Chapter 553 - Strange Beastmen on the Plains (1/2)

Chapter 553: Strange Beastmen on the Plains

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Golden Plains

The sky and earth were vast; the breeze ruffled the grass, but there were no flocks of animals.

This was a rich and fertile area, but sadly, there were too few Beastmen, and the plains were too big. Most Beastmen didn’t know how to take advantage of the valuable land either, so the Beastmen had to live in such poverty.

Link came to negotiate an alliance with their king this time. They had interacted before, but as leaders, that instance could only be used to reminiscence on the past. An alliance between two races couldn’t rely on past feelings; they only cared about interests.

If they wanted a successful alliance, Link had to be clear about the other’s interests. Thus, he didn’t go straight to Gronhon Capital where the palace was. Instead, he disguised himself as a regular merchant and traveled through every city, observing how they lived.

He was now very familiar with Beastmen and had more bargaining chips now.

Traveling alone like this for a day, Link ran into a human merchant caravan. Since they were all humans and Link was alone, he joined the group after a few words.

Link observed while traveling and also chatted with these well-traveled merchants. He gained more knowledge about the lower class of Firuman too.

As the sky was getting darker, a small creek appeared before them. The caravan leader called for everyone to set up camp there.

There were around 300 people in the caravan made up of a dozen or so groups. The biggest group was called Red Earth Firm. They sold different types of spices to the Beastmen, such as garlic, dragon grass, and herbs. They had more than 20 carts and took up more than half of the caravan. The other groups were between five to a dozen people. There were also some more than that and individuals like Link.

With everyone together, they had strength in numbers. Thus, the caravans didn’t hire mercenaries. The Red Earth Firm didn’t reject outsiders either.

The grass in the plains was mostly up to a grown man’s chest. The grass near the river went over a regular man’s head. If there wasn’t a set path there, they wouldn’t be able to move past at all.

The caravan followed the path to the creek, and the merchants got off their carts. Some unsaddled the horses and brought them to drink and eat by the creek. Others started up fires to prepare dinner. The mercenaries of the Red Earth Firm went to the sides to keep watch. The caravan filled with action.

Link found a place to sit down. He couldn’t reveal his spatial equipment, so he had a bag. He opened it now and took out a piece of bread. Chewing quietly, he planned out the rest of his journey.

They were still at the border of the Golden Plains. There were more than 1000 miles to Gronhon Capital. With the caravan’s current speed, it would take more than one month to go through the dozens of cities.

One month was quite long, but he had to do this to truly understand the Beastmen and come up with an alliance that the king couldn’t reject. Link wouldn’t spend all his time on this too. For example, he was eating now, but things flashed past his eyes. It was the magic book he had with him. He could display it with the game system.

This way, people would think he was spacing out, but he was actually studying magic. Only a small amount of time was spent on observing the Beastmen.

Just as he was focused, he heard footsteps. Someone was walking over. The steps were light; it was a young girl. Link remembered her name quickly—Shallie.

As soon as that thought flashed past, he heard a bright voice say, “Brother Link, you must be thirsty. Come drink some water.”

Link didn’t hide his name. Actually, very few people referred to him by name after he became the lord of Ferde. He was a “master” in Norton, “Lord” in Ferde, and he was known as the “Ferde lord” in other places. Otherwise, he was Lord Morani. Those who called him by his name were mostly all close to him.

The name “Link” was also common throughout Firuman, so he didn’t have to hide it.

After hearing the voice, he looked up to see a teenage girl walk over with a bowl of hot water. It was freshly boiled water, so she walked very slowly.

She was the daughter of a small group’s leader. She looked plain and had many freckles on her skin. Because of all the time outside, her skin was tanned. This made her seem energetic and lively. Her eyes were bright, her figure was lean, and her personality was bold. She wore plain leather armor and seemed to have endless energy every day, bounding around the caravan.

No matter where she went, laughter and chatter followed.

Link stood up to accept the bowl. “Thank you,” he said with a smile.

Shallie’s eyes brightened and curved into crescents. She sat down beside him. “Brother Link, you keep dazing off by yourself. Are you thinking about something?”