Warlock of the Magus World (Chapter 1051-Chapter 1200)

“I understand, Father.” Anya inhaled deeply. Leylin had bestowed a miracle upon their family, taking out Blackmoon and the house backing it in one go. This freed up the Neon Merchant Group immediately, allowing them to put trade with the Blackblood Tribe on the agenda.

No matter how Fagus and his daughter looked at it, the Giant Serpent Church’s actions this time were rather evil. However, they’d boarded this ship themselves, and could only walk the path that Leylin had paved for them. Fagus knew deeply of the horror of a war between gods, and now an innocent like him had been thrown into the mix. Even if he was unwilling, he could only bite the bullet and continue on.

A commotion suddenly sounded out up ahead, and Anya moved to whisper into Fagus’ ear, “Father, we’ve spotted knights of the orc empire.”

“It doesn’t matter.” Fagus looked at the flags they’d put up, a pass the orc empire had given them to guarantee the safety of their caravan.

“Argh…” “Argh…” Bleak howls sounded out as a few knights finally appeared before Anya’s eyes. These werewolves were about two heads taller than the average human, with green eyes and hair. They were riding giant wolves with silver fur.

‘The Mounted Wolves!’ Anya paled as she saw these elites of the orc empire, their equipment being able to contend with human knights. The Mounted Wolves were a nightmare to all the people of the north.

The horses of the caravan neighed restlessly under the wolves’ gazes, stomping their hooves on the ground as white vapour condensed from their breath.

Fortunately, the commander of the Wolves waved his hand after seeing the banner atop it. The wolves made way for the caravan, and they moved ahead despite their fear. The captain even dispatched two riders to protect them at the tail.

“Sigh… Compared to the Silverymoon Alliance, the strategic warfare of the orc empire is actually…” Fagus muttered under his breath, but he didn’t end the sentence.

Anya knew what her father wanted to say. The Orc Emperor Saladin was a wise leader, possessing great foresight. Seeing how the humans flourished with the advent of civilisation, he was mimicking their ways to develop his own empire.

For the sake of food and materiel, Saladin had promised the Neon Merchant Group and Blackmoon Merchant Group to protect them within his borders. Orders had been sent for orc troops to not harass them, and only engage in fair trade. This would in turn attract more merchants, and increase the strength of the empire.

Alustriel and her subordinates weren’t even comparable in this aspect. The only thing that helped them was that they were of the same race, and the orcs were their natural enemies. The benefits of trade with the orc empire couldn’t always get rid of the shadow of war.

On the other hand, the fact that the orcs were buying magic scrolls and powerful equipment told Fagus that they were already prepared for war.

“What do you think?” a tall, and skinny figure asked Lonce, “Are you afraid?”

“No. I have nothing to fear with the protection of the Lord…” Lonce gripped a string of hemp that was tied around his neck. Something seemed to be hidden within.

“Alright then, what do you think of the orcs turning towards civilisation and protecting our caravan?” The tanned man seemed like he wanted to test Lonce’s deductive abilities. This question would be difficult even for an adult to answer.

“I feel like…” Lonce bowed his head and pondered. When he lifted his head again, his eyes no longer filled with perplexment, “The orcs give off a savage and bloody aura. It seems right to improve themselves and march towards civilisation, but I keep feeling like something’s not right.”

Although he didn’t elaborate further, the man seemed to be satisfied with his answer, “You’re right. Gruumsh, the orc god, is a god of savages. This change doesn’t match the true nature of his domain, so it’ll cause a serious problem… How many of the orc gods will want to change their natural disposition to civilisation?”

“Is it very difficult?” Lonce nodded his head. Just thinking about it proved to be extremely astonishing for him.

“It is! Sometimes the gods cannot even choose the change of alignments and disposition…” The figure sighed, “And even though Gruumsh himself approved this change, not many others will. The imbalance in power has caused a fatal blow to the orc empire…”





Chapter 1148 – Trade


Trade

The emperor’s decree was enforced with might and savagery, causing fear to spread across the orc empire. The Neon Merchant Group dumped much of their goods along their way, using iron, food, weapons, and magic artifacts to trade for great amounts of precious metals. The orcs gave out some special items of the north at unimaginably low prices.

