Chapter 2: New Century (Epilogue)
Bart felt he had done all he could.
He was a beastman of rank seven, yet these esteemed mages from the South Continent paid him no mind, mistaking his polite deference for weakness.
Looking at their eyes filled with arrogance and disdain, Bart’s gaze grew colder. His lips twitched, revealing his red gums.
Those familiar with him knew this well.
It was a sign that he was about to rage.
“I’m afraid I cannot agree to your request,” Bart said, shaking his head. He placed his right hand on the hilt of his great axe. The axe spun halfway, forming a horizontal barrier across the road.
He had not resorted to force; this was his final concession.
If he allowed these South Continent mages to leave swaggering now, not only would the Orc Royal Court lose face, but he, a warlord, would become an object of ridicule.
Moreover, what if the thief was among these magi?
He dismissed the young mage’s words as nonsense.
“It seems you are determined to oppose us, the South Continent Mage Alliance?” the arrogant young mage shot back, unyielding.
He was the leader of this group.
Bart’s unhesitating refusal had already made him lose face, and he was annoyed.
“You do not represent the Mage Alliance,” Bart stated.
“Furthermore, I believe that even if the Mage Alliance learns of the encounter at Whirlwind Dunes, they will support my investigation into this matter.”
The tension in the air thickened, like gunpowder.
(Player Name) (M)’s eyes gleamed brighter.
“Fight, fight!” he cheered inwardly, wishing the South Continent mages and the two beastmen would clash until they were bloody.
As long as they fought, he would have a chance to escape Whirlwind Dunes with Claudia and his warriors.
However, his thoughts were grand, while reality was harsh.
Despite the volatile atmosphere and the murderous glares exchanged, a fight did not break out.
The young noble compromised.
He took off his Space Ring and threw it on the ground.
“You like to investigate? Go ahead and investigate.”
His tone remained arrogant, as if bestowing charity upon a beggar on the street.
Such an action was undoubtedly rude.
But Bart did not dwell on it.
He was likely older than the young human noble’s grandfather, and he saw no need to waste time on such trivial matters.
He gestured with his chin, and the nearby beastman infantry understood. They immediately crouched down and picked up the Space Ring.
He held the Space Ring and brought it to Bart for inspection.
Although Bart’s profession was that of a warrior, he actually knew some magic, at least enough to communicate with the magical elements in the air.
The Space Ring was already unlocked, so he only needed to inject magic power into it to see its contents.
Looking left and right, he confirmed there was no Sea God’s Tear.
However, it was cluttered with lace-trimmed clothing, strings of glass beads, black eye patches, and other items. Bart didn’t know what these clothes were for. Various styles occupied almost a third of the space in the ring.
“Are you done?” the young noble asked, knitting his brows. His fair and handsome face had turned red, tinged with exasperation.
As a beastman with a curious nature,
Bart wanted to ask about the purpose of these strange objects, but his keen intuition told him to keep his mouth shut and ask nothing if he didn’t want to enrage the human mage before him.
Everyone had their own hobbies.
Bart believed he should respect others’ preferences.
“Your Space Ring indeed does not contain the lost cargo.”
Bart ordered the soldier to return the ring to the young mage. The mage snorted and roughly snatched the Space Ring back, then put it on his finger.
“You all take off your Space Rings and let this majestic beastman warlord inspect them as well,” the young mage said mockingly to his subordinates, turning his head.
These magi followed suit.
Suddenly, dozens of Space Rings, emitting faint magical light under the sun, appeared on the ground before them.
Bart looked at the dazzling array of Space Rings and couldn’t help but marvel at the wealth of the South Continent mages.
The materials for these Space Rings were all exclusively Eastman alloy.
This alloy was one of the best materials for crafting Space Rings.
It was far more expensive than magic cores of the space element.
But its price was justified.
Space Rings made with Eastman alloy had a larger space and were more stable than those made with the same quality of space-element magic cores.
Rings were meant to be small and convenient.
One couldn’t possibly expect to save money and ensure the capacity of a Space Ring by embedding a pigeon-egg-sized space-element magic core into it, could they?
Market-available Space Rings were generally made of a composite of space-element magic cores and Eastman alloy.
Their overall weight was moderate, not too heavy to be burdensome when worn out and about. The more advanced ones, like these pure Eastman alloy Space Rings, were a cut above.
Bart had initially assumed only the young mage had such a Space Ring, but he hadn’t expected these magi to be such flush individuals.
“I will conquer the prosperous South Continent sooner or later!”
Such a thought coursed through Bart’s mind.
Glory belonged to the beastmen, and the resource-rich lands should also belong to their powerful race!
Suppressing these whimsical thoughts, Bart began to thoroughly search the contents of these Space Rings.
Dozens of Space Rings were not something that could be searched quickly.
Occasionally, Bart even needed to pause to recover his magic power.
The surrounding people gathered to watch with curiosity.
Unfortunately, they could not see what was inside the Space Rings and could only infer from Bart’s changing expressions.
After a while, (Player Name) (M) squeezed through the crowd and finally reached a position close to Bart, the very center of the entire group.
At this moment, that foolish-looking beastman was still searching the Space Rings.
Beastmen seemed to be very persistent in their tasks.
Just like Bart at this moment.
He repeated mechanical actions,
industriously admiring the trinkets carried by these magi.
(Player Name) (M) knew he couldn’t let this continue.
Bart would never find the cargo on these magi; digging three feet into the ground wouldn’t help.
But this beastman warlord was convinced that the cargo was stolen by the mages. Once he finished searching these magi, he would eventually turn his attention to Claudia and the Star Mage.
Now, Claudia and the Star Mage’s identities could not withstand scrutiny.
They had entered Whirlwind Dunes as a merchant caravan, but in reality, they had not engaged in any commercial activities. There were definitely Bart’s informants in Whirlwind Dunes, and a quick investigation would reveal the discrepancy.
When Bart suspected them, he would undoubtedly launch a thorough investigation.
A group of people pretending to be a merchant caravan entering Whirlwind Dunes – who would believe they weren’t there to cause trouble?
