prynovel Chapter 75 The Friendly Camp
Chapter 75 The Friendly Camp
Following in Karl's footsteps, and escorted by four iron-casting warriors, Simon and his companions headed toward the so-called camp.
During the journey, the familiar golden characters once again appeared before his eyes.
【Iron Laws - Contract: Reaching the Second Layer of the Abyss (1/1)】
As long as there is land that has not been trodden by the Empire's flag, the Empire will not cease its conquest.
Beware! This land is not only full of flowers, but also rife with evil!
[The Iron Emperor has witnessed your hardships along the way; accept His grace.]
[Blessing 1: Pain Maniac, your pain perception will be greatly converted into pleasure. When the converted pleasure reaches a certain threshold, you will unleash an even more ferocious attack.]
Pain can be transformed into pleasure...
[Blessing Two: Frugality and Economy: You will master a more "economical" way of using weapons, greatly reducing weapon wear and tear and extending weapon lifespan.]
This didn't seem to be of much use to him. For Simon, his weapons were all consumables; he might just throw them out as javelins at any time.
[Blessing Three: Spiritual Venerable One, your spirit will be restored extremely quickly. A short rest will allow you to achieve twice the results with half the effort and will also speed up your reaction time.]
After the three options were presented, Simon hesitated for a few minutes between Blessing Two and Blessing Three...
Thinking it over carefully, he realized that the Blessing II could help extend the lifespan of his harpoon, and he certainly didn't want this handy weapon to be easily worn out and ruined.
But the third blessing is also very good. He is not only concerned with the recovery of his spirit, but also with the speed of his reaction. His experience in the first level made him realize that if he can react faster at critical moments, even if it is only by a second, he can change the outcome of many things.
Ultimately, he chose to bestow the third blessing, the spiritual one.
Golden characters merged into his body, accompanied by a new contract.
Grace has come; please continue your journey.
Destroy the beasts' comfortable nest and announce the arrival of the Iron Order to them!
[Iron Law - New Contract: Destroy the lairs of three hunters (0/3)]
The moment the large golden characters disappeared, the green and purple cursive characters reappeared, twisting and turning.
What's meant to happen will happen...
[The Gospel of Flesh and Blood - The Contract: Reaching the Second Layer of the Abyss (1/1)]
The wonderful fragrance of flowers proves that you have set foot in the territory of Mother of Abundance.
I know you will come, my dear. The Mother of Abundance awaits you with longing. Please accept her gifts.
[Blessing 1: A diligent florist, after collecting special flowers, learns of their unique effects.]
This blessing was very useful to Simon.
[Blessing Two: Unreserved Devouring] You will be able to devour food without regard to taste, swallowing even the most unpalatable or non-food items.
While this would greatly help in survival, the situation hasn't reached that extreme yet, and Simon doesn't want to lose his sense of taste.
[Blessing Three: Storage-type Stomach Pouch. Your digestive system will be transformed. Your esophagus will become more resilient, and your stomach will become much larger, able to support more weight. You can temporarily store small items in your stomach pouch and retrieve them from your mouth along the esophagus when needed.]
Simon ignored the last option and directly chose Blessing One.
The green and purple cursive script also blended into his body.
【My dear, inhale the fragrance of the flowers; their exquisite aroma will captivate you.】
Keep going, my dear. Don't be afraid of change; change may mean evolution.
[A Blessing for Flesh and Blood - New Commission: Consume Three Special Flowers]
During the time he chose, they had already crossed several hills.
The colorful petals were crushed by the boots, and the juice seeped into the soil, making the sweet smell even stronger and causing some people to feel dizzy.
Professor Lloris, supported by Pique, coughed intermittently.
Klein walked in the middle of the group. His nosebleed had stopped, but his face was still frighteningly pale. He had to stop and catch his breath every few steps.
The campsite's wooden fence emerged from behind the sea of flowers; it was a fence pieced together from scrap wood, sheet metal, vines, and various unidentifiable fragments.
The two iron-clad warriors stopped a hundred meters from the camp and did not continue to follow them. Their massive bodies gradually disappeared into the white mist.
Simon followed Carl through the camp gate.
Many people were resting in the camp. They wore tattