Shing*
The man had his head lopped off without being able to utter another word.
But that wasn't going to stop these adventurers. The snakes were already killing people when the voice resounded once more. This time though, it was far louder.
"WARRIORS, STAND TALL AND YOU SHALL BE REWARDED"
Without stopping he continued…
"ALL SALVAGE RIGHTS BELONG TO WHOEVER KILLS THE BEAST IN QUESTION. THOSE WHO PERFORM EXCEPTIONALLY SHALL BE REWARDED WITH ANY TEN SILVER RANK MANA TECHNIQUES AND ANY TEN COMBAT MANUALS AVAILABLE IN THE OUTPOST!"
All eyes fell on the origin of the declaration, only for them to find a man with dark brown eyes who couldn't be less than thirty three in age.
But as adventurers, they also knew the man was anything but ordinary. How? His armor was better than anything most of them had ever seen with its golden yellow sheen, as well as the white greatsword whose golden hilt he held with his two hands.
But if anything else, it was the pressure he exuded. Like they say, the strong recognize the strong, so while they didn't know who he was, they already noted his visage at the back of their minds in case they met elsewhere.
The man in front of them wasn't someone to be taken lightly, and no one wanted to die, die in vain at that.
"I SWEAR BY MY NAME AS ROWAN EVERDUST AND AS THE ADMIRAL OF THIS MISSIONARY! ALL WHO FLEE WITH BE CHARGED WITH TREASON AND A BOUNTY WILL BE PLACED ON THEIR HEADS"
Such a reveal had people gasping in shock, while the true elites quickly made the calculations inwardly.
Based on the visage alone, the armor quality and the exuding pressure spoke for itself. And seeing that he was in front of the Missionary along with an entourage of men and women fully clad in their own high quality armor…
Some nodded at the words they heard. In a situation as volatile as this, the leader knew very well how to use the carrot and the stick.
The rewards seemed so much that it was almost unreal, but the punishment of becoming enemies of the Empire was too severe.
Should they fight exceptionally, they would be rewarded exceptionally, and should they flee with haste, they would automatically become criminals in the Empire.
All these thoughts happened within seconds as people suddenly came to a standstill, before looking at each other with a knowing gaze, their eyes shining with the same light.
It was the light of greed.
From this moment onwards, without any prior arrangements, they all became competitors.
But before they could make a move on one another.
A sound broke them out of their reverie.
*Ssssssss…..*
And in the next instant…
*Boom*
Without another word, Rowan lunged himself into the air as he shouted-
"FOR THE EMPIRE!"
-before dropping right into the bevy of frenzied snakes with a BANG!
The ground visibly shook, disorienting the swarm of snakes.
His cry filled the onlookers with vigor as the rest of the entourage followed his example and did the same, jumping into the core of the snakes
"FOR THE EMPIRE!" the adventurers hailed before moving to kill the snakes.
It was a daily routine for them so they knew where to strike and cut to quickly kill a snake.
Guardian Knights came to the forefront with their shields to block off the snake's bite and cut off their heads. The mages began chanting and throwing out spells. Those of close combat went up close and personal as they began to dish out damage in a fantastical fashion.
It was a colorful scene with knights and guardians using all sorts of skills with their auras all over the place, as well as the exploding spells of the mages.
Everyone's mind fully focused on killing as they used spells and skills they were familiar with.
But-
'Something's wrong'
-they quickly discovered a problem.
'What's wrong with these snakes?'
This was the thousand platinum question.
Snakes were known to be patient hunters who would strike at any sign of weakness.
But then…
'What is this?'
These snakes were doing anything but that!
They attacked ferociously, exchanging blood for bone as they kept their attacks relentless till the very end.
And if normal adventurers could notice this-
'This isn't normal'
-Rowan also noticed.
So his thoughts began churning as he tried to understand the situation while-
*BOOM*
-cutting and culling the endless swarm of snakes.
The stated reward had engulfed the minds of the adventurers as they attacked the snakes with renewed fervor. All eyes were on the prize as no two adventurers at the frontline thought of working together.
