Chapter 115: Entering Dorn Town, the [Jinbi Dingdang] Inn

The scene in Dorn Town was vastly different from that in Yemei Town, causing the Dwarves on the ox-carts at the rear of the caravan to discuss it animatedly.

They whispered in the Dwarven Language, which others could not understand, and from time to time, they pointed their fingers at the shackled debtors in the nearby farmland, shaking their heads in disdain. However, the Dwarves could not help but take a few extra looks at the merchant caravans passing by on the road.

These wagons, fully loaded with various goods, were pulled by two horses; some heavily loaded wagons even had six wheels, each with an independent axle and a special type of wood used as suspension.

This special wood, treated through alchemy, was very resilient and also had high strength; cushioned beneath the wagon and connected to the axles, it could provide cushioning for the journey through its own deformation under stress.

Unfortunately, human society had not mastered anything similar to rubber tires, so the wear and tear on the wagon wheels remained very high.

"Knight Jier, is your caravan this time going to stay in an open space outside the town like last time, or will you be staying temporarily at an inn inside the town? If you want to stay in the same place as last time, I will send someone to notify the various Stewards above immediately; they can coordinate the vacant fields outside the town. But if you want your Warriors to stay comfortably in the town for a few days, then given the size of your team, only the largest inn in town can accommodate your group."

"It's not that our Dorn Town doesn't have more inns, but the Merchant Guilds and caravans that frequently travel here generally have their own stations and buildings, and they won't spend a large amount of money to stay in inns or hotels."

The person speaking was the Captain leading the Town Guards; although he was dressed the same as the other guards, it was clear that this man was more adept at dealing with visiting merchants and dignitaries, and he spoke straightforwardly.

He continued: "If you want to stay in an inn in town, we have to find someone right now to clear out the original guests. But rest assured, Dorn Town will certainly treat everyone who comes here well, especially you."

"Including these 'debtors' in my caravan who are about to be sold?" Jier asked with a smile.

"Of course, including them. But these people look like they have committed major crimes; there are other ways to make up for the mistakes they once made. I have always felt that long-term labor is quite suitable for these people."

However, this guard looked carefully at these dispirited but physically strong surrendered soldiers and felt that it was a pity to use them for farming; it would be far better to absorb them into the town's guards or organize them separately to clear out any new Bandit Groups that emerged in the surrounding area.

As time passed, new Bandit Groups that appeared in some remote areas of the Southern Province, after ravaging small village settlements, turned their directions; they dared not attack the heavily defended towns in the area, but after learning about Dorn Town—which was not very far away—from some plundered small caravans, they all set their sights on this fat and wealthy place.

Various pieces of information circulated in the dark, and Dorn Town learned of the news about the various new Bandit Groups in the surrounding area in advance.

As one of the Captains of the Dorn Town guards, this guard naturally knew that the current security situation was far from as good as it appeared on the surface, but such matters could not really be brought out for public discussion and let more outsiders know.

For Dorn Town, where trade along the Shanglu was an important means of wealth, the Merchant Guilds and major merchants responsible for management had always attached great importance to the judgment and information regarding the security situation.

Therefore, in recent days, Dorn Town had been silently recruiting and training new guards. They also equipped the newly formed guard teams with horses and logistics vehicles for long-distance movement, preparing to rely on the rich intelligence provided by the Thieves Guild to break and annihilate the bandits eyeing Dorn Town far away from the town.

And the cart of so-called 'debtors'—surrendered soldiers—that Knight Jier brought this time looked very suitable to be added to the town's newly formed guard teams.

"This is a matter for you to decide, but I have only one requirement for selling them to you," Jier said.

The Captain of the guard immediately asked: "Please speak."

"I don't care if you make them farm, sweep the streets, perform in the Gladiator Arena in town, or even hire and arm them."

Hearing Jier say this, the Captain of the guard's eyes drifted.

"You can use them as you wish; that is your freedom. But you must only keep them within the territory of Dorn Town and cannot set them free. You don't understand; these people deserve to die, and they committed very serious crimes in remote areas. Being able to let them live, instead of being killed by me like their other fellow soldiers, is already their greatest stroke of luck."

Jier said with a serious expression: "If you let them run away, they will certainly continue to rely on their own skills to do evil, and even return to their previous places to take revenge on the innocent people who escaped their clutches. Of course, I am not afraid of them seeking revenge on me; no matter how much Yongqi and courage you give them, they will never voluntarily approach me in their lifetime. But you still need to be careful. Also, what do you think of the physical condition of these surrendered soldiers? Are they much stronger than the bandits in the mountains?"

