As the sun was about to rise overhead, the two finally found a place that matched the location marked on the map.

It was the other party who noticed that they were probing their brains and studying the map, so they took the initiative to ask, only then did they know that they had arrived at the door of the investigation association.

"I'm sorry!" a cute old raccoon man scratched his ears after taking his seat, "It's hard for us to find Dulu here." ”

Ian didn't expect such an association to be set up in a residential area, and the entrances were as inconspicuous as ordinary houses, and there was not even a decent signboard.

"The concentration of magic essence has been low for decades, and high-level monsters have almost stopped appearing, so we moved from the official residence on the edge of the square to the commercial street, and later moved here to mumble......" the old man smiled, "However, recently, there have been more and more reports of sightings of demonic beasts in various places, and some have even attacked the village. So I think it's necessary to investigate the concentration of magic here. Layla!" he shouted.

Outside the door, a female cat man who had evolved walked in. Her facial features have changed from the appearance of a cat to a human. It's just that as Giggs described, the cat's ears and tail are still there, retaining subhuman features.

Although Leila is dressed in the same costume as a human, her bare white hair shows the color of her pre-evolution coat. Only half of his right ear was dyed black, which is a pity. Seeing Ian staring at her ear, Leila was a little uncomfortable, cleared her throat, and said hello timidly: "You, you are so ......"

"Hello!" Sid replied, and Ian bowed slightly at the same time as him.

"Leila and three other investigators will form a team to investigate the concentration of magic in a specific area, and they are the ones you want to protect. The target route is to leave Oasis Town and observe the concentration of magic essence all the way east, taking samples every 30 stars until it reaches the border between the Federation and the Empire. The old raccoon man explained the mission objectives and route simply and clearly, and then glanced at the female cat man named Lyra, "Although it is an escort mission, this route is often visited by traders, and there are no high-threat Warcraft sightings at present, so it is relatively safe." So I didn't set a higher mercenary level, and the guild made a confirmation for me. “

The old raccoon man must have tried to soothe a nervous-looking Lyra, the cat-man lady's white tail had been sweeping uneasily behind her.

The next day was still a good day. It would be better if it was cooler, Ian thought. Approaching the Burning Moon, the sun is getting hotter and hotter day by day, especially in the Federal States, where there are many Gobi and desert environments, and the temperature during the day will be higher.

Six horses trotted out of the town of Greenozhou. Ian and Sid drove their mounts to the front, followed by Lyra as the leader of the investigation team with the other three members. Most of Leila and the members of the investigation team are indigenous to the area, and they are familiar with the landscape. On the day of departure, they all changed their usual scholar's robes into traveler's robes, covered their heads with hoods, and wrapped half of their faces with wind-proof sand towels, revealing only a pair of eyes.

Ian and Sid clearly lack knowledge of the environment. The two were still dressed in their original attire, and when they arrived at the first investigation point, they were burned all over their bodies.

The investigation was simpler and more boring than Ian had imagined.

All Leila and the investigators have to do is search and collect, and occasionally Leila will make some notes. Their first goal was to investigate the site's intrinsic environmental substances, such as soil, water sources, plant samples, and even stones. According to Lyra's explanation, they will extract the magic essence from these substances and calculate the amount, and then estimate the level of magic in the surrounding area.

The investigators were all dressed in almost identical outfits as Layla, and Ian could only judge the approximate identity from his body shape and pace. Fortunately, Leila is tall and relatively easy to recognize. But those investigators, if you don't look at the eyes, it's hard to discern.

"You robes ......," Ian couldn't help but ask Lyra, "Are they all custom-made by the guild?"

Layla was concentrating on the handful of gravel she had just collected. She deposited the sample in a small canister, dripped an unknown reagent, sealed it, and then carefully slipped it into the box in her backpack. It was as if she had to complete these actions before she was able to answer Ian's question.

"No, it's all store-bought, the most ordinary. "The association doesn't have the money to buy us uniforms." “

Before leaving, everyone could tell that Leila was the most nervous, even more timid than her investigators, but now she was much calmer when she was focused on her work.

As soon as the work on the first survey point was completed, they immediately mounted and moved on to the next one. At thirty-star intervals, they had to conduct at least fifteen surveys before arriving at the border, which was a tight schedule. The second and third points of investigation were no different from the first in Ian's opinion, and the investigators did much the same.

However, upon reaching the sixth survey point, Layla keenly spotted a piece of hard armor beneath the light dust, which at first glance was black, but in fact had a bluish purple glow, and did not reflect much in the midday sun.

"What is this?" asked Ian, curiously leaning over.

Leila brought the nail to her nose and sniffed it, then looked at it carefully, a strange look flashing in her eyes.

Instead of answering Ian's words, she said to herself, "No......"

