In the not-so-bright mind of the Dragonborn Village, the threads of several events were gradually connecting—
An outsider capable of manipulating plants established a foothold in the vicinity;
A group of Tree Worship Church cult members claimed that their experimental subjects had escaped;
An outsider capable of manipulating plants is willing to disregard ancient contracts and make a deal with him.
The other person's identity was already quite obvious, and judging from the arrogant features on his face, he wasn't hiding anything at all.
Upon hearing this question, Ed recalled the characteristics of the Tree Worship Church that he had gleaned from a few Spy Grasses and realized that he did indeed share some similarities with those guys.
If I had to pinpoint a difference... I don't know if his being more handsome counts as a difference.
Thinking of this, he smiled and asked in return:
What do you think?
As soon as he finished speaking, Ed saw that "I understand, I understand" smile on the village chief's face, and he immediately put on the same expression and looked at the other man.
So the two of them smiled and looked at each other, creating a kind of absurd nested doll-like feeling of "you understand what I mean" and "I understand what you understand what I mean"...
After reaching a preliminary consensus, Ed and the village chief began discussing the specific price.
Because this long-term transaction uses a barter system, both parties only need to agree on the exchange ratio between the fruit and the ironware.
After a brief discussion, the two sides finally agreed on an exchange rate of one fruit (containing 3-4 seeds) to one small iron tool (such as a spearhead or shovel).
In special circumstances, such as Ed developing new anti- Alienation plants or the Dragonborn Village having more and better options for ironware, the two parties will negotiate again.
As for the method of trading, Ed and the village chief decided after discussion to continue with irregular trading trips.
After all, the ironwork in Dragonborn Village is still purely handmade, without a trace of any processing.
Ed's camp, at most, had no more than ten members, making it impossible for the two sides to directly establish a stable logistics and trading network.
Therefore, whichever side is short of supplies can simply send a small team of a few people to the other side's location. After all, the distance between Dragonborn Village and the castle is no more than seven kilometers, and if the terrain is flat and the view is open, they can almost see each other at the horizon.
After daybreak, the two sides finally finalized the terms of the deal.
Ed didn't realize that this burly village chief was literate. He hastily drafted an agreement on parchment that already had holes in it and asked Ed to sign it.
With the help of Little Green's translation function, Ed was able to clearly see the crookedly written transaction details on the parchment and the village chief's signature: [ Xisuo ].
Ed reached out and took the contract, but did not sign it immediately.
He looked at the village chief in front of him and asked:
"Although I have no intention of breaking the contract, how can the validity of this item be guaranteed?"
Looking into Ed's sincere eyes, the village chief replied:
"If any disputes arise, I will personally seek a ruling from my great master."
The great master... refers to that dragon?
Ed raised an eyebrow and pressed on:
"Would a dragon care about such trivial matters?"
The village chief nodded:
"A portion of the compensation awarded after the verdict needs to be offered as a sacrifice to Him."
Hearing this, even Ed, who was usually good at maintaining a poker face, couldn't help but laugh. What was this? Enforcing the judgment against a defaulter in another world?
The law enforcement officers are a complete bureaucrat... I can't even imagine it.
Seeing Ed's forced smile, the village chief seemed to want to change the subject and said:
"Although our transaction is a fair exchange of equal value, in gratitude for your help to Dragonborn Village, I can tell you two things that might be of some benefit to you."
Tell me about it?
Ed immediately became interested.
"First of all, the regional bishop who was tracking you down has died in the flames of the Great Master. This was witnessed by a villager, and there is absolutely no possibility of resurrection."
The village chief held up one finger as he spoke, while Ed frowned slightly and asked:
"So... your master really is inside that mountain?"
Upon hearing Ed's question, the Dragonborn Village nodded solemnly.
Ed asked this question because he wasn't actually certain that the priests were completely dead.
After leaving Dragonborn Village for the first time, he took a long detour before returning to the castle, and incidentally scattered many "spy grass" seeds in the opposite direction from Dragonborn Village.
Ed had vaguely seen the barren mountain back then, but out of a sense of self-preservation, he did not venture out. Now, with the village chief's endorsement, he finally confirmed that a giant dragon existed more than twenty miles from the castle!
This is... wonderful!
If the village chief's words are true, then he has no need to initiate a second transaction with Dragonborn Village. After all, he still admires big spenders more than these "small investors".
"And the second thing?"
Ed pressed on.
The village chief thought for a moment and replied:
"The second thing is that decades ago, there was some friction Dragonborn Village and the Tree Worship Church, and we killed one of the regional bishops at the time. After that incident, the new bishop's term of office was: seven days."
Ed immediately understood the village chief's meaning: the death of the minor bishop of the Tree Worship Church would certainly not end well, and he had at most five days to make his move.
Ed sincerely thanked the other party. The information was indeed useful, but not very useful to him, because Ed had made a plan from the moment he decided to shut down the game. He would resolve all the current problems in himself and the game within thirty-two hours. Even though the plan had changed, the total time was still the same as before.
Five days? That's too long; his players can't wait.
As dawn broke, the rammed earth wall at the village entrance was already crowded with onlookers.
Although Dragonborn Village has its own guards, they are not a regular army, and there is no rule against them joining in the fun.
So when they heard that the village chief was going to negotiate with a guy with a tree in his head, most of the villagers who had a little free time came to watch the spectacle.
They began to gather as dawn broke, watching the village chief revert from his frenzied half-dragon state back to human form, watching the two sides exchange words, watching the expressions on their faces gradually soften from arrogance and solemnity, and finally, the two sides stood up and shook hands, and the deal was officially concluded.
A few gasps of surprise even came from the rammed earth wall.
In the distance, the vine-woven square table and high-backed chairs receded back into the ground. Ed continued eastward, while Sali, the Dragonborn Village, headed towards the village entrance.
Unsurprisingly, dozens of curious villagers gathered around the village chief, and one of them shouted:
"Village chief, didn't we refuse to do business with the Tree Worship Church? Have you really agreed? Why don't you kill him?"
Sali glanced at the hot-blooded young man and reprimanded him irritably:
"Did you see which way he went? He's going to see his great master. If he comes back alive, it means the master has agreed to the deal!"
The young man, lacking common sense, instinctively retorted:
"What if he doesn't come back?"
The village chief could no longer tolerate this man's stupidity. He pushed through the crowd and punched him, cursing as he did so.
"Idiot! What's the point of trading if you can't even get back!"