Chapter 563

Chapter 563

Since no one knew the current situation inside the fortress, no one suggested forming teams or making similar requests. Everyone quietly moved forward with their own beast companions.

The lower gate of the fortress wasn’t fully open as it had been during the previous ceremony. Instead, it was tightly shut, with only a small door—just like the previous iron gates—barely wide enough for a person to pass through.

Guards stood watch on both sides of the small door, while two Furious Ragdoll Bears leaned against the wall, their eyes half-closed as if lazily dozing. But everyone knew that if trouble arose, they would immediately spring into action, becoming a solid barrier to tear any monsters apart.

As Davis and the others passed through the small door, they saw stairs leading upward inside the fortress. Unattended, it was clearly safe to ascend. As an archer, Davis immediately chose to go up.

Having visited other mountain fortresses before, he knew that many preferred to leave elevated combat positions for professionals like mages and archers to take advantage of the high ground.

However, in those places, such platforms also had to guard against threats from the sky, sometimes making them less safe than the ground.

Here, that wasn’t an issue. The tunnel terrain ensured flying monsters would find no advantage.

Sure enough, when Davis reached the second floor of the fortress, he saw a series of "cannon positions" set up along the edge.

And those acting as the "cannons" were none other than themselves.

Davis happily claimed a spot. The setup was excellent—each position was relatively independent, with privacy curtains minimizing disturbances between professionals. The space provided was generous, allowing for free movement without feeling cramped.

Since standing here for long periods would naturally drain an adventurer’s stamina, Blue Star had made ample preparations.

From supportive backrests and cushions to snacks for purchase stored in small iron cabinets nearby, everything was available. If not for the clear view of the monster frontlines below the fortress, Davis might have wondered whether he was in the Lopulo Mountains or deep within an inland city.

Some restaurant seats weren’t even this comfortable!

The Glassy Ice Flame Dog followed him up to take a look but, finding nothing of interest, quickly lost enthusiasm and leaped down from the high platform.

It had already spotted the monsters and was practically vibrating with excitement.

"Go!" Davis shouted. "Tolu! Hold it down, I’ll assist you!"

The Glassy Ice Flame Dog let out a roar and charged straight at the nearest unguarded monster.

The level-five monster staggered as the dog pounced on it.

Outside the fortress, it wasn’t just Davis and his group—Blue Star’s own beastmasters were already on the frontlines, taking shifts to clear the endless waves of monsters. Multiple squads rotated shifts, and after seeing the rewards, they were nearly coming to blows!

The tunnel was teeming with prey, and thanks to the terrain, hunting was exceptionally easy—making it the perfect training ground.

The value of the monsters collected here each day was staggering.

Seeing newcomers arrive, Blue Star’s professionals purposely let a few monsters through, ensuring the adventurers would get their share.

With only half as many Blue Star personnel stationed here during the day compared to night, the defenders started flagging within minutes of holding the line. Naturally, they began filling the gaps in the defense with the arriving adventurers.

Davis drew his bow, and an energy-constructed arrow slowly materialized on the massive weapon. With a sharp twang, it shot straight into the monster pinned under the Glassy Ice Flame Dog’s claws.

The level-five monster could've been handled by the dog alone—it would’ve only taken a little more time. But with Davis’s intervention, it died instantly.

The Glassy Ice Flame Dog triumphantly dragged the kill back, paying no mind to Davis’s calls from the fortress.

It dropped its prize inside the fortress, gleefully adding it to its pile in the corner before racing back out.

Over the next eight hours, the pair worked in perfect sync, bagging nearly twenty monsters. The results left Davis grinning like a fool. He became single-minded in his shooting, his arms shaking from strain by the end.

After all, unless it's during training, ordinary battles would never provide so many opportunities to draw a bow in eight hours. Whether evading or hunting monsters, both require significant time.

If it were in the Black Forest, just finding traces of monsters in eight hours would already be considered good.

At other Lopulo mountain passes, the density of monsters is indeed high, but such results would still be impossible.

First, the tunnel terrain provides a massive advantage. The semi-enclosed environment maximizes the restriction of the monsters' movements, and with so many fighters around, even if the monsters wanted to flee, there’d be nowhere to go.

Second, the assistance provided by Blue Star’s beast pets to fighters is a huge help.

