Chapter 132: Half a Year of Simulator Gains (Part II)

In Allen's impression, the camp of the Red Brotherhood should have been an extremely crude, dilapidated cave; he remembered more than once holding up his Shield, running into their camp, grabbing the gem, and fleeing.

However, having followed the treasure map all the way here, Allen discovered that what he had found was a small village hidden within a valley, where an underground river flowing beneath the mountain range meandered for over a thousand meters through this canyon before re-entering the mountains.

Relying on this river, hundreds of slaves wearing iron chains had cleared large areas of terraced fields on both banks, while fully armed members of the Red Brotherhood patrolled the paths between the fields, occasionally using whips to lash out at certain new slaves who wore expressions of anger.

Judging by the sturdy physiques and scars covering the bodies of those slaves, they were clearly not professional farmers.

The Red Brotherhood did not truly use these powerful warriors as farmers; until they found suitable buyers, they were merely holding onto the idea of putting waste to good use, while incidentally achieving other goals.

At the deepest part of the canyon was a complex of buildings with city walls; there were no structures resembling a castle inside, but rather four guard towers evenly distributed around the perimeter of the walls. Hidden in a concealed spot, Allen could clearly see the sentries scanning the surroundings.

This did not look like a castle or manor in the conventional sense, but rather more like a prison for holding criminals.

Allen could not figure out why the map obtained from Blade Yawen ultimately pointed to such a place. This was located in the territory of the Lion City; by all accounts, it should have been within the sphere of influence of Moonshadow Foster. Could it be that they had some unspeakable, sordid secret between them?

Regardless, Allen did not want to return empty-handed after putting in so much effort, but a base with such tight security could absolutely not be stormed recklessly. He still needed to observe and think about how to proceed.

This delay lasted for several days. During this time, Allen carefully observed the daily routines of these people. Under the torture of the Red Brotherhood members, the slaves only received one meal at noon each day, yet they had to work from sunrise to sunset. It was clear that these slave traders were using this method to wear down these soldiers who had once fought heroically on the battlefield.

Not only that, but besides the slaves farming outside, Allen also saw Elves inside the city walls. Perhaps wanting to maintain the price and physical condition of such high-end "goods," the Red Brotherhood members did not mistreat the captured Elves, but Risadilan, who also saw this scene, could hardly bear to see his kin forcibly detained and had more than once wanted to rush up and kill.

Allen stopped Risadilan's impulsive behavior; he needed to wait for an opportunity. The enemy's numbers were extremely high, and if they relied only on their thirty-some people, there was simply no way to break into that heavily guarded prison.

Amidst the restless waiting of the Elves, the opportunity came quite quickly. A few days later in the afternoon, a caravan drove into the canyon via a winding road, bringing a large amount of supplies and more slaves. That night, the canyon fell into a frenzy of celebration; even the slaves received two meals that day, though the number of armed members belonging to the Red Brotherhood had increased even more.

Although he might face more enemies, Allen still chose tonight as the moment for a sneak attack. He had precisely observed the location where the captives were held during this time and had found the warehouse where the Red Brotherhood stored their weapons and armor. He already had a plan; it just depended on how well it was executed.

Clear moonlight shrouded the somewhat noisy valley. In the night, nimble figures were climbing the city walls; it was Allen and his group of twelve, who, relying on the cover of the night and their Cloaks, successfully sneaked into the interior of the prison and arrived at the place where the captives were held.

At this very moment, most of the Red Brotherhood members had already begun their revelry in Moonshadow Foster's manor. According to past habits, their boss would surely have brought a large number of female workers from the Lion City to soothe their dull minds after long stays here.

Even the personnel left behind to keep watch were mostly absent-minded. They were anxiously waiting for their brothers to come and relieve them after enjoying themselves. Their anxious mood led them to gulp down the mellow-tasting beer, and before long, these guards began to patrol while swaying unsteadily.

