In the early years, Leo's grandfather had wanted to open up the northern plains of Veron Ridge and built a simple road in the Gnoll Valley, but in the end, he gave up because there were too many wild creatures and they were too strong.
After a few decades, it was reasonable to say that the road had long been abandoned.
A few days ago, Feng Chou "saw" the letter Baron Amborite received mentioning the Gnoll Valley. After that, he asked the Pet of the Eagle to carry Qiankun Pagoda to investigate the valley.
He found that the road in the Gnoll Valley seemed to have been repaired recently!
Hogan retracted his gaze from the Fishtail Mountain and glanced at Feng Chou beside him. "We have to split up. One of us will stay here to observe the situation, and the other will go to the Fishtail Mountain to receive the ransom."
Feng Chou sneered in his heart and asked calmly, "Which one of us do you think is more suitable to go to the Fishtail Mountain?"
Hogan said, "You have the Invisible Ring and the Dwarven Gun that can fire continuously is more suitable for dealing with a siege. I think you're more suitable."
Feng Chou frowned. "I don't think so. Hogan, your profession level is two levels higher than mine. How can you let a weakling like me do such a dangerous thing?"
Hogan cursed Feng Chou in his heart for being shameless, but he said sincerely, "Allen, are you kidding?
With your swordsmanship, two profession levels is nothing … Okay, okay, Allen, if you're willing to lend me the Invisible Ring and the Dwarven Gun, I'll go to the Fishtail Mountain. "
Hogan's words immediately shut Feng Chou's mouth. It didn't matter if he lent out the Invisible Ring, Feng Chou still had a few of them. However, he definitely couldn't lend out the semi-automatic rifle, because his + 3 Medium Armor wouldn't be able to block the + 3 enchanted bullets fired from the gun. Although Feng Chou had better armor, it wasn't suitable for him to show it.
For mercenaries like Feng Chou and Hogan who were not weak, a full set of + 3 armor was expensive, but they could still afford it. A + 4 armor was not something mercenaries of their level could afford. If he took out such armor, it would definitely arouse Hogan's suspicion.
Moreover, the + 4 armor in Feng Chou's hands was embedded with leather armor. This kind of armor had a natural disadvantage when facing rifles. It could not absorb the powerful impact of rifle bullets, and its effect was greatly reduced. It was not much stronger than a + 3 medium armor.
Under such circumstances, Feng Chou handing over the gun was equivalent to handing over his life to the other party.
However, Feng Chou already had plans to separate from the other party.
He made a constipated expression and was silent for a long time before saying, "Okay, okay, I'll go, I'll go!
But I want a bigger share, I want an extra ten thousand crowns!
Do you hear me?
If you don't agree, I swear I won't take this risk. "
Hogan shrugged and said, "No problem, this risk is worth the price."
Feng Chou pointed at the unconscious Cizé on the ground and asked, "Should I take him with me?"
Hogan said, "Of course not, that's too dangerous. You go to the Fishtail Mountain alone. I'll watch from above and make sure you won't be surrounded. We'll use the Wind Message spell to keep in touch …"
The Wind Message spell was a level-two spell. It could use the wind to transmit sound to a designated target within ten kilometers.
"… When the other party arrives, you have to first confirm if they brought the magic gemstone we want. If they do, you tell them where Cizé and I are and use the Wind Message spell to inform me."
"When the other party finds me here, I'll use Cizé to threaten them to give you the magic gemstone first. After you get the gemstone, I'll threaten them to let you leave. When you're sure it's safe and inform me, I'll release Cizé and escape."
"After we escape separately, we'll directly cross Veron Ridge and meet up at the southwest shore of Fishmen Lake in the north of the ridge."
Feng Chou nodded to show that he understood.
Before the kidnapping, they had discussed that they would escape from the wilderness north of Veron Ridge. Therefore, the two of them had specially investigated the terrain north of Veron Ridge.
Between Veron Ridge and the Cologne Mountains further north, there was a long and narrow plain. It was nourished by rivers from the Cologne Mountains and Veron Ridge. It was very fertile, but it had not been set foot by humans. It was completely the world of wild creatures.
Back when the old Baron opened up the northern plain of Veron Ridge, the fertile land around Fishmen Lake was the main goal. The old Baron had spent a lot of money and issued a mission at the Mercenary Guild to investigate the place clearly and draw a map.
This map was kept in the military information room of Amborite Castle. Hogan had gotten his hands on this map long ago.
Hogan paused and looked at Feng Chou. "To prevent you from keeping the magic gemstone to yourself …"
At this point, Hogan stretched out his hand and revealed a ring on his left ring finger. "You have to leave a drop of your blood on this tracking ring."
Feng Chou looked at the ring and frowned.
The tracking ring was not a magical item, but a divine item. Only those priests who had the ability to track gods could make such a divine item.
The principle of making a divine item was completely different from that of a magical item. The creation of a magical item was formed by a mage relying on their own knowledge and using various suitable alchemy materials to construct the correct magic circuit in the item.
The creation of a divine item, on the other hand, was through the priest's prayers and using himself as a bridge to establish a subtle connection between the item and the god. If the god accepted the prayer of the priest, he would only infuse the item with divine power and grant the item some kind of authority. It was the divine power and authority that allowed the item to have the ability to cast divine spells.
Therefore, priests also called the divine item a gift from the god.
Not every item could bear the gift of the god. In many cases, the material requirements of the god's gift were far higher than the requirements of a magical item.
The creation of a divine item did not depend on the priest, but on the god. Not just any priest who casually took out an item could be granted authority by the god. If a priest dared to casually make such an unreasonable request to the god, he would definitely end up in a miserable state.
The creation of a divine item was usually a divine decree from the god to the priest. Only then would the priest create an item according to the requirements of the divine decree. Then, through prayer and using himself as a medium, the priest would establish a connection between the item and the god.
Moreover, how the divine item was to be used, whether it was to be given or kept by the church, or sold in exchange for funds for the development of the church, the god would give a decree. It was not something that the priest in charge of the creation could control.
Therefore, divine items were far more precious and rare than magical items.
Most of the effects of divine spells could be achieved with magic, but there were some effects that magic could not have. For example, healing divine items were examples of such effects.
Their rarity and irreplaceable caused the price of many divine items to be much higher than that of magical items of the same level.
The gods were not fools. Spending the same amount of effort, of course, they would make the most precious items to win the hearts of the people.
Therefore, the divine items bestowed by the gods were mostly things like healing divine items, which could not be replaced by magical items.