The Herb King



Aethelwolf calmly walked towards the gate of the Barbarian tribe and this immediately alerted the experts of the tribe. 

A group of fierce warriors wearing roughly made iron armor glared at Aethelwolf as they pointed their weapons at him. 

"Look at his clothes. He is someone from the civilized regions!" 

"Why did someone from the civilized region come to the Northern Region? He looks skinny. Is he weak?" 

The Barbarians sized up Aethelwolf without fear. 

Suddenly, the Barbarian warriors parted and made way for a tall man with dark skin. He had a dark gray hair and a pair of malevolent eyes that was akin to the eyes of beasts. This person was the tribe leader and he has the strength of a peak Level 4 Esper!

"Who are you and why did you come to our tribe?" The tribe leader furrowed his eyebrows as he stared at Aethelwolf. He couldn't sense the latter's power as if he was sheathed sword. He also couldn't discern Aethelwolf's intentions since his eyes were tranquil.

Aethelwolf cupped his fists at the tribe leader as a form of respect. He came here uninvited so he had to at least show a basic form of etiquette. "I apologize for my unannounced visit. I'm Aethelwolf Lassiter from the Leone Empire and I heard that the tribes of the Northern Region are suffering from the attacks of the Underworlders. When I heard this news, I immediately came here to investigate the situation." 

Hearing this, the Barbarians' eyes eased up. So there was actually someone like him in the civilized regions. 

The tribe leader raised his hand and signaled his troops to lower their weapons. "So it's Sir Aethelwolf. Come inside and I'll tell you everything." He said in a forthright manner. 

Barbarians are simple-minded people and they value strength and loyalty. As long as one gives them respect, they would also treat you well. 

"Alright." Aethelwolf followed the tribe leader. He noticed that some Barbarians were dissatisfied with the turn of events. 'They really don't have a good impression of someone from the civilized regions.' 

The tribe leader brought him to the largest tent and offered him a seat. "Sit down." 

"Thanks." 

After seeing that Aethelwolf had taken a seat, the tribe leader spoke. "Let me introduce myself first. I'm Rigor, the tribe leader of Swift Wind Tribe. As you have seen, our tribe is small and we only have a population of ten thousand people. I apologize if some of them might have offended you. We Barbarians are disdained by the citizens of the civilized regions so we don't have a good impression towards them." 

Aethelwolf smiled in understanding. "It's fine. I don't mind. I won't stay here for long anyway." He muttered.

Rigor nodded his head. "Our Swift Wind Tribe is located in the outskirts of the Northern Region so we haven't encountered the Underworlders. However, we heard from a passing Barbarian mercenary group that there are a lot of Underworlder settlements in the central part of the Northern Region. They must've temporarily built a camp to preserve their strength. After all, there is a huge number of powerful magical beasts in that location." He then took out a beast skin map from his pocket and handed it to Aethelwolf. "This is a map of the Northern Region. This might be of help in your investigation." 

Aethelwolf didn't reject the map since he really needed one. "I will accept this map, but I will offer something in return." He took out a bunch of miscellaneous items from his storage space and stacked them in front of him. There were pills, herbs, wines, clothes, weapons, and many other things that meant nothing to Aethelwolf. With his current power and identity, he could get these items any time he wanted. However, they were very valuable to the Barbarians. 

Rigor's eyes widened when he saw the pile of items in front of him. There were hundreds of weapons and armor. From the craftsmanship, he could tell that they are high-level items! He just gave the guy a map, but he actually repaid him with so much more!

"This... This is too much! I can't take it, Sir Aethelwolf! Besides, I only gave you a map..." He muttered reluctantly. They needed these things, but he felt burdened by the favor. 

Aethelwolf chuckled when he saw the flustered expression of the tribe leader. No matter how well he tried to hide his reluctance, Aethelwolf saw through him with just one glance. "Just take it as a token of our friendship. Who knows? I might come back here again. I hope that you won't forget me when the time comes." 

When Aethelwolf saw that the man was still hesitating, he stood up and said. "I won't take much of your time since I'm also in a hurry. I hope we meet again, Rigor." He muttered before his figure disappeared inside the tent with a swooshing sound.

Swoosh!

Rigor looked around in a daze after noticing that Aethelwolf was gone. He almost thought that he was just hallucinating. If not for the pile of items in front of him, he would have thought that he was dreaming. "What a generous person..." He muttered. 

***

Aethelwolf followed the direction of the map and headed straight toward the central part of the Northern Region. The number of Barbarian tribes he passed by increased and their population was bigger than the Swift Wind Tribe. However, Aethelwolf didn't stop advancing and moved into the deeper parts of the region.

Soon, he sensed that there was a violent fluctuation of energy up ahead. When he spread his perception, he noticed that it was actually caused by the collision of two powerful armies. One was a large group of Gigantic Desert Scorpions and the ones fighting them was an army of Barbarians. 

The weakest Gigantic Desert Scorpion was a Level 2 magical beast and the strongest even possessed the power of a Level 5 Esper! In total, there were hundreds of Gigantic Desert Scorpions! 

Meanwhile, the Barbarian army wasn't to be trifled with. The weakest warrior was a Level 1 Esper and the ones leading them were three Level 5 Espers! 

"This Barbarian army isn't weak. There are even three Level 5 Espers leading them." Aethelwolf was stunned by the strength of the Barbarians. He couldn't understand why these talented people were disdained by the citizens of the civilized regions. Suddenly, a bold thought surfaced in his mind.