Chapter 638 - Forming a Caravan
Thousand Mile Bear’s instant death stupefied The Million Ghosts members who had been fleeing for their lives.
s.h.i.+ Feng was simply too fast.
They had only heard Thousand Mile Bear finish his words, and in the next moment, his body hit the ground. And before anyone had noticed, s.h.i.+ Feng stood beside Thousand Mile Bear like the G.o.d of Death.
Monster!
This thought immediately possessed the minds of the Million Ghosts members. They finally understood why s.h.i.+ Feng looked down on The Million Ghosts.
With such strength, not even the Big Three in their Guild would be his match.
Both Red Rain and Rainless Path stared in shock at s.h.i.+ Feng quietly standing in the distance. They were very familiar with Thousand Mile Bear’s strength. Even if they worked together, they would need to expend a lot of effort to defeat him. Thousand Mile Bear might even escape. However, as if he stepped on an ant, s.h.i.+ Feng only needed an instant to kill the Berserker.
They could no longer fathom just how strong s.h.i.+ Feng was.
And here I thought that his companions were strong enough. I never imagined that the man himself would be even stronger. Thank goodness I accepted his request. Red Rain was somewhat afraid as she thought back to how she had taken a Gold Coin from s.h.i.+ Feng. Fortunately, she had not offended s.h.i.+ Feng with her words or actions. Otherwise, the consequences would be unimaginable.
So that’s what a real expert looks like. An indescribable excitement rose in Rainless Path’s heart when he recalled s.h.i.+ Feng’s attack, which had been as quick as lightning.
In Starfall City, he was already considered one of the city’s peak experts. There were not many worthy opponents for him in the city. However, upon seeing s.h.i.+ Feng’s stunning performance, he finally understood what a real expert was.
A real expert was someone who could exert their body and techniques to their limits, someone who could utilize their strength with maximum efficiency, and someone who was more than just slightly stronger than an ordinary player.
After Thousand Mile Bear died, Fire Dance and the others swiftly dispatched the remaining The Million Ghosts members and collected some excellent equipment.
Although these Level 25 Dark-Gold and Fine-Gold items were of no use to Fire Dance and the others, there were a bunch of people in the Guild who would fight over for them. Hence, the party silently pocketed the equipment, not bothering to leave any for the Red Rain Caravan.
“Many thanks for Big Brother Expert’s help. Without you taking action, our Red Rain Caravan would have been obliterated.” Red Rain repeatedly expressed her grat.i.tude to s.h.i.+ Feng. Although s.h.i.+ Feng hid his name, from the vague appearance Red Rain saw beyond the cloak, she could tell that s.h.i.+ Feng was not a child. Hence, she referred to s.h.i.+ Feng as “Big Brother Expert.”
“There is no need to thank me. I am only doing my job as a guard.” s.h.i.+ Feng waved his hand. He then s.h.i.+fted his eyes to The Million Ghosts’ corpses, commenting softly, “A Dark Guild is already targeting this trade route. In the future, any Caravans that pa.s.s through here will have to pay a toll. I wonder what plans Miss Red has for the future?”
Compared to ordinary Guilds, Dark Guilds were far more overbearing. They would not give up a potential source of income just because of one failure. They would mobilize their forces, attacking again and again like a pack of hungry wolves. They would not give up before achieving their goals. After all, Dark Guilds had significantly fewer sources of income than ordinary Guilds. In order to develop themselves, it was a necessity to resort to such desperate actions.
Moreover, as players’ levels increased, trade routes would become increasingly prosperous. One could collect astronomical tolls. Moreover, it was a costless business. If a Dark Guild managed to take control of multiple important trade routes, its income would most likely exceed even the Candlelight Trading Firm’s, which was why it was impossible for The Million Ghosts to give up on the trade routes.
For a Caravan of independent players like the Red Rain Caravan, there was no safety to speak of. Even an expert like Rainless Path could not change the outcome. After all, an independent expert’s strength was limited. In the past, after Violet Cloud left Ouroboros, she had similarly established her own Workshop to serve as her foundation. Otherwise, she would not have become a Tier 6 Cleric G.o.d.
