Chapter 222: Outside Duan Ya Cheng, Warhorses and Monster Flesh

Early the next morning, the entire camp began to set off in a sluggish manner.

The vast majority of people had not slept well last night, and a small portion had not slept at all, trying to snatch a bit of rest on the wagons during the day. There had been too many things happening last night; it started with an attack by water-spitting crocodiles, followed by Knight Jier leading his team to wipe out a bandit group that had lured the monsters over all night, and in the end, for some reason, they had provoked a massive attack by poisonous bees from the mountain forest.

But fortunately, in the eyes of the merchants in the caravan, they had the protection of the God of Wealth on this journey, and with the strength of Knight Jier himself and his subordinates being solid enough, they were able to turn danger into safety and push through.

Otherwise, the water-spitting crocodiles alone would have caused the entire caravan no small amount of losses.

At this time, Jier was also somewhat exhausted and went to the river early in the morning to take a bath, washing away the bloodstains he had gotten while dismembering the corpses of the water-spitting crocodiles in the second half of the night. But even now, he still had a sour face, holding a wooden bowl of bean soup, swallowing down the bread soaked in the bean soup in large mouthfuls.

This bean soup was specifically requested by Jier early in the morning to be boiled by the drivers who were working part-time as cooks.

The reason?

It was actually because when he was dismembering the monster corpses last night, he had discovered some semi-digested human corpses inside the viscera of the water-spitting crocodiles. The moment he thought about how the water-spitting crocodiles had eaten people last night, and that he would have to eat the meat of these monsters afterward to replenish his Life Energy, Jier felt a wave of nausea.

Although he had long known that most monsters were man-eaters, knowing it and seeing with his own eyes the semi-digested human corpses inside the monster's stomach were still very different things.

"Does this count as me indirectly eating people?" Jier sat blankly on the ground, and after swallowing the soaked bread, he asked Xueya Site, who was struggling with the beans beside him.

"This..." Xueya Site originally wanted to say it didn't count, but after thinking about it for a moment, he found it difficult to conclude that it didn't count.

And so, he just got stuck.

After muttering and grumbling for a while, he offered a suggestion to Jier: "How about we don't start eating from the monster's torso? How about we start by eating the monster's huge tail and the limbs you chopped off? But Jier, just dismembering the monster corpses like this and putting them on the wagons, don't you need to worry about them rotting and stinking?"

Jier waved his hand: "That's not necessary. The corpses of monsters, no, their meat, even if left on the ground, unless eaten by large animals, is very hard to rot naturally. Even the corpses of Magic Beasts are even more so; without any extra methods, if you leave them there for a year or two, they will still be like fresh ones. They are even very energetic!"

"That's true. After all, the huge tail of that big crocodile from last night is still twitching constantly even now, just as if it were still connected to the monster's body."

Xueya Site gave a wry smile and pointed with the spoon in his hand at a wagon not far away that was temporarily loaded with the water-spitting crocodile's corpse. Unlike the other wagons that were motionless, this wagon was not yet on the road, but it was already shaking from side to side, as if there were several people inside shaking their bodies back and forth, causing the wagon to sway.

In reality, it was the huge tail of the water-spitting crocodile, which was tied tightly inside the wagon box, still twisting with force at this moment, thereby causing the wagon to shake along with it.

"How about I chop that tail in half again? After all, letting it shake the wagon back and forth like this will cause no small amount of damage to our wagon." Jier pointed with his finger, drank most of the bean soup in the wooden bowl in his hand, and chewed hard on the beans in his mouth.

"That's not necessary. I heard from the people in the accompanying caravan that if we move a bit faster tonight, we can reach the open and flat area on the outskirts of Duan Ya Cheng. There are large caravan inns there that specifically host passing caravans. Let's wait until we reach the inn to find a chance to properly deal with this guy."

The entire caravan was soon on the road, just like the previous day or two. Every time they passed a mountain on this road, there would be people, either civilians or bandits, set up on the Shanglu to block the road and collect tolls.

All day long, that Shop Assistant from the Sweet Fruit Merchant Guild was very diligent, no longer hanging around Jier, but instead going to the front of the caravan ahead of time to take the initiative to negotiate with those blocking the road.

In short, the vast majority of the people blocking the road gave the Sweet Fruit Merchant Guild some face. This might have had something to do with the two bandits tied to the very front of the caravan; after all, one of them was a Bandit Leader who had some fame in the surrounding area.

Since this person had been dealt with, and the wagon full of corpses could not be faked, it made it much easier for the Shop Assistant from the Sweet Fruit Merchant Guild who went to negotiate to speak.

Last night, this person had sworn that he would fight the troublemaking bandits, but in reality, when the actual fighting happened, he hadn't even touched the edge of it. The twenty-plus bandits were wiped out by Jier's Warriors in a few quick strokes.

Many Warriors didn't even get a single kill, let alone this Shop Assistant who only had a Short Sword.