In such a state, Allen and his party, who had snuck in, easily dealt with them. Even if there were some among these people who were still loyal to their duties, they could hardly escape the sharp eyes of the Elves and died under the lethal, sharp arrows.

The rest of the matter was very simple. After a fairly friendly negotiation, Allen used the stolen keys to liberate the vast majority of the slaves and led them all the way to the Red Brotherhood's warehouse.

Subsequently, a large-scale riot broke out. These liberated slaves might even have to thank Foster for providing them with two meals today; otherwise, with one meal a day plus long hours of labor, they might not have had much strength left to even swing a weapon.

Allen and the Elves did not follow the slaves who were shouting loudly and charging at the enemy; their main goal was still to rescue the Elf slaves held in the manor.

For this, they chose a more concealed path, quietly sneaking into the room where the Elves were held amidst the sounds of battle, and rescued as many as five female Elves. Three of them had been forcibly brought here from near the Noldor Forest, while the other two had already been drifting through human kingdoms for over a hundred years.

Their bodies were still beautiful and eye-catching, but through their numb eyes, one could tell what these Elves had experienced among the human nobility. Upon seeing their own kin, their psychological defenses collapsed once again, and they hugged Risadilan and began to wail.

Although most male Noldor Elves were brave and skilled in battle, the combat effectiveness of female Elves was relatively lower. Those nobles almost never had the idea of having Elf bodyguards, but if conditions permitted, they liked to keep one or two female Elves as pets. Moreover, according to the sobbing accounts of these two female Elves, many human nobles played quite wildly; once they grew tired of them, they would find the local Red Brotherhood and let them act as intermediaries to rotate them with other nobles, so that their pets could bring more freshness. After all, a resigned female Elf could be kept as a family heirloom.

Of course, according to Moonshadow Foster's confession, some nobles also liked male Elves, which touched upon Allen's blind spot of knowledge.

Yes, just as the Elves were reminiscing, a panicked Moonshadow Foster, accompanied by a dozen of her most elite subordinates, broke into the place where the Elf slaves were held. Perhaps she wanted to take her most valuable goods before fleeing, but facing the extremely angry and highly combat-capable Elf Nobles, the fate of this agent was predictable.

The fighting outside had also mostly ended by this time. The Red Brotherhood's banquet had by now completely turned into a carnival for the liberated slaves. The combat effectiveness of the Red Brotherhood was not considered low in Pendor, barely reaching the middle tier, but who told them to be so greedy, accepting any kind of captive?

Allen didn't need to guess to know that among those he rescued, there might well be members of certain Knight Orders, or top-tier combatants from some wild factions. As long as these people were freed and provided with weapons and armor, slaughtering these Red Brotherhood members would be like child's play.

Allen, having pried two Dragon Tears from Moonshadow Foster's mouth, was already satisfied. His original goal had been only one. Now, not only had he obtained more Dragon Tears, but he had also rescued five female Elves. This would surely allow him to obtain some Elf weapons, equipment, or goods from Yislandia again.

Up to this point, this trip's harvest could be said to be very good. Moreover, before being stabbed to death, Moonshadow Foster provided Allen with a piece of relatively important intelligence.

In fact, in higher-end transactions, Dragon Tears had long since become a universal currency with a value higher than diamonds. The price of a single piece was comparable to 100,000 Dinars, and they were often in short supply. There were even rumors that these gems could be exchanged for potions of immortality, only that one had to wait in a very long line to exchange them.

Allen knew all this information. He used Dragon Tears to exchange for potions through the Simulator; he didn't need to fight or scramble with those kings or nobles. He just lacked money and Dragon Tears.

This battle brought Allen far more than just this. Among these slaves, there were indeed many members of Knight Orders. Some of the organizations they belonged to were originally opposed to each other, so after gaining freedom, they immediately expressed their gratitude to Allen and were anxious to leave with their followers.