Being questioned by s.h.i.+ Feng in such a way, Red Rain quickly realized the severity of the situation.
Even if an independent Caravan were powerful, it could not stand against a large Guild.
“If this path is too risky, then our Red Rain Caravan can only move to other cities to develop ourselves,” Red Rain could not help but sigh. She had never imagined that, shortly after the Red Rain Caravan improved and was about to follow a profitable path, an incident like this would happen.
“Move to other cities, huh?” Very quickly, Rainless Path noticed a crucial point. Shaking his head, he said, “Sis, I think the other cities will have the same issue. It’s only a matter of how high the tolls they are.”
Red Rain’s mood soured further upon hearing Rainless Path’s logic.
If that were the case, independent players could no longer survive…
“Miss Red, if you still wish to continue transporting goods, I know of a good option. I’m just not sure if you will be interested,” s.h.i.+ Feng said, smiling.
“Big Brother Expert, please, tell us.” Red Rain was definitely interested in what s.h.i.+ Feng had to say.
“The Candlelight Trading Firm has recently begun to hire Caravans to s.h.i.+p its goods to other kingdoms and empires. With the backing of the Trading Firm, you won’t have to worry about large Guilds robbing you when transporting goods in the future.” s.h.i.+ Feng finally revealed his true goal.
Red Rain and her group were experienced in the transportation of goods. As the Candlelight Trading Firm continued to develop, sooner or later, it would require its own Caravan. By recruiting the Red Rain Caravan, not only would he establish a foundation for the Trading Firm in advance, but he could also deepen his connection with Red Rain and Rainless Path.
“The Candlelight Trading Firm? Is that the famous trading firm that Zero Wing established?” Red Rain’s breathing grew a little rushed.
If the Candlelight Trading Firm were really hiring Caravans to transport goods, this would be a heaven-sent opportunity for them. With the support of the Trading Firm, they would gain an additional layer of protection. The only issue was that they would have to prioritize the Candlelight Trading Firm’s goods. However, in the future, the Red Rain Caravan would no longer have to worry about robberies.
Zero Wing was currently like the midday sun throughout Star-Moon Kingdom. It was a Guild that even the super-first-rate Guild, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, was helpless against. There was no need to mention the other Guilds in Star-Moon Kingdom.
“Thank you for the advice. I’ll begin preparing once we return to Star-Moon Kingdom,” Red Rain repeatedly thanked s.h.i.+ Feng.
Following which, Red Rain and the others began to clear the battlefield. After completing this s.h.i.+pment, they intended to try their luck with the Candlelight Trading Firm.
Standing beside s.h.i.+ Feng, Aqua Rose asked curiously, “Guild Leader, since when did Candlelight begin recruiting Caravans? Why didn’t you tell me about this before?”
It was not an easy task for a Caravan to transport goods. The previous battle made this obvious. There were many problems involved in such an operation, and they were extremely troublesome to deal with.
“I just decided it,” s.h.i.+ Feng laughed.
Aqua Rose was speechless. She could not help but s.h.i.+ft her gaze towards Red Rain, before returning her gaze to s.h.i.+ Feng, a meaningful smile appearing on her face. She looked at s.h.i.+ Feng as if saying, “I see...”
…
Half an hour later, the Red Rain Caravan arrived at the exit of the Great Forest of Soria. Reaching this point, s.h.i.+ Feng and the others had fulfilled their agreement. After parting with Red Rain and the others, the party advanced into the inner regions of the Great Forest.
Roughly four hours later, s.h.i.+ Feng’s party arrived at a small lake in the forest.
“Guild Leader, aren’t we trying to capture a Guild Mount? Why aren’t there any monsters here?” Blackie glanced at his surroundings, failing to find a single monster around the lake. No matter how he looked at it, this was not an area for capturing Mounts.
Shortly after Blackie finished speaking, the sound of wings reached his ears.
Turning to the source of the sound, Blackie noticed a golden-winged lion that was over twenty meters long descending from the sky, landing beside the clear lake.
“A Great Lord!” Blackie gaped as he saw this monster.
Every member of the party was shocked.