Chapter 90: Chapter 89: Convergence
The three immediately looked in that direction, only to see darkness inside.
But Rein, with his Dark Vision, could already see two tall black figures flashing by at the end of the alley, each carrying a large sack that seemed to wriggle, about half the height of a person.
"That's Quinn's patrol area, Captain, do we go have a look?" Matteo clearly sensed something amiss.
"There are two people, each carrying a big sack." Rein said gravely, his mind already racing with unpleasant possibilities.
Weilun and Matteo couldn't help but look at Rein in astonishment, as if to say, can you really see all that clearly?
"Let's go! Follow them." Weilun decided to pursue after a moment's thought.
Guided by 'Cookie,' the three quickly chased after them.
It seemed that the two figures ahead realized they were being hotly pursued by a dog and three men, and in their panic, they suddenly threw down the large sacks they were carrying and fled with even greater speed.
Just as Rein was about to take the lead in the chase, suddenly, an orange flare shot through the air, originating from the northwest corner above Rein and his companions.
"It's our distress signal."
"We need to get there right away," Weilun said solemnly upon seeing it.
"Boss, it's children!" Matteo had already opened the two large sacks discarded on the ground.
Inside each sack was a child with a gagged mouth and bound hands and feet. Upon seeing the Night Watchman in black leather armor, both children started struggling 'mmph mmph' against their restraints.
"Matteo, you stay here and look after the kids."
"Rein and I will immediately go over there, be careful on your own!" Weilun instantly assigned their duties.
"Alright, Boss! You go ahead, I'll be careful," Matteo said while untying the children.
Rein glanced at the two traffickers who had vanished from sight, knowing that this was not the right moment to chase them.
After all, rescuing comrades was more important.
However, when Weilun and Rein arrived at the northwest corner of the town, they found that the crisis had been averted.
The Night Watchman of that area had also encountered traffickers, but this time, the opponents appeared to be strong, managing to break through and calmly leave despite the encirclement of three Night Watchmen.
Additionally, one of the Night Watchmen was stabbed in the right arm during the attempt to stop them.
Although the foes had fled, Rein still had an uneasy feeling that something was not quite right. The group selling children had been too brazen and frequent recently!
This, naturally, infuriated the Flashgold Town security officer Hamilton, who immediately strengthened the night staffing in Flashgold Town.
However...
Since that day, for three consecutive evenings, the area of Rein's night patrol had been peaceful.
It seemed that the swagger of the traffickers had been effectively curbed.
Meanwhile, Rein gradually became familiar with the duties of the Night Watchman.
The Night Watchman of Flashgold Town mainly handled the town's nightly security, fire emergencies, wild beast disturbances, and signaling major dangers, while during the day, this work fell to the town guards.
As the daytime is generally safer than the night, Night Watchmen typically possess combat capabilities one notch higher than town guards.
Of course, the compensation was also better.
A regular Night Watchman's monthly salary reached 8 imperial silver coins, while an elite like Rein received 1 imperial Gold Coin.
In addition, based on the team captain's arrangement, there would be 1-2 days of rest each week.
Not sleeping for a whole night wasn't actually tiring for Rein, who practiced a breathing method for cultivation.
As long as he went back and slept a little, once he awoke again, Rein would be in a spirited and vigorous state.
And he could use the remaining time of the day for other activities, such as practicing the breathing method in his room, improving his horseback riding at John's Farm, or going to the training ground to practice swordsmanship and archery, and so on.
Furthermore, Rein gathered from Captain Weilun through indirect inquiries about something.
The Empire had strict restrictions on commoners learning breathing methods and Extraordinary sword techniques, which was evident from the need to exchange a large amount of Merit Points.
But for the nobility, it was very 'tolerant.'
Nobles could teach their followers breathing methods and Extraordinary sword techniques!
This explained why so many commoners were desperate to become servants or guards of the nobility.
This system had been in place for a long time and had received widespread approval from nobles of all ranks.
On the other hand, it was incredibly difficult for commoners to advance on their own.
Rein briefly assessed the obstacles a commoner would have to overcome to become a Transcendent.
First, one needed to join an official Imperial organization, accumulate enough Merit Points over time, and learn breathing methods and Extraordinary Combat Skills.
Then, continue to collect Merit Points to exchange for an 'Advancement Magic Potion.' If one was lucky enough to become a Transcendent, after being officially acknowledged by the Empire, they could become the lowest level of nobility—a non-hereditary knight.
The only disappointment over the last few days was that Hamilton, as the security officer of Flashgold Town, was incredibly busy.
Rein had planned to ask him for lessons in swordsmanship, along with a chance to farm some 'Experience,' but had not found the right opportunity.
Over three days, Rein's most progressed profession, the costly Dog Trainer, had astonishingly reached lv2 (223/300).
Part of this was because Rein took 'Cookie' for night patrols, which the system recognized as 'walking the dog.'
Rein had calculated before that approximately every fifteen minutes of 'walking the dog,' the Dog Trainer's Profession Level experience would increase by one point.