"Haa—"
"Hoo!"
Beneath an ancient tree, several colossal figures darted through the forest.
They swung the clubs in their hands.
Trees as thick as a bowl were smashed and toppled in the jungle.
Chen Yu, standing on the ancient tree, held his breath.
Fortunately, these giants seemed to have no interest in the sturdy ancient tree where Chen Yu and the others were. Or rather, they knew that this tree couldn't be broken by the clubs in their hands. Several giants tacitly bypassed the ancient tree.
After the giants disappeared,
Chen Yu on the branch breathed a sigh of relief. Unexpectedly, when he looked back, Mi Ye was nowhere to be seen.
About half a minute passed.
Traces of figures shuttled through the treetops in the forest, and Mi Ye reappeared before Chen Yu, wearing a magic cloak.
"You're quite daring."
Mi Ye, who had taken off the magic cloak, had a look of shock in her eyes, and she gestured towards the paper-thin magic cloak in her hand.
"This thing is good. Where did you get it?"
"Equipment merchant." Chen Yu whispered.
He wanted to keep his ability to craft equipment a secret for as long as possible. If others knew he could craft equipment endlessly, he wasn't sure if the shock value of such news would surpass the Commander's Tiger Talisman.
In the caves, no one possessed equipment blueprints.
"Oh, right, you're on good terms with the Elton family." Mi Ye nodded in realization. "The Elton family can mass-produce equipment with special skills like this and sell them to the public. It's hard to believe how they were once just a small commercial family, and even forced by the Tatu royal family to abandon their ancestral land and seek a living in the Batu Federation."
Chen Yu remained silent on this.
He wasn't surprised that Mi Ye knew about his relationship with the Elton family. Those who might cooperate in the future would surely investigate each other secretly to know them well, which would make them feel more at ease.
Chen Yu had also investigated Mi Ye quite a bit in secret.
It was an unspoken understanding.
"Since you're so familiar with the Elton family, do you know how they became equipment merchants? I don't think their family had always been hiding something." Mi Ye pursed her lips slightly, a faint smile in her eyes. "Or, perhaps you are the real equipment merchant."
"I wish I were," Chen Yu said with a wry smile.
"Whether you wish for it or it's true, who knows? It was only after the Elton family started cooperating with you that they suddenly transformed into a high and mighty equipment supplier, and you've become the focus of attention in the entire cave. A foreigner, developing to this extent in just one year, recognized by the Commander's Tiger Talisman, Lord Chen, the word 'equipment merchant' appearing with you isn't surprising at all."
"Hahaha, Lord Mi Ye flatters me."
"Oh, you don't have to be so formal. Whether you're an equipment merchant or not isn't important to me. I've made it clear that my destiny doesn't allow me to do great things." Mi Ye said with a smile. "Besides, if you are an equipment merchant, it's not a bad thing for me, at least the supply of equipment won't be restricted in the future. We are cooperating in good faith, aren't we?"
"If you need equipment, I can contact them for you."
"Really?"
"It's cooperation, as you said."
"If it's truly possible, I'd quite like to purchase a set of equipment. But we can discuss these matters later. This place isn't suitable for business talk right now."
Chen Yu smiled noncommittally, but his heart was alarmed.
A formidable woman.
He didn't know if Mi Ye had discovered any clues. At least, in Chen Yu's opinion, she shouldn't have any reason to discover such things.
If that were the case, everything she said was her conjecture.
To reach such a point based on speculation, this woman's mind was terrifying. No wonder she could rise to power by stepping on her father and brothers, and in just six months, annex the territories around her city.
In terms of territory size,
Within Fengqi City, even the territory Chen Yu possessed was far less than Mi Ye's.
Chen Yu had been developing all along.
He hadn't attacked many cities.
Mi Ye's troops had been actively preparing for battle and conquering cities every day for the past six months. The speed of her territorial expansion was something Chen Yu himself marveled at.
Throughout the conversation, Mi Ye's eyes held a smile.
Even when she felt Chen Yu's gaze, she didn't shy away, smiling and meeting his eyes.
"Here they come again."
Suddenly, Mi Ye frowned and whispered.
"Do you intend to stay on this tree? Those monsters seem to be conducting a sweep. If they capture this tree, we'll be in for a fierce battle."
The fierce battle Mi Ye referred to wasn't about these giants.
It was about the surrounding monsters.
The entire jungle was teeming with monsters, and they showed no hostility towards each other. This indicated that they were likely the monsters attacking Lanfeng City.
If Chen Yu and the others appeared, the monsters would undoubtedly attack together.
Dealing with so many monsters would be very difficult.
"At times like this, I prefer to believe in responding to change with constancy." Chen Yu said with a serious expression. "Since they are sweeping, this area outside Lanfeng City falls within their sweep zone. If we run around randomly, we might just stumble into their sweep, putting us in an even more dangerous situation. Besides, I don't think they have any particular interest in this tree."
As expected, another group of giants wielding clubs walked by.
This time, they were smashing trees to pieces.
Unexpectedly, they indeed had no special interest in the tree where Chen Yu and the others were.
They swung their clubs and left without even glancing at it.
"As expected of Lord Chen. Responding to change with constancy. I've learned a lot." Mi Ye smiled and tapped her lips, staring at the retreating backs of the giants. "If I'm not mistaken, those monsters just now were Cave Giants. These monsters are supposed to live in plains and relatively humid areas, not in mountainous regions."
"Indeed."
Chen Yu's Fengqi City territory had several Cave Giant nests.
They were all located in humid plains.
He had dispatched people to clear them out and obtained quite a bit of resources from the nests.
"And, these giants are a bit too tall."
"That's true." Mi Ye shrugged slightly. "The tallest I've ever dealt with was around six to seven meters, which were considered adult Cave Giants. This tree we're on is at least a hundred meters tall. Several of those giants just now were almost half the height of the tree. Cave Giants dozens of meters tall are unimaginable. Where did they come from, how could they grow so big, did they grow up eating pesticides?"
"I didn't expect Countess Mi Ye to tell jokes."
"Did I?"
Mi Ye paused for a moment, then her eyes showed seriousness and solemnity.
"I wasn't joking."
"I truly feel that these giant monsters have grown too large, looking just like... they've consumed some sort of growth stimulant."