After settling the follow-up details with Noel, Roland did not immediately leave the Blacksmith Guild. Instead, he returned to his own workshop.

Although he now had a lead on mithril, Noel had made it clear that avoiding the eyes and ears of the Dwarven royal family and transporting those mithril fragments to the River Kingdoms would not be easy. The exact timing was even harder to predict.

Roland naturally could not allow that uncertainty to slow his progress.

Before setting out to clear out the pirates, he most likely would not be able to obtain that mithril.

However, Roland did not feel especially frustrated.

For one thing, his original plan had been to imprint elements onto ordinary iron tools and create a batch of single-use enchanted weapons.

The appearance of a mithril channel could only be counted as an unexpected delight.

For another...

Roland did not know the mithril smelting craft the Dwarves strictly forbade from being passed to outsiders.

Although his relationship with Master Griffin was decent, he could not be certain whether the Dwarven master knew that art, much less whether Griffin would be willing to teach it without reservation.

So Roland did not dwell too much on mithril. Instead, he focused on carrying out his established plan.

In the blink of an eye, more than ten days passed.

In the courtyard Colin had gifted him, Roland and Teresa stood facing each other several steps apart.

Galvez and Bronson stood to the side watching the match.

The bard looked relaxed, while the scholar nervously rubbed the hem of his clothes again and again.

"I am ready."

Roland lightly pressed his right hand to the sword hilt at his waist, his gaze locked on the silver-haired woman opposite him.

"Teresa, don't hold back. Attack with everything you have."

"This... very well, Mr. Roland."

Teresa was still somewhat hesitant, but seeing the unquestionable look in Roland's eyes, she could only nod helplessly.

Ring!

A clear sword cry rang out. The rapier at her waist, personally forged by Roland, instantly left its sheath, reflecting a dazzling cold light beneath the sun.

In the next instant, the sound of air being torn open rose sharply. Teresa's slender figure swept like a phantom to less than half a step in front of Roland.

"So fast!"

Astonishment stirred in Roland's eyes.

In his vision, the afterimage Teresa had left in place had not even dissipated yet.

Compared with when they had fought the Bugbear, her speed had actually risen another level.

Even Roland, at this moment, was slightly inferior to Teresa in pure speed.

As that thought crossed his mind, the cold sword tip had already closed in before his eyes.

But Roland did not draw his sword.

His Spirit attribute, now as high as eighteen points, allowed him to control mental power as naturally as moving his own arm.

With a slight thought, his extended mental power touched the ring set with a cloudy crystal on his finger.

Then...

Hum!

A resonance like the tolling of an ancient bell abruptly shook through the courtyard.

At the instant the sound erupted, a transparent, ripple-like light film expanded at a speed difficult for the naked eye to discern, instantly covering Roland's entire body.

Hiss!

Teresa's sword tip, swift as lightning, stabbed fiercely into the light film, producing a sharp, piercing friction sound.

Time seemed to freeze.

The surface of the light film only rippled with a few faint waves. It did not budge, steady as a mountain.

As for Teresa...

No matter how she exerted force, even as the bones throughout her body gave faint cracking sounds from the extreme strain, the sharp sword tip could not advance even a fraction farther.

It was firmly blocked by that seemingly thin and powerless light film, only several inches from Roland's eyes.

"All right, Teresa..."

Looking at the beautiful face before him, slightly flushed from exertion, Roland said softly, "Thank you for your help."

"Hah..."

Before his words had fully fallen, the silver-haired woman had already retreated and returned the finely crafted rapier to its sheath. Looking at the seemingly undamaged membrane before her, disbelief filled her eyes.

"So this is a first-circle spell... [Shield]?"

After softly sighing in admiration, Teresa looked at her slightly aching wrist and gently shook her head.

"Back then, Roland... actually shattered a defensive spell of this level with his own strength?"

Remembering the scene of the young man before her fiercely battling the Bugbear, the silver-haired woman suddenly tightened her grip around her sword hilt. Unwillingness appeared in her eyes.

But because she had lowered her head slightly and her silver hair covered her face, Roland did not see her expression clearly.

With a thought, [Shield] quietly withdrew. The corner of Roland's mouth lifted slightly, and he looked toward Bronson, who was standing uneasily to the side.

"Mr. Bronson, your knowledge... is truly astonishing."

This praise was not mere courtesy. It was Roland's genuine thought.

After all, just over a month ago, the scholar before him had only proposed an idea and a hypothesis.

