Firefly Journey

Chapter 136 Battlefield Chrysanthemums (3)

The following day, heavy snow fell, covering the Black Mountain tribe with an even thicker blanket of snow.

The grocery store remained open as usual, and regardless of the weather, as long as someone needed something, they would come to buy it.

Minotaur's resistance to cold is many times stronger than that of humans; in this kind of weather, they can still move around without worry even if they put on clothes.

Lin Yuanran and Claudia, having nothing else to do, took on the role of helpers at the general store.

However, the treatment was completely different. When someone came to buy a bag of salt, Claudia was about to go and get it when Justin rushed ahead of her and took over, afraid that the princess would get tired.

In contrast, Lin Yuanran did not receive such treatment.

Although the Black Mountain tribe has a large population, he is not the only one in the tribe who runs a general store. In addition, due to the heavy snow today, business was slow all morning.

At noon, a special guest came to the shop.

A minotaur dressed in an oversized, custom-made gentleman's suit emerged from the snowstorm.

Upon seeing this, Justin hung the "Closed for Business" sign on the door and then closed it tightly.

“Young Chief, let’s go inside and talk,” Justin said.

“Hmm.” Pritt glanced at Claudia.

The four left the general store and headed towards the residential area behind it.

Inside a wooden cabin, Justin took out the firewood he had prepared beforehand, intending to start a fire with a flint, but he was a step too slow. Lin Yuanran snapped his fingers, and the firewood burst into flames without needing a ignition source.

Claudia was not afraid of the cold, and Pritt was also relatively resistant to the cold due to his racial talent, but Lin Yuanran and Justin were ordinary human beings and could not withstand such low temperatures.

Then a heartwarming scene unfolded: three humans and a minotaur were happily gathered around the fire, just like a family.

"Long time no see, young chieftain." Claudia smiled slightly.

Pritt smiled in response: "It's been three years, Your Highness has grown up."

"You're not bad either. When I first met you, you weren't this tall. Now you must be over two meters tall, right?"

"Haha, the youth of our Minotaur race is extremely short. Let alone three years, even three months can change a lot. It is already remarkable that Your Highness can still recognize me."

Lin Yuanran couldn't help but think to himself: Dude, it wasn't Claudia who recognized you, it was Justin who knew you, okay? He had already gone to close the door, how could Claudia not know that you are the young chief of the Black Mountain tribe?

Recalling the past, Pritt began to speak at length: "Back then, because I was playing, I got lost during the tribe's migration. I happened to run into a group of bandits, who tied me up and took me south as a slave, hoping to sell me for a good price."

Many years ago, the orcs had no rights whatsoever, and many orcs were born into a life of being domesticated.

Freedom was later achieved through racial struggle, but the bad habits left over from ancient times have not been completely eradicated to this day. Many southern nobles still secretly keep slaves.

For them, as long as they are not discovered by the law enforcement officers of their own country, they can get away with it. In fact, some nobles openly keep them as pets by bribing officials.

The laws of the principality were relatively benign, and no nobleman dared to openly keep slaves. However, the situation was different in the surrounding small countries, where the cries of slaves could be heard constantly in many unseen corners.

"Fortunately, on my way south, I met the beautiful princess who rescued me and restored my freedom. I will never forget this kindness."

Is this a story of a princess rescuing a slave boy? Lin Yuanran thought to himself.

In such stories, the disparity in social status cannot stop the two from pursuing each other. They may not be careful, but they will fall in love. They may encounter setbacks and obstacles, but they will be easily overcome. In the end, the two will live happily together.

But Claudia has had a sense of responsibility since childhood. Would someone like that really give her heart to someone of the opposite sex?

More likely, it's just exploitation.

It was clear that Prit's eyes were burning with passion, as if he regarded Claudia, who had saved him, as a goddess. Even though the aesthetics of minotaurs were different from those of humans, it did not affect the image of Claudia as a white moonlight in Prit's heart.

Claudia smiled and said, "That's all in the past. Young Chief, you don't need to take it to heart. We are all free and not anyone's vassal."

"you're right."

“But now, someone wants to invade us and make us their vassals.” Claudia changed the subject:

"The Black Mountain tribe is a large tribe in the North and has made it clear that it will not submit to the empire's iron hooves. I'm sure the young chieftain also knows that as the empire's neighbor, our Kingdom of Delos has also suffered greatly."

Prit was quite intelligent; otherwise, his father wouldn't have groomed him to be the next chief. He immediately understood what Claudia meant.

"Your Highness, you mean..."

“That’s right. Since we all hate the Imperial Army, why don’t we unite? Having more friends means having more strength, doesn’t it?”

Pritt was somewhat excited. In fact, there had long been talk of forming an alliance within the Black Mountain tribes. However, the various tribes within the North had been fighting each other since before the Empire's expeditions, and there were also long-standing feuds between them.

Although they cooperated on many occasions during the imperial invasion, they could never put aside their past grievances and truly fight the enemy together.

Southern countries, having no fundamental conflict with the Black Mountain tribes, are the ideal choice for an alliance.

"I understand, Your Highness. I will try to speak to my father on your behalf."

"No, that's too slow, young chieftain. Could I see the chief? I want to explain the situation to him in person."

Prit was silent for a moment, then said, "It's a bit difficult. I'll go back and make some plans. If Father agrees to the meeting, I'll let you know."

"Thank you, Young Chief."

Lin Yuanran and Justin barely got a word in edgewise during their conversation. Lin Yuanran didn't want to get involved either, since everyone had different goals. Claudia wanted to ascend the throne, Prit wanted to become chieftain and strengthen the tribe, and Justin seemed only interested in serving the Kingdom of Delos for the rest of his life.

Everything he did was simply to go home, nothing more.

But the difficulty is probably greater than all of them combined.

……

……

The Principality of Bema, Ibiza, the Xu family.

Xu Dagong was in a rare good mood, so he set up a chessboard in the courtyard of his house and played against the younger generation of his family.

He was setting up a Go board.

This type of chess is quite popular in Eastern countries, with its origins dating back thousands of years. As exchanges between East and West have become increasingly frequent, much has been exchanged, but countries west of the Great Barrier Reef still show little interest in this form of entertainment.

The Xu family's tradition of playing Go is a family motto. The reason is simple: the Xu family migrated from the East a thousand years ago. Even though time has passed and their words and actions have gradually become localized, there are some things that cannot be forgotten.

Xu Hanshan was an exceptional chess player; none of his younger relatives could match him, and winning all the time was no fun.

Until the wind chimes arrived.

"Grandpa, are you looking for me?"

The bells at her waist jingled softly in the breeze, drowning out the girl's footsteps.

"Play chess with me for a while."

Xu Hanshan thought for a moment and then added, "No leniency is allowed."