"To think we would celebrate the new year in the middle of nowhere," Henry mumbled in a joking tone.


    Arthur chuckled at his words.


    "What does that mean?" Yvanna turned her head and curiously stared at them. She was now starting to getfortable with the two old warriors.


    She thought that ric would be the only human she could be friends with, but she realized that there were also other good humans.


    Henry was about to speak when he saw ric''s stern gaze.


    "It''s nothing. Don''t listen to them." ric shook his head.


    "Oh. Okay."


    "Sir Arthur, how is the progress of your mana training?" ric changed the topic.


    The former mercenary had a bitter look on his face. "I''m progressing slower than I thought, my lord."


    He felt ashamed to utter those words after receiving a lot of resources from ric and the household.


    "There''s no hurry." ric already expected this to happen.


    Arthur was already old so his body wasn''t reacting well to the resources he had taken.


    "Just keep on working on your mana training. You will eventually advance." ric added calmly.


    Although Arthur was no longer in his prime, his body was still in great shape for someone his age. Once he had gathered enough mana, his advancement would follow.


    "Yes, my lord. I will work hard." Arthur nodded with a serious look.


    …


    Later that afternoon, the group decided to rest under a big pine tree.


    "I''ll prepare our food so you can do your mana training." ric tapped Arthur''s shoulder.


    "Yes, my lord." Arthur nodded and immediately went to find a spot to begin his mana training.


    Meanwhile, Henry left to gather some firewood.


    Yvanna felt embarrassed that she was the only one who had nothing to do. She wanted to help them, but she didn''t even know how to cook or do any simple task.


    After hesitating for a long while, she gathered her courage and approached ric who was skinning a wild boar they had hunted earlier. "Can you teach me how to do that?"


    ric stared at her in surprise.


    The desire to learn was evident on her face and ric couldn''t bring himself to reject her.


    "Alright. Come here and observe how I do it." ric beckoned to her.


    Yvanna eagerly squatted next to him and watched him skin the wild boar with such precision.


    Amazing. He looks so young, but he is good at this.@@novelbin@@


    "How are you so good with the knife?" She asked.


    ric didn''t stop what he was doing and responded with a light chuckle. "A lot of people taught me."


    After showing her how it was done, ric handed her the skinning knife. "Now go ahead and try it."


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    "Just be careful not to cut your fingers." He reminded.


    Yvanna took the knife and clumsily skinned the wild boar.


    ric couldn''t see her expression, but her focused eyes made him smile.


    "This is harder than I thought," Yvanna muttered in embarrassment.


    "That''s alright. You just need more experience." ric chuckled.


    Suddenly, ric spotted a merchant grouping towards them. They had over thirty people and twenty of them were escort warriors.


    ric nudged the elf and whispered. "There are peopleing."


    Yvanna lifted her head and followed his gaze.


    A wary look shed in her eyes upon seeing the group of strangers.


    "Don''t speak too much when theye here. I''ll do the talking." ric reminded her.


    "Alright." Yvanna nodded.


    Arthur was still in the middle of his mana training so he didn''t sense anything.


    ric stood up, walked towards Arthur, and tapped his shoulder.


    He didn''t want to disturb Arthur''s training, but this was an emergency.


    "What can I do for you, my lord?"


    ric didn''t respond and pointed at the merchant group.


    Seeing them, Arthur frowned.


    The other side had twenty warriors. More than half of them were ordinary warriors and four were Knights, but there was one person that he was unable to gauge.


    "My lord, one of those warriors is dangerous," Arthur muttered.


    "I know." ric nodded. He knew which person he was talking about.


    It was a middle-aged man who was wearing a fur coat over his leather armor. He was taller than ric and was probably as big as Gnar.


    An Elite Knight?


    ric narrowed his eyes.


    This was a troublesome situation and it happened when Henry wasn''t around.


    I hope these people aren''t up to no good.


    With only Arthur by his side, Yvanna would be left unprotected if a battle urred. He could only pray that Henry woulde back sooner.


    A momentter, the merchant group stopped in front of their camp. The escort warriors calmly stared at them, making Yvanna feel ufortable.


    A fat man wearing a thick coat over his silk clothes stepped down from the leading carriage. He then cupped his fists at ric''s group and smiled faintly.


    "Hello, friends! I apologize for disturbing you. I''m Roy, a merchant from Hairo."


    Hairo? That''s quite far.


    ric was familiar with the cities in the North and Hairo was one of the most popted.


    The fat merchant scanned the faces of ric''s group after introducing himself. When he noticed the expensive clothes that ric was wearing, his smile deepened.


    "How can we help you, Sir Roy?" ric asked while looking at the wagons that were covered in cloth.


    Based on the structure of the wagons, he could already tell what was inside.


    ve wagons.


    In Astania, the ve trade wasn''t illegal and it was even one of the most in-demand businesses.


    Why do we have to encounter a ve trader of all people?


    ric knew that most people in this line of work were mostly involved in shady activities.


    "We are on our way to Redonia to deliver some goods. Do you want to take a look at them? I promise you won''t be disappointed. They are top quality products." Royughed while giving a signal to his servants.


    Before ric could respond, Roy''s servants removed the cloth that covered the wagons, revealing the ves inside.