It was not surprising that Riva lost his voice in shock, and the people around him also understood that this news would be a huge shock to anyone.
After all, war is a distant word from most people. The four major kingdoms of the Soma people have been at peace for more than 40 years. The biggest disturbance caused by the wild orcs is the harassment before winter every year. If they are lucky, they can loot a lot of food, but if they are unlucky, they cannot attack the Soma border.
Once winter comes, large areas between the east and west will be blocked by ice and snow, and traveling at this time will be a joke with your life.
But as long as the spring thaw comes, the wild orcs who have survived the winter will usher in the most important harvest season of the year, the harvest of mira ice grass and green ice in early spring.
The rhizomes of Mira Ice Grass are rooted deep in the hard ice and snow, and the veins of the leaves are covered with white snow, but it can absorb nutrients and grow in the cold winter. Its rhizomes are not only rich in nutrients, but the tiny and sparse leaves are important medicinal materials and even additives for nobles' drinks. Green ice is a circle of ice-like substance frozen on the edge of the rhizomes that is not easy to melt. It has a sweet and cool taste and is the most precious sugar raw material.
This is an important source of wealth for the Wild Beastmen, and is also a priceless treasure that has never had trouble selling. Every year, a large number of merchants from the Wild Beastmen, Soma people, and even some other creatures, use legal or illegal means to trade these resources for profit, regardless of danger.
Each place has its own proud specialty and it is not impossible to survive. There is even an increasing trend of peaceful development. At least the Orcs and Soma people have had a lot of legal trade more than a decade ago.
"This is wrong!!! This is very wrong. Why did the orcs suddenly attack the kingdom, in the autumn before winter?"
Riva was thinking about this in his mind, and suddenly spoke, looking at the people in the team with a very serious expression.
"Perhaps, the wild orcs are just so cruel, they have been eyeing our wealth for a long time..."
A woman said this, but saw Riva frowning.
Although Riva was just a commoner and often had limited vision, he had a strong curiosity and had learned about some of the world's wonders and local characteristics in his own way, so he knew that this statement was incorrect.
He explained to everyone bit by bit what he had just thought about, talking about the wealth of the beastman nobles and the horror of winter in the west.
"So, the orcs are not actually poor. To be exact, they are just like us civilians. The poor ones are just some civilians in the orc tribe. Usually, the ones who come to plunder before winter are the collective groups of these orc refugees, so the regular army of the kingdom never takes them seriously."
Riva spoke very logically. This information seemed far from ordinary people, but that was just because ordinary people did not have the energy or the desire to understand it. Riva, who had an extremely strong curiosity since childhood, knew a lot.
Pisili's expression moved slightly. He used to be a chef in a high-end tavern of a noble lord in the city, so he knew some of the situation. He had handled the famous high-end product, green rock sugar, many times and knew that it was very precious.
"Yes, Lord Riva is right. I know green rock sugar. Many of you may not have heard of it, but a small can is enough for ordinary people to eat for a month. That thing is only available in the territory of the Wild Beastmen. Many merchants spend a lot of money to buy it! There must be many rich people among the Wild Beastmen!"
After all, Pisili is older, and he feels something is not right at this moment.
"But what's the use of knowing this... The war has already begun, the orcs will fight..."
A man said somewhat dejectedly.
These are still too far away for civilians. What good would it do even if they knew them? Could the dead come back to life?
Riva's eyes were dim too. Yes, it was indeed useless.
However, Yui looked at Riva in surprise while holding the bowl of soup. Were those words just spoken by Riva himself?
She thinks Riva is actually very amazing. Even though he knows that these things are useless, he is still very amazing and his analysis is very good!
Qin Xiaoxia saw it more clearly. From Riva's simple words, he understood that the development and interests of both the Orcs and the Soma people had been continuously improving over the years. From this point of view, war was absolutely not in the interests of both the Orcs and the Soma people.
Moreover, we had learned before that there were monster-like orcs, as well as the strange phenomenon of being able to enslave some giants. Regardless of the abnormal weather, it was enough to show that this war was full of weirdness.
