Akira and everyone else inside Bent-Gii held their breaths as they watched the large unknown force appear from the north. They were already tired from the fight with the demigods and were not sure how much longer they could fight or even if they could survive another full-on attack like before.
Akira now held his war hammer and shield tightly since his sword had been shattered, it was his only other main weapon.
Mileena squinted her eyes trying to see the distant targets clearly, while Akira and several other sharp-eyed werewolves looked at the dark blobs on the horizon that were lit by the last of the day’s light which was slowly fading.
“Should we go and stop them?” asked a cavalry officer.
“It would be best to stay here. We are in no shape to fight out on an open field, nor do we have the numbers to do so,” said Akira.
As the unknown force made its way closer to Bent-Gii, Akira was able to make out several makeshift wagons, flags, and many people walking with large packs.
“Refugees?” asked Varbu.
“They look like it,” said Akira.
Everyone let out a sigh of relief as the caravan did not look to be filled with demigods. Even so, Akira did not give the order to greet them and they all waited to see if the caravan would come to the settlement or pass it by.
The caravan kept marching forward and came to a stop right in front of the hastily repaired wooden barricades in front of the settlement’s stone wall.
The caravan was made up of over 30 large makeshift wagons, converted sleds, and several hundred backpack-wearing humans and dwarves. There was a large number of warriors standing at the outer edge of the caravan wearing leather armor and holding shields, swords, and spears so that they could protect the wagons and backpackers.
A familiar man with a black flag only having the three letters O M Y on it, stepped forth, and with a loud voice shouted out, “We are a traveling band of merchants! May we seek shelter here for the night? We have goods and news from the north to trade with you!”
“Oib, Mib, Yib and Ferem. It looks like you all are doing well,” said Akira.
“Ah! That voice… the duke of Kodria is here!” said Oib
“Why is the duke here? Did he get sent out here as punishment by his wife?” asked Yib.
“Why would she do something like that?” asked Ferem.
“It’s what Mib said wives do, they send you away when they are mad,” said Yib.
“Scary…” said Ferem.
Akira ignored their chatter, not daring to look at Mileena who stood next to him. He cleared his throat and said, “Your traveling caravan is welcome but I am not sure how safe you will be as you can probably see we were recently in a scuffle.”
“Your hospitality is much appreciated. As a show of goodwill, I can give you one free piece of news when we are settled down! It’s the least I could do for you while you are out here on punishment duty,” said Mib.
“Uh… that’s kind of you,” said Akira, looking everywhere else but towards Mileena. “You guys can settle in for the night while we take care of the cleanup around here and deal with a few bandits under our control.”
This time, the loss of life was not small, several orcs, goblins, and even a few werewolves and Gargs died.
Those still alive were given the order to finish gathering the dead Orcs and Goblins and start burying them in a new graveyard near the new Bent-Gii settlement. While the dead werewolves were put in wooden boxes to have a funeral for their family who was waiting back at Kodria.
Along with the dead bodies, they gathered weapons, armor, gold, potions, and even rare skill gems.
***
Halrverold, the main continent, [Demon Hunters] guild office.
“What can I do for you Olbrou and Yobrou? It is a surprise to see the rival [Blazing Dawn] and [Immortal Dawn] guilds coming to see me together.”
The [Blazing Dawn] and [Immortal Dawn] guilds were run by brothers who were always competing to beat the other at whatever they did. That included creating a guild because the others did.
“Ualtar, why is your guild playing in that backwater continent? There are already several large kingdoms here and with your strength, you could take one down,” said Olbrou.
“Are you and the other guilds worried that my [Demon Hunters] will take the rewards for this event?”
“…” Olbrou stayed silent and did not answer the question.
“Our guilds might be labeled as being in the top ten but we still are nowhere near the level of your [Demon Hunters]. If you are planning on hogging all the events…” said Yobrou.
“Don’t worry. I have no real interest in the event, as you said yourself, it is just a backwater undeveloped place.”
“Then why are you being so heavy-handed with Froit?”
