Chapter 999: Chapter 998: Not as Before
Early the next morning, Walnut took Fang Zheng and Kurumi to the city gate to meet Katie. After a brief conversation, they confirmed each other’s tasks and set out.
However, looking at the caravan in front of him, Fang Zheng slightly frowned.
Katie wasn’t lying. Besides the carriage Katie was riding in, there were a total of three flatbeds responsible for carrying goods. After Fang Zheng carefully observed, there didn’t seem to be any problem with these goods; they were just very ordinary products. Of course, they were definitely valuable, but the problem... lies in this value.
Based on Fang Zheng’s previous experience with the Northern Trading Company, generally speaking, the company has its own guard squad. Hiring mercenaries is largely to fill gaps.
In other words, low-level combats are sufficient, but they need to hire a few high-level fighters to steady the scene.
Of course, one doesn’t expect to hire a Legendary Powerhouse, but generally, qualified regular mercenaries would be enough to hold the place. After all, ordinary bandits and thieves wouldn’t be that high-level, elite at best. Going any higher to master level, they could easily find a well-paid and respectable job elsewhere, rather than getting into such a hopeless career as a bandit.
Even ordinary elite-level professionals are enough to become a guard for some nobility, unless there’s some hidden reason, who would become a bandit?
And precisely because of this, generally speaking, a group of ordinary guards plus a few regular mercenaries are actually enough to ensure the safety of a caravan.
But Katie’s caravan is different; they don’t have their own guards at all. Just four drivers and Katie, making a total of five people. And those four drivers aren’t young anymore, they don’t seem to have any combat ability. That means the safety of this caravan is entirely in the hands of Walnut, Kurumi, and Fang Zheng.
In other words, if Fang Zheng and the others had any malicious intentions, they could easily act when no one else is around, directly kill the four drivers, and then bind this Young Lady Katie. The entire caravan’s goods and this Young Lady would become their spoils of war.
How did this Young Lady end up so miserable?
Fang Zheng recalls that during the mission, she seemed quite wealthy; she shouldn’t be this poor.
Speaking of which...
"Walnut, Walnut..."
"Hmm? What’s up? Little Hong?"
Hearing Fang Zheng calling her name, Walnut, sitting on the side of the cart, curiously turned her head to look at him.
"This commission’s reward... how is it?"
"Ugh..."
Upon hearing Fang Zheng’s question, Walnut furrowed her brows in thought, and then stuck out her tongue.
"Honestly, the reward isn’t high; in fact, it’s relatively low. Frankly speaking, the association secretly told me that this commission has been hanging for a while, but most people don’t want to take it. One reason is the journey distance, another is the low reward. To put it bluntly, this kind of reward is barely enough to cover the round-trip travel expenses. While some mercenaries did take the commission, the employer didn’t seem to trust them, so no agreement was reached..."
At this point, Walnut shrugged her shoulders and spread her hands.
"But this time is different. It seems that the employer trusts us quite a bit, and our primary goal is to head to Silver City. Earning a little less isn’t a big deal, right? In fact, the employer previously asked me why we accepted the commission, and I told her we wanted to visit Silver City to broaden our horizons."
So that’s it.
Upon hearing Walnut’s answer, Fang Zheng nodded secretly. It seems Katie is somewhat reliable, knows how to protect herself. She probably saw that her side was all girls, and with Walnut’s reputation, agreed to it. Compared to ordinary, unknown mercenaries, those of the same gender with a good reputation are evidently the best choice.
"But you sound quite odd when you mention it."
Sitting on the cart, Walnut swung her legs and curiously spoke.
"I’ve been here for several months, and I’ve somewhat heard about that so-called Land of Wealth. People say they lack nothing but money and are very extravagant. It’s unbelievable how this little girl, who does business in the Land of Wealth, seems so poor... looks like the rumors can’t be fully trusted."
No, the people in that country genuinely have money. This Young Lady... at least used to be quite rich.
As for now... it’s hard to say.
Thinking this, Fang Zheng shook his head and then looked at Walnut, asking another question from his heart.
