novel
| ← Ch.019 | Ch.021 → |
Translator: Nyoi_Bo_Studio Editor: Nyoi_Bo_Studio
The bipedal dragon's meat was very tough and chewy, but it was not difficult to chew. It was a high quality, first-class meat. The taste was remarkable; it was complemented by Wrought Iron, the dwarf's spice and spirits that he was proud of, and it was roasted just to the right degree, so everyone ate with oil running beside the mouth. Even after eating, the strong taste still lingered in their mouths.
Such a barbecue, if in a big and bustling city, might be sold at a price of dozens of gold coins. It not only had a good taste, but also had some tonic effect on the body. If you ate these foods regularly, your body could become exceptionally powerful without doing any special sort of exercise.
Almost all of the offspring of important aristocracies were trained in this way.
"Delicious, delicious!" After swallowing a mouthful of barbecue, Gerrard could not help but praise aloud.
"Wrought Iron's cooking skills are getting better and better!" Old Soth nodded, praising, "It's one's best quality for when he gets old in the future."
Wrought Iron was nearly fifty years old. He could be considered young and promising among his fellow dwarves, as he would probably live for another one hundred years or more. Hearing the praise from Soth, the dwarf, who had been taking adventures with him since thirty years ago, could not help but laugh, "I remember when we first met, I was roasting a wolf I had just hunted. When you snuck over, I thought you were trying to steal things. But I didn't expect that you'd say "I will trade my liquor for your barbecue"..."
"Yeah, it's been 30 years since then, when I just ended my apprenticeship and always thought I'd be doing big business, making a big fortune, and becoming famous." Old Soth stroked his beard and said with a smile, "Now my son has grown up, and not long ago he complained to me that little Puck refused to obediently learn the business at home, but wanted to explore the world like his grandfather..."
"Thirty years have passed, and we are all old."
"'Do not use the word 'all', as only Soth and I are old. As for Wrought Iron, you are still young, " the bearded half-elf shook his head with a smile."Soth's energy had gone down, and within a few years, I will also have no energy to lead caravans. At the time young people will take over, you as an uncle might as well help them more."
Wrought Iron suddenly frowned, "I cannot do business! It's not a big deal if you ask me to lead them to have adventures, but leading them to do business? Isn't that a definite loss of money!?"
"Do not worry, we do not mean to retire abruptly. Rather, at that time, we also intend to lead them for a while longer, " An amiable smile showed on Soth's wrinkled face. He said, "And... I still want to visit the ancient temple of elves before I die and have a good chat with the immortal elder."
"I agree with this! That temple has good wines, and the elderly frog is also very kind." Wrought Iron immediately turned energetic, "Let's drink wine there then!"
While talking, Sui suddenly felt a mass of malicious energy approaching from afar. He hurriedly alerted Gerrard, who stood up and found a group of orcs galloping towards them by riding wolves.
"It's the Cavalry of Orcs and Wolves! Let's be on guard!"
The Cavalry of Orcs and Wolves was a notorious bandit gang in the region of four northwestern towns. These numerous and vicious bandits came from the wastelands of the North. As they were extremely ferocious, they carried out ruthless mass slaughters wherever they went. The task of exterminating them had been hung on the reward column in the four towns, but no one had been able to finish it. More than once adventurers departed in hopes of defeating them, but they had never returned.
For various reasons, the four northwestern towns had not set up an army. This might be because they hoped to prevent wars. But this also made them unable to disband such a large-scale and agile bandit gang such as the one at hand.
Therefore, the Cavalry of Orcs and Wolves grew and even dared to attack caravans settling on the vacant spaces, which were margins of the towns. They often succeeded.
They had come to attack the caravans once again.
Seeing dozens of green-skinned orcs galloping here by riding grey wolves, the businessmen all panicked. Those alert and decisive ones left the goods and ran toward the village to look for a safe place with shields without saying anything. They were hoping that the gangs would leave after plundering enough things and they could survive; those brave ones took out weapons and pushed down the carriage to form a fence, determined to fight desperately and rest in dignity even if they died; As for those who were the most clever, they ran straight towards the "Lucky Gold Coin", hoping to cooperate with them to seize the potential chance of survival.
The leaders of "Lucky Gold Coin" were veteran adventurers. Once they spotted a bandit, they were immediately ready to fight. Old Soth rushed far away with amazing agility, and began to make traps. His speed was incredible, as he could finish a trap while breathing twice or three times, fully demonstrating his superb skill as a veteran thief. Bodyguards, not hurried, put on a full set of equipment neatly and prepared for battle by taking advantage of the carriage. The dwarf, who was just busy dealing with the barbecue, got into the carriage. After a while, he had put on a heavy armor resembling a tortoiseshell, and become a powerful warrior with a heavy armor. The half-elf filled the ground around him with arrows in a short span of time, in order to quickly shoot. Even clerks were also taking leather armor and weapons out from the carriage, ready to fight.