"They look good, my lord. Although they are your captives, they have clearly been well taken care of these days; logically speaking, captives clearly don't need to eat that well." The guard could judge their diet and rest over the past few days just by looking at the physical state of these Defeated Soldiers; compared to Jier's own Warriors, they were in even better condition.

After all, the Warriors still had to hone their martial arts every night and receive some combat skills taught by Jier, consuming quite a bit of physical strength and energy. As for these Defeated Soldiers, they basically ate and went to sleep as soon as it got dark, sleeping until they woke up the next morning.

With sufficient sleep and no shortage of food at every meal, these guys had grown quite a bit sturdier.

Jier laughed: "Haha, it's just to sell them for a bit more money. How about it, how much do you think such a Defeated Soldier is worth?"

"My lord, what do they know? What skills they possess directly affects their value."

The Captain of the guard asked in a low voice.

Jier counted on his fingers: "They were all armored soldiers originally; common soldiers should be able to master long weapons, swords, shields, and other armaments. And they have received formal military training; although they retreated last year on the battlefield before officially engaging the enemy, their strength is still very high, and most of them can master archery. Furthermore, these guys possess very rich experience in mountain and forest combat, as well as experience in fighting various Monsters."

Jier said quietly: "You certainly wouldn't expect that these soldiers were once led by their military leader to walk directly through the Southern Mountains of your Southern Province; they walked directly through a vast area of non-human activity, which is a very, very rare and precious experience."

He waved his hand: "Never mind the rest; just finding someone to record their experience of traversing the Southern Mountains would be worth a lot of money. It's a pity I don't like to say a word to these scumbags; letting them live is already the result of me trying to restrain my emotions for the sake of them being able to be exchanged for some money. Ha, if you have the heart, you could find someone to record the process of them traversing the Southern Mountains; I guarantee it can be sold for money or attract the attention of some Knight Lords."

As for money, the Captain of the guard was not actually short of it, but the record of experiences Jier mentioned, which could win the attention of those above, did interest him somewhat.

"Then many thanks to Lord Jier. Back to what I said just now, with so many skills and such good physical condition, it is possible for each one to be worth at least ten Gold Coins. The specific value requires carefully asking and verifying their respective skills. I won't hide it from you; these people will likely be assigned to a high-risk assault team later. Please don't tell anyone that I said this; if they are really that powerful, the price might go up a bit more."

"Being put into an assault team to be used up? That's fine, just make sure you keep them guarded after they get their weapons. Rest assured, I am not a loose-lipped person."

Jier nodded, the two finished their exchange, and the entire caravan finally arrived at the edge of the town's buildings. Jier finally chose to stay at an inn inside the town under the recommendation of the guard captain beside him.

Not to mention anything else, after rushing on the road hard for the past few days, the Warriors indeed needed a good day of rest.

And inside the town's inn, facilities for bathing, laundry, and relaxation were naturally available, but many Warriors had spent all their money in Yemei Town, and at this moment, they had almost no coins in their pockets. Facing the various shops that were far more prosperous than those in Yemei Town, they were full of regret!

They regretted spending all the money in their pockets in that small place called Yemei Town; now, facing Dorn Town, which offered better enjoyment and even cheaper prices, they had suffered a huge loss.

Jier's caravan moving into the largest inn in town naturally required reporting and coordinating with the Merchant Guild in charge of the town, regardless of the size and force of the caravan itself or the matter of clearing out the inn.

The one responsible for this was the 【Zhenbao House】 Merchant Guild.

After the guard captain had his men ride back to town to report Jier's news ahead of time, they had already sent an attendant holding the Merchant Guild Steward's token to transfer the guests already staying at the town's largest inn one step ahead.

Using both kindness and force, they provided a small amount of compensation to the guests already staying there and found rooms in other smaller inns for the guests to transfer to in advance. At the same time, for some guests who refused to cooperate, the attendant holding the token also brought more than twenty Town Guards to 'invite' them out.

After all, letting them 'invite' them out now was 'gentler' than waiting for these people to be kicked out by Jier's Warriors in a while, right?

After all, of two evils, choose the lesser; the dissatisfaction of a few merchant caravan guards who relied on their own strength was easier to deal with than the dissatisfaction of Jier's dozens of armored Warriors and dozens of alien Warriors.

