Chương 15: A Family Across Two Regions

"Thank you!"

"Meeting you all has been a huge help."

Xia En smiled and thanked him, thinking to himself, "This 'Strong Luck' attribute really lived up to my expectations; when it comes to luck, it's unbeatable."

People should help each other.

Inside the carriage, the merchant nodded to the driver, and the carriage continued moving forward.

"My name is Lotte Norm, and I am the president of the Norm Merchant Guild. Our guild operates hotels and restaurants in several nearby towns. Are you two traveling? If you are interested, you may consider choosing one of our Norm chain hotels."

Xia En couldn't help but sigh, "They really know how to do business."

That's why he's the president.

"The Norm Trading Company?" Frilian, standing nearby, was drawn to the name.

"Is it the Norm from the Northern Highlands Norm Trading Company?"

"Oh, it seems you've heard of our Norm family." The merchant uncle said with some pride.

"That's right, it's Norm. Our two branches come from the same family. Our ancestors were nobles in the Central Continent, but they were exiled for smuggling. Later, one branch rose to prominence in the Northern Plateau, while the other branch, which is the lineage I belong to, took root in the city of Gostan."

"I see..." Frillie's gaze darted away slightly as she asked, "Then your ledgers shouldn't be shared, right?"

"Um?"

"It's nothing," Frillie said softly.

"Haha, because the two places are far apart, we only contact each other once every few years, so there's naturally no business dealings. But if you travel to the northern highlands in the future, I can write a letter of introduction, and maybe you can get a discount."

"Then I'd rather not," Frilian immediately refused.

Ok……

Shane looked left and right, and his intuition told him that there was definitely something wrong with Frillie's behavior!

Interoperable ledgers?

Could it be that... when the hero team was fighting the Demon King, they ran up a debt with the merchant guild and haven't paid it back yet?

Just then, the carriage suddenly shook violently.

The coachman in front tightened his grip on the reins, trying to control the horse, but to no avail.

The startled horses neighed and began to run wildly.

The businessman was clearly experienced; he immediately lay down at the bottom of the carriage.

Xia En gripped the carriage shaft tightly, leaned forward to observe, and discovered that the three carriages in the convoy had been scattered and were fleeing in different directions.

Three gray wolves were dangling right behind their vehicle, relentlessly pursuing them.

Seeing this, Frillian raised her staff and unleashed an attack spell towards the gray wolves, striking one of the three wolves. The struck wolf howled and was sent flying, while the other two continued their relentless pursuit.

They don't seem to be afraid of magical attacks.

Immediately afterwards, two gray wolves, in hot pursuit, howled at the sky as they chased after them.

Frillie glanced at the other's behavior and quickly concluded: "It's a monster's follower."

"A monster's follower? What's that?"

As soon as Xia En uttered a question, the entire carriage shook violently, lifted off the ground, and soared into the air.

The driver was thrown into the carriage, and everyone was thrown about.

In the critical moment, Shane drew his longsword and forcefully stabbed it into the gap in the wooden planks at the bottom of the carriage. Using the hilt of the sword to steady himself, he then grabbed Frillie, who was almost thrown out of the carriage.

The merchant and the coachman clung to the carriage shaft, using both hands and feet to hold on tightly, which prevented them from being thrown off.

Xia En looked up at the front of the carriage, where the horses pulling it had been captured by a huge bird and impaled on its claws.

At that moment, the giant bird was rapidly ascending, pulling them, along with their car, hundreds of meters into the air.

"Frilian, what do we do now?!"

With his arms hanging in the air, supporting the weight of both himself and Frilian, Shane's arms were about to dislocate, so he urged Frilian to think of a solution.

The entire carriage was tilted so badly that they could fall from the high school at any moment.

"This is a bird-like magical beast, extremely cunning, adept at concealing its magical power and commanding animals as its followers. Those gray wolves from earlier must have been its followers helping it hunt."

"At this point, there's no need for teaching anymore," Xia En said through gritted teeth.

"Then let's just kill them."

As he spoke, he raised his staff, ready to strike.

Xia En was shocked.

"Wait! If we kill it now, what will we do? We'll fall!"

Upon hearing this, Frillie pondered for half a second:

"I can use [flying magic] to land the merchant uncle, and you can act as a human shield for the coachman."

"Me?? A meat shield?? More like a meat patty!" Shane was furious, almost throwing Frillie out.

"Think about it carefully, you idiot!"

"Can't you do it?"

"How is that even possible?!"

"I see... Then we can only hold out until the other side lands."

Shaun was practically spitting blood. His brain was racing, and suddenly he thought of something and immediately said to Frilian:

"Can you kill the monster to make the carriage fall, and then use [Flight Magic] to stabilize it before it hits the ground?"

"I'm not sure, but I can give it a try."

"..."

Just as the two were discussing countermeasures, the businessman's strength gave out, and he suddenly slid down a large distance, about to fall out of the car.

The situation was dire, and there was no time for further discussion. Shane immediately swung his arm and flung Frillie towards the front of the car.

Frilian understood immediately, found the right angle, and launched an attack at the giant bird's head.

Before the giant bird could react, its neck was suddenly empty, and the carriage, having lost its traction, began to plummet rapidly.

In an instant, Xia En felt as if his soul was floating.

Just before the carriage was about to hit the ground, Frilian activated her [Flight Magic], covering the entire carriage.

bang—— ……

After a while.

The ground was covered in dust, wood chips, and broken cart wheels.

Frillie looked around, reached out and plucked a leaf from her hair, and exclaimed, "It actually worked!"

Unexpectedly, a faint groan came from beneath her: "Frilian, I'm going to die..."

!!!

Frilian quickly lifted her buttocks and got off Shane's back.

"Feel sorry."

Xia En breathed a sigh of relief, "Phew, I almost saw my baby..."

Not far away, the merchant and the coachman were also unharmed, but they were both terrified by the final impact.

The horse is gone, and the cart is broken.

The group looked at the mess on the ground, still shaken.

Fortunately, no one was injured.

"When I used to go out trading, I would only encounter wild beasts like bears and wolves. I never thought I would run into monsters this time... I'm so lucky to have met you guys today."

"When you get back to Gostan, you absolutely must come to the Norm Inn. No matter how long you stay, it's free!"

Xia En didn't have time for pleasantries. He raised his hand to stop the merchant from speaking and signaled everyone to be quiet. Then he walked to the bushes nearby and touched a leaf.

There was some sticky blood on the bushes, not completely dry yet, and many trampled and broken branches and leaves around them, as if someone had fought there...

He cautiously scanned his surroundings.

The sun was already setting in the west, and the light in the woods was gradually dimming.

頜頜.

A flock of birds suddenly took flight from the nearby woods.

Xia En's hand unconsciously went to the hilt of his sword.

"Everyone, stay close together, don't get separated."