Goth

Princess Mingyue gazed quietly at Fentian. She did not regret what she had done at the engagement ceremony. She respected him, but clearly, he had not respected her.

As for Tongtian Mountain, the sect she had yet to visit, she felt both awe and longing. The Five Great Holy Lands were places that countless renowned experts from across the world dreamed of entering.

However, that did not mean she would feel inferior or humbled before the sect's disciples, acting timidly as she tried to curry favor with them.

Fentian was her senior brother, but that merely meant he had joined the sect before her. His childish behavior yesterday had inevitably stirred a trace of revulsion in her heart. She did not need any self-righteous person pointing fingers and giving her orders about her life.

"Junior Sister, are you blaming me?" Fentian's gloomy heart softened somewhat when he saw Princess Mingyue's delicate, lovely face, and his tone became much gentler.

"I wouldn't dare," Princess Mingyue said indifferently.

"Junior Sister, do you look down on me?" Her cold attitude pierced his battered heart once more like a thorn.

Princess Mingyue said nothing, but her silence was tantamount to admitting it.

In truth, Princess Mingyue looked down on Fentian's childish way of handling matters. But in Fentian's eyes, she looked down on the fact that a dignified King Grade Mage like him had been injured by a mid-level warrior.

"Junior Sister, one day, you'll see Qi Bei. Nord kneeling at my feet and wagging his tail for mercy." After saying this coldly, Fentian turned and walked away.

Princess Mingyue gently shook her head. With a wave of her jade-like hand, the Unicorn Cub playing in the distance transformed into a white streak and sprang into her arms.

A caravan of around two hundred people advanced unhurriedly beneath the dusk, much like the other caravans that traveled back and forth along this road. The only difference was that its guards were all murderous, marching in silence with expressionless faces. They were nothing like the guards of other caravans, who chatted and joked as they walked, their boisterous laughter ringing out from time to time.

"Lift your skirt and let me take a look at your hips. Your bottom is big and round, like a ripe, juicy peach..." Inside the carriage, Qi Bei rested his head on Phantom's plump thigh while holding a sheepskin map and humming a little tune. He was clearly in an excellent mood.

Phantom, however, listened with her pretty face flushed bright red. What kind of dirty song is this shameless young master singing?

Qi Bei seemed to hear Phantom's thoughts. He stopped his wild, nonsensical humming, tapped a finger on the map, and his gaze grew somewhat deep.

Qi Bei sat up, ran a hand over Phantom's pretty face, and before the beauty could pout coquettishly, shouted, "Vajra."

"Does Young Master need something?" Vajra's thunderous voice rang out from beyond the carriage.

"Pass down this young master's order. Everyone halt and set up camp here," Qi Bei said.

Phantom looked puzzled. "Young Master, we're camping already? It isn't even completely dark yet."

Qi Bei chuckled and pulled open the carriage curtain. "This place has beautiful mountains and clear waters, perfect for camping. Huh, there's even a stream. How about you join Young Master for a mandarin-duck bath?"

"No." Phantom rolled her eyes at Qi Bei.

Qi Bei jumped down from the carriage and swept his gaze around. This place really was quite nice. Several caravans and scattered travelers had already pitched their tents on both sides of the stream. It seemed everyone intended to camp here.

"Lord, all the good spots have been taken. The land upstream is the best. Should I go drive them away?" Tie Tou ran over and spoke to Qi Bei. They were now Qi Bei's private soldiers, so their form of address had naturally changed. At first they had called him "Viscount," but Qi Bei had ordered them to call him "Lord." "Master" just didn't have the same swagger.

Qi Bei rapped his knuckles against Tie Tou's bald head. "Drive them away? Are we thugs? This young master is a gentlemanly noble. Go and politely ask them to move over a little. Report... report the name of the Feng Family's subordinate caravan."

Tie Tou rubbed his bald head with a bitter look. Isn't that the same as driving them away? He called over three brothers and headed toward the caravan camping upstream.

At that moment, Huo Lie walked over to Qi Bei and said, "Lord, this caravan isn't simple. They may be a caravan from the Goths."

"The Goths?" Qi Bei raised an eyebrow.

"I just saw Goths entering and leaving the several central tents. The guards on the outside should merely be hired by them," Huo Lie said. His tone grew somewhat hard when he mentioned the Goths.

The Goths' ancestors had been goblins. However, after goblin civilization perished in the river of history, the goblin descendants moved out of their underground dwellings and came to be known as the Goths.

The Goths' appearance differed greatly from that of goblins, becoming increasingly similar to that of humans. However, their earthy-yellow pupils and long, pointed ears had still been preserved in their genes.

The Goths were naturally cunning and highly intelligent. Relying on the fragmentary texts left behind by goblin civilization, they invented many exquisite and practical objects, as well as some weapons of tremendous power. They used these to trade with the various races and gradually grew stronger.

Once they had grown powerful, the Goths were unwilling to remain hidden in the barren mountain basins south of the Golden Leaf Dynasty. They repeatedly invaded the border, gnawing away at the Golden Leaf Dynasty's territory bit by bit.

Although the Goths could not cultivate battle aura or magic, they possessed powerful weapons. Combined with their skill at digging tunnels, they had killed countless soldiers of the Golden Leaf Dynasty throughout its eight-hundred-year history.

Because of this, the Golden Leaf Dynasty spent a full five hundred years building a Golden Fortress before finally keeping the Goths at bay.

Now, the Golden Leaf Dynasty and the Goths had reached a peace agreement and opened a trade route. Thus, it was not unusual to see Goth caravans in the Golden Leaf Empire.

However, as a soldier of the empire's army, Huo Lie held a natural hatred for the Goths.

Just then, Tie Tou and the other three clashed with the opposing side. After knocking down several of them, they were surrounded.

"Let's go take a look," Qi Bei said indifferently, leading Vajra and Huo Lie over.

Vajra charged forward. His two massive arms swung around, smashing several caravan guards who had surrounded Tie Tou and the others into the air.

"What happened?" Qi Bei asked.

"Lord, I announced the Feng Family's name, but not only did they refuse to listen, they insulted us too. Damn Goths!" Tie Tou said fiercely.

Qi Bei slapped his forehead. It was his fault. Of all the names he could have reported, he had chosen the Feng Family's. The Golden Fortress had always been guarded by the Feng Family, and the Feng Family had constantly used harsh measures to suppress the Goths' development. Naturally, the Goths hated the Feng Family to the bone.

"Have your manager come out and speak," Qi Bei said, sweeping over them with a cold gaze. A formidable aura spread from him.

A Goth glanced at Qi Bei somewhat nervously before slipping into the luxurious central tent.

Qi Bei's heart stirred. He keenly sensed a faint trace of killing intent and gave Huo Lie a meaningful look.

Huo Lie understood at once. With one hand behind his back, he quietly signaled to the brothers in the distance.