Love and passion, cutting up the wasteland

"Road...to the north?" Luka repeated hesitantly.

"I heard you said you were coming to see the master. I thought you already knew." Before Lu Meng could explain, Ruian continued:

"Lu Meng, a subversive at the hub, a wanted criminal in the Holy Empire, a human warrior who killed the flying bull... He once went by the name 'Lu Beiyou'. Compared with what he has done, his identity as a blacksmith is really real." It’s trivial.”

"Hobby." Lu Meng had to say.

There is always a feeling of being exposed when someone else says it before you confess.

"..."

Luka took a deep breath: "Then why didn't you admit it before?"

"You haven't asked me," Lu Meng said truthfully, "and I'm worried about being arrested by you and doing illegal work."

At that time, Luka's eyes were blazing, and he looked like he would invite Master Beiyou to the Skeleton Corps to retire in his old age if he wasn't worried about his death on the way.

More importantly, he was not a soldier at the time, and revealing his identity might cause unnecessary trouble.

Luka, my thoughts are complicated.

With Giant Ryan as a guarantee, there is no problem of imposter.

And it's all because she has been wanted, otherwise such a trivial matter would be clear once investigated, and there would be no need to hide it.

so……

The admiration I expressed for Master Beiyou...

In fact, I heard everything?

She kept thinking that it didn't matter if she talked behind her back, it was enough to be more reserved in front of the master...

——Luka was stunned.

Taking advantage of this moment, Lu Meng quickly pulled Ryan into the shop: "Why did you come here with the people from the Skeleton Group?"

He knew that Bayan cooperated with the Bone Group.

But Ryan's visit this time is obviously to discuss the deal between them. Is it appropriate to have people from the Skeleton Group present?

Ryan carefully protected his head, and almost filled the empty space in front of the counter after everyone came in.

She nodded: "Luka will accompany us as the representative of the Skeleton Corps."

"We?" Lu Meng asked suspiciously.

He was going to leave Scone Town and head towards the Eastern Continent, passing through the swamps on the way.

This direction is actually not difficult to determine, as Kang said, to the west is the sea, to the north are the Holy Kingdom and the Fog People, and to the south are human skin spiders. The only thing left is to go east.

It can be said that as an individual, Lu Meng's development in Scone Town has come to an end.

Judging from the actual combat level, if he wants to continue to improve his strength, he can only challenge more opponents - or even kill them.

But in the Kingdom of Shake, the largest rebel army has been destroyed, and the only ones who can serve as opponents are the Hundred Regiment Guards and even five people higher. These are all official forces, and dealing with them is tantamount to becoming the enemy of the entire country.

Even the King of Sand can only take advantage of the contradictions between the three major kingdoms to stay in the border land, which is still far inferior to a real country.

Selfishly, Lu Meng had no intention of disrupting this hard-won order.

From the perspective of equipment and skills, the development of the Shark Kingdom itself has just begun. Their technological level may surpass the Holy Empire with the New Deal, but their background and savings are far behind. Lu Meng has to travel far to Tech Hunter to buy a few blueprints. This is evident from the relay station.

In this case, if you want to continue to develop, you can only go out of Scone Town, or even out of the entire Shaq Kingdom.

In addition to the largest joint city among the three major countries, the Eastern Continent is also home to various forces.

At the same time, as the core area ruled by the old empire, the treasures and technologies left behind are also considerable.

However, he has no intention of giving up the Scone Town property.

This is also one of the terms of the deal between Lu Meng and Bayan.

The Tieju store in the city, which sells obsolete military supplies, seems to be a private-funded joint venture hosted by the government, but under Dashan's operation, the Tieju store is actually controlled by his cronies.

Only then did Lu Meng realize that even the property owner behind the house he bought could eventually be related to Dashan.

There are many such empty houses in the city, so Krall's Choice has a place to hide when he comes to Scone.

Now that Dashan Mukai is heading to the final fortress, these interest chains have been cut off, and Tiejudian has been taken back by Bayan.

——Then he chose to hand over the store to Lu Meng.

The current operating profit of the Tieju store is not very high, and the regular customers are also poor and wandering warriors.

But that's not what Lu Meng is interested in.

The Tieju Store is an officially-stamped franchise, and it has priority in buying and selling the military supplies that have been eliminated by the kingdom!

This means that once Lu Meng needs armaments one day, even if he does not have enough production capacity, he can quickly obtain a large number of actual combat armor at a price close to scrap metal.

They were eliminated by the Shark Kingdom. They are not impressive compared with the regular army, but they are already a dimensionality-reducing blow to the general gang forces.

What's more, he also has two lines, Yue Yu and Ashu, and the industrial upgrade of Tiejudian's independent forging of armor is also very promising.

Because of Lu Meng's relationship, others also benefited.

