Chapter 124: Drain Him Dry

In less than half a day, the grain from more than thirty wagons had been completely unloaded into the warehouses of Ahank City. Although Liz had already greeted the beastmen nearby, this was, after all, territory belonging to the beast clans. Buck would never dare let his mercenaries wander about freely. To the beastmen, humans were scarcely any different from magical beasts fit for consumption. Thus, Buck simply left them all in the warehouse and had them wait there.

Vier had changed into a fresh set of clothes. In addition, he had deliberately cut a large piece of snow-white beast hide into strips like bandages and wrapped the divine staff on his back so thoroughly that it was completely concealed.

“These are the wagons used to transport the grain?”

Though Vier asked the question aloud, his eyes never once glanced toward Buck. Instead, his gaze remained fixed entirely upon the wagons, and from time to time he circled them twice.

Compared with ordinary wagons, the ones Buck had arranged for transporting the grain were indeed much larger. What was noteworthy, however, was that their length and width had barely been increased. It was their height that exceeded that of ordinary wagons by nearly threefold.

There was another point that greatly interested Vier: Buck had actually been willing to use four packhorses to pull each wagon. For ordinary transport, two packhorses were more than enough for a single wagon. Adding more horses could certainly increase its speed, but to transport human grain into the lands of the beast clans, they would have to cross the Savage Forest. With the dense trees and tangled woodland there, it was doubtful whether a wagon could even pass through successfully, let alone travel faster.

It probably had nothing to do with the route...

Vier frowned slightly and swept his gaze over the wagons once more. Suddenly, an astonishing thought arose in his mind.

Could the problem lie with the wagons themselves?

With that thought, Vier immediately found his objective. After circling the wagon twice more, he discovered, to his surprise, that every part of it—the carriage, the frame, and even the wheels—had been deliberately cut into several sections. They were held together only by iron plates and nails.

Running his hand over the iron plates fastening the wagon together, Vier turned to Buck and asked, “Aren’t you going to explain this to me, Buck?”

“Heh heh. My boss, haven’t you already figured it out?”

Though Buck said this, he looked rather pleased with himself. After chuckling, he continued, “You know very well that the Savage Forest is not easy to cross. It’s completely impossible to drive an entire wagon into it, so I came up with this solution. To make transportation easier, I had these wagons specially designed. Every part can be dismantled, including the wheels and the frame. Each section was divided according to the most practical dimensions. The smallest pieces are no more than a meter long, while the largest are no more than two meters. They’re the ideal size: they can be carried on packhorses without slowing us down or placing too great a burden on the animals.”

“So you mean that before entering the Savage Forest, you transport everything by wagon, but once you reach the forest, you dismantle the entire wagon and carry both it and the grain across on packhorses?”

Vier glanced at Buck as he asked the question.

“Heh heh, exactly! Since we notified the beastmen in advance, we’ll have dedicated beastmen escorting us when we enter the Savage Forest. That way, the magical beasts won’t attack us. Aside from being a little troublesome, the entire journey is practically risk-free—and we make a fortune besides!”

Seeing Buck’s excitement, Vier could not help frowning. “Make a fortune? You didn’t simply trade for the beastmen’s gold mine and haul it back, did you?”

“How could I!?”

At this, Buck finally became serious. He cast a glance at the mercenaries in the warehouse and lowered his voice.

“I’m not that stupid. With such a huge piece of fat in front of me, would I really drag it out into the open and flaunt it? Heh heh, boss, I thought of everything you’re worried about long ago. You can rest easy!”

Looking at Buck’s confident expression, Vier gave a dismissive snort inwardly. Yet he could not help sighing at the fact that this narrow-eyed man truly was talented in such matters. Since Vier himself was a complete outsider and knew far less than Buck about these affairs, he might as well let go and allow Buck to display his abilities properly.

With that in mind, Vier nodded unconsciously and said to Buck, “All right, handle it as you see fit. I’ve already discussed matters with the High Priest on the beast-clan side. You’re in charge of everything here. There’s one more thing you must remember: the grain you transport here later may not be sold to any beastman except the High Priest. In addition, the High Priest will dispatch a group of beastmen to serve as dedicated guards for your transport team.”

“A dedicated guard unit?!”

Buck was filled with confusion. His narrow eyes shifted as he asked, “Boss, is that really necessary? Is something about to happen among the beast clans? And what do you mean by selling exclusively to the High Priest?”

“Don’t ask what it means. Before long, this place will become extremely lively. Buck, we’re only third parties here. We don’t need to participate directly or become involved in what’s happening. All you need to do is satisfy the High Priest’s every demand as much as possible—and, of course, heh heh, squeeze every last bit of profit out of him.”

Vier’s words left Buck utterly bewildered, but in the end he still nodded, indicating that he would follow Vier’s instructions and carry them out.

“By the way, I have business to attend to in the imperial capital. Once you’ve more or less arranged everything here, come find me at the imperial capital’s Mage Guild.”

Buck had already guessed that Vier would not remain here, so he was not surprised by that part of the statement. The words that followed, however, immediately aroused his displeasure. Even so, he forced a smile and spoke in a conciliatory tone.

“Boss, there’s plenty of profit to be squeezed from this place, and it won’t be exhausted anytime soon. I’d like to stay here and make a little more money. Perhaps I could skip the trip back to the imperial capital?”

“Hmph. There may indeed be plenty of profit here, but you must live long enough to earn it. And remember this: what we’re going to do will never end with earning a little gold. This is merely the first step. We still have many things to accomplish. If your vision is limited to this place, then you’ll truly disappoint me.”

Vier cast a cold glance at Buck. Every word he spoke seemed like a hammer striking Buck’s heart. Each syllable was so heavy that Buck felt as though his chest were being crushed, leaving him unable to breathe. In that instant, a strange feeling inexplicably rose within him: no matter what this young man said, he would be able to accomplish it.

“Then that’s how we’ll do it!”

Buck looked at Vier, suddenly gritted his teeth, and steeled his heart. At last, he made the decision over which he had long been hesitating.

“Everything shall be done according to your wishes, boss!”

All pretense vanished from Buck’s face. For the first time, he sincerely prostrated himself upon the ground. Placing one hand over the left side of his chest, he slowly lowered his head before Vier.

It was the most devout rite of allegiance recognized throughout the Magical Continent. There was no coercion this time, no threats as before. This time, Buck swore from the depths of his heart to pledge his loyalty to Vier.