54: Jiulongshan couldn't help it

"Lord, are you sure you want to sign up? This arena is quite brutal, but if you can win, you'll definitely become famous among the Barbarians."

Han Huohuo shook his head, "Not interested. Do you have a high-level arena?"

Hua Mulan said, "Of course, but the high-level arena isn't in this city. It's in the Wasteland. This city is too small for them to fight."

Han Huohuo instantly lost interest.

Damn it, this wasn't competition at all, it was looking for death.

After staying in Ke City for two days, Han Huohuo bought some hides and hired a carriage to take them back. Lord Barbarian King's place lacked other things, but hides were everywhere and cheap.

Han Huohuo had obtained a large amount of gold coins in the last event, so he wasn't short of money.

He was generous with his spending, throwing money around, which also let Jin Biao see his strength.

Soon, information about Han Huohuo was collected and sent to Jin Biao. This was a guy who came from Bandits, and somehow got connected with the Barbarian King. Interesting.

Could the Fire Barbarian God be a bridgehead supported by the Barbarian King?

Is Lord Barbarian King preparing to make a move?

Jin Biao sent a secret letter via carrier pigeon, quickly delivered to the Tulip Merchant Guild headquarters, expressing his thoughts and giving advice: "Please stockpile all war materials for the Great Qian Dynasty! Estimated time of war: next spring!"

He was an extremely sensitive merchant, who deduced the start time of the war based on the Barbarian King's preparations.

The best way to make a fortune is through national calamity!

No matter whose nation it is!

Two days later, Jin Biao brought a small merchant caravan and went to Tongtian City with Hua Mulan and Han Huohuo.

To show his sincerity, the Barbarian King even specifically sent some resources for Han Huohuo to take back.

The Barbarian King was quite generous. Although there was no grain, he gave many rare resources: ice field mercury, abyss crystal, radiant gem, ice field mercury, 10 of each.

After bidding farewell to the Barbarian King.

The caravan set off. The speed of the caravan couldn't compare to when Hua Mulan and Han Huohuo rode their horses at full speed. It took a full two days to return to Tongtian City.

When passing through Yanmen Pass, Jin Biao was already surprised. Was this really just a bandits leader's defense? How could it be so strict?

In the nearly one week round trip, various constructions were still gradually improving, and the inner city walls had also begun to be built.

Although Tongtian City was currently only a prototype, Jin Biao was well-traveled and could see at a glance that the city's planning was grand and magnificent, which greatly surprised him.

This... could this really be designed by a bandits leader?

Jin Biao couldn't help but look at Han Huohuo with higher regard again.

When he saw Mu Jiu come out, his eyes widened even further, and his mouth couldn't close. Of course, he didn't recognize the Ninth Princess, and she had even changed into ordinary clothes, but her every word and action, her every move, the kind of super noble temperament, was like a firefly in the dark night, completely impossible to conceal.

Those Bandits certainly couldn't tell, but Jin Biao was too familiar with it.

This kind of etiquette from a prominent family is not something just anyone can possess; it's a kind of extremely noble temperament cultivated since childhood.

After looking around, as they walked, Mu Jiu explained the future plans to him, and Jin Biao was already numb with shock.

"Fire Barbarian God!"

"Haha, now that you're here, just call me Lord Han. Don't call me Fire Barbarian God anymore; it sounds strange."

"Alright, Lord Han, I think our business can definitely work out. Your city has excellent conditions. I'll leave a merchant caravan here with you. If you need to buy anything, just find the caravan directly. To show the sincerity of our Tulip Merchant Guild, for the first deal, I'll sell you one hundred thousand units of grain at cost price, how about that?"

Han Huohuo was immediately overjoyed!

This solved his biggest problem.

This Jin Biao has great influence! One hundred thousand units of grain, he just gave it, not minding the Great Qian Dynasty's prohibition at all!

"Come, Lord Han, this is Yan Yun from our merchant caravan. He will stay here to do business from now on. Please take good care of him!"

"No problem. Doing business with me, your Tulip Merchant Guild will definitely not lose out."

[Yan Yun joins Tongtian City, requires 50 grain. Confirm reception?]

The system issued the notification in a strict manner.

"Receive!"

