Battle of the Twin Cities: The Ninth Councilor

Chapter 164 The Wizard "Talia"

"call."

Marcus breathed the slightly humid air, and this might be the last piece of green they could see before stepping into the desert.

According to the captain of the smuggling ship who sent them here, from here to the west, you can reach the city "Belgun" built in the green land, where Hank found Hakim Nedry in the first place.

"To the southwest, let's try to arrive at the camel bell market before dark."

The camel bell market, located at the junction of the green land and the desert, is a rare place to replenish supplies except for Belgün, where many businessmen who mainly focus on smuggling gather.

It is also the last place where Marcos and his party can take a rest before entering the desert.

"I'll go ahead and open the way."

Clegg took a few steps forward. Jackal packs occasionally appeared in this green area, and they were ferocious in nature. It was said that many criminals who had escaped had become dry food for the jackal pack.

Craig put on his gloves and walked ahead, looking around vigilantly.

Vi consciously took a step behind, and Clegg was in a tandem with Clegg to protect Marcus in the center.

Although their combat ability may not be as good as Marcus's, as subordinates, they must have the consciousness of being subordinates, and they must be responsible for the most dangerous places.

In order to save energy, the three of them hardly communicated. They rested for 10 minutes when they were tired, drank some water when they were thirsty, and broke a piece of dry food into their mouths and chewed it slowly when they were hungry.

Finally, when the sun was about to set, the three arrived at the camel bell market.

The location chosen for the camel bell market is very interesting. It is just in the center of the junction of the two terrains. The west is an endless barren desert, which is full of golden colors, but the east has a little vitality, and the green is like emerald emeralds in the field of vision.

The smell in the market is cloudy and not pleasant.

Because of the special terrain, there are very few horses and other livestock here. The most common one is a kind of beast that looks like a camel, which is huge and can carry a lot of goods.

The only disadvantage is that this kind of camel beast has long hair and a strong smell, and the pungent and strange smell on them can be smelled from a long distance, which is very sweet.

And this kind of camel beast in the market is as few as two or three per merchant, and as many as tens or hundreds. With such a large number gathered together, the smell is not to mention too smoky.

"Hey, let's find a place to rest for the night, hire a guide by the way, buy enough supplies, and we'll set off tomorrow morning. Hey~" Marcus covered his mouth and nose with the gray scarf around his neck, and couldn't help but Stop retching and make a sound.

"The tent in front seems to be suitable for temporary stay." Clegg covered his mouth. In order to conceal their identities as law enforcement officials in Piltover, they followed Madam Mary's advice and didn't even bring a standard breathing filter device. It was an old crime at this moment.

Even Clegg, who grew up in Bottom City, couldn't bear the smell in the market.

"Go and have a look." Marcus also saw the tents that were next to each other.

At this time, it was the last twilight before the sun set, and there were not many pedestrians in the market, and there were large pots standing in front of the tents standing by the roadside, boiling unknown animal meat or vegetables.

The smell of greasy meat mixed with the unpleasant stench of camel beasts made the market smell even more disgusting.

Marcos regretted that he came here in person, what a fucking pain!

Tonight is bound to be a rough night.

The three of them came to the stretch of tents. A dark-skinned middle-aged man was preparing dinner at the door. When he saw them, he came over and asked enthusiastically, "Do you want to stay in the hotel?"

"Three tents." Marcos said, his mouth was covered by a gauze, and his voice was dull.

"Yes!" The middle-aged man smiled brightly. This is a big customer. He asked for three tents, which can accommodate more than 20 people: "Thirty grams of gold!"

"How much?!" Marcus thought he heard it wrong. He was only staying for one night, but he actually wanted [-] grams of gold?

In Piltover, the most common gold coins are made of one gram of gold mixed with other metals, and more than 300 gold wheels were exchanged five years ago.

Even today, five years later, it is no problem to convert one standard gold coin to 250 gold wheels, but it turns out that only three tents are rented for one night, and thirty grams of gold coins are required?
That is to say...

Seven thousand five hundred golden wheels?

This price can't be described as a lion's big mouth, right?

"Too expensive?" The middle-aged man's smile faltered slightly, and he became more indifferent: "You can choose not to."

I am special! ! !
Marcus almost scolded his mother. If someone dared to drive up prices to such an extent in Piltover, he would bring law enforcement officers to the door that day to let them know what price law is!
"Rent a room!"

Marcus threw out ten gold coins, and walked in with Clegg and the two of them.

The first tent is only for reception, and there are doors at the front and back. Through the back door, a middle-aged man led them to a tent with a height of three to four meters: "Do you three need meals? One gold coin per person, including dinner." and breakfast tomorrow morning."

Weighing the gold coins in his hand, the eyes of the middle-aged man were full of greed. Although he had changed from three tents to one, he could tell that he was a rich man with the attitude of throwing out ten gold coins from the other party without batting an eyelid. .

