Chapter 123: Fortune and Misfortune

Buck’s connection with Liz was clearly intentional. Though Liz was only a centurion when they first met, his strength had already reached mid-level tier three. With such power, promotion was merely a matter of time. More importantly, Liz was not like the simple-minded orcs; he was both extremely greedy and cunning—traits that resonated with Buck’s own dubious nature. It was likely this similarity that made Buck eager to forge ties with him by any means.

As Buck had anticipated, within just a few days Liz was promoted to a hundred-man commander, granting him the authority to expand his territory.

“Isn’t it time to stake out that land?” Buck’s triangular eyes narrowed slightly as he rubbed the stubble on his chin. At that moment, Liz climbed down from the wagon. Although Buck was still some distance away, the strong scent of liquor emanating from Liz was unmistakable.

“This guy… could he have drunk all twenty jars of wine?” Buck wondered silently. Liz seemed to notice Buck’s gaze and hurriedly wiped an imaginary smudge from his lips before swaggering boldly ahead.

“Hey, brother, did you bring enough wine this time? I barely had a few sips before it ran out,” Liz said brazenly.

Ran out? That was twenty whole jars! Heh, that greedy bastard was probably just trying to get Buck to bring more wine next time.

Buck’s mouth twitched involuntarily. He rubbed his chin again to mask his expression, cleared his throat twice, then sighed theatrically. “Brother Liz, there’s nothing I can do. I spent most of the gold meant for other things on bringing back the grain. What’s left just isn’t enough—especially for the wine. That was all out of my own pocket for you!”

As he spoke with feigned sentimentality, Buck’s eyes darted sharply to the golden earring dangling from Liz’s ear, roughly the size of a pigeon’s egg.

“I see?” Liz grinned upon catching Buck’s gaze, then generously plucked off his golden earring and tossed it to him. “Thanks a lot, little brother. Next time…”

“I’ll definitely bring more for you, Brother Liz!” Buck caught the earring eagerly, nodding with delight.

“Ha! Not bad, not bad—knew I picked the right brother!” Liz laughed heartily, then after some aimless banter, shifted the conversation back to business. He clapped Buck on the shoulder and glanced at the more than thirty wagons lined up. “So, little brother, how much grain did you bring this time?”

“Heh, not much!” Buck chuckled and waggled his fingers teasingly in front of Liz.

“Just over a thousand jin?” Liz blinked and nodded. “Not much, but twice as much as last time.”

“Brother, you’re wrong!” Buck smiled mysteriously and waved his fingers again. “It’s not a thousand and something—it's thirteen thousand five hundred jin of grain!”

“Thirteen thousand jin!” Liz’s eyes widened in surprise. He glanced at the wagons again and realized they were noticeably larger than before. Moreover, each wagon was now drawn by four pack horses instead of just one.

But how could such a convoy pass through the wild forest? Even if they could deal with the fierce beasts, the sheer size of the wagons would make it impossible to get through the dense underbrush.

Liz was filled with doubt but wisely chose not to question Buck directly. Instead, he grinned and patted Buck’s shoulder. “Brother, well done. How about I send you a couple of orc girls later as a reward?”

“Orc girls…” Buck’s heart skipped a beat. Though Liz’s offer was generous, human and orc aesthetics were worlds apart. The thought of those large, ‘beautiful’ orc women standing before him sent a chill up Buck’s spine. Forcing a smile, he replied, “Sounds good, but brother, after this delivery I have to rush back for the next one. We haven’t even had a proper drink together yet. If I get back sooner, then we can really have a good time.”

Liz, unaware of Buck’s true feelings and persuaded by the promise of wine, nodded. “Alright, you brought in so much grain this time, I’m sure the chieftain will take more notice. I’ll see if I can arrange a meeting for you.”

“Thanks in advance, brother!” Buck’s triangular eyes sparkled, and he thanked Liz warmly.

“No need for thanks!” Liz waved him off, chatted a bit more, then hurried off to report to his superiors.

Unlike last time, this haul of thirteen thousand jin of grain gathered in less than four days was a major boon for the orc tribe, who faced severe shortages come autumn and winter.

