The Boss King actually disguised himself as a novice village chief?!
Chapter 393 - 333 Black Hoof Village

Chapter 393: Chapter 333 Black Hoof Village

Black Hoof Village, the original name of which has been long forgotten.

It was once a gathering place for thieves.

They were annihilated under the black hooves of mounted iron knights, and the village that was rebuilt on the ruins came to be known as Black Hoof Village.

Legend has it that Black Hoof Village still harbors thieves and has spawned a small black market. Precious items have begun to appear frequently at the village market of late, attracting more and more outsiders as well as other forces.

Business began to flourish, but of course, there was also a downside: the place became even more chaotic.

Aisley Reyes was not the power-holder of Black Hoof Village. When the local lord still resided there, she had learned to make herbal medicine from a blind old thief, capable of concocting simple pills for healing injuries.

Later, other experiences endowed Aisley with supernatural powers, and the person who bestowed these powers upon her controlled the market. When that person left for some reason, Aisley took control of the market.

The village’s lord was always oblivious to this, as Aisley had little contact with the person.

Later, the village’s lord was summoned to Raven City.

Then, the nobility sent others to manage Black Hoof Village.

Her life did not change much; she still made medicine for healing injuries and opened the small market at set times, but the market was getting busier than before. Unlike the spotty underground trading of the past, it was now trending towards a true marketplace, drawing increasing crowds and becoming extremely congested.

Aisley worried that her market might be exposed to the new administrators, yet the high profits made her reluctant to give it up. She was mired in a dilemma.

She picked up a piece of papyrus and laid it flat on the table.

"Is there anything else?" asked Aisley casually.

But there was no answer; she immediately turned her head towards the figure standing at the door.

It was an armor-clad man, quite tall.

He had to duck to enter, forcing normal people to look up in order to gaze at him.

But he had no transcendent power; to many, he was just a feeble giant.

The mute Karl, a simpleton who couldn’t speak.

She gently caressed the ring on her finger, her brow furrowing slightly before she let out a reconciliatory smile, "I forgot, you can’t talk."

Since the village chief of Black Hoof Village left for Raven City and was "ennobled" into the nobility, there had been no word from him. It was uncertain whether he was truly dead or barely clinging to life, especially given that the high and mighty Duke was known for his overbearing actions.

There were many rumors and stories about him, but most involved him slaying one person or another.

"It’s a message from Goliath," said Aisley, looking down at the letter with an unmistakable surprise on her face.

Her voice turned sharp, "Did he really conquer Goliath?"

A new legend was beginning to spread: the City of Gold in the Thunder Forbidden Land, a place filled with unknown terrors, yet everyone had come to accept the fact that no amount of effort could take them to the foot of its walls.

The north-south passage was severed with the fall of Goliath.

Even Aisley thought it ludicrous when she first heard the Duke had plans to attack the Golden City, but now... A new story was about to spread, and it resembled past narratives—the Duke had slain yet another person or two.

The mute Karl immediately looked up at Aisley upon hearing this, a reaction she caught sharply.

"What, are you curious about that war too?" Aisley noticed the mute warrior’s unusual response, "That man is indeed formidable. According to the message, he managed to break into the Royal Palace, reclaim the Royal City, and even kill Prince Cote, who had turned into a dragon."

She found it hard to imagine what that scene would even look like.

Words like Royal City, Dragon King, and the like seemed almost too difficult to conceptualize with the mind, let alone imagine and ponder.

No matter how much disdain she harbored in her heart, Aisley Reyes had to admit that the Duke of Lions, Lind, was a figure so powerful that she could only look up to him.

She caressed the ring again, relieved that such towering figures would never notice her, and it was very likely they would never visit this place in their lifetimes.

Aisley knew that Karl idolized heroes, but she also knew that he was just a foolish boy, loyal enough to have had his tongue cut out.

He idolized heroes, showing the zeal of a Believer toward the powerful, as though it were his creed, and with the arrival of soldiers sent by the Duke, Karl heard more and more stories about the Duke.

Like someone bewitched, Karl greatly admired the Duke.

Of course, Aisley was well aware of this, but it didn’t matter.

She twisted her ring once more.

"The soldiers seem to like you, don’t they? Karl, spend time with them," Aisley instructed with particular emphasis, "I want to know more from them, including what kind of weapons appeared in that war, their characteristics. We will find the right buyers."

In a post-apocalyptic world, resources were scarce.

However, the total amount of resources was never directly proportional to the population; even if the total resources could sustain twice or even more people, some would still starve to death.

Likewise, even if the total resources weren’t enough to support one-tenth of the current world’s population, some could still live the life of a Noble.

The reality was that a small fraction of people controlled the majority of resources.

Like how many people were now spontaneously flocking to the small market, some wanting to buy the luxury goods of the New Nobility of the new era. Beautiful but useless things that couldn’t fill a stomach were still exorbitantly priced, even considered of very high collection value by many Lords.

The Lords who were unwilling to give their subjects even half a loaf of black bread would happily spend a ration enough for hundreds of people on a pretty trinket.

This was the norm.

In addition, there were various precious items and Magic Potions that inadvertently leaked from the Duke’s hands, and whenever such things appeared, they would be snapped up instantly.

Papyrus repeatedly mentioned a terrifying Alchemy weapon called the Alchemical Bomb, rumored to be so powerful it could even crack the walls of Goliath’s city.

Aisley was extremely interested in this; she knew it definitely was a new kind of weapon that could sell for a fortune.

"Remember!" she reiterated, "Blend in with them. They trust you; listen for more news."

Until now, the existence of the little market had gone unnoticed by those soldiers.

The little market was right under everyone’s noses, hidden away in the darkness of night, but definitely not under their nostrils.

The men the Duke sent acted like rural Nobles, enjoying lives of adoration and leisure, though some also complained about maintaining order here rather than being on the battlefield.

They always looked down on others with disdain, too arrogant to be liked, thus missing out on a lot.

Appeasing a group of snobs wasn’t difficult.

Aisley skillfully guided them, showing her absolute obedience and docility, reassuring the soldiers; the result was that these men had to listen to whatever she said they could see.

After gesturing one more time, the mute Karl turned and left, and Aisley muttered to herself, "A bunch of fools. Just the story of Karl’s loyalty is enough to gain trust. Are these people still living before the apocalypse?"

The story of "mute Karl" became the soldiers’ reason for accepting Karl.

Loyalty, how much was it worth?

Aisley believed everything had a price, as long as the price was right.

However, she also quite liked Karl’s loyalty; it was very handy, although Karl’s loyalty had been forced upon her.