https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-284-Annihilating-the-Xianbei-Tribe/13031129/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-286-Raiding-the-Horse-Bandit-Camp/13031131/
Chapter 285: Unforeseen Troubles
Chapter 285: Unforeseen Troubles
September 25, 2017
As Lu HaiKong carried out his mission of slaughtering the tribes in the grassland, Li Xiong also initiated the first trade with the Wang Family.
The Wang Family had a substantial appetite, and their initial trade volume with the mountain camp was significant.
The mountain camp's primary products were horses and cattle, and the Wang Family requested three thousand horses and a thousand cattle. While the scale of this transaction was not as grand as the Yellow Turban's deals, it was still much larger than those with the Qiang Yin Family. The transaction value reached several million gold coins.
The trading location was pre-agreed upon as the ruins of the Heifeng Mountain Camp, a midpoint between both parties' territories, making it convenient for both sides.
When the time for the trade arrived, Li Xiong led a temporary detachment of a thousand and three hundred horse bandits from the ranch. They drove the horses and cattle towards the meeting point.
Li Xiong felt at ease about this trade. Given the Wang Family's understanding of the mountain camp's strength and their inherent fear of its military might, Li Xiong didn't anticipate any issues. The presence of a thousand and three hundred horse bandits was merely a show of force to further intimidate the Wang Family.
Upon Li Xiong's arrival, the Wang Family's representative was already waiting at the ruins of the Heifeng Mountain Camp. Seeing the thousands of cattle and horses, the representative's eyes lit up, but his pupils constricted upon noticing the accompanying three hundred soldiers.
This contingent of horse bandits was undoubtedly one of the most elite cavalry units he had ever seen, a rarity even in the county.
The Wang Family's representative was clearly a smooth operator, understanding Li Xiong's intentions by bringing along the horse bandits. He greeted Li Xiong enthusiastically, even more so than during their previous encounter at the Wang Family's residence.
His attitude couldn't be considered sycophantic; instead, it was a highly skilled social and political maneuver.
He was well aware of the impression Li Xiong wanted to make and accurately delivered it. While his behavior might not be admirable, it was undoubtedly wise.
After the Wang Family representative's gesture, the transaction proceeded smoothly. Both parties completed the trade within a single day.
One might think that a day is a long time, but for a transaction of several million gold coins to be concluded within a day is almost miraculous. Both parties needed to count the goods and transfer millions of gold coins, a massive workload.
The swift completion of this deal, even with the intention to continue trading, was only possible because they had agreed on the details beforehand.
After the transaction, the Wang Family's representative sincerely bid farewell to Li Xiong multiple times. Only after Li Xiong and his party departed with the millions of gold coins did the Wang Family representative set off for their residence. This trade concluded flawlessly.
Such a smooth transaction should have been a cause for celebration, but it brought unforeseen troubles for Lu HaiKong. Or perhaps the troubles were already brewing, and this transaction served as a catalyst.
It wasn't that the Wang Family did something unwise after the trade; the issue lay with Lu HaiKong and the money.
Many observant individuals had noticed Lu HaiKong's transactions with the Qiang Yin Family.
The sudden appearance of a large number of horses and cattle in the market, supplied by a few small county families, was an anomaly that caught the attention of those with a keen eye.
Many had been investigating the origins of these horses, and some had even located Lu HaiKong's mountain camp.
It was no secret that the Qiang Yin Clan and Lu HaiKong's trade dealings were common knowledge in Yanmen and Dingxiang Counties. It was only a matter of time before some trouble would arise from this situation.
And so, when a multi-million-dollar deal presented itself, they brought the trouble forward...
Lu HaiKong was still unaware of the impending issues, and he was currently in high spirits.
He had just utilized the second function of 'Heaven's Eye', which allowed him to search for resource points within a 300-mile radius.
Lu HaiKong's intention in using this function was not to explore mineral deposits but to locate specific leveling spots, similar to 'Mountain Camps' and 'Flow Camps'.
He was aware of resource points like 'Wolf Valley' on the grasslands, but these locations were challenging for the Fire Word Regiment to investigate. Despite their efforts over three months, they had made little progress in this regard.
This time, as they ventured out, Lu HaiKong brought along the 'Heaven's Eye' tool, which did not disappoint him.
Within a 300-mile radius, Lu HaiKong discovered numerous leveling spots, some resembling 'Wolf Valley', but there was also a more unique type.
In a 6-9-1-9-1-8-1 version!
It was a human-shaped leveling spot similar to a 'Mountain Camp'. On the grasslands, these were known as 'Horse Bandit Camps', and within a 300-mile radius, there were countless such camps, varying in size, totaling several dozen at least.
Upon discovering these horse bandit camps, Lu HaiKong's eyes lit up. He was well aware of the benefits of these leveling spots, having experienced the Elite Guard's level-up to the Elite level.
"I wonder about the experience gained from these horse bandit camps. If it's similar to the experience from mountain camps, then wiping out all these camps will definitely allow the Black Gale Legion to reach the Elite level!" Lu HaiKong said, leading the Black Gale Legion towards the nearest horse bandit camp.
After discovering these camps, Lu HaiKong abandoned his initial plan to eliminate a few other tribes.
Firstly, he found that the benefits of eliminating these tribes were not significant. Wiping out a tribe of 20,000 people only yielded over a thousand horses and a few hundred cattle.
In reality, the tribe had more livestock, but the rest had fled, and Lu HaiKong, being behind enemy lines, lacked the time to round them up. Thus, the rewards for eliminating tribes were minimal.
Additionally, these tribes were indigenous NPCs, and in a sense, they were living, breathing people, including elders and children. Lu HaiKong felt a moral burden when it came to eradicating such tribes.
Given the low rewards, it was better to abandon this plan. After all, leveling spots offered substantial benefits, more experience, and the NPCs were data NPCs, which were mindless and only had a single line of dialogue, Lu HaiKong would feel less burdened psychologically.
(End of Chapter)
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