Liar Merchant

A few hours earlier.

"Prey? What prey could there be on a road meant for people to travel?" Berg looked puzzled.

In his view, if they wanted to hunt prey, they had to venture deep into the forest.

The more untraveled a place was, the more valuable the prey there would be.

"Did you forget that Clay Merchant who swindled your village?"

Yet Xian's casual remark immediately ignited Berg's anger.

"Of course I remember! That damned Clay bastard made a false oath before the gods just to deceive everyone. He insulted the gods, insulted us, and caused all those red fruits everyone spent an entire year cultivating to go to waste!"

Berg gritted his teeth, his eyes seeming ready to spit fire.

"If I hadn't been hunting in the forest at the time, I would have shot him dead with an arrow."

"Wait, Your Highness, could the prey you mean be him?" Berg suddenly realized.

Xian nodded slightly.

"Have you ever killed anyone?"

"No." Berg shook his head.

Though he often hunted wild beasts, and the corpses of the beasts he had killed could be piled into a small hill, he truly had never killed a person.

Neither have I, Xian muttered inwardly.

But that did not stop him from putting on the air of someone accustomed to death.

"Are you willing to kill?" Xian asked flatly.

"If it's a black-hearted Clay merchant without a conscience, one who cares nothing for human lives, then I'd be willing to slaughter however many of them come!"

Berg ran a finger along his bowstring, a flash of killing intent passing through his brown eyes.

"Who? Who shot that arrow?!"

Mills, who had fallen to the ground, shouted in shock and fury.

Following the direction the arrow had come from, he quickly spotted two figures in the bushes not far away.

But before he could question them, another arrow came whistling toward him at terrifying speed, shooting straight for his right eye.

Mills's hair stood on end. He wanted to dodge, but he had no time to react.

"Got him!"

Seeing this, Berg emerged excitedly from the bushes, ready to thoroughly inspect how much ill-gotten money this black-hearted merchant had in his wallet.

However, to his surprise, the arrow he had fired with all his strength struck what seemed to be a transparent shield just as it was about to pierce the man's eyeball. With a bang, the shaft bent and fell to the ground.

"What kind of magic is that?!" Berg's eyes widened in shock. His proud archery had been blocked so easily!

Xian, still standing in the bushes to conceal his Status Blessing, was equally surprised. It was his first time witnessing the supernatural power of this world, but he quickly calmed down.

Now that they had made a move, they were mortal enemies. There could be no stopping.

"Berg, keep shooting!" Xian shouted.

He refused to believe that the other man could keep using such a method forever.

Meanwhile, after blocking the arrow, Mills swiftly took a small hand crossbow from the luggage hanging off the dead horse. It was a defensive weapon he had bought at a great price.

Seeing the Hunter who had shot the arrow quickly recover from his shock and continue nocking arrows, Mills clenched his teeth and aimed the hand crossbow at him.

This was his last chance!

Whoosh! Whoosh! Two sharp arrows passed each other in midair. One flew accurately toward Mills's head, while the other veered wildly and only grazed Berg's shoulder.

After all, Mills was merely a merchant. He knew nothing about archery.

Bang! Just as the arrow was about to touch Mills's head, it encountered that same transparent shield. With a bang, the shaft bent and dropped to the ground.

But panic began to appear on his face.

"Damn it!"

Mills cursed, then immediately untied the bulging money pouch at his waist and hurled it with all his strength at the Hunter who was about to fire again.

Then he turned and ran without hesitation, moving as fast as a startled rabbit as he nimbly darted through the forest and vanished in the blink of an eye.

The Liar Merchant class had granted him two abilities. One was Illegitimate Protection, which could block two illegitimate attacks. The other increased his running speed, but it could only be used while fleeing.

His two protections had already been used up. If he kept fighting, his life would be in danger.

Although he loved money more than anything else, it still came second to his life. Besides, he had already exchanged most of his wealth for Gold Sol and hidden it in his shoe insoles. The money in the pouch was only a portion of it.

More than a hundred coins spilled from the pouch, clattering everywhere and blocking Berg's view. The sight of so much money, more than he had ever seen before, also made his emotions waver for a moment.

By the time he came to his senses and aimed again, Mills had already disappeared into the dense forest.

"I'm sorry, Your Highness. I failed to kill him."

Berg said dejectedly, holding his head.

He felt incredibly foolish. He had performed so poorly before his future lord.

No, after this, the other party probably would not even be willing to become his lord.

I'm so stupid, I'm so stupid, I'm so stupid. "It's all right. Count how much money there is."

Looking at the thick, silent forest ahead, Xian soothed him despite the unease in his heart.

He did not want the village's main fighting force and ultimate weapon to lose his will to fight.

"Your Highness, there are sixteen Silver Sol and eighty-three Copper Sol in total!"

Berg held a large handful of shining silver coins in both hands, his face full of delight.

"That guy really was a profiteer. He was quite well-off," Xian remarked.

From what he had learned, the currency issued by the Sossia Kingdom was called Sol, divided into Copper Sol, Silver Sol, and Gold Sol.

Eighty Copper Sol could be exchanged for one Silver Sol, while forty Silver Sol could be exchanged for one Gold Sol.

As for the purchasing power of the coins, put it this way: a basket filled to the brim with fresh red fruits could only be sold for ten Copper Sol at the normal market price.

And the agricultural tax Fruit Basket Village had to pay its lord each year was only twenty-one Silver Sol.

"Berg, if you take this money back to the village, will it be enough to pay the agricultural tax?" Xian asked.

"It'll be enough, Your Highness. Although Fruit Basket Village has little money now, everyone can still scrape together four Silver Sol." Berg nodded sharply, his eyes filled with shock.

He had assumed this noble Highness would take all the coins, but he had not expected him to leave every last one for the village to pay its taxes.

It was simply... simply nothing like a noble at all!

Yet this also caused a trace of respect to rise in his heart.

"Your Highness, thank you for your generosity and wisdom. Even if you are unwilling to take me as your attendant, I will still be willing to serve you for the rest of my life."

Berg dropped to one knee and spoke solemnly.

Xian smiled but did not answer.

"Burn this carriage."

"By the way, Your Highness, how did you know that Clay Merchant would definitely come back?"

As the two returned with the money pouch and some goods they had found in the carriage, Berg could not help asking.

"Because he paid a deposit," Xian replied calmly.

"Creatures like merchants would sell even the noose around their own necks for money. How could they possibly tolerate their money being wasted for nothing?"

"So he would definitely come back, even knowing he might be killed by angry villagers."

"Because capital never stops moving."

Happy New Year's Eve, everyone~