Chapter 158: Caught Red-Handed.

Chapter 158: Chapter 158: Caught Red-Handed.

Chapter 158: Caught Red-Handed.

Osborne briefly considered the possibility, remembering his previous dealings with the merchant and how the man had shown considerable interest in the Moonlight Grass.

Unlike ordinary merchants, Albert seemed to have enough connections and resources to handle large transactions, which meant Osborne wouldn’t have to spend too much time looking for buyers.

However, there was still one problem.

"Though I can’t simply go there selling those piles of junk."

Even if the items were valuable, he wasn’t certain that they would be enough to catch Albert’s interest, especially when the man was already accustomed to dealing with people who possessed considerable wealth.

It would be better to approach the merchant with something that could naturally attract his attention while giving him a reason to negotiate.

Osborne glanced in the direction of the forest.

"Better to be safe and grab some herbs to top it off."

He thought to himself, then retrieved a blade of Moonlight Grass from his sub-space.

After bringing it close to his helmet, he took a moment to familiarise himself with its scent, ensuring that he could recognise the same fragrance even if he encountered it somewhere else.

Having already visited the hidden field once, he didn’t expect finding it again to be particularly difficult, especially with his enhanced sense of smell.

Osborne then changed his direction and headed towards the forest.

The journey wasn’t particularly difficult, although he did encounter a few demonic beasts along the way, but rather than wasting his time dealing with them himself, he allowed the Lightning Wolf Alpha accompanying him to handle most of the trouble.

The beast was more than capable of dealing with the weaker creatures in the area, and its presence alone was enough to discourage several of them from approaching.

Osborne simply continued walking, occasionally checking his surroundings while following the familiar scent of the Moonlight Grass.

It took close to an hour before he finally arrived at the same spot where the field had been hidden.

The familiar fragrance immediately filled his senses, and after confirming that he hadn’t taken a wrong turn, Osborne looked towards the field with a satisfied expression beneath his helmet.

Next to him stood the Lightning Wolf Alpha.

"Sit."

He ordered the demonic beast.

The Lightning Wolf Alpha lowered its body and sat obediently at the edge of the Moonlight Grass field, its golden eyes following Osborne as he stepped forward.

Osborne then entered the field, bent down, and began gathering a good amount of Moonlight Grass.

Although he still had some safely stored in his sub-space, he felt it would be better to take much more while he had the opportunity, especially since he had no idea whether he’d be able to return to this place again.

Besides, he had already confirmed that the Moonlight Grass was something Albert was willing to purchase at a good price, which made gathering more of it a rather worthwhile investment.

With that in mind, Osborne continued collecting the herbs, carefully separating the ones he had gathered from those that remained in the field.

At first, he only intended to take another ten percent of the available herbs, leaving the majority untouched so that the field could continue growing without too much interference.

However, after looking at the remaining herbs, he couldn’t help but feel that taking a little more wouldn’t hurt.

’Thirty percent should be fine.’

He thought to himself before continuing his work.

After gathering that amount, he briefly looked around and found that there was still quite a lot left, which made him reconsider his earlier decision.

’Forty percent... Let’s just take forty percent...’

Osborne said to himself, feeling that it wouldn’t hurt to take a bit more.

It wasn’t as though he intended to destroy the entire field, and leaving more than half of the herbs behind should be enough to ensure that he could return another time if the opportunity presented itself.

Unfortunately, the moment he was about to take fifty percent of the herbs in the field, an enraged shout suddenly caught him off guard.

"You greedy little thief! Enough!!! Don’t you think you’ve taken enough!!!"

---

He instinctively dropped the herbs in his hand and retreated several feet, while the Alpha Lightning Wolf hurriedly rushed to his side before letting out a menacing growl.

Osborne’s head shot up, only to see a man materialise out of thin air above him, hovering several feet off the ground.

The man had long white hair and an equally long white beard, while his body was covered in a neat mage’s robe that seemed to flutter gently despite the absence of wind.

His appearance was practically the perfect definition of a wizard one would usually see in fairytales, and if someone had told Osborne that the old man was capable of granting wishes or turning people into frogs, he probably wouldn’t have questioned it.

However, although the man’s appearance was rather impressive, Osborne wasn’t the least bit pleased to see him.

For one reason: this old man had apparently been here the entire time, yet he hadn’t sensed his presence at all.

Considering his enhanced senses and the fact that he had been paying attention to his surroundings, this was rather unusual, especially since he hadn’t even noticed the slightest disturbance before the man suddenly appeared.

’Who the hell is this old man?’

Osborne stared at the figure hovering above him, while the Alpha Lightning Wolf continued growling beside him, its golden eyes fixed on the newcomer.

"I came all the way here when my spell told me that someone’s been thieving from my garden."

The old man spoke with an irritated expression, his eyes narrowing as he looked down at the scattered Moonlight Grass on the ground.

"You blasted brat! So it was you who’s been stealing my herbs!"

His voice echoed throughout the field, and the moment he finished speaking, an overwhelming amount of mana suddenly erupted from his body.

Osborne shuddered as a wave of mana rammed into him, forcing him to squint his eyes while raising one hand to shield his face.