Chapter 359 Update, [Expedition to the Great Rift] Time has arrived

The autumn night breeze swayed and swept the thorny grass beside the horse's hooves.

The mosquitoes were still running rampant, and the horse's tail was swaying gently.

"Pah!" Someone raised his hand and slapped himself in the face, then lowered his head and moved closer to the campfire. Seeing the mosquito bursting with blood on his palm, he laughed happily, then grabbed a handful of soil and rubbed it on his palm to get some blood.

Lind was eating wheat crackers and a thick "topping" stewed with peas and potatoes served in a bowl. It was so thick that if the bowl was turned upside down, the topping would not even spill out, like condensed lard.

When serving the dishes, the military chef would considerately use his apron to wipe off the soup splashed on the edge of the bowl to ensure that the edge of the bowl was clean and beautiful. However, when Lind stuffed a piece of food into his mouth with a cracker, the complex taste made him miss it very much and sigh that he was not cut out for hardship.

Lind was preparing to go to the Snake Catcher's Fortress. The first "Crystal Defense Tower" was about to be built, and the wizards had been busy for several days and nights. Along the way, he would hide his figure and go to the small market in Blackhoof Village to check out the black market transactions.

He was accompanied by the garrison soldiers, who could eat these things when they camped and rested.

Meat is still a scarce resource, and animal husbandry is more difficult than imagined, but soldiers always have the best welfare. They can't fight without enough food. Lind agrees with this statement because he often went to the battlefield on an empty stomach and hated it.

Perhaps this is also the reason why many people, even though they know that they have to go to the battlefield, still try their best to join Lind's army.

The sour gravy meatballs are actually more like dumplings, covered with minced flour of Solanaceae rhizomes. Their only advantage is that they are hard to digest and can cause constipation if eaten too much. However, after research and preparation by chefs, these disadvantages are being eliminated.

It is baked, ground into powder, then kneaded into a lumpy dough with water, soaked in gravy and then formed into small balls. Sour sauce is an ingredient that can be found everywhere, which reduces the cost of this dish infinitely.

As a duke, Lind also has a salad, sometimes with some fennel and some spice sauce, but Lind's perception of this dish is average. The spicy salad can enrich the taste, but that's all.

He would eat all the food and would not allow any waste, but he was already thinking whether he should retire the old chef who came from Raven City. It would be such a waste to use so many good ingredients to make only a stew that was hard to swallow.

Just as he was sitting by the campfire, cleaning the last spoonful of stewed beans with a spoon, the chef from the team came over.

"Sir?" The chef held up a large ladle with a wooden handle.

When serving the dish, he would use his wrist to scoop a large spoonful of cooked beans along the edge of the bucket, without worrying that the chef would shake the spoon because the dish was too sticky.

Then you have to hold the bowl with both hands because he will slam the spoon on it, or the sticky beans will cling to the spoon.

Only in this way can the beans be "shaken" down.

"Thank you, I'm full." Linde rejected the other party's kindness and said, "Give it to the young men who are still growing."

"They never have enough to eat. They can even grow taller by eating shit!" The chef obviously didn't want to waste the food he had carefully prepared, but he still didn't dare to reject Lind's order.

The boys were not picky eaters and they wolfed down the food after the snack.

Linde put the bowl down, and a sharp-eyed young man ran over and said, "Sir, let me help you wash the bowl!"

"What's your name?" Lind found that the other party seemed to appear in front of him more frequently recently.

He doesn't mind others using tricks to climb to a higher position. Being ambitious is a good thing, but ability is also important.

"Fuller! Sir." The young man stood straight, but his posture did not look so standard.

"Where are you from?" Lind nodded and asked again.

"Hei Dao, sir." Fuller was very serious, with a gleam in his eyes.

But that's all. Lind wouldn't treat someone specially just because he washed dishes for him. Otherwise, the maid who washed his clothes should be directly conferred the title of baroness.

He remembered Fuller, and perhaps one day when he needed something, he would choose him first to help him.

