A merchant?

Realising Yang Ling’s status, the rookie mercenaries were taken aback. Although there were merchants on the road coming and going, they were mostly in groups of caravans, and they rarely met a merchant who would dare spend a night in the wild, mountainous country alone.

“Boss Yuri, lately there have been quite a few folk who’ve been to Blackwater City to sell goods to the locals. What do you do for a living?”

Observing that there was only a single horse-carriage, yet each member of Yang Ling’s group possessed a personal tent, the knight Halalei felt a sliver of suspicion. Normally, when small-time merchants spend the night in the wilderness, they would find a mountain cave to huddle in together with their hired hands, or make camp in one huge group inside one run-down tent. It was highly unusual for each member of a merchant party to have their own tent.

Watching the knight glancing back and forth between the horse carriage and the tents, Yang Ling noticed his expression of doubt. Coughing sorrowfully, he spoke in a downtrodden voice:

“Ever since my family fell on hard times, I had no choice but to do a few odd jobs to make ends meet. Pity! Even after working myself to the bone, the crystal coins I’ve earned are barely enough to even pay off my family maid’s salary!

Family had fallen on hard times?

After taking a look at the durable horse-carriage, its impressive warhorses, and Yang Ling’s rather depressed speech and demeanour, the knight Halalei appeared to have seen the light. On this continent, it was not uncommon for noblemen to fall into disgrace, stripped of their rank or property because of a serf’s mistake that they would have to take responsibility for. Some would languish in a state of poverty after declaring bankruptcy. It was apparent here that Yang Ling was one of many who had suffered such misfortune.

“Boss Yuri, this is truly a coincidence! We just so happen to be on our way back to the capital of Montson. Just as well we’re on the same path!” Fatso Hans glanced back at him shiftily, and said: “The way to Montson is far, and the roads are dangerous. If we travel together, amongst other things, your safety will be the Dragon Slaying Troop Team’s priority! Of course, compensation…”

“Oh? What about compensation?” Watching the man gallantly thumping his own chest and loudly pledging to protect him from harm, Yang Ling flashed a faint smile.

“We have an axe-thrower that is unrivalled in strength, a valiant knight and summoner, and also a formidable wizard and archer. All for the low, low rate of less than one thousand purple crystal coins! It’s unbelievable!” Watching Yang Ling’s chicken in his hand, he slurped up his drool and said: “Of course, seeing as we are going in the same direction, if you really do not have enough crystal coins, you can always make it up in other ways. For example, you could compensate us in food supplies for the journey!”

Make it up in other ways?

Hearing the fatso make such a blatantly suggestive remark, and watching his drool almost dripping to the ground, Yuna burst into a fit of giggles, and even Orlando couldn’t help but laugh. Only Yang Ling pretended not to hear, slowly turning over the roast pheasant in his hand, silently charting his next action.

The journey to Montson would be very far, and a few thieves or pickpockets could hardly be avoided. Joining these few troops wouldn’t be such a bad idea, as they could be a cheap deterrent against them.

“Hey, my dear, come out and let’s show them!”

Seeing Yang Ling mumble and say nothing, Fatso Hans assumed he was yet unconvinced of his troop’s strength. After reciting an incantation, he summoned a green-skinned condor and ordered it to attack a nearby tree. To his surprise, the summoned magical beast did not move a muscle. Whether it was due to the freezing cold, or because it had not yet eaten, it just stared at the hunk of pheasant in Yang Ling’s hands, completely oblivious to its master’s commands.

Watching the fatso yell at the grotesque green-skinned condor over and over without it moving an inch, the female spellcaster Lia let out a whoop of laughter, saying: “Haha! Hans, you damned fatso! If you keep starving your disgusting familiar, be careful, or it will swallow you whole, gobbling up the fat on your body like dimsum!”

“By Yiblis, this damned bird! If you don’t do as I say, I will turn you into barbeque meat!” After repeating his command many more times at the motionless green-feathered condor, the fat man began to jump up and down in a thunderous fury, briefly rendered speechless at the sight of his old enemy.

Don’t tell me, is this really the summoner of Tailun continent?

Glancing back and forth between this immovable green-skinned condor and the fatso jumping up and down in a fit of rage, Yang Ling laughed and then felt something move in his heart. During the fatso’s incantation just now, he had felt a rather familiar sensation flowing within him. This sensation was somewhat similar to the Wizard Mantra that he used to summon the Magical Beasts from the space within the Wizard’s Pagoda.

Wanting to confirm his suspicions, he tore off a drumstick from the pheasant and waved it in front of the staring green-skinned condor. Sure enough, the latter couldn’t resist swooping over, and in a few bites had gulped down the golden-yellow roasted drumstick, beating its wings happily in front of Yang Ling.

“Yiblis, this damned beast!” Seeing the green-skinned condor eating the very pheasant that he was dying to taste, the fatso became even more enraged. A stream of curses flew from his mouth as he continued to stare fixedly at the pheasant in Yang Ling’s hands.

