Chapter 1425: The North Wind is Coming, Courtesy Demands Reciprocity

With the completion of the "Soul-Binding Amulet" project, Xia Duo could finally breathe a sigh of relief; all that remained was to produce ten of them and send them to Yarman before the Blood Trial began.

Considering that it was already mid-September and the Blood Trial over at the Langas Tribe could begin at any moment, Xia Duo prepared to ask Iolum for a few days off.

During this period, the two of them had maintained high-intensity, high-frequency test experiments almost every day, keeping their spirits tightly wound; Xia Duo himself, due to his Bloodline Awakening and the 996 grind he endured before transmigrating, did not feel much of it.

However, he could see that Iolum's condition was declining, and the Arcane Union had also accumulated quite a bit of official business during this time; it was the perfect opportunity for Iolum to handle the work and relax, which could be considered a balance of work and rest.

The next day, while the two were having lunch, Xia Duo brought up the matter, and Iolum did not object; furthermore, just as Xia Duo had expected, he gave himself a break as well.

"The test experiments during this period have gone very smoothly, and taking a rest is not a bad thing; however, before you leave, prepare the blueprints in the Daiwei String Component Preparation Machine—we may be resting, but it does not have to."

"I understand. I have already prepared the plug-in, so I can just install it later."

"Mm."

Afterward, the two spoke no more and finished their lunch in silence, after which Xia Duo added a new task to the Daiwei String Component Preparation Machine before leaving the Laboratory.

……

Just as Xia Duo was busy making the "Soul-Binding Amulet," the time for this year's Blood Trial was finally confirmed over at the Grey Eagle Tribe.

Inside an ordinary felt tent on the edge of the tribe.

Yarman walked in from outside with a hint of urgency; seeing him enter with such an expression, the others immediately crowded around. "Manager Yarman, what did the Langasi say?"

"The Grey Eagle Patriarch told me that their Great Shaman divined that the north wind is coming, in just ten days."

"Ten days?! Doesn't that mean the Blood Trial is in ten days?"

"Yes, he wants us to prepare ten warriors to participate in the first stage of the Blood Trial during the sacrificial ceremony that day."

"The first stage?"

"Yes, didn't I tell you all before I came! The Blood Trial is divided into three stages in total: the first stage is the duel at the sacrificial ceremony, the second stage is the attack on other tribes, and the third stage is hunting wild beasts when the first snow arrives. Of course, as outsiders, we don't have to participate in the second stage of the trial; this does not affect our winning their respect."

Having said this, Yarman looked at the other chamber managers and asked, "How are your people prepared?"

"Still training. The duel shouldn't be a problem, but our people are no good at hunting wild beasts! And there's no way to train for this; what should we do?"

"Don't you have a veteran Adventurer under your command? Does he not have experience in this area?"

"Veteran Adventurer, my foot. He's just a slacker. I only mentioned the Blood Trial to him earlier, and he wanted to run away on the spot. If it weren't for Leifu from your chamber standing right there, he might have actually run off."

Hearing this, Yarman was momentarily amused, but considering the serious occasion, he managed not to laugh out loud, though the mockery and sarcasm in his eyes were not lacking in the slightest.

Of course, as the leader among the four chamber managers, Yarman would not sit by and watch the other chambers make a fool of themselves; he had his own responsibilities. After all, they were all working for the Lord, so there was no need to distinguish between them at such a time.

"Hand your people over to Leifu. I can't guarantee they will definitely pass the third stage of the Blood Trial, but surviving shouldn't be much of a problem."

"That's great!"

The managers of the Silaiwen, Hans, and Shanjin chambers had been waiting for these words from Yarman! They hadn't been embarrassed to ask before and had held out until now, but finally, there was a solution.

……

Just like that, three days passed quickly. Yarman, who had just returned from cozying up to the Grey Eagle Patriarch, came to an open space outside the felt tent.

At this time, the ten Blood Trial participants from the four chambers were training. Although it was a crash course, after more than half a month, they were starting to look the part, and there were quite a few Grey Eagle Tribe Warriors standing by to watch.

This scene had actually happened before; the manager of the Silaiwen Chamber of Commerce had originally wanted to chase them away, but was stopped by Yarman.

It was almost impossible to maintain secrecy on someone else's turf, and this could actually serve as part of showing their sincerity.

In fact, Yarman's approach was correct; the very next day after the chamber trial participants were watched during their group training, the Grey Eagle Tribe provided them with enough meat.

Of course, in return, Yarman also gifted a batch of precious Snowflake Salt to the Grey Eagle Tribe.

Although the Narrow Sea was to the north of the Langas Plain, even the tribes near the sea only possessed some crude salt-boiling techniques; this kind of Snowflake Salt was simply not something they could refine.

Even in Netheril, this kind of pure Snowflake Salt was extremely expensive.

And in the Grey Eagle Tribe, even sea salt full of impurities was hard to come by; there was only a small amount of rock salt, which had to be distributed to the tribe's upper echelons first.

Now that there was suddenly a batch of Snowflake Salt, the Great Shaman even held a special celebration ceremony for it.

Yarman looked at the young and strong men of the Grey Eagle Tribe around the training ground, and at the thought that ten days later, some of them might be fighting his own men to the death, he felt a moment of melancholy.

Thinking of the instructions the Lord gave before he set off, at this moment, Yarman once again firmed up the idea in his heart: only by bringing all these Langasi under the Lord's command was the only choice beneficial to both sides.

Just as Yarman's mind wandered for a moment, the High Mage Feishe'er behind him suddenly changed his expression, stepped forward, and pushed Yarman, reminding him:

"Go back, the Lord is coming!"

Upon hearing this, Yarman was startled, but he feigned composure, walked slowly around the training ground, and then headed toward the felt tent where everyone was temporarily staying.

Just as he entered the tent, Yarman seemed to sense something and looked at Feishe'er beside him in confusion. Feishe'er's expression remained unchanged, though he secretly thought it was bad, but he still explained truthfully:

"I underestimated this tribe. We have been under their surveillance the whole time. Just now, the Lord cast a spell from afar to temporarily block the other party's prying—no, it should be that he misled the other party's prying."

Yarman didn't have any thoughts on this; he had long been prepared to be monitored by the Grey Eagle Tribe. During this time, he had never said anything inappropriate and had even focused on showing their sincerity.

"I understand. Where is the Lord?"

"He should be here soon."

As Feishe'er was speaking, the Magic Net in the center of the room began to vibrate violently, and then a curtain of light spilled down from the top of the room, transforming into a mirror-like Portal.

The next moment, Xia Duo walked out of the Portal. "Yarman, long time no see. Feishe'er, you have done well!"

"My Lord!" *2

"No need for formalities. I have come mainly for two things. First, Yarman, your previous approach was very much to my liking; keep it up. Regarding the Langasi, I want not only their people, but even more so, their hearts. Second—"