Chapter 69: Conversation Between Two Tribes' Warriors (44) (Seeking First Publication)

In the blink of an eye, three days passed.

On the morning of the third day, the Forest Spirit tribe indeed came to ransom the captive.

Luosen was not surprised at all.

Because he knew the Forest Spirits had many different clans, and twenty Forest Spirit warriors whose physical strength rivaled that of senior knights were indispensable to any clan.

Phoenix's Nalin tribe had already lost 180 warriors; without these twenty heroes, they would have to keep their heads down and survive.

Ransoming captives, of course, did not require the lord to appear personally.

Ultimately it was the twenty Crescent knights led by Knight Captain Kaodelin, accompanied by a hundred regular soldiers.

In addition, there were a few clerks familiar with the market prices of various supplies.

The agreed exchange site was on the south bank of the Cold Water River wooden bridge, an open clearing with a wide view, less than two kilometers from the forest at the edge of the river valley.

Early that morning, Kaodelin lifted Phoenix and the other Forest Spirit warriors out of the wooden cage, gave each a few sips of fresh water, and then escorted them to the exchange point.

The warriors' wounds had not healed and their stomachs rumbled, so they could not trek far and were hauled the whole way on an ox cart.

The exchange site was five kilometers from Crescent City, requiring some time to reach.

While on the road, Phoenix naturally had plenty of time to observe the warriors of Crescent City.

He noticed the Crescent warriors wore brand‑new armor, their weapons were far superior to before, and even the warhorses seemed much sturdier.

These changes made him both alarmed and puzzled, and he couldn't help recalling the terrible rumors he had heard earlier.

Rumor had it that the Baron married Dawn Princess, that the princess brought a massive dowry, and that more princess guard units would later be stationed on the island.

He had previously not believed it at all, finding the rumors absurd and sure that the Baron had spread them to confuse them.

But after dealing with the new Baron Luosen and observing these details, he couldn't help believing about seventy‑eight percent.

After the ox cart had traveled a few miles across the fields, he finally couldn't hold back.

He turned and shouted to an old acquaintance in the escort party, "Hey~ farming knight?"

Kaodelin ignored him.

"Hey~ Knight Kaodelin?"

Still no response; he didn't even glance over.

"Knight Captain Kaodelin?!"

This time Kaodelin turned his eyes.

"If you've got a fart, let it out quickly!"

"Heard the Baron really married Weilan's… what's‑her‑name… Dawn Princess?"

Kaodelin snorted a laugh, his face proud: "It's Dawn Princess!"

"I don't believe it." Phoenix forced a grin.

Kaodelin shrugged, "Believe it or not, you Forest Spirits can just stay in the woods and wait to die."

Phoenix had heard such words many times, but before, human knights shouted them; now they said them calmly, as if stating an indisputable fact.

That was the truly frightening part.

He swallowed dry saliva, yet his throat felt so dry it seemed to smoke.

"How could a big‑shot like Princess Weilan marry a petty Baron? Their brains must be broken."

Kaodelin looked at Phoenix with a rustic stare: "What do you know?"

"In the big cities, people chase love; when they have love, a princess might even marry a beggar, let alone our lord, who is a talent of unparalleled brilliance."

Phoenix felt he didn't quite understand and asked, "What is love?"

Kaodelin didn't know what love was, but as a human knight captain, he had to preserve his image of erudition before the rustic Forest Spirits.

"If you see a girl, you want to sleep with her, and she's willing, that shows you have love."

Phoenix still didn't get it: "I see every beautiful girl and want to sleep with her, many beautiful girls in the clan are also willing, why don't I feel love?"

The approaching winter made Kaodelin break out a thin sweat on his forehead from the question.

He racked his brain recalling love stories from big cities, but could find no satisfactory phrasing.

"There's no way," he retorted, "Love is unique to our human race; you Forest Spirits know nothing about it."

Phoenix still thought the matter absurd: "That's because your human brains are broken."

Kaodelin was too lazy to reply.

After walking another stretch, Phoenix couldn't help asking again, "Will the princess stay on White Sturgeon Island forever?"

"Of course. She married the Baron, so she lives on the island. She'll have children for the Baron later."

Phoenix's unease grew as his gaze drifted left and right among the Crescent knights; then, looking further, he suddenly noticed a detail.

"What's that thing you wear on your chest? Silver‑shining, oddly beautiful." Kaodelin lifted his hand, lightly touching the silver amulet at his chest, his face again showing thick superiority, recalling the Baron's earlier instructions.

"Remember, our true opponent is the sorcery master hidden behind the scenes."

"Forest Spirits, the traitorous knights, and perhaps even some fish‑folk clans are merely the sorcery master's minions."

"These minions follow the sorcery master largely because they believe he can lead them to victory."

