When Horne and Enoch returned to the inn, it was already pitch - black outside.
Ian Parker and the others who had gone to buy other supplies had also come back long ago.
They had bought so many things that the original two carriages might not be able to hold them all. They would have to buy another carriage for transportation. After just one day's stay, the wild witches had already felt the unfriendliness of Maman City. If they stayed any longer, their wallets would be emptied.
In fact, Horne's wallet was already crying. If it weren't for Enoch's help, he wouldn't have been able to buy all these things.
The blacksmith only charged Horne ten gold coins, but it still made him wince. Ten gold coins could last him a long, long time.
You know, he only charged a few coppers for making a wooden sword for little Alia back then, while a single gold coin was worth over a hundred coppers.
However, the bulk of Horne's expenses was not with the blacksmith but the purchase of a fist - sized piece of thunder silver.
This piece of thunder silver cost Horne more than twenty gold coins.
Speaking of gold coins, the gold coins in Ceylon were only slightly larger than a thumb - nail and very thin, so they were relatively easy to carry.
But it was still difficult to use a large number of them. Therefore, many big merchants would handle deposit and withdrawal services at the Church of the God of Wealth.
This service required a ceremony in the church of the God of Wealth. During the ceremony, a divine power mark would be branded on the client's hand.
Those with this information brand on their hands could deposit their gold coins in the Church of the God of Wealth and withdraw them when needed.
Wild witches like Horne never dared to get branded. When getting the divine power mark branded, the Church of the God of Wealth might discover their identity as wild witches.
Moreover, getting this brand was extremely expensive and beyond the reach of ordinary civilians.
Because of this service, the Church of the God of Wealth was the only church that had branches in the main cities of all the gods' churches.
Even the powerful Holy Light Church only had a few strongholds in the Eastern Continent.
At night, some of them meditated while others rested, waiting for Horne to go to the blacksmith's to pick up the shield the next day and then set off.
At Horne's room door, Ian Parker waved to Horne, signaling him to come out and have a private chat.
A look of helplessness appeared on Horne's face. He had developed a slight fear of Ian Parker calling him out at night.
The last time he was called out at night, the tragedy in that small village happened. He hoped nothing strange would happen tonight.
But Horne was overthinking. This time, Ian Parker didn't say anything strange or ask Horne to go to some strange place with him. Instead, he told Horne what he had discovered during his shopping spree that day.
He had found a large number of wild witches in Maman City!
The number was incredibly large!
It was so large that Ian Parker even felt it was a bit unreal!
Although many wild witches hid themselves deeply, this kind of hiding didn't work well on Ian.
He could tell if someone was a wild witch from just a tiny trace. Most wild witches couldn't escape his perception.
So he came to ask Horne how to deal with them.
Horne thought for a long time and finally decided to leave things as they were. Their main goal was still to go to the God - Forsaken Land. The earlier they arrived, the earlier they could set their minds at ease.
Early the next morning, when the first ray of sunlight shone into Maman City, Horne and the others had already packed their luggage and were ready to set off.
The little boy and the landlady looked at Horne and his group reluctantly as they left. Once they were gone, there might be no customers for a long time.
The group first went to the trading area. After buying a carriage and putting all their luggage and supplies on it, they went to Uncle Dwarf's Blacksmith Shop to pick up the Northern Wind Holy Artifact and then left Maman City.
The blacksmith had written down all the materials on a piece of paper so meticulously that Horne thought the ten - gold - coin price was well worth it.
After just half a day's journey, they noticed that the atmosphere on this side of the God of Wealth's Parish was very different from the other side of Maman City, as if a war was about to break out.
Every village and town they passed was on high alert, and groups of Knights of Wealth often passed by.
This atmosphere made Horne and the others feel uneasy. After inquiring in a village, they learned the reason.
It was summer now, and this was the time when the elves in the Black Forest were most likely to start a war. Every year at this time, the eastern side of Maman City prepared for war.
Not only the Church of the God of Wealth, but all the churches around the periphery of the Black Forest were on high alert against the Black Forest during this season.
The current Elf King of the Black Forest was a very ambitious man. He launched wars almost every two or three summers.
Over the past few hundred years, the area of the Black Forest had almost doubled.
Wherever the elves' power expanded, the Black Forest would expand too! And there were almost no churches in the Black Forest that could compete with the elves!
Fortunately, the elves only left the Black Forest in summer. In spring, when all things were coming back to life, the elves hid in the deep forest to feel the newness of everything and had no mood to cause trouble outside.
In autumn and winter, when everything outside withered, the elves didn't want to go out either.
Only in summer were they energetic and eager to fight everywhere.
So it was impossible for anyone to pass through the Black Forest to the Misty Swamp in summer!
If they went there at this time, they would not only have to pass through the human defenses but might also be buried under the trees by the elves as fertilizer.
The wild witches looked at each other. It meant that going to the Black Forest now was just a thankless task.
It would be better for them to stay nearby for about a month and then set off. Summer would end in two months. If they set off then, with about a month's journey on the way, they would just catch the time when the Black Forest was open for passage.
Hundreds of years of fighting had created a strange understanding between the elves and humans. In summer, they wanted to beat each other to a pulp, but once autumn came, they became like strangers, which was really strange.
...
Above Maman City, Ilya stood dejectedly. His face was full of frustration as he whispered,
"Why did they leave... I haven't even gone to see you yet!"
Little Alia was holding a big roasted lamb leg in her hand, her little face covered in grease. She squinted at Ilya.
"I told you to keep a close eye on them, but you didn't. You just had to go drinking with Old Man Ji..."
Ilya frowned and said,
"Isn't this our fault? Weren't you just focused on eating?"
Little Alia rolled her eyes and said, "How embarrassing. You're an adult and still arguing with a little girl like me... Hey! Look, they're coming back!"
Hearing what Little Alia said, Ilya looked into the distance.
There were three carriages slowly approaching Maman City. It was Horne and his group!