Chapter 132

Our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/PazjBDkTmW

Chapter 132: Setting Up the Hunting Team

Greed was not happy with what the noble said.

"I’m not just an ordinary Wildhammer," he emphasized, "that beast may kill other warriors, but not necessarily me."

"He can kill three at once," the noble said. "I don’t doubt your fighting skills, dwarf sir, but a friend of mine witnessed a fight where the Sandmar brothers from the highlands tried to gang up here. The Dark Night Baron took them down one by one in a fierce battle. Nevertheless, I admire the Wildhammer’s strength because I’ve seen those Sandmar dwarf brothers fight and defeat a pair of fierce Stranglethorn white apes together."

Greed gazed at the noble, not speaking for quite some time after hearing the story.

He wiped the rain off his face, looked at Jesse, then at the nobleman, and said, "Please ask the captain to give me a hunting rifle."

"Don’t worry, dwarf," the nobleman shook his head and said, "The captain won’t give you a gun to go down and kill that leopard."

"Is this black leopard very valuable?" Jesse asked.

"Yes," the nobleman said, "It’s a star of the Gurubashi Arena, its value is beyond measure. Do you think the captain would transport such a valuable cargo for free? He must have a high-priced transport contract with the beast’s owner, along with a high-priced guarantee. If the leopard is injured or dies, loses its ability to continue fighting, he will have to pay a hefty sum."

"So, how much is it really worth?" Greed asked curiously.

The nobleman glanced at Greed and said, "I can’t say for sure, but there must be people among the passengers who understand the value of that black leopard just like me, and the captain knows that too. It depends on how much he’s willing to offer as a reward for capturing the beast."

The movement of the ship had calmed down compared to before, the wind was howling and the rain was pouring diagonally on the deck, with the canvas on the masts making a swishing sound.

The wildest part of the storm seemed to have passed, only the low, oppressive black clouds hanging over the sea were still watching the lonely ship, as if even the sea had calmed down, curious about what these people were going to do.

The discussions among the guests gradually quieted down, the captain was discussing something with a group of goblins and a few human sailors, their sharp and urgent voices drowning out the noise from the crowd below deck.

The goblins with hunting guns were aiming at the open hatches, most of which were securely locked.

Soon, several goblins dragged out ropes, forks, and fishing nets from the other side of the ship’s hatch, followed by a tall human sailor holding a long stick.

They whispered to each other, Jesse could tell they were discussing tactics, deciding which hatch to search first. It seemed like the captain intended to send his own people to deal with the situation.

As expected, apart from a goblin holding a harpoon, these people did not have any real weapons. Even that harpoon seemed more for securing things than causing harm, Jesse doubted the two sharp points could do much damage.

"They want to capture the black panther," Jesse said.

Greed looked at the group and said, "I doubt they can handle a black panther that would give three Wildhammer warriors a hard time, let alone comparing them to regular Stranglethorn animals. Whether these people can even kill the black panther with all their efforts is uncertain, let alone capturing it."

"Human," he turned to the noble and asked, "Did your friend tell you what weapons the three dwarves used in their fight against that baron?"

"Remember, the arena needs a show," the noble replied, looking at the goblins above, "They wouldn’t give those three dwarves any beast-fighting tools, so they were simply armed with their best weapons, a hammer and an axe."

Jesse thought the same, for the nobles coming to the Gurubashi Arena for entertainment, what’s so special about using tools to capture animals? Maybe on their estates, they could watch similar shows every month or so.

Using short axes and warhammers to fight beasts up close is the real highlight, anyone watching such a show is there for the thrill of it.

Greed shook his head but didn’t say anything. After all, these gladiators care most about fame and applause, so he didn’t feel right speaking up for his fellow kin who kill for coins.

At this moment, the goblins and two humans had already set off. Even though the goblins had green skin, Jesse could see the fear in their faces, resisting desperately.

