Chapter 10

In the early morning, the seaside town still carried a hint of coolness. The sun had not yet fully risen, but its golden rays had already illuminated most of the town's corners.

Harbor Rock Bay, Low Tide Town... Initially, this place was merely a haven for pirates, a barren and neglected land not much larger than a fishing village, filled with cheap prostitutes, rough ale, and drunk pirates—a place people tried to avoid. It wasn't until a group of homeless goblin merchant travelers arrived and settled here that things changed.

There's no denying that goblins, despite being despised by almost all intelligent races on the Dota continent for their weakness, baseness, shamelessness, filth, greed, and wealth, are undoubtedly the most skilled at accumulating wealth on the entire continent. Even the human overlords, who dominate the continent, cannot match them in this aspect.

These goblin pioneers used every method possible, even resorting to fencing stolen goods for pirates, and in just a few decades, they accumulated astonishing wealth and popularity. A small fishing village has now become a famous trading hub and one of the three major seaport cities on the continent. Here, one can see luxurious buildings of various races and kingdoms, the most charming courtesans, the best-equipped arenas, the largest slave markets, luxury auction houses, the most fragrant wines, and the highest-grade magical equipment...

Besides these, there are countless teams of adventurers, thieves' guilds, and mercenary groups waiting to take on missions.

"Pig and Whistle" is a special tavern dedicated to serving these dangerous individuals. Every day, no fewer than a hundred tasks are posted and handed over here, with tens of thousands of gold coins changing hands. The extremely prosperous trade naturally spurred the development of violent businesses such as bodyguarding, escorting, even raiding and assassination. The guys sitting at these dozens of round tables, all fully armed and muscular, are the mercenary groups and guild task liaisons stationed in Harbor Rock Bay, Low Tide Town. Whenever the doorbell rings and the door is pushed open, countless eyes focus on the newcomer, as the competition is so intense that no potential client can be overlooked.

However, this time, the person who entered was rather special, causing a large group of mercenaries and thieves who had stood up to solicit customers to freeze, looking at each other hesitantly.

The reason was simple: the person who entered was a priest of the Church of Holy Light, and not just any priest, but a high-ranking and exceptionally beautiful one.

The Church of Holy Light has followers in every corner of the Dota continent, the largest religion in human society, with the Pope even nominally having the right to decide the succession of most duchy lords.

The Church of Holy Light is powerful and talented, and more importantly, no war is without the active presence of priests, and no battlefield can do without the powerful holy light magic of priests. From world wars to small adventure teams, those wearing white robes are the most sought-after profession. The rise of the Church of Holy Light is closely related to the human race's ability to defeat the epic empires established by other intelligent races and dominate the Dota continent.

However, like every organization that reaches its peak, the Church of Holy Light, after becoming the largest religious force on the continent, began to exhibit traits of stubbornness, tyranny, and despotism to the fullest. The number of religions, organizations, and civilians labeled as "heretics," "blasphemers," and "witches" and unjustly eliminated is as numerous as the stars in the sky. Almost every day, squares in various towns host public burnings of varying scales, including members of mercenary groups who have inadvertently offended the Church of Holy Light, sometimes just because the woman they slept with happened to be a follower of the Church.

"Is there a mercenary group here? A thieves' guild will do too. I need someone to serve me~~~!" The woman shouted hysterically as soon as she entered "Pig and Whistle." Only then did everyone notice that her priest's robe, though made of fine material, was filthy and torn in several places, with spots of blood at the hem. It was clear that this noble lady had just narrowly escaped death and might have experienced even worse things. For the vindictive Church of Holy Light, this was already a significant event that could ignite countless bonfires in the central square of Harbor Rock Bay, Low Tide Town. What was strange was why this young priestess did not seek help from the local church but instead came to this den of iniquity to post a task to a group of mercenaries and thieves who were usually not even worth a glance.

Confused and puzzled, no one dared to speak up rashly, and the priestess's face grew increasingly grim. She suddenly pulled out a gold-embossed, exquisite cross from her bodice and slammed it on the table, shouting, "My task reward is this. Anyone who possesses this gold holy cross will become a friend of the Church of Holy Light and have the right to one religious pardon! In addition, I can pay an extra five thousand gold coins as a reward. Is there anyone willing to take my task?"

The atmosphere immediately heated up...

A "religious pardon" and "friend of the Holy Light" are more significant than this unassuming cross to any large organization or individual. In a world where you never know when you might inadvertently offend the behemoth that is the Church of Holy Light, these two things are equivalent to an unstable alliance and a get-out-of-jail-free card. Such a reward is already incredibly generous, regardless of what task the priestess wants to post, and five thousand gold coins is certainly not a small amount. However, the questions in everyone's minds grew deeper... How could an important figure of the Church with a gold cross seek their help?

Unless...

The woman's task is something she doesn't want the Church to know.

In that case, the issue seems even more complicated...

Finally, an elderly-looking mercenary spoke up, "Respected Priestess, please tell us what your task requirements are. I believe the majority of people here have already been moved by your generous task reward. They only need to know the content of the task."

"It's simple!" The priestess closed her eyes for a moment, seemingly trying to calm her agitated heart, then suddenly opened her eyes, gritted her teeth, and said with a full heart of killing intent, "About 350 miles from this damned harbor, on the coast, there is a tribe of ogres. Yes, the damned Black Hand tribe. I want you to completely annihilate this ogre tribe, get rid of those filthy blue scum, not a single one left!"