The river in late autumn was bone-chilling.
Tilly stretched out her hand and dipped it into the flowing river. The coldness from the water made her shiver, but she quickly splashed some water on her face. The cold feeling made her dizzy head a lot clearer.
The young lady shook her head, shook off the water droplets on her face, and combed her soft, curly flaxen hair. Then, she raised her head and looked at the valley on the other side.
Under the shroud of fog, the valley seemed indistinct, and she could vaguely see the silhouette of a city. Just looking at the heavy shadow made Tilly feel abnormally uneasy. She stood up, closed her eyes, and meditated for a moment before throwing the thoughts in her mind aside.
The Lost City of Athos.
Tilly had heard rumors about this city more than once, as well as the secrets and treasures hidden within.
Over the years, many adventurers had wanted to enter the city to search for the hidden treasures.
However, few of them could come out alive. The current Athos was no longer the magnificent city of the past, but a den of monsters.
There were all kinds of terrifying monsters lurking there, and there were even rumors that there were tribes of Beastmen and Mountain Giants.
As for the central area of Athos, there were also rumors that a terrifying demon lived there. Anyone who stepped into the central area would be pulled into the dark Realm of Demons, never to return.
But for adventurers, these weren't important. Humans died for wealth, and birds died for food. This principle was applicable no matter which world it was.
In fact, Tilly's adventurer team, Fairies and Treasure Chests, was one of them. They had risked their lives to enter the Lost City three times in a row.
But it was a pity that they didn't gain much.
In fact, everything that could be plundered in the periphery of the Lost City had long been plundered by their senior adventurers.
And the deeper they went, the more monsters there were, and the more dangerous it was.
Many adventurer teams that took the risk fell on the way to the inner city, and the Fairies and Treasure Chests were no exception.
The Fairies and Treasure Chests team was no exception. In fact, during their last exploration of the Lost City, they sacrificed three of their companions in order to enter the inner city. But even so, they failed to break through the obstacles of the magical creatures and could only return with their tails between their legs.
The series of adventures had exhausted Tilly. She had had enough of these days. In Tilly's opinion, they should leave this place and continue their adventures elsewhere.
Helping the villages to eliminate the goblins that harassed them, or following the request of some noble lords to clear out the surrounding magic beasts would allow them to complete these tasks easily, and they would receive high rewards.
Instead of doing useless work over and over again like now.
But it was a pity that their leader seemed to be competing with the Lost City. According to him, they would only leave after obtaining some valuable treasures from Athos. Otherwise, they would continue to waste time here.
"Sigh …"
Tilly let out a sigh and reached out to touch the backpack on her shoulder.
They didn't have much money left, and they didn't know how long they could last.
Besides, due to the war between the Glittergold Empire and the Skal Federation, many adventurers had left this place. After all, this region was also on the edge of the war zone.
No one knew when the Glittergold Empire would attack the Forgotten Valley, and adventurers like them didn't wish to go against the official army, let alone lose their lives here for no reason.
According to Tilly, they should also leave this place like the others and explore other places.
After all, the Klein Continent was so huge, so why should they hang on to this crooked tree?
"Yo, what are you thinking about?"
At this moment, a hand stretched out from behind and patted the young lady in front of her, startling her.
She hurriedly turned around and saw a Half-Elf maiden with emerald green hair wearing adventurer leather armor looking at her with a playful smile. Looking at the Half-Elf maiden, Tilly let out a long sigh.
"Really, don't scare me, Ina."
"Haha, sorry, sorry."
Looking at Tilly's pale face, the half-elf young lady clasped her hands and apologized. Just like Tilly, she was also a member of the 'Fairies and Treasure Chests' team. As the only two female members in the entire adventurer team, the two of them naturally had a good relationship.
"Speaking of which, what are you doing here?"
"Nothing much … Just passing time. What about you?"
"Me?"
Upon hearing Tilly's question, Ina blinked her eyes and grabbed Tilly's hand as though she recalled something.
"By the way, Leader asked me to call you to gather. We're about to set off!"
