The Gap Between Rich and Poor

"We've suffered heavy losses. Many people are injured or dead, and we…" Annie took a deep breath, looking back at the fallen mercenary bodies and blood-stained carriages. Her eyes were a little red. "We need help. Please, just name what you need – gold, goods, or weapons. The Voya Merchant Guild will never be stingy with its friends."

Shimmering tears welled up in her eyes, like peach blossoms crushed into mud in early spring. The imperfection of beautiful things always tugs at one's heart.

Richard dismounted Windchaser, reaching into his pocket to pull out a handkerchief, only to suddenly remember he'd just blown his nose with it. He subtly withdrew his hand.

"What kind of help do you need?" For Richard, building a good relationship with a large guild like Voya Merchant Guild was a rare opportunity. At the very least, it meant he wouldn't be too badly ripped off when buying goods or selling spoils of war in the future.

So, as long as it wasn't too difficult, he didn't mind lending a hand.

"The remaining people in our caravan aren't enough to continue trading, nor can we retreat back to Corun City, so we hope to rest for a bit in your territory."

Their current position was awkward. Moving forward or retreating both meant crossing vast stretches of wilderness. A caravan without sufficient guards traveling through the wilderness was like a juicy piece of meat everyone coveted a bite of. What's more, the injured mercenaries couldn't endure the rigors of travel.

Annie held up a cloudy white crystal in her palm, threads of gray mist distributed within it. Miraculously, these gray mists swayed and floated with the crystal's movements, and their numbers grew. Soon, they spread from the inside to the surface, turning the white crystal completely into a gray stone in a dozen breaths.

"What is this?"

Richard, exposing his rustic nature, was immediately captivated. He took it in his hand, turning it over and over. It was clearly some kind of magic item, but what exactly it was lay beyond his knowledge.

Although many had told him he had no magical talent whatsoever, he had always held a great passion for these mystical things. Unfortunately, he rarely had the chance to examine them up close like this.

"It's a Deluphone Communication Crystal. I used it to send a magic distress message to the guild, but it can only be used once."

"How long until reinforcements arrive?" Richard quietly slipped the discarded magic item into his empty coin purse, planning to study it thoroughly later.

"At least three days. It's too far from Corin here." Annie sounded a bit dejected, her pointed ears fluttering restlessly.

"No problem. High Mountain Keep's gates are always open to friendly guests."

In the wilderness, there was a small, calm river called the Raging Waves River. On its bank, a wooden building stood on a hill, named High Mountain Keep.

Two Ogres stood in the knee-deep water of the Raging Waves River, bending over to pick up colorful pebbles from the riverbed. They collected these beautiful stones in the crooks of their arms, and once they couldn't carry any more, they returned to the bank to deposit them on the ground.

They occasionally shoved each other over the ownership of a pebble, but quickly returned to their respective tasks, focused and diligent.

The High Mountain Keep lord had left them behind before his morning expedition, instructing them to retrieve pebbles from the river and promising dried meat in exchange. The Hum-Ha Duo's simple brains couldn't understand the purpose of inedible stones, but they genuinely loved dried meat, so they worked diligently. A small mountain of pebbles had already accumulated on the bank.

As the sun began to set, they heard a dull thudding sound. They stood up, looking around blankly, then suddenly saw a giant beast covered in scales slowly approaching in the distance with heavy steps. And sitting on the beast's back seemed to be the very person who gave them dried meat.

The Hum-Ha Duo rejoiced like children, cheering and excitedly showing off their labor from the past half-day. Richard pretended to inspect their work for a few moments, then distributed the dried meat he had seized from the Goblin tribe to the two Ogres, encouraging them to continue their efforts in collecting pebbles.

Gunther watched all this, filled with nothing but admiration.

These mysterious, greasy, and aged pieces of dried meat, when thrown on the ground, were no different from mud. Who would touch them besides foolish Ogres? Yet, Richard managed to trick the Hum-Ha Duo into working for half a day before giving it to them. Just for that cunning, penny-pinching demeanor, it's no wonder he became a lord!

A dozen fully loaded carriages slowly came to a halt behind them. Compared to the jubilant barbarians frolicking around, the morale of both the coachmen and mercenaries was at rock bottom.

They had lost nearly half of their companions forever, and the remaining ones were all injured, some quite severely. Although their profession involved living by the blade, such a price was simply too heavy.

In Richard's view, a significant number of these people would gradually succumb to their severe injuries over the next few days. For example, the one-eyed man who had performed so well earlier had a bite wound on his neck. It was well-known that Gnolls didn't brush their teeth, and the food residue in their teeth would quickly infect the wound.

He would soon develop a high fever, his wound would start to fester, then he would lose consciousness, until finally, he stopped breathing. This entire process was almost irreversible in the wilderness; there were no priests here, and medicine was scarce. The natives would even give severely injured individuals a quick, merciful death to spare them suffering.

These lives were already beyond saving, but whether it was delivering a final blow or letting them die screaming in agony, it would crush the morale of the other mercenaries to rock bottom. Richard felt that if he were in Annie's position, he would also find it difficult to come up with a solution.

It proved that the amount of gold one possessed directly influenced one's way of thinking. The High Mountain Keep lord's pockets were emptier than his face was clean, clearly not understanding that problems solvable with money aren't problems at all.

Annie retrieved a hexagonal transparent long crystal bottle from the carriage. Inside, it contained a viscous, glue-like liquid of the purest golden color, as if it were liquid gold, shimmering brightly in the sunlight.

Richard, having some knowledge, recognized it at a glance as Concentrated Holy Water blessed by a high-ranking archbishop. The large amount of spiritual power it contained made the ordinary water carrier dense like glue. Compared to regular holy water, it was also more stable and durable for storage. Drinking just a tiny bit had an effect comparable to a low-level divine spell.

Of course, he had considered storing some of this excellent item as military supplies, but after a brief inquiry, he immediately abandoned the idea.

Concentrated Holy Water was only produced in cathedrals at the provincial capital level, and its quantity was also very limited. Truly precious, limited-edition items couldn't be bought just by throwing money at them; one also needed to maintain a good personal relationship with the bishop himself!