Chapter 47: Squad Tasks

“I’ll be telling you and your squad the things a squad has to do,” Balthar stated with a wide grin on his face.

Rion and the others’ expressions turned serious, and they gave him a nod.

Balthar took a seat atop the rock and spoke while rubbing his chin, “Where should we start from… hmm?”

He clapped once and said, “Alright, let’s talk about the type of missions a squad has to do. Usually, a squad takes missions about mining, herb gathering and beast hunting, which are unrelated to the purple forest.”

“When you are given the mission related to mining, then you have to go to the eastern camp, which is around five kilometres east of the den, and help other squads in mining.”

“For herb gathering missions, you just have to go where the needed herb is found more easily.”

“Lastly, the beast hunting is where you hunt the beast in the southern forest, like what you did during the ritual of youth.”

Rion asked with a frown, “What about hunting the kareths?”

Balthar folded his arms and nodded in response, “I’ll get to it in a few minutes.”

Rion nodded slightly and glanced at others who were focused on Balthar before leaning against a redwood tree.

Balthar shifted his eyes between all of them and continued, “There are other missions you can get, but they are rare. Scout around the mountains for unusual sightings.”

As soon as those words reached Rion’s ears, his eyes shone curiously, and he mumbled in thought, ’Unusual sightings?’

Unaware of Rion’s curiosity, Balthar continued, “Help other squads in their missions and lastly…”

He looked into Rion’s eyes and continued in a tone much serious than before, “The hunt… it is not a mission of a squad but a group. Currently, we have ten groups with ten squads in each one of them. The hunt continues for a year… and each year the number of the squad stays the same… why? Because not everyone returns from the hunt.”

Everyone’s expression darkened but Balthar didn’t let the atmosphere affect him and continued, “Kareth can only be killed by Aura or weapons made of azrath…” he took out the dagger wrapped around his thigh in a single sweep and showed it to them.

Just like how Haden’s spearhead, Jura’s arrowheads and Haria’s claws, the blade of the dagger was blue.

He touched the blade and continued, “Kareth can’t be wounded, and even if you manage to wound them, it would heal within moments. The only method to kill them is to attack the core, which exists at their heart.”

Rion nodded inwardly while remembering the fight he had with the Kareth that looked like a spider.

Balthar lowered the dagger and lifted his finger as he added, “The strength of a kareth depends on how many horns it has. A kareth with no horns is as strong as a trainee, one horn is about equal to a squad member, two horns is near to a squad leader, four horns is as strong as a group leader and above that means death.”

’Didn’t that spider have two horns?’ Rion thought while feeling gleeful at defeating a kareth that was as strong as a squad leader at the meagre age of twelve.

Balthar put the dagger back and continued, “If you want azrath weapons, you have to mine the azrath needed for it by yourself.”

Rion frowned and asked with a tilted head, “Won’t the den provide us with the weapons?”

Balthar scratched the back of his head and replied with a chuckle, “Haha, that would have been true if Arok wasn’t the one overlooking the weapons.”

Rion’s eyebrows arched up, and he inquired further, “What’s wrong with him overlooking the weapons?”

Arok was the descendant of the God of Forge and Craft so it didn’t make sense for him to do something that goes against his blood.

Balthar looked around to make sure that no one was there to hear the words he was about to say.

After making sure that everything was clear, he exhaled and said, “That old bastard doesn’t want to give anything from the treasury. Heck, if there was no one to stop him, he would have taken everyone’s stuff instead. His greed is the reason behind his title of the Horder.”

“You are kidding… right?” Rion muttered as he thought about the 5kg azrath that he was about to use for weapons for himself and his squad.

Balthar shook his head and answered darkly, “I wish.”

Rion could already see the greed demon Arok kidnapping his lovely wife, Azrath.

“But…” Balthar continued with a serious expression, “If you manage to aflame his passion, not only would he craft you the best of the weapons, but he may even use his own materials.”

Rion’s worried heart calmed down, and he asked in equal seriousness, “How do I do that?”

Balthar shrugged. “How would I know? I don’t even want to go near that old bastard. I still remember how he took half of my materials last time.” Tears began to stream down his face after he finished his words.

Rion’s worried heart transcended to a new realm of worry, but before it could reach the absolute peak, Balthar wiped his tears off and continued with a confident glint in his eyes, “But I am sure that you would be able to do it.”

The corners of Rion’s lips lifted slightly, and he asked, “Why do you think so?”

Balthar shrugged. “Just a gut feeling.”

Rion nodded and thought with narrowed eyes, ’You just want me to go to him, don’t you? How much did you lose to him that you can’t wait for me to go through the same?’

He didn’t even know if he should show anger or pity to him.

Balthar jumped off the rock and rubbed his hands before continuing, “You have three days before we leave for the hunt… make sure to get the weapons for your squad, you have already awakened your aura, so you won’t have any problem, but I can’t say the same about your squad members.”

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