Chapter 196 Market turmoil
Boom!
Thunder rolled and heavy rain fell.
"You have a very sharp eye, my friend."
In a small town built by the Haradrim in the Harnen River basin, south of Gondor, a wine merchant is selling his goods.
Opposite him was a mysterious guest wearing a linen robe, with most of his face covered by a wide hat and a sheepskin towel.
'Looks like nomads from the desert.'
The guest nodded and pointed to a barrel of wine on the ground.
So the wine merchant moved the barrel of wine to the counter.
"This is indeed the strongest barrel of date wine I have."
The wine merchant said, "I'm curious, how do you know its quality without tasting or smelling it?"
"secret."
The man said so.
After all, you can't say that it was marked by the system.
After paying the money, he easily lifted the barrel full of liquor with one hand, found a small corner where no one could see him, and put the barrel into his backpack like a magic trick. Then Levi continued to stroll around the market empty-handed.
A gust of wind blew by, blowing a few drops of water into the market.
“It’s a rare heavy rain.”
A bronze-skinned resident looked out, shook his head, and chose to retreat and wait for a while.
Probably due to the climate and region, almost everyone here has this skin color.
To the west from here is the port of Umbar, and to the east is the Great Desert of Harad - a vast desert larger than Mordor.
To the north is the Harnen Ferry, and across the ferry is the battle zone between Umbar and Gondor, Harondor.
The Harnen River is the historical dividing line between Gondor and Umbar. Harondor was once called 'South Gondor' and was Gondor's territory. However, due to the decline of Gondor's national strength and the invasion of the Haradrim, it no longer belongs directly to Gondor, but is in a state of dispute.
Various disputes and battles continued to arise between the Haradrim and the Gondorians on this land, and the border guards of both sides were always on guard against each other.
Levi came through this area.
In this market with regional characteristics built of black stone bricks and red ceramic tiles, many people who were soaked ran over in a hurry to avoid getting soaked later.
Levi was not afraid of water, but he did not go out because he had not walked enough.
Lemons, dates, bananas, pomegranates, oranges, olives... There are many things in this market that you can't find in the north, so buy as many as you can.
At this moment, Li Wei has transformed into a meticulous traveling merchant, thinking carefully about what things are worth taking back.
Levi's strict selection will definitely produce quality products.
Nothing that doesn't taste good will end up in his backpack and be taken away.
“Where’s the watermelon?”
“Why don’t I see any watermelon?”
In front of the fruit merchant's stall, Levi looked left and right but couldn't find what he wanted.
"I saw someone selling watermelon wine, how come there is no watermelon?"
The stall owner stared at Levi for a long time, speechless.
He pointed behind Levi.
Levi turned around in the direction he pointed and saw a pile of large melons with light green patterns piled on the ground.
What else could it be but watermelon? "Ahem."
Levi picked up a watermelon, patted it twice, and then put it close to listen to the sound coming back.
Not bad, it’s a good melon.
"How do you sell this melon?"
"Two silver coins per pound."
Levi stopped moving.
"Interesting, are the watermelon seeds made of gold or is the rind made of silver?"
Apparently the fruit merchant also understood what Li Wei meant, and he said on the spot: "You can buy it or not, but I can tell you that you won't find another store selling watermelons in this whole market."
"OK."
Levi put the watermelon down and was about to take out the silver coins when suddenly there was a commotion outside the market.
Bang!
The wooden wheel ran over a stone, causing the whole car to jolt.
Many eyes looked through the rain in the direction where the sound came from.
A vehicle, or rather a prisoner van, was being escorted by seven or eight soldiers towards the town center.
There was a man inside, covered in blood, with arrows stuck in his shoulders and legs. His skin color was different from everyone else here, it was pale.
He was also wearing a kind of silver-white armor with a tree-like pattern engraved on it, and there were seven stars on the tree.
That is the symbol of Gondor, the White Tree of Gondor.
How could a Gondorian be here? The prisoner cart stopped in front of the market, and the soldiers dispersed, revealing the Gondorian who seemed to be unconscious.
One of them shouted to the crowd gathered in the market: "We won a great victory in the battle with Gondor a day ago. This is the enemy's general. He was captured by us!"
Oh! The crowd immediately cheered, and many people threw the things in their hands into the cage, but no matter how hard they threw, the person inside remained paralyzed, not even blinking.
"Kill him! Kill him!"
Many people shouted loudly.
The soldier who shouted shook his head and put his hand down, signaling people not to get excited for the time being.
"Unfortunately, we can't kill him."
"Why?" someone asked.
"Because he's dead!"
The crowd exploded again, cheering.
Bang! Squeezed in the lively crowd, Li Wei couldn't help but split the watermelon in his hand and picked up one of the slices to eat.
"You're going to split my melon, aren't you?"
The noise immediately alarmed the owner of the fruit stall. He suddenly turned around and found that while he was watching the excitement, the melons were gone.
"I'll pay you."
Levi threw a handful of silver coins over, and the boss's anger immediately turned into a smile. He quickly put the silver coins away without even counting them.
There are just enough silver coins, more or less. If I count them clearly, it would be bad if he asks for change.
'Not dead yet.'
Levi finished eating a slice of melon, put the rest into his backpack, squeezed through the crowd and took a step forward.
The man who was squeezed outside and caught in the rain turned back and glared at Levi angrily. However, when he met the cold gaze from under his wide hood, he suddenly shuddered, lowered his head and walked aside.
Levi raised his head and looked at the "Gondor General" in the cage.
When the escorting soldier announced his death, people put away the stones and rotten fruits in their hands and stopped throwing them.
but…
Not dead yet.
Levi took another step forward, without taking his eyes off the cage.
The Gondor general in the cage still had a drop of blood hanging on him, he was not dead yet.
But he is not dead now. If he continues like this, it is hard to say what will happen. He might die suddenly in the next second.
No time to waste.
"Hey, over there!"
After announcing the news, the soldiers were preparing to escort the "corpse" to somewhere else. Suddenly, one of them frowned and turned his head to look at the man who walked out of the market.
"Can't you see we have to hurry?"
He pointed at the man in the linen robe whose face could not be seen clearly and scolded: "I'm talking about you. If you don't want to cause trouble, step back and don't stand in front of us!"
"stir up trouble?"
Levi smiled.
The next moment, the long sword was drawn out, and the falling rain was briefly cut off for a moment. The linen robe was also opened as the action progressed, revealing the black armor underneath.
Boom! The soldier's heart was filled with alarm bells, and he felt a little panicked for no reason.
“Who are you!?”
A group of soldiers immediately drew their weapons and went on alert.
"A passerby."
The strong wind swept past with the rain, blowing the hood slightly to the side.
It also brought the much-talked-about war in the East into people's minds.
The ruthless man who murdered tens of thousands of Orcs and Easterlings, beat the King of Khan to his knees, killed the Ringwraith lieutenant 'The Shadow of the East' and several other Ringwraiths in succession, and easily killed the general of Harad and tore apart a mammoth war elephant with his bare hands while surrounded by thousands of troops, the legendary "Shadow of War".
The rumored image overlapped with the figure in front of them, and the soldiers felt an absurd sense of unreality.
Could it be him?
No way? (End of this chapter)
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