Jinpok pointed out what the man lacked from his movement. His skillful moves showed he definitely had some experience, but it also showed that he lacked stamina due to his age.
“He looks like he would be a good teacher, though.”
“Yeah. We should bring him in.”
Joonbum smiled. He liked that fact that some things did not require further explanation with Jinpok.
“They did it too.”
Jinpok turned to the other side where the mercenaries and hunters were shouting. Their spears agitated the Keroxes, and in turn, the animals thrashed on the shields. The man who was holding a shield up barely retreated and another man took the spot. Meanwhile, other men went around the back and thrust their spears at the Keroxes. It was a shallow attack, but it made the Keroxes become more violent, making room for a crossbow to land a hit. After a while, a Kerox fell down to the ground, bleeding to death from multiple crossbow wounds.
“We won’t need to worry.”
“Yeah. They’re doing well.”
“Right. I guess they’re ready for the infamous mountain. Traps and all that…”
It was as Jinpok said. The Keroxes did avoid lot of traps, but some would be caught by them.
“Snow.”
Joonbum turned to the dark skies where snow was falling with the wind frantically blowing by. The Kerox pack began retreating as it sensed no hope of claiming victory.
“They’re running away!”
People shouted victoriously and they shot more arrows into the darkness. Ainos warriors accurately aimed the Keroxes hiding in the bushes.
“Is that a motion sensor?”
“Yeah. It’s good, isn’t it?”
“With a motion sensor and the Ainos using it, sneaking in the mountains won’t be possible,” Jinpok commented in disbelief.
“WOW! Look at this fur!”
“Hey! Let’s skin it right now!”
“Hold it there!”
Mercenaries began skinning the dead Keroxes while others used swords to carve out the meat. Merchants also approached the people at work to buy them on the spot.
“Hey, I like this fur. Sell it all to me.”
“Oh, we have a contract with Ress already.”
“Ress? Oh… How about that one?”
“That one’s also for Ress.”
“Dammit! Ress takes everything these days. What if I pay you more?”
“Sorry, it’s a contract.”
“Okay. Give me another chance next time.”
Similar trade offers were going on throughout the area where some accepted the trade and some did not.
“Isn’t Ress going too much these days?”
Jinpok asked as he watched it unfold. When the Ress Merchant Group first met Joonbum, it was a small group owned by one owner. Yet when he joined hands with Joonbum and Khalodian, it became one of the strongest merchant groups of the land.
‘It’s all thanks to Ress.’
He remembered Ress Bidin, the owner of the group. He was the one who gathered talented merchants and his families to work with him to help Khalodian when they started. He owed a lot of money in the process, but he did not stop. He was close to going bust on a lot of occasions but he made it through in the end.
With the increased number of talented merchants on his side, he was able to replace the failing merchants who fell with the failing economies. Then they became second to none.
“He can be greedy, but he will keep his word. Ress is a smart man,” Joonbum explained to Jinpok. It was why Joonbum picked him and he was now very loyal to Joonbum. After all, it was because of Joonbum that allowed him to come this far.
