Chapter 50: Song of Courage

Chapter 50: Song of Courage
At noon the next day, Wessex and others, accompanied by Hoover, arrived at the "Song of the Wind" tavern. The representative from Foster Trading Company was a director named Charles Minsk, together with the scar-faced warrior Elson whom they had met that day.
The atmosphere of the talks is still quite harmonious, and Charles, representing the Faste Chamber of Commerce, has only one demand: Either Nubo leaves Nockshida or no longer engages in timber-related trade. The conditions set by the Faste Chamber of Commerce are not much different from Hoover's previous estimate, but Sisi still wants to negotiate.
"Your Excellency Xavier, Noubo did not sell any timber in Noxida, and he was also in need of money..."
"Sir Sasee, you are a knight with a strong sense of justice, but I am not," Xavier pondered for a moment and said, "I am also unlikely to violate the rules of the guild for a stranger. However, if you help me out, the situation would be different..."
"Are there still difficult tasks for the directors of the Faust Chamber of Commerce? If you offer a random reward, I bet the adventurers who want to take on the missions would be lined up from your chamber all the way to the city outskirts." Gago Stonehammer said in amazement.
“Actually, what we really want to hire is this half-elf ranger, and it just so happens that the three of you are from the same province, so I don't need to look for someone else.” Charles said to Cecilia, "I need to find someone, but there are no professional rangers in the city right now, only some wandering adventurers."
Xisi nodded when he saw Gillis and agreed.
"Can you give me more detailed information about the person you are looking for, including their identity, occupation, physical characteristics, the place and time they disappeared, and who was the last person to see them?" Gillis asked.
"The person I am looking for is named Pack Minske, my brother," Char told Girshis. "Three days ago, we were attacked by monsters in the forest on the hills south of the city of Noksid. We fled in panic, and when we regained our senses, Pack was nowhere to be found."
"What monster?"
"A griffon beast..."
"Griffons usually appear in pairs, right? Are you sure there is only one?" Gilhes asks.
"That day, the griffon suddenly descended from the sky. We didn't have any high-level adventurers with us at the time, so things became quite chaotic..." Shael said. "Those mercenaries are not reliable in times of crisis..."
"So, our mission is to find Parker and bring him back safely? What if something happens to him while we're away..." Cicero asked.
"A live person or a dead body..." Charles immediately replied, "As long as you help me find Parker, I will take care of Nubo's affairs."
……
"That's right, a Gryphon is half eagle and half lion, just like a lord's crest, except it doesn't hold a scepter, it holds my bull." - An anonymous witness to a Gryphon attack
This is the original text description of the griffins written by Westcye in a book in the library.
In the past, griffins only appeared in the mountains, hunting marmots and wild goats. But at some point, they discovered that the places where humans lived had richer and easier prey, such as cows, sheep, and shepherds. As a result, these half-eagle, half-lion creatures went from being rare monsters to one of the most troublesome pests in the northern continent of Nord. The most despised by shepherds are the so-called Royal Griffins and Great Griffins and other subspecies.
Gryphons have only one mate for life and they will protect their mate to death if they are attacked, so they are often regarded as symbols of courage, loyalty, and fighting spirit. The last characteristic is undisputed - if they are challenged, they will not rest until they tear their opponent to shreds.
Griffins use their sharp sense of smell to locate their prey. Once they get close to the prey, they dive from high altitudes to attack. With the strength of a lion and the lightning-fast speed of an eagle, this diving attack has a high chance of instantly killing the prey. However, if the prey survives the first diving attack, the griffin immediately engages in direct combat, using its sharp beak and powerful claws to attack the prey.
Griffins can cause deep wounds to their prey, and the wounds continue to bleed. What's worse, griffins do not have many real weaknesses.
……
Following the marked location on the map by Char, Sisay and the others arrived at the site where the griffins attacked. It hadn't rained for a few days, and there were still scattered horse hoof prints, dried blood stains, and torn fabric on the ground... Guided by the tracking skills of the half-elf ranger, Sisay and the others continued to move deeper into the woods.
Half an hour later, the three of them appeared next to a clearing in the forest, about a hundred meters away from a steep cliff.
"That should be the griffon's nest." The half-elf ranger climbed up a poplar tree next to him and saw a dark and deep cave on the cliff.
"We have to find a way to lure it out..."
"I was prepared for this," said the half-elf ranger as he led Sisy and the old dwarf to a flat ground with an advantage in the wind direction, and then took out three plants, "These are skunkweed, they live underwater and emit a foul smell when out of the water..." Before finishing his words, he threw the three skunkweed plants on the ground and walked away.
"It stinks! If I had known, I would have just yelled loudly directly below the cliff..." The scent of this herbal medicine is really unpleasant, thought the short-legged dwarf with regret.
After a moment, the human knight, dwarf warrior, and half-elf ranger were battling a huge monster in a clearing in the forest.
Leading the way, the human was clad in a full suit of knight's plate armor, holding a gothic shield in his left hand and a one-handed longsword in his right. A faint blue aura radiated from beneath his feet. "Clang! Clang! Clang!" he forcefully struck his shield with his sword, the sound of metal colliding irritating the monster. "After all, among the three of them, his defense is slightly higher," the knight, named Sisera, became the monster's primary target.