And so the battle between man and snake continued, everyone forgetting about the man who arrived last.
Fredrick walked towards the inner section of the outpost where the guild halls of respective guilds, as well as establishments like hotels and taverns, were located.
His wounds had long healed, but he didnt let it show as he walked not slow but not fast either with his armor a little battered and stained with a lot of blood.
And like you'd expect, it wasn't at all empty.
Multiple people of different professions, from bartenders, to cooks, to maids, to merchants, were moving with haste as they took the goods and packed them in whatever place they thought safe.
Some, despite the warnings of the admiral, were immediately fleeing with a fleet of carriages.
At the forefront were the merchants who couldn't care less about the outpost so long they didn't make a loss.
But fate had a way of doing things.
So while it wasn't planned beforehand, it wouldn't do anyone bad if he stole goods off greedy merchants, now would he.
*Cough*Cough*
Fredrick coughed at such a thought. It seemed he was getting a little greedy these days, he wondered why.
Though, when he remembered how he stole the unlimiting dew and many others in the past, he chuckled lightly to himself.
Now, back to the matter at hand.
Like Rowan thought, Cabrera also knew that the current wave of snakes might be insufficient for the plan to work best.
As such, he hurriedly hid himself behind a building and…
*Break*
He broke three vials of snake lover potion before scurrying away as fast as he came.
Like so, snakes from other parts of the forest caught a whiff of it and entered a frenzied state as they rushed towards the origin of the smell.
Of course, Fredrick wasn't going to stop there. He broke vials at multiple places while avoiding gazes or hiding in plain sight as an injured knight.
So you could imagine the people's shock when snakes began swarming towards them as well.
Fredrick looked at this scene and nodded. The final stage was set, and the first big boss was out, now only the challenger remained.
And though the aim of the game was causing chaos, he still wanted to make sure that innocent people at least survived.
Like so, he poured five more vials on himself to attract the beast's attention to his location.
As powerful as the snake lover potion was, it had its own weaknesses.
The duration of the potions effectiveness was just two minutes. After that, it would be no different from any other liquid.
That was why Fredrick bought it in many towns and cities he passed through. It was another reason why he only arrived a few days before Cabrera.
It was also why he constantly broke vials throughout the forest.
Fredrick did a double check at his handiwork and nodded.
At this moment, those with good eyesight already noticed the incoming swarm.
"T-The snakes are coming here!"
"What? T-This…p-protect the merchandise! Protect me!"
Merchants hollered at their servants and their hired bodyguards with beads of sweat forming on their faces.
The mercenaries, whose faces turned ugly at such a sight, promptly demanded a triple raise in their wages, a demand which the merchants could only grit their teeth and agree to.
After all, what could they do if the mercenaries decided to abandon them or jump ship to a richer merchant?
And so the mercenaries went to work with wide smiles.
"Shit! These f*cking beasts don't know when to quit" one said.
"Let's be quick and get this over with" another added as they began attacking the snakes, only to find themselves overwhelmed by the relentless jabs and fang.
Within the first two minutes, five mercenaries dropped dead. Only then did the rest rid themselves of their arrogance and useless pride as they began to work together with caution.
Of course, that didn't stop casualties from occurring.
At this moment, Fredrick threw vial after vial into the missionary outpost before waiting for the sign.
None of those fighting heard the sound of breaking vials, but Fredrick knew that someone did. That, along with the fact that the snakes that were calming down became frenzied all over again…
Those fighting were already making deductions on why the snakes would act like this, but no one thought it was caused by an injured adventurer.
And even if they did, they were too busy guarding against relentless attacks from the snakes to be able to spare their attention on something else.
All except one, that is.
Just like Fredrick's expected, the big boss noticed.
For in the next instant...
"CAPTURE THAT MAN! DON'T LET HIM ESCAPE!"
The fish had bit the bait.
'That's it, come on chase me!' Fredrick thought.
Like so, the final act began.
