Chapter 93: I’ll Buy You Too

Chapter 93: I'll Buy You Too

"What did you say?"

The bearded middle-aged man's tone carried anger, and he was just about to lash out.

But right at that moment, Assam instantly drew his longsword.

*Clang!*

The cold edge of the blade was immediately pointed at the bearded middle-aged man.

And in the corner nearby, Sarah had also silently locked onto him.

In that instant, the bearded man felt as if he were being stared down by a thousand-year-old venomous snake!

It felt as though he would be devoured by this venomous snake in the very next second!

Just the aura emanating from Assam and Sarah was too much for him to bear.

Upon seeing the armor on Assam, he finally seemed to snap out of it.

The bearded middle-aged man turned pale and collapsed directly onto the ground in terror.

Kneeling on the ground, he kowtowed and begged for mercy, "Spare me, my lord! Spare my life, my lord!"

"I was too reckless and offended you. Jeffrey begs for your forgiveness!"

Hearing the bearded man's pleas for mercy, many passing villagers in the village peered over.

However, because the aura radiating from Assam was too powerful, these villagers did not dare to approach at all.

The bearded man continued to prostrate on the ground, his face pressed directly into the snow, trembling all over.

Yet, even after about ten seconds had passed, Cao Xing still did not speak.

For the prostrate bearded man, almost every second was absolute torture.

He was terrified that this young man might get upset and order the knight beside him to chop off his head with a single swing.

The bearded man could tell that with this knight's strength, not a single militia member in the entire village would be a match for him.

In other words, even if this knight killed him, Hoge Village could do nothing about it.

At this thought, the bearded man's heart was filled with dread!

However, Cao Xing did not do anything to him. Instead, he said to Danny, "Next house."

Danny was also stunned by the powerful aura on Assam. Snapping out of it, he hurriedly said, "O-Okay…"

Then, he led Cao Xing and the others deeper into the village.

Assam sheathed his longsword, and Sarah concealed her aura once again.

Leaving the bearded middle-aged man shivering in the cold wind.

Only after Cao Xing and the others had walked far away did this middle-aged man suddenly stand up from the ground.

Not daring to linger for a single second, he turned and went back inside his house.

With a loud bang, he slammed the door shut!

…

Danny continued to lead the way.

Ever since witnessing Assam's display of strength, the villager Danny became even more enthusiastic, constantly explaining things to Cao Xing along the way.

Soon, they arrived in front of another building that also had two stories.

Danny said with a highly flattering smile, "My lord, this is Lord Mel's house. He is quite easy to talk to."

"And Lord Mel's daughter, Elisa, is very beautiful. Her little face is as clean as a pebble in a riverbed. All the young men in Hoge Village want to marry her."

Cao Xing was speechless. *What does his daughter's beauty have to do with me?*

Smiling broadly, Danny took the initiative to go forward and knock on the door.

*Knock, knock, knock!*

This time, an elderly man around fifty years old with a worried face walked out from inside.

His deep gaze swept over Cao Xing and the others.

And Cao Xing also took a look at his attributes.

[Hoge Village Villager: Mel Belon Lv.7]

[Affiliation: Ice Crystal Kingdom]

[Tier: Tier 1 Common]

[HP: 540]

[Skill: Intermediate Breeding Techniques (Having bred various livestock for many years, he has mastered their habits in his mind and can breed higher-quality livestock.)]

[Talent: None]

[Current Status: Neutral]

…

When Cao Xing saw Mel's skill, his eyes immediately lit up.

He actually had an intermediate life skill!

This was a talent in animal husbandry!

At this moment, the villager Danny stepped forward and explained Cao Xing's group's purpose to Old Mel.

Old Mel nodded, appearing very polite.

"Honorable guests, I already know your purpose."

"If you want to buy my cows, they will be at market price: 5,000 crowns for an adult yak, 2,000 crowns for a sheep, and 3,500 crowns for a Big-Horned Dairy Cow."

"What do you think?"

Hearing this, the corner of Cao Xing's mouth twitched.

This price was somewhat beyond his expectations; a single yak could even buy five slaves.

But on second thought, it made sense.

After all, yaks and sheep were creatures that could continuously produce resources.

In this kind of world, livestock were indeed more valuable than humans.

"Elder Mel, how many yaks, sheep, and Big-Horned Dairy Cows do you have in your pasture?"

Hearing this question, a look of contemplation appeared in Old Mel's eyes.

However, he replied, "Hoge Village is just a small village. There aren't many resources for me to breed a large number of livestock."

"Currently, Mel's Farm has a total of 11 yaks, 15 sheep, and 11 Big-Horned Dairy Cows."

Hearing this, Cao Xing pondered for a moment.

All these cows and sheep added up to a value of over a hundred thousand crowns.