Yang Ling said, “Captain Lia, I truly do not have a single crystal coin on my person, you see. Would it be convenient for us to join ways anyway?” After a pause, Yang Ling looked sincerely at the female sorcerer seated on the other side of the campfire, and continued: “Of course, I’ll do my very best to reward you. I have no crystal coins, but we still have some food left in our horse-cart…”

“No problem, if you could supply us with a few roasted mountain pheasants each day, your safety will be in my hands!” Before Lia could state her position, Fatty Hans agreed impatiently to those terms. At this point, whatever stance he had about “not doing business for less than one thousand purple crystal coins” had long since been flung to the back of his mind. As he spoke, he strode over to Yang Ling and plopped down beside him.

Yang Ling shook his head and stopped deliberately tempting the gluttonous Fatso. He extended the roasted pheasant out to the hungry man. At once, the latter reached forward with both hands to grab the meat. Just as he was about to gobble it down, the sweet-smelling golden-roasted pheasant was suddenly snatched from his grasp by the lightning-fast reflexes of Lia the female sorcerer.

“I am the Captain here. Whatever we get must be distributed by me!” Lia tore off a drumstick, then divided the remaining pieces of chicken to the other three companions. When the pitiful Fatso scrambled over, all that was left was a small chicken thigh!

“Lia, you really are most considerate, leaving me a round and perky thigh!” Indignantly, Fatso chewed hard on the pheasant meat while staring daggers at Lia’s own small piece, at which the latter leaped up immediately in a temper. In the end, the summoner who was too fat to run nearly had both of his ears twisted off, screaming in agony.

After shaking his head, Yang Ling whispered a few words of instruction into Yuna’s ear. With a look of surprise, she got up, strode towards the cart and entered it. While hidden inside, she withdrew a large bundle of giant flatbread from the Space Ring, then emerged from the cart with a kind smile.

Along with two jars of rum, the mercenaries wolfed down the food, completely finishing off the large bag of flatbread that Yuna had brought. It looked like they really were starving, as even the scrawny-bodied, tight-lipped masked female archer had eaten five whole flatbreads all by herself, while Yuna and Orlando stared at them open-mouthed in amazement.

“By Yiblis, I never knew flatbread could be so delicious! If I’d have known sooner, I would’ve got the servants to let me try a bite!” Swallowing his food, Fatty Hans rubbed his rotund belly and licked his greasy fingers, but from his unsatisfied expression, it seemed he had not eaten his fill.

“You only know how to eat all day long, you gluttonous pig!”

Glaring at the finger-licking Fatso, Lia went over to sit beside Yuna and soon after, the two women started chatting with each other. Listening in, Yang Ling gleaned that this bossy and temperamental captain had had her eye on their warm and cozy tents, and was hoping to bunk in with Yuna. At this, the latter laughed, but did not refuse.

“Hey Fatso, are you full yet?” Looking at the comical man, Yang Ling laughed, going along with the name ‘Fatso’.

“Yes, I’m full. Who knew that flatbreads could be this tasty!” Reclining on the ground, the Fatso let out a very long burp. Just then, as he was about to settle in uncomfortably for the night, he was unexpectedly met with an alluring smell. Like an old drunkard who had come across a jar of well-preserved fine wine, he started to drool immediately.

After the mercenaries had eaten, Yang Ling had dug out the Jiao Hwa Pheasant from under the bonfire, and was unwrapping it bit by bit. At once, the mercenaries with their full and distended bellies waddled over, attracted by the scent.

“Yiblis, what is this? Why does it smell so good?”

“Oh god, why did I eat so many large flatbreads?

After getting a whiff of the alluring smell, the mercenaries chattered with each other. Without so much as a gesture from Yang Ling, they pushed past him and shared the sweet-smelling Jiao Hwa Pheasant amongst themselves. In the end, they spent an unforgettable night having risked their stomachs to the dangers of overeating by sampling the delicacy with such an unusual flavor.

After finishing the meal, the whole party chatted enthusiastically, becoming familiar with each other very quickly. After deciding to travel together, they set out briskly towards Montson. No one suspected the true identities of Yang Ling and his posse.

Just two mountain pheasants in exchange for a few free bodyguards, what a great deal!

His plan having gone off without a hitch, Yang Ling smiled even more splendidly. Together with these rookie mercenaries, not only could he avoid unnecessary minor problems, but he would also not need to worry about being exposed on the road.

After a brief rest, he asked Orlando to unpack two spare tents, and generously gave them to the careless and bumbling mercenaries. For this journey to the faraway city of Montson, although he lacked bodyguards, his Space Ring was packed full with all kinds of supplies ranging from fresh water to winter clothing, and everything for the journey was provided.

When they had first set out on their journey, Lia and her group had brought enough tents for themselves. But over the course of time, they had inexplicably lost all of them. Upon meeting this generous little merchant, everyone was immensely grateful, especially Lia and the masked female archer, who were both visibly excited at the thought of not having to spend the night outdoors in a howling blizzard.

At nightfall, the freezing wind whistled through the Ladakh Mountain Range, and the temperature began to get colder and colder. Exhausted by the day’s events, the mercenaries slept deeply, their snores rising and falling intermittently, with the occasional noise of teeth-grinding coming from Fatty Hans.

Having trained for several hours, Yang Ling was about to lie down and rest for the night when he heard a soft noise coming from outside. Apart from the sounds of low breathing and quiet footsteps, the muffled clanging of swords and armor could occasionally be heard. The soft noises grew louder and louder, as if a large group of men holding weapons were sneaking up towards them.