For Bernard, who wanted to return to Ascatla by land, the news brought by the cavalry captain was definitely bad news.

This put him into a state of silence for several hours.

It wasn't until I passed through the city gate and officially entered the fortress city of Mannon that I felt a little more refreshed.

After arriving at the market, the first thing Bernard did was to start selling all the camels in a planned manner to those merchants who were eager to cross the desert and go to Port Calin.

There were also nobles and civilian families who were afraid that the red dragon would continue to move south after conquering Mylatma, so they chose to migrate their families to Kalimport.

Because war mobilization has already begun.

Most of the ships in the port had either been requisitioned or were already fully loaded with people and sailed to Port Calin, so there were no idle ships to be found.

Therefore, the camel, the only thing that could help them cross the Karin Desert, naturally became more valuable.

At this moment, it has risen to seven times the usual level.

In addition, unscrupulous businessmen maliciously hoarded and speculated, and deliberately spread all kinds of rumors that could cause panic among people.

Some nobles and wealthy people who were eager to escape were even willing to offer an outrageous price ten times higher.

The heavy pack horses from the northern Kingdom of Tethyr, which were originally worth 150 gold coins each, dropped directly to 50 gold coins.

In addition, the price of a four-wheeled horse-drawn cart also dropped from 100 gold coins to 30 gold coins, and a two-wheeled cart only cost 4 gold coins.

In less than two hours, Bernard sold all of the more than a thousand camels in the caravan.

They were replaced with more than 300 sturdy heavy-duty pack horses, 80 four-wheeled wagons that required two horses to pull, and 140 two-wheeled wagons that only required one horse to pull.

As for the goods carried by the caravan, he chose to sell all the weapons and secondary magic items that could be used in the defense of the city to the Mannon City Government which was preparing for war.

At the same time, all the difference just earned was used to purchase antiques, artworks, crafts, jewelry, and a large number of valuable ancient books and magic items that were being sold at low prices by the fleeing families.

In short, except for real estate that cannot be taken away, anything that provides sufficient profit margin will be accepted.

After finishing everything and dragging his exhausted body to the door of the inn booked by the caravan, Bernard immediately heard a burst of laughter coming from inside.

When he walked in, he was shocked to see everyone sitting around the stage, laughing so hard that they were falling over.

Even the usually serious and stern Holy Knight Ai Luolin was covering her mouth and shaking slightly all over uncontrollably.

Only Zuo Si, who was sitting in the center, maintained his usual calm demeanor and ate the food on the plate very slowly.

Out of curiosity, Bernard walked up to the mercenary leader and asked, "What are you laughing at?"

The latter smiled with a smile on his face and shook his head, explaining: "Sir Soth just told a very funny joke, which successfully made everyone laugh."

"Oh? What's the joke?"

Bernard sat down on the chair next to him and waved to the pretty waitress to bring him a glass of the restaurant's best wine.

He now urgently wants to drink some alcoholic beverage to relieve his fatigue and stress.

Soon, the waitress brought a glass of fine wine that was as dark red as blood to the businessman, who looked dusty but was dressed and decorated quite luxuriously.

Not only that!

She also deliberately pulled the neckline of her skirt very low, revealing her very attractive breasts, while giving Bernard a seductive look that was full of fantasy.

You don't need to ask to know that this is an invitation signal.

As long as the latter is willing, he can go to the guest room upstairs at any time to do some popular adult sports with the young and beautiful waitress.

After all, if she could hook up with a wealthy businessman, it would mean being able to escape her current poor and embarrassing life.

It doesn't matter whether you become each other's wife or mistress.

Anyway, it's a hundred times better than being a hotel hostess who is teased and taken advantage of by rude men almost every day for the rest of your life.

At worst, you can get a big, generous tip by having a one-night stand.

But unfortunately, Bernard, who was full of worries in his heart, had no such thoughts at all. He simply ignored the waitress's flirting and took a sip of the glass.

The mercenary captain at the side smiled and repeated the joke.

The general content is that a knight's younger brother was killed by his enemy.

At this time, his teammates stood up and expressed their support for his revenge.

Warrior: I will chop off the head of your brother's murderer with my sword.

Ranger: My bow will shoot through the murderer's heart.

Pastor: I will use the power God has given me to find the murderer and make him pay for his actions.

The necromancer pointed to the corpse that had just been awakened by magic and said, "Don't bother! Your brother will strangle the bastard who killed him himself."

After hearing this, Bernard couldn't help but burst out laughing on the spot.

Obviously, this is a typical "hell joke".

Because in Faerun, a normally killed body can actually be resurrected by spending a large sum of money to find a priest of a high enough level to help.

But if it is a corpse that has been desecrated by necromancy, the cost and difficulty of resurrection will instantly increase by dozens of times.

If he were the knight, he would probably just draw his sword and kill this necromancer teammate who was making things worse.

But soon, the merchant stopped laughing and asked Zuo Si, who was eating, in a low voice: "Sir Sos, you don't seem to be nervous at all about what happened in Mylatma?"

"Nervous? Why should I be nervous?" Zuo Si asked with a chuckle. "It's just an adult red dragon and thousands of monsters that lack organization and discipline. If we really run into them, I don't mind being a dragon slayer."

"Dragon slayer?!"

Ai Luolin's eyes lit up slightly.

You should know that killing the evil and brutal red dragon is a huge challenge and supreme honor for any paladin.

Zuo Si nodded seriously: "That's right! If it is an old red dragon or an ancient dragon, it may be very troublesome to deal with it. But if it is just an adult dragon or a middle-aged dragon, as long as we are prepared, it should not be too difficult to deal with it."

"So you decided to fight this red dragon and its evil army?"

Eloline clenched her fists in excitement.

If she hadn't had a mission and a vow, she would have wanted to go to Myratma alone.

Imitate the pure, powerful, and fearless paladins in those stories, kill the evil sources that provoke wars and conflicts by yourself, and bring peace and hope to those who are suffering.

“No, no, no.

I mean, if you encounter it, just deal with it.

If you haven't encountered it, it's better to have less trouble than more.

Of course, if the Lord of Myratma can offer a sufficient reward, I wouldn't mind making some extra money."

Zuo Si expressed his position clearly.

Although he doesn't mind helping others when he can, he doesn't regard "altruism" as a responsibility and obligation like the "righteous people" in this world.

Just the opposite!

If possible, Zuo Si doesn't want to have anything to do with any messy organizations.

He just wanted to get to Athkatla as soon as possible, help Bernard take back the Guild of Commerce, and then take enough money to Candlekeep to collect all the precious books inside into the [Library of Mind].

(End of this chapter)