Green Monster Epic

Fortunately, Phil didn't play any more tricks this time. Dragging his fat body and dripping with sweat, he actively sought out Alan before sunset the next day, pointing to a corner of his temporarily rented warehouse filled with a dozen bags: "Check it yourself. These are the best chestnut flour I managed to prepare for you after running around half of Thornsburg today."

Alan was expressionless. He walked to the pile of sacks that resembled a small mountain, picked out the bottommost one, opened it, grabbed a handful, and brought it to his nose for a sniff.

"Humph, Supervisor Phil, you're really dishonest. Is this the high-quality hazelnut flour you prepared for us?"

Alan handed the grayish-white flour to Phil, almost stuffing it directly into his mouth. His eyes flashed with a hint of ferocity. This flour, clearly emitting a faint musty smell, was obviously moldy stuff that had been stockpiled in some grain store for many years. Although goblins have excellent digestive systems, eating this grain wouldn't cause any major problems. However, this was, after all, the first income Alan and his people had earned through their labor, and Alan really didn't want his first employment to turn out like this.

Alan's caution was largely thanks to the reminder from Regis, the mercenary squad leader. Regis and his team's task was only to protect the safety of the employer's caravan, but that didn't mean they were forbidden from deliberately exposing some of the other party's petty tricks. As a more experienced veteran mercenary, Regis had already quietly reminded Alan of the small tricks the employer might use.

"Ah, what's going on here? Are you guys just dealing with the task I gave you so carelessly?"

Phil, caught off guard by Alan's discovery of his trick, quickly found a way to respond after a brief moment of stunned silence. He turned around and gave the busy workers in the warehouse a scolding.

"Oh dear, it's all these guys being lazy and deceitful! Brother Alan, please don't take it to heart. I'll go to the grain store to buy new grain for you right away. This time, this kind of situation will definitely not happen again!! Please believe me!!"

Intimidated by the fierce light in Alan's eyes, Phil quickly softened. The other party was, after all, a wild race that wasn't easy to deal with. Although they seemed relatively amiable these days, when he thought of the scene of them snatching the corpses of gnolls in the Greenwild Tribe that day, they were truly a cannibalistic tribe!!

"Then I'll trust Supervisor Phil one more time. Just as compensation, this batch of grain will be considered your apology!!"

Alan didn't intend to really fall out with Phil. This was the Elven Kingdom of Thornsburg, and any elf he encountered outside might be a being stronger than himself. With Alan's cautious and careful personality, how could he really dare to make a move in the city? However, taking this opportunity to extract some benefits from the cunning human merchant was just right.

"Ah? Yes, yes, it should be, it should be."

Phil felt as if he had been pricked by needles. Although it was just a batch of moldy grain, it had cost him a good ten or so gold coins. Now, he had really tried to steal a chicken only to lose rice instead. He really wished he had just delivered the goods directly and completely parted ways with this group of stinky hobgoblins.

"Then I'll come over again tomorrow?"

Alan waved his hand, and the ten hobgoblins who were helping him out raised their arms, easily carrying two full sacks in each hand, and walked out of Phil's warehouse. Alan didn't trust Phil's character. Now that he had finally taken advantage of the other party once, if he didn't know how to seize the opportunity to solidify things, this cunning human would definitely play other tricks later.

"Take care, take care!!"

Phil was so angry that his teeth itched, but he could only grit them and force a horrifying smile, sending this group of beggars away as quickly as possible.

Before leaving, Alan didn't forget to wink at Regis, who was beside him, thanking him for his reminder. Regis smiled faintly, nodded to signal the other party to leave quickly, and subtly gave Alan's actions a thumbs up.

Another day passed, and Phil, having learned his lesson, finally honestly delivered a dozen bags of grain to Alan this time. Then, he didn't give Alan a good look anymore, and after saying goodbye, they tore up the contract to show that the transaction was completed, and they really parted ways.

Having earned a large sum of money, Phil didn't plan to take the remote route back to the Duchy this time. Although he had been lucky enough not to encounter too powerful enemies on the way, it didn't mean that they would have such good luck on the way back. Instead of entrusting the safety of the entire caravan to ethereal luck, Phil, who could now be considered flush with cash, spent hundreds of gold coins in Thornsburg to hire two mercenary teams to join Regis's team's escort work, making their strength several times stronger than when they came. In addition, they would be traveling along the main trade route of the Mansa Corridor, making it several times safer than returning along the original route.

Faced with the ruthless turn of the human merchant, Alan didn't care too much. He had already carefully memorized the road he had taken when he came. Although there might be a risk of getting lost when actually traveling back and forth, it wasn't like he hadn't prepared for it.

After the grain handover was completed, Phil and Alan stopped interacting, but Regis still took some time out to find Alan again and found a tavern. Several familiar Eagle mercenaries gathered with Alan and his group of hobgoblins, and they had a drunken feast as a farewell.

"Alan, what are your plans for the future? Are you just going to spend your life in that ignorant tribe of yours?"

When everyone else was drunk and lying on the ground unconscious, Alan and Regis were the only ones who remained sober enough in the field. At this time, without anyone else interrupting, Regis was finally able to express his thoughts and ask Alan questions without concealment.

Regis had a good tolerance for alcohol. Malt liquor, such a low-alcohol drink, was as easy as drinking plain water in his mouth, and it couldn't easily make him feel drunk. Alan, on the other hand, instinctively disliked the feeling of being drunk. His cautious and careful mentality had already been engraved in his bones. Although the current environment seemed peaceful, who knew if there would be any daring people who would suddenly come out from the dark to murder him?

Alan was like this, a patient with severe paranoia. He was completely unlike his tribesmen, who spent their days eating, drinking, sleeping, and living freely.

"I haven't thought about it either. Actually, after seeing the wonders of the outside world, I'm also very disappointed with the living environment of our tribe, but if I were to abandon my tribesmen just like that, I'd feel uneasy."

"To be honest, Brother Regis, the outside world is certainly wonderful, but in reality, the dangers hidden in the dark are even more fierce. Maybe with a little carelessness, I'll lose my life just like that. It's completely unlike our wilderness, where even if there is danger, it's on the surface. You can completely see it and feel it."