Other folks from nearby tables again turned toward the table of six with confusion.
What about Rank 3? Was that so shocking? The full-plate-armored Caius himself was a Rank 3, and there were quite a few present within this tavern as well, so why were they making such a ruckus over it?
Caius smiled and gestured to the other customers of the tavern to not mind them, then turned to glare at his teammates.
He didn't blame them, as he could understand why they had all lost their cool upon hearing this news. He, along with the other leaders of various teams, had also lost all color when they first heard this; only after they heard the later part did they all calm down and relax.
Brunhild, Elianor, Garrick, Eilif, and Thorne still had pale expressions. They didn't have the heart to be humble and gentle at this moment.
The Southern Plains, which were situated directly south of Batley City, were a vast area stretching thousands of miles, with countless forests, jungles, mountain ranges, and the like. Many isolated human tribes also lived and thrived there, though they very rarely contacted Batley City.
It was also an extremely dangerous place—many Rank 1 and Newborn-stage Rank 2 Mana Beasts could be found there. However, a Rank 3 was completely unprecedented! It was simply unimaginable!
They could already imagine just how many isolated villages had been wiped out with no news ever sent back to Batley City.
To kill a Newborn-stage Rank 3 Mana Beast, at least two Rank 4 Mana Wielders were typically required. If such a beast assaulted Batley City, it would be a catastrophic disaster! Even if Master Ranks from the capital were sent, by the time they even took down the beast, half the city—if not the entire city—might be left in utter ruins.
And this was considering if it were a pure physical type, while other types were even more dangerous. Thus, depending on the type of beast, various preparations had to be made—otherwise, even two early-stage Rank 4s might not be enough to take down a Newborn-stage Rank 3 Mana Beast.
A Rank 3 or above Mana Beast was an absolute forbidden entity that must not come near any city; otherwise, the entire settlement might face complete annihilation.
So, hearing that a Rank 3 had been detected—even if just a Newborn—all five faces turned to despair.
This meant the entirety of Batley City was in grave danger. Even the two Necromancer Master Ranks were nothing compared to it—instead, they might just pack up and run as far as possible, or else even they might lose their lives.
Brunhild quickly turned to observe Caius' expression and noticed he was calm, so she also tried to steady herself, as that meant the city possessed some countermeasures.
She asked with lingering fear, "S-so, what does Lord Gideon plan to do? Are we only going to defend? You should know, even if that Rank 3 beast doesn't attack Batley City, it can still bring utter destruction to our neighbors."
Seeing everyone's panicked expressions, Caius smiled. "To be honest, we captains had also lost our minds when we heard the news, but it seems we have underestimated Sir Stormborne of the Celestial Maelstrom. He was sent by Guild Master Rodger secretly, and he just received a report from him that the beast has been slain!"
"Really?" all five asked together with disbelief-filled eyes.
Caius gave a nod and continued with a smile, "According to the City Lord's Mansion, our city's Catastrophic Beast Sensor has also stopped its alarm, which means the beast is truly gone."
All of them sighed with a huge wave of relief.
Knowing a Master Rank was haunting a city was completely different from a wild Rank 3 Mana Beast looming nearby. Just knowing a Rank 3 beast existed nearby meant there was no room to bargain or talk—it could only bring pure destruction to everything. There was also no escape from such a powerful beast for anyone below Master Rank. If it still existed, then their city was as good as gone.
They were all filled with deep admiration and reverence toward Stormborne of the Celestial Maelstrom. He was the true hero of the entire Batley City and the entire southern region of the Silvia Kingdom.
Brunhild let out a deep breath and relaxed. "Which Mana Beast was it?" she asked curiously.
"A Mystical Type, the Crimson Tide Spider Queen!"
Even Caius hissed while answering. His own heart trembled with dread just imagining how such a terrifying beast had been hiding right beside them.
"What?!" All five sprang up from their seats and cried out together in horror.
They ignored the other people's stares and put their hands on their erratically beating chests. They felt their hearts skip multiple beats.
They didn't have any specific details on the Crimson Tide Spider and would check them later; however, just knowing it was a Mystical Type Rank 3 Mana Beast nearly gave them a heart attack.
"L-leader, are you sure this beast is truly dead?" Eilif asked, stammering while sitting back in his seat, ignoring all the strange glances from the other tables.
Caius confirmed with a smile, "As I mentioned, Guild Master Rodger has already received a direct report from Sir Stormborne. Although he didn't describe it in detail to us, he did mention that Sir Stormborne had personally confirmed the beast is dead."
All five of them breathed out another sigh of relief.
Elianor's eyes were filled with stars. "Sir Stormborne is so handsome, or so I have heard. It's a pity I wasn't able to see him personally. He is the idol and pride of our Adventurers Guild." She spoke with a voice of deep respect, then her tone turned disdainful. "Those bastards of the Mercenary Guild are totally useless. Why do they even exist if they cannot do any remarkable work and are definitely filled with lowlifes who do all sorts of shady things behind their guild's back!"