No wonder Danny called these farm owners "lords"; it turned out they were all wealthy landowners.

Cao Xing seemed to make a decision at this moment.

He said directly, "Old Mr. Mel, I will buy all the cows and sheep on your farm."

"In addition, I will offer another 20,000 crowns to buy you as well. What do you think?"

All of this added up to almost 150,000 crowns.

Although Cao Xing didn't have that much cash on hand right now, he still had many valuable items in his backpack.

Amber Pebbles, Moonlit Gems, and those silk fabrics could all be sold for extremely high prices.

Old Mel thought he had misheard. He scratched his ear and asked in confusion, "My lord, what did you say?"

Cao Xing repeated, "I said, I'll buy you too."

This time, not only Mel, but even Danny on the side was stunned.

They had seen plenty of people buying cows and sheep, but this was the first time they had seen someone buying the person along with them.

Seeing their bewildered expressions, Cao Xing explained, "To tell you the truth, I am a lord. Not far from Hoge Village, there is a territory that belongs to me."

"Once these cows and sheep are bought, they will need a professional to raise them."

"I think you are very suitable."

Old Mel originally wanted to refuse, but he glanced at Assam beside him.

Actually, Old Mel had already seen it when Assam threatened the bearded man just now, and he couldn't help but feel surprised by this tall man's strength.

This was a powerful knight, even much stronger than some Tier 2 knights!

He just hadn't expected them to come looking for him so soon.

Old Mel suddenly thought: 'If I am in a territory guarded by this knight, I probably wouldn't have to worry about my personal safety, right?'

He asked tentatively, "My lord, in your territory, is there no need to worry about Snow Demon invasions at night?"

Cao Xing was taken aback, then smiled. "Of course. My territory is absolutely safe."

Assam on the side also spoke up, "The Lord is right. Our territory has extremely strong defensive forces. Even I am not the strongest existence in the territory."

"Under the Lord, there are many companions who are even more powerful than me, far stronger than your village's defensive forces."

After Assam finished speaking, Old Mel was indeed tempted at this moment!

The defensive forces of Hoge Village were not strong. In this icy and snowy land, there were always some starving creatures that would rush into the village to target the villagers.

At night, there would also be invasions by some terrifying creatures.

Especially today, they had seen with their own eyes several meteors suddenly crash into the village.

Those meteors turned into Ice Nests, and a group of monsters with ice spikes crawled out from them.

Many villagers died in the mouths of those monsters, and even quite a few militia members died.

This made Old Mel want to stay in Hoge Village even less.

He hesitated to speak, seemingly very eager to agree.

However, after a struggle, Old Mel sighed. "My lord, I am indeed willing to go to your territory, but right now I cannot leave Hoge Village."

"Oh? Why is that?"

"Because I am waiting for my daughter to return."

Hearing this, Cao Xing asked in confusion, "Your daughter went out?"

Old Mel sighed, "Yes. Elisa has had a lively personality since she was a child. This time, she insisted she discovered a herd of Cloud Yaks at Snowfall Lake and said she wanted to tame them and bring them back for me to raise."

"Sigh… But a sacred creature like the Cloud Yak hasn't appeared in the Gale Snowfield for many years. How could Elisa possibly have found such a creature?"

"But she didn't listen to my advice and went to Snowfall Lake all by herself."

"It has been two days since she left…"

Cao Xing frowned. "Was no militia sent to look for her?"

Old Mel shook his head, "Snowfall Lake is dozens of kilometers away from the village. The village militia is too weak, and none of them want to go that far."

Speaking up to this point, Old Mel looked at Assam beside Cao Xing and suddenly thought of something.

"My lord… Those militia members don't dare to go that far, but with your strength, you should be able to reach Snowfall Lake."

"If you can bring back my daughter, I am willing to join your territory with all my assets, free of charge!"

Saying this, Old Mel knelt straight down.

At the same time, a system prompt appeared.

[Hoge Village: Mel has issued a commission quest to you.]

[Quest Content: Head to the vicinity of Snowfall Lake, find his daughter Elisa, and bring her back to Old Mel.]

[Quest Reward: Mel joins your territory.]

[Accept?]

Seeing the system prompt, Cao Xing didn't accept immediately. Instead, he first glanced at the countdown above his head.

[Time remaining until nightfall: 1 hour 31 minutes…]

He opened the map again and located Snowfall Lake on it.

Taking a look, it was a good forty to fifty kilometers away from Hoge Village.

He didn't know how Old Mel's daughter had managed to get so far.

Furthermore, the remaining time was no longer enough to travel to Snowfall Lake.

Cao Xing said, "Mr. Mel, I can help search for your daughter's whereabouts. However, it is getting late, and your daughter has already been out for two days, so I'm afraid…"

…