CHAPTER 143: CHAPTER 56: TOUCH OF THE EVIL GOD

The people from the Lusen Chamber of Commerce quickly organized their belongings and formed a trade caravan of eighty wagons.

Their main trade goods were blood maple wood, with the wagons neatly stacked with timber. Other wagons carried various leathers, weapons, armor, medicinal herbs, ores, and other goods.

Lin Rui mounted his Taiyar Riding Horse, leading the army to follow the caravan heading towards the Glacial Abyss in the east.

Audrey, who had been muttering non-stop, finally got a riding horse. In contrast, Elite Raider Hood turned from a cavalryman into a two-legged cavalryman...

But Hood couldn’t refuse.

Audrey, the silly one, surrounded him with over three hundred undead, hands on her hips, asking if he thought his warhorse was exactly the same as her missing little love horse.

Goddamn, her missing little love horse.

She hadn’t even seen a single strand of horsehair before. Just say you want to rob!

But when Silver Moon placed a blade against his neck, Hood was very quick to submit.

Who wouldn’t have trembling legs when alone and surrounded by hundreds of cold and terrifying undead?

Lin Rui didn’t bother with her mischief; the most troublesome part of marching in the dark were those pestering Evil Spirits and Unclean.

Audrey rode back and forth within the formation, also using the Other Shore Flower Mark to tag monsters mixed in with the group.

Lin Rui rode alongside Lu Weite, casually chatting with him to gather information.

What concerned Lin Rui the most was undoubtedly the distribution of forces in this world.

"Director Lu Weite, you’ve traveled far and wide and are knowledgeable. Could you introduce me to the distribution of forces nearby?"

Lu Weite had a bit of pride on his face, clearly very proud of his rich experience and knowledge.

"Lord Lin Rui, you’ve asked the right person. If I do say so myself, no one knows the distribution of forces around the entire Dragonbone Plain better than I do."

"The plain where Lord Lin Rui’s territory is located is the Dragonbone Plain, which belongs to the Black Forest Count’s Domain. The lord is Count Frans Hessen."

Count Frans? Lin Rui knew this name. After he cleared out a raider camp, he even received a bounty order from Count Frans.

"So, am I a vassal of Count Frans?" Lin Rui particularly focused on this question.

"Oh, no, you’re not," Lu Weite decisively replied, "You belong to the Explorer sequence, and Explorers have the right to claim new territories and aren’t subject to any nobles. After all, you built your village yourself, didn’t you? Imperial law guarantees the rights of every Explorer. Until you’re bestowed the rank of Baron."

"If I’m bestowed the rank of Baron, would I then become a vassal of Count Frans?"

"My goodness, Lord Lin Rui, how could you have such a whimsical idea? Of course, you pledge allegiance to the one who bestows on you the rank of Baron. If the Emperor bestows you as a Baron, then you are the Emperor’s vassal. If a Duke bestows you as a Baron, then you are the Duke’s vassal."

"Under a Duke can be many Counts and Barons. Count and Baron differ only in size of territory, but you’re both nobles bestowed by a Duke, and you only pledge allegiance to the Duke. Why would you become a Count’s vassal?"

"To become Count Frans’s vassal, unless your Baron is bestowed by Count Frans. Meanwhile, you wouldn’t be a Duke’s vassal anymore. If you are strong enough, you could even go to war with other Counts under the Duke."

A classic example: the vassal of my vassal is not my vassal.

Lin Rui immediately grasped the situation of human forces in this world, asking, "So what is Count Frans like?"

"Count Frans is known for being arrogant, devout, belligerent, and lustful. He’s a devout War God follower, so he’s all muscles and walking hormones."

"Wouldn’t that make him difficult to deal with?"

"The relationship between nobles and Explorers has always been strained. After all, Explorers are active in the nobles’ territories. But it can’t be too bad, as Count Frans also needs Explorers to stand against the beast horde."

Lu Weite glanced at the darkened forests and mountains in the distance, saying, "The Blood Maple Forest and Bloodbath Mountain are filled with countless monsters. Every once in a while, there is a monster outbreak. Count Frans also needs Explorers to consistently clean up the area."

Lin Rui curiously asked, "Are there any particularly powerful monsters here?"

Lu Weite immediately nodded, with a look of fear on his face, saying, "On Bloodbath Mountain, there’s a legend of a powerful Dragon Slayer: Death and Melting Wings Trak. Where its wings pass, it brings endless slaughter and inferno of lava, and it has a vast number of clan minions under its command. In Imperial Calendar 3758, it once launched a massive invasion that swept the whole world. It wasn’t until a bloody battle at the center of Dragonbone Plain, across the Vis River, that the Empire’s noble Divine Alliance Army defeated it. But Trak used its aerial advantage to escape back to Bloodbath Mountain, hiding beneath the lava."

"And in the Blood Maple Forest, there’s a powerful Goblin Lord named Lakneik. Under its command are several Anaric Spiders, revered by the goblins as divine spirits, and countless Beastman War Generals, Green-skinned Warlords, and Goblin Lords. If it launches a wagggh, it will attract all the Beastman Tribes and goblins from Blood Pine Forest, Bloodbath Mountain, Ruins River Valley, and Glacial Abyss areas to participate. The Green Tide will flood the horizon and the sky."

"Besides these two extremely powerful evil lords, there are countless other monsters and savage tribes nearby."