Of course, Riva's performance also impressed Qin Xiaoxia. This guy is still very smart, but sometimes his vision is too narrow.
"By the way, we encountered a giant monster on the forest path a few days ago. Is it related to this?"
Yui said casually, shocking everyone.
"What!!! There's a giant monster here!!!"
"Ah~~~~Mom, there's a giant monster here!!"
"Troll!! Did you really see a troll??"
More than a dozen people were all looking around at the night sky like nervous people, fearing that the giant monster would suddenly rush out and kill people and eat flesh.
About two hours passed, and it was late at night. Everyone in the makeshift camp had rested. Riva also lay down beside the fire to rest, while Youyi lay on a rock nearby and looked at the stars.
Then he suddenly sat up, listened to something, his face changed, and he hurriedly shook his friends around him.
"Riva, Riva wake up! Wake up quickly!!"
"Ah? What…"
"Shh! Don't be too loud, there's a giant monster approaching, and we can smell the stench from far away!"
"What!?"
Riva suddenly woke up from his shock and looked at the civilians sleeping on the ground around him. He knew that because of the presence of this fake master like him, they slept particularly soundly. It could be said that it was the soundest sleep they had had in recent times.
"Quick, wake them up separately, and be quiet!"
"Um!"
Yui and Riva went on the left and right to wake up the sleeping people, of course covering their mouths beforehand.
Soon everyone in the camp woke up in fear, because everyone knew that the troll was coming.
Old Pisili and Riva put out the remaining campfire and covered all the charcoal with soil.
Everyone lay prone on the ground, and soon they felt the ground shaking slightly.
The troll has a very sensitive sense of smell. Last time, Riva and Yui were on the windward side so they could hide themselves, but now the wind direction is very unfavorable to them. The troll should have smelled their scent, but now everyone still has a lucky mentality, hoping to avoid it by hiding here.
There were four giant monsters in the distance, carrying weapons that were probably sticks or something else.
A giant monster crouched down and sniffed the ground.
The "hissing..." sound of breathing could be clearly heard in the dark night. That was where the people in the team went to the toilet in the evening.
“Bang… bang… bang…”
The trolls walked straight towards the camp, making everyone's scalp tingle.
"Run?"
"Run? Unless you have a horned helmet beast or ride on another mount, you can't outrun the giant monster!"
"Shh, keep your voice down..."
In the anxious silence, more than a dozen people glanced in Riva's direction intentionally or unintentionally.
Riva hoped that Youi could find some solution, but the girl kept her head down and said nothing, while secretly pulling Riva's hand.
Seeing this situation, Riva felt very disappointed. Although they had not been together for a long time, he knew Yui very well. There was obviously nothing he could do with a girl like this.
Yui's faint but clear strange voice rang in Yui's ears.
"Riva, I... can't kill that kind of monster... let's run..."
Yui knew that she only had the power of protection and some weak talents as a living being, which were not enough for her to deal with a monster as aggressive and powerful as the troll.
Riva's breathing was trembling. He knew that these people were looking at him. He didn't dare to look them in the eye. He also knew that he was just a show-off. Fear and the desire to survive made him realize that it was right to run with Youyi, and they could run away...
"Everyone... I..."
Riva turned his head and wanted to say that he was powerless, but he swallowed and couldn't open his mouth.
But even if no one said anything, people were very sensitive at this time. The flickering eyes and expression made everyone realize something, and everyone's face turned pale.
"Brother Ranger... don't abandon us..."
A child about eleven or twelve years old was suppressing his tears.
"Don't, don't leave us..."
"Please..."
"grown ups……"
Everyone knows that this request is selfish, and everyone knows that no matter how strong a person is, he cannot defeat a giant monster, let alone four of them.
Riva, who wanted to escape, was stunned. His pleading brought back memories of the last time he died.
Everyone left, leaving me to die in the forest. That feeling of fear, helplessness, and despair as if I were falling into an abyss...
"Yuyi, you said I'm no longer an ordinary person, right?!"
Good boy!!
Qin Xiaoxia's eyes lit up. Just based on what you said, you deserve the mark on the palm of your right hand!
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