Reforged Chapter 46: Pearl Route - Part 1

The wind swept across the barren land, revealing endless desolation and countless tales of hardship.

As pioneers, the people of Moonbrook in Westfall region had to face all kinds of troubles, as if troubles had become a part of their lives.

Another mine collapse?

Encountered monsters in the wild?

Gnolls?

Carrion birds?

Nightbane Worgen?

Razorfang boars?

All kinds of monsters became topics of conversation in the only tavern in Moonbrook. Amidst the bright candlelight, the air in the tavern was filled with the sour smell of men who had been busy all day, the strong scent of alcohol, and lively discussions.

However, lately, the tavern had a new topic of conversation: a young mage named Duke Marcus.

"Did you hear that a mage named Marcus killed Hogger?" a farmer suddenly asked his companion.

"That powerful, over two meters tall Gnoll called Hogger?"

"No, no, no, it should be a four-meter-tall Gnoll. A few days ago, when I passed by Sentinel Hill, I saw Hogger's headless corpse. It was terrifying. Even though the body had already begun to rot, it was still at least one and a half stories tall," a merchant who had just returned from outside said.

"What about the head?" the farmer inquired.

"The head and claws were sent to Stormwind City and Goldshire in Elwynn Forest for public display."

"Amazing," a miner remarked.

"Of course, Duke Marcus is the second mage in the history of the Kingdom of Stormwind to become a formal mage with a talent level of nine!" An intervening middle-aged mercenary had a sense of pride written all over his face.

Moonbrook was not a large town, with only about a thousand residents. Even if they couldn't remember each other's names, they were basically all recognizable.

"Oh? You know that Master Marcus?"

"Of course! I am his subordinate!" the mercenary said without any attempt to conceal it.

"Come on! Followers of a mage are usually very strong, even stronger than our town's top knight, Rilok," the miner scoffed at the mercenary.

But the next moment, the miner couldn't speak, and neither could anyone else in the tavern.

"Yo, Marco, you're here!"

An ordinary greeting accompanied a cool entrance.

The blue and white mage robe and the dazzling mage insignia proved his identity, and the five sharp ice pillars floating on his shoulders deepened everyone's impression of him.

The ice pillars floating in mid-air were illogical, but when placed on a powerful mage lord, even the most illogical became logical.

"Master Marcus, what is this...?"

"Oh, this is just part of my self-cultivation," Duke replied casually.

Marco didn't ask any more questions. The world of mages was something he couldn't understand even if he listened. However, this didn't prevent him and the people around him from feeling a sense of awe, despite not understanding but thinking it was incredibly powerful. ...

Marco glanced at the bag in Duke's hand, covered with numerous spherical protrusions, and was momentarily stunned.

"Go ahead and say it."

Marco had arrived early, along with a few of his subordinates. He led Duke to his room, and his men immediately guarded the door.

Below, the people of Moonbrook Town were abuzz.

"Wow, is that Duke Marcus? So young!"

"Truly young and promising!"

"What brings him to Moonbrook Town? There's nothing in Westfall to attract someone like him!"

"Could it be that he's found a new mine or specialty product?"

"How is that possible? Apart from growing crops and a few ordinary iron and copper mines, what else is there in Westfall?"

None of them had expected that Duke had indeed developed a new specialty product for Westfall.

Inside the room, Marco and his mercenaries were dazzled by the treasure on the table.

Pearls, all shapes and sizes of pearls.

From the smallest, least lustrous pearls to [Glowing Small Pearls], [Multicolored Pearls], the more valuable [Black Pearls], and finally the most dazzling, baby fist-sized [Golden Pearls]. The sight of so many pearls nearly stopped the hearts of Marco and his men.

Of course, besides pearls, there were also beautiful corals, yellow transparent tortoiseshell, but the most eye-catching were the pearls.

"What are these?"

"I've developed a specialty product for Westfall, and I plan to establish a shipping route called the Pearl Route."

"Hisss—" The mercenaries drew a collective breath.

A shipping route! That wasn't a simple matter. A shipping route meant that Duke's pearls had a stable source.

The most experienced Marco couldn't help but be suspicious: "Please forgive my impertinence, but the entire Westfall coast is overrun with murlocs that never seem to be exterminated. How did you..."

"Oh! It was a coincidence that I took control of a murloc tribe. The ones gathering pearls for me are murlocs!"

"Ah!" Marco couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

It was said that mages would keep all sorts of strange familiars as their servants, but murlocs... especially those crude, fierce, and low-intelligence murlocs. It was simply unbelievable.

However, since the beginning, Marco had realized that the young man before him was a miracle-worker who turned the impossible into the possible. He had gone from being initially shocked at everything to becoming somewhat numb, even blindly believing.

"Is there anything I can do for you, sir?"

"I ordered a batch of ships from Old Jackson at the Stormwind Shipyard, and I've already paid for them. They should be ready by now, so bring as many as you can. Hire sailors at Menethil Harbor, and offer double wages for the first batch of sailors, with payment in full before departure. Also, please make sure to attach my banner to the bow of each ship."

Looking at the several strange, inconsistent banners that Duke brought out, Marco was somewhat doubtful. However, he didn't ask and instead inquired, "What about you, sir?"

"I can't leave for now. As for the money, you can sell these pearls first."

"No, no, no, you still have plenty of bounty left from killing Hogger. That should be enough to cover the sailors. I don't know the price of pearls, so it's more appropriate for you to handle it personally."

Duke rubbed his brows, indeed, there were too few capable people to work for him.

This was an era when illiteracy was rampant; it was easy to find muscle but difficult to find someone with brains. Most commoners wouldn't deal with merchants unless they absolutely had to.

However, Duke couldn't leave. The threat from the naga tribe in Stranglethorn Vale had to be dealt with before he could find any respite here.

"Let's do it this way, then! Still, take some back with you as evidence that I've opened up the Pearl Route. Also, find Mage Norton from the Royal Academy of Magic and ask him to help me apply for exclusive rights to this route."

"Exclusive rights? That seems..."

"Do you think the nobles will interfere?"

"You are wise, sir." Marco nodded obediently.

"No worries, let them come." Duke's dark eyes flashed with a cruel, cold light.

...