Chapter 371: A Brand New Pa.s.s
There were very few things that required Kant to personally handle at the central posthouse.
Basically, Rolf would handle it.
As for roping in the merchants…
Manide, who came from a merchant family, had more to talk about with these guys.
In fact, when Kant led his team and left, the table salt trade had already begun. Those merchants from the Dukedom of Leo, who had the support of various n.o.ble families, all had a good exchange with Manide.
This was a good impression that they had cultivated previously, especially with Rolf’s foil, Manide was even more welcomed by them.
At the very least.
Manide would not get angry over a certain sentence.
Although he was more difficult to deal with in business exchanges, he abided by the rules.
For example, Rolf, this scoundrel n.o.ble, did not care about the business rules. If he dared to say anything bad to him or find trouble with himself, then it would be a knife fight.
Pulling out his sword on the spot to threaten Rolf was secondary. The key was that Rolf would really take revenge in the quiet desert at night!
This was also Kant’s arrangement.
Using both soft and hard tactics.
At least Rolf didn’t care whether he played the bad cop or not.
As an evil general, he didn’t feel any burden at all when he became the Supreme Lord’s sword. In fact, he felt a lot of honor in his heart.
Those righteous generals did not have the potential to become thieves!
Peace returned to the central posthouse.
Just like in the past.
The rules of the table salt trade had been perfected. The merchants would purchase sacks of table salt in turn and arrange for laborers to transport it to the carriage they brought. As long as it was transported back to the Dukedom of Leo, regardless of whether it was sold later or on the spot, the profits would multiply by several times.
Even if ordinary civilians could not afford to eat such white and fine table salt, the n.o.ble families would not be stingy.
There were many n.o.ble families in all of the human countries.
In order to get table salt.
They would be willing to take out large amounts of silver coins.
After all, this was related to the face of the n.o.ble families. It was equivalent to the dignity of the n.o.ble families and was a symbol of the n.o.ble families’dignity.
As for the n.o.ble families who handled the table salt trade, they could make a huge profit. If Kant could choose to cooperate with them, it would be equivalent to cooperating with a brand new gold and silver mine. Large amounts of silver coins would be thrown into their hands.
No one would refuse, especially when Kant sent people to convey their goodwill!
The trade went on very quickly.
The merchants were beaming with joy.
At the same time, many of the secret agents in the trade caravan were also excited.
Manide had already conveyed his goodwill. Although he did not say anything, the communication between the n.o.ble families was always tactful and implied. These clever merchants and spies naturally understood the reason.
As long as they returned to their n.o.ble family’s estate, they would report this news.
It was a ready-made contribution!
If their relations.h.i.+p in the future was closer..
Then their contribution this time would be even greater!
They looked at each other. After bidding farewell to Manide, these merchants organized a trade caravan and began to head towards the road they came from. They were prepared to head towards the Stone Pa.s.s and at the same time, towards their n.o.ble family’s estate.
However, there were still many trade caravan who could guess why Kant would take the initiative to show goodwill.
They glanced at Rolf and the cavalry.
These merchants narrowed their eyes slightly.
Although they could not be compared to the top-notch knights of the Dukedom of Leo, these cavalry were still considered elite.
They were still a single ent.i.ty. They belonged completely to Baron Kant, who came from the lion castle and was the second-in-line heir of the Grand Duke of Leo, Cameron. They were a single cavalry troop.
Perhaps deep in the Nahrin Desert, at the Oasis Lookout, there was still a trump card.
Seizing the throne.
This term appeared in the minds of the merchants.
But no one said it out loud. They all understood at once that the Dukedom of Leo was about to fall into chaos.
The exiled second son of the Grand Duke actually possessed a powerful force of unknown origin. Moreover, he was lucky enough to discover a salt mine and obtain a large amount of wealth. How could this not cause much wondering and thought?
Most importantly, Baron Kant really had the qualifications to inherit the t.i.tle of Grand Duke!
If he were to take a good stand in this upcoming battle..
The benefits would be unimaginable!
These were all the merchants’ own guesses. Although they were not far from the truth, the specifics were still up to Kant himself to decide.
Right now, he was riding his horse forward. Thirty lion knights followed behind him and walked along the road that was stepped on by the trade caravan towards the Senwaya range. The gap that cut through the mountain range was right in front of him. It would probably not take long for him to reach it.
This road was very deserted, but there were occasionally a lot of small items that could be randomly thrown on both sides of the road.
It was like a road sign.
In fact, they were not walking on a road.
It was just that in the Nahrin desert, most of the people were walking, and there were traces left behind by their footsteps.
Walking day after day, and there were no sandstorms or strong winds, the boundary of the surrounding flat sand layer was very clear. If they continued walking for many years, it was estimated that they would really be able to become a road.
At least in the desert, there was a slightly firm sand layer that they could step on, which was not bad.
It would be uncomfortable if it was a loose, primitive sand layer.
Not to mention horse hooves, even if the wheels of the carriage sank in and then moved forward, it would require a lot of strength.
