Chapter 15: Tier Upgrade Quest
Kelvin stood outside the stone castle, staring at his Lord, who sat atop Sirius. His sword was secured to his back. Asher also wore a thick fur coat, long enough to reach his shins, and this was due to Kelvin's fears.
"That's the only horse we have?"
Asher looked at the brown horse, which belonged to Peter, with a frown. It was merely a workhorse. Compared to the one Jane sat on, this horse had just bones and a little flesh.
"Unfortunately." Kelvin replied.
"Then I can't allow anyone to follow me. This horse will drag me back. Tell Alec and Alex that I will be back in a few days."
"But my lord, you can't leave alone!" Kelvin bellowed and sighed as he watched Asher and Jane ride off. Jane's horse looked so small compared to the mighty beast Asher rode. She had to do lots of comforting for the horse to accommodate Sirius' presence.
On his way, Asher looked at the quest the system gave him after he decided to go meet Baron Snow.
[Upgrade Quest: Rescue the merchants from Baron Snow's cruel hands within 3 days.]
[Reward: Your tier two town will be upgraded to tier three!]
The time limit made him unable to bring an army because, if so, they would take about two weeks since the soldiers would have to walk.
....
Afterjournying for two days with little rest, Asher saw the walls of Baron Snow's camp. The walls were about 4 meters high and were made of tree trunks. It was a circular fortress in the middle of the plain fields.
The grass was sparse and black instead of green.
Asher looked to his side and saw Jane. She was barely alive after the journey.
"Rest here. I'll go in."
Jane couldn't even utter a word, so she weakly nodded and watched him leave.
As Asher got close to the walls, he suddenly heard whistling. His ears stood up, and his muscles tensed. This was his first time doing something this dangerous, but he believed none of them here could harm him because of Sirius. Even a gold-ranked knight would have to retreat.
The whistling sound got louder and so piercing that his eyes widened in the next second. At that moment, Sirius suddenly burst forth, and Asher saw an arrow swoosh past his cheek.
His eyes constricted.
He pulled out his sword, brandished it, and began to cut down some arrows while Sirius helped him avoid most of them. Upon closing the gap, Asher could hear their voices.
'Sirius, use your elemental powers.' He gave a silent command.
Sirius smacked its right claw against the ground, and thick ice spread out until it climbed the wall! Two bronze-ranked warriors who couldn't escape on time were blasted off the walls.
"You attacked my merchants, and now I, Lord Asher Ashbourne, came in peace, but you shot at me before I uttered a word. Don't you cherish your lives?" Asher spoke loudly.
The mercenaries, however, looked vengeful for their men who fell from the wall, but Asher and his wolf didn't look weak. A beast that could control elements wasn't any mere beast. It was a mystical beast!
Mystical beasts were known to be extinct, but right before their eyes, a man rode on one!
If they sold this beast, they could leave the wasteland and live luxury lives in the high plains.
"I don't remember any merchants passing here with the name Asher Ashbourne attached to them." A man snickered.
"Is that so?" Asher smiled coldly.
"He goes by the name, Jon. You must remember him. I came here at the request of your leader, Baron Snow, who sent the woman, Jane."
Asher watched the mercenaries whisper among themselves. The reason he was being cordial and not forceful was to investigate the state of the merchants. If they were dead, he would leave and take revenge on them another day, but if they were still alive, then his decision would definitely be different.
"You're allowed to enter, but the wolf isn't!"
Asher laughed inwardly when he heard that.
"I am a Lord. Tell your leader that I want to see him." Asher had delved deep into medieval times during the creation of Boundless. He even knew the tone to speak because he was the voice actor for some NPCs. Mostly Lords, Kings, and Emperors.
He knew how to control his tone to be forceful yet calm. The confidence exuding from his voice made them overlook how young he looked.
Some moments later, a big man with powerful-looking arms clad in red that exposed his chest emerged on top of the wall.
His snow white hair was as striking as the X-shaped scar on his forehead.
"Kid, who are you? Where is Thomas?" His deep voice fell into Asher's ears.
"I'm here on behalf of my citizens. The dead have nothing to do with this."
Baron Snow was taken back by Asher's unperturbed tone. Many had shown fear at the sight of his frightening frame, but this young boy looked at him like he wasn't any different from his men.
Was it the wolf that gave him such confidence?
He had torn apart beasts that size, so Asher's wolf shouldn't be any different. After all, his A-grade talent gave him a huge boost that transcended ranks!
"Where is the woman I sent to you?" he asked.
Asher frowned. He noticed Baron Snow wanted to dominate him in his manner of approach. It was subtle, but he could see it clearly. Baron Snow wanted to make a mockery of him by making him answer questions.
A cold glow flashed through his eyes.
"Are my citizens alive?"
Baron Snow chuckled. "I wanted 80% of the mines, but since a small lad like you can't handle what remains, I'll be going for 90%. Don't think that wolf can frighten me, boy. I've torn a bear much bigger than that and given it to my girls to prepare stew."
Asher looked straight into Baron Snow's eyes and smiled. "I came for the merchants. Where are they?"
Since Baron Snow wasn't planning to back down, he wasn't going to back down either.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone