Chapter 29: Parchment Scrolls and Maps

Luo Xiu picked up the massive necklace made of skulls. Judging by their shape, they were likely human. Applying a slight pressure with his hand, he could feel that the necklace was not particularly sturdy. After a moment of thought, he had Leila stow it away, intending to find a place to bury it once they returned to town—a final resting place for the remains.

Next was the purple crystal. Luo Xiu tinkered with it for a while but couldn't discern its purpose, so he had Leila store it as well, planning to ask Lise about it later.

Of the remaining two items, the piece of parchment proved to be more insightful. At first, Luo Xiu assumed the scribbles, which looked like random graffiti, were a unique goblin script. However, Leila corrected this mistake.

"Master, Leila believes this appears to be the Common Monster Tongue."

The Common Monster Tongue? This was the first time Luo Xiu had heard the term. Following Leila's detailed explanation, he gained a general understanding. There were three widely used languages on the Gran Continent: aside from the Gran Continental language, the other two were the Common Monster Tongue and the Ancient Continental language.

The Gran Continental language was the most prevalent, used for communication by almost all humanoid species. The Ancient Continental language was favored by ancient, long-lived species; for instance, many conservative elves still insisted on using it.

Finally, there was the Common Monster Tongue. Since each monster species had its own language and the Gran Continental language was relatively complex, the Common Monster Tongue was generally used for simple communication between two different monster races. It was much simpler than the Gran Continental language, though it could express far fewer meanings.

"Leila, do you know the Monster Tongue?" Luo Xiu asked, pointing to the characters on the parchment.

Leila nodded her head. "I know some. My mother taught me when I was young, but I didn't study it for very long, so I might not be very proficient."

"It's fine, Leila. Try to translate it for me." Luo Xiu had only asked on a whim; the fact that she actually knew it was a pleasant surprise.

Leila took the parchment and read the characters word by word: "Gray... gray... is forbidden... large... already... Domain?"

Leila stopped, looking at the word uncertainly. "Is it... Domain?"

"It's alright, Leila. A word or two doesn't matter. Keep going," Luo Xiu encouraged.

Leila nodded and continued, "Sun rises... strong... main... kin... cold place... please endure... please hold fast."

Leila looked up at Luo Xiu. "Master, that is all."

"Is that it?" Luo Xiu nodded, lost in thought. Leila felt a bit sad, believing she hadn't translated it well.

"Master, I'm sorry. I learned the Common Monster Tongue when I was very small and have forgotten much of it. I haven't been of much help."

"Hm?" Luo Xiu snapped out of his contemplation and smiled at the dejected Leila. "Not at all, Leila, you've been a huge help."

As he spoke, Luo Xiu unfolded the map he was holding and began to explain it to her. While examining the map earlier, he had noticed that the regions were divided by various colors. Although there were no directional markers, he recognized the locations of each area based on their general shapes.

First was the location of Wheel Town, a quasi-circular area surrounded by blue lines. Beside it, the Slime Plains were enclosed by yellow lines. The blue and yellow regions were tightly adjacent, mirroring the reality where the edge of Wheel Town bordered the Slime Plains.

What was strange, however, was the Sunset Forest. On the map, its location was marked in two different colors. The part near Wheel Town was enclosed by gray lines, while the other portion was marked with red lines. Within the red area, there were two markers: one depicting a goblin's head at the intersection of the gray and red zones, and a dot in the very center of the red area.

Luo Xiu surmised that the goblin head marked their current small settlement, while the dot represented a larger one. This suggested that, in the goblins' view, they did not consider the entire Sunset Forest their territory. There was a large gray zone between their territory and Wheel Town.

If Leila's translation was correct, then "Gray is forbidden, large..." likely meant that the gray zone was restricted, prohibiting large numbers of goblins from entering. This explained why, after Luo Xiu and Leila had slaughtered all the goblins on the outskirts, no others had come for them. These goblins were being restricted for some reason—a reason that was likely the "Domain" mentioned on the parchment. As for what a "Domain" was, Luo Xiu had never heard of it and decided to ask Old White once they returned to town.

He didn't have a clue about the latter part of the text, but the tone suggested the parchment was a public notice of some kind.

After hearing Luo Xiu's analysis, Leila's eyes widened and her mouth parted slightly. "Master is so amazing."

"It's still just a hypothesis," Luo Xiu laughed. "It's all thanks to your translation, Leila."

Hearing that she had been useful to her master, Leila’s ears twitched happily. Luo Xiu looked back at the map, measured the distance with his hand, and asked, "Leila, if it were you, how long would it take to run back to town from here?"

Leila recalled the distances they had traveled over the past few days. "About... half a day, I think."

Half a day—twelve hours. Luo Xiu looked at the distances depicted on the map. The distance from the settlement marker to Wheel Town was about four times the distance to the center dot of the red area. This meant that if one were to start from the center dot and run at Leila's speed, it would only take three hours to reach their current location.

If his hypothesis was correct and that dot represented a larger goblin settlement, then wouldn't the goblin reinforcements be...

Luo Xiu's heart skipped a beat. It had been less than three hours since the battle began. The memories of his flight through the Slime Plains surfaced, and he slowly looked toward the direction of the center dot. That was an even more lush, dense forest than the outskirts; at the boundary where the trees met, the darkness was as thick as ink, impenetrable to the eye.

A cold wind whistled through the trees, rustling like something whispering. Luo Xiu could already imagine a swarm of scarlet eyes emerging from that darkness in the next second.

But fortunately, it didn't happen. Nothing occurred.

Luo Xiu breathed a sigh of relief. He had no desire to experience that rainy night again.

"Leila, gather the corpses and equipment of the Tier 3 and Tier 2 goblins. Let's head back to town."

After quickly finishing their sweep of the battlefield, the master and servant departed.

About ten minutes after they left, pairs of scarlet eyes suddenly snapped open in the northern forest, like clusters of blood-red flames ignited in the darkness. Among them, one pair of eyes, as large as lanterns and filled with thick, bloodshot veins, betrayed an undisguised, violent aura.

These eyes gazed upon the severed limbs and remains of the goblins in the settlement, the anger within them growing heavier. A few seconds later, "Grahhh!!!" the creature with the largest eyes could no longer contain itself and let out a heaven-shaking roar. The owners of the other scarlet eyes followed suit, shrieking as well. Various sharp, piercing cries overlapped and echoed far into the distance!

On the other side, the master and servant, currently on their way, heard the massive goblin roars. Leila's eyes lit up; she knew her master loved goblins most of all.

"Master, there are goblins over there! Let's go kill—"

Before she could finish, her mouth was hurriedly covered by Luo Xiu. He looked flustered. "No more killing today. We've killed too many, too many."

Half a day later, Luo Xiu and Leila, who had traveled through the night, arrived at the town's north gate. The guards on duty were familiar town residents, though Dave was not among them. They were surprised to see the pair.

"Luo Xiu, didn't you go to Bantanda?"

"No, I've been in the forest lately." Luo Xiu asked, "Have many people in town gone to Bantanda?"

"The vast majority have left." A guard who was close to Dave looked at Luo Xiu with a complex expression. "Luo Xiu, be careful once you enter the town. Wheel Town... is completely different from how it used to be."