Desorock Highland.
After leaving the Rearguard Base, the duo felt somewhat heavy-hearted, and neither spoke first.
Jinzhou—on one side the Threnodian battlefield, on the other the people of Huanglong.
As a city on the edge of Huanglong's defense line, just how much pressure was Jinzhou under?
To put it this way—Jinhsi, Changli, Zhezhi, Jianxin, Lingyang, Yinlin, Jiyan, Verina... all these 5-star characters in Jinzhou combined couldn't even make one pair of parents.
If even the 5-star characters were like this, the background characters would only be worse. Online, people even jokingly called Jinzhou the Jinzhou Orphanage.
Noah shook his head fiercely, banishing some hellish stray thoughts from his mind, and cheered himself up.
The past couldn't be changed, but the future held great possibilities.
At worst, once he found Rover and teamed up with Rover—two powerhouses together taking on the Threnodians—wouldn't that be a sure win?
As long as the Threnodians were dealt with, wouldn't the world be happy for everyone?
Defeating the Threnodians starts with collecting Echoes.
Following the daily task's guidance on the map, the duo went straight ahead until...
"It's the great hero!"
The front-line soldiers came forward in surprise to receive him:
"May I ask if you're here to help fight the Tacet Discord wave on the front lines?"
Noah looked at the massive waves of Tacet Discords in the distance, then at the daily task location on his panel map overlapping with his current coordinates.
Instantly, he was stunned.
[Daily Task: "Fierce Tacet Discords"]
[Task Description: Please eliminate three Elite Class Tacet Discords that have appeared in Desorock Highland; the corresponding locations are marked on the map in real-time (arrived).]
[Completing the task rewards: Astrite *800, Shell Credits *10000.]
With so many Tacet Discords, how was he supposed to know which three the task wanted? He couldn't just fight them all.
No, no—better forget it. Daily tasks refresh every day anyway. If he really stayed here, he probably wouldn't be able to leave for a while.
Looking at the excited, admiring gazes of the front-line soldiers, the words of refusal came out of Noah's mouth:
"Yes, exactly!"
Holy crap, stubborn mouth—what are you showing off for!
As soon as the words left his mouth, Noah regretted it.
The daily task reward was only 800 Astrite. Staying here long would probably mean not making it back to Jinzhou in time for the snow leopard's companion task.
The daily was just 5 pulls, while the snow leopard companion gave a full 20+5 pulls—even calculating with his butt, he could tell which was better.
Having made up his mind, Noah decided to tactfully take back his previous words:
"I'm very strong—assign me to the most dangerous position on the front lines."
"Awesome! Worthy of being Jinzhou's hero. On behalf of all Midnight Rangers soldiers, thank you for your help!"
The soldier's expression became extremely fervent, immediately reporting the matter to his superiors.
Soon, an officer-like person eagerly invited Noah to a safe vantage point high up and handed him a machine gun:
"We're already grateful that you've come to the front lines, but the front is fraught with danger—we can't let you take risks."
"So..."
Noah held the machine gun with both hands, his face full of black person question marks:
"You're having a Resonator like me stand in a regular soldier's position for ranged attacks?"
Seeing Noah's faint dissatisfaction, the officer's expression immediately turned tense, and he hurriedly explained:
"Please don't misunderstand—this is for your safety."
"You're insulting me!"
Throwing the heavy machine gun back into the officer's arms, Noah's face turned cold. He raised his hand and pointed down at the nearby soldiers fighting with blades.
There, a group of powerful Tacet Discords had charged through the hail of bullets, reaching close to the camp, where they were being fully intercepted by a small team of Resonators.
"Why can they go to the battlefield, but I can't? We're all people—is my life more precious than theirs?"
Hearing Noah's words, the officer felt his cheeks burning hot, shame welling up inside.
"Great hero, I was just..."
"Stop!"
Noah reached out, straightening the officer's somewhat disheveled uniform, and spoke softly:
"On the battlefield, everyone is a hero. Your subordinates entrust their lives to you—you must find a way to win the battle while bringing them back whole."
He patted the officer's shoulder:
"Understood? Hero comrade."
"Yes!" The officer stood straight at attention, giving a standard Midnight Rangers salute, his tiger-like eyes turning red.
Noah single-handedly lifted the Commando of Conviction, lightly thumping his chest twice with his right fist, then pointing at the officer with an encouraging look.
He leaped down from the high point, drawing his blade toward the nearest battlefield, charging at the powerful Tacet Discords breaking through the hail of bullets.
"I'll help you!"
A female voice followed closely—it was Yangyang.
The two figures coordinated tacitly, taking down an Elite Class Tacet Discord in just one encounter.
Why choose to do this daily task instead of leaving the companion story undone?
Noah himself hadn't fully figured it out, or perhaps some things didn't need to be overthought.
He was just following his heart, making the choice he leaned toward.
He had originally planned to turn and leave, but when he saw the bloodshot, exhausted eyes of the soldiers, saw their uniforms soaked in sweat and blood, saw their full expectation and joy.
The words of refusal instantly stuck in his throat, unable to come out no matter what.
Not every choice is correct, but every choice deserves to be taken seriously.
Oh well—stay then. It's just fighting Tacet Discords anyway—his old profession.
A black gourd was thrown out, collecting the newly dropped Elite Class Echo. Looking at its double crit substats, Noah smiled in relief.
This choice wasn't bad either, right?
[Daily Task: "Fierce Tacet Discords" (Completed 1/3)]
Time passed bit by bit.
On the other side, Jinzhou.
"After analyzing various factors, Jinzhou City's peace is indeed genuine with no deception."
"Even the Magistrate of Jinzhou City personally visited the families of victims from the previous disaster today."
A tall figure sighed faintly in a corner of Jinzhou:
"It seems this commission can only be abandoned. Truly a wasted trip."
Having made up his mind, Calcharo shook his head slightly, deciding to leave Jinzhou.
Suddenly, he paused, his icy gaze fixing on a theater in the distance.
"This frequency... is a beast—a snow leopard?"
Inside the theater, two children were surrounding a white-haired boy with leopard ears. The little girl timidly asked:
"Um... do you really have... such powerful claws?"
"Sharp and long—able to tear monsters apart in one swipe."
Hearing this, Lingyang's gray-blue eyes flickered slightly, his lips curving upward:
"You really want to know?"
"Yes, yes—show us!"
"Then I'll let you see!"
The snow leopard curled his fingers, making a fierce tiger roar pose:
"Rawr!"
From afar, Calcharo narrowed his eyes slightly, repeatedly sensing the frequency he felt from Lingyang.
As the leader of the top mercenary organization "Ghost Hounds," he was well-experienced. Even rare beast Resonators—he had fought them multiple times.
However, beast Resonators often became extremely destructive due to inability to control their desires, leading to ruin.
"No mistake—this frequency is indeed a beast Resonator. A snow leopard this human-like is truly a first."
Calcharo stroked his chin, brows furrowed.
Could this snow leopard threaten Jinzhou's peace?
Logically, as a mercenary, he shouldn't interfere in matters outside the commission, but that half deposit was actually quite a lot—taking it for nothing felt a bit embarrassing...
As he pondered, the snow leopard actually walked toward him:
"Your scent is unfamiliar and powerful, but not evil. You must be the hero who saved Jinzhou! I'm Lingyang—nice to meet you!"
Lingyang looked up, revealing an innocent and energetic face, while extending his hand:
"Shake hands, and we'll be good friends!"