"Ahem, what is it?" Levi calmly stuffed the novel into his shirt.
"Everything's ready, including the guards. You can set off now."
Levi glanced around. Nine carts were loaded with goods and covered with tarps. They were accompanied by twenty guards clad in Leather Armor and armed with sharp swords.
But in Levi's eyes, these guards were completely superfluous.
If he and fifty fully-equipped Beastman Barbarians couldn't fend off bandits, then this group of guards would just be cannon fodder.
He didn't say anything, though. After all, he had paid for them. Once they reached their destination, these guards could serve as laborers and help him unload the goods.
"I wish you success in your pioneering."
Lorina said this as he was leaving.
"Yes, and I wish you prosperous business as well," Levi nodded.
From their casual conversation, he had learned that Lorina controlled at least forty percent of the shops on this commercial street. She was, without a doubt, a rich woman.
A party of nearly one hundred people, with nine horse-drawn carts, left Bailiu City and headed north.
The afterglow of the sunset bathed everyone in light. Levi looked at the endless plains in the distance and couldn't help but feel the exhilarating freedom of a fish leaping into the vast sea and sky.
After three years of struggle, he was finally taking the first step.
...
After a day's journey north from Bailiu City along the main road, they often encountered human villages and patrol guards.
This day's travel was still within the Northern Territory of the Debei Kingdom, controlled by the Duke of the North. All things considered, conditions were still relatively good.
But as they ventured deeper, crossed the border demarcation of Green Vine Creek, and entered the Wilderness, the situation gradually worsened.
This vast land had many names: the Wilderness, the Unclaimed Land, the Gold Rush Grounds, and so on.
But Levi felt the most fitting name was the Land of Chaos.
This land wasn't just an endless plain; it was a complex landscape with highlands, forests, basins, plains, and other varied terrains.
Countless tribes of all sizes were scattered throughout, including humans, Goblins, Beastmen, Jackal Wolfmen, Centaurs, Harpies, Ancestors, and various other Alien Races.
According to rumor, there were even Evil Dragons in its deepest parts.
But these were mostly hearsay, with nothing to substantiate them.
These Alien Races normally subsisted on herding and hunting. But when a human caravan passed by, after weighing the strength of both sides, they didn't mind moonlighting as Wilderness Bandits.
Because in this lawless land, attacking a human caravan was probably no different to them than hunting an elk.
Ever since leaving the territory of the Debei Kingdom, the caravan had picked up a small tail.
It started with a few half-dead Goblins trailing behind, picking at the leftovers the caravan left behind. But soon, this small tail grew like a rolling snowball.
At first, a single roar from the Beastman Barbarians would send the cowardly Goblins scattering, trembling and pissing themselves in fear.
But they were a perfect example of courage being directly proportional to numbers. When their numbers reached over a hundred, they were brazen enough to follow the caravan openly.
It was hard to say whether greed had made them forget their fear, or if the advantage in numbers made them think they could defeat fifty battle-hardened Beastman Barbarians.
"A bunch of wilderness rats!"
That was the Beastmen's disdainful name for them.
No matter how many rats there were, they posed no threat whatsoever. Even if a thousand Goblins gathered together, these Beastman Barbarians were confident they could charge in and wipe them all out.
"Boss, don't worry. We used to use these Goblins to bait sawtooth crocodiles. They're incredibly weak."
Muto was the first to state his opinion, claiming that Goblins were the best bait for catching crocodiles.
But that wasn't what Levi was worried about. After some consideration, he had the accompanying guards and grooms return to Bailiu City, while he continued deeper into the Wilderness with his fifty-one Beastman Barbarians.
The guards couldn't have been happier. With a quick farewell, they skirted around the Goblins and started on the road back to the city.
Levi didn't do this for the guards' sake, however. He was preparing to pull all the Beastman Barbarians into his system's party.
What he had to do next needed to be done away from prying eyes.
As the Conquering System, besides the personal stats panel, there were a few other functions.
The system inventory, shop, and party.
After he defeated Muto in the Gladiatorial Arena, the Conquering System had received party-join requests from all the Beastman Barbarians.
He had put off processing them because, even though these Beastmen were simple-minded, something like a "system" was still too advanced a concept for them.
They were all experienced warriors. A sudden, massive increase in strength would definitely arouse their suspicion.
Therefore, Levi had to find a suitable excuse to cover up the method of upgrading troops—by attributing it to religion and the Gods.
On the Middle Ages Continent, a world that once had Magic, the Gods were real beings; they had just vanished in recent times.
Levi planned to portray himself as a mortal incarnation of the War God, and belief in him would grant the Gift of the War God.
Although he was a fake War God, his strength was like that of a War God. If those who believed in him and were acknowledged by him could also gain Power through battle, then he was, without a doubt, the War God!
If anyone dared say he wasn't, these Beastman Barbarians would probably be the first to charge forward and show them the meaning of power bestowed by the War God.
After a round of his self-aggrandizing speech, the Beastman Barbarians became half-convinced.
After all, their boss was a human, yet he possessed Power greater than any Beastman. If he wasn't the War God, it was truly inexplicable.
Levi didn't explain much further. He simply declared that they were all Warriors he acknowledged, and then accepted their party-join requests one by one.
'Once they upgrade for the first time, they'll be completely convinced.'
'The system will back me up.'
...
The upgrade path for Beastman soldiers, from lowest to highest, was: Beastman Militia, Beastman Hunter, Beastman Warrior, Beastman Champion, Giant Axe Guard, Berserker, and finally, a special class called the Dragon Vein Berserker.
Although the upgrade path was linear, its potential was immense, especially the final Dragon Vein Berserker.
There were seven tiers of soldiers in total, but currently only the first six were unlocked. The final Tier Seven Soldier was in a locked state, and he didn't know how to unlock it.
The vast majority of the Beastman Barbarians were Tier Three Soldiers, Beastman Warriors. Muto was the only Tier Four Soldier, but he was not a Heroic Unit.
Levi wasn't surprised by this. Creatures designated as Heroic Units by the system all possessed traits that were unmatched by their kin.
Take Zat, for example. That guy might be a bit stupid, but his height of two-point-five ren made him stand out like a crane among chickens in the Beastman crowd.
Even Muto, a Tier Four Soldier, wouldn't last fifty rounds against him.
He wondered how Muto, after gaining experience in battle and getting promoted all the way to a Tier Seven Soldier, would stack up against a Heroic Unit like Zat.
With that problem solved, a few Beastman Barbarians took the place of the grooms, leading the draft horses by their reins at the front.
The other Barbarians spread out, surrounding the carts in the middle, and advanced slowly but steadily into the depths of the Wilderness.