About ten minutes later, a few waiters arranged the dishes Draven had asked for on the table in front of him. The food nearly covered the entire surface meant for four people.
"If your companions will be late, just inform us, sir. We will reheat the food," one of the waitresses said politely when she saw Draven alone at the table.
Draven waved his hand. "No need. Thanks for your concern, but this is my breakfast. There is no one I am waiting to share it with."
All the waiters widened their eyes when they heard what he said. Considering Draven's steady and muscular frame, they had thought he was a body cultivator. As common sense goes, body cultivators followed a very strict diet to maintain the purity and quality of their chi.
Some of them were even like cows, chewing only on certain types of medicinal plants to keep their physique fit and strong without being affected by the impurities in food.
As for those people who could eat the food meant for four people all by themselves, they were usually like walking mountains of flesh. This was especially true if the food was made from higher tier materials, as the excess energy was usually stored as fat in the body. It was hard to melt this fat away without extremely hard workouts, and even then it could cause many health problems most cultivators guarded against.
Of course, the waiters did not dare talk about this out loud. Their job was just to serve. If they gave advice unnecessarily, the customer might get upset with them, and that was not what any of them wanted.
"Is there something else?" Draven asked in confusion, seeing the four waiters looking at him with strange expressions.
The four waiters suddenly came back to their senses. They apologized before running away.
Draven shrugged his shoulders and began eating his food. "I should have ordered some stew also. The rice does not have that creamy texture mixed with spices," he mumbled to himself as he took a sip of the seven colored deer milk.
"Sigh... even though I have heard that true demons can eat mountains of meat, it was the first time I am seeing one in real life," Silas's voice rang in Draven's mind.
"Hey, even though I have a demon physique, I am still a human. If Grandpa wants, I can share half of the food with you, but don't ask me for another portion. I am broke," Draven said in his mind as he continued his feast.
Just then, the door of the waiting area opened and Jasmine came in. She was followed by a middle aged man with a neatly shaved face and shoulder length hair combed behind him in a ponytail. He wore golden armor and had a huge golden sword on his back.
After looking around, Jasmine spotted Draven. He was sitting at a table with a chicken leg in one hand and a large mug of milk in the other, happily eating with a contented look on his face.
Jasmine's mouth twitched. With an awkward smile she led the middle aged man towards Draven's table.
"Grandmaster, the employer is here," Jasmine said softly.
Draven turned around and studied the middle aged man. Then he flashed a warm smile. "Ten minutes, big brother. Let me finish my food first."
"Don't mind me, little brother. We can talk after you finish," the middle aged man also did not seem to be the arrogant type. He sat at a nearby table after ordering a bottle of second tier wine.
Both of them minded their own business. After a polite nod at both of them, Jasmine also left.
Time passed. Exactly as he said, Draven finished his food in the next ten minutes. He patted his stomach in contentment.
After washing his hands and mouth, Draven came over and sat on the chair opposite the middle aged man.
"Draven Nyxborn," Draven introduced himself first as he extended his hand.
The middle aged man frowned as he shook hands with Draven. "Your name was shown as Draven Skywalker in the message I got."
"I joined a different family. It is just that the name is still not corrected in the official records," Draven said with a light smile.
The middle aged man nodded. "My name is Edward Stillwind, the patriarch of the Stillwind family branch in the 36th Stronghold."
Draven blinked his eyes in surprise. "Is William Stillwind your son?"
Edward also looked at Draven in surprise. "You know my son?"
"Of course. We are childhood friends," Draven smiled. This William was the same William who was Jessy's homeroom teacher in the Golden Phoenix Academy and one of the friends Draven had in his life.
His family owned many hotel businesses in the 36th Stronghold. The five star hotel opposite the hunter guild that Draven visited before was also their business. Although Draven knew William's father was the patriarch of the Stillwinds, it was his first time meeting the man in person.
Edward nodded. "I have heard about you from my people. But this time you have to hunt beasts above the 5th stage of the Ascendant Realm. Are you sure you can handle this alone?"
Draven smiled reassuringly. "You don't have to worry, senior. I am a grandmaster hunter. If I am not confident in taking the task, I would not have contacted you. If you have any doubt, just ask around about me. I am sure you will not be disappointed."
