Chapter 69: Crisis

In the Blacksmith Shop, over a dozen blacksmith apprentices were forging iron tools. The shop now had two blacksmiths, and at that time, they were making a batch of Half-plate Armor. These Half-plate Armor would also be sold as supplies. Aside from White Sugar, this was the highest-earning product in the Territory.

Robert’s Caravan carried twenty sets of Half-plate Armor and forty War Axes and War Axes. The accumulated furs in the Territory were also given to them for sale. Among these furs, there were some special ones—Gnolls furs.

The hearts of merchants in this era were absolutely dirty. Su Lun simply could not accept Gnolls furs, but in Robert’s view, Gnolls furs were the easiest to sell. These furs were very popular on the black market. The Gnolls’ height of two meters and twenty centimeters made it easy to turn these furs into fur coats. The fact that they came from a humanoid creature became an advantage, making the processing of these furs simpler.

No one cared that these furs came from a humanoid creature. If Su Lun had been more ruthless and skinned the Gnolls he had hunted before, there would have been nearly one or two thousand pieces.

Su Lun took several Barbarian Warriors to the iron mine in the northeast of the Territory. Yesterday afternoon, Su Lun received a message saying that some Gnolls activity had been spotted near the iron mine. The iron mine only had ten Barbarian Warriors guarding it, and they could not spare any manpower to clear out those Gnolls.

Although the addition of the Giant Bear Tribe’s Barbarians had doubled the number of Barbarian Warriors, the Territory still faced a shortage of manpower as it developed. The boats sailed downstream, and with shipping, traveling from the Territory to the mine became much more convenient.

Su Lun’s Territory had very few warhorses, making it impossible to form a cavalry. Moreover, these Barbarians were all large in stature, and with their weapons and equipment, they weighed over two hundred kilograms. Ordinary warhorses could not carry such weight over long distances or during raids.

The boat drifted downstream on the White Water River. Half an hour later, the group disembarked at the mine’s dock. A Barbarian Warrior was already waiting on the dock. After a brief rest, Su Lun took ten Barbarian Warriors and headed into the Wilderness northeast of the mine.

Two Barbarian Warriors led the way with axes, cutting down the thick bushes that blocked their path in the Wilderness. The remaining Barbarian Warriors stayed alert, observing their surroundings. The Wilderness was overgrown with plants, and in many places, the wild grass reached two to three meters high, making it ideal for hiding.

The Barbarian Warriors surrounded Su Lun in the middle, as this environment was very prone to ambushes. The tall grass blocked their view, and not far away, they could hear the sounds of animals being scared off. There were many beasts in the Wilderness, but Magical Beasts were rare. Most Magical Beasts had their own territories.

In fact, the current range of human nations was the land cleared by the Elves in the previous era. It was only after the Elves returned to the Elvenwoods that these lands were occupied by various races. Later, under the leadership of human Heroes, humans defeated the Orcs, drove out the giants and other races, and finally took over this land.

The earliest human Nobles in this world were all Heroes from ancient times. Of course, they were Heroes first and then became Nobles. Almost all pure-blooded ancient Nobles in this world were descendants of those human Heroes from ancient times. However, after the end of the Second Era, the number of Nobles among humans began to increase.

It was also from that period that human kingdoms emerged.

…

After advancing in the Wilderness for about an hour, the view suddenly opened up. The soil under their feet turned sandy, which was not suitable for plant growth. With the plants less dense, Su Lun suddenly spotted a valley.

“Let’s check out that valley.” The valley was the most suitable place to live in this Wilderness. If those Gnolls were really here, they were most likely living in that valley.

The group continued toward the valley. About ten minutes later, Su Lun suddenly caught a whiff of blood.

“Smell of blood. It seems we’ve found the right place!” Noticing the smell of blood in the air, Su Lun signaled everyone to stop.

He spread the group out to encircle the valley entrance. Su Lun intended to capture all the Gnolls in one go. Once the Barbarian Warriors had dispersed, Su Lun made another gesture to move forward, and everyone advanced toward the valley entrance together.

As they neared the valley entrance, Su Lun’s expression turned puzzled. The valley was unexpectedly quiet. A gust of wind blew by, carrying only the scent of blood, but there was no movement from inside.

Su Lun frowned, ordering everyone to stay put. He then sent a nimble Barbarian Warrior to carefully approach the valley entrance and sneak inside.

After a short while, the Barbarian Warrior stood at the valley entrance and waved to the others. Only then did Su Lun lead the group into the valley. Once inside, the smell of blood intensified several times over. Frowning, Su Lun walked further in and soon came across a scene of chaos.

This was indeed a Gnolls settlement. Judging by its size, it had housed at least five hundred Gnolls, but now it was completely destroyed.

In the center of the valley, there were over a dozen campfires of various sizes. Scattered around the fires were numerous Gnolls remains. The flesh on the remains had been gnawed clean, and even the hard skulls were smashed open, their brains completely eaten.

Su Lun frowned as he inspected the area. There were at least several dozen Gnolls remains discarded here. There were few signs of battle in the settlement, and aside from the Gnolls corpses, no bodies of other creatures were found.

Clearly, there was a significant power gap between the two sides. The Gnolls had not even inflicted any casualties on their attackers. Of course, it was also possible that the attackers had taken their companions’ bodies with them when they left. However, based on the scene, that likelihood was low.

The attackers were incredibly strong. Many parts of the Gnolls’ skeletons were crushed with great force, injuries typically caused by blunt weapons, most likely Spiked Clubs. The Gnolls’ skulls were similarly shattered by tremendous force, a display of power no less formidable than that of the Barbarian Guard.

The attackers had eaten the Gnolls’ bodies. Although many races in the Wilderness had cannibalistic habits, few races both ate humanoids and possessed the strength to completely overpower the Gnolls.

For example, Swamp Giants, Frost Giants, Ogres, and others. Though they belonged to different races, they shared a common trait: they were all difficult to deal with.

Among them, Swamp Giants and Frost Giants were subspecies of giants. They were powerful beings from the mythic era before the First Era, with strength rivaling that of gods. However, after the mythic era ended, those powerful giants disappeared or left. Most of the giant subspecies in the world today only inherited their diluted bloodlines. Even with only a trace of that bloodline, their strength remained formidable.