"Walnut, do you... feel comfortable staying here?"
"Uh..."
Faced with Fang Zheng’s question, Walnut furrowed her brows.
"If you ask about feeling comfortable, initially, I was definitely uncomfortable. For instance, sanitation conditions here are quite ordinary, and for us mercenaries, it’s difficult to find a restroom when out. Thankfully, Sister Kurumi and I don’t have to worry about it... other mercenaries have it tough, I’ve often seen mercenaries hurry into the bushes to relieve themselves... Oh, last time on a mission, a mercenary went into the woods for convenience and got bitten by a poisonous snake... tsk tsk tsk..."
"Cough cough, I’m not talking about this..."
Listening to Walnut’s complaints about these matters, Fang Zheng coughed a few times; this issue... hmm, he doesn’t want to delve into it.
"What I mean is... would it be more peaceful on the Heavenly Dao Palace’s side, and you wouldn’t have to deal with fighting? Haven’t you thought about returning to Heavenly Dao Palace?"
"Of course I have, after all, I have a lot of friends over there. But honestly, once I got used to it, I found life here quite good. Mercenaries sound troublesome, but those who issue commissions have their own troubles, which leads them to seek help. Solving their problems makes me feel good. And..."
At this point, Walnut clenched her fist and swung it.
"We are a secret unit gathering intelligence. Doesn’t that sound particularly cool? Like undercover agents in movies..."
No, that comparison isn’t quite right...
Listening to Walnut’s enthusiastic talk, Fang Zheng’s head was filled with black lines. But fortunately, it seems Walnut doesn’t have any psychological shadows or complaints and discomfort.
Perhaps, previously, he really thought of them as too fragile?
It’s uncertain whether it’s due to everyone’s good luck or the Goddess’s blessing; they didn’t encounter any issues on their first day of the journey and not on the second day either. The only incident was meeting a few wild wolves while camping at night, which Kurumi shot dead and Fang Zheng roasted to add to their meal.
By the way, wolf meat is really tough and tasteless.
However, on the third morning, as Fang Zheng, Walnut, and Kurumi woke up and planned to have breakfast and continue on the journey, they suddenly heard some commotion by the front carriage. The three of them curiously went over, only to discover the Leader of the Caravan was negotiating something with Katie.
"B-but we agreed to this..."
"You can’t say that, Young Lady. You just heard, that path now seems dangerous. We’re just ordinary people; we don’t dare risk our lives..."
"What’s wrong? What’s happening?"
Hearing the dispute, Walnut curiously walked over and asked, and upon seeing Walnut appear, Leader of the Caravan also showed a bitter expression.
"Miss Walnut, you listen. Just now, we encountered a horse team passing from ahead. I went to gather some information, and those horse team members told us the road ahead leading to Gray Whale Harbor is extremely dangerous..."
"Dangerous?"
"Yes, recently, it seems there’s a necromancer appearing there. We are just ordinary drivers, not as capable as you all. So I wanted to suggest to the Young Lady to take another route, bypassing through Rockfall Valley. It might take a few extra days, but it’ll surely be safe; that horse team bypassed through Rockfall Valley."
"Isn’t that good?"
Upon hearing this, Walnut blinked.
"What’s the problem?"
"B-but, doing this will take an extra three days..."
Katie, anxious with a red face, clenched her fists, her eyes teary as she looked at the Leader of the Caravan.
"By doing this, when we get to Gray Whale Harbor, we will miss the ship to Silver City. The next one won’t be for another week... the goods won’t be delivered on time..."
"But Young Lady, safety is more important than anything. Even if you give me more money, I have to be alive to spend it, right? If I die, then earning this money would be useless... and I say Young Lady, you don’t want to die, do you? Those necromancers aren’t nice people..."
"Ugh..."
Katie, clearly not good with words, bowed her head in silence facing the Leader of the Caravan’s speech. Fang Zheng simply shook his head, remembering clearly that this Young Lady has always been bad at interacting with others, and now it seems her shyness hasn’t improved but rather intensified...
But... this is a real problem.