Watching Liz disappear into the distance, Buck suddenly slapped his forehead—he’d forgotten to ask if his little boss had returned.

“Shouldn’t be back yet, right?” Buck muttered, his eyes flicking to the nearby guards. Thanks to his excellent negotiation skills, within moments he had struck up a brotherly camaraderie with a few of them, casually slipping a small jar of strong liquor into one orc guard’s arms.

“Hey, do you know if your high priest has come back?” Buck asked.

“The high priest? Not yet,” the guard replied, accepting the jar with a satisfied sniff. His gaze softened as he asked in a lowered voice, “Why? Are you looking for him?”

“Nothing important. I’ve got other business. You go ahead and do your work,” Buck said dismissively, frowning as he climbed back into his wagon.

“Boss, where should we put the goods?” a mercenary eagerly asked as Buck approached.

But Buck was in no mood to entertain the unfortunate man. Without a word, he kicked the mercenary squarely in the backside. Buck was a bandit by nature, so his physical strength surpassed most. The mercenary, caught off guard, was sent sprawling to the ground. Seeing the man’s pathetic sprawled figure reminded Buck of the time he’d been kicked down by Veer. A flicker of displeasure stirred within him, and he deliberately landed several more heavy kicks, grinding his foot down hard each time.

“Put it where you always do. This isn’t some small town—don’t cause me trouble! Don’t forget, these orcs will eat you alive!” Buck shouted recklessly, knowing the orcs around wouldn’t understand his words.

“Bastards! A bunch of bastards!” Buck spat angrily before kicking the ground once more and storming back toward Ahank City.

In truth, Buck wasn’t really angry—he was just bottling up frustrations.

Veer had returned, but after being gone so long without coming back, Buck’s mind was filled with uneasy thoughts.

If that little bastard Veer never came back, it would be so much better.

Startled by his own thought, Buck wiped sweat from his brow. Yet try as he might, he couldn’t shake the idea.

This wasn’t the first time such thoughts had surfaced, but never so strong. Now that he’d found a way to make serious money—just one grain shipment netted him hundreds of thousands of gold coins from the orcs—he didn’t need the bandit life anymore. No matter how much he indulged, he couldn’t spend it all. Did he really still need to follow that little bastard?

“Damn it! I’m getting more pathetic by the day. Why am I still thinking about that brat? What good comes from following him?” Buck cursed under his breath, yet couldn’t help but remember it was that kid who’d brought him out in the first place. True, the boy was cold-hearted, selfish—even more so than Buck himself—and greedy to boot. Always overestimating his own strength and trying to show off. But even so, hadn’t he promised to stick with him?

Ridiculous! What was this nonsense—morals or dignity? Buck snorted bitterly. He looked up and was surprised to find himself at a corner of the city wall without realizing how he got there.

“Buck, who did I just hear you call a brat?” a voice like a demon’s hiss came from behind, and suddenly all of Buck’s chaotic thoughts vanished, replaced by a surge of inexplicable fear.

“Uh, cough, I was talking about someone in my caravan—my boss. You’re finally back!” Buck forced a fake smile and hurried to greet Veer.

But Veer ignored the show of loyalty. With a flick of his finger, a flame as thick as a finger erupted, forming a fiery serpent that tripped Buck to the ground.

“Buck, did I hear you say that following me is no good?” Veer sneered as the fiery snake slithered over Buck’s body. Strangely, despite the intense heat, Buck’s skin showed no sign of burning.

“Boss… I swear, I never said that! And as for what you just said—I understand completely!” Buck swallowed nervously. In just a few days, Veer had grown even more sinister and domineering than before.

“Good. Then let’s pretend I misheard.” Veer snapped his fingers, and the crimson flame vanished. “I hear you’ve done well these past few days. How about a bonus? Three gold coins?”

Veer cast a playful glance at Buck, ignoring the resentful stare from his triangular eyes. Laughing, he turned and strode toward Masan.

Buck got up slowly but didn’t immediately follow. He sat there, lost in a tangle of emotions.

Cunning and smart as he was, Buck didn’t fully believe Veer’s earlier words. He looked after Veer, now a distant figure, and hummed to himself, “Did you make your choice for me? Hmph… following a boss like this—am I lucky, or cursed?”