Gems were but stones for the orcs, and to exchange them for weaponry, rations, and clothing was a great bargain. It led to a great environment for the Neon Merchant Group as they finally arrived at the Moonwood.

This was the Blackblood Tribe’s base, a place where Leylin had fought hard in multiple times in the part. Trade with the Blackblood Tribe was also what caused the paladins to notice the Neon Merchant Group, but with the urging of the Giant Serpent Church they continued with the transaction…

At the same time, another mounted group entered the Moonwood as well. They quickly passed the strange branches and obstructions, the slight wind in the forest raising their robes a little to reveal a silver lustre.

“The North, the Moonwood, and the Blackblood Tribe… I’m back,” their leader muttered as she glanced at the Moonwood, lost in thought. She pulled off her cloak to reveal a young face.

“It might not be where everything started, but it was where the most blood was shed… It seems like a good place to end everything…” She muttered.

One of the cloaked figures halted beside her, revealing a benevolent and sorrowful face. “Are you feeling at a loss, Captain Rafiniya?”

“It’s nothing, Cardinal Karal!” Rafiniya shook her head, “I spent a long time here before, so I’m just feeling nostalgic…”

“Mm. Your familiarity with the terrain will be to our advantage. We need to make use of that,” Cardinal Karal made a hand gesture in front of his chest, “We’ve received intel that the sinful Neon Merchant Group is going to make contact with the Blackblood Tribe’s werecreatures here soon, and supply the other side with materials for a blood sacrifice…”

“Those unscrupulous souls should go to hell!” Rafiniya gritted her teeth, her terrifying energy raging at the back of her hands as she grasped her sword. Just the thought that they were using the blood and souls of innocent beings to please the evil gods made her feel like a frightening bundle of flames was about to surge out of her chest.

“In the name of justice, I shall purge all evil and sin!” The high-ranked paladins began to chant alongside her, their faces glowing with a faint white light.

……

The Neon Merchant Group quickly met a group of werecreatures after entering the Moonwood. However, they’d obviously traded with the other party many times. The leader of the werecreatures even knew who they were, and once they showed their tokens they were quickly taken to the core of the forest where the Blackblood Tribe resided.

“It’s been a long time, Shaman Gara…” Fagus greeted a shaman that was smaller than the werecreatures around him, with many strange ornaments all over his body.



“I smell something different on you…” Gara said as he moved forward to sniff at Fagus, causing Anya’s heart to clench.

Fagus froze for a moment, but then he replied coolly, “Haha… what are you saying, my friend… Maybe it’s that darned chef of mine who put too many onions in the morning soup…” Her father’s calm expression caused Anya to feel ashamed for herself.

“Perhaps…” Gara didn’t press on as he led the way, “You’re late, my friend. You almost caused us to miss the ceremony this time. If the Lord gets angry, I swear your head will be hung to dry on a tree branch!”

The werecreature opened his mouth to reveal terrifying teeth. His tongue was barbed, and the disgusting smell of flesh coming from his mouth gave Anya the urge to throw up.

“You should know…” Fagus began to complain immediately, “Silverymoon’s guards were switched out with a bunch of paladins. All the businesses have come under great pressure… It took me far too much to make sure I didn’t miss the transaction…”

“Indeed, there’s fewer caravans coming over recently. I heard your queen is squeezing the merchants dry to start the next war…” Gara nodded, as if sympathising with Fagus. He then pulled at the man’s body in a friendly manner, making the difference in their builds all that more obvious.

“We won’t let a friend of ours suffer, I promise you that!” he exclaimed as he patted his chest. If Anya hadn’t seen how brutal the werecreatures got in their hunts and ceremonies, she would’be thought this man to be kind-hearted and honest.