Trapped Inside the Beta Test World for 1000 Years-Chapter 25 – Oh, my horse!!

"Are you going to help them?"
"Of course. And I'll switch weapons while I'm at it."
Xia Ya pulled out a "Hero's Short Sword" he received when he left the village, the most common kind you could find at a street stall.
"You don't need to get involved."
"Huh?"
We are bit.ly/3iBfjkV, find us on google.
Yveline curiously said, "If I don't use the 'Anti-Air Curse' to bring it down, how will you get up there?"
"See those two fat guys wearing hats and fur coats?"
"Yeah."
"One is named Felix Buddy Dawnlight, the other is Mendelssohn Frost. They're human merchants with one-sixteenth Sun Elf blood. Although their blood is so diluted that even their great-great-grandmother wouldn't recognize them, their bad tempers have been passed down with their surnames. I'm afraid you won't be able to resist setting them on fire."
Yveline chuckled softly and then vanished.
The Sun Elves are the most unreasonable royal branch among the self-proclaimed noble elves, with every individual being a racist. However, to survive, they had to join the United Holy Nation and intermarry with humans.
As a matriarchal society, they only accepted humans as live-in sons-in-law, resulting in a bunch of mixed-blood humans with elven surnames.
The first and second generations still retained the appearance of elves, but by the third, fourth, and fifth generations, they were indistinguishable from humans, except for their truly foul tempers. This was mainly evident in their unrestrained fawning over pure-blood elves and their limitless disdain for Dark Elves.
Fortunately, Xia Ya was a Half-Elf, more easily accepted than humans.
"It seems like you're in a bit of trouble."
Xia Ya approached and then said coldly.
He wanted to project the image of a cool and aloof swordsman.
The one-sixteenth bloodline mixed-blood elves are really despicable; if you're aloof, they fawn over you, if you're calm, they look down on you, and if you're friendly, they find ways to disgust you.
But Xia Ya had half-elf blood, which they saw as a symbol of nobility.
"Oh, oh, oh, I can feel the same noble blood flowing within you... Are you also a follower of the Holy Spirit of Light? I am Felix Buddy Dawnlight, head of the Dawnlight Trading Company."
The blond fat merchant beamed, his voice as sweet as syrup, cloyingly so.
"Xia Ya."
Xia Ya replied indifferently, keeping others at a distance.
Felix regarded him with even more respect.
"Lord Xia Ya, I am Mendelssohn of the Frost Weaponry Union Factory, pleased to meet you."
The other silver-haired fat man extended both hands.
His right hand was ready to shake Xia Ya's, while his left held a sword.
A standard weapon from the Frost Armory.
-
"Frost Longsword (One-Handed Sword)"
Forged Weapon
Serial No. 001567A
Attack Power = 2.0*AD, Strength +1, Agility +1
-
The implication was clear.
Sharp as he was, he couldn't miss that Xia Ya was holding nothing more than the most ordinary short sword.
In comparison, Felix was utterly embarrassed; as a fellow merchant, he was so slow to curry favor with a Half-Elf of purer blood!
"Pleased to meet you, Lord Mendelssohn."
Xia Ya unceremoniously accepted the sword and shook hands with him.
He casually twirled the sword, its cold light dazzling like stars, drawing low murmurs of admiration from the two merchants and their guards.
"Too bad it's not a magical weapon, or I could have taken that beast down."
Xia Ya glanced upward.
"Never mind, Astan City isn't far from here. I'll escort you back."
"You just said... if it were a magical weapon, you could take that thing down?"
Felix was intrigued, his eyes darting to the massive black creature circling above, already calculating its fur, claws, and beak into gold coins, his mind racing with arithmetic.
"Believe it or not, it's none of my business."
Xia Ya snorted coldly.
"I believe, of course I believe!"
Felix forced a smile, the ruby ring on his fat finger glimmering slightly, flowing like liquid, expanding in mid-air to form a crimson longsword.
Flames danced on the sword, and the fat merchant wiped his sweat, offering it to Xia Ya with both hands.
"If you can use this sword to kill that beast, that would be wonderful!"
-
"Gem Firework (Magic Sword)"
Medieval Magical Weapon
Requires Strength 20, Agility 30, Intelligence 20 (choose two)
Attack Power = 1.25*AD + 1.25*AP, Strength +5, Intelligence +5
Fluid Gem: Can change appearance. Current memory: Ring, One-Handed Sword.
"Sparks! Bloom like my inspiration!"
-
This was an average-quality magic sword. Due to its split attack power bonus, it was somewhat disappointing.
But as the Ash Dwarves of the Molten Plains said, "A weapon's stupidity often lies in its owner," this sword was a perfect fit for a dual-wielding class, with other unknown uses.
Stingy as Felix was, he wouldn't give the sword to Xia Ya for free; he had already set up a rental contract, with a time limit of half an hour.
In other words, if Xia Ya couldn't deal with the griffin in half an hour, the sword would fly back to Felix's hand.
In terms of value, this was equivalent to the final reward of a series of quests, usually costing players a fortune. Felix's motto was "I can lose, but you must not profit," and he lived by it.
Xia Ya took the sword, contemplated for a moment, as if scrutinizing it.
"Will it help?" Felix asked with a fawning smile.
Xia Ya didn't respond, directly activating the "Fluid Gem" skill. The sword immediately melted into a pool of lava-colored liquid, writhing in his palm.
Then, the liquid condensed into a heart...
"What is this..."
Mendelssohn's eyes widened.
As the head of a weapon factory, he had never seen such a bizarre weapon!
"A banshee's heart, also a griffin's favorite food."
Felix explained, though he didn't understand what Xia Ya intended to do.
Xia Ya approached the half-eaten horse, placed the heart into its chest cavity, and sealed it up.
"Let's hide."
He said, leaving without looking back.
The two merchants exchanged glances, hesitated for a few seconds, then quickly followed.
They hid behind a nearby rock, using shrubs to cover themselves.
The area around the carriage was deserted. After about ten minutes, the circling demonized griffin finally landed, picked up the half-horse, and flew away.
"My family heirloom! My horse!!"
Felix was heartbroken, about to confront Xia Ya, when Mendelssohn suddenly pulled him back.
"Your horse was already dead! Calm down! Your heirloom will return!"
Felix suddenly came to his senses, grumbling in frustration.
"It's all your fault for insisting on taking a shortcut."
"How dare you blame me!? If it weren't for your greed, hiring such cheap labor, would we be in this mess!!"
Tsk, they're arguing.
Xia Ya mused inwardly.
These two were truly something else. Although the subsequent plot showed they were shrewd businessmen, their flaws were magnified.
One was greedy, the other arrogant.
The guards wore well-crafted cotton uniforms, with a gray-white maple leaf stained on the chest, its five points dyed red, indicating they were mercenaries from the Brossoro Market.
Fortunately, even in such a critical moment, they cursed at the guards without fear of betrayal.
Professional mercenaries from Brossoro operated in teams of at least six, with high loyalty. As long as they were paid, they wouldn't abandon their employers. Now only four remained, indicating two had died in battle.
Even with two teammates dead, the reward was their employer's disdain and curses, yet they showed no anger, not uttering a word.
That was professionalism.
"Did we do something wrong?"
Suddenly, a voice emerged abruptly.
Xia Ya froze, as if seeing a ghost.