In addition to the armor dealer boss Yue Yu, Bayan also personally met with the person in charge of the Brotherhood in Sikun Town. Fortunately for Boss Yue, it can be said that the Brotherhood, a force that started from stealing, also looks like an outstanding enterprise in Sikun Town. , just weird.

However, according to Bayan, compared to the gangs that used to engage in violence and violence, the Brotherhood is already considered a progressive force.

He turned a blind eye to make up for the shortcomings of grassroots governance in the Shark Kingdom.

After all, the Shaq population is too small.

The same treatment was given to the cult founded by Lu Meng.

When Lu Meng confessed, Bayan was shocked, thinking that he had no idea when such a sect appeared in the kingdom.

After learning about it, the chief consultant couldn't laugh or cry.

The size of this sect is not even as large as a family of five. The gathering is like a family dinner. He really has no control over what you say at the dinner table.

Of course, Bayan also put forward restrictions, that is, they cannot preach among the Shaq people.

Generally speaking, the Shaq warriors' belief in Krall is strong enough, and excluding the vast number of hornless people, the only potential audience for believers is humans and wandering hive people, who are an absolute minority in the kingdom.

Besides, Bayan knows it well.

Similar organizations emerged to make up for the vacancies at the grassroots level. If you don't occupy them, others will.

Even if Lu Meng doesn't do this, people who are in an excluded position will gradually develop similar organizations themselves.

Bayan is ready to solve the problem of the Hornless Man by himself.

Instead of leaving the rest alone, it would be better to hand it over to someone you can at least trust.

From this, two major foundations of Lumeng in Scone Town were laid.

When Lu Meng left, he planned to hand over the management of Tiejudian and related industries to Xiao Huo, while leaving the development of the sect to Huang Jie.

This young man from the Huang family also made great efforts that night. When Lu Meng was away, he and the hired technology hunters lurked in the longhouse to attack the intruders head-on.

No one in Krall's Choice expected that this 'dead man' would suddenly appear and kill everyone with an iron-bone mechanical hand.

Moreover, he also has a good understanding of doctrine and is qualified for the role of a 'preacher'.

After so many days of testing, Lu Meng believed that he could trust the Huang brothers.

Everything is ready, the only thing missing is the supplies promised by Bayan.

When he heard that he planned to use the swamp, the chief advisor seemed to be particularly supportive, and was much more positive than when he was discussing the Iron Judian and the Order.

He promised to bear all Lu Meng's travel expenses, but he just had to prepare for a period of time.

This made Lu Meng a little suspicious.

Showing courtesy for nothing is either cheating or stealing.

You know, going to the east and taking advantage of the swamp is not a wise choice for the public.

The environment there is harsh, the terrain is complicated, there are many factions, and it is not easy to travel - in terms of area, it is worthy of a Shaq Kingdom.

Caravans often prefer to endure the harassment of bandits and take detours from border areas rather than cross the swamp.

But those are not problems for Lu Meng.

Even for him, taking advantage of the swamp can actually reduce the consumption of supplies.

Birds don't poop in the border land, unlike the swamps where there are abundant resources.

And when the wild ones are used up, aren’t there still fellow villagers?

But since Bayan is so enthusiastic, Lu Meng can’t refuse.

With the chief consultant helping him prepare, he doesn't have to save and work hard for more than half a year like he did when he left the hub.

As a result, Lu Meng knew that Bayan really had his own plans when he saw Ryan from the former Hundred Regiment and Luka from the Skeleton Regiment coming together.

"Your Excellency Bayan has prepared a caravan of twenty people for you. They are not many, but they are all good players. Moreover, we are equipped with two pack oxen and four camels. The supplies we carry are enough to cross the swamp for two days. Back and forth..." Ruian said softly.

"Wait, you haven't answered my question yet." Lu Meng interrupted her with sharp eyes, "Bayan...does he want to do something?"

"Actually..." Ryan hesitated, "Bayan has long wanted to send someone to the swamp. We may have some... problems."

"Food." Lu Meng said directly.

He thought of the swamp people he had encountered.

"Yes." Ryan was surprised by the other party's acumen and knew that he couldn't hide it, so he continued:

"Even though many refugees have been recruited to open up wasteland, the kingdom's food production is still at risk. Until we can survive the crisis and be self-sufficient, we have been procuring food from the swamp dwellers to alleviate the problem."

"But recently, several villages that have been cooperating with each other for a long time have unilaterally cut off their trade routes... The remaining one is still in contact, but they said they will also cut off supply next year."

"The swamp people are very wary of the outside world and are unwilling to say why. We know very little about the swamp, so Bayan felt it was necessary to send a caravan of our own to go in and see the situation."

"Well..." Lu Meng pondered.

He understood why Bayan did not make a big show of it, but instead borrowed the caravan - if the swampland was aware that the regular army of the Shark Kingdom was entering, the entire chaotic swampland faction would unanimously report to the outside world.

