Merchant From Earth in the Magical World
Chapter 45: Agarwood (Please Vote and Favorite)_1

Chapter 45: Chapter 45: Agarwood (Please Vote and Favorite)_1

After asking around, Yan Xing learned about the enemy’s strength for this engagement.

This time, 90 werewolves were invading Red Mud Wetland from Stenchwater Forest. Among them were 9 Second Order Great Werewolves and 81 First Order Werewolves, led by Steel Fang.

Additionally, as a Werewolf Hero Beast Tamer, Steel Fang had also brought 6 Poison Flies.

The invading force from Stenchwater Forest was smaller than Duan’er had estimated.

This was because the intelligence gathered by Stenchwater Forest suggested that Duan’er had led the clan’s elite to attack a human camp, and the outcome was still unknown.

If Duan’er suffered heavy losses at the human camp, Stenchwater Forest would take the opportunity to seize Red Mud Wetland. If Duan’er won against the humans, did not suffer significant losses, and even captured a batch of weapons, the invading werewolf army from Stenchwater Forest definitely could not fight to the death for the territory as fiercely as Duan’er’s tribe would.

Stenchwater Forest had a plan to retreat from Red Mud Wetland at any moment. However, they intended to take all the captured women and children with them. Without the replenishment of new blood, the Red Mud Wetland Werewolf Tribe would eventually disintegrate, and Stenchwater Forest could then easily take over Red Mud Wetland.

Since they were ready to retreat at any moment, they would naturally take as much wood as possible that could be exchanged for food, and they would also pick the best wood.

This was why these 4 werewolves were salvaging wood here.

If it weren’t for the need to suppress and escort the captured women and children at the Red Mud Wetland tribe’s settlement, even more werewolves would be here salvaging wood.

Hearing that the Stenchwater Forest werewolves truly intended to take away the women and children of his own tribe, Duan’er felt grateful that he had followed Yan Xing’s advice and had hurried over in a truck at top speed. Otherwise, once all his tribe’s women and children were taken, the Red Mud Wetland Tribe would truly be finished.

"Sir Yan Xing, we must attack our settlement immediately! We need to drive away the invaders and rescue our tribe’s women and children."

Having received the information, Yan Xing instructed Eddie to re-gag the werewolf.

Then, addressing the anxious Duan’er, he said, "The invading werewolves from Stenchwater Forest will first assess the damage to the group you led away before deciding whether to retreat or occupy. Therefore, they won’t retreat now; they are merely preparing for a possible retreat. But as long as they’re considering retreat, they will certainly send someone here to transport the salvaged wood. We can set up an ambush here and eliminate all the werewolves that come for the wood. By reducing the enemy’s effective strength, attacking our settlement will be much easier.

If we attack forcefully now, not only will our losses be greater, but we might also harm more women and children."

Although Duan’er didn’t understand what "reducing the enemy’s effective strength" meant, he understood the plan to set an ambush here. And it was just as Sir Yan Xing had said. A direct assault on the settlement, even if victorious, would result in significant losses for his own side.

"We’ll follow Sir Yan Xing’s lead! Since those thieves from Stenchwater Forest value this wood so much, let’s set up an ambush right here!"

The werewolves from Red Mud Wetland were very familiar with the terrain of this grove. They quickly determined the path the Stenchwater Forest werewolves would take to transport the wood and then found suitable spots for hiding and ambushing.

Yan Xing picked up some rotten wood from the ground and scraped off some powder with his dagger. He took a careful sniff; the fragrance it released was consistent with the aroma of the entire forest.

So, Yan Xing scraped off more powder and had the militia and werewolves apply it to their bodies.

The scent of the powder masked the body odor of humans and werewolves, allowing the ambushers to blend in better with their surroundings.

Yan Xing also sprinkled some powder on himself and then climbed onto a sturdy tree branch.

He contacted Olaf, who was scouting their settlement, via walkie-talkie. Yan Xing shared the intelligence he had gathered and the ambush plan, instructing Olaf to monitor the movements of the invading Stenchwater Forest werewolves and to investigate their defensive arrangements in the settlement.

Eddie stood on a branch of the same tree. When Yan Xing finished his call with Olaf, he couldn’t help asking, "Boss, what is this wood exactly? Why is the powder scraped from it so fragrant? And why would anyone trade so much food for it? Twenty kilograms of food for one kilogram of wood—are those people stupid?"

Stupid? "It’s those human merchants who are treating the Stenchwater Forest werewolves like fools." Yan Xing looked at the scattered pieces of shabby wood on the ground, a smile touching his lips. He deliberately raised his voice, "This kind of wood... if someone were to acquire a kilogram of it for merely 200 kilograms of food, *they* would be considered an unscrupulous merchant, getting it far too cheaply."

SNAP!

Duan’er fell straight down from a nearby tree.

Then, ignoring the pain from his fall, he grabbed a piece of wood from the ground and scrambled up the tree Yan Xing was in. With a broad smile, he edged closer to Yan Xing’s branch.

"Sir Yan Xing, Sir Yan Xing... you just said this wood... could be exchanged for 200 kilograms of food? What... what kind of treasure is this?"

Yan Xing had already seen Duan’er listening intently from a nearby tree. Since he had intended for Duan’er to hear, he didn’t hide anything further. Taking the piece of wood from Duan’er, he said, "This looks like wood, but most of it is a type of resin called agarwood. It’s a very precious fragrance.

I don’t know the value of agarwood in other human territories, but I would willingly trade 200 kilograms of food for 1 kilogram of it."

"Really? Two hundred kilograms of food?!"

Duan’er felt dizzy, his feet unsteady.

Just hearing that this wood could be exchanged for food at a twenty-to-one ratio by weight had been a huge shock. Now, Yan Xing was telling him it could be one to two hundred...

Duan’er felt like he was the richest werewolf in the world. The Red Mud Wetland is full of agarwood!

Yan Xing quickly steadied Duan’er, who was about to fall again, and poured cold water on his excitement, "Clan Leader, it’s extremely difficult for agarwood to form properly. Good quality agarwood often requires hundreds, even thousands, of years of accumulation. There might be a lot of agarwood in the Red Mud Wetland, but definitely not as much as you imagine.

Otherwise, those four werewolves wouldn’t have salvaged such a meager amount after working for so long. And once this kind of valuable resource is depleted, it won’t reappear for a very long time."

Yan Xing’s words sobered Duan’er instantly.

True! Two hundred kilograms of food wasn’t even enough for his entire tribe for a single day. Even if he dug up all the agarwood in the Red Mud Wetland, how long would that sustain them?

Then Yan Xing said, "The agarwood in the Red Mud Wetland is limited, but the amount in the entirety of Thunderous Swamp is absolutely beyond our imagination. Even the undiscovered agarwood at the swamp’s edges represents an incalculable fortune.

Clan Leader Duan’er... don’t you think the Red Mud Wetland is too small for your tribe? It’s a shame to use such precious agarwood just to trade for food."

Yan Xing’s words seemed to open a door for Duan’er to a possibility he had never considered.

If agarwood could be exchanged for so much food, it could naturally also be traded for weapons.

The Stenchwater Forest werewolves wanted to seize his Red Mud Wetland; he, in turn, could annex Stenchwater Forest... and the surrounding werewolf territories!

Previously, Duan’er had only dreamed of making the surrounding werewolf tribes revere him. But now, his ambitions soared far higher.