Today, at the Blue Star center, Davis had his longbow loaded up with enchantments tailored to him.

Having traveled to so many places, apart from the monster surge in Pokara—where the Devourer Frogs made their first public appearance—he had never seen such a complete enchantment process at any mountain pass.

Many of the Devourer Frogs' abilities were entirely new to him today! Davis had every reason to suspect these were Blue Star’s ace in the hole prepared specifically for their mountain pass. Admittedly, for Davis or any fighter, the temptation was insanely tempting.

Who wouldn’t want their strength to suddenly surge?

Blue Star had sorted the Devourer Frogs' abilities by different profession needs, but when renting them out, they naturally couldn’t hand over every single frog.

For warriors seeking enchantments, finding abilities that perfectly matched their own was extremely difficult. Most of the time, the Devourer Frogs rented out by Blue Star covered as many profession needs as possible, but this also meant no fighter could find abilities that truly aligned with their own—just barely scratching the surface at best.

Now, here, Davis felt like a kid in a candy store. Gripping his longbow tightly, he marveled at the feedback surging through it, his body brimming with inexhaustible energy. Unable to resist, he drew another arrow, aiming straight for the throat of a wounded monster struggling nearby.

A streak of bluish glow flashed—the arrow, enhanced with "Sharpness" and "Rending," instantly took the monster down.

Two knights entangled with monsters below simultaneously looked up at Davis on the fortress. After exchanging glances, Davis smiled and nodded, then gestured at the monster and waved his hand to indicate he had no intention of claiming ownership over it.

The two knights were from Blue Star. Seeing Davis’ gesture, they said nothing, silently dragging the monster back toward the fortress.

Their own strength wasn’t high—both were only low-level fighters. By all logic, they shouldn’t have been at Lopulo’s mountain pass. But nearby, several Glassy Ice Flame Dogs stood ready to handle emergencies, allowing these lower-tier fighters to train here without worry.

For young knights, this was a golden chance to train. Fighting at Lopulo guaranteed growth in both strength and courage, making it an experience worth cherishing for anyone.

Eight hours later, Davis reluctantly left the tunnel as his wristband buzzed with a reminder.

His Tolu was equally exhilarated. Though somewhat fatigued and bearing a few fresh wounds, both man and beast were in high spirits.

The moment he stepped out of the tunnel, Davis eagerly tried to schedule his next slot on the Blue Star platform.

However...

"What?! Nothing available for the next three months?!" Davis stared in shock at the reservation system. In truth, the three-month limit existed solely because the system didn’t allow bookings beyond that timeframe—otherwise, he suspected slots might already be filled for half a year. "How are there so many people?!"

"Ugh, it must be those city slickers who rushed to book after seeing the ceremony!" Davis wasn’t the only one with this thought. Several other fighters who had just finished their eight-hour sessions saw the same grim news and grumbled indignantly, "They shouldn’t even be allowed to book! These cheaters!"

"They can’t even come now! Why book?!"

"Just messing things up!"

Davis sighed quietly. "Well, by the time their bookings come up, they’ll have arrived. I knew this place would become the place to be—just didn’t expect it to happen this fast! If only I’d..."

Even if he’d known earlier, there was nothing he could’ve done. Blue Star didn’t support multiple bookings at once—it was strictly first-come, first-served.

Tolu walked over and bumped its head against Davis’s in consolation.

Truth be told, it also wished to stay longer. The dog food sold at this Blue Star center was top-notch!

It tasted just like what Tolu had eaten as a pup at Blue Star. After following Davis, it had never had the chance to savor it again. Though Davis always spoiled him with treats, the canned dog food and snacks sold in regular Blue Star stores had undergone transportation and storage, leaving the energy levels stable but the taste wasn’t quite the same.

Tolu had grown used to it—but today’s feast brought back memories of its carefree puppy days...

Davis and Tolu had already made a pet pact, allowing them to sense each other’s emotions. Though Davis didn’t understand the specifics, he knew his Glassy Ice Flame Dog seemed to adore this place and wanted to stick around longer.

Tolu had always been the goodest boy. This was the first time Davis had seen it express such a clear desire. Normally, Tolu never asked for anything—but today, it had made its wish unmistakably known. As a responsible owner, Davis immediately resolved to stick around longer.