When the real fighting happened, Weier, who had been asked by Jier to look after the Shop Assistant, didn't pay any attention to him at all and went straight up to kill the enemy himself. And the Shop Assistant from the Sweet Fruit Merchant Guild, knowing that he couldn't do anything, was much more well-behaved after the battle; at least he wouldn't face Jier's Warriors with an implicit attitude of looking down on people anymore.

By the afternoon, everyone finally walked out of the rolling mountains under the scorching sun and suddenly appeared on the western edge of a plain that had suddenly opened up.

The caravan was still at a higher elevation at this time, and while moving along the gradually descending Shanglu, they could take in the entire plain area at a glance. The entire plain was not large, just enough to be seen from left to right and from their feet to the end of the plain with the naked eye. There were mountain ranges to the north and south, which just happened to enclose the best land in the entire Ke'er Shan Jun.

Looking from afar, the small rivers flowing out from between the mountains gradually converged on this plain, finally merging into a larger river that flowed past Duan Ya Cheng located on the south side of the plain, before continuing south into the southern mountain area.

Visible to the naked eye, there were dozens of Villages and several towns of a certain scale distributed across the entire plain area they could see. The population here was estimated to account for about eighty or even ninety percent of the entire county.

And along the gradually descending Shanglu, there were stone towers and small barracks built one after another along the road; their positions seemed to be for guarding against bandits or Monsters in the mountains.

"This place looks quite rich; it's a good place. If one could build garrison checkpoints along the main Shanglu to block the road, it would be very difficult for outsiders to break through this place."

Jier was riding on horseback, followed by some Merchants who were trying to curry favor with him, and at this moment, he looked casually at the large expanse of cultivated plain land before him and said.

But Jier's remark drew light laughter from several Merchants. Jier didn't understand what was wrong with his words. The Merchants pointed to other Caravan wagons scattered in front of and behind the entire caravan and said: "Knight Jier, look at what those local caravans are carrying?"

Jier had excellent eyesight. Others might have had to ride their horses over to see clearly, but riding his Tianxuecao in the middle of the caravan, he could see the goods being transported in the open in the wagons of other caravans two or three hundred meters ahead and behind.

"It's logs and a large amount of bundled thick branches. Oh, I understand."

Jier slapped his forehead and completely understood what these Merchants meant. When he looked at the entire plain before him again at this moment, he discovered the problem.

The entire plain area enclosed by the mountain range where Duan Ya Cheng was located, although the land was fertile and the river water sources were sufficient, seemed to have been developed too maturely in the last few decades. With several dozen towns and Villages added together, the population must be quite large.

But the problem lay right there. The outskirts of the Villages and towns were all well-cultivated, high-quality farmland. Although the water conservancy infrastructure was very primitive, the continuous farmland made people feel comfortable looking at it. It just lacked the large expanse of firewood forest that ordinary Villages would usually have around them!

Including the area around the most conspicuous Duan Ya Cheng, there were no natural production areas for the fuel needed for long-term survival around every Village and town visible to the naked eye.

The local caravans that entered this plain along the Shanglu every day were transporting the firewood fuel needed for every household in the entire region to light fires and cook meals!

Thinking about it this way, if checkpoints were built at the mountain passes where the Shanglu entered and exited this place, outsiders would certainly not be able to break in, but this place would naturally not be able to get the support of firewood from the outside mountain forests. With such a large population, the fuel needed every day was not a small number. If it were surrounded, it was estimated that in less than a few dozen days, the locals, having grain but no firewood, would have no choice but to risk going into the nearby mountains with their grain to chop wood.

"That's right, so this place really cannot have checkpoints built to block entry and exit. Even if a battle were to take place in the rich areas inside the plain, one cannot completely block the road."

Jier shook his head, still feeling that he was young and his observations were not careful enough, and that he had made a judgment for granted. After all, the Baron lord here hadn't done so, so there must be a reason for it. One shouldn't really think that one is smarter than others and thus look down on others.

By the time it was almost evening, the entire caravan had officially entered the plain area where Duan Ya Cheng was located. Although it was still an hour or two away from Duan Ya Cheng, and the local main Shanglu was safe enough at night, the city would close its gates at night and impose a curfew.

If they rushed over now, they would only be able to wait outside the city until dawn to enter, so it was better to just rest and spend the night at a caravan inn along the plain's Shanglu.

The Shop Assistant from the Sweet Fruit Merchant Guild played a big role here. Relying on the name and influence of the Merchant Guild, he found a nearby inn to make adjustments, letting other caravans that had entered the inn earlier temporarily move to other nearby inns, specifically clearing out two empty large inns for Jier's caravan.

Only then did Jier friendly pat the Shop Assistant of the Merchant Guild on the shoulder, acknowledging that the other party had done a good job.

