The Hero Turned Into A Potato And The World Fell To Ruin

Nox stood in the square proudly. Behind him lay a massive black winged dragon as well as several huge lizards.

From the appearances of Nox and his party, it was clear that this hunt had gone quite smoothly. Although their clothes were slightly torn, none of them seemed injured.

However, differing from the triumphant reactions of those around, the guild staff wore grim expressions. All the lizards were Gnarled Lizards.

Moreover, the Blackhorn Sky Wyvern's habitat wasn't supposed to overlap with that of the Gnarled Lizards.

Once might be a coincidence, but this was the second time. And even more of these creatures had been brought back this time around.

During this period, there had also been other reports of Gnarled Lizard sightings.

To put it simply, the situation had escalated beyond what the guild staff could handle. They processed the Blackhorn Sky Dragon job as per protocol, but decided to report the lizards to their superiors.

As for handling these lizards, the staff gave Nox the same options they had given Yaine—either try to find a buyer or sell them at the reduced price for a corpse.

On learning that a live Gnarled Lizard was only worth around 200 gold Kaga, Nox decided not to bother with the hassle and sold them at the reduced rate. After all, money only matters when it's safely in one's pocket.

With a smug smile, he asked, "Hey, Yaine! How's the hunting been going these past few days?"

"Oh, not much. Just doing some small jobs and earning a bit of pocket change," Yaine replied casually, though her gaze shifted to the lizards Nox had brought back. "Where'd you catch those lizards?"

"Oh, those? We ran into them while hunting the wyvern," Nox replied, slightly puzzled. "Why, you want to roast one just like Osar does?"

"No, it's just…" Yaine glanced over at Bumigake.

The Hunt King's face was grim, his eyes fixed on the lizards Nox had brought back.

Nox noticed Bumigake's presence and was surprised to see him with Yaine. But more importantly, he sensed something off with the vibe all around. The slight unease on the guild staff's faces had already made him suspicious, and now seeing Bumigake's reaction…

"Hmm…" Nox cast a glance at the lizards and asked, "Hunt King, do these lizards mean something?"

"Yes." Bumigake sighed. "It signifies something terrible." He turned around abruptly and said, "I need to see the guild master. I'd advise you all to stay within the city walls for now. And if you have time, stop by the guild often. There may be more updates soon."

With that, he entered the hall and disappeared up the stairs.

Nox scratched his head in confusion, looking to Yaine for answers.

The latter just shrugged. "We should regroup and figure things out. If this gets worse, we might need to consider leaving sooner than planned."

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Schwing! Swish!

Several sword strikes flashed through the air in an instant, slicing through the rusty chains hanging from wooden poles. Each link fell to the ground, cut neatly into identical half-circles with a metallic clatter.

"Wow!"

"Incredible!"

"Awesome, brother!"

Hunters in line clapped and cheered loudly.

Mervant sheathed his sword and smiled sheepishly. He hadn't meant to show off—he just couldn't resist testing out his new blade.

And after trying it, Mervant felt the difference. The new sword fit him like a glove, far more responsive than his previous blade, Dark Judgment. While wielding Dark Judgment, Mervant always felt as though the sword was a beat behind his intentions. Sometimes, it even felt like the blade resisted him, refusing to follow his will.

That was because Dark Judgment, the proud dragon-forged sword, didn't yet acknowledge him.

But his new sword had no such issues. It felt as though his movements and the blade's were one and the same, allowing him to swing it with perfect precision. The blacksmith who sold it to him called it Blazing Hound. In a way, Blazing Hound and Dark Judgment were opposites—while Dark Judgment was selective and demanded the best from its wielder, Blazing Hound was like a loyal dog, devoted entirely to its master.

At least for now, I'll wield you,Mervant thought as he glanced at the two swords at his waist.But one day, Dark Judgment, I'll earn your recognition…

As Mervant mused, he suddenly heard his name being called. He looked up to see Yaine, Nox, and the others approaching.

They had spotted the crowd here and, on seeing Mervant, quickly hurried over to ask what was going on.

Mervant, naturally, anticipated what they would be asking and explained the situation in a few simple sentences.

When Nox heard that Calidora had been making over a thousand gold Kaga a day, he was completely stunned.

Nox himself had taken Osar, Shelo, and Girunini out on a job, earning slightly over 5,000 gold Kaga between them. He had planned to generously share a few hundred with Calidora as thanks for watching the inn.

But now he realized she was making double their individual earnings by just staying home. Nox was utterly speechless.

This was the first time he had lost out to anyone from their group in terms of making money.

If Nox was surprised, Guoguo was downright devastated. She looked down at the 50 gold coins in her hand, then up at everyone else, who had earned over a thousand each. Worse still, the 50 coins weren't even all hers…

Guoguo suddenly felt the urge to cry.

As for Liu Ji and Yaine…

Liu Ji couldn't understand what was going on.

Yaine didn't care.

And the potatoes? They had no interest in money. They only cared about food.

Guoguo realized, to her dismay, that in the end, she was the only one truly hurt by this turn of events.

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At the top floor of the Hunter's Guild, the elderly guild master, a seasoned hunter, leaned back in his chair and sighed deeply.

"Gnarled Lizards roaming freely… I thought I'd never see such a thing happen again in my lifetime."

"Unfortunately, it has happened," Bumigake muttered from across the table. "Guild Master Deo, we need to figure out a solution."

"Yes, we do," the old hunter agreed, sitting upright. "The city walls won't hold. We'll need to acquire heavy weaponry and hire powerful mages, but that will be difficult. Once they learn the truth, they might not want to come…"

"What?" Bumigake frowned. "Are we staying here? Shouldn't we be evacuating? As long as the people survive, Mir City can be rebuilt…"

"No, there's no time." The guild master shook his head. "You've never seen a beast tide, so you don't understand. When it hits, the speed will be terrifying. Maybe we hunters can escape, but…"

He looked at Bumigake straight in the eye and said, "You've spent years in hunting circles, so you may not realize this, but even in this so-called City of Hunters, hunters make up less than a tenth of the population."

Bumigake opened his mouth to argue but stopped as memories of the city's craftsmen, guild staff, merchants, and hunters' families flashed through his mind.

He suddenly realized that the non-hunters far outnumbered the hunters.

"Bumigake, we are hunters. We are warriors," the guild master said gravely. "We are the walls that protect the people from the beast tide. If we flee, they will all die."