The prairie in the northern part of the Kingdom of Holletta had no name. People in this world simply called it the "prairie". The center of this vast land was an uninhabited, unclaimed area, and the surrounding areas were blurred borders of various countries. Due to some historical reasons, many parts of the prairie were in a state of autonomy. The southern part of the prairie bordering the Kingdom of Holletta was nominally the territory of the kingdom, but in fact, there were no officials or garrisons here. Lamberg Town was the northernmost administrative unit of the kingdom. As for the prairie, its actual rulers were wolves, beasts, and violent disasters.
The Alpha Wolf once mentioned the legend that the ancient magic civilization had waged a war here. An ancient battlefield was buried under the grassland of the prairie. The powerful ancient warriors of the past still activated their powerful magic power underground, causing magic disasters such as hurricanes, thunderstorms, and even blizzards to often appear out of nowhere on the prairie. It was precisely because of this that the surrounding countries were unwilling to invest too much energy in the prairie. It was really not suitable for people to settle down.
However, the border area of the prairie was relatively safe. Some areas had not even been attacked by magic disasters. A few years ago, a group of mountain people from the western mountains built a small village in such a neutral area. No one knew what agreement the mountain people and the Holletta royal family had reached, but the village was preserved in the form of a border trade zone — although it was hundreds of kilometers away from the real settlement of the mountain people.
The small village had no name. The people of the kingdom generally called it the "Western Village" or the "Mountain Village". Those strong and accustomed to long-distance trekking often traveled between the small village and their own hometown, transporting some medicinal herbs and jade that could only be produced in the forests of the far west here. They traded them with the Hollettans for alchemy items and other daily necessities. At the same time, they also adapted to the way of grazing in the plains in a very short period of time. The livestock leather produced in the small village and the extremely durable pack animals were also very popular among the Hollettans. As a result, the small village now really had a bit of a neutral trade zone.
The above information was told by Becky as they slowly walked towards the small village. The mercenary girl felt that since Hao Ren and the rest were "travelers from the Northern Empire", they should not know much about these mountain people who only communicated with the Kingdom of Holletta. So she consciously acted as a guide, which saved Hao Ren and the rest a lot of trouble.
The village of the mountain people was not big. At a glance, there seemed to be only a hundred or so families scattered on a slightly higher, gentle slope. The village had no walls, only a circle of sturdy wooden fences on the periphery as the border. There was a gentle river next to the slope where the village was located, which was the source of drinking water for the villagers. On the other side of the river, there was a square building built with white stone bricks. It was a house with a completely different style from the houses in the village. It looked like a common residential style in Lamberg Town, but Hao Ren had no idea what it was for. The mountain people's own houses were cylindrical, built with wood, the outer walls were wrapped with leather, and the gaps were filled with thatch and plaster. It looked like a tall Mongolian yurt. The style was vaguely familiar.
Everyone dismounted from their horses outside the village. As there were no roads or mountain gates here, they walked directly into the settlement. It was time for the locals to make a fire and cook. Most of the people were at home. On the street, there were only three to five men who had nothing to do. As soon as Hao Ren saw the villagers, he knew why Y'zaks was regarded as a mountain person: the people here were unusually tall!
They wore clothes sewn with coarse cloth and animal skin. Although these clothes looked rough, they were exquisitely made, giving people the feeling of a minority. Most of them were about two meters tall. The shortest one that Hao Ren saw was probably a head taller than him. The mountain people were strong and solid. Although they were not as exaggerated as Y'zaks' human form, it was still enough to make people who did not know the inside story mistake Y'zaks for a mountain person. Hao Ren saw that the faces of the men in the village were painted with some kind of white and yellow paint, horizontal and vertical lines. He did not know what it meant. Maybe it was the custom of the mountain people.
Anyway, there was a strong exotic atmosphere coming at them — and the aroma of rice.
After running for so long and having some snacks at noon, Hao Ren was really a little hungry. Lily was even more exaggerated. The girl was now looking at the turf on the ground with green eyes... Was it really necessary to be so hungry?