"Whi... brother White, where is your wea... weapons?" Palin seemed a bit frightened, perhaps because it was the first time he had been faced with such a scene. He was holding his crystal-inlaid wand, nervously doing the preparation of casting magic, but he failed to calm down. Perhaps in hopes of appearing confident, he approached the big man Gerrard and asked with a low voice.
Since becoming a giant after being born again, Gerrard had never used any weapons. He buried the formerly used tomahawk and that memory in the ruins of the White Leaves village. He was barehanded at the moment, without even a piece of handy equipment.
Seeing the enemy approaching, he frowned. Looking around, his eyes suddenly shone. He quickly walked toward a tree about a foot wide.
"What... are you... doing?" There was a businessman by the tree putting on his leather armor, shivering. Seeing him suddenly approaching, he was astounded and stammered.
Gerrard ignored him and looked this tree up and down.
The trunk was straight, the wood was fine, and the leaves were lush; it was suitable.
So he bent down, clung to the tree trunk with his hands, let out a shout, and pulled it up in front of the nearby merchants, who were petrified. Splashes of earth fell like raindrops, and some even fell right in the mouth of the guy beside the tree who had stupidly kept his mouth open.
Weighing the weight of the tree with his hands and looking at the messy roots, Gerrard shook his head, somewhat dissatisfied.
The roots were a little bit troublesome, and it was likely that other companions would be hurt during the fight.
So he rested the root on the ground, fiercely trampled it underfoot, and slightly tidied it up with his thick palms. Then, the troublesome root was somewhat tidied-up. Seeing this, he waved it again and sighed.
"It is a little bit light, and the center of gravity is not very good, but I'll make do."
However, this scene had stunned everybody. These businessmen, as they had traveled widely, had seen many a man of unusual strength, but none had seen a man with a strength this phenomenal! Although there were rumors in folklores that "the giant used a big tree as his stick", when this scene really appeared in front of them, they could not help but feel suffocated and soft legged, even though they knew that the giant was their companion.
However, seeing such a powerful companion, they were greatly encouraged that they could succeed. In that instant, those panicked businessmen all calmed down, and even those who wanted to hide all ran out, taking out their weapons to fight side by side.
The Cavalry of Orcs and Wolves was indeed very powerful and very dangerous, but was it still more dangerous than a giant who could pull up a tree and use it as a club?
Absolutely impossible!
Gerrard, carrying his "big stick", returned to the formation of Lucky Gold Coin, standing in the front of the team and swaggering while confronting the galloping bandits.
In his past adventure experiences, there had been more than one fight against the bandits. But he had never been as confident and fearless as he was today.
He was even calm enough to turn his head and wave the tree that was taller than four or five people, smiling and grinning at Palin, "Hey, you see, this is my weapon!"
"Truly an incredible weapon!" The dwarf, Wrought Iron, praised, "It seems being tall is convenient!"
"Actually, I'd rather use a normal one, like a hammer or an ax, " explained Gerrard, "but I could not find one that suits my body!"
"The next town we are heading to is the Gold-panning Town, which is rich in ore, and I'll cast a weapon for you." The dwarf said, "Although my craftsmanship of casting weapons is only average, making a big ax won't be hard for me."
"Many thanks!" Gerrard laughed, "The pay... uh, the pay is coming."
As they talked, the orcs riding wolves drew close to them. Apparently, they also noticed Gerrard, as they suddenly tightened the reins, hesitating to move forward.
It's worth noting that not many people would be courageous enough to risk being smashed and killed when faced with a giant who was as tall as a city wall and was holding a whole tree as his weapon.
This was true even for bandits.
The bandit leader "Bloody Hands" Ruhr, an orc, was caught in a conflict. He was wearing leather armor shining with a magic light, holding a scimitar that shone with a magic light as well.
He knew how horrible this giant's power would be, and in normal conditions, he would surely lead his subordinates to take a detour that would not provoke this opponent; aside from the possible risks, they even couldn't afford the cost of killing this giant.
To kill such an opponent, he should be mentally prepared to lose half a bandit gang.
Without the regiment of thieves, who would he be in this wild barbarian place?
However, the news from a reliable channel strengthened his confidence.
He gazed at the bone bracelet on Gerrard's right wrist, which slightly shone with a magic light.
This treasure was far more worthwhile than the entire regiment of thieves!
A legendary treasure was enough to make him renowned in these four towns. Even if he returned to those prosperous areas, it was sufficient for him to settle down and enjoy a luxurious life.
In this case, he could end the historical mission of "Cavalry of Orcs and Wolves"!
Thinking of this, he finally made up his mind, wielded his scimitar, and issued the order to attack.
| ← Ch. 019 | Ch. 021 → |