Wandering Merchant Moen

Xia Tong no longer hurried on his way. Instead, he chose to rest where he was and set up camp.

The sky had already grown somewhat dim.

He took out the materials for a large tent from the pack strapped to Torrent's back. These were spoils he had found while searching the camp at Gatefront.

After setting up the tent and cooking a meat stew, Xia Tong closed his eyes to rest.

At the same time, within his spiritual world, he nurtured the Spirit Ashes of the Stray Wolves and Spirit Jellyfish that had been damaged in the recent battle.

Only after finishing all this did he fall into a deep sleep.

Another night passed peacefully, without incident.

Three days later.

A strange procession emerged from a long canyon.

At its head was a fine horse with two horns growing from its head.

On either side of the horse, three imposing Stray Wolves kept watch and provided support.

Behind the horse was a simple cart, piled high with a full load of armor and weapons.

It was Xia Tong's group.

He had Irina sit in front while he sat behind her, the two sharing Torrent's broad back.

Originally, Xia Tong had intended to get down and lead the horse himself.

But Irina was, after all, a young lady who had received a strict noble education.

In her eyes, having her benefactor lead the horse for her was an extremely discourteous act—one that could even be called outrageously improper.

Besides, Xia Tong still had to clear out the wild Misbegotten that occasionally sprang out from the roadside.

"Combat is already hard enough. How could I let my benefactor exhaust himself leading the horse?"

Thus, after Irina repeatedly pleaded with him, Xia Tong "reluctantly" agreed to share a mount with her.

A gentle breeze passed by, yet there was none of the expected odor of sweat.

After days of fighting and wandering, they truly had no conditions for bathing or washing their hair.

Yet Irina carried no unpleasant smell. Instead, she gave off a faint fragrance, like flowers and grass after rain.

"This really is a fantasy world..."

Sitting behind her, Xia Tong could not help sighing inwardly.

"Lord Xia Tong?"

Irina seemed to sense the movement behind her and slightly turned her head.

"It's nothing. Hold on tight."

The Winged Misbegotten and the Scaly Misbegotten wielding great axes that they encountered along the way were not actually all that dangerous.

As long as they did not appear in large groups, Xia Tong could handle them.

The truly dangerous one was the Troll wandering through the canyon with a massive golden sword on its back.

"If we truly fought it, injuries would be unavoidable. But with Torrent's speed, we could simply dash past it. That would be dangerous, but not truly perilous," Melina said as she materialized beside Xia Tong.

"That Troll feels so terrifying..."

Irina shrank back slightly and said softly,

"Although I cannot see it, I can sense that terrifying aura around it. Father once told me some stories about them too, though I do not know much."

"Could Lord Xia Tong tell me about them?"

Irina turned around.

Her eyes remained tightly shut, her long eyelashes trembling constantly. Curiosity and gentleness showed on her face.

The weather was excellent today, Xia Tong was in a very good mood, and they had not encountered any troublesome enemies along the road.

So he traveled quietly, telling Irina the legends of the Trolls as they went.

"At the dawn of the Erdtree, Queen Marika and Godfrey, the first Elden Lord, launched a brutal war of extermination against the giants in the north in order to establish their supremacy."

Xia Tong's voice was calm and magnetic.

"These Trolls were originally close kin and descendants of the Fire Giants."

"But in order to survive, or because they did not share the Fell God's faith, they chose to betray their kin and submit to Marika and the forces of the Erdtree."

"The Golden Order was fiercely hostile toward the Fell God's flame worshipped by the giants."

"To prove their loyalty, or as a condition for joining the Erdtree's forces, the Trolls personally gouged out the Fell God's face from their own chests."

"This act caused them to lose the ability to wield the Flame of Ruin, as well as their original dignity. From then on, a black hole piercing straight through their chests remained forever."

"..."

Irina was absorbed in the story and murmured,

"They were pitiful too. They clearly joined the winning side, yet they did not receive the respect they deserved. Instead, they became laborers."

"Yes."

