Farming in a Parallel World and Becoming a God
Chapter 670 - 491: Spending a fortune for a horse’s bones_3

Chapter 670: Chapter 491: Spending a fortune for a horse’s bones_3

"I’ve heard that Miss Anna is with Mr. Gaven because she has no other choice, some kind of hardship."

"Oh? What kind of hardship? Tell me more about it."

"I’m not clear on the details myself, I’ve just heard others talking about it. Whenever this issue comes up, Miss Anna’s expression becomes a bit gloomy. Ah, truly pitiful..."

"Could you all be mistaken? Mr. Gaven doesn’t strike me as that kind of vicious and evil person."

"Appearances can be deceiving, many merchants are good at putting on an act—one face in front of others, another behind their backs. What we’re seeing is just the facade Mr. Gaven shows to the public."

"Let’s not get off topic. I’m asking about the current situation. Isn’t the inn repair going along rather quickly? Is Mr. Gaven still not satisfied?"

"It’s not about the inn’s repairs. There seems to be a problem with the Gnoll Construction Crew he brought in. From what he’s said, it looks like a small group of Gnolls broke out and escaped last night."

"What? The Gnoll slaves ran away? Those Gnolls always seemed so docile and obedient to me, I’ve never seen them whipped or shackled."

"It’s true that Mr. Gaven neither whipped the Gnolls nor used shackles, and even the food he provided was enviable. But you’ve seen for yourselves how long those Gnolls have to work every day—from the moment the sun begins to set until the next morning when the sun is high in the sky. All together, it definitely adds up to thirteen or fourteen hours, without a moment away from the inn. If you were in their shoes, could you endure it?"

"For a day or two, maybe, but over time, I definitely couldn’t stand it. No matter how good the food, I’d look for a way to escape."

"That’s just it. I suspect that’s what those Gnolls were thinking, too. After all, they’re a monster race, and returning to the wilderness is in their nature."

"That’s correct. I’ve only heard of Gnolls being loyal to a Giant Dragon, never of fidelity to Humans."

The villagers of Anfield discussed the matter vigorously and quickly came to understand the whole story, from cause to effect.

Among them, there wasn’t a shortage of those who reveled in the misfortune of others.

As the saying goes, envy distorts one’s appearance.

The impressive efficiency of the Gnoll Construction Crew under Gaven’s command was plain for all to see.

In just ten days, they revitalized a large inn that was once a ruin. It was indeed incredibly fast.

And most importantly, these Gnolls were essentially like slaves—not requiring a wage.

This is why Mr. Gaven, at such a young age, could become a millionaire, dismissing the threats of The Weeping Witch of the inn and even boldly promising to pave the roads of Anfield Village for free.

He truly did have such unique advantages and capital.

After scolding Anna a few more times, Gaven came out of the Stone Stallion Inn, red with anger, and shouted to the crowd, "I am willing to pay a hefty reward for the capture of those escaped Gnolls, a thousand Gold Coins for each one alive, ten Gold Coins for the dead."

"A thousand Gold Coins? Since when have Gnolls been worth that much? That money could buy two Heavy Warhorses!"

"Mr. Gaven really splashes the cash around, just like that he’s talking about a deal worth tens of thousands of Gold Coins."

"Haha... what are you waiting for? Get your best warhorses and hunting dogs, let’s catch those Gnolls! If they’re on foot, they couldn’t have gotten far."

Gaven’s words instantly caused a huge commotion among the villagers.

This wasn’t something irrelevant to them anymore, but a business opportunity that was too tempting to ignore.

As for the danger, well, they were just a bunch of Gnolls.

Even though the gnolls Gaven had brought were taller and stronger than the wild ones in the wilderness, and possessed unique spell-like abilities, they were still a group of gnolls, two heads shorter than humans.

Not to mention one-on-one fights, even in a two-to-one situation, many villagers were still very confident.

Moreover, they would not venture out alone. They would surely move in groups, with bows, warhorses, and hunting dogs. They had everything they needed. Why should they fear a bunch of gnolls?

"Are you crazy? They’re just a group of gnolls, and if they’ve run away, so be it. Is it necessary to spend tens of thousands of gold coins to capture them?" Mother Gao Ser rushed over upon hearing the news and scolded Gaven for squandering his wealth.

Gaven replied furiously, "Those treacherous creatures, after all the time I spent raising them! As soon as they heard there was a dragon nearby, they turned tail and ran. Not only did they run away, but they also took nearly twenty thousand in liquid assets I had prepared and absconded with it all.

This precedent must not be set, even if it costs ten times the expense, I will capture them."

"I only want the gnolls brought back alive; the rest can go to the captors. Dead ones are worthless to me now," he said.

"Mr. Gaven, just you wait and see, ha ha... We are all expert horsemen, chasing a group of gnolls is nothing but a simple task," they rejoiced.

"Quit the chatter and move, move! If we fall behind the others, we’ll be out of the game," they urged one another.

"The dragon Mr. Gaven mentioned, it wouldn’t happen to be that Swift Roc, would it?"

"Aside from it, I haven’t heard of any dragons nearby," someone responded.

"It dares to call itself a dragon?" another scoffed.

"Indeed, anything with dragon blood, no matter how diluted, is considered a giant dragon by those gnolls."

"With this, we now have a direction for our chase; those gnolls must have run towards the Clept Garden Forest," they concluded.

"We have to hurry then. The Garden Forest is only twenty to thirty kilometers away from us. If they reach the forest, we’ll be out of options."

Gaven’s words had the effect of pouring fuel on the fire, igniting the enthusiasm of all the villagers in Anfield Village.

Anyone capable couldn’t help but call their friends and set out to try their luck, to see if they could find these gold-plated gnolls in the wilderness and bind them to bring back.

When the gnolls had fled, they were clearly panicked, leaving their tracks all but untouched, and it wasn’t long before the villagers’ hunting dogs picked up their trail.

The scattered currency found along the way proved that Gaven was not lying.

The gnolls had not only run away but had also stolen his money while at it.

Even twenty thousand gold coins were not light in weight, let alone the silver and copper coins scattered about, which naturally added up to an astonishing amount.

This significantly slowed the gnolls’ pace.

Otherwise, the villagers wouldn’t have needed to exert themselves; they couldn’t have caught up before the gnolls reached the Garden Forest.

No one dared chase a group of gnolls into the dense forest.

Especially when the forest was occupied by a prideful, ferocious Swift Roc.

One slight mishap and you would become its dinner.