Strongest Lord by Opening Blind Boxes

Chapter 37: Chapter 37: Free Market

”So you know about Skill Books, too?”

Wang Yi nodded. ’Of course, I don’t even have to look to know that little booklet is the Hundred-Step Arrow Manual Skill Book. It’s still sealed, though, so it can’t be used yet.’

”Here, this Skill Book is for you. Keep up the good work, and make sure you get the bow and arrows to drop next!”

Wang Yi spent 10 points of Chaos Ability to unseal the Hundred-Step Arrow Manual Skill Book and casually tossed it to Yang Qingniu.

Yang Qingniu was overjoyed and used it immediately. A golden light flashed around his body. He grinned foolishly, and when Zhang Lengzi and the others asked him what it felt like, he wouldn’t say.

Wang Yi found out that the reason Man Datou and the others had cleared the General’s Tomb so quickly was that they’d taken a shortcut. They only killed the Skeleton General and then went to topple the Skeletal Banner.

As soon as the banner fell, the dungeon was considered cleared. This way, they didn’t have to kill all 100 Skeleton Infantry. Although they wouldn’t get any Bone Arrows, the dungeon’s difficulty was greatly reduced, and their clearing efficiency was much higher.

After a short rest, the dungeon party set out again. Within the next two hours, they had used up all their daily entries for the General’s Tomb.

As for their rewards, both Man Datou and Yang Qingniu had managed to collect a full set: the General Armor, an Iron-Clad Bow, and the Hundred-Step Arrow Manual.

The General Armor was also a green-quality item. It came with the special effect [Reduction of Burden], providing powerful defense while being very light.

Zhang Lengzi and the others had mostly just been along for the ride today, but they weren’t disheartened. After all, they could clear the General’s Tomb five times a day. As long as they kept running the dungeon, they would surely complete their sets of equipment and learn Hundred-step Piercing Willow.

”Today was a complete victory! Now, let’s head back. Get a good rest, and we’ll come back tomorrow!”

Wang Yi left with the group, their journey filled with cheerful laughter.

However, when he returned to his territory and saw the Territory Guardian Beast, Gegeda, sitting on the ground and patting its belly with its wings, Wang Yi felt a headache coming on.

Although the threat from the Lu Family Stronghold had been resolved, the problem of feeding Gegeda was still a major headache.

’The Material Warehouse at the Lu Family Stronghold should have had plenty of pork, but we couldn’t plunder it. It was all burned to nothing. There aren’t any wild animals around here, either. Sigh, where am I going to get food for Gegeda? Do I have to go hunting deep in the mountains?’

Wang Yi was worried. His own food reserves wouldn’t last more than a few days.

At dinner, Wang Yi, Man Datou, Yang Qingniu, and the others gathered around a bonfire. A huge spread was laid out: crab sticks, roasted chicken, five-spice ham sausages, and Vegetable Soup!

The conditions were limited, but there was more than enough food. This counted as a victory feast!

It was worth mentioning that Gegeda had built itself a giant, 20-meter-tall, pink Eggshell House. It had already eaten its fill and had gone inside to sleep.

The Territory Guardian Beast had also built half-meter-tall eggshell huts for the 15 Combat Chickens. Now, all 15 of them had their own private rooms!

The two Rock Giant Scorpions were lying not far away, munching on rocks and eating river sand. They were the easiest to feed.

Yang Wanli and Pang Damao had come to freeload again, sitting down by the bonfire with cheeky grins.

”Dad, why do you always come here to freeload? Have you no shame? Just give it up. There’s no way the Civilian Militia will accept you!”

Yang Qingniu was blunt with his father.

”You little brat! Who’s freeloading? I’m here to discuss important matters with the Boss!”

Yang Wanli shot Yang Qingniu a glare, then bowed to Wang Yi. ”Boss, although the leaders of the Lu Family Stronghold have been executed and the Big Saber Team has been wiped out, there are still some elderly, women, and children from Pottery Village and Gourd Village left in the stronghold. I hear there are some able-bodied young men as well. I think we need to go and sort things out. If we just ignore them, it could lead to trouble down the line.”

