Rock had a home, and at the same time, he was also a captain — at least that was what he thought.
On the west side of the Sea of Darkness, he had a "home" that could be considered sturdy and solid.
Many years ago, he fled south after committing a crime in a northern city. He brought a few of his men and found a good place by the sea. It was a small bay that could accommodate up to two sailboats at most.
This place was surrounded by the sea on three sides and was very well hidden. Ships passing by on the sea would not discover this settlement unless they were too close.
Here, he only needed to strengthen the fortifications in one direction and spend the effort on the other three sides in one place. Then, it would be impregnable and difficult to break through.
He was even confident that he could resist an army of a few hundred people for a while. If he could not resist, he could also take refuge at sea.
After settling down in this place, Rock had not really left this place.
In this godforsaken place, one could only see the boundless sea and the connected forest. Moreover, there were also frightening unclean things in the depths of the forest. In the depths of the sea, there were rumors of huge sea monsters moving about. The slightest movement could overturn the rivers and seas.
He was not a big shot. He was just a warrior with a bit of brute force. He had the strength of an Iron-ranked warrior. Coupled with his burly body and the ferocious scarred face, he could deal with people weaker than him. If he used some soft tactics, it would not be difficult for him to win over some subordinates.
But that was all.
He knew that between the forest and the sea, he was just an insignificant person. Except for those weaker than him, no one would hear his voice. Even if they did, they would probably ignore him.
Therefore, he was a person who liked to speak in front of those weaker than him. If anyone dared to not listen carefully, he would use his beloved big axe to split them in half.
It did not matter if that person was his subordinate or someone he snatched back when he went out for "business".
Recently, he did not go out to sea. It was the fishing season now, which was not a good time to go out to sea to hunt.
If he went fishing too frequently, there would soon be no fish to catch.
Moreover, because this place was too remote, every time he went out to sea, he had to sail north or south for a period of time to find a place to fish.
Although it took a lot of time, it also prevented some troublesome fellows from chasing after them.
Whether it was the Northern Kingdoms or the Crescent Empire, they would not show him any mercy.
Because what he caught was not real fish.
At noon, he was fishing somewhere in the small bay to kill time. He yawned from time to time, looking rather bored.
Just as he was about to drown in boredom, some news came that he would not normally hear.
His subordinate reported that someone had brought goods over and wanted to do business.
"There are still people who would take the initiative to do business in this lousy place?" Luo Ke said to his subordinates as he spat to the side.
In this damned place, although there was a lot of seawater, fresh water was scarce. Clean water could only be obtained from a simple well dug out in the nearby forest.
As a person who often went out to sea, he was very careful about the amount of low-grade wine that seeped with water. This also ensured that the people in his place would not die of thirst due to lack of water.
Although this place was safe, the environment was so bad that Luo Ke was very surprised that someone would come to do business here.
This was not the southern part of the Forest of the Dead. Although it was not as dangerous as the northern part, to come here was not something that ordinary people could do. A slightly smarter merchant would not use this area as a route to the north. They would choose the sea route to the north or the north of the Sea of Darkness to go to the Western Empire.
Now, there were actually merchants who came to do business here?
Luo Ke did not think that this seaside had become such a friendly place.
While Luo Ke was thinking, his subordinate continued, "They said that they are here to do business, but there are only a few people and a few horses.
I don't see any carriages carrying goods, and they don't look like they have anything valuable. "
It seemed that this subordinate had already evaluated the visitors from head to toe to see if they really had any money or valuables. As for what action to take after the observation, it was up to Luo Ke to decide.
"Who are they?" Luo Ke asked.
"Two adult men, one of them is an old man.
The other two are young, and they don't look like hotheads who are suitable to go out. "
At this point, Luo Ke's subordinate paused for a moment before continuing, "The old man said that he is doing 'new business' and is in a hurry to get rid of it. He just happened to see our place, so he came to inquire."
Luo Ke's eyebrows twitched.
'New business', this was not a word that ordinary people could understand.
Could it be that the other party was also in this line of work?
"Tell the boys to get ready and bring the guests to the place where we usually walk the dogs." Luo Ke said to his subordinate.
His subordinate did not say anything and directly retreated.
Luo Ke put the fishing rod aside and turned to leave.
Although he was surprised that there was business at this time, the visitor was a guest, and a guest who came to discuss business, so he still had to show a welcoming attitude.
If it was really about business, then he would naturally welcome it.
If it was not … His big axe had not been stained with blood for a long time and was about to rust.
The place where Luo Ke said to walk the dogs was a space surrounded by wooden stakes. There were two entrances and exits, and it was close to the fortification facing the land. If one could look down from the sky, it would be an arc and an oval sticking together.
On the outer wall of wooden stakes built high, there was a simple platform for sentries, which could be seen clearly from both the outside and inside.
This was a very careful design. With two doors, there would be fewer sudden accidents.
Just like now, these uninvited guests were standing in this so-called dog walking area and did not have the opportunity to pass through the second door.
Even if they suddenly wanted to attack this place from the inside, what awaited them would be a second tightly closed door and arrows from above.
The people standing here were none other than Lulunaka and the others.
After being let in, each of them had a different expression.
Lulunaka looked around with great interest, and it seemed that she did not care about her situation at all.
Olga and Padding looked calm, and turned a blind eye to the vigilant and suspicious gazes from above.
Only Julius was very nervous. His hands were holding the cross-shaped sword wrapped in cloth, and his eyes were fixed in front of him, his hands slightly trembling.
If Olga and Padding ignored the gazes from above because they did not care, then Julius did not dare to raise his head because he was nervous.
His nervousness did not only come from the pressure of the gazes, but also from what Lulunaka said to him earlier.
Luo Ke did not let these guests wait for too long.
He appeared on the platform above the second door. Standing here, he could look down on Olga and the others, which made him feel very good.
His big axe was placed to the side, where his hands could reach. As long as he wanted to, he could pick up his big axe at any time and swing it.
Luo Ke's people were above, and Lulunaka and the others were below.
Here, the host and the guests formed a sharp contrast.
Lulunaka raised her head and looked at Luo Ke. When their gazes met, Lulunaka smiled at him.
This made Luo Ke feel very good in his heart.
Every time a woman saw him, she would cry like a madwoman, or plead with a dead face.
If he recalled the past, he realized that he had not seen a woman smile so brightly for a long time. Even if there was a smile from a woman, it was a flattering smile.
'A strange little girl.'
Luo Ke judged in his heart.
"Gentlemen … and that young lady, I heard that you have business with us," Luo Ke said loudly.
"Although I welcome people who come to do business with good intentions, no matter how I look at it, you don't look like you have goods."
To Luo Ke, the composition of the people below was also strange.
A person from the Crescent Empire from the Yilan Continent, a westerner, and two little brats who might not even have hair yet.
These were the people who wanted to do business with him, and it was a new business?
Luo Ke felt that he might have been fooled, and his mood quickly showed on his face.
Julius secretly raised his head to take a look, and then lowered his head again.
The fat and fierce-looking guy above had a terrible expression and gaze, which made him feel very bad and made him even more nervous.
"I told your men that we want to do new business." Olga replied to Luo Ke with the same volume.
"I don't think you have goods," Luo Ke said.
"No, we have goods." Olga pointed at Lulunaka, "This is the goods."