Chapter 43: An Impossible Mission

"What? Are you saying you’re going to help Redstone Town take back the Iron Ore Mine?"

"You mean... just you? Alone? To do this?"

Ande was so shocked he couldn’t control his expression. He looked utterly incredulous.

It wasn’t just him. The other patrons in the tavern who overheard the conversation burst into an uproar. Even the normally calm proprietress turned to look.

"I think I’ve made myself perfectly clear," Fang Zhen said. "I don’t need to explain it again, do I?"

"No, that’s impossible!" Ande cried out instinctively.

After saying this, perhaps sensing his words could be taken the wrong way, Ande hurriedly explained, "I’m not doubting your formidable strength, Sir. It’s just... I mean, you might not understand the numbers and power of the Dogman Tribe. You might be, ah, somewhat... misjudging things, perhaps?"

"Are you saying I’m overestimating myself?" Fang Zhen asked, his tone devoid of any negative emotion. "Tell me what you think."

"No, no, no, that’s not what I mean at all. Your strength is plain for all to see. The bodies in the Goblin Nest are proof of your power," Ande hastily clarified. "But the Kobold tribe... compared to goblins... how should I put it? They are very different."

"Explain in detail," Fang Zhen asked, his speech slow and steady.

Ande took a deep breath, trying to calm himself and organize his thoughts. "It’s like this. The Kobold creature’s tribes are naturally larger than goblin ones. Their numbers are much greater. In the mine, there are at least forty, maybe even more than fifty Kobolds. That’s more than double the number of the goblin bandits."

"Furthermore, Kobolds are cruel and vicious. They are more organized than goblins, and a bit more intelligent."

"Legend has it that Kobolds possess a trace of blood from the great dragons that disappeared thousands of years ago."

Ande paused, then continued, "I’m not a Warrior, so I don’t know the exact differences between a Kobold and a goblin. But I’ve heard Mercenaries passing through Redstone Town say that one adult goblin can’t beat a single adult Kobold. It takes two goblins to win against one Kobold."

"There were about twenty-odd goblins in the Dark Forest, and they were already formidable enough to blockade the Dark Path and prevent travelers from leaving."

"The Kobolds in the mine number twice that of the goblin bandits, and each one is stronger than a goblin. They even have a leader who can use Magic. By my calculations... oh, no, my mind can’t perform such a precise calculation, and my knowledge doesn’t allow for it. In short,"

"Respected Sir, I truly have no intention of offending you. Your strength is plain for all to see."

"But even for you, being just one person, it is absolutely impossible to help us reclaim Redstone Town’s mine."

"It’s an impossible task!"

Having said so much, Ande looked as though he had exhausted every word he’d ever known. His expression was one of utter, draining exhaustion.

Fang Zhen listened, raising an eyebrow slightly.

"Dragons? Great dragons?" Fang Zhen understood that word.

’This world actually has great dragons?’

’Or at least, it ’had’ them at some point?’

Fang Zhen’s interest was suddenly piqued.

’But from the looks of it, Ande doesn’t seem to know much. I probably won’t get any more information out of him.’

’Maybe it’s just world-building lore. This is just a Nameless World, after all. Having magical units is understandable, but great dragons? That’s a bit over the top.’

’In any case, if a great dragon were to actually appear, the world setting would have to be at least Hero-level, or even Legend-level. A creature like a dragon would count as a legendary being no matter what. It’s not something that would appear in a regular dungeon in a Nameless World. It’s not a threat to me.’

Fang Zhen thought.

He wasn’t afraid in the slightest. He just found it interesting, and his desire to explore the world of this "dungeon life game" grew stronger.

Fang Zhen looked at Ande.

’Ande is still easy to read.’

Although Ande was the Town Mayor, a person of power and high status in Redstone Town, he was ultimately just a mayor in a world with medieval-level productivity. Fang Zhen, a man from the modern era, was exposed to more people and information in a single day than Ande was in a year, or even a decade. Because of this, he could easily see through Ande’s state of mind.

Ande genuinely respected Fang Zhen, but he didn’t quite believe that Fang Zhen could help him—or rather, help Redstone Town—retake the mine.

It was a simple calculation of strength. Even if Ande wasn’t good at math, his intuition told him that in a comparison of power, Fang Zhen did not have the advantage against the Dogman Tribe.

But Fang Zhen had other ideas.

’Based on my previous combat assessment of the goblins’ fighting strength, let’s use one goblin as a single combat unit. According to Ande, an adult Kobold is stronger than 1 Gob but weaker than 2 Gobs. Let’s call it 1.5 Gobs.’

’My previous base combat power was somewhere between 7 and 11 Gobs. Now that I’ve equipped the Dragon Gallbladder Two-in-One Bow and solidified my abilities, my combat power has increased dramatically. Let’s see... I’d estimate it’s between 15 and 20 Gobs now.’

’Of course, this is just a rough estimate based on my experience and intuition. The actual results in a fight might differ.’

Fang Zhen was well aware that this method of calculating combat power was a bit like running a benchmark on computer hardware.

A computer that scores 1.2 million on a benchmark might not necessarily provide a better user experience than one that scores 1.1 million, but it’s almost certainly better than one scoring 150,000. When other information is lacking, a combat power estimate can still be a valid basis for making decisions.

’Following this line of thought, as long as I use various strategies and tactics inside the Kobold caves and keep the number of Kobolds in each fight under ten, I have a good chance of clearing out the entire mine.’

’After all, I don’t have to take them all on at once. I can just divide and conquer.’

With his plan clear in his mind, Fang Zhen spoke with renewed confidence.

"Mayor Ande, whether or not I can take back the mine is my business. You don’t need to concern yourself with my strength or how I’m going to do it."

"You just need to tell me: if I accomplish this, what price are you prepared to pay as a reward?" Fang Zhen asked.

"Ah, well..." Ande seemed to be swayed by Fang Zhen’s confidence. Even though he still didn’t quite believe Fang Zhen could retake the mine, he didn’t dare say so aloud.

"Let me give you a hint. This can’t be the first time Redstone Town has faced a threat from monsters. When you were threatened in the past, who did you hire to handle it, and what was their price?" Fang Zhen asked.

"Oh, that makes it clear," Ande said, now on familiar ground. "Redstone Town is a semi-independent town within the Baron Ashton Territory. In the past, when we encountered Kobolds or goblin bandits, we would request that Baron Ashton dispatch soldiers and Knights to deal with them."

"However, for some time now, Baron Ashton’s territory has been at war with Viscount Montagu’s. Redstone Town can no longer count on the Baron’s support, and we don’t know the outcome of the war."

"By custom, requesting Baron Ashton to send Knights and soldiers would cost the equivalent of at least thirty Gold Ropes. We would also have to pay compensation for any casualties. It’s incredibly expensive, so we would never ask the Baron to send troops unless absolutely necessary. To put it in perspective, the total annual tax revenue of Redstone Town is only about forty-five Gold Ropes."

"Right now, all the town has left from its tax revenue is about three Gold Ropes. We can’t afford that price."

Ande said, his voice filled with gloom.