+We recently discovered a very brazen smuggler.+
+What's going on?+
+This smuggler, named Chris Lin, has been selling large quantities of prohibited furs in our country.
According to reliable information, he bypassed customs and has already smuggled in and sold one bear pelt and fifteen polar bear pelts, making a substantial profit.+
+He's that brazen!? Have you arrested him?+
+We can't. He isn't in China.+
+Then how did your department find out he'd sold one bear pelt and fifteen polar bear pelts in our country?+
+He filed a tax return with our tax authorities and paid the tax... and listed everything he'd sold in detail on his return.+
+...He really is a brazen bastard...+
After resting for a night, Isaac's Caravan and the hundred-odd Barbarians set off together.
Aisha, the white pig, led the way at the front of the group.
The river crossing and ropes Mia had mentioned were actually things left behind by the Barbarians of the Oka Tribe.
When the Barbarians hauled two thick ropes woven from some unknown hemp-like plant out of the riverbed, then laid wooden planks across them to build a floating bridge that could accommodate one person and one horse, Chris was utterly stunned.
That actually worked!?
It really did.
The Barbarians' floating bridge was narrow and could not bear much weight. Only one person could cross at a time, leading a horse, and they had to tie a safety rope around themselves first. It made for a very slow crossing.
But thanks to this floating bridge, neither the caravan nor the Barbarians had to wade into the river and risk being struck by chunks of ice.
The crossing became much safer.
Between the caravan and the Barbarians, there were more than three hundred people, along with a great deal of supplies, yet they all crossed in a single morning.
During the crossing, a few unlucky souls became so frightened that their legs gave out and they fell into the river. Apart from a sack of grain, two tents, and two knives being swept away, there were no other losses.
As for the unlucky people who fell in, they had ropes tied around them. The moment they hit the water, the people on the opposite bank hauled hard on the ropes and dragged them ashore as quickly as possible.
Apart from being chilled to the bone and suffering a few broken bones after being struck by floating ice, none of them was in danger of dying.
After spending the morning crossing the river, officially leaving the territory of the Bohemian Empire and entering Bagnia, everyone began cooking lunch on the riverbank.
Notably, when the caravan began cooking, the Barbarians did not come over to cadge a meal. Instead, they dug pits nearby, set up their pots, and cooked their own food.
Their self-respect raised Chris's opinion of them a little. He liked dealing with people who had principles and followed rules.
After a simple meal, the group resumed their journey that afternoon, entering the far end of the Kaslo Mountains, where Bagnia's peaks stretched out in white and gray, without a trace of green.
The three hundred-odd people began climbing, repeatedly scaling a peak, descending, then starting up another.
With the Mountain Savages and Mia leading the way, the group followed a narrow mountain path whose traces were barely discernible.
The winding mountain path was very difficult to navigate, and after an hour, the caravan members were forced to stop and rest.
It was not just exhaustion. The Kaslo Mountains were even colder than the plains, and the climbers' stamina drained rapidly.
Chris, who had grown up in a city, was utterly exhausted. He slumped at the side of the path and vomited violently.
Once he was too worn out to keep vomiting, Chris glanced at the Barbarians nearby. At most, they were breathing a little harder; there was not even any sweat on their foreheads. Even the elderly and the children were the same.
Their physiques were incredibly well suited to snowy mountains. They were born high-altitude mountain troops.
Chris's mind began working again.
Was there some way to get the polar bear pelts and recruit mountain troops too?
Because of the caravan, the Barbarians were also forced to stop for twenty minutes. During that time, Chris had people boil water and brew some broken tea leaves, then dump a large bag of brown sugar into the pot for everyone to drink.
Besides serving the caravan members, Chris also had two iron buckets of sweet tea delivered to the Barbarians.
The people of the Oka Tribe did not ask for anything themselves, but they showed no hesitation about accepting the sweet tea Chris sent them and drank it straightaway.
In no time, the Barbarians drained both buckets of steaming sweet tea and returned them. The two Barbarians who brought the buckets back also took the opportunity to kneel and bow several times before Aisha, the Big White Pig.
It was strange, really. Though these Barbarians bowed to Aisha, the Big White Pig, day and night and treated Mia with great respect, they never seemed interested in keeping the woman and pig in their tribe, allowing them to come and go freely.
It was quite odd.
Of course, the Big White Pig was even stranger. Chris had no idea what was going on with that pig. When they climbed, she raced along at the front, occasionally stopping to wait for the people behind her.
As for Mia... she sat on Aisha's back and never had to cover any ground on her own two feet, leaving Chris terribly envious.
Because of the river crossing and the climb, by dusk, when the light began to fade, they had covered only four kilometers all day.
They made camp, cooked, and slept soundly through a dreamless night without incident.
When they woke the next morning, the group set off again.
By then, people in the caravan had finally begun falling ill from the cold and exhaustion. Chris quickly arranged for the player doctors to treat them, then paid several Barbarians in grain to carry the sick on stretchers.
The second day after crossing the river went a little better than the first. The group covered ten kilometers.
On the third day, they covered twelve kilometers. On the fourth... they stopped for the time being.
The Barbarians had reached their destination. From an unremarkable peak, they brought over twenty bear pelts, nearly a hundred seal pelts, and several hundred cattle hides, wolf pelts, tiger pelts, and other skins.
Chris traded twenty-five matchlock guns, an even larger quantity of iron arrowheads, iron pots, a thousand jin of grain, and some medicine for the furs.
If Chris could sell these pelts, he would have enough money to put together an army for the time being.
The Barbarians left in high spirits with their new guns, and Isaac came to see Chris.
"Sir, according to Mia, we'll need another four to six days to get through this uninhabited mountain region with no greenery and reach a populated area. A little town called Biki awaits us there."
Isaac hesitated, but continued.
"I think, since we've traded some food and weapons for so many valuable pelts, perhaps we ought to send them back..."
"No, Isaac. We can't let Popoli know we've established ties with the Mountain Savages and earned their trust."
Chris rejected Isaac's suggestion.
"Once we reach Biki and get a firm foothold there, I'll have you take money and some valuable goods back to the Bohemian Empire to give Popoli his share of the profits.
But we absolutely cannot let him know about the Mountain Savages."
"Why?"
Faced with Isaac's confusion, Chris gave a cold laugh.
"If you don't want Popoli turning on us and stabbing us in the back, don't mention this. There are a lot of political interests involved that are difficult to explain. All you need to know is to keep quiet.
We're so weak right now that turning against us would cost Popoli practically nothing."
Chris was no fool. The only reason the players had tricked him before was that he had lived in peace for too long and grown complacent. He had put too much faith in his fellow countrymen's moral standards and underestimated their ability to cause trouble.
Seeing Isaac's puzzled expression, Chris knew the man would remain uneasy unless he explained a little more, so he continued.
"These white bear pelts are worth a lot of money. That's one reason. The second is that these Mountain Savages know shortcuts through the Kaslo Mountains. That information could be extremely valuable.
Never gamble on your friendship with Popoli. If you win, you gain nothing. If you lose, you could get us all killed.
The Mountain Savages run and hide from Bohemians. They must have a reason. They must have suffered badly at their hands."
"I understand."
Before you continue