The rest of them just shrugged nonchalantly. They had a better understanding of these things than Elianor.
Caius also shrugged and answered briefly, "They are, in a sense, the human resources of any city. They themselves know that, and they will do anything for money—even sell their own lives for it. Because of this, there is hardly any coordination, trust, or harmony among them. But since they love money so much, they are too useful for too many purposes and cannot be removed. No city would want to remove them unless they break rules openly. However, the Mercenary Guild itself is clean; it's only their members who are sometimes troublemakers."
Brunhild was already aware of these things and wasn't bothered, but there was something else troubling her, so she asked in a low voice, "Has Sir Stormborne returned?"
Caius' face froze for a moment, then he answered with a helpless tone, "He won't return. He had only arrived here for a mission and has already completed it. He has already done us a great favor by slaying the Rank 3 beast. Now he has a mission in Sildargrade, so he won't stay here any longer."
Brunhild's face turned pale again, and she felt a headache rising.
Thorne frowned deeply. But the others were confused by their expressions.
"Is that a problem?" Garrick asked with confusion.
Brunhild sighed and massaged her temples, then answered that stupid question, "I said we have two Master Ranks in the city at this moment—one is our City Lord Gideon, and the other was Sir Stormborne—and since he has left permanently, that means..."
Elianor, Garrick, and Eilif's expressions stiffened.
"Then, we only have one Master Rank, and we are currently defenseless against those two necromancer Master Ranks?" Eilif asked with a muffled voice.
Brunhild nodded helplessly.
They all turned toward Caius with hope.
Perhaps he knew what the upper circle of Batley City had planned that could finally end their endless worries.
Caius' smile once again turned bitter. He answered with a tone filled with helplessness, "Lord Gideon had already contacted Sildargrade, and they have promised that they would send backup as soon as those two Master Ranks attack our city—but not before that, as they are all too busy."
The others sighed with relief—except Brunhild.
She understood that those were just empty words to calm the worried citizens. Overall, it didn't mean much, as by the time the news was sent and backup arrived, too much damage would have already been done. Perhaps Lord Gideon would also be severely injured, and then the 'backup' would require further 'backups.'
She didn't voice her concern, as that wouldn't bring them any joy and would only make them feel heavy, which was totally unnecessary, especially during such troubling times. She would later inform the others so they could prepare themselves for the worst.
She could only hope the necromancers didn't plan to slaughter the entire city, as that wouldn't give them anything other than even higher bounties, and that would further incite more Master Ranks to hunt them down.
On a positive note, perhaps the necromancer Master Ranks had already left… though, if only. She knew this matter was much bigger. She could only hope for the best.
Brunhild nodded at Caius and no longer continued on that topic.
"What is our mission this time?" she asked, changing the subject to their current objective.
The other four's eyes brightened. They were sick of staying inside Batley City for nearly three months now—they needed to go out and do some missions, or else their bodies and skills would rust.
Caius smiled, watching everyone's anticipated expressions.
"Brunhild, we have been to this village in the past—Maplemurk Village. This village is situated far east of our Batley City, a little toward the south. It has been taken over by a bandit group for more than a month now; we need to swiftly kill those bandits and rescue the villagers. According to the concealed information we received from the village chief before the village was taken over, there are five Rank 1s and two Rank 2s within this bandit group."
Hearing the mission criteria, everyone smiled with ease. With Caius, they didn't need to worry even if the Rank 2s were at a late stage. Caius was an early-stage Rank 3 Warrior, while they were all at Rank 2 except Elianor. So, it was an easy mission as long as they remained cautious.
They could understand why they were requested to do such a mission and didn't have the option to choose, as this mission had been delayed for far too long, and currently, it was too dangerous for any other lower-grade adventure teams to go out and complete it.
Brunhild, on the other hand, frowned unhappily. She remembered that village and recalled many people from there. It pained her knowing that this village had been conquered for over a month by bandits—who knew what tragedy might have befallen the villagers?
She could understand the delay, as due to previous high activities of necromancers for the last two months, all missions outside the city were halted. Many Adventurer and Mercenary teams were ambushed and killed.
"At early dawn, the day after tomorrow, we will leave for the mission. Prepare yourselves for what you may need, and also inform your families and friends, as this mission might take us a month to return," Caius informed them.
Everyone calmly acknowledged. It was not their first time on a mission that took them a month or more, as sometimes they needed a lot of time just for travel.
Eilif chuckled, "I can't wait to try Brunhild's new mid-grade Tier 1 weapon!"
The rest of them laughed and agreed with Eilif.
None of them had any Tier weapons or armor except Caius' longsword, which was a low-grade Tier 1, so everyone was very curious about how amazing a mid-grade weapon was. It was also an unknown type of weapon that they had never seen or heard of, so they were even more curious.
Brunhild smiled wryly. After all, she had promised them so earlier, and their relationship was too close to deny such little things.
Garrick poured himself more beer and raised his cup high. "Let's cheer for Sir Stormborne's heroism and for our upcoming mission."
"Cheers!"