When Kant and the first 20 Swadian peasant went to the Oasis Lookout, the carriage full of supplies was pulled by two horses. The wheels on the side still needed the help of the peasant to push it to keep up with the walking speed of the surrounding people.
From this, it could be seen that the carriage that perfectly matched the plain terrain was uncomfortable in the desert.
It could also be seen from the behavior of the merchants in recent weeks.
When the table salt trade first started, the merchants came with carriages.
Now, the number of carriages had dropped sharply, but the number of pack horses had increased. Even if there was a carriage, it was used to carry daily supplies. It was still pulled by a few pack horses to walk in the desert.
When they left, the table salt was on the pack horses’backs, just like the camel caravan.
Although the amount of goods carried had decreased.
But the speed of the journey had increased by a lot.
This way, they could avoid too much danger and avoid wasting too much time in the desert. After all, to the merchants, the Nahrin Desert was really a forbidden area of civilization, the grave of life. If they stayed here for too long, people would die!
They had to hurry back. Returning with a full load was the best choice.
They didn’t need a carriage for the time being.
At worst, they could just return to the Stone Pa.s.s and use the carriage.
After all, the table salt trade in the central posthouse had a fixed quota. Although it was monopolized by them, each person’s quota was different. As long as they ensured their own quota, they could earn the silver coins first!
Kant walked along the road that was created.
He was quite familiar with the road leading to the stone pa.s.s.
On the horizon ahead, the shape of the Senwaya range became clearer and clearer.
It was continuous.
It was like a long dragon that was sleeping.
However, in front of him, there was a sudden opening in an area of the Senwaya range.
It was a straight gap that formed a canyon. It was just enough for people to pa.s.s through the majestic Senwaya range. They could avoid the danger of trekking through mountains and rivers, breaking through the demonized creatures and the scattered low-level Jackalan tribe.
That’s right, there were so many dangers in the Senwaya range.
The demonized creatures still existed.
The scattered low-level zerglings also existed in the mountain range.
This was the nightmare of the ordinary trade caravan, and it was also the nightmare of many villages at the Stone Pa.s.s or the edge of the mountain range.
Usually, they would regularly organize troops to sweep the edge of the Senwaya range, or recruit mercenaries to go deep into the mountain range and kill those who posed a clear threat to the Stone Pa.s.s or villages.
But even so, the villages, logging sites, and quarries at the edge of the mountain range would still be threatened.
This was also one of the reasons why development in the Senwaya range was difficult.
Suppression from the n.o.bles was secondary.
The territory itself was fraught with danger.
In addition, the land was barren. There was not even a river that could support agriculture, animal farming, and commerce.
Only the Senwaya range, which seemed to be rich in natural resources, was actually full of danger. It was a complete drag on the development of the Senwaya range. How could the Senwaya range develop!
However, it made sense.
If the Stone Pa.s.s could develop, it would not be Baron Dylan’s turn.
This guy was from the Silver Platter Kingdom. Even if he had made great contributions, he was not a direct descendant of the Dukedom of Leo.
It was not possible for a low-level baron to climb to the rank of a n.o.ble. However, thanks to the grace of Grand Duke Cameron and the tacit approval of many n.o.bles, he had officially become a n.o.ble and was given the t.i.tle of a n.o.ble.
He could be used as a buffer s.h.i.+eld to guard the Senwaya range and block the demonized creatures and Jackalan!
The next day.
In the afternoon.
The Senwaya range had already been imprinted in his eyes.
The huge mountain range was majestic and magnificent. The mountain peaks were arranged in order and getting higher and higher. They were like huge giants that blotted out the sky and the Sun. They were arranged in a row and were standing shoulder to shoulder with each other.
Only a thin crack appeared in the middle.
It was the only canyon in the Senwaya range.
“Let’s go.”
Kant shook the reins and led the horse forward.
The originally messy interior of the canyon had been cleaned up. The sandy ground was flat. The rubble that fell from the mountains on both sides and the rotten wood that fell down had disappeared.
Along the way, there were occasionally many groups of mercenaries with weapons in their hands.
It seemed that they were maintaining the canyon regularly.
Of course, when they saw Kant and the 30 lion knights behind him wearing plate armor and linen robe, their expressions changed drastically. They retreated to both sides of the road and bowed with smiles on their faces without saying much.
It was obvious that they had guessed Kant’s ident.i.ty.
Kant did not care about them.
He calmly swept his gaze over them and continued to drive his horse forward slowly.
It was still necessary for a n.o.ble to be reserved. There was not much that could be returned to these despicable mercenaries.
Kant was naturally willing to bow to the soldiers and civilians from the world of riding and hacking because this represented that they were on the same side and could be trusted and relied on. It was different from these mercenaries who were greedy for money and would work for whoever paid them!
Obviously, due to the lack of manpower, after Fartis took control of the stone pa.s.s, he also recruited local mercenaries to help.
Kant did not care.
As long as the Stone Pa.s.s was still in his hands, everything was fine