From their incomplete equipment, Allen could tell that two of the guys were from the Dawn Order, and the other was definitely from the Dusk Knight Order; the recognizability of their equipment was simply too high. Allen did not force them to stay; he only provided a portion of supplies and allowed them to leave freely.

To be honest, if it weren't for the fact that Allen was their savior, and the two had just fought side-by-side to victory, keeping them in a very restrained state, they would have fought each other the moment they gained freedom. The Dawn Order and the Dusk Knight Order had a double hatred of faith and history; basically, it was either you or me.

Even in the current situation, the peace between them could likely only be maintained until they walked out of the valley. However, Allen could no longer concern himself with their ending.

【Truth be told, I've been using a source-switching app to read books and follow updates recently. It has many voices for reading aloud, and it works on both Android and Apple.】

Seeing that Allen did not force anyone to stay, most of the rescued captives left after obtaining a certain amount of supplies. They all had their own families and factions to return to, and Allen did not express any intention of hiring them.

It wasn't that Allen didn't want to hire them; he had no fief, and his fixed income was not particularly high. Even if he forcibly took these people in, it wouldn't be long before he declared bankruptcy because he had no Dinars to pay wages. He couldn't just forcibly demand they serve for free because he had saved their lives once, right? That did not conform to the basic laws of Pendor.

To Allen's surprise, in the end, more than a dozen warriors who looked fierce and tough stayed behind. Seven of them were Death Warriors from Mettenheim. These people had fought on the battlefield for a lifetime and were already quite old, with basically not many years left to live. They did not have enough money or time to take a sea ship back to their homeland. Their homelessness and penniless predicament led these people to request Allen's shelter; they could still play a certain role on the battlefield.

The other ten people stated that their ancestors were once members of a certain Knight Order, which was now not recognized by most countries, but they had never given up their heritage and had kept it until now. Therefore, these people possessed a variety of skills, including the forging of armor and weapons, training methods for Knights and squires, horse breeding, construction, and so on.

Seeing that Allen could get along peacefully with the Elves, these people hoped that Allen would accept them.

Allen, who had a slight understanding of every Knight Order in Pendor, had some guesses about these people's identities. Let them stay if they want to. According to his identity as the Prophecy Child, accepting the remnants of the Griffin Knight Order was exactly what he should do, though meeting in such a way was something Allen had not anticipated.

There were also two warriors who were unwilling to leave, introducing themselves as members of the Silvermist Ranger Order. They very keenly discovered Risadilan's identity and were willing to assist the Elves in sending their kin back to the Noldor Forest.

The relationship between the Silvermist Rangers and the Noldor Elves had always been very good, so making such a decision was understandable. It was just that Allen, looking at the powerful soldiers constantly popping up, felt more and more that Moonshadow Foster's death was truly not unjust. To actually dare to keep so many powerful big shots in her hands to sell—was she not afraid of capsizing?

On this point, Allen somewhat underestimated the Red Brotherhood. If not for Allen's interference, this secret prison would have been far safer than Allen imagined, and the captives bound by special chains would have been hard-pressed to stir up any big waves. It was just that Foster truly did not expect that her colleague would actually have a map of her own place, and that it would fall into Allen's hands.

This disaster was truly too sudden for this agent from the Barkley continent; various means were not even used before it was all over.

As for returning to the Noldor Forest immediately, this did not conform to Allen's ideas. Half of his goals for this trip had not been completed, and he did not intend to give up halfway.

After destroying the Red Brotherhood's base, the group obtained sufficient funds and supplies. After purchasing enough horses and clothing for disguise in the Lion City, the group began to head toward the Ravenstern Kingdom.

Thanks to the guidance of the two Silvermist Rangers, no accidents occurred along the way. Especially after entering the territory of the Ravenstern Kingdom, the reputation of the Silvermist Ranger Order was extremely useful. Allen spent less than a month finding the Dragon Tear Gem he had been longing for in the massive Singing Song Port.

