Chapter 82 Caravan

Finally, the Toad Caravan entered Gu Yue Village.

At the front of the caravan crawled an enormous Treasure Brass Toad. It stood more than five meters tall, its body a deep orange-yellow. Large warts covered its broad, sturdy back, resembling the bronze studs hammered into the fortress gate. Heaps of goods were stacked upon its back and tightly bound with thick hemp ropes, making the enormous toad resemble a small hill advancing steadily along the road.

“Is that the Treasure Brass Toad? It’s huge! I’ve never seen such a large Gu worm before.” Gu Yue Mo Bei stared at it excitedly. “It would be amazing if I could have a Gu like that.”

“That’s the Treasure Brass Toad, one of the signature Gu worms of Jia Family Village. Just like our Gu Yue Clan’s Moonlight Gu, it was developed by their own clan. It’s a Rank Three Gu,” Gu Yue Mo Yan, Mo Bei’s older sister, explained.

Apart from the clan leader’s faction, the Gu Yue Clan possessed two other major branches controlled by powerful clan elders: the Chi branch and the Mo branch. Gu Yue Mo Bei was the grandson of the Mo branch elder and was being raised as the future successor of their branch.

“But what does such a huge Gu worm actually do?” Mo Bei asked curiously. He was still young and had never left Qing Mao Mountain, so naturally he knew little about the Gu used by distant clans.

As the Treasure Brass Toad slowly passed the bamboo house where Mo Bei and Mo Yan stood, its enormous size became even more striking. Mo Bei could clearly see the stacks of goods covering its broad back and even the bronze-rivet-like bumps scattered across its thick skin.

“Generally speaking, Gu can be divided into three broad types. The first are consumable Gu, such as Relic Gu, which disappear after being used. The second are Gu that grant their abilities directly to the Gu Master. Our Moonlight Gu belongs to this type. Once refined, its power can be activated repeatedly as long as the Gu Master has enough primeval essence.”

“The third type possesses a body of its own. Even after refining such a Gu, the Gu Master only gains control over it rather than obtaining its abilities personally. For example, if you refine an Iron Centipede Gu, you can command the centipede to fight, but you obviously won’t grow its armor or gain the strength of its body.”

“Huh? Then doesn’t that mean the Treasure Brass Toad belongs to the worst type?” Mo Bei’s excitement immediately faded after hearing his sister’s explanation.

Mo Yan shook her head. “There are no useless Gu, only useless Gu Masters. Gu with their own bodies naturally have advantages that the other types cannot replace. Their physical strength alone can sometimes rival powerful wild beasts, and the stronger ones can display tremendous combat power without requiring the Gu Master to personally take risks.”

The Treasure Brass Toad worm was a Rank Three Metal Path Gu. Its enormous body possessed the hardness of metal, giving it astonishing defense and strength. Despite weighing several tons, it retained the natural jumping ability of a toad and could easily leap dozens of meters into the air.

Although its round body and slow movements made it appear somewhat harmless, it was actually a moving fortress.

This was precisely why Jia Fu used one as his mount. Its close-combat strength surpassed that of most ordinary Rank Three Gu Worms. A direct charge could crush common wild beasts to death, while even a hundred beast kings could suffer shattered bones after taking a direct hit. Only thousand beast kings could comfortably confront it, and even then, much depended on what Gu they possessed.

Rank Three Gu like the Treasure Brass Toad were valuable even throughout Southern Border, and the Jia Clan’s ability to refine them was one of the reasons Jia Family Village had become so prosperous.

Behind the enormous toad crawled several Black-Skinned Fat Beetles. Their brightly colored eyes resembled pieces of stained glass, while their enormous bodies stretched more than ten meters in length. Their shape somewhat resembled silkworms, but thick layers of glossy black armor covered their bodies. Mountains of cargo were tied across their backs with hemp ropes.

Unlike the Treasure Brass Toad these were not Gu but domestic beasts. Their combat ability was poor, but they possessed tremendous stamina, could carry enormous loads, and had gentle temperaments. More importantly, they could climb steep mountain paths and cross difficult terrain while carrying cargo, making them ideal for merchant caravans.

Among them were also colorful camel-like birds, hairy mountain spiders, Winged Snakes, and various other creatures, though these made up only a small portion of the caravan. The majority of its transport still relied upon toads.

Most were much smaller than the Treasure Brass Toad, roughly the size of horses or oxen. With their swollen bellies nearly touching the ground, they hopped steadily forward while carrying merchants and goods across their broad backs.

These ordinary toads were naturally occurring creatures commonly found throughout the Southern Border, and some could even be encountered around Qing Mao Mountain. The Jia Clan, however, possessed a secret refinement recipe that could use them as the basis for refining the Rank Three Metal Path Treasure Brass Toad.

Surrounded by these countless beasts and Gu, the enormous merchant caravan slowly made its way deeper into Gu Yue Village.