“I said I have no interest in the event but not that I want to give up on such an easy gold generating territory. Right now I need all the gold I can get. You know how expensive it is to keep upgrading the armor and weapons for the guild’s main farming team. My main focus is to keep getting stronger. To do that requires better gear for both me and the other guild members on the farming team. Last I heard both your guilds farming teams are lagging far behind your strength. How inefficient, they won’t be able to do much for you with such weak strength.”
Yobrou grit his teeth, “Unlike a certain guild we did not have a certain potion to sell for large amounts of gold.”
“Our guild’s main farming team have been forced to farm in less than ideal areas due to lack of gold, equipment, and resources which a certain guild bought out,” said Olbrou as he looked at Ualtar.
Ualtar ignored their sharp words and said, “If you are looking for some decent armor… It just so happens that my guild has some that we have outgrown. If you have the gold I am not against selling it to you. After all, our guilds may be competing but our real enemies are those of the Demon race.”
With a wave of a hand from Ualtar, Scar who had been standing nearby presented two clipboards with similar contracts that had been written up well before their meeting almost as if Ualtar had been expecting them.
The two brothers looked at the price and their eyes almost popped out of their heads.
“This price is almost the same cost as buying it brand new!”
“Why don’t you just rob us! Selling used equipment for such an outrageous price!”
“None of it is even enhanced or upgraded!”
Ualtar only sat behind his desk with his hands clasped under his chin as he looked directly into their eyes and said, “This gear has been treated well and repaired to like new conditions, you are wrong about the cost. The gear has a set of special gems that somehow help those using it grow stronger at a faster pace. That is the reason for its cost.”
“Gems? Why would you be selling us something rare like that?” asked a suspicious Olbrou.
“They are nothing much, we have already replaced them with stronger gems.”
“Even so, we are your rival guilds. Selling us this gear will help us rise faster. Are you not afraid we will be able to challenge your guild’s first place position?” asked Yobrou.
“Do you know how boring it is to win everything without any competition? Plus with the money you pay us, I can start funding the second and third farming teams that have been lagging behind.”
This comment frustrated the brothers as even the [Demon Hunters] 3rd tier team had better gear than them. To hear that they were considered to be lagging behind was unpleasant.
Olbrou and YoBrou looked at each other silently deciding on what to do. The cost would nearly wipe out their guild’s savings. If they made this purchase then they would only have their personal gold to buy potions and resources.
Currently, both the brothers and their guild’s main farming teams were using long-outdated gear that did not suit their strength. Those in the other teams below them were in even worse shape.
“Although it is pricey… with this purchase we could hand down our current gear to our second-tier farming team making them even stronger.”
“If we are to do this our guild’s first and second farming teams’ strength would definitely be able to launch our guild into the top 5.”
The two whispered back and forth for some time before deciding to sign the contract.
***
Bent-Gii, central building’s meeting room.
“…and you are?” asked Akira looking at a young woman that held a notepad in her hands. She looked to be a member of the Elkmen demon race, with her two stubby horns on her head and a small bushy brown tail and tan fur all over her body.
“I am Erkia, the head writer of the number #1 best-selling traveling Demon race newspaper.”
“Was there something like that? Never heard of it.”
“Well… due to some problems, we have been delayed for some time as I was holed up in Jeorra during the molten onyx plague. Normally I travel all around the place documenting important events for others to read.”
“What can I do for you?”
“I would love to get an interview with you, the duke of Kodria. Since you are one of the rising shooting stars of the demon race I am sure everyone else would love to hear all about your life. Also If I can, I want to talk to your wife about some gossip I heard recently,” said Erkia.
“Uhh… okay. Do you want to do the interview now?”
“Nope. I must find your wife first as that story is juicier… I mean the readers would be more interested in her story,” said Erkia as she left the meeting room in search of Mileena.
“Don’t worry she is always like that. But it is true that her monthly newspaper is always sold out whenever we reach a new village or town!” said Oib.
“You three haven’t been telling her any weird stories about me have you?” asked Akira.
With blank faces, the three idiot brothers along with Ferem shook their heads no.
“We would never do something like sell information about you to her for a really large sum of gold that would help us fund our merchant caravan,” said Yib.
Akira highly doubted that.
“As for the information you mentioned before? If the price is low enough I don’t mind paying you to explain the current situation up north.”
“I’m sure we can come to an agreement! It is important information about demigods and their spawning habits.”