The villagers did not react much when they saw a group of outsiders coming to their village. Probably they were used to dealing with the Hollettans. They just smiled and waved when they saw the outsiders, looking neither alienated nor abrupt. Only when they saw the strange clothes on Hao Ren and the others did they become a little curious. Becky was obviously a regular here. Becky was obviously a regular here. She walked in front of the group and greeted a few villagers loudly. She then asked someone if the village chief was in the village.
"The village head just came back yesterday," a brown-haired man with two horizontal lines painted with yellow paint on his face pointed to a big house in the middle of the village. "There have been a lot of outsiders coming to the village recently, and some staying overnight. The village head just took some people to the town to buy food two days ago."
"You must have made a lot of money recently," Becky laughed heartily, looking like a tomboy. "Look at the chain around your neck."
"Not bad, not bad. I sold a few horses..."
While Becky was talking to her acquaintances, Hao Ren finally remembered where he had seen buildings that were similar to the style of this village. On the night when he first met the black wolf king, he saw a few nomadic huts in the grassland with the same style!
So, the nomads who lived on the grassland for a while and then moved away were the people of this village. There was no such thing as a coincidence in the world.
After observing the local style of the local houses, Vivian touched Hao Ren's arm and said, "There are no Letta runes here."
"Probably only the Kingdom of Holletta has inherited a little knowledge of runes," Hao Ren nodded. "You can see it from the name."
Y'zaks stretched his body and let out a long sigh. "Hey — I don't know why, but I feel relaxed here."
Hao Ren rolled his eyes. "Nonsense, everyone here is a little giant. You can finally hold your head up when you talk to people. You don't feel nervous, but I feel awkward. "
How could he not feel awkward? He had to talk to everyone's nostrils first. Even if his mind could take it, his neck might not be able to take it...
At this time, Becky had also finished chatting with her acquaintances. She asked everyone to hand over the horses to the brown-haired man with two stripes on his face. "Give the horses to Zanaro. We will stay at the village head's house for a night. Rest well. From tomorrow onwards, we will have to travel in the wilderness for the next two days."
The man named Zanaro gave Hao Ren a friendly smile, showing his white teeth. He did not take the reins. Instead, he let out a strange but loud cry in front of the horses. The horses bowed their heads and followed him obediently. Becky smiled and introduced to Hao Ren. "The mountain people are too tall. They can't ride other horses except Kertzen horses. But they are good at training horses. They can tame any breed of horse. They say that their ancestors signed an agreement with the gods of the mountains. As long as the descendants of the mountain people maintain their reverence for the mountains, they can live with all kinds of people. I don't know if it's true or not."
Listening to Becky introducing some interesting legends about the mountain people, they came to the largest cylindrical house in the center of the village. An old man with white hair and beard was standing at the door. This old man was wearing a blue robe and had three white stripes on his face. He was the village chief. He had heard that Becky had brought a group of strangers, so he had been waiting at the door for a long time. When he saw them, the old village head greeted Becky in a booming voice. "Little girl! You brought friends? "
His voice was loud and clear. Hao Ren, who was more than ten meters away, felt a little itchy in his ears.
"Grandpa!" Becky smiled. "I'm here for a day! I'm going to the Beinz Blood Lake too! "
"I knew you'd join in the fun sooner or later." The old village head seemed to be really familiar with Becky. He spoke with the kind of kindness an elder would show to a junior. He then waved at Hao Ren and the rest. "You're all my guests. Come in. We're cooking."
It seemed that the mountain people were very hospitable. Hao Ren led them to greet the old village head. When the latter saw Y'zaks, he was obviously stunned. "Eh, this aura … You're also a mountain person, right? Which tribe are you from? "
Hao Ren quickly brushed off the question. He only said that Y'zaks grew up with the people of the plains in the north due to a family accident. So, he did not know much about the question. That excuse worked when he said that Y'zaks was a mountain man, but now that they were in a real mountain man village, he was afraid that Becky would drag Y'zaks around to find relatives (the mountain people formed a society based on tribes, and those of the same tribe or relatively close tribes were considered 'family' in their eyes). With the mercenary girl's liveliness, that was not impossible!
Fortunately, the old village head did not care much about this question. He just warmly welcomed them into the house, not giving Hao Ren and the others a chance to be polite. It was just in time for dinner. Soon, hot local dishes were served in front of them.
When the old village head sat down, Vivian asked, "Did you see a tall woman in white two days ago?"
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