However, at least up until now, the other party has kept their promise, and it hasn't affected Gita and Luo Yu in the slightest.

The two exchanged brief words, and the clerk had already led them along with the Elf Miss into the Tulip Fortress, ascending a spiral staircase, and stopping before a door on the second floor inside the castle.

There were soldiers guarding outside the door. The clerk simply nodded at the soldiers, then turned back and said to them, "The officer is inside."

He then pushed the door open and entered. Fang Hong looked up to see that it was a small office.

Since it was a defense facility, Tulip Fortress was far from being as spacious and luxurious inside as Aimumu Fortress — at least it used to be. The fortress inside only had thick stone walls, narrow corridors, and dimly lit windows.

But this room was an exception — there was some decoration — at least a rug made from the fur of an unknown animal on the floor, and two swords, a shield, and a deer head specimen hung on the walls.

The 'officer' mentioned by the clerk was indeed not the old knight described in the records, but a somewhat stout middle-aged man, wearing a fur robe and a soft hat with a long feather decoration, not in military attire, bearing a nobleman's appearance.

Upon learning they were adventurers, he showed great enthusiasm, coming up to exchange some pleasantries.

"A minor noble."

Sophie glanced at the feather on the man's hat and quietly hinted at Fang Hong regarding the man's identity — a baron with a feather in his hat, which was exactly what Eteliria termed such individuals.

Such people were mostly of noble knight origin, quite matching their identity here, but to hold a major position in the City Defense Force, they obviously belonged to some renowned family in the background.

Fang Hong, of course, understood that the Dulun City Guards also had different ranks, and judging from the elite nature of the soldiers outside, this unit clearly had an extraordinary background, which indirectly indicated the man's identity.

He brought Sophie along precisely to gather such information since Miss Atira was unfamiliar with the human world, and he himself wasn't very clear on these details. Although their team had Hilveld, who was more knowledgeable about noble matters, considering her current identity, the Princess from Silver Weslan was more suitable.

The Invokers naturally lacked a sense of awe towards native nobility, but after all, this was within a military camp, and the other side was quite enthusiastic, so Fang Hong also saluted in the manner of the natives.

But the man shook hands with them instead — the natives were fond of Earth's etiquettes, and the Invokers, in turn, constantly imitated the natives, which had become a unique sight in Eteliria.

After the handshake, the Baron got straight to the point, "I heard you plan to head to Dulun?"

Fang Hong nodded.

The baron stroked his short beard on the chin, thinking, "In theory, the Praetor has issued an order to block the road, so I shouldn't let you pass."

"But it's not impossible to make an exception if you can lend us your aid..."

Having suffered a loss in Golande before, Fang Hong retreated from the negotiation scene. He looked at Atira, and the Elf Miss spoke up, "May I ask what's the matter?"

The baron looked curiously at the Elf Miss's pointed ears, though it was a bit impolite — but on the Colin Main Continent, both Avenquin and Forest Elves were quite rare.

He then shook his head, "No, it's not a personal matter of mine..."

"To be specific... you are doing a task for the Dulun City Guards, so I can make an exception for you…"

Then he explained the matter, "It's like this, not long ago, we dispatched a small team towards the Ash Woods, around half a month ago, and after they went to that place, there has been no news from them..."

"So you want us to help you find them?" Sophie suddenly interjected.

The baron nodded.

She asked back, "For such a simple matter, can't your soldiers do it?"

"Well..." The baron seemed a bit hesitant, "You've also seen, it's an order from above, we have to station here, and we are severely understaffed..."

Fang Hong couldn't see that at all; clearly, there were plenty of people here.

Atira also furrowed her brows, "Then may I ask, why did that team go to the Ash Woods, as it's known that generally, people wouldn't go to that place."

"Well..."

"Officer, adventurers need to know their tasks, you should be aware of this. Otherwise, no matter how rewarding, we won't easily take on the task—"

The baron seemed a bit hesitant, pacing back and forth two steps.

But he finally made up his mind, turned around, nodded, and said, "Alright, it's actually very simple, it's to find some things."

"Some things?"

"It's an order from above, I don't know the specifics... seems to be looking for some kind of red stone..."

After thinking for a moment, Atira said, "Our task is just to find people, we don't need to find those stones, right?"

"Of course, of course," the baron said loudly, "If you can help me find out their whereabouts, that's a great help to me!"

Atira then nodded and looked towards Fang Hong.

On Fang Hong's end, the system had actually already prompted a task, not difficult, but a D-level task that surpassed the scope of just finding people — he thought it might be due to the destination; Ash Woods was always rumored to be dangerous, as the place of Nikopolas's fall, it inherently added some difficulty to the task.

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