Chapter 31: Centaurs

Centaurs were a very strong race in this world. They were born as cavalry, skilled with horses and the bow. Centaur Longbows were famous among humans, second only to Elven Longbows, and could be compared to those of Half-elves.

The horses of the strongest Knight Order in the Florence Kingdom, the Thunder Knights, were bought from the Centaur Tribes. These horses raised by the Centaurs were strong and big. They could carry a lot of weight and were some of the best horses. They were perfect for heavy cavalry.

Of course, there were many better mounts than these horses, like Magical Beasts. Magical Beasts were powerful creatures that were much stronger than normal animals, like Unicorns or Nightmares. If someone made a Knight Order with these, it would be stronger than every other Knight Order on the continent. But there was one big problem. Whether Unicorns, Nightmares, or other Magical Beasts, they were just too few.

Unicorns were friends of the Elves and lived in the legendary Elvenwoods. Nightmares were even rarer. There were other Magical Beasts too, but they were also very hard to get.

So, only a few noble knights looked for Magical Beasts as mounts. Knight Orders that needed many mounts had to use normal horses. Humans also raised many horses themselves, but their quality was not as good as the horses raised by the Centaurs. Even if one or two great horses appeared sometimes, they could not change that the whole group of human horses was not as good as the Centaurs’ horses.

When Su Lun learned that Owen’s caravan was going to trade with the Centaur Tribes, he started to have some ideas. His territory only had those Barbarian Warriors. He also needed cavalry and Longbowmen.

But right now, his territory had almost nothing. To trade with the Centaur Tribes, you needed to have something they wanted. How could you trade if you had nothing?

Su Lun felt a bit troubled. But he also had an advantage. His territory was the only one on this trade route from the Florence Kingdom to the Centaur Tribes. As long as people passed through his territory, it was normal to pay a toll. It would be normal to get some Centaur Longbows and horses that way.

Owen’s caravan was carrying a lot of goods this time. There was a lot of ironware, and the rest was food. Although the Centaur Tribes were strong, the iron they made was average, and there were few iron mines in the Wilderness. So, ironware was very expensive there. As for food, the Centaur Tribes were semi-nomadic and not good at farming. Their food production was very low.

After thinking about it this way, Su Lun suddenly realized his territory had quite an advantage.

Owen was very curious about Su Lun too. As a manager of the Purple Flower Chamber of Commerce, he had traveled this trade route for more than ten years. During that time, it was not like no Pioneering Noble came to this area to start a territory. But before Su Lun came, not a single Pioneering Noble managed to succeed here.

He was very surprised that in just one month, a Pioneering Noble came here and successfully set up a base. What surprised him even more was the strength of this Lord. Earlier, he traveled through the Wilderness with the group of Barbarian women and children. Naturally, they met many Wilderness bandits. The Barbarian leader and two other equally strong Barbarians broke through a group of bandits.

Their unstoppable and overwhelming style left a deep impression on him. None of the Mercenaries under him were a match for that leader. Few could even take a few swings of his axe. That kind of strength was at the Knight Rank. Even the other two Barbarian Warriors had reached the Knight Rank. His first thought was to recruit such powerful Warriors.

To recruit them, Owen promised to give them land and Gold Nar to settle the Barbarian women and children. To his disappointment, the Barbarians refused directly. Even when he kept offering better terms, the Barbarians did not change their minds.

Just as he was thinking of increasing the offer even more, the caravan arrived at Su Lun’s territory. There, he realized these Barbarians actually belonged to this Pioneering Noble. And this young noble managed to stand firm in this Wilderness just with those Barbarian Warriors.

Owen sat cross-legged on the carpet in the tent. The carpet from the Desert Kingdom was not only beautifully patterned but also soft and comfortable to step on. A low table was placed on the carpet. The heads of the caravan guards sat respectfully nearby. Each had a cup of Ale in front of them.

The temperature was very low at night in the Wilderness. Alcohol was the most popular drink in the Northern Lands. On a cold night, a cup of Ale made your belly feel warm. Your body, which was stiff from the cold, quickly warmed up.

“Alec, besides the three Barbarian Warriors who came with us, how is the strength of the other Barbarians?” Owen put down his cup and asked.

“Very strong,” a Mercenary with a long scar on his face said in a low voice. “Those Barbarians all have a kind of presence. I have only seen this kind of presence on Knight-tier strong people.”

After saying that, he lowered his head and took a sip of Ale. The spicy Ale had a bit of a bitter taste. He did not really like this cheap Ale, but he instinctively wanted to hide his shock. Although he did not want to admit it, with his many years of experience as a Mercenary, he could easily see that every one of those Barbarian Warriors in this territory could be called a strong person.

“All of them? That’s impossible. More than thirty people, each at least at the Knight-tier. Why would they be willing to stay in this poor territory that has no money, no people, and always faces attacks from monsters like Gnolls, just to be ordinary Warriors?” Owen could not accept this at all. More than thirty Knight-tier strong people. In the Florence Kingdom, that was already comparable to some weaker Counts.

Although these Barbarians were not Knights, their combat power was no weaker than Knights. If they were willing to serve a Noble, even if they could not get a Knight title, their treatment would definitely be ten or a hundred times better than here. In this world, strength and status were directly linked. Those high-level Warriors were all taken care of and provided for. But the Warriors in this territory acted just like ordinary Soldiers. This completely defied common sense.

Owen’s mind was full of thoughts. He unconsciously spun the bamboo cup in his hand.

“Could it be another situation?” Just when everyone else was silent, another thin-faced, cold-looking Mercenary, who was playing with a dagger, spoke.

“Maybe these Barbarians simply don’t know what kind of treatment their strength could get them in the Kingdom?” After the people around looked at him, the Mercenary said slowly.

“Smack!”

Owen clapped his hands excitedly and stood up saying, “Right! Those Barbarian bumpkins, how would they know the value of one hundred Gold Nars? Only this can explain why they are staying here!”