Yet after only a single month, Bronson had turned that idea into reality, successfully injecting mana into a magical item that could no longer be used and bringing it back to life.

"As long as it works... as long as it works..."

Bronson stepped forward and examined Roland carefully. Only after confirming that Roland was completely unharmed did he let out a long breath and speak.

"However, the quality of this ring is ultimately too poor, so it can be used at most three times in a row each time. After that, it needs a full day to recharge..."

At this point, regret appeared in Bronson's eyes.

Clearly, he was not particularly satisfied with the result of his own research.

"Three times is enough, Mr. Bronson."

Seeing him like this, Roland lightly patted his shoulder.

"In an intense battle, one use of [Shield] is enough to reverse the situation."

Hearing these comforting words, Bronson nodded lightly. Then he took from his coat the pendant that was also a magical item, engraved with the fourth-circle spell [Death Ward].

"Since the spell inside this ring can operate normally, this pendant should not be a problem either. However..."

At this point, Bronson frowned slightly.

"Unlike the way this ring is used, according to my observations, using the [Death Ward] inside this pendant does not seem to require mental power to activate."

"When it encounters an instant-death effect, it will immediately select the creature nearest to it and activate. You need to pay close attention to that."

"I understand, Mr. Bronson."

After hearing this reminder, Roland laughed softly, accepted the pendant, and hung it directly around his neck.

The teardrop-shaped obsidian carried flowing faint light across its surface beneath the sunlight.

"Roland..."

Just as Roland was about to say more, a weak voice came from beside him.

Looking toward the sound, he saw Galvez sprawled over the tabletop, speaking helplessly.

"This time, the preparations are complete, right? We..."

Aside from Roland himself, the one most eager to exterminate the pirates was the bard before him.

As early as when Roland first proposed this goal, Galvez had rubbed his hands together and begun conceiving the story he would write.

But in the blink of an eye, half a month had passed.

His creative passion was almost exhausted.

Thinking of the preparations Roland had made during this period, and that almost outrageous level of detail, the bard sighed.

"When can we set out?"

Ignoring Galvez's somewhat complaining tone, Roland walked to Teresa's side. As he took her swollen red wrist and examined it carefully, he answered, "We will wait until the sailors Hobby sent bring back news. However..."

At this point, after confirming that Teresa's wrist injury was not serious, he said softly, "It is only a light sprain. Later, gently apply the potion I refined to it."

After giving a few more simple instructions, Roland finally turned back and continued, "Calculating the time, those sailors should be returning soon as well."

As soon as his words fell, light footsteps came from outside the courtyard.

"Mr. Roland!"

Before the courtyard gate even opened, a slightly young voice had already clearly entered everyone's ears.

Before the words finished, Hobby's figure appeared in the courtyard.

He first bowed slightly to everyone present, then quickly walked to Roland, his face brimming with an excited smile.

"All the supplies have been fully prepared!"

Although he had followed his elder brother on ocean trade voyages many times before, this was the young Halfling's first time engaging in naval combat aimed at exterminating pirates.

"The sailors also brought detailed intelligence..."

As he spoke, Hobby concisely relayed the sailors' information.

"It seems there isn't much difference from the information you and Teresa provided before."

After listening, Roland raised an eyebrow slightly.

"However... those pirates aren't entrenched inside Wailing Gorge, but have appeared on the open sea again?"

This was good news for Roland.

Although he had already mastered detailed terrain and intelligence on Wailing Gorge, fighting in such narrow waters would still make accidents difficult to avoid.

By comparison, encountering pirates on the broad sea was more in line with his expectations.

Thinking this, Roland clapped his hands.

Clap, clap, clap!

The crisp applause immediately drew everyone's gaze.

"All right, since everything is ready..."

Roland paused.

"Teresa, Galvez, bring your belongings and follow Hobby aboard first. I still have some matters to handle. I will arrive shortly."

"Of course, Mr. Roland."

"Haha! No problem, Roland!"

Compared with the calm Teresa, Galvez impatiently grabbed the harp at hand and answered with visible excitement.

Before long, only Roland and Bronson remained in the originally lively courtyard.

At this moment, the scholar was rubbing his fingers, his gaze distant. Clearly, he had sunk into his research ideas again.

Seeing this, Roland sighed helplessly and lightly patted his shoulder.

"Mr. Bronson?"

This call brought the scholar back to himself. He smiled somewhat embarrassedly.

"Sorry, Roland. Just now, I..."