Subsequently, the group, under the escort of a Silvermist Ranger squad, returned to the Ravenstern Kingdom. Four months later, Allen returned to the valley near the Lion City again. It had already become an uninhabited ruin, which meant that what Foster confessed was not wrong; even among the agents of the Red Brotherhood, only she herself knew about this valley. As for that map of Blade Yawen, it might really have been Foster's subordinate who sold out their own boss in exchange for some drinking money.

That it had not been occupied by others for such a long time meant that those released captives did not have many other thoughts about this valley.

The valley, which had now become a place with no one, actually gave Allen some other ideas. In fact, he urgently needed a base to develop his strength. Relying on the Elves was fine, but the Elves would not let Allen establish his own family in Yislandia. Possessing a piece of land was very important to Allen now, especially since Allen already had some subordinates of his own.

Out of various considerations, before returning to the Noldor Forest, Allen led his team to sweep through the Greenwood Bandits between Long River Town and the Lion City, rescuing quite a few refugees and captives, and settled them in that canyon. Then, he settled the descendants of those ten Griffin Knights and those Death Warriors from Mettenheim there, and left behind enough supplies and Dinars, letting them develop there with peace of mind.

However, doing so greatly extended the time of Allen's trip. After the contracts with those young adventurers expired, Allen paid the final balance, and then wanted to have those recruited adventurers sign a non-disclosure agreement, and intimidated them by saying the contract had the effect of Magic, and the price for violating it would be their lives.

However, the contract was not signed in the end. These young people, who were once nobles themselves, instead brought their families to join Allen and moved to that valley to start a stable life, which provided a certain source of troops for Allen to rebuild the Griffin Knight Order.

The thoughts of these young adventurers were also very simple. In their original countries, they had already lost the path to obtain power. After falling from the ranks of the nobility, it was truly too difficult to return. Under Allen, they could obtain a stable salary and have the opportunity to obtain power again, so why not join?

After settling all this, Allen returned to the Noldor Forest, and at the same time, ended this simulation that had taken a long time in reality. However, the various gains made Allen overjoyed.

Tens of thousands of Dinars and nearly a hundred points of renown went without saying. The reward of as many as three points of Honor made Allen excited. He had already accumulated enough Honor for another five-draw, but Allen wanted to wait a bit longer to see if he could save up to ten points to draw all at once.

You must know that the Simulator's lottery has a certain pattern; if you draw one by one, the reward is a choice of one out of three, while drawing five at once allows you to choose any five from fifteen rewards. The more Honor you have, the higher your degree of freedom in choosing, so waiting a while does no harm.

As for those three Dragon Tears, they were exchanged by Allen at the first opportunity for two bottles of Elixir of Longevity and one piece of Ancient Rune Armor that occasionally flickered with a green light.

This suit of armor, which can rapidly restore stamina, was exchanged by Allen for Holimion; to do this, he even consumed an Ancient Rune Armor taken from the Elf treasury. His own Captain of the Personal Guard originally had one, which his parents had exhausted their family fortune to prepare for their son, but it was smashed by a single slap during that battle against Smaug in Long Lake Town the year before last. Allen bore an unshirkable responsibility for Holimion taking that slap, and he had long been thinking of exchanging for one to return to Holimion; now, he finally had the chance.

As for those two bottles of Elixir of Longevity, Allen intended to give one to Yamila, while he had not yet decided who to give the other to. Alayen, Fatis, and Cress were all very young and there was no rush; only Bandak and James were getting on in years now, so giving it to either of them would be fine. In any case, he would certainly be able to obtain more elixirs from the lottery in the future.

Afterward, Allen's life entered into a busy state once again, and after the Spring Festival had passed, a caravan arrived from the Lonely Mountain and delivered the armor Allen had ordered to Wilderness Town: a full fifty sets of Plate Armor and fifty sets of Horse Armor.