C21 Zrishire Village

Jiang Hao approached Calci, casting a brief glance at his profusely bleeding arm before forcefully striking the ground with his black magic scepter.

"Boom."

The sound reverberated, and the dark clouds above grew, blanketing the entire heavens.

The goblins became increasingly frenzied. Without a sense of pain or fatigue, they were hell-bent on slaughtering the last enemy before them.

Mocci, observing the chaos from a distance, was initially smug.

Calci, that useless fool, had managed to escape only to dive back into the fray to rescue a human.

Utterly foolish!

If he could just kill this human, his master would surely reward him, and he would have his chance to rise in rank.

Then, he would dominate the entire desert, turning all who dared oppose him into sacrifices for his master.

While Mocci was lost in dreams of his future glory, a vast expanse of dark clouds burst forth from the encirclement, gradually shrouding every goblin in its shadow.

Mocci's expression turned to one of alarm. That was the human's black magic, wasn't it?

How was he still able to wield magic?

Despite wracking his brain, Mocci couldn't make sense of it. He watched as the goblins he had summoned dwindled in number, while the dark cloud continued to swell.

"Sizzle."

A drop of acid rain landed on Mocci's wound, causing the flesh around it to corrode in a gruesome display.

The pain was intense and horrifying.

"Calci, human, you'll see. Sooner or later, my master will destroy you both!" Mocci declared before turning tail with his few remaining troops, retreating from the dark cloud's reach.

Meanwhile, the acid rain had taken its toll, leaving only a handful of goblins near Jiang Hao. Seeing their comrades fallen, these few unflinchingly brought their axes down upon their own heads.

This allowed Mocci to witness Jiang Hao lifting his magic staff, causing the black clouds above to surge ominously in his direction.

Terrified, Mocci spun around and fled.

"Hmph," Jiang Hao grunted, turning his attention to Calci, who lay unconscious at his feet. He grabbed Calci by the horn with one hand and began dragging him away.

Throughout their journey, Calci's body bumped against steps, collided with stones, and finally trudged through a muddy pit.

The monster appeared utterly disheveled.

Yet Jiang Hao seemed oblivious, letting his 'lifesaving benefactor' inadvertently 'kiss' various objects.

To Jiang Hao, this was already quite lenient.

Had it not been for the fellow on the ground, Mocci's treacherous plot might have succeeded.

[Gluaphane: I must admit, nicely done! If I had such a hindrance by my side while battling monsters, I'd do the same!]

[Blue Star: Sigh, it's all because of this big oaf that our boss lost a ton of rewards.]

[Wrapes: The Blue Star folks sure have impressive backpacks. Looks like they've adopted our technology! After all, we're known for our storage capabilities.]

[Anonymous: The person above is shamelessly boasting. Since when did bragging about storage become something to be proud of?!]

In the Magic Building, although Jiang Hao was irritated that Calci nearly messed up his plans, he couldn't let the unicorns see their city lord being mistreated.

So, upon returning to the desert city, Jiang Hao roused Calci and used his gardening skills to give him a thorough cleaning, leaving him gleaming from head to toe.

"Ugh," Calci groaned as he opened his eyes.

"What happened to me?" he asked, clearly in discomfort.

His question was understandable, considering his body ached as if trampled by ten thousand cyclopses, especially his head, which felt ready to burst.

"It's nothing; you just passed out," Jiang Hao lied smoothly, while signaling the unicorn village chief.

The chief had given him the signal before he left, instructing him to use it if he encountered danger in Oasis City, promising rescue.

Jiang Hao hadn't taken it seriously.

If they could save him, wouldn't they be able to save their own city lord?

Soon, the sound of footsteps approached, suggesting a horde of creatures was on its way.

"What's happening? Who's coming?" Calci asked anxiously, peering into the distance.

"Don't worry, it's just your men coming to get you," Jiang Hao said with a casual shrug.

No sooner had the words left his lips than the Unicorn Village chief appeared in the distance.

"The City Lord, the City Lord has returned!" exclaimed the Unicorn Village chief upon seeing the former City Lord next to Jiang Hao. He joyfully called out to the villagers following him.

"The City Lord? It's really the City Lord! Our City Lord has come back!"

All the creatures burst into cheers and rushed toward Calci.

Jiang Hao quickly stepped aside to avoid the overly excited unicorns from accidentally injuring him.

After the Unicorn Village chief finished speaking with Calci, he approached Jiang Hao and expressed his gratitude: "Noble adventurer, you have rescued our City Lord and demonstrated your prowess. Henceforth, you are the greatest friend of our Unicorn kind. Should you ever face any trouble, seek out our kin, and we will be there to assist you."

Simultaneously, the system's voice echoed in Jiang Hao's mind.

[Congratulations, host, for completing the hidden quest 'The Plight of the Forsaken.' You have earned the Unicorn's exclusive antidote formula.]

Jiang Hao reviewed the antidote formula in his mind and was astounded by the bizarre ingredients listed.

The ingredients weren't hard to find, but they were just so...

The thought of having consumed an antidote made from such ingredients made him feel queasy.

[System Mission: Proceed to Zrishire Village for a rescue.]

[This is a mandatory mission and cannot be declined. You have 15 days to complete it.]

[Successful completion will grant you Dragon Scale, Dragon Fury, and Dragon's Breath. Failure will result in the loss of all rewards earned on this floor.]

The system's voice abruptly filled Jiang Hao's mind.

A countdown then appeared before him, the numbers ticking away relentlessly.

Jiang Hao realized the system had initiated the countdown.

A mandatory mission?

He hadn't anticipated such a task from the system.

Next, the system charted a course in Jiang Hao's mind.

Upon closer inspection, he discovered that Zrishire Village was situated on the fringe of the desert. Reaching the desert's edge on foot would take half a month, not accounting for potential sandstorms, desert bandits, or other unforeseen hazards.

Following the system's proposed route, he wouldn't even need to reach Zrishire Village before he could consider forfeiting the rewards from this level.

"Mayor, are you familiar with Zrishire Village?" Jiang Hao asked, turning to address the Unicorn Village Mayor standing beside him.

"Zrishire Village?" The mayor pondered briefly before responding, "Esteemed adventurer, I am indeed aware of Zrishire Village. We occasionally trade our daily goods for essentials with its residents."

Jiang Hao's eyes sparkled with interest as the mayor added, "If you wish to visit Zrishire Village, esteemed adventurer, I can arrange for our villagers to escort you there."