Kaodelin remembered very clearly; at that moment the Baron's face showed a faint indifferent smile, as if he were the deity judging destiny.

"Therefore, to defeat this cunning master, the first step is to make his minions consciously realize that following the master will not bring victory, but only lead from one failure to another until ultimate extinction."

These words made Kaodelin suddenly enlightened, feeling a wisdom far beyond his previous experience.

At that moment, he again gave Phoenix a rustic stare.

"You don't get it, do you? This is the Lightning Amulet, a precious gift the princess brought as a dowry."

"With this thing, even before you touch me, you'll first be struck by a terrifying lightning bolt, and then I'll thrust a sword through your throat while your head is numb."

"Besides, your most used sneak‑attack cold arrows are useless now, because no arrow can outrun lightning!"

Phoenix believed this, because he knew that the Weilan mage beyond the island could create this device, and Baron Ted also possessed it.

He heard that, when the Hege tribe's Yuexia was assassinating Ted, Ted backhandedly slashed a sword at his neck.

Without the Dragon's Blessing, Yuexia would have lost his head outright.

But he also knew that such arcane devices were extremely valuable treasures, and on the island only Baron Ted had one.

Now, astonishingly, each knight has been issued one—simply, simply, too terrifying.

Afterwards on the road, Feinikes said nothing more, he kept his head down, thinking about something.

About half an hour later, the ox cart pulled them across the wooden bridge over the Coldwater River.

The tribe's warriors were already waiting, numbering about a hundred or more, each looking as if facing a great enemy.

But looking at the human warriors beside Kaodelin, they were all relaxed, as if they didn't even regard the hundred Forest Spirit warriors before them as anything.

Feinikes felt angry inside: "Kaodelin, our numbers are roughly equal. Even if our warriors can't beat yours, we can still inflict heavy losses on you!"

Kaodelin gave a contemptuous smile, patting the potion bottle at his waist: "Do you see this? The heroic potion brought as part of the Princess's dowry is just as strong as, if not stronger than, your Dragon's Blessing."

"If you just observe carefully, you'll see that each of our knights actually has one of these."

He also patted the quiver beside him: "We also carry arrows specially made to kill dragon warriors; if you dare play tricks, I guarantee I'll leave all of your people behind, while we remain completely unharmed."

Feinikes felt his heart race upon hearing this: "Kaodelin, lies can't intimidate me."

Kaodelin sat upright on his horse, looking down at his old rival from above, contempt nearly spilling from his eyes: "If you don't believe me, just give it a try."

Feinikes clenched his fists, anger burning inside, yet he dared not try.

The warrior's instinct told him that Kaodelin wasn't lying; he truly had the confidence to kill them all.

The human scribe walked over and began to pick through the ransom goods brought by the Forest Spirits, while the Crescent City knights leisurely stood guard nearby.

Feinikes saw his own people were very displeased, several times wanting to lash out, but he immediately signaled with his eyes for them not to act impulsively.

Crescent City has changed, now possessing a strength it previously lacked far beyond before; their former plans can no longer continue.

Half an hour later, the ransom exchange was completed.

The Forest Spirit tribe paid a large sum of wealth—gold, furs, jewels, and so on—and according to Crescent City's market price, these items were worth over twenty thousand Ogres.

But if these furs and jewels were taken to Shire County, their price could rise considerably; selling them for forty thousand Ogres would pose no problem.

The Crescent City warriors also released the hostages as promised, and even returned the warriors' weapons.

When Feinikes was helped by his people, limping away, a voice suddenly came from behind—Kaodelin's: "Hey~ country bumpkin~ our lord has me send you two lines."

Feinikes was very unhappy with his old rival's lofty sense of superiority, but there was nothing he could do—the other side was simply stronger than him now.

Thus he could only swallow his anger.

"Farmer knight, speak up if you have something to say."

"Our lord says the world beyond the island is vast; don't just look at the poor little island beneath your feet. Open up a bit, and you'll discover that this world already belongs to humanity—your resistance is merely a dying struggle."

Feinikes instinctively wanted to retort, but couldn't find the words, because he knew Kaodelin was right.

He could only bitterly smile in his heart: "Do you think I'm stupid? But you have no idea how terrifying the Prophet is!"

Kaodelin continued: "The second line is 'Dawn Princess, a benevolent and tolerant princess; she does not wish to see bloodshed continue on the island, and hopes that enmity among the tribes can be eliminated. She is also a wise princess, for at only twenty‑three years old she has already become a powerful Arcane Master.'"

After saying these words, Kaodelin waved his hand: "Return to the city."

The Crescent City knights left just like that.

Feinikes was also helped to continue returning to the forest; outwardly calm, but inside a storm had already arisen.

Today four updates, from now on three updates per day (end of chapter)