Therefore, by the time Jier's caravan arrived at this largest inn in Dorn Town called 【Jinbi Dingdang】, the entire inn had almost been cleared out by the people from the 【Zhenbao House】 Merchant Guild. I say almost, because some travelers would not stay in the inn all day; if people couldn't be found, there was nothing to be done—you couldn't just throw the travelers' luggage out, could it?

Who would be blamed if things went missing? What if they claimed there were precious treasures in their luggage and they were lost or damaged in the process? It was all trouble, so they could only ignore it for now and clear out as many rooms as possible.

"Lord Jier, I am the attendant of Lord Autosfiten, representing the 【Zhenbao House】 Merchant Guild to welcome you to Dorn Town once again. The inn required by you and your team has been prepared; please have the caravan supplies enter the backyard of the inn from the side door. This 【Jinbi Dingdang】 inn can be considered half the property of the 【Zhenbao House】 Merchant Guild; if you have any needs, you can notify the innkeeper, and he and his Shop Assistants will do their best to meet your requirements."

This Shop Assistant from the 【Zhenbao House】 Merchant Guild was himself an attendant to the Senior Steward; he was dressed brightly, and although young, he handled things with sharp methods, managing to clear out enough vacant rooms to accommodate the dozens of people in Jier's team in the fastest time after receiving the news.

Jier nodded with satisfaction, letting everyone send the caravan to the inn's backyard, while the others took their private luggage and entered from the front door of the inn, where they were arranged into their respective rooms and introduced to the inn's services and facilities under the greeting of more than a dozen Shop Assistants.

Of course, including the stay, everything cost money.

The Dwarves had money; although not much, they had many Dwarven products in their hands, which might be hard to say elsewhere, but could be sold smoothly in Dorn Town, and then exchanged for a sum of money that was essential in human society.

Jier had already told the old Dwarf about this on the road approaching Dorn Town, and the old Dwarf had also discussed it with the other Dwarves while staying overnight, taking out some tools and supplies from their luggage that they actually found they didn't need, preparing to sell them for a sum of money to count as their own Dwarven funds to pay for all the expenses along the way.

Of course, if the money ran out, they were not without other ways to get money.

First, they could join Jier's combat team nearby, help Jier fight, and be hired to fight and earn money just like Jier's men.

Or, during the journey, they could simply make some Dwarven tools and materials, producing them as they walked, and sell them in human towns.

Or perhaps sell some Dwarven handicrafts that Jier thought were good? The old Dwarf couldn't be sure if this would succeed; after all, there were certain differences between Dwarves and Humans in aesthetics, art appreciation, and so on. Although Jier felt this was possible, the old Dwarf only counted it as trying his luck and couldn't really rely on this for much.

Finally, if all the above methods could not raise money, then there was no other way; the old Dwarf still had some last-resort means. He carried a little bit of the reason why the Zhenbao Mine was called the Zhenbao Mine; those truly rare treasures were valued the same by both Humans and Dwarves. When the time came, he would have to take a little bit out to sell.

Although this action might attract more trouble.

However, this was only a last resort; he would only try it depending on the situation after all the aforementioned methods had failed.

Jier found a sturdy wooden chair in the inn's lobby and sat down, beckoning the guard Captain who had followed him all the way and the attendant Shop Assistant from the Zhenbao House to come over and speak.

"My lord, what are your orders?" The young man, who was both someone's attendant and a Merchant Guild Shop Assistant, was very polite; he stood two meters to Jier's side, bowing slightly with his hands placed over his abdomen, his eyes not looking at Jier but fixed instead on Jier's dust-covered metal combat boots.

Meanwhile, the town guard Captain beside them, having arranged for his subordinates to patrol and guard the inn, sat on a chair next to Jier and looked at Jier's equipment with envy, asking, "Knight Jier, just say whatever you need; we guards are familiar with everything in Duoen Town."

Jier smiled, amused by the two men's different ways of behaving. Because he saw the young man from the Zhenbao House give a clearly inconspicuous eye-roll at the guard Captain, who seemed rather crude by comparison.

"It is like this: I have brought my team here primarily for two purposes. One is to inquire about the direction the Kendall Army of the Northwest Province headed after passing through here several dozen days ago. Although I know they must have gone toward the Province Capital, I need a map and to hire a Local Guide who frequently travels to the Province Capital to lead me in catching up with the army from my hometown that is currently supporting the allied forces in your province."

"As for the second, it concerns some commercial matters. Let us discuss them in detail..."

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