Melina added from beside them,

"Having lost the source of their divinity and suffered slavery for so long, many wandering Trolls have already lost their reason. They only attack passersby on instinct."

As they walked, a melodious tune suddenly drifted from ahead.

It was the mournful tone unique to a stringed instrument.

As the group drew closer, the sound became clearer.

It was already evening.

Beside the ruins ahead, the glow of a bonfire at the roadside was especially conspicuous.

And next to the fire sat a member of the Nomadic Tribe wearing a red hood.

"It seems we've reached our destination."

Xia Tong's expression immediately brightened.

On a hillside not far from that bonfire was another warm, pale golden light.

That was—the Site of Grace before Castle Morne's walls.

Xia Tong did not head to the Site of Grace first. Instead, he walked straight toward the wandering merchant.

He had an entire cart of goods to deal with.

"Hello, friend from afar. Care to buy something? My name is Moen."

"Moen? Castle Morne? Interesting," Xia Tong thought.

This wandering merchant looked quite similar to Kale. After all, they belonged to the same people, and their attire was much the same.

However, his expression carried a little more ease.

Kale appeared more troubled, after all, because he bore the heavy mission of finding the Grand Caravan.

This man, on the other hand, seemed more like a pure businessman.

"I have a big deal to make with you." Xia Tong dismounted.

"Oh? What kind of big deal?" The merchant's eyes lit up.

Xia Tong turned to the side and pointed at the cart full of goods being dragged behind Torrent.

He walked over and untied the sacks and ropes securing them.

Clatter!

Weapons and equipment immediately spilled out in a rush, piling into a small mountain.

It was an entire cart of equipment!

There were more than ten sets of weapons and armor.

Some were the scale armor and cleavers taken from Misbegotten, while others were standard armor and weapons from Godrick Soldiers and Castle Morne Soldiers who had died fighting Misbegotten.

There was even a huge Troll's Golden Sword among them.

Naturally, Xia Tong had not obtained that sword through battle. He was not capable of taking on a Troll alone yet.

He had found it in the wreckage of a carriage by the roadside.

"The goods are genuine..."

The wandering merchant casually rummaged through the pile of equipment and said,

"But they are not much use."

He pointed at the enormous golden sword and said with disdain,

"Look at this Troll's Golden Sword. Other than a Troll, how many people could even lift it? It can only be melted down and sold as scrap metal."

"This was bestowed upon those Trolls by Queen Marika as proof of their surrender to her faction! How did it become scrap metal in your hands?"

Xia Tong shot back unhappily. He had dragged it all this way with great difficulty.

"Six thousand Runes for the whole lot." Xia Tong named an outrageously high price.

"Six thousand? Why don't you just rob me?"

The wandering merchant jumped up as if his tail had been stepped on, his beard crooked with anger.

"Two thousand! Not a Rune more!"

"Four thousand five hundred!"

"Two thousand five hundred! These Misbegotten blades are all chipped!"

"Three thousand eight hundred! This is Castle Morne refined iron!"

"Three thousand! Final offer, take it or leave it!" the merchant said through gritted teeth.

"Fine! Deal!"

Xia Tong immediately agreed with a grin, changing his expression faster than turning a page.

To him, selling this pile of junk for three thousand Runes was already quite good.

After all, much of it was garbage equipment from the Misbegotten: broken cleavers and battered leather armor.

There was even armor from the Castle Morne Soldiers and Godrick Soldiers who had been cut down earlier.

There was simply a large quantity of it.

And inside the Site of Grace's storage, he still had another batch of equipment seized earlier from the Bridge of Sacrifice.

However, Xia Tong did not want to sell those yet, because he already had enough Runes to level up.

The transaction was complete.

Night soon fell.

Xia Tong did not continue to trouble the wandering merchant. Instead, he led Irina to the nearby Site of Grace.

"Leveling up again?"

Melina appeared beside the Site of Grace and asked with a smile.

"Yes. This time, I'm still increasing Mind."

Xia Tong and Melina clasped hands and closed their eyes at the same time.

Very soon, Xia Tong felt the golden Rune energy dissolve within his body before flowing through every part of him.