An hour later, after spending more than ten gold coins, he bought a horse that could only be considered average in Gray's eyes. Gray left Oka City and headed in the direction of Usnea Town.
At noon, Gray ate some dry rations with water and practiced a round of blood techniques before continuing on his journey.
In the afternoon, when the sun was about to set, he was very lucky to arrive at a city.
This was a slightly dilapidated city. The low walls, the wooden city gate with signs of insect damage, and the yawning veterans at the gate all showed the dilapidated appearance of this city.
Entering the city, the houses in the city were as old as Gray expected.
The walls were dark, and there were even holes in some places. The roof tiles were covered in moss, and one could tell that these houses had not been renovated for a long time.
Beside the houses, one could occasionally see some residents of this city. They wore patched clothes and looked curiously at Gray, a stranger who had come to this remote city.
Riding on his horse, Gray walked on the streets of the city that were not very spacious. His eyes were looking for a tavern.
After a while, he found the place he was looking for.
The house was two-story and was also built for a long time. Because it was taken care of very diligently, the roof tiles were not covered in moss, and there were not many spider webs around the house.
At the entrance, there was a crooked wooden board with the words "Old Cat Tavern" written on it.
"Young master, do you want to stay or have a meal?"
Seeing Gray jump down from his horse, a skinny young man greeted him with a smile on his face.
As he spoke, his eyes looked up and down at Gray, and the smile on his face widened.
From his experience, he judged that this was a rich young master.
"Both."
Gray nodded lightly and said.
"Feed my horse some fodder, and we'll calculate it together later."
"Okay, young master, please come in!"
The skinny young man took the reins of Gray's horse, and then gestured to Gray to go in. He led Gray's horse to the stable.
Gray walked into the tavern. Just as he had expected, it wasn't a very big tavern.
There was a counter on the inside facing the door, but there was no one inside.
There was a staircase to the side, and on the right side, there were five tables and chairs.
At this moment, two of the five tables and chairs were occupied.
At one of the tables, there were four men dressed in leather armor and dressed like mercenaries. There were some side dishes on the table and they were sipping on ale.
On the other side sat two men and a woman. A middle-aged man, a young man, and a delicate and pretty young woman.
The three of them were also dressed like mercenaries in leather armor. The young man and the middle-aged man were drinking ale while the young woman was having her meal. On her back, there was a longbow.
Gray's arrival immediately attracted the attention of the people at the two tables. The table of two men and one woman glanced at Gray and then looked away. The four men, however, looked at Gray with a sizing up look in their eyes. They looked at Gray for a while and then looked away.
"Young Master, what do you need?"
Not long after, the skinny young man from before turned back.
"What do you have here?"
The young man didn't have a menu in his hand. He didn't know if it was because he wasn't professional enough or because the tavern was too small to have a menu.
"Our tavern has potato bread, fried tilapia, radish stew —"
"Give me four servings of the best food in your restaurant."
Gray listened for a while and interrupted the young man. They were all things that he had never heard of. To be on the safe side, it was better to let the young man recommend.
"Okay, Young Master. Our restaurant's best dish is fried ham. Are you sure you want four servings?"
"Yes."
Gray nodded.
Once again, he shocked the people in the tavern by eating four servings of food. Gray checked into a room and then went up to the second floor under the guidance of the skinny young man.
"Bill!"
After sending Gray to the room, the skinny young man had just walked down the stairs when he heard one of the men at the table of four shouting.
"A total of 17 copper coins."
The skinny young man quickly ran over and said.
"The three of us want to stay. Two rooms for one night."
The man said.
"A room is five copper coins a night. That's a total of 27 copper coins."
The skinny young man said.
Under the guidance of the skinny young man, the four of them went up the stairs to the second floor.
"Big Brother, those four guys are up to no good. I'm afraid they have their eyes on that young man …"
The young woman lowered her voice and said with a frown.
"It has nothing to do with us."
The young man shook his head slightly and interrupted the young woman.
"But —"
The young woman still wanted to say something.
"Those four are very strong. I've seen them when I accepted a mission. These four have the strength of a Low-level Blood Warrior."
The middle-aged man shook his head.
"If we really get into a conflict with them, it will only be disadvantageous to us."
"The four of them have the strength of a Low-level Blood Warrior?"
The young woman's eyes widened. Fear appeared on her face and she no longer mentioned the previous matter.
Among the three of them, only the middle-aged man had the strength of a Low-level Blood Warrior. Although her big brother was close to the strength of a Low-level Blood Warrior, he was still a little off.
As for herself, the gap between her and a Low-level Blood Warrior was even greater. The reason she became a mercenary was that she was good at archery and tracking.
With this kind of strength, if they got into a conflict with those four people, they would definitely be at a disadvantage. Her current thought was to get as far away as possible.
As for that young man, although she sympathized with him, there was nothing she could do. She could not possibly get into a conflict with those four people just to protect that young man, right?
"But we've already booked a room. What should we do?"
However, she immediately remembered that they had already booked a room and even put their luggage in the room.
The middle-aged man frowned slightly and said.
"Those four guys have their eyes on that young man. They probably won't care about us, but we still have to be careful tonight."
In the dead of night, the purple crescent moon in the sky shone into the corridor through the window on the second floor of the hotel, dyeing the corridor a hazy purple.
Creak!
Two soft sounds of the door opening could be heard. Two heads poked out from each of the two adjacent rooms.
The two sides looked at each other and then slowly walked out of the room. Without making the slightest sound, they tiptoed toward the end of the corridor.
At the end of the corridor, near the window, there was the best room in the entire hotel.
This room was rarely occupied, but there was someone staying in it today, and this person was Gray.
The four people came to the room Gray was staying in. Seeing that there was no light coming from inside, they leaned against the door and listened to the inside of the room.
After confirming that there was no movement, one of them took out a finger-length incense-like object under the moonlight. He lit it and then flicked it in through the ventilation hole on the door.
This was a kind of knockout incense that they had spent a lot of money to purchase. After burning, it would emit a kind of white smoke. Anyone who smelled this white smoke would fall into a coma.
According to the pharmacist who sold it, even a high-level Blood Warrior or a Ferocious Blood Warrior would not be able to resist it.
The only drawback was that this incense would emit a faint fragrance in addition to white smoke. It could not be made colorless and odorless.
However, in this kind of situation, it obviously did not affect it. The room was pitch black, so there was no white smoke. As for the fragrance, since the person in the room was already asleep, the fragrance would not affect it.
The three of them secretly calculated the time in their hearts. They felt that five minutes had already passed, and the effects of the incense should have already taken effect. The four of them covered themselves with a black cloth that was smeared with a special potion. They took out a dagger and inserted it into the gap of the door. They gently pried open the door bit by bit.
Patter!
Their movements were very skillful. It was obvious that this was not the first time they had done something like this.
Soon, the wood was pried open.
The four of them gently pushed the door open and looked inside.