A sneeze destroys a magical civilization

no doubt.

For Bernard, who wanted to return to Ascaltra by land, the news brought by the cavalry captain could definitely be regarded as bad news.

This left him taciturn for several hours.

It wasn't until I formally entered the fortress city of Manon through the city gate that I felt a little more excited.

After arriving at the market, the first thing Bernard did was to start planning to sell all the camels to merchants who were eager to cross the desert to Calim Port.

There are also noble and civilian families who are afraid that the red dragon will continue to move south after capturing Mailatma, and choose to move their families to Calim Port.

Since mobilization for war has begun.

Most of the ships in the port have either been requisitioned, or have been filled with people early and sailed to Port Carlin, and there are no idle ships at all.

Therefore, the value of the camel, the only one that could help them cross the Kalin Desert, naturally increased with the tide.

At this moment, it has increased to seven times the usual level.

Coupled with the malicious hoarding and speculation by unscrupulous businessmen, they deliberately spread all kinds of gossip that can cause people to panic.

Some nobles and wealthy people eager to escape were even willing to offer ten times the outrageous price.

The heavy draft horses from the northern Kingdom of Tethyr, which were originally worth 150 gold coins each, dropped directly to 50 gold coins.

In addition, the price of a four-wheeled horse-drawn wagon has also dropped from 100 gold coins to 30 gold coins, and a two-wheeled one only costs 4 gold coins.

In less than two hours, Bernard sold all the more than a thousand camels in the caravan.

They were replaced with more than 300 strong heavy-duty draft horses, 80 four-wheeled wagons that required two horses to pull, and 140 two-wheeled wagons that only one horse could pull.

As for the goods carried by the caravan, he chose to sell all the weapons and secondary magic items that could be used in the battle to defend the city to the Manon City Government, which was preparing for the war.

At the same time, all the price differences just earned were used to purchase antiques, artworks, handicrafts, jewelry, and a large number of valuable ancient books and magic items that the fleeing families were selling at low prices.

In short, except for real estate that cannot be taken away, anything with enough profit margin will always be accepted.

After finishing everything and dragging his exhausted body to the door of the hotel chartered by the caravan, Bernard immediately heard a burst of laughter coming from inside.

When he walked in, he was shocked to see everyone sitting around the stage laughing their heads off.

Even the paladin Eloline, who had always been serious and unsmiling, was covering her mouth and shaking slightly uncontrollably.

Only Zuo Si, who was sitting in the center, still maintained his usual calm posture and ate the food on the plate very slowly.

Out of curiosity, Bernard walked straight up and asked the mercenary leader: "What are you laughing at?"

The latter smiled and shook his head and explained: "His Excellency Soth just told a very interesting joke and successfully made everyone laugh."

"Oh? What kind of joke is this?"

Bernard sat down on the chair next to him, and at the same time waved to the beautiful waitress to give him a glass of the best wine in the store.

He is now eager to drink some alcoholic beverages to relieve fatigue and stress.

Soon, the waitress brought a glass of high-quality wine that was as dark red as blood to this businessman, who looked dusty on the outside but was quite luxurious in clothes and decorations.

Not only that!

She also deliberately pulled the neckline of her skirt very low, revealing the two rather alluring hemispheres, and at the same time gave Bernard a flirtatious look that was full of reverie.

You know without asking that this is an invitation signal.

As long as the latter is willing, he can go to the guest room upstairs at any time to do some enjoyable adult exercises with the young and beautiful waitress.

After all, if you can hook up with a wealthy businessman, it means you can escape from your current poor and embarrassing life.

It doesn’t matter if you become the other person’s wife or mistress.

Anyway, it is a hundred times better than being a hotel waitress who is teased and taken advantage of by rude men almost every day.

No matter how bad it is, you can still get a large and generous tip through a one-night stand.

In short, wealthy businessmen and nobles are always more favored by these waitresses than those adventurers and mercenaries who lick blood.

But it's a pity that Bernard, who was full of worry in his heart, had no such thoughts at all. He simply ignored the waitress's secret glance and picked up the cup and took a sip.

The mercenary captain on the side smiled and repeated the joke just now.

The general content is that a knight's brother was killed by his enemies.

At this time, his teammates stepped forward to express their support for his revenge.

Warrior: I will chop off the head of your brother's murderer with my sword.

Ranger: My bow will shoot through the murderer's heart.

Pastor: I will use the power God has given me to find the murderer and make him pay for his actions.

The necromancer pointed at the corpse beside him that had just been awakened by magic and said: "Don't bother! Your brother will personally strangle the bastard who killed him."

After Bernard heard this, he couldn't help laughing on the spot.

Obviously, this is a typical "hell joke".

Because in Faerûn, corpses that are normally killed can actually be resurrected by spending a large sum of money to find a priest with a high enough level to help resurrect them.

But if it is a corpse that has been desecrated by necromancy magic, the cost and difficulty of resurrection will be instantly increased by dozens or even dozens of times.

If he were this knight, he would probably be able to pull out his sword and hack down this unhelpful Necromancer teammate.

But soon, the businessman stopped laughing, lowered his voice and asked Zuo Si, who was eating: "Sir Soth, you don't seem to be nervous at all about what happened in Mailatma?"

"Nervous? Why should I be nervous?" Zuo Si asked with a chuckle. "It's just an adult red dragon and thousands of monsters that lack organization and discipline. If we really collide, I don't mind being a dragon-slaying warrior."

"Slay the dragon?!"

Eloline's eyes lit up slightly.

You must know that killing the evil and cruel red dragon is a huge challenge and the highest honor for any paladin.

Zuo Si nodded seriously: "Yes! If it is an old red dragon or an ancient dragon, it may be very troublesome to deal with. But if it is just an adult dragon or a mature dragon, as long as you are prepared, it should not be too difficult to deal with it. .”

"So you decided to deal with this red dragon and its evil army?"

Aroline clenched her fists excitedly.

If she hadn't carried the mission and the oath, she would have wanted to go to Mailatma alone.

Imitate the pure, powerful, and fearless paladin in those stories, single-handedly kill the source of evil that causes war and strife, and bring peace and hope to those who are suffering.

"No, no, no.

What I mean is, if you encounter it, just deal with it.

If you don't encounter it, then it's better to have one less thing than one more thing.

Of course, I wouldn't mind making some extra money if the lord of Mylatma could offer a sufficient bounty. "

Zuo Si expressed his position clearly.

Although he doesn't mind helping others when he can, he doesn't regard "altruism" as a responsibility and obligation like the "righteous people" in this world.

Just the opposite!

If possible, Zuo Si would not want to be associated with all kinds of messy organizations.

He just wants to arrive at Ascaltra as soon as possible, first help Bernard regain the Chamber of Commerce, and then bring enough money to Candlekeep to collect all the precious books in it into the [Thinking Library].