Ian was even more curious when he heard this, and asked again, "What's wrong?"

"Manticore. Lyra quickly tucked the pieces into a small storage bag as if frightened, and Ian noticed that her hands were shaking slightly. Ian had heard of the Manticore, the crest of a nobleman in the Empire. But he had not seen a living creature.

"A High Demonic Beast?" Ian asked Layla.

Miss Catman looked at him deeply with distrust: "You are a mercenary, don't you know?"

Ian's face was slightly hot: "I ...... I've only been a mercenary for a short time. “

"Hopefully we don't run into it. Through the mask, Ian heard her take a breath and then lower her voice, "This should be the shell off its tail." ”

The manticore is not a creature like a normal lion. Although it is very similar in appearance, and has a thick mane around its neck like that of a male lion, it is larger than the average male lion, and its tail is literally scorpion-like, and the older one has more than one. Its tail is layered with layers of shiny black or brown hard armor, and it has deadly tapered spikes at the end of the tail.

"Let's hope we won't be so unlucky, but if the Twelve don't want to favor us—protect Leila first, let them flee, and don't fall in love with war. Sid patted Ian on the shoulder and admonished.

"This fragment must have fallen off when its tail was reshelled, and it looks like it's not small. Also," Layla whispered in a dismayed voice, then looked up at the investigators who were still busy gathering around, "It's better not to let them know. ”

Ian looked up at the sun and proposed, "Your mission here is done as soon as possible, and we'll go back to the side of the road and settle lunch first." ”

There are many travelers on the main road, and even small groups of demonic beasts will not attack easily, so it is relatively safe to rest there.

Leila nodded in agreement, greeted her companions, and quickly completed her mission, leaving the wilderness with their protectors.

Intrigued by Lyra's description of the manticore, Ian leaned to the side in a daze after eating the dry food, fiddling with the clasp made of the core of the corpse carp on his cloak. After a while, Layla sat down next to him. She had removed her hood and mask for lunch, and Ian was once again drawn to the only pinch of black fluff on the cat's ears.

"What if...... If I'm not mistaken, your cloak is made of corpse carp skin?" asked Leila, cautiously looking at Ian's cloak.

"Ah, yes. I happened to meet one before, and I was lucky that I wasn't eaten. Ian smiled, not going to use the experience as a talking point.

"You're really lucky. Layla didn't seem interested in the process either, "The study of Warcraft materials is one of my areas of expertise, and the corpse carp hasn't been seen in years. The core is very valuable, and the skin is extremely difficult to process – your processor is good at it. Lyra spoke of what she was good at, and her nerves and stiffness faded like clouds.

"By the way, manticore...... Is there any processing value for that kind of hard armor?" Ian remembered that his work as a magic blacksmith had been abandoned for a long time, and he had no experience with this kind of magic beast material, and he had no spiritual power to use it.

"Of course," Layla twitched her ears, "the hard armor on the manticore's tail is very strong and suitable for strengthening armor. However, due to its sharp edges and thin texture, it is also used by many people in the processing of weapons. After all, that's its main feature and one of its means of attack. ”

"It attacks with its tail?" Ian imagined a lion slapping its tail at an enemy.

"You're a mercenary—" Layla reminded him with a frown, but immediately remembered that Ian wasn't very senior, "Okay. It wasn't an ordinary lion's tail, it was huge, but it was longer and retractable. These hard armor pieces are layered on top of each other to wrap every inch of skin on the tail, and when needed, they will be pulled out as the skin stretches, like gates stacked on top of each other. ”

She looked at Ian worriedly, "If you get slapped by its tail when you're close, it should be like being hit by a pillar in the council chamber and turn into minced meat." ”

Ian nodded silently, and the appearance of the manticore in his mind and the pattern on the noble insignia gradually overlapped into a real demonic beast.

"Don't forget, it also has a deadly cone on its tail. Lyra replied uneasily, as if a manticore would pop up around at any moment.

Like Lyra, the investigators take off their masks to eat, and Ian discovers that one of them is a lizardman.

Noticing Ian's gaze, Layla said, "That's Bazaar, she just joined us, and this is her first time on a field mission. ”

"She's nervous?" Ian didn't take his eyes off Bazaar.

"Perhaps, I'm not familiar with the lizardmen's expressions......" Layla whispered, blushing.

Bazaar the Lizardman does not remove her backpack when she eats, and while stuffing food into her mouth, she turns the lizardman's head and looks around. Obviously, you don't need to read the expression to guess her emotions.

"Lizardmen don't come here much, because it's hot and dry. Sid said, "I remember that most of them settled in the swampy areas of the south—on the Tumas side?"

"Yes," Lyra continued, "maybe it's too foreign and too difficult for her to get used to." ”

After resting enough, the group set off again and rushed to the next investigation point.