Chapter 61: A Mysterious Combination

Is it simple? In fact, it's not simple at all. A merchant guild, one that covers half a continent, can transmit information so quickly. Is this simple? Don't forget, this is the Ark Continent, not Earth, where information is abundant, everyone has a mobile phone, and the internet reaches every household.

The fact that the Makider Merchant Guild can achieve this on the Ark Continent fully demonstrates its strength. Such a merchant guild is indeed one that no one wants to provoke, not even an empire. It's too dangerous.

Zhao Hai listened quietly to Green's words, realizing he had underestimated this world. Although this world is not as technologically advanced as Earth, it has its own unique development trajectory. His understanding of this world is still far too limited.

After some thought, Zhao Hai said to Green, "Grandpa Green, why do you think they are paying attention to us? There are many mages on the continent; they can't possibly pay attention to every single one, right?"

Green smiled and said, "The reason is that you, young master, are a black mage. Black mages are always watched wherever they go, especially since we didn't come from Black Mountain Pass to Iron Mountain. We appeared suddenly, so they naturally pay more attention."

Zhao Hai nodded and said, "Then should we leave tomorrow?"

Green nodded and said, "Yes, we should leave tomorrow. Young master, staying in such an inn for one night costs two gold coins. To be honest, if we stay a few more nights, we really can't afford it."

Zhao Hai smiled bitterly. Money is indeed a problem. Thinking of other transmigrants, they usually become rich or hold high positions as soon as they arrive in a different world, with beautiful women vying to be with them. But here he is, with a broken fiefdom, worrying about the food and drink of over a hundred people, and constantly avoiding attacks from monsters. The worst part is that although he has a spatial item, he is still poor and can't even afford to stay in an inn.

Seeing Zhao Hai's expression, Green thought he was feeling sorry for their current situation. He quickly comforted Zhao Hai, saying, "Young master, once we sell the radishes, we'll have money. Don't be sad."

Zhao Hai couldn't explain much to Green and just smiled, saying, "I'm fine. It's just that in the future, we shouldn't stay in such inns. We'll find a place outside the city and stay in the spatial item."

Green nodded and said, "We're staying here for just one day to attract the attention of the Makider family. We won't stay here after that."

Zhao Hai nodded and then carefully examined the room. It was indeed quite large, with a living room, five bedrooms, and a bathroom. It was really nice.

At that moment, a knock came at the door. Green quickly stood up to open it. A waiter stood outside, holding a large tray with a few bread rolls and three plates of food, which looked quite good.

Green took the plates and gave the waiter a few copper coins as a tip, then dismissed him. However, the waiter, after going downstairs, immediately ran to a very hidden room and knocked on the door. The fat innkeeper's voice came from inside, saying, "Come in."

The waiter pushed the door open and entered. It was a bedroom with very simple furnishings, containing only a bed, a table, and a chair. The fat innkeeper was sitting in the chair, holding a pen and writing something.

Hearing the door, he didn't even look up and said, "Any discoveries?"

The waiter stood respectfully and said in a deep voice, "Their identities may not be simple. They are likely of noble birth, but their living conditions are not very good. I brought them some ordinary food, and they didn't say anything. They gave me a tip quite naturally, but it wasn't much."

The fat innkeeper nodded and waved his hand. The waiter turned and left. The fat innkeeper, as the head of the Makider family's intelligence network in Black Mountain Pass, was very meticulous and good at observing people.

He had deliberately sent the waiter with some not-so-good food to see how Zhao Hai and his group would react, to determine their status.

On the continent, only nobles give tips to waiters. Even merchants generally don't give tips. So the waiter deduced that Zhao Hai and his group were likely nobles.

Nobles usually have high standards for food and drink, but Zhao Hai and his group were in a rather dire situation, so they didn't have many requirements. Additionally, the tip was only in copper coins, so the waiter concluded that their living conditions were not good.

