Chapter 212: Clearing out Khalodian Mountain Range (4)

“Yes, but you should watch out. Ress might not be the guy, but the people next to him might become more greedy than what they deserve. They might pursue land for themselves in the end.”

Joonbum nodded at Jinpok’s concerns. If everything settled down and Ress’ merchant group became stable, that was an obvious path they would take.

‘I know I should be careful.’

Joonbum was no genius, but he knew how people acted and what people did in history. The lust for power and money could easily trump love, loyalty, or people’s faith.

“Beer!”

“Meat! Let’s eat!”

People began to feast on the hunt as they gathered around the bonfire after finishing the arduous task of cleaning out the area. At that moment, Ress approached them.

“Do you want a beer, sir?”

“Ress.”

Joonbum nodded. He was holding a big bowl with dark meat that was still steaming as it was just cooked.

“It’s liver, sir.”

“And this?”

Joonbum pointed to his other hand where he was holding a big keg.

“It’s the whiskey.”

“OH! RESS! Come here, come here. Sit down!”

Jinpok brightened up immediately and welcomed Ress. It was unlike how he was concerned about him just moments ago.

‘He’s so different now. I wonder what it would be like if he didn’t come here.’

Joonbum smiled.

“Please try it.”

“Oh, this is nice. Let me see, black pepper…”

“You seem to have good taste, Sir Jinpok.”

“Haha, I do.”

They began feasting on the meat and the whiskey that Ress brought.

“It’s a huge success, sir.”

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“Success?”

It was only the beginning and there was a lot to do, but Ress seemed to speculate a success already.

“Yes, it was only natural. I know you love people, but I was pleasantly surprised this time.”

Ress smiled. The people of this world were used to having nobles treating commoners like livestock. They did not have any rights or freedom to do anything they wanted, but Khalodian was different. A huge amount of money was being used to protect the people going out on the expedition. Ress thought it wasn’t profitable for that reason, but he changed his mind.

‘Lord Joonbum considers people to be the most valuable asset. This expedition is a success.’

That was the reason. He knew Joonbum’s intention wasn’t to make some small money from this expedition. Ress was a smart man like Jackson. Joonbum was thankful for having such talented individuals around him.

‘I have all the talented people with me… as long as I can train those in the right direction…’

“Lord Joonbum, please give me the right to make a trade on this route.”

“Oh, you’re going to run into some difficult issues. I’m going to sleep first.”

Jinpok stood up immediately and went off. Ress then turned to Joonbum. He was now in full merchant mode.

“There’s a lot to prepare.”

“I will take care of the roads. I am also planning to build a fortress that will serve as a resting hub. Thirty percent of the profit will go to you.”

Merchants usually paid more than sixty percent of the profit to their lords. Thirty percent was much less than average. But this was because Joonbum did not require a lot of tax, and that allowed the merchants to hide their profits.

“It will take at least three years for you to make a profit that way. You can pay ten percent for your first year, twenty on the second, and starting the third year, I’ll collect thirty percent.”

“Thank you, milord.”

Ress bowed. He was grateful for Joonbum.

*

A big saber-toothed tiger fell down with a scream. It made the surrounding land tremble.

“Wow, this is so big!”

It was over twelve feet long and impossible to hunt with an arrow or a spear.

‘If we didn’t have a gun…’

“DAMMIT!”

Joonbum quickly lowered his body as he heard Jinpok shouting and threw himself back. It was another saber-toothed tiger. Jinpok successfully landed a hit on the tiger’s front leg so it was bleeding, but Jinpok also took a hit. His shoulder pad was gone and the tactical vest inside was also ripped apart, bleeding from the inside.

“I’ll KILL YOU!”

Jinpok jumped up immediately at the tiger. It also lunged toward Jinpok. Then, at the same time, Joonbum suddenly felt something jumping at him so he threw himself to the side to dodge. It was another saber-toothed tiger.