The two humans also looked serious, wearing armor that could protect them from scratches, holding various trapping tools. But these gears couldn’t hide their panic and fear.

They must know what they were dealing with, despite the Goblin Captain’s repeated denials.

After a few people went down, the deck became surprisingly silent.

The rain kept falling, accompanying the wind’s loud and soft roaring sounds. Occasionally, lightning illuminated the worried and curious expressions of the crew. The captain tightly held onto the rope, swaying with the wind, gazing into the distant darkness.

The goblins with guns aimed as best as they could into the open hatchway, ready in case the beast suddenly charged up.

Jesse knew it wouldn’t rush onto the deck; this leopard had become a star in the arena, so it must have its own battle strategy, knowing when to make a move.

Rushing onto the deck might kill more innocent people, adding some "achievements", but will definitely be quickly overwhelmed and killed by the brave passengers.

Jesse noticed that many people present were wearing various weapons, such as knives and swords, which Jesse had not seen so many deadly objects on the ship before.

It’s clear that everyone is showing off their self-defense tools now, ready to fight to the death at any moment. This is when the distinctive characteristics of the Steamwheedle Cartel passengers start to show – not many pushovers on this ship.

Everyone’s gaze is serious, fixed on the door like the barrel of a gun, and the leopard knows that coming up means certain death.

If the beast-hunting team below doesn’t have results soon, this situation might drag on until dawn, or even until we reach the port.

However, once daylight breaks, those on the deck will become the passive ones.

Under the scorching sun at sea during the day, even though it’s late November and not too hot, enduring the constant sun exposure is unbearable for everyone. Eventually, they will have to return to the leopard’s hunting ground, and no one knows how many casualties there will be by then.

The goblin who guarded the cargo hold is already dead, Senior First Officer Jazik is in grave danger. Otherwise, the captain wouldn’t come out to take charge in person. This guy didn’t show up at all in the first few days of the voyage, leading Greed to think he was still back at the port "checking out some green-skinned girl’s backside", causing them to miss the departure.

As time passes by, those who were just watching the door or listening closely to the noises below are gradually giving up. Everyone knows that the hunting team which just went down doesn’t seem to be doing well.

How many more people can the captain allow to die?

In any case, the ship will never be able to bring this uncontrolled leopard ashore.

The guards of Southshore would never allow a wild beast to rampage on the shore. Upon hearing the news, they would definitely rush into the cabin wearing heavy armor and shields to kill the beast with swords.

Jesse glanced at his pocket watch, realizing it was already past midnight.

The captain, unaware of how he had come to the high deck again, looked at the crowd, appearing to be hesitating about something.

"2 gold coins!" He suddenly thrust out two fingers and shouted, "2 gold coins to capture that darned… leopard!"

"What!?"

"I told you, it’s that black leopard!"

"2 gold coins?"

"That’s too much… 2 gold coins?"

"How much can we sell that leopard for? Can we get 2 gold coins for it?"

"Shut up, you poor thing… Look at you, so clueless, that’s the Dark Night Baron! It should be worth at least a dozen gold coins…"

The deck suddenly erupted, even Jesse couldn’t stay calm.

Since arriving at Stormwind, has anyone found even just 1 gold coin? Let alone 2!

There’s never been such a cash reward even for saving an entire castle. These goblins are really rich. Instead of saying the goblins are rich, it’s more accurate to say that those who run the arena are rich. Since the captain is willing to offer 2 gold coins to capture that leopard, it means the cost of this voyage must be more than that.

But his experiences of making money in the Kingdom of Stormwind in the past few months have taught him one thing, that the reward must be related to the danger. Don’t forget the job of hunting Orcs in Redridge, where the reward was only a dozen silver coins.

These 2 gold coins are nearly equivalent to killing five or six Hoggers.

Although not directly comparable, the idea of dealing with five or six Hoggers at once also made Jesse a bit nervous.

But as they say, with great rewards come brave souls, and two people stood up in response.

