Asher smiled and took a sip of his tea. ude did the same, and he felt a familiar sensation that was several folds weaker than the one he felt when eating the golden bread.


    Still, wasn''t the Moonlit Starhorn milk the said milk that increases strength by several hundred catties with constant intake?


    Heposed himself as he figured out Asher''s hidden intentions of informing him about this.


    "You want to trade with my merchant guild?"


    Asher smiled.


    "You got the bait. Nineveh is growing, but with constant expansion, what we once managed isn''t enough for us anymore. You''re capable of supplying what we need, and I am capable of supplying you iron ore, beast fur, and much more."


    "That reminds me. I saw different kinds of exotic beast fur that would cost quite the amount of silver on the bodies of your citizens. Do you have more of that White Fury beast fur?"


    "As much as you can carry. I also have Deste blood wolf furs and Ovok skins of bronze, silver, and gold ranks."


    A gleam shot past ude''s eyes when he heard that.


    The kind of beast fur found in the destnds was a rarity on the high ins, and due to that, ude saw this opportunity as one saw a treasure chest spilling with gold coins.


    A gold-ranked ovok''s skin is worth about 100 gold coins! And this was just an ovok, an herbivorous animal.


    The worth of the deste bloodwolf skin was twice that amount, and this was because of the stories that usuallye with donning such an exotic beast fur.


    Nobles in the high ins loved such amodity.


    Right now, he trades salt and sugar, and they have made him the wealthiest baron in the wastnd, but it also brought many eyes to his territory.


    Asher was now trying to make him sell goods that would definitely attract more eyes, but he wasn''t worried.


    After all, based on what he had seen, Asher had a force so powerful that other forces would have to y the friend game so as not to be trampled on.


    "What about the iron ore?"


    "We have over 1000 boxes filled to the brim with silver intricate iron ores. These ores are used by many cksmiths to make their equipment able to harness battle or magi force. By simply using the Ten Thousand Hammer Refining Art, an apprentice-level cksmith can smelt it."


    ude raised an eyebrow.


    "You have quite the knowledge." ude chuckled.


    He cleared his throat and adjusted his posture before speaking: "Selling all these, especially the iron ore, would attract eyes, and you clearly want to stay hidden."


    ude paused at a critical junction.


    Asher smiled.


    "What do you propose then?"


    "An alliance. It will be nice to have a powerful hidden ally."


    Asher cocked his head. "Is that so?"


    "What are the terms of the alliance then?"


    ude stroked his beard.


    "I am to send help if your domain is under attack, and you shall do the same. This alliance is to protect ourselves from external forces who might be greedy for what we are about to export to the world. Now, I''m going to be in the spotlight, and I don''t have the power to protect my territory from powerful forces that might want the iron ore, but you do."


    "So this alliance will protect us both." Asher said.


    "Exactly."


    "Don''t you think revealing my secrets should be added?"


    Asher smiled amicably.


    ude chuckled. "Spilling is ruining my advantage as the sole buyer and supplier. It will be foolishness on my part, but if you deem it necessary, then by all means it should be included."


    ....


    In the same dining room, Asher and ude looked at Kelvin, who wrote down all the rules, duplicated them, and gave them to read.


    "The alliance is official."


    Both men shook hands.


    After some other discussion, Asher led ude and his knight to the military camp.


    They sat under an open structure and looked at the 30 strong debreaker cavalrymen racing through the field.


    Asher called this sightseeing, but he was indirectly showing ude a little glimpse of his might.


    When ude and Nics discovered all the knights were gold-ranked knights, he almost fell off his seat.


    30 Knights!


    This young man was growing to be as powerful as the count William Tigris!


    "All of them have gold-ranked armor too!" ude eximed.


    The mystery around Asher was so thick that it seemed to be a fog that hid Asher within. There were lots of secrets, but ude wasn''t interested in encroaching as long as Asher was already his ally.


    The debreaker came before Asher and stopped. They dismounted and fell on one knee.


    "Your Lordship!"


    Asher turned to ude''s knight.


    "I see the fire in your eyes. Do you want a spar?"


    Nics cracked his neck.


    "You might have a great number of knights, but none can win a one-on-onebat against me."


    "Is that so?''


    His confidence made Asher curious.


    "Well then, what do you think of some entertainment, Lord meheart?"


    "Go on."


    ude also had a confident tone that made Asher raise an eyebrow.


    "Let''s go to the pit."


    A debreaker said with a small smile that was hidden by his helmet.


    After a short walk, they arrived at the pit. The pit was a 300-yard-long space that was 2 meters lower than the other surfaces.


    A brick wall was built around the edges so as to prevent andslide and ruin their treasures training and sparring spot.


    Several soldiers were sparring in the pit while fifty Silver Wolf Infantrymen were refining their spear techniques under Alec''smand in a different area.


    "Is that a remnant of the giant race?"


    ude asked.


    "He isn''t, but he has a trace of their bloodline."


    "Just a trace, and he''s already that big. How big were the actual giants?" Nics gasped.


    "Well, from 15 feet to 21 feet tall."


    "His Lordship is here!"


    All of a sudden, Alec''s voice rang.


    Boom!


    The heavy infantry mmed their spears against the ground and went on one knee. Other soldiers also followed.


    This disorderly ce instantly became silent and orderly.


    "Arise. Where is Nero?"