"This is what I should do, Knight Jier. I will return to the city overnight. Is there anything you need me to help with as soon as possible?" The other party pointed in the direction of Duan Ya Cheng and said, shaking his membership badge of the Sweet Fruit Merchant Guild.

"Of course there is, and it's very important. You know, last night we wiped out a nest of bandits, and now their stinking corpses are still piled up in a wagon. Unlike the monster corpses, the weather is so hot that in less than two days, these human corpses will have their stomachs swell up and then go 'bang' and explode. They might even get up and attack the living if left unattended!"

After Jier finished speaking, he added in a low voice: "Although my team is not afraid of this."

"But I need professionals to handle them. Please go to Duan Ya Cheng and bring back Priests from the Church of the God of the Dead. Also, if possible, is there a reward for wiping out these bandits? If there is, please bring the relevant government officials over as well. I see that the Shanglu here is divided into two, one going directly from west to east through the entire plain, and one having to turn south towards Duan Ya Cheng, which takes an extra half a day's journey."

"Time is tight, so I won't have the caravan go to Duan Ya Cheng. Of course, if you can't find anyone there, that's fine too. After I pass through this plain, when I reach the Shanglu in the mountains on the east side of the county, it will be fine to chop some wood and burn these corpses."

Jier said all this, which really made the Shop Assistant from the Sweet Fruit Merchant Guild so ashamed that he didn't know what to say: "No, no, no, you don't need to do that. I will find someone, please rest assured, I will bring people back before dawn tomorrow."

After saying this, the Shop Assistant immediately rode his horse toward Duan Ya Cheng.

If riding a horse alone, the speed was at least twice as fast as the caravan, and it was estimated that the other party would be able to reach Duan Ya Cheng before dark. Of course, even after dark, this Shop Assistant had the ability to enter and exit the city gates; after all, the Sweet Fruit Merchant Guild itself was a merchant guild founded by the local Baron lord's family.

Getting a city gate opened was really easy.

The large caravan moved into the two specially vacated large inns one after another. The accompanying caravan squeezed into one inn, and Jier's group squeezed into another inn with the Dwarfs. To tell the truth, although the former had many people, it was impossible to completely fill an inn, but Jier didn't want to let the Dwarfs mix with the Merchants, and he didn't feel at ease letting his Warriors out of his supervision.

So he had no choice but to let his own side squeeze into an inn with the Dwarfs.

Of course, this was nothing. If the beds in the inn couldn't accommodate everyone, they could just sleep on the floor. At least in a safe and comfortable room, it was always much better than the hard and hot ground in the wilderness.

With other subordinates and partners taking care of the caravan's many affairs, Jier, upon arriving at the inn, simply tossed his personal belongings into the best room before heading to the backyard to busy himself with tending to Tianxuecao.

He helped it remove its Horse Armor, saddle, and other gear, then fed it water, forage, and Beans, and even specifically brought out a bucket of the large amount of Monster blood collected while processing the Spouting Crocodile for Tianxuecao to drink.

His prairie horse was originally quite averse to this bucket of Monster blood, but it couldn't resist Jier mixing the blood into its drinking water and food; in short, through coaxing and persuasion, he finally got his warhorse to consume the Monster blood.

He had heard Knight Kela say before that after humans or ordinary animals consume the flesh and blood of Monsters and Magic Beasts, their physical constitutions will strengthen in the short term, but they are prone to falling ill and dying if the duration is long. If there are no subsequent processing or strengthening methods, it is best not to let humans eat Monster meat or let animal partners come into contact with it.

But if it is someone who has already undergone Knight Training like Jier, then one can never have too much Monster meat; only by consuming these things as much as possible can one possess a sufficient supply of Life Energy. Of course, formal Knight Training actually involves New Knights consuming related Potions made from Monster flesh and blood refined by apothecaries.

Especially those Noble Knights or family knights; they don't need to eat this Monster meat, which has an indescribable taste and flesh so firm it's abnormal, and can simply have one bottle of energy Potion per month.

Jier's plan at this moment was to let his warhorse Tianxuecao improve its constitution as quickly as possible; although a prairie horse with an excellent bloodline like this is still considered an ordinary animal, its constitution would also rise rapidly after consuming things related to Monster flesh and blood. It would be just in time to catch up with the subsequent war, ensuring Tianxuecao would not be defeated when facing the powerful warhorses of those genuine knights.

As for the problem of the aftereffects of consuming Monster flesh and blood, he only needed to return to the capital of the Northwest Province as soon as possible in the future and find the relevant warhorse strengthening personnel to perform the strengthening for his warhorse.

In fact, ever since Jier previously fed some blood from the cloud monsters to Tianxuecao, he had been able to clearly feel during this period that his warhorse had become stronger than before.

Although it could run smoothly before after being fully equipped with Armor, its sprinting speed and endurance were visibly insufficient. But after consuming the Monster's blood, Tianxuecao recently showed no signs of exhaustion even when fully equipped and ridden by Jier for an entire day.

This thing was still very effective.