Greed couldn’t resist anymore and grabbed Jesse’s arm, asking, "Do you want to go in and give it a try?"

"I don’t want to fight against a gladiator star, Greed," Jesse said. "Think about it, half of the people on the ship know him, maybe some have even seen his fights. Would you fight against a boxer who has won awards in your area?"

Greed chuckled and said, "I’ve won awards myself! Don’t forget how I dealt with Trollbane at the Pig and Whistle Tavern! This so-called baron is just a beast, even if he’s famous! And if he’s so powerful, why isn’t he called the Black Night Count, Black Night Duke, or Black Night King? I don’t believe it… as long as I have tools!"

"Look at those few people who went down earlier," Jesse asked. "They are all armed, why haven’t they come up yet?"

"Just a few sailors, I’ve been a hunter," Greed said. "Those goblins might know more about sailing than me, but they definitely don’t know more about handling animals like I do. And look at these helpers who have come forward, each one seems more eager for money than the last! They look like bounty hunters, four experienced hunters attacking a wild beast together, isn’t that easy money? That Dark Night Baron may be a gladiator indeed, but this is not an arena!"

"This place is much worse than an arena," Jesse recalled the scene of searching through the blood stains in the cabin earlier and said, "Have you forgotten what the wealthy man said earlier? If we go, we have to wait for daylight, Greed. The cabin needs to be well lit, isn’t it unpleasant to go down now?"

"That’s true."

In his anxiety, Greed couldn’t do anything but sit by Jesse’s side, holding his arm, and keeping a close eye on the two people without moving.

Two people weren’t enough to catch the black panther. The Goblin Captain shouted and took out a gold coin from his pocket, then yelled loudly, "Three people! Anyone else! I’ll pay three gold coins!"

"Three people?" Greed raised his eyebrows.

Another woman raised her hand to join the hunting team, and now he couldn’t sit still.

"Three gold coins, Jesse, what if these people take the money and leave, there’s also a woman."

Jesse said, "We weren’t planning to earn this money anyway. Let them take it, isn’t that better? Let’s safely get through this crisis, have the ship arrive safely at the other side, that’s perfect."

"It’s different now." Greed stared at the gold coin the goblin was holding and said, "Now there’s money out there, three gold coins. If I don’t figure out a way to fight for it… it’s a loss! Jesse, can’t five experienced hunters deal with a wild beast? Look at that woman, as strong as a bear, I reckon she could punch me to death!"

Jesse looked at Greed’s frustrated look, then glanced at the three people already gathering nearby. They did seem capable, just as Greed mentioned. Taking ropes, nets, spears, and other tools from the Goblin Sailor, they looked pretty professional.

He glanced at the shiny gold coin again.

"Ah, whatever. I’ve done silly things before anyway, let’s go!"

"Ha! If you had said that earlier, it would have been done!" The dwarf ran out excitedly and asked loudly, "If 5 people go, and there are 3 coins, how should we share them?"

"There are plenty of silver coins on the ship, brothers of Aerie Peak," said the Goblin Captain in a much calmer tone. "At the current price of gold coins, each person would get eighty silver coins if the deal goes through. How about you three, are you willing?"

The three people looked at each other, exchanged a few words, nodded in agreement. It seemed like none of them were willing to risk their lives for a bit more money. They were probably just looking to earn some extra cash and make the journey safer with more help.

"I need a shield," Greed asked. "Do we have shields on the ship?"

"Of course," the captain called for a goblin to bring a shield with the Lordaeron emblem, which seemed to be in perfect condition, not even a scratch on the surface.

After Greed took the shield, the tip was almost touching the ground, clearly not fitting his height well.

"It’s better than nothing," he said, then took a stick and looked at the crowd, asking loudly, "Is anyone else coming? If not, we’ll be heading down."

The others did not object, and the team of 5 for the hunting expedition was formed on the spot.