This Giant Dragon is So Powerful!-Chapter 73 - 72: Qualitative Enhancement
The team moved neither too fast nor too slow through the Dark Forest, the expressions of the warriors visibly alert. Although Clan Leader Roy and Wit appeared relaxed, the protective force field around them and their constantly activated reconnaissance skill clearly demonstrated their cautious stance.
The Dark Forest is dangerous, which is a common understanding among the adventurers of the Kas Duchy.
There are Giant Dragons here, High-Level Demons, large-scale Monster Races, and elves who are not fond of humans...
Every year, at least a few hundred adventurers die in the Dark Forest.
"From the border to here, we’ve traveled over two hundred kilometers, haven’t we? It must have been quite the challenge when you led the team before."
The reconnaissance skill allowed Roy to notice nearly a hundred presences several hundred meters ahead in the jungle.
Judging by the lack of concealment, those presences likely belonged to the monster team that trades with the Higlind family.
Upon hearing Clan Leader Roy’s sigh, Wit continued, "If you start counting from Golden Flower City, the total distance is over six hundred kilometers, and coming and going makes it over a thousand kilometers, which indeed isn’t easy."
It’s more than just not easy; this stretch from Golden Flower City to the border of the Kas Duchy is occasionally fraught with bandits, although they’re just a bunch of unorganized mobs (those who are more successful bandits have some insight and can see that this team is not to be messed with), but after traveling several hundred kilometers, at worst, the team ends up exhausted, and sometimes, if they’re unlucky and careless, warriors could get injured, which would affect the journey.
And crossing over two hundred kilometers from the border of the Kas Duchy to the trading point, they would also conflict with goblins, kobolds, giant demons, jackal wolfmen, ogres, etc. However, this isn’t too bad, as monsters are more sensitive to danger than those unorganized human bandits; generally, they wouldn’t encounter much danger.
The greatest danger is actually the poisonous insects, snakes, and ants in the Dark Forest, along with the poisonous grass and vines. If bitten or scratched and poisoned accidentally, general poison can be detoxified with an antidote, but antidotes aren’t omnipotent, and there are always rare toxins that can’t be cured by them.
In the seven years of trading, warriors were poisoned over three hundred and fifty times, and due to rare toxins, around twenty people were unfortunate enough to die. However, most of these incidents have occurred in the last four years, after establishing a hidden line with the Monster Races under the Queen of Darkness. As the trading frequency increased several times, more personnel were brought along, which naturally increased the probability of poisoning.
Although only around twenty people have died from poisoning over seven years, the warriors sent by the Higlind family to participate in this trade event are either trained from a young age or have family and children in the territory. They are all loyal family warriors, and the death of each one is a significant loss.
"The greater the risk, the greater the reward. Many people desire such an opportunity but can never encounter it," Roy said calmly.
"That’s true, Clan Leader. If it weren’t for this, I wouldn’t have broken through to Level 7 so quickly," Wit replied with a smile.
He is thirty-eight years old this year, and his Mage Professional Level has reached Level 7, and there’s a possibility he might advance to High-level Mage in the future.
While chatting and laughing, the team approached the trading point.
They emerged from the dense forest. Wit, along with the thirty accompanying warriors, was accustomed to it, having been here many times, but it was Roy’s first time seeing the Monster Races that traded with their family.
"Such strong presences; these monster warriors are at least Level 4, and quite a few may have reached the Middle Level," Roy’s gaze settled on the nearly hundred monster warriors standing tens of meters away.
Two-meter-high Goblin Warriors, Dogman Warriors about 1.89 meters high, and Giant Demon Warriors standing four or five meters tall. They all wore dark vine armor, and their weapons included wooden spears, iron sabers, and wolf fang clubs.
Though the quality of the gear was far inferior to the Low-Level Enchanted Equipment that the warriors in their team were outfitted with, each monster exuded a fierce aura that exceeded expectations.
Although Roy had gathered a lot of information from Wit’s reports, he had never seen them with his own eyes, so he hadn’t paid much attention before.
But they were just a bunch of monster warriors. How elite and powerful could they possibly be?
Even if they were under the Queen of Darkness, could they be stronger than their family warriors?
In the training process of the Higlind family’s warriors, they undergo various tactical trainings; in actual combat, they engage in life-and-death battles with demons and bandits. Furthermore, the elite are equipped with a full set of Low-Level Enchanted Equipment, making them top-tier elite even among warriors of the same level in humanity.
However, this was Roy’s previous thinking. Now, seeing the appearance of these monster warriors with his own eyes, he realized that one shouldn’t be too arrogant and overconfident.
The trade proceeded smoothly, after all, both parties conducting the trade were old acquaintances. On the monster side, it was led by Shiji and Kadan, while on the human side, Wit was in charge.
"The profit from this demon materials trade should be able to reach twice the amount." Roy, who had taken in the entire trade, estimated in his heart.
This double profit was calculated as pure profit, excluding all costs such as team expenses, material acquisition, and time consumption.
"However, this is just the base profit. If all these materials were made into potions and equipment and sold off over some time, the profit could multiply several times more."