This made the fat innkeeper somewhat perplexed. A mage, although having the same status as a noble, is not always a true noble. If they were a noble and a mage, they would certainly be heavily favored by the state and wouldn't be in such a dire situation. So Zhao Hai's reaction made it difficult for the fat innkeeper to determine their identity.

In the end, the fat innkeeper wrote down all the information and went through a hidden door behind the bedroom to a secret room. In this room, there were several cages, each containing a bird-like monster called a Wind Falcon, a fast-flying monster often used to deliver messages.

The fat innkeeper grabbed a Wind Falcon, fed it some fresh meat, then carefully rolled up the information he had written, placed it in a small bamboo tube attached to the Wind Falcon's claw, sealed it with wax, and released the Wind Falcon outside.

A family like the Makider would not pay attention to every small matter, but Zhao Hai's sudden appearance, combined with his identity as a black mage, made the fat innkeeper pay attention to them.

To people, black mages represent danger, darkness, and other negative connotations. Whenever a black mage appears in an area, all forces pay attention. These forces generally adopt a policy of neither offending nor befriending black mages, which is why the fat innkeeper paid so much attention to Zhao Hai and his group.

However, what the fat innkeeper did was already within Green's expectations. When he had Zhao Hai pretend to be a black mage, he had anticipated this situation. This was exactly the effect they wanted. By acting so conspicuously, no one would associate them with the Buda family, making them safer.

After eating, Zhao Hai and his group rested. They didn't go sightseeing in Black Mountain Pass. Don't forget, Zhao Hai is a black mage, and black mages don't go sightseeing. Besides, Black Mountain Pass is quite chaotic, so to avoid trouble, Zhao Hai and his group didn't go out.

Fortunately, Zhao Hai is a homebody and doesn't particularly like sightseeing, so he didn't feel uncomfortable. Moreover, he was quite tired from the journey, and now he could rest in such a good place, which he was very happy about.

The day passed quietly, but everyone in Black Mountain Pass knew that a black mage had arrived. However, no one provoked him, and everyone hoped that Zhao Hai and his group would leave quickly.

Zhao Hai and his group fulfilled everyone's wishes and left Black Mountain Pass early the next morning. They still rode on the strange creatures, which made the mercenaries quite envious.

From Black Mountain Pass, there are three roads. The left road leads to the grain-producing area of the Vansel Principality, the Ica Plain, which is the fief of the Vansel family. The terrain is very flat, suitable for growing white wheat, and there are many slaves working for the Vansel family.

The right road leads to the Beck Forest, the main timber-producing area of the Vansel Principality, which is also the fief of the Vansel family and one of their main sources of income.

These two roads are rarely traveled because they are the fiefs of the Vansel family, mostly inhabited by slaves, with no business opportunities, so no one goes there.

The middle road leads to the first major city of the Vansel Principality, the capital, known as the Northern Pearl of the Aksum Empire, Casa City.

Zhao Hai and his group, of course, didn't want to tour the grain-producing area or the timber-producing area. They were there to sell radishes, so they naturally went to Casa City, where the commerce is very prosperous.

In the following days, Zhao Hai and his group continued to travel. However, unlike in the Black Earth Wasteland, where they didn't see a single person for three days and only saw black earth, they were now in the Vansel Principality, where there were many people. On the road, they could see many pedestrians and caravans, and on the roadside, they could see forests or farmland.

However, because Zhao Hai and his group's appearance was so intimidating, people would avoid them as soon as they saw them. Even so, Zhao Hai was quite satisfied. At least he could finally see people and didn't have to travel as boringly as before.

Think about it, a huge skeleton with a warrior in an iron can on its head, and a black mage in a black robe sitting in the chest cavity, with a sweet-looking little beauty sitting beside them. This combination is already very strange, not to mention the black mage's notorious reputation. It's no wonder the people on the road avoided them.

In the past few days, Zhao Hai and his group did as they had planned. Even when they passed through small towns, they didn't stay in the town but found a place outside the city and returned to the spatial item. This made their movements seem unpredictable and even more mysterious.