Chapter 543 - The Fire of War Has Been Lit (2/2)

Ethereal King Haromed was very sensitive to spatial magic. In order to not alert him, Link had set the transmission location to somewhere 12 miles away from Glen Heights.

After reaching the business avenue, they walked westward. Along the way, they ran into two groups of lower-level bandits from the Syndicate. They avoided the first and dealt with the second. After walking for two hours, they saw Glen Heights.

The town was basically built halfway up the hill. The buildings were all plain wooden cottages. From the distance, they could see people walking to and fro. It was actually quite lively. An open road spiraled up along the incline. They walked up at a steady pace like ordinary mercenaries.

Evelina was more familiar with the South. “There’s a large jungle south of the hills,” she introduced. “It contains rich resources while Glen Heights is built right at the edge. It’s also close to the port. Merchants often buy medicinal herbs, fur, and other jungle products here.”

“They must have a diverse population,” Eliard said.

Evelina nodded. “Indeed. That’s why foreigners don’t attract much attention here. It’s logical if Haromed appeared here.”

Link chuckled. “But he’s still a guest from another realm and slipped up.”

The scout had reported that there was a merchant living in Glen Heights who liked to eat ants. The bigger and darker the ant was, the more he liked it. He would also buy it specifically from people. According to his servant, he had to fry the ants for him.

At first, the scout didn’t feel anything strange. Everyone had their own weird habits. However, Link knew immediately that this was a high-status Ethereal Warrior after seeing this information.

In the game, ants were a delicacy for the Ethereal Warriors. Ants had some special nutrients that could relieve the pain caused by not fitting well with their host. The more powerful an Ethereal was, the more insufferable the pain was. A regular Ethereal could force himself through it, but high-level Ethereals had to eat ants to get rid of the pain. Otherwise, it would be more painful than death.

This would happen in the first half year after the Ethereals entered Firuman. Half a year later, someone discovered a way to relieve the pain, thus finally ending the strange habit of eating black ants.

Half an hour later, the four reached Glen Heights.

Link looked left and right. He found a farmer chopping firewood outside a secluded house by the roadside. “Hey, I want to ask something.”

“I’m busy…ah, what would you like to know?” He immediately changed his tone after Link tossed him a silver coin.

“I heard there’s a strange merchant who likes to eat black ants,” Link said.

“Oh, you’re talking about Mr. Goodall, right? Why are you looking for him?” the farmer asked offhandedly. At the same time, he applied force and split the firewood into two.

“See, us four, we’re mercenaries. We heard that he’s willing to pay a good price for ants and we found some really big ones.” Link shook his bag.

“Oh, I see.” The farmer pointed at a wooden building with a pointed roof in the heart of the town. “See that? That’s where Mr. Goodall lives. Just go there.”

“Oh, thank you very much.” Link nodded and turned to wave at his companions. The group walked “casually” over.

The wooden building was only a few hundred feet away. After some minutes, they were outside.

The building had a yard and was surrounded by high walls. The door was shut tightly; there was no sound inside at all. Link listened, and his expression changed. He walked to the door, placed a hand on it, and got ready to force it open. But just as he was about to apply force, he felt something and immediately snatched his hand back.

“There’s a security spell. Go to the side.” Link walked towards an alley on the side. Once he got there, he held onto Celine’s shoulder. Using physical strength, he jumped and flipped over the ten-foot-high wall.

Eliard and Evelina all had strong bodies and jumped up too. Once inside the yard, they saw that it was filled with strange flowers and plants. There was also a big pot with bubbling liquid inside. Beside it was a small bag. The bag was half-open, revealing all the dead ants inside.

Getting an idea, Link walked over and sniffed the vapor of the pot. “This guy is trying to extract the fusion substance in the ants… He must have gone out but will return soon. Let’s hide in the yard!”

The yard was more than 60 feet long and 30 feet wide. There was also much vegetation. The four could use the plants to cover themselves without any spells.

Link waited for the three to hide first. Then he started wiping away all of their traces. Finally, he hid too and waited for the Ethereal prince to appear.

The four waited patiently. After around two minutes, the door creaked, and someone pushed it open. Then two young men walked in.

One of them wore a gray-white robe and had no mask. He looked to be around 30 years old. The one beside him was a woman, but she’d covered herself well. She even covered her aura, not letting even a bit out. Her only characteristic was her height. She was half a head taller than most human women.

According to Evelina’s descriptions, the one on the left was the Ethereal prince. Then who was the woman on the right?

Link glanced in confusion at Evelina who was hiding in another corner. What he saw shocked him. Evelina was shaking her head and saying silently, That’s not the Ethereal prince. That woman is a High Elf.