Chapter 293: Town |
There were no unexpected events during the process of clearing out the dragon pack. As humanity's strongest Southern Hero, dealing with these wandering small dragons was just a piece of cake. In terms of size, this kind of grayish-white dragon wasn't even as big as the death worm Bai Mu encountered before, but there were about ten of them in number. The Hero calmly drew his blade and then swung his sword, and those dragons that hadn't even figured out what happened turned into corpses.
This time's move didn't cause too much of a commotion; not even the snow on the ground was cut open. The Hero's control over his strength was extremely meticulous. Last time was only because he needed to dig that worm out from underground that it appeared so imposing. In reality, he could also unleash silent sword moves, killing with one strike.
Bai Mu came beside a dragon corpse and tried using Corpse Raising on it. However, it would consume 500 points of Mana for him to awaken a dragon corpse. His maximum Mana was only 200 points; even doubling it wouldn't be enough to pull the dragon corpse up. Letting Xiao Wei do it would be possible; she could probably experience the joy of being a dragon knight and take a spin in the sky.
But that was all there was to it. After all, a creature like a dragon wasn't a race standing at the top of the food chain on this continent. Powerhouses among the Demon Race and humans could easily slay dragons. Some powerful magic beasts of the Northern Plateau could also squeeze the ecological niche of dragons. The usefulness of awakening a dragon corpse really wasn't that great.
But these dragon corpses weren't completely useless either. Bai Mu found the members of the Merchant Guild and asked them if they planned to process these dragon corpses. The reply he got was that they didn't have the spare time. Although certain parts of these dragons indeed held value, processing them would consume a lot of time and energy. Moreover, in the wild, the smell of corpses would attract dangerous magic beasts, and even wandering Demon Race. The rewards were not proportional to the risks.
What's more, the people of the Merchant Guild had to be responsible for the supply chain in the surrounding areas. Winter was the hardest season to endure on the entire Northern Plateau. They had to travel between various towns to escort supplies. This wasn't work that could be completed at a leisurely pace; in terms of time, it was actually very tight. They had no time to waste here.
The Hero also had no desire for the dragon corpses. Thus, these corpses became ownerless objects. Bai Mu then directly consumed them as materials to upgrade the population limit of Corpse Raising.
Unfortunately, Paradise's items still followed Paradise's rules. The population could only be upgraded based on the number of corpses. After some operation, the population of Corpse Raising only went from 10 to 12. This also included the corpses he consumed to upgrade while traveling previously, just barely reaching a population of 12. However, it wasn't a big problem; there was still time. It was only his fifth day since entering this world.
At this rate, it wouldn't be difficult for him to complete the goal he initially set, and there was a high probability he could even overachieve it a bit.
Thus, the guards carried those large-sized goods on their shoulders. From this scene, Bai Mu once again witnessed how powerful the warriors of this world were. Everyone could carry things far exceeding their own body weight. Those bags filled with wheat and flour were easily piled up by them to a height of two or three stories. Even walking like this, they tread on flat ground without even panting.
Spending an entire afternoon, they transported these snatched goods back to the camp.
Seeing the lost goods retrieved, the leader of the Merchant Guild, who had slept for an afternoon, finally completely put his mind at ease and let out a long breath.
"The villagers' corpses have also been transported over. This way, we only need to requisition some horses from the nearest town, and we can move again."
"With this friend of mine around, I think requisitioning horses shouldn't be necessary." The Southern Hero looked at Bai Mu, "Right?"
"Please leave it to me," Bai Mu said.
The leader of the Merchant Guild looked confused, but it soon turned into eye-opening shock.
Bai Mu repeated his old trick, taking out the Book of the Witch and rapidly reassembling those damaged woods into carriages right under everyone's watchful eyes. Afterwards, the Southern Hero also brought the magic beast corpses brought by the escort guards. Thus, Bai Mu waved his big hand, awakening these corpses again and tying the reins around the necks of the magic beasts.
"This is truly... incredible."
So, the party set off again towards the nearest town like this.
The magic beasts pulled the carriages, which carried the villagers' corpses and goods, moving together on the road. The people of the Merchant Guild all seemed very amazed by this experience. From time to time, someone would run up to the magic beasts and touch them a few times. There were also mages who approached Bai Mu to ask about the principles behind it. Unfortunately, this was just an attached skill of an item, not some kind of magic that could be studied and learned. Facing the mages' inquiries, Bai Mu could only say it was his unique skill, and the other party tactfully stopped asking further.
However, it could be seen that they were still very interested. Someone took a pen and recorded what they saw and heard. When the mages saw Bai Mu, they would even perform a unique etiquette. After asking the Hero, he found out that it was a greeting used towards mages with deeper knowledge. It seemed the other party regarded him as a mysterious great mage from afar, making it a bit of a misunderstanding.
The Hero was also in this group. He had to continue advancing towards Endae, where the Demon King's Castle was located. Along the way, he would liberate those areas severely invaded by the Demon Race as much as possible, reducing the casualties and pressure on the human side. In relatively peaceful regions, traveling through the wild naturally wasn't as fast and efficient as taking the safe routes with opened roads.
Two days later, the party arrived at a new town.
It was a fortress city with city walls and guards, not small in scale. Bai Mu got off Tu Ya's back and gazed at the high blockhouses and flying flags. On the city walls, armored guards were standing guard. White doves flew over the rooftops. The city gates were half-open, and adventurer parties came and went. Although the number of people wasn't large, it still gave people a relaxed sense of security.
Seeing this unique team, the guards were extremely nervous at first. However, after seeing the acquaintances from the Norm Merchant Guild and the famous Southern Hero, they quickly let the team pass.
Bai Mu canceled the control over the magic beast corpses outside the city and followed the others into those towering black city walls.
The stone-paved streets were covered with a thin layer of white snow. There were dedicated personnel responsible for sweeping the snow. Although it was winter, people were still bustling on the streets. He saw dwarves, and saw mages holding magic wands and wearing pointy hats. Noisy sounds came from the taverns. Because it was evening, wisps of cooking smoke could still be seen under the chimneys.
Bai Mu and the Southern Hero were arranged to stay at an inn belonging to the Norm Merchant Guild and received the highest standard of hospitality. There were free meals provided, and the rooms were large, spacious high-class suites with magic items for heating.
"Tomorrow I will continue heading north," the Southern Hero said. "Although the time I spent with you wasn't long, it was a very pleasant experience for me. If we are to part ways here, then I wish you a safe journey."
"But after receiving Lord Hero's guidance, I think I probably won't be able to find another mentor to my liking. I want to travel with Lord Hero for another part of the journey," Bai Mu said. "As for my skills, Lord Hero has pretty much seen them all. I think I shouldn't drag Lord Hero down. Of course, whether to take me along or not is still up to Lord Hero's thoughts."
"Is that so... Then will you still leave after a month, sir?"
"Accurately speaking, it's after twenty-three days. On that day, due to some personal reasons, I will have to leave."
"Twenty-three days... roughly up to Lake Klitoya?"
"What does Lord Hero think?"
"Of course... it would be my great pleasure."