[Merchant]: Yan Yun

[Stamina]: 100/100

[Combat Power]: Strength 4, Defense 4, Endurance 5, Intelligence 8.

[Traits]: Business, Disloyal.

[Food Consumption]: One unit per day

[Loyalty]: 30

These two traits were very interesting.

[Business]: Market transaction tax reduced by 5%.

[Disloyal]: A merchant of the Tulip Merchant Guild, his loyalty to you will never exceed 50%.

The first business talent could help him earn a lot of money, while the second talent indicated that he would only be loyal to the Tulip Merchant Guild and not to himself.

This was also reasonable. After all, he was a member of the merchant guild. As long as he didn't have conflicts with the Tulip Merchant Guild, he didn't need to worry about his loyalty.

He accepted Yan Yun.

Han Huohuo and Jin Biao laughed together. Since it was getting late, Han Huohuo invited them to eat and rest.

After the host and guests enjoyed themselves, Han Huohuo returned to the Main Camp.

He found Mu Jiu looked a bit unsettled, so he quickly went over and hugged her, asking softly, "What's wrong?"

Only then did Mu Jiu have time to tell Han Huohuo, "Huohuo, recently, some scouts have been active outside Yanmen Pass. If there are no surprises, they should be people from Nine Dragon Mountain. I listened to you; Yanmen Pass was not opened while you were away. I guess they couldn't gather any intelligence."

Han Huohuo nodded, "I understand. The matter between us and Nine Dragon Mountain should be settled."

With the Barbarian King's support, Han Huohuo was no longer worried about Nine Dragon Mountain's background. Near the Ten Thousand Mountains, whose background could be stronger than the Barbarian King's?

The Great Qian Dynasty was now a scattered mess. Although the army was large, they were not united. Any feudal lord would probably not be able to directly confront the Barbarian King.

For some reason, Mu Jiu had been somewhat anxious and fearful, but upon seeing Han Huohuo return, she immediately felt at ease. It seemed that as long as Han Huohuo was here, any problem could be solved.

Early the next morning, Hua Mulan came to knock on the door.

"Lord, scouts have discovered a team moving towards Yanmen Pass. The team has a large number of crossbow bolts and catapults. It is confirmed to be a Nine Dragon Mountain force."

"Can we win?"

"Easily, but I want to completely annihilate them, so we might need to set up some ambushes outside the city."

"You arrange the battle. We happen to have a guest here, I'll take him up to the city wall to take a look in a while."

Hua Mulan nodded, knowing that giving Jin Biao some confidence would not harm Tongtian City, so she did not refuse to let a non-military person go up the city wall.

Jin Biao was slightly puzzled, suddenly taken to the city wall by Han Huohuo.

Yanmen Pass had five rows of walls. On the last row of walls, there was a very tall command tower. Han Huohuo invited Jin Biao to sit on top of the command tower.

A table was set up on the command tower. From here, the battlefield was clear and visible at a glance.

This was originally Hua Mulan's command tower, given to Han Huohuo and Jin Biao.

"I don't have any wine here, only tea!"

"Haha, Lord Han is interesting. Actually, I can't drink Barbarian wine; I prefer tea."

Han Huohuo pointed to the dust in the distance and smiled, "Look, it's not peaceful in our Ten Thousand Mountains either. There are always some belligerent elements fighting everywhere."

The team approached. After the dust settled, Jin Biao let out an "Oh." He recognized at a glance that there were a large number of giant crossbow units in the opposing team. These were standard weapons of the Great Qian Dynasty.

"Is this the Wanqing City force?"

"No, they are just Bandits from another mountain. For some reason, they got some equipment from Wanqing City and are now acting arrogantly in the Ten Thousand Mountains."

Han Huohuo said casually, as if it had nothing to do with him.

Jin Biao smiled, "It seems Lord Han is very confident about this battle?"

Han Huohuo nodded, "Our Tongtian City does not rely on the Barbarian King; we just need a non-hostile neighbor. To deal with these guys, we are more than enough on our own."

These words had hidden meaning, giving a strong sense of independence. Jin Biao vaguely felt that this Lord Han in front of him probably had grand ambitions.

Drinking tea and quietly watching the battlefield with Han Huohuo.