Edward shook his head. "A youngster who can make even Ascendant Realm elites of the 36th Stronghold tremble in fear just by his aura alone. Such a person is the best candidate for this job if we did not consider the hunters from outside the 36th Stronghold. It is just that it would be best if you can bring me along with you. We need to preserve the meat of both the demon rabbit and the arapaima in special cases to ensure the quality of the meat. I don't know if you can protect me and complete the mission all by yourself without having a team of Ascendant Realm cultivators."
From the energy fluctuation from Edward's body, he was at the 2nd tier of the Ascendant Realm. Although he was considered powerful in the 36th Stronghold, it was nothing in front of a higher level beast. Instead, he might become a burden on the way.
Draven thought for a moment and said, "To be honest, my combat power is at the very top of the 8th stage of the Ascendant Realm. I am confident in completing the task alone without any help. But protecting your life is not something I can guarantee with one hundred percent assurance. After all, the forest is full of variables. If a 10th stage Ascendant Realm beast attacks us out of nowhere, even keeping my own life would be difficult, much less protecting yours."
Edward nodded. "I am prepared to take that much risk. Don't worry about any variables. I will consider it my bad luck if we run into something like that. But we have to secure the goods as soon as possible. My guests will be here in the 36th Stronghold in two days and I want the goods before that."
Initially he did not have any hope in this mission, since only hired hunters from outside the 36th Stronghold would accept such tasks.
But now that someone had accepted the bounty mission, he was slightly relieved. Draven was pretty much famous in the 36th Stronghold and was considered the strongest hunter after his earlier confrontation with the police inside the Hunter Association. His track record in completing missions was also one hundred percent with zero failures so far.
"I am ready anytime. Just inform me when you are ready," Draven shrugged his shoulders and extended his hand for a handshake.
"That is great. Let us enter the forest now. I will show you the way to the demon rabbit lair first," Edward also extended his hand. The two men shook hands, confirming the deal.
After that, both of them went to the reception desk and signed the contracts for the mission. Then they entered the forest on two one horned white horses Edward had rented from a mount renting shop near the main gate.
These one horned horses were wind attributed tamed beasts at the 5th stage of the Ascendant Realm. They cost five first tier essence coins per day. Of course, if the horse was injured or killed in the jungle, the renter had to cover the cost if they were alive. If the renter also died, then the shop would tolerate the loss themselves.
Draven's horse was also rented by Edward. As for Draven, his bank account only had five essence coins left, and he would not indulge himself in such lavish luxuries.
After traveling for about three hours on the one horned horses, they reached a grassy area with knee length green grass everywhere. Both Draven and Edward stopped a considerable distance away from the grass field under a large tree.
"This is the demon rabbit lair I mentioned. Most of the adult rabbits here are at the 5th stage. I want their fur for making clothes and the meat for serving my guests, so make sure to keep the damage to a minimum," Edward said in a low voice.
Draven nodded. "Don't worry. I will make sure to keep the hide intact. You just wait here. I will signal you when it is time to collect the bodies."
Draven walked some distance towards the grassland and climbed up a tree with several branches. From there, the situation in the grassland was fully visible.
Scanning the rabbits below, Draven counted forty at the 5th stage of the Ascendant Realm among the larger group. They all had bluish fur and were the size of large dogs, with faint water mist clinging to their bodies like a soft cloud.
Compared to the demon rabbits Draven met in the Asura God Mansion, these rabbits appeared much cuter and more pleasing to the eye.
After preparing a strategy in his mind, Draven extended his palm forward. His asura spear intent transformed into one of its forms, a strong looking bow with ancient runes etched on its surface.
As Draven drew his bow, an arrow made of Asura spear intent appeared on the bow string like a silent line of light.
Swoosh!
The next moment, the arrow left his string and accurately pierced the head of one of the demon rabbits, pinning it to the ground.
Chaos broke out among the demon rabbits when one of them was hit. They made screeching noises, and water mist condensed around their bodies into an ice armor that looked as though the rabbits had worn a second skin. All of them also started hopping away into their burrows without wasting any time.
Swoosh... Swoosh...
Draven's arrows shot out at the speed of lightning without any pause or fault. Each arrow pinned one rabbit to the ground. The strong armor around their bodies did no good in front of Draven's arrows.
Coupled with the fact that Draven's all seven senses were greatly improved after he acquired perfection in the Asura Seven Sense Mandra, even when the rabbits were fleeing in disarray, Draven's arrows accurately spotted the 5th stage rabbit demons. It was as though the arrows had eyes to go after their target accurately.