Volume One: The Infernal Lord Realm Chapter 33: Two Heroes

While Allen was busy clearing out the nearby enemies, Chen Gu had already returned to Silverpine Valley.

His first stop was the tavern within Silverpine Valley.

This tavern was situated on the left bank of the underground river, right by the docks and wooden boardwalk.

There was no sign hanging above the tavern’s entrance. Instead, a few empty barrels bore a single silver ship’s anchor nailed to them.

“Welcome to the Anchor Tavern! Let’s see who’s here—ah, it’s the lord himself.”

As Chen Gu pushed open the tavern’s door, a cascade of slick, cheerful words greeted him.

He looked up to find a woodland sprite hovering just over a meter in front of him.

The sprite was making a conscious effort to keep himself at Chen Gu’s eye level. Noticing he’d caught Chen Gu’s attention, the sprite quickly introduced himself, “I’m the owner of the tavern. You can call me Old Anchor. I used to be a sailor, but it’s been ages since I’ve seen a ship. I’m not even sure if I could still haul a sail.”

“A woodland sprite?” Chen Gu glanced at the wings on Old Anchor’s back.

“Of course. Everyone in the tavern is a woodland sprite. My lord, you wouldn’t expect the pixies to serve here, would you? You’d be hard-pressed to even spot a waiter. And as for the flower sprites—if they saw anyone drunk, they wouldn’t come near at all.”

With Old Anchor’s explanation, Chen Gu could picture it clearly. Pixies were known for being overlooked; sometimes, even when an enemy was beaten within an inch of their life, they’d never realize it was a pixie who attacked them.

If pixies really ran this tavern, stepping inside would feel like entering an unmanned self-service bar.

As for flower sprites, their personalities were even more pronounced. They only liked beautiful things. The sailors who came here, drunk or not, certainly didn’t qualify as beautiful to them.

If flower sprites had to serve, most likely, they’d end up flipping the tables themselves.

So, for the sake of safety, from the owner to the servers, everyone here was a woodland sprite.

Woodland sprites were strong too; a single one could easily carry a tray of food and drinks. Over time, this arrangement had just become the norm.

Chen Gu found himself a seat.

“Bring me whatever food and drink you have. By the way, where’s this week’s hero?”

As Chen Gu spoke, the food and drink were promptly brought to his table.

Today’s main course was a fist-sized mound of minced meat, two slices of white bread, a pat of butter, and a small dish of sweet jam.

Along with that came a jug of wheat ale and three thumb-sized red fruits.

Chen Gu picked up one of the red fruits to eat, but noticed Old Anchor watching him in mild surprise.

Puzzled, Chen Gu wondered what was the matter.

The instant he bit into the red fruit, his teeth almost ached from the sourness.

Only then did Old Anchor explain, “Those are meant to be squeezed into the ale.”

Feeling rather speechless, Chen Gu squeezed the red fruit into his wheat ale. When he took a sip, he found it tasted remarkably like pineapple beer.

He tried the white bread—it was rather bland, but the texture was good, and at least there was no grit in it.

After a few bites, Chen Gu remembered his real purpose for coming.

He glanced around. The tavern had four tables; aside from his, two others were occupied.

Both were elves. One had a head of white hair, a face covered with some stubble, and a body as strong as a beastman, with bulging muscles visible beneath his leather armor.

Beside him, stuck in the floor, was a one-and-a-half-meter-long greatsword.

For some reason, despite its size, the sword looked almost weightless, swift.

The other was bald, with bronze skin, dressed in plain linen, and bore tattoos like brambles crawling over his body. If not for the pointed ears, no one would have guessed he was an elf.

At his side rested an iron hammer still stained with fresh blood.

Seeing these two elven heroes, who looked nothing like typical elves, Chen Gu hesitated for a moment.

He walked over to the bald elf and extended his hand.

“My name is Gu Qi, lord of Silverpine City.”

“Lixia, Bramble Druid,” the elf introduced himself and then revealed his attributes.

[Hero Attributes]
Name: Lixia
Quality: Green (Level cap 5)
Race: Elf
Level: 1
Talent: Bramble Spell (Subordinate soldiers are automatically affected by Bramble Spell; for every level the hero gains, counterattack damage increases by 1)
Combat Attributes: Strength 7, Agility 9, Constitution 9, Perception 3, Intelligence 8
Campaign Attributes: Attack 0, Defense 0, Magic 1, Wisdom 2
Starting Skill: Level 1 Nature Magic
Legion: Druids (30), Woodland Sprites (120), Wood Elves (50), none, none, none, none
Description: An ascetic druid who believes that brambles are the mightiest force in nature. If you do not attack the brambles, you will not suffer their thorns.

“A combat hero?” Chen Gu asked, thinking for a moment.

“I can fight, but my strength lies in defense. I excel at counterattacks and can hold a city. I’ve handled city affairs before,” Lixia replied, understanding why Chen Gu asked.

Clearly, Chen Gu was choosing a specialist hero.

So Lixia decided to show his capabilities.

“I need someone to serve as my city administrator. Can you do it?”

“Certainly. The city administrator is mainly responsible for the day-to-day affairs within the city. If the administrator has enough influence, it can even affect the city’s overall output.

I like this city. If you’ll have me, I’d be honored to serve as its administrator.”

“Consider yourself hired,” Chen Gu said, pouring out a thousand gold coins onto the table.

Lixia stood up and bowed deeply to Chen Gu.

“My lord,” he said respectfully.

Chen Gu then turned to the other elf.

“And you?”

“Combat hero, Elven Greatsword Master, Ruisi,” the elf replied, standing up and bowing, then displaying his attributes.

[Hero Attributes]
Name: Ruisi
Quality: Green (Level cap 5)
Race: Elf
Level: 1
Talent: Child of the Wind (Movement speed of subordinate troops increased by 50%)
Combat Attributes: Strength 6, Agility 13, Constitution 6, Perception 6, Intelligence 5
Campaign Attributes: Attack 1, Defense 1, Magic 0, Wisdom 1
Starting Skill: Level 1 Logistics
Legion: Flower Sprites (150), Elven Sword Dancers (35), Wood Elves (40), none, none, none, none
Description: A master of the power of wind. As long as the wind blows, he can keep moving without end.

With a glance at Ruisi’s attributes, Chen Gu immediately recognized his purpose.

He was a transport chief.

Responsible for moving supplies and troops.

A workhorse hero meant to be present on the battlefield.