Chapter 27: Run Away After the Kick

In his previous life, Zaranda and her group had been pursued so relentlessly by the goblin forces behind them that they were in a state of utter chaos, barely able to defend themselves. They had no time to gather the local residents along the way, and those who did join were fewer than those lost—especially the Nott militia, who suffered the heaviest casualties. Even upon reaching the city of Dalroma, the suspicion they drew would not have been too heavy.

In this life, it was harder to say. Gavin now had reason to suspect that whether Zaranda and her group could even enter Dalroma smoothly was a question in itself; being turned away at the gates was a distinct possibility.

If that happened, the conflict between Zaranda and the current rulers of Dalroma would likely erupt prematurely.

Gavin wasn't particularly worried about this.

In his previous life, even after suffering heavy losses and seeing her prestige severely damaged, Zaranda had still managed to seize control of Dalroma, turning it into her own seat of power.

Moreover, in this life, Zaranda’s military strength and prestige were at their peak, and the two "dead weights" had been dealt with by him in advance.

If the rulers of Dalroma were smart and employed conciliatory policies, then given Zaranda's inherently kind nature, they wouldn't easily provoke her even if they held an absolute advantage.

However, if they made decisions that treated human life as cheap in order to protect their own rule, they would directly touch Zaranda's ultimate taboo. What kind of violent decision she would make then was truly unpredictable.

Gavin soon encountered the second and third patrols of cavalry from Dalroma.

That sense of impending doom grew more intense the closer he got to the city.

By the time he reached the south gate of Dalroma, Gavin knew for certain that Zaranda and her group wouldn't be able to enter.

The area was already overcrowded. Outside the city walls, temporary tents were packed densely together—there had to be at least eight hundred, if not a thousand.

Gavin believed the situation was likely the same outside the other city gates.

Dalroma was already at capacity.

No wonder the Lord of Dalroma was reacting so excessively; the refugees inside and outside the city were enough to give him a headache. If another organized group arrived, anyone would treat them as a major threat.

Forget approaching the gates; Gavin didn't even dare get too close to the refugee camps, fearing that Vic might be beaten to death by the angry masses.

Even if he did get close, Gavin didn't think he could enter the city, but if he didn't enter, how could he find a suitable merchant caravan?

Before Gavin could even begin to devise a plan, a shifty, small figure approached him proactively and said, "Brother, do you want to get into the city?"

The man's sleazy expression was strikingly similar to the men outside major train stations on Earth who peddle illegal advertisements.

"How much?" Gavin asked, getting straight to the point.

"How many of you are there?" The sleazy man's eyes kept scanning the two warhorses and the goblin warlock, looking very much like he was appraising their value.

"Does the price change based on the number of people?" Gavin asked curiously.

"Naturally." Seeing that Gavin was willing to negotiate, the sleazy man suddenly became more energetic. "The price is different for more or fewer people. For these kinds of things, the fewer people, the better. If it's just you alone, give me these two horses and this goblin slave, and that should be about enough. If there are more people, it'll start at a hundred gold coins per person."

"Do you even know how to do math?" Gavin said irritably. "You just said the fewer people, the less money, but you're saying the exact opposite. Look closely—these are high-quality warhorses. They start at five hundred gold coins each. One horse alone is worth enough to get five people in. How come two horses plus a slave only covers a fraction?"

"Brother, you just don't know the market," the sleazy man analyzed with an air of authority. "It's precisely because these are top-tier warhorses that I'm giving you this price. If they were ordinary nags, you'd have to pay me an extra ninety gold coins. Around here, warhorses aren't worth much. If you want, give me a hundred gold coins and in less than half an hour, I'll help you buy three better ones. If you try to sell these two outside, they'll fetch sixty at most, no more."

"Warhorses can't be brought into the city?" Gavin reacted immediately.

"You're a smart one, brother. Everyone who went in ahead of you sold what they brought, so the prices have already been driven down. Not only can livestock not be brought in, but this slave of yours can't be brought in either." The sleazy man wore an expression as if he were doing Gavin a massive favor.

"I see. I misunderstood you, brother," Gavin said, putting on a look of sudden realization. "I wonder if you have any channels to leave Dalroma? Water or land, either is fine."

"Don't you trust Dalroma's defenses? You want to leave?" The sleazy man became even more enthusiastic. "You've asked the right person. I happen to know of a merchant ship heading to Mylatama that could set sail at any time. I have connections with the captain; squeezing one person on won't be a problem. The price is the same as before. If you nod, I'll find a way to get you on that ship tonight. Anyway, you can't take these things with you."

"This..." Gavin looked troubled. "Actually, I get a bit seasick. It would be best if I could go by land. I wonder if there are many merchant caravans heading toward Tesselburg lately?"

"Land routes are a bit difficult to arrange. But since I'm a soft-hearted man, as long as you truly want to go, I can find a way for you," the sleazy man said, thumping his chest.

"Forget it. I raised these two horses since they were young; I have an emotional attachment and can't part with them. I'll wait and see!" Gavin declined with feigned hesitation.

From beginning to end, Gavin had treated the sleazy man merely as a source of intelligence that had delivered itself to his door; he had never intended to do business with him.

Because he was afraid that if he paid, he would end up selling himself.

One should never underestimate the blackness of such people's hearts. Many were even more terrifying than wild monsters. Those monsters, at most, wanted to eat your flesh; these people wanted to strip you to the bone and take your very soul.

Inviting a god is easy, but sending one away is hard. The sleazy man was clearly not so easily dismissed. As soon as he realized the deal was off, his face immediately slumped, and he said with a dark expression, "If you're not doing business, why the hell are you dragging me into all this questioning? Do you really think we brothers are that easy to bully?"

As he spoke, four or five stout, muscular men surrounded them from nearby.

"Brother, since you can't scam me, you're planning to rob me?" Gavin knew this man was no good, but he hadn't expected him to be this bold, especially with the Dalroma city guards patrolling in the distance.

"These were originally our family's warhorses and our family's slave! If you're sensible, return them obediently, otherwise, don't blame me for taking you in to face justice!" the sleazy man shouted, turning the tables and accusing him first.

The Dalroma city guards nearby heard the commotion, but instead of coming to investigate, they simply continued walking away as if nothing had happened.

In such a situation, either this group of sleazy men had significant backing in Dalroma that even the guards dared not touch, or there was collusion between the two parties.

This was yet another trouble brought about by being alone and weak. Whether he engaged with them or not made no difference; they would find a way to screw him over regardless, simply because he looked young and easy to pick on.

"Screw you! Run!" Gavin lifted his leg and delivered a sharp kick to the sleazy man's groin, then vaulted onto his horse and turned to bolt.

Having no idea of the local dynamics, the only thing Gavin could do was run.

*Augh!*

The sleazy man instantly became a rolling gourd on the ground, tumbling while clutching his crotch and letting out a high-pitched, pig-like scream.

The local thugs who were closing in clearly hadn't expected that someone who looked so young would react so decisively. By the time they accelerated toward the spot, the target had already fled more than ten meters away.