Published: March 12, 2025
Chapter 281: Discovery of Clues
The old man calmly looked at Beta and said, “Beta, you should know our current situation. This is a very critical period, and the appearance of this merchant is too strange. They just arrived at the camp today, so it's normal for them to behave honestly. But what about a few days later? Is it possible for a merchant not to interact with others at all? It would be normal for them to make contact after a few days. If they are still sitting quietly in their tent, it means they have ulterior motives, and we should pay even more attention. Follow my advice; also, don’t put all our hopes on them. Maintain contact with the other merchants; we can never have too much food.”
After understanding the old man's meaning, Beta nodded and said, “Yes, Elder, I will make arrangements immediately.” The old man nodded, and Beta turned to leave.
The old man gazed at the swaying tent curtain and sighed, murmuring, “Your choice is truly wrong, Prince. Is the Herculean Bull Tribe really so easily defeated? The Bullfighting Tribe has sought the help of the human race, alas!”
The tent fell into silence, heavy like the old man’s mood. Recently, due to the defeat of the Herculean Bull Tribe, King Xiqi began to think of ways to appease the Bullfighting Tribe. The first thing he did was to send two princesses of the Herculean Bull Tribe to their tribe as slaves, stripping them of all dignity.
The old man disapproved of King Xiqi's actions. The Herculean Bull Tribe had greatly aided King Xiqi. Without them, there would be no King Xiqi today. Although the Herculean Bull Tribe helped him to use King Xiqi to balance the Bullfighting Tribe, one must admit that they did help King Xiqi. King Xiqi’s current actions are not something an orc would do; it resembled the actions of an ungrateful human, the kind looked down upon.
In fact, many people in the tribe opposed King Xiqi's actions, but to King Xiqi, the Herculean Bull Tribe was finished. With two of their Supreme Elders injured and dead, what hope did they have? They lost their old camp and almost all their possessions. In this situation, they could only become vassals of the Mastiff Tribe. Forget about counterattacking; one could even question whether they could return to the tauren tribe. Therefore, he decisively demoted the two princesses of the Herculean Bull Tribe to slaves.
Zhao Hai was still unaware of all this. After returning to the camp, he immediately instructed the undead beings to unload food from the carts and let them drive away. At the same time, Zhao Hai had them take the Evil Spirit Staff with them.
After finishing all this, Zhao Hai returned to the tent, where Laura and the others had been following him closely. As soon as they entered the tent, Laura said, “Brother Hai, are you really going to sell food to King Xiqi?”
Zhao Hai nodded and replied, “Yes, don’t forget that our current identity is that of merchants. We must not show any weaknesses. Besides, we came here to do business, didn’t we? By the way, starting tomorrow, you don’t have to stay in the tent. Go around the camp and see if there are any special magical beasts. We can negotiate with them to see if we can buy them.”
Laura nodded, then frowned and said, “Should we inquire about the Second Princess and Third Princess?”
Zhao Hai shook his head and said, “No need to inquire. What you need to do now is to act like a true merchant. Don’t concern yourself with those matters; just work for your own interests. I’m sure you understand this. Also, keep an eye out for any special plants and magical beasts; those are our foundation.”
Laura smiled and said, “Don’t worry, I don’t need you to teach me that. But they are still watching us. Isn’t it inappropriate for us to go out now?”
Zhao Hai smiled faintly and said, “There’s nothing inappropriate about it. Don’t forget, we are just human merchants. Would human merchants not interact with orc tribes? That would be impossible.”