After a short rest, the team set out on the road again. When it got dark, they set up camp to rest. Linde went to the small market in Blackhoof Village to take a look and sort out the treasures.

My 'lover' Miss Aislei Leisi is very reliable and has never thought of betraying me or doing anything else.

She used to be very cautious, but now she works directly for the Duke and has almost no scruples.

The scale of the black market in the small bazaar in Heiti Village is expanding rapidly, and the things sold are becoming more and more outrageous.

Of course, what is even more outrageous is that many mutants have appeared here, including greenskins, vampires, murlocs, etc. The vampires do not know that this is Lind's industry, and those undead blood wart demons are even complacent, thinking that this is the place where dark chaos players should come.

There were also some small forces that Lind had to let go because they were too good at hiding. They would also come here to exchange equipment and survival supplies. Lind did not choose to take action. This group of people would not choose to be loyal to the Kingdom of Rand no matter what. Even if they were to be loyal to them, their conditions would not be accepted, such as becoming nobles, owning fiefs, etc.

So let them live like they are wanted, work hard to make money, hide everywhere, and then send the hard-earned money back to Lind through the small market.

"If you want to become a vampire..." Linde flipped through the account book. Rania probably couldn't imagine that the tax revenue of the major territories under her hard work was not even one twentieth of the black market in the small bazaar.

People are robbing money here, and everyone is willing to come here to be robbed.

After all, you can buy any core item of the Rand Kingdom here.

The stronger Lind's army is, the higher the prices of goods circulating in the small market will be.

"Me too?" Eslei looked up in surprise, with uncontrollable joy in her eyes.

"Yes, it doesn't matter whether you become a Scarlet Lady or a Scarlet Noble." Lind closed the account book and nodded slightly.

In his eyes, they are all insignificant trifles.

The benefits brought by Eslei exceeded his expectations and also saved him a lot of trouble, so there was nothing wrong with letting the other party become an immortal race.

However, the rapidly increasing favorability made Lind feel something was not right.

Because of a chance to become a vampire, Aislei Leith's favorability skyrocketed from 5 to 75. She was so eager to leave her human body that it was difficult for Linde to develop any interest in her.

It's like meeting someone who is willing to sacrifice everything she has just to betray and leave her country and nation. Even if you know you are using her, you will still feel a little disgusted.

"I choose to continue to be loyal to you." Aislei said with her head down.

She waited for a long time in Blackhoof Village but never saw Dana. However, she was willing to sacrifice everything if she could become a vampire.

"No matter who you are, you must continue to be loyal to me." Lind said. He would not let go of such a useful talent.

He took out a small barrel from his body and put it on the ground.

The dull sound of it falling to the ground showed that it was not light at all.

"This is the 'newest' alchemical item of the Rand Corps. You can sell it in the small market, and then..." Lind suddenly paused.

As Aisley Rice watched Lind's expression change drastically, the words she wanted to say were stuck in her throat.

"Depend on!"

For the first time, she saw anger on that handsome face that always seemed to be in control of everything.

"Sir?" Aislei called out subconsciously.

Then she saw Lind put away the barrels: "These things are no longer useful. The transactions in the small market will continue. Don't worry, I will arrange for someone to make you a vampire soon."

Lind stood up and left without giving Aislei a chance to answer.

She wondered what had happened to make the lord like this.

Linde looked very upset as he rushed towards the camp.

There should be still a month before the public beta, and Lind has even made plans for the undead to disappear for a few years from now on. Before the update is his last chance to reap the benefits.

That's what he thought.

But unexpectedly, the untimely updates came suddenly.

Version 1.0 named [Expedition to the Great Rift] has officially arrived and the update will last for 24 hours.

That would have been fine, but Lind saw that the immortals on the forum were celebrating, the forum was not disconnected, and the time on Earth was synchronized with the time here.

This means that in this update, the undead will not disappear for a year or two. They will disappear today and then reappear in 24 hours!

(End of this chapter)