Without hesitation, they walked forward, preparing to enter the town, only for them to be stopped by the guards standing at the gate.

"Entrance fees," one of the guards demanded coldly, his expression showing no room for argument.

Hmm?

Surprised, Celene looked at the cold expression on the guard’s face and questioned him carefully.

"How much is the entrance fee?" she asked, narrowing her eyes slightly.

"Fifty Copper Coins. Each," the guard replied with a flat and emotionless tone.

"What!" Cyras exclaimed with wide eyes. "Why do you not just rob us?" He rolled his eyes in disbelief.

However, the guard did not even bat an eye at him, as if he had heard such complaints countless times before.

"Pay or leave," he said, his voice laced with finality and impatience.

Celene was furious. When was the last time she had been treated like this? With her current strength, most towns did not dare ask for an entrance fee from her.

Yet, in this weak town, she had been asked for such a high fee. She gritted her teeth and took a deep breath, forcing down the anger rising inside her chest.

For the sake of completing the mission, she controlled her rage and fetched fifty copper coins from her inventory.

With her making the payment, Cyras and Garric could only grit their teeth and pay their entrance fees as well.

Earning money in the Crimson Dunes was not easy. Each coin was like a death struggle, paid for with blood, sweat, and desperate hunting. And now, they had to pay such huge money just to enter a town.

In the whole Crimson Dunes, they thought only the Scorpion Town should dare ask for such a high entrance fee, but now...

A mere Mantis Town was demanding it, and the guards did not even look afraid.

Entering the town, the three had ugly expressions on their faces. Their rage boiled as they walked on the street, each step carrying their dissatisfaction.

However, their expressions began to change. Even though the buildings were no different from what they expected, the people left them confused and slightly speechless.

Most of them were dressed in clean clothes. The exhausted expressions they expected to see on the human faces were not seen at all.

Also, they noticed the harmony between the humans and the Mantis men was different from other towns, where suspicion and distance usually existed. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

The two species communicated in jumbled human language and hand gestures. It was comical but harmonious, strangely warm, and almost difficult to believe.

The hostile and tense atmosphere they expected between species could not be found anywhere around them.

"T This... How is this possible?" Cyras asked in a low voice, unable to hide the disbelief in his tone.

Celene could not wrap her head around it either. She watched the scene for a moment before she recovered her composure.

"Let us find a tavern," she said under her breath. Now, she was genuinely curious about what was going on in Mantis Town.

Quickly, the three found a bustling tavern. Humans and Mantis men drank while laughing loudly, filling the place with a lively noise that felt unfamiliar in the Crimson Dunes.

Entering the tavern, they found an empty table and took their seats. A second later, a female attendant walked to them, smiling warmly.

"What would you like to drink?" she asked with practiced politeness.

"Just give us what everyone is drinking," Celene demanded, her voice calm but still carrying a trace of impatience.

"Right away," the attendant replied before she left in large strides.

With her gone, the three perked their ears as they listened attentively to the news around them.

Most of the news was about their hunting experience and Black Water, a name that continued to appear again and again.

"What is this Black Water?" Celene asked as she creased her brow, her curiosity deepening with every passing second.

Even though she was curious, she knew her priority. Her mission was to find the Grim Reaper as soon as possible, no matter what strange changes were happening in the town.

Looking at the attendant approaching, a thought appeared in her mind.

’Perhaps I should ask her,’ she thought silently.

The attendant stopped at their table and served their drinks. She was prepared to depart when Celene stopped her.

"P please, can you tell me about someone?" Celene asked, lowering her voice slightly.

"Who might that be?" the attendant asked, looking at Celene curiously. Since they entered, she already knew they were visitors.

"Silver hair. Blue eyes," Celene said slowly. She did not want to say the Grim Reaper. That would be too far-fetched, or so she thought.

However, when the female attendant heard silver hair and blue eyes, her eyes widened for a moment before she hastily left their table.

Her heart pounded heavily against her chest, and her steps became much faster than before.

Not only her, those around their table stopped their chats and looked at them with strange expressions.

Sensing the subtle change in the atmosphere, Celene, Cyras, and Garric were confused.

’What is going on?’ Celene wondered silently, her eyes sweeping across the tavern.

They looked at each other but were unable to understand what was going on. Shaking their heads, they took their mugs and drank their wine.

Hmm?

They widened their eyes when they tasted the wine, their earlier annoyance vanishing for a brief moment.

"This is good..." Cyras commented, staring at the mug in his hand with surprise.

This was the best wine he had ever tasted in the Crimson Dunes. In a place where water and other essential supplies were almost nonexistent, such a taste should have been impossible.

Wine in taverns was nothing but trash, bitter and dry enough to make people regret spending money.

Not only him, Garric and Celene were equally stunned when they tasted the wine. It was heavenly compared to other towns, and its smoothness almost felt unreal.

Just as the trio were enjoying their wine and thinking about the strange reaction from the female attendant, the atmosphere suddenly shifted.

The door of the tavern was pushed open, and a group walked inside. They were armed from head to toe, and their expressions were solemn and intimidating.

Thud! Thud!

Silence.

No one dared to breathe too loudly.

Mugs hung in motion.

Everyone watched the new arrivals. In slow, steady steps, they walked toward Celene, Garric, and Cyras’s table.

"Follow us," one of them said coldly. It was not a request.