A dwarf warrior wearing a horned helmet, a breastplate, and wielding a giant axe takes advantage of the opportunity to launch a fierce attack on the monster's right flank, each strike causing massive damage.
"Watch out for its pounce, Sissi!" In the distance, a half-elf ranger wearing green leather armor and wielding a longbow moves and takes aim at the griffon's vulnerable spot.
Even among monsters, griffins are known for being extremely ferocious. Due to their inherent stubbornness and aggressiveness, griffins will fight any enemy that enters their territory. Whether it's an accidental trespass by a giant eagle, a pterodactyl, or even a thunderbird, the griffin's response is always the same: they will roar and charge at the enemy, engaging in a bloody and brutal battle until one of them dies. And if the enemy is not significantly larger or stronger, the griffin is often the victor in such fights. They will stand tall on the cliff, roaring to proclaim their strength and determination.
"Damn it, I didn't expect the griffon to be so troublesome!" Gago Rockhammer cautiously moved sideways, looking for an opportunity to attack.
The griffon is truly too agile, always able to easily dodge the dwarf's attacks and immediately counterattack.
Dwarven warriors have high attack power but average attack speed, and sometimes the older dwarves can't seem to make their moves. Although griffins have a massive size, they possess impressive speed and strength, causing many of the dwarves' attacks to be ineffective. "Gago, don't get impatient," Sysy shouted at the old dwarf, using his shield to block the griffin's strikes. "Let's just hold it back and prevent it from taking off easily. Leave the rest to Gill."
As soon as the words were spoken, the griffon suddenly turned and pounced at the old dwarf. The old dwarf effortlessly rolled away and swiftly counterattacked, striking the griffon's front paw with a powerful axe blow. At the same time, the griffon's other claw lunged towards the dwarf's head...
"Volley," Gilshis, standing in the distance, immediately activated the skills of the ranger. Suddenly, arrows glowing with white light swept through the air, drawing a graceful arc and heading straight towards the griffon.
The griffin can only abandon the attack on the dwarves and use its claws to meet the swiftly approaching arrows. Obviously, it underestimated the power of the arrow shot by the half-elf ranger and seemed to be dazed as if hit by a huge hammer, and its speed noticeably decreased.
"Passion!" Caisar's longsword swung three times in a row, leaving behind huge wounds on the griffon's body. Immediately after, it was the dwarf's turn to attack, and his giant axe burst into a lightning-like radiance as he aimed it at the griffon's head. "Axe of Storms" crashed down.
At the critical moment, feeling the extreme danger, the griffin let out a long howl towards the sky, and its body shone with a golden light, successfully shaking off the daze status. It twisted its head to avoid a fatal blow and, at the same time, used its shoulder to withstand a heavy blow from the dwarf, leveraging this tremendous force to fiercely pounce towards Westley, its sharp beak directly pecking at Westley's head.
Old power is gone, new power has not yet emerged. Xisi immediately activates the sluggish aura and successfully avoids and blocks the fierce attack of the griffin. At this time, the dwarf's fighting spirit is also rising, and he seems to have become taller, emitting a silver-white light, apparently Gaige possesses the bloodline of the dwarf king, actually able to activate "God descending to earth".
The Valkyrie Gungnir came down to earth and immediately unleashed a merciless attack, paying no mind to the glaring openings in her moves. She knew her power and defense were greatly enhanced at the moment. With every swing of her massive axe, deep wounds were inflicted on the Gryphon, exposing bones. Soon, the Gryphon's movements slowed down due to excessive blood loss and severe injuries, leaving it on the brink of death.
The semi-elf ranger still stands outside the maximum attack range of the gryphon to launch attacks, sometimes with normal attacks, sometimes with specific elemental damage attacks...
Finally, Xisi's long sword pierced through the griffin's heart... Then, Xisi saw the emblem of the Eye of God again. After killing the griffin, the emblem of the Eye of God was already half-illuminated. Xisi felt the yellow light ball from the griffin, known as the "Song of Courage," removing negative effects from his body and increasing his strength.
"Done! The griffon's body is still intact, and its leather and talons are valuable materials for crafting magical equipment," Gillis said. "I will take care of the griffon's corpse here. You two should go to the griffon's lair and see if there are any remains of Park Minsek."
Sisi and the dwarf climbed the steep cliff, entered the cave, and discovered a pile of animal bones inside: deer, roe deer, wild dogs, and even two unlucky humans. In addition, he also found a skeleton as huge as a water buffalo in the depths of the cave... Judging from the long beak, hook-like claws, and tail on the head of the corpse, it should be the mate of that griffin.
"It seems that Park Minsk is not dead," the old dwarf said as he carefully examined the two human remains. "These bones have been here for a long time."
"Strange, if Park wasn't killed by the griffin, why hasn't he returned to Noxida? Could he have been severely injured?"
"I don't know, let's wait for the half-elf to come over and see if he can find any clues," said the dwarf, not having any good ideas either.
(End of this chapter)