"Set off?
We're going to the Lost City again? "
Hearing this sentence, Tilly was taken aback and frowned.
Ina, who was holding her hand, didn't notice Tilly's uneasy expression at all. Instead, she ran forward and answered without looking back.
"Yes, but this time, we're not going to die.
Leader has accepted a big deal. This time, we're going to be a guide to bring a person into Athos. This is a huge reward! "
"Guide?"
Upon hearing this, Tilly couldn't help but be surprised. What's going on?
Generally speaking, those who dared to venture into Athos were mercenaries, and they were all competitors. If it weren't for the danger inside, the mercenaries would have preferred to fight by themselves.
Not to mention, there were also some evil parties that specialized in ambushing adventurers who evacuated from Athos. The 'Fairies and Treasure Chests' adventurer group had encountered similar incidents several times before.
Fortunately, their adventurer group was considered one of the stronger parties here, so they didn't suffer much.
But to say that someone had hired them to go to Athos … What was going on?
Before Tilly could figure out the reason, Ina had already dragged her into the adventurer group's base and pushed the door open.
"Leader, I've brought Tilly back!"
Upon hearing the Half-Elf Ranger's shout, everyone turned around and looked at the two of them.
Shortly after, Tilly saw the client standing in the middle of the room.
It was a young man who didn't seem to be over 20 years old.
He wore a black formal attire with gold trimmings and a gorgeous longsword hanging from his waist.
His attire was no different from the nobles that Tilly had seen before.
He was wrapped in a black cloak and seemed cultured and cultured. His handsome face always wore a faint, elegant smile, and a pair of rimless glasses made him look more scholarly.
All in all, this was a person who would easily give others a good impression of him.
Even Tilly couldn't help but blush when she realized that he was looking at her. She hurriedly lowered her head, at the same time grumbling about why Ina used such an attention-grabbing method to pull her in.
But shortly after, Tilly heard her leader's voice again. This time, she couldn't help but lift her head and look at the man in slightly tattered magical armor standing not far away.
It was the leader of the 'Fairy and Treasure Chest' adventurer team — Steve Duncan.
Rumor had it that his father was once a magic knight and Steve had inherited his father's talent and martial arts skills. Although his temper was a little irritable at times, he was still trusted by everyone as an indispensable figure in the team.
And now, he was obviously representing the entire adventurer team to negotiate with the other party.
"Now that all of our members are here, Mr. Jenn, I can swear in the name of the Nine Saints that everyone here has entered the Lost City more than once and they all have the ability to escape unscathed.
I can assure you that we will definitely be able to bring you into the Lost City safely. Please rest assured about this. "
It's him?
He's the one who hired everyone to enter the Lost City?
Although Tilly had expected it, after hearing her leader's words, she still raised her head curiously and secretly sized up the young man standing opposite her.
After hearing her leader's words, the young man glanced at the dozen people standing in the room, pondered for a moment, and nodded with a smile.
"Very good, Leader Steve. I can see that all of you are experienced adventurers.
I'm sure you won't disappoint me, so … "As he spoke, the young man took out a bag of money and put it on the table. Tilly only heard a clatter, and then she saw the gold coins spilling out of the bag.
"Here are 500 gold coins, including the deposit and supplies that you need before we set off.
After the mission is completed and we return safely, you can get the remaining 5,000 gold coins. "
5,000 gold coins!
Hearing until here, everyone, including Steve, sucked in a breath of cold air. They already knew that this employer was generous, but they didn't expect him to be so generous.
5,000 gold coins!
Based on the current number of members in the adventurer team, each of them would earn at least 500 gold coins, which was already a wealth that many adventurers couldn't obtain in their lifetime!
Looking at the bag of money in front of him, Steve couldn't help but swallow his saliva. He stretched out his hand and grabbed the bag of money. Then, he turned to the young man in front of him and bowed solemnly.
"Please be rest assured, dear guest. Our 'Fairy and Treasure Chest' adventurer team will do our best to protect you and complete the mission!"