Hearing this, Wang Yi nodded and said, ”So, you’re volunteering to handle this matter?”

Yang Wanli quickly cupped his hands. ”I am willing to help ease your burden, Boss!”

”Those villagers can’t cause much of a stir, but it’s still wise to take precautions.”

Wang Yi mused on the matter. ’Those villagers in the Lu Family Stronghold can’t even be considered remnants of a defeated army. With Gegeda guarding my territory, I have nothing to fear from their sabotage.’

’Still, it’s not impossible that they might do something desperate and hurt someone.’

”Village Chief Yang, as you wish. I’m giving you full authority over this matter!”

”Don’t worry, Boss, I’ll definitely handle it well...”

A delighted look appeared on Yang Wanli’s face. ”Boss, could you also grant me an official title? Without an official position, I’ll have no status and won’t be able to manage people.”

”An official title?” Wang Yi smiled and said casually, ”In ancient times, there was the Honglu Temple, which specialized in diplomatic documents, guest reception, envoy management, and so on. You’ll be in charge of similar tasks. As for the title, how about Minister of the Foreign Affairs Department?”

”Minister of the Foreign Affairs Department?” Yang Wanli slapped his thigh and said, ”That’s great!”

”Minister Yang, congratulations!”

Pang Damao, who was at the side, quickly cupped his hands to congratulate him.

Yang Wanli laughed heartily. ”Director Pang, you’re too polite!”

Man Datou couldn’t help but shake his head at the sight, muttering, ”What a couple of goofballs.”

...

The victory feast lasted late into the night. Perhaps because of the day’s slaughter, Wang Yi did not sleep very soundly.

The next day, he went to his five-acre plot of fertile land early in the morning. He used a second Fertile Land Deed next to it, gaining another five acres of fertile land.

Just like that, Wang Yi now had 10 acres of fertile land.

He noticed that on the fertile land, the one acre of vegetables was growing extremely fast. It hadn’t been long since the seeds were sown, but tender green leaves were already sprouting from the ground. Perhaps before long, they would no longer need to forage for wild vegetables.

Wang Yi also discovered many tender plants with red leaves growing in the fields, taking up a little less than half an acre. He guessed that this was the Hemostatic Grass.

’Yang Qingxiu must have planted this Hemostatic Grass. That girl is certainly diligent!’

Wang Yi nodded, then drove the Crossbow Machine Carriage to perform his routine patrol of the territory.

Around nine or ten o’clock, Wang Yi returned to the territory and took stock of the supplies in his Chaos Warehouse.

The Chaos Warehouse was now using a total of 15 Storage Compartments, containing: 66 units of stone, 62 units of wood, 47 units of river sand, 1,999 Golden Roasted Chickens, 17,867 bags of five-spice ham, 645 cups of Vegetable Soup, 118 bags of spicy crab sticks, 45 left pincers from the Sand River Giant Crab, 40 right pincers from the Sand River Giant Crab, 18 cans of pine oil, 47 Gold Coins, 20 Silver Coins, and 88 Copper Coins!

In addition, there was the Chaos Egg that could hatch a love-struck wife, as well as the 80 long sabers that had just been stored.

’Gegeda’s food situation can’t be ignored. It looks like I’ll have to head to the Free Market and try my luck...’

With this in mind, Wang Yi took out the Free Market Pass Token.

The next moment, the Token was crushed. With a flash of light, Wang Yi was instantly teleported to a small, barren island.

The island could be taken in at a glance. It was surrounded by a boundless sea of glowing mist. In the middle stood a square, thatched hut, and there wasn’t a single other Player in sight.

”Ding! You have arrived at the Free Market! You may stay in the current Free Market for a maximum of one hour, after which you will be automatically teleported away. You may also leave earlier by contacting the system.”

”Ding! Tip: To facilitate trading, you may open your Chaos Warehouse, Secret Warehouse, Material Warehouse, etc., in this space. Combat is forbidden in the current Free Market. Any aggressive action will result in immediate expulsion and a permanent ban from entering the Free Market.”

”Ding! The current market contains one automated vending machine. This rotation’s stock consists of five items. Please explore on your own for more details.”