Chapter 76: Offer

"Hmm... if I get a good harvest, probably?"

"Whenever Ethan farms, it’s always a bumper harvest, meow~" Pearl proclaimed proudly.

True enough — he had never failed at farming, Ethan patted Pearl, wiped the gathered seeds clean, and pocketed them.

"Do the Fox Beastmen like medicinal strawberries?"

"Yes! They’re sweet and sour... And battles happen often in the Northern Region, so we need them to heal our injuries!" Lyra said.

Lyra mentioned that even before the monsters started increasing, battles were frequent in the north.

Ethan looked at the small cloth bag in his hand, then turned to Walter. "It seems the Northern Region really is dangerous."

Right then, the handcart came to a halt.

"Indeed, look over there — that monster is watching us." Walter pointed.

Ethan followed his finger, a wolf-like creature with five eyes and seven legs was stealthily peeking at them while pretending to just pass by.

Seeing its terrible acting, Ethan couldn’t help but chuckle.

"They only attack the weak, among us... it has its eyes on her," Walter said, pointing at Lyra.

Lyra trembled.

Pearl jumped onto Lyra’s head, patted it gently with its furry paws, and said, "Don’t be afraid, meow! I will protect you, meow~"

"Hehe! Thank you!" Lyra said.

"Meow, meow, meow~!" Pearl rubbed against Lyra’s cheek.

Ethan smiled at them.

Then the wolf-like monster moved, it had been waiting for companions, they gradually surrounded Ethan’s group.

Ethan picked up the Scythe of Gaia.

"Are you going to use that?" Walter asked.

"They haven’t shown hostility yet," Ethan replied, he could only use Wrath of the Earth after sensing the enemy’s hostility.

Ethan glanced at the Scythe of Gaia, which hadn’t grown larger, and then picked up the Holy Sword from the handcart.

Roar!

Then, he summoned the Blood Jade Beasts to guard Lyra, even though Pearl was there, its magic consisted of wide-range attacks.

In an emergency, the Blood Jade Beasts were more reliable.

Both Ethan and Walter readied themselves.

"Awooo! Awooooo!!" Fox cries came from outside the encirclement, a group of Fox Beastmen charged in.

"Annihilate all monsters!!" They brandished sharp claws and crude iron spears, but when they saw Lyra standing with Ethan’s group, they froze.

Ethan shouted to them, "We will protect this child! Please focus on your battle without worry!!"

Perhaps because of the word protect, the Fox Beastmen’s wariness dropped considerably, they wiped out the monsters without breaking stride.

A Fox Beastman with red fur, wielding a long spear, strode over. "Lyra?! What are you doing here?!"

The middle-aged Fox Beastman’s voice was sharp with anger.

Lyra hurriedly hid behind Ethan.

"Although I don’t know what happened, it would be best if you calmed down first," Ethan said.

"Uh... A human?! There are actually humans still alive?" The Fox Beastman had been too busy fighting to notice Ethan earlier.

He stepped back in shock, then tightened his grip on his spear.

"Why is a human here?!" he asked warily.

"We are here to trade for iron ore," Ethan answered.

"No, that’s not what I meant... Forget it, it doesn’t matter." The Fox Beastman shook his head.

He scrutinized Ethan with a sharp gaze and raised his spear. "You say you’re here to trade? What can you offer?"

"I can offer Honey Sweet Potatoes. If you need it, I can also cook some food..."

"Honey Sweet Potatoes?!" The vigilance vanished, he broke into a smile.

Ethan took some from the handcart and handed them over, seeing the large, golden Honey Sweet Potatoes, the Fox Beastman was overjoyed.

Ethan smiled, thinking to himself, ’It seems Honey Sweet Potatoes are really useful, I need to plant a lot more.’

Perhaps due to the past war with humans, the Fox Beastmen hadn’t completely dropped their guard, however, upon seeing the Honey Sweet Potatoes, their wariness decreased considerably.

"The quality of this Honey Sweet Potato is excellent."

"Can we trade this for iron ore, meow?" Pearl asked eagerly.

Hearing Pearl’s question, the Fox Beastman hesitated, it seemed like a difficult question to answer, why was that?

Ethan held up a Honey Sweet Potato again, and the Fox Beastman’s gaze followed it, finally, he sighed. "We also want to trade, but we don’t have any iron ore right now."

"No iron ore?" Ethan looked at him.

"It’s inconvenient to speak here, let’s head back to the village first! And you, Lyra! Just wait for your punishment when we get back!!" the Fox Beastman roared at the girl hiding behind Ethan.

"Woo-woo..." Lyra hid fearfully behind Ethan, casting pleading looks at him, Walter, and Pearl, but for a child to run outside the territory, she indeed deserved to be punished, Ethan was powerless on this front.

He could only pat her head and say, "Don’t worry, we’ll help explain things for you."

"By the way, how should I address you? My name is Ethan," Ethan said to the Fox Beastman.

"My name is Alaric! No need to be so polite!" he answered.

"Then I will defer to your wishes. Um... Lyra said she ran outside the territory to find medicinal strawberries, I hope you can be lenient with her."

"Is that true?" Alaric looked at Lyra.

Lyra quickly pulled the medicinal strawberry from her pocket. Alaric examined it, sighed, and said, "The medicinal strawberries stored in the village are enough to treat all the wounded."

"But, my mom, she..." Lyra tried to explain.

"Your spirit is commendable, but running outside the territory is absolutely unforgivable! However, I will take it into consideration!!" Alaric’s tone softened.

"Thank you!! Hehehe!" Lyra smiled.

Since she wasn’t out playing but looking for medicine for her mother, her punishment should be lighter, Ethan looked at the happy Lyra and smiled.

Then, he looked at Alaric, who was walking beside the handcart, he noticed some scars at the roots of Alaric’s red fur "Did something happen in the village?"

"We hunted down a Giant Centipede a while ago, these scars are from then," Alaric answered.

"Giant Centipede?"

"It’s an enormous centipede monster, meow, if a centipede monster that has lived a long time swallows a Fragment of Chaos, it will turn into a Giant Centipede, meow!" Pearl explained.

Fragment of Chaos again, Ethan thought of the Wyrm skin he carried, the Canine Beastmen had also hunted a Wyrm that swallowed a Fragment of Chaos.

"Are Fragments of Chaos that easy to find?" Ethan asked.

"Meow-meow, how is that possible, meow?" Pearl answered.

"Then this is a bit strange. For two to appear one after another..."