"I understand."

Roland nodded understandingly, then carefully reminded him as usual.

Eat on time, rest on time, do not overwork, feel free to use the money in the card, and so on.

Only after finishing these reminders did he take the red squirrel, who was boredly scratching its belly, from the leather pouch at his waist.

"Mr. Bronson, during this period, I will have to trouble you to temporarily look after Joe for me. As for you, Joe..."

With the help of the [Animal Friend] trait, Roland rubbed his little companion's furry head and said, "Stay obediently at home, and don't cause trouble for Mr. Bronson. Understood?"

"Don't worry, Roland!"

The red squirrel stood in Roland's palm and patted its furry chest with a tiny paw.

However, its personified manner did not draw Bronson's attention. The scholar had already fallen back into thought.

After arranging everything, Roland shouldered the pack he had prepared long ago and walked straight outside.

But he did not head directly to the harbor. Instead, he first made a turn toward the Adventurer's Guild.

According to Hobby, there were at least a hundred pirates hiding in Wailing Gorge.

For a band of thieves entrenched along an important sea route, there should reasonably be a commission in the guild to exterminate them.

Roland did not care about the gold reward.

What he cared more about was whether exterminating this group of bandits would bring some special reward.

Just like the special reward that woman named Lilith had offered for the commission to eliminate the Wolf King.

Even if it was not a "self-selected" reward, obtaining a Combat Technique as payment would also be excellent.

Unfortunately, perhaps because this pirate gang had not recently plundered merchant ships on a large scale or caused much trouble, the commission to eliminate them was rated only ordinary.

As for the reward, it was merely gold coins.

Seeing this, Roland sighed helplessly, still accepted the commission, and turned toward the harbor.

He did not lack money at the moment, but exterminating these pirates was already settled.

There was naturally no reason to refuse this payment, which amounted to extra income.

Seeing Roland step onto the deck, Hobby, who had long been ready, immediately began issuing orders.

Before long, accompanied by the sailors' powerful shouts, the Seabird left the harbor and entered the embrace of the vast sea.

Feeling the deck rocking beneath his feet, far less solid than land, Roland carefully inspected the ship. After confirming that every preparation was complete, he turned and walked toward his cabin.

After putting down his belongings, he came to Teresa's side, where she leaned against the bulwark and gazed into the distance.

"How is the situation, Teresa..."

Roland looked around. After confirming no one was paying attention to them, he lowered his voice and asked, "Did you discover anything unusual among the sailors on this ship?"

In Trevor's understated account of the incident at Wailing Gorge, he had mentioned an unnamed monster, and it had remained in Roland's mind.

Therefore, before setting out to sea to suppress the bandits, he had specifically asked Teresa to use the great power bestowed by her deity to carefully investigate whether anything was abnormal among the Seabird's sailors.

This was also why he had not brought Teresa to the Adventurer's Guild just now, instead having her board first.

"Mr. Roland, please rest assured..."

Hearing him, Teresa turned her head. Her silver hair swayed gently behind her in the sea breeze like a flowing silver chain.

"None of the sailors on this ship have any problems. Among them, there are even several..."

Her gaze shifted not far away.

There, several sailors with physical disabilities were earnestly cleaning the deck and organizing miscellaneous items.

"With quite noble character."

"That is good. Thank you, Teresa."

Hearing this, Roland let out a breath of relief, but he did not lower his guard.

In Trevor's description, it was difficult to determine when that monster had appeared.

It might have been hiding on the ship all along, or it might have quietly infiltrated at some harbor where they docked. It could even...

Roland's gaze turned toward the boundless sea.

Ever since witnessing the terrifying Kraken at Far Harbor, and being attacked by Sahuagin on the journey there, he deeply understood that unknown dangers were surely hidden beneath this seemingly calm ocean.

Therefore, it was not impossible for that monster to infiltrate the ship during the voyage.

Thinking of this, Roland once again instructed Teresa to keep watch over the sailors' condition at all times.

After finishing his instructions, he breathed out softly and asked, "By the way, Teresa, you still haven't told me. How did you discover that monster? Was it also... by relying on the great power bestowed by your deity?"

"That is correct."

Teresa answered softly.

"So... from them, you saw a past different from ordinary people?"

"No..."

Teresa shook her head. Her fine brows furrowed slightly while she weighed her words.

"That monster... had no past. I only..."

She took a deep breath, trying to calm the unease rising inside her.

"Saw on it endless, untainted... pure malice."