If you don't take the opportunity to slaughter more, you can only have such income when the next batch of caravans arrive.

In fact, the prices here have become so exaggerated, which is inseparable from Marcos himself.

Since the Hexgate was put into use, both the formal transportation channels and smuggling channels have been affected to a certain extent. In the past, there were a large number of caravans stationed in the market every few days, but now there are even very few pedestrians.

If you don't try to increase your income, it won't be long before the market will be disbanded.

Perhaps only the bazaar at the junction of the desert in the direction of Belgüen can be preserved. After all, Belgün is a seaside city, and those caravans that cannot line up for the Hexfly Gate can only choose to enter Shuri through there. The hinterland of Ma continent.

The flow of people is much more than that in this remote place, a small market that used to rely on smuggling caravans to make money.

What is there to say?

After you spend ten gold coins, you don't care about spending three more gold coins.

In order to eat better before entering the desert, Marcos had to take out three more gold coins in exchange for two regular meals.

After harvesting three more gold coins, the middle-aged man was overjoyed, leaving Marcus and others to leave.

After Marcus and the others put down their gloves and tidied up, the middle-aged man walked into the tent with a big pot.

Raise the fire, set up a large pot, and sprinkle some spice powder into it.

Soon, a seductive and delicious aroma instantly dissipated the ubiquitous smell, and milky white foam bubbled in the pot, and the tumbling soup was full of bones with large pieces of meat.

"This is a special product of the desert, Guer cattle. It is famous for its delicious meat. It is boiled into thick soup and spices shipped from Nashilami. You will never forget it after eating it." The middle-aged man arranged everything and brought out a wine bottle : "This is camel milk wine brewed from camel animal milk. It is a strong wine. In the desert at night, sometimes the temperature can drop below zero. Drinking camel milk wine can drive away the cold.

I think a few of you should want to go to the desert, right?You can buy some at the market tomorrow and take them with you, you will never regret it. "

After finishing everything, the middle-aged man withdrew from the tent.

Marcus smelled the aroma of the food, and shook off the unpleasant thoughts caused by the high price just now: "It's expensive, but it's quite affordable."

He knows that an adult Guer cow can produce more than 300 catties of clean meat after slaughter (nearly [-] catties with bones, not including internal organs), and the pot in front of them is almost [-] catties.

Although the value is far less than 1.5 gold coins, it is almost less.

Clegg fished out a small piece of beef: "I'm not familiar with the place, I'll eat a little first, and if there's nothing wrong in half an hour, you can eat it again."

This place is no different from Piltover, and there are no strict legal restrictions. For the sake of prudence, Clegg decided to take the risk himself.

Most harmful toxins will have initial symptoms half an hour after ingestion, which is what they learned in the still water prison.

Fortunately, the price of this store is very dark, but the basic conscience has not been lost, and there are no problems with food and drinks.

The three of them finally had a full meal, and their mouths were full of oil.

At this time, Marcos had already thrown away some of the previous unhappiness.

Without him.

The food was indeed delicious, and it was the most delicious meal he had eaten after time travelling.

After drinking and eating, leaving Craig to guard the things in the tent, Marcus and Vi went out to find a guide.

After asking the middle-aged man, under the guidance of the other party, the two came to the tent closest to the desert.

According to the other party, all the guides who are familiar with the desert environment are "working" here. Even if the business is reduced now, many guides have left, and there are still more than ten people left here.

Lifting the curtain at the door, the lights inside were brightly lit, a dozen people of all kinds sat on the edge of the low table and chatted, and when they saw Marcos, their eyes lit up.

Unfamiliar faces!

This is where business comes in!

"I need a guide who is most familiar with the surrounding area. Which one of you will come?" Marcus was too lazy to talk nonsense, his eyes swept over the dozen people, and finally landed on a thin figure sitting alone in the corner.

"Me! I'm coming!"

"Let's choose me. I know everything within a hundred miles of the market as well as my family!"

"Fart! The last time you took someone to the desert, you almost couldn't come back. I think I should go for this business!"

……

A group of guides scrambled to get ahead of each other. For this rare business, they were just sitting together talking and laughing and bragging, but in a blink of an eye they began to point out the mistakes made by each other in their previous work.

Only the figure in that corner was calm and silent, withdrawn like a stray sparrow, watching those colleagues scramble for business with cold eyes.

Marcus knew that this kind of talent was often the most capable one.

He ignored the noisy voices of the guides, walked to the low table in the corner and sat down. Before he could ask, the other party spoke first.

"Fifty grams of gold, I can take you anywhere in the desert, as long as you listen to me, I guarantee that you will be safe."

The voice is a little immature, but full of confidence.

Marcus looked at the other person's face covered with a turban, only showing his eyes and part of his face, and asked, "What's your name?"

"Thalia."

Hearing the name, Marcus grinned, "It's just you, Miss Thalia."

(End of this chapter)