Scout

Northwind Keep, Civic Plaza. "Citizens, please observe kingdom order!" Circling high above the city on his wyvern again and again, Mantou shouted through a megaphone, drawing envious or awed glances from the people below from time to time. With the rapid surge in players, their ways of stirring up trouble had multiplied as well. Some even managed to find loopholes in kingdom law to pull off wild stunts. As a peace officer, Mantou faced an unprecedented workload. The southwest district under his jurisdiction now held more than thirty thousand people, nearly five thousand of whom were players. "Hey! You over there, don't strip in public!" "Trying to run?" Mantou guided the wyvern into a steep dive. Extending its sharp talons, the wyvern scooped up a bare-bottomed player attempting to disrupt social order right off the ground. Mantou leaned over, and sure enough, he recognized that familiar face. "You again, Holy Light Bro! This is already the third time you've intentionally exposed yourself in public this month! Anything to say in your defense?" Completely buck naked, Holy Light Bro flaunted the curves of his body midair and replied calmly, "I am merely following the Way of Nature. Everyone is born naked into this world; why let clumsy creations conceal our bodies? In the ideal world in my heart, everyone can be frank and open with each other..." Mantou forcefully suppressed the urge to roast him and waved his hand. "Save it!" "Citizen, you have violated Article Twenty-Three of the Kingdom Public Order Penalties Act. A five-gold-coin fine or seven days of kingdom detention—pick one yourself." Controlling the wyvern with his legs alone, Mantou pulled a notebook and quill from his pack and began jotting down notes. Holy Light Bro still answered placidly, "Rather than pay a penalty for trumped-up charges, I would prefer to spread the Way of Nature in prison and help more people understand the beauty of freedom." "..." "You're something else." After a long silence, Mantou finally squeezed out those words through clenched teeth. After escorting the utterly unabashed Holy Light Bro to the Kingdom Prison, Mantou resumed his aerial patrol over the city. As a municipal peace officer, he had to manage not only the citizens, but also search for outsiders of unknown identity and stay vigilant against spies sent by the Northland nations, the Harpers, or even factions like the Fadlan Empire. Looking down at the bustling crowds, Mantou let out a long sigh. "There's so much going on lately—it's really annoying. Petty crap everywhere, barely any rewards, and a total waste of time." "Awoo—" Beneath him, Noodles let out a howl in agreement. The wyvern also rather missed those years of standing guard at the palace gates and loafing around eating free meals in its nest. "Damn, why does the air up here feel worse and worse? It's downright choking." "Whatever, back to the mission." Mantou stroked Noodles's slender, smooth neck and kept flying over the city with the Redscale Conqueror aerial reconnaissance skill active. Icons popped up above the heads of everyone on the ground, displaying their name, level, and even faction. Citizen Worker Scholar Tiefling Guard Wealthy Merchant Mantou gazed down at the ground, his eyes growing numb from the dense sea of titles. "With over thirty thousand people in this southwest district, trying to catch a spy is like searching for a needle in a haystack. Checking them one by one is going to kill me." "Wait, what's that—" Suddenly, amid the crowded throng, eye-catching red text caught his eye. *Scout of the Principality of Bosque (Challenge Rating: 3)* The man wore ordinary clothes and blended seamlessly into the crowd, looking like any regular citizen. In a place as full of strange characters as Northwind Keep, no one would have suspected him—too bad for him, he had run into players who practically walked around with built-in cheat engines. Mantou instantly grew thrilled. He leaned forward slightly, steam practically blowing from his nostrils. "Speak of the devil! Aren't gold coins and contribution arriving right on cue?" "Noodles, that's our guy." "Awoo—" The wyvern gave a slight nod and quickened its wingbeats. Down below, the scout seemed to notice the wyvern in the air. Without making a scene, he quickened his pace, attempting to slip around the street corner into an alley under the crowd's cover. Yet from above, Mantou saw everything with complete clarity. How could he let a duck served right to his mouth fly away? "Damn it." The scout looked back at the approaching massive silhouette and realized he might have been made. He hurriedly pulled out some powder from his clothes and released a dense cloud of smoke, sparking chaos in the street. "Cough, cough, what is this?" "Where did this strange mist come from?" "Is an enemy invading?" The crowd erupted into clamor, eyes stinging shut from the smoke. Seeing that the man was moving faster and faster, on the verge of vanishing into the crowd, Mantou ordered in a low voice, "Can't wait any longer. Noodles, Dragon Roar Charge!" "Roar—!" Together, they unleashed an earthshaking dragon roar. At the same time, the wyvern spread its wings and plummeted from midair in a steep dive. Under the roar's terrifying aura, most people stood frozen in place or simply fainted on the spot. The scout's hope of slipping away amid the chaos evaporated instantly. Even with specialized training, the scout's footing faltered under the roar's overwhelming might. After only a few paces, he stumbled and crashed headlong into a roadside stall. Mantou shouted at the top of his lungs, "Redscale Conqueror on official duty! Bystanders, clear the way!" "He's an enemy scout!" Two legs could never outrun a pair of wings to begin with, much less while affected by the dragon roar. Within a few breaths, the wyvern swept over the scout, snatching him clean off the ground with its massive talons. "Wahoo, lift off!" Perched atop the wyvern, Mantou let out an exhilarating shout into the sky. He had caught not just a scout, but a hefty pile of gold coins and contribution. "Filthy dragon minion!" The scout struggled violently midair. Yet the wyvern's sharp talons sank into his flesh, gripping him tight so he could not break free at all. Within breaths, the wyvern ascended hundreds of meters into the sky. Regaining his composure, the scout retrieved a concealed sleeve dart, intending to pierce the wyvern's wing and drag this wyvern knight down with him before dying. "Die, dragon minion!" The scout raised his right arm, aiming directly for the wyvern's wing. Yet the knight on the wyvern's back had kept a close eye on his movements all along. *Slash—* The moment the scout raised his arm, Mantou cleanly and decisively swept his longsword, severing the limb along with the sleeve dart. Wiping the blood from his blade, Mantou remarked flatly, "Since you were caught, wouldn't it be easier to just surrender quietly?" "Trying to make me crash? You just had to force my hand, didn't you?"