The Swamp is most wary of the forces of the three major countries. After all, they may really threaten the autonomy of the Swamp.

In comparison, the caravan, the skeleton group and myself were still within the tolerable range.

Even Ryan is no longer a member of the Hundred Regiment Guards, but is now idle and considered a wandering warrior - it's hard to say whether this was a premeditated plan.

In a sense, Lu Meng took them for a ride.

'But it doesn't explain why Bayan wanted me to follow him into the swamp. ’ he thought to himself.

As the chief advisor of the kingdom, he would not be happy to save his own travel expenses.

Ruian avoided Luka, who was still fighting between heaven and man in his heart, and came closer to Lu Meng, whispering:

"There is another reason. Bayan wants to ask you for a favor."

"Help?" Lu Meng asked curiously, "Can you find out the clues about the interruption of the trade route?"

Based on his understanding of the ecology of the swamp, he has actually guessed some reasons, but knowing it is not easy to solve.

"No, that's the kingdom's mission." Ryan shook his head, "Bayan said it was his personal request."

"The little princess of our kingdom, the daughter of His Majesty the Stone Demon...is missing." Speaking of this, Ryan couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed. "Someone found a note under Princess Seto's bed. It's very possible that she He ran to the swamp."

Lu Meng: "...What's written on it?"

"It's probably something like, 'I'm going to get warrior training, don't read it, teacher, and don't leave dinner behind.'" " Ryan recalled.

"Isn't the loss of your princess considered a major event for the kingdom? Why are you still hiding it?" Lu Meng held her forehead.

Princess Seto, the only child of the Stone Demon.

Because of the existence of Dashan Mukai, she is not the heir to the kingdom - but just because her mother is called Aissata, she is important enough.

The Stone Demon is not an unkind monarch. On the contrary, she cherishes her daughter very much. If Seto is really lost, the whole kingdom should be turned upside down, right?

"Because... Bayan didn't tell His Majesty about this. Only a few of us knew about it." Ruian didn't know what expression to use to say this, so he had to keep a straight face:

"Bayan is Princess Seto's teacher. Your Majesty still thinks that his daughter is practicing with him——"

Lu Meng was speechless again.

The Stone Demon also has a big heart, maybe it's hereditary.

But this also shows her trust in Bayan.

It's a pity that it's a bit of a disgrace...

However, Lu Meng also understood Bayan's decision.

He was not afraid that he would be punished, but he was worried that if the stone demon found out about this, he would be unable to restrain himself and send people to search for it himself.

When the time comes, a single move will affect the whole body.

Although the Shaq warriors are brave, they will face a swamp that kills more people than swords.

For Bayan, it’s all about the overall situation.

"Once a war breaks out, all the savings in the past will be destroyed." Ruian said sternly, "So Lord Bayan can only use his personal relationship - originally he asked me to ask for help, but now you have Lu Meng to join me. I feel relieved too.”

At this moment, Lu Meng understood where Bayan's joy came from when he heard that he was going to the swamp - it was obviously the secret joy when he found a teammate who shared the pot, right?

It seems that Bayan has identified his "talent" for finding people.

It was true that he had found Feiniu, but strictly speaking, he had lured it out - in a swamp, it would have been okay if the person was in a town. Lu Meng was confident that he would recognize it, but if little Princess Seto was trapped in a What about in the swamp?

He couldn't tell which bone was born from the stone demon.

Think about it, you came to this world early. At the beginning of the game, Seto was a young Shaq female warrior. So how old is she now?

Does he look as tall as Xiao Huo?

It is indeed doubtful whether such a little girl can survive in the swamp.

"Okay, but all of you must obey my command, including those investigating the swamp." Lu Meng nodded, "Otherwise, I would rather go in alone."

He still agreed. With the help of these people, the journey would indeed be much easier.

Lu Meng is no stranger to Seto either.

The Sharks don't raise their children like the nobles of the United Cities.

It is impossible for a princess who grew up in a boudoir to stand up to a country built on the battlefield.

It's just that this time the princess goes out for training... a little earlier.

"Don't worry, this is what Bayan ordered." Seeing that the other party agreed, Ryan also breathed a sigh of relief, "And no matter whether it succeeds or not, you can be regarded as a friend of our Lord Bayan... and the Stone Demon Queen."

The friendship between the powerful ministers of the kingdom and the top powerhouses in the mainland?

This is more valuable than any material.

Lu Meng chuckled.

Being able to make such a heavy promise shows that Bayan really values ​​his student in his heart.

Just when he thought the matter was over, Ryan spoke again.

This time it was a relaxed tone.

"One last thing, Lu Meng, no, Lord Lu Meng." Ryan smiled, "As the champion and final winner of the Thunder Arena, what title do you want?"

Lu Meng: "Huh?"

Did I win the championship?

Thanks to two friends Niye and Roger Otalifus for their support again——