"These are enchanting materials?"
Linde was quite surprised. You see, enchanting materials are considered very valuable strategic resources here. After all, high-level weapons and armor rely on enchanting to increase their strength. Moreover, the number of monsters in the Kree Empire is not large, and the production of enchanting materials cannot meet the demand. These enchanting materials can be considered rare commodities.
"My lord, we orcs have abundant magical beast materials, and these are the last thing we lack."
Nazra casually picked up a bone from the box, a bone from an unknown magical beast. The bone shone brightly in the sunlight, like a piece of amber.
"You don't need to worry about the quality of these enchanting materials, they are all top-notch. The success rate of enchanting with them will be much higher than that of materials produced elsewhere."
"So how do you plan to sell it?"
Linde was genuinely tempted. These enchanting materials were extremely rare, and the future need to arm soldiers and build an army would inevitably lead to a huge demand for them.
“Well then, sir, since we’ve met in the wilderness, it must be fate.” Nazha stretched out her hands and gestured. “How about I sell you these enchanting materials at 80% of the market price?”
Linde looked at the batch of materials; there was about one truckload and four boxes. At market price, each box would cost more than 100 gold coins, and the total would be close to 500 gold coins.
Linde wasn't particularly well-off. He hadn't received much sponsorship from the old count; he only had 1,000 gold coins from the old count and 100 gold coins he had saved up.
Consuming this entire truckload of enchanting materials was indeed quite a "bleed," but it was all worth it.
"Okay, we'll do it your way."
Seeing that Linde agreed, the fox girl smiled and said, "A generous gift of 416 gold coins."
Soon, Lind instructed two soldiers to bring a box of gold coins from the camp, from which they counted out the full amount of gold coins to complete the transaction.
At this moment, Nazra ordered her servants to bring in an item and said to Linde, who was about to leave, "I have something to give to you, sir."
Linde thought to himself: Now that it's here, I knew it wouldn't be over so easily.
Linde had just carefully observed the caravan and found that its armed forces were much stronger than he had imagined. Apart from the minotaur guards he had seen at the beginning, there were many orc guards of various personalities, and their equipment was also very good. They were either carrying valuables or had other plans.
Aster, who was traveling with them, also noticed this, and kept his hand on the sword at his waist.
Several servants carried in an object wrapped tightly in a cloth blanket; it looked like a sword.
Nazra lifted the cloth covering the sword, revealing its true form. It was an exquisitely decorated knight's sword, with various gemstones inlaid on the hilt and guard, and further adorned with gold trim, making it appear quite magnificent.
As Nazra drew her knight's sword, its sharp blade revealed that it was no mere ornament; more than one enchanted light gleamed on the edge.
Nazra explained, "This weapon is a high-level enchanted weapon crafted by the dwarves. It is quite valuable, so please accept it, sir."
Seeing the sword offered by Nazra with both hands, Linde did not accept it directly, but asked:
"Miss Nazra is presenting this sword with both hands; surely you have something to ask of me? Why don't you tell me?"
“Sir, you are a wise man. This is my daughter’s first time in Gross. I hope you will do us a favor and let us follow your caravan into the city.”
Linde finally understood. This fox-girl had this plan all along. Foreign caravans had to pay a hefty tax to enter the city. She wanted to use Linde's noble privileges to enter the Fortified City, saving on taxes, getting into the city quickly, and finally, the gifts she gave would also build good relations with the nobles. It was a triple win.
Linde certainly wouldn't refuse such a good thing offered to him, but he still had to put on an act, so he pretended to reluctantly accept her offer.
And so, the two teams, one large and one small, once again embarked on their journey to the fortified city.
On the way, Astaire, who was traveling with him, came over and said, "Sir, I feel there's something wrong with that caravan we just saw."
As a soldier who had served the Truk family for many years, Astaire couldn't help but speak up to remind them.
"I also feel something's not right. What's your opinion?"
Linde knew that Astaire, as an elite warrior, was very sensitive to his surroundings, and if he sensed something was wrong, there must be something strange about it.
"As a caravan, it's understandable that they're wary of other groups on the road, but as a freight caravan, they have too little cargo and too much protection."
"Based on my experience, apart from the few silver-level minotaurs at the entrance, there are many bronze-level orc warriors in the caravan."
"Moreover, their caravan had a lot of things covered with canvas, and I don't know what they were. So, I guess they were either transporting some contraband that they shouldn't have been carrying, or they were a slave-catching team."
"Can you determine what's being transported in the tarpaulin-covered vehicle?"
"No, they're too far away, and there are many guards around those cars."
"Then send one or two people to keep an eye on things from a distance. Anyway, we're only staying in Fortified City for a short time. Since they're not coming for us, let the lord of Fortified City worry about the rest."
"Yes, sir."
——————
"Lord Adhan, that young lord has been sending men to loiter around our caravan. I'm afraid..."
"What's there to be afraid of? No matter how many people are watching, they can't see through the thick canvas. Let's follow them into the city first, and the rest will be easy."
The fox-girl stroked the thick canvas, from which came a muffled sound. The girl then uttered a strange syllable, and the things inside the canvas quickly fell silent again.
…………
In fact, Linde had some guesses about what was in the Cloudclaw Merchant Guild. Just now, when they were in their camp, Linde sensed it through the activation aura. Behind the thick canvas, there was a faint active light.
At least they knew the cargo in the truck was alive. Lind guessed that it contained the eggs or young of some rare creature.
Lind doesn't want to get involved in these things right now. After all, Lind doesn't want to get caught up in some strange struggles on the way. Lind just wants to get to his territory as soon as possible.
Linde planned to stay in Fortified City for two days to replenish supplies, rest his troops, and also to learn about the situation in his own territory and the surrounding territories from the local lord.
Speaking of local lords, we must mention the current lord of Fortified City, Viscount Swift.
This man was quite a legend. He was originally the second heir of a remote noble family. After the original heir died, he was fortunate enough to become a baron. He then returned his territory to the royal family and formed an army to follow Grand Duke Cree in his campaigns. In the end, he achieved great military exploits and obtained this huge city.
Some say he was cunning and rose to power through murder, while others say he was loyal to the Grand Duke; opinions vary widely.
Just as Linde was pondering how to deal with this nobleman, Astaire beside him shouted:
"My lord, look! We can already see the fortified city."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com