Snow Village

"Are you really not lying to me?" Lancelot's voice trembled slightly, and the middle-aged man's face even showed the nervous expression of a child who had done something wrong. "Is that really Lady Serie?"

"Oh? You know her too."

Galan stepped out of the tent and saw Lancelot standing outside like a statue.

This guy... could he have been standing here all this time?

Serie should have seen him when she came out just now.

"How could I not know... It's just that I've never seen Serie in person... And I actually swung my sword at her..."

Seeing that this guy was about to get bogged down in internal strife again, Galan quickly interrupted the spellcasting. "Alright, alright," Galan stepped forward and patted him on the back. "Serie didn't come to pursue you, and you've been agonizing over this for so long. She's gone, so what are you still agonizing over?"

Galan was somewhat amused and exasperated that such a small matter had kept this calm and experienced warrior brooding over it for so long.

"Instead of wasting your time, you should go check on Xiuke and Frog. Once they've woken up, we'll get the guys ready to pack up and leave."

"Seriously, that kick of yours was really hard! Why hasn't he woken up yet?"

He woke up from Xiuke around the afternoon. When he sat up in bed, he felt incredibly relaxed, like he had never felt so good before.

This also forced Galan to once again marvel at Serie's power.

The magic she used not only cured the high fever in the Xiuke was in shock, but also healed his previous wounds.

I must say, she truly lives up to her reputation.

In contrast, Frog, who had been knocked unconscious by Lancelot's kick, slept until the next morning before slowly waking up. Seeing his dazed state after waking up, Galan suspected that the guy had suffered a concussion.

But after a diagnosis, it turned out he just hadn't had enough sleep.

Since both of them had woken up, the caravan had already eaten a simple breakfast, packed up their tents, and prepared to continue their journey towards [Äußerst].

They had already been delayed here for almost three days because of the Xiuke incident, but the caravan's speed could not be increased due to the harsh terrain of the snow-capped mountains.

To make matters worse, a wagon carrying provisions plunged off a cliff. Luckily, the driver was fortunate enough to jump off just before the fall, escaping the disaster. However, without enough provisions, the group had to search for a nearby village to replenish their supplies.

"It's been a long time since any caravans have passed through here."

The kind old man, leaning on his cane, looked at the group of people getting off the carriage and said with a smile.

Living in this icy, snowy place for a long time, I feel an extra sense of warmth and familiarity when I see people from outside, as if I'm seeing long-lost relatives.

"Village head."

"Village head"

At the village entrance, a group of strong young men, armed with weapons, made way for the old man, greeting him respectfully.

Galan, Frog, Lancelot stepped down from the lead carriage one by one and walked towards the villagers. They looked around, still somewhat surprised.

The village is heavily guarded; you can tell from the men at the village entrance who are clearly well-trained in combat. The influence of the Demon King's Army's war with humans has even spread to places like this, forcing them to be wary of monsters or Demons that may appear at any time.

"Village Chief, we are a caravan heading to [Äußerst], but the wagon carrying our provisions fell off a cliff, and we desperately need to replenish our supplies."

Frog spoke sincerely and got straight to the point, stating his purpose from the outset. After all, in this kind of situation, there was absolutely no need for the flattery and roundabout talk typical of the business world.

"I see. Caravans that came here often encountered this situation before."

The village chief stroked his beard, his voice calm and even, as if he were telling a story.

1

We can pay twice the price outside to buy the grain; you definitely won't lose out.

This wasn't charity, nor was it an attempt to spite Frog, who certainly didn't expect to receive food without any effort.

Moreover, even if the other party were willing to give it to him for free, he wouldn't accept it so easily.

He is a businessman, that's true, but he is by no means the kind of shameless person without any bottom line.

In these snow-capped mountains where resources are scarce and transportation is inconvenient, food is far more important to the villagers than to the outside world.

So even if he paid double the price, he couldn't guarantee the other party would accept "double the price?"

The village chief's tone was somewhat unpredictable.

The men beside him showed no surprise, seemingly not finding it a particularly enticing bargaining chip.

"Is it still not enough after all?"

Frog clicked his tongue, pondering in his mind, intending to raise his asking price again.

Without replenished food supplies, they would have difficulty even leaving the snow-capped mountains, so no matter the cost, they must take this day.

"It's not impossible," Frog was about to speak when the village chief suddenly added another line.

"Really?" Frog, somewhat surprised.

"But there's one more condition. You're going to travel such a long distance, so you must have a Mercenary Group with you, right? If you want food..."

"They'll have to help us hunt down the monsters that've appeared nearby. After all, every bit of food is precious to the village right now."

The village chief's eyes showed fatigue, as if he hadn't slept well for many days.

It was only then that Galan, standing behind Frog, noticed that some of the men were clearly injured and their breathing was somewhat disordered.

It looks like he suffered a pretty serious injury.

"A monster? What kind of monster?" Frog pressed.

"We call them Snow Monster. They're incredibly ferocious monsters. The night before last, they even sneaked into the village under cover of darkness."

If it weren't for the lookouts who spotted them in time and drove them away, perhaps our Snow Village wouldn't exist that night...

The old man's words revealed a deep sense of powerlessness and helplessness.

Many people around lowered their heads slightly after hearing this, seemingly helpless against this monster.

Without the protection of an army or the presence of a knightly order, it would be difficult for the village to deal with those troublesome monsters on its own.

"Okay, we'll take this on."

Frog agreed without hesitation, after only a few seconds of thought.

Although he didn't know exactly how troublesome that monster called the Snow Monster was, he was determined to get the food no matter what.

As for dealing with monsters, that should be left to the professionals.

Lancelot

He suddenly turned to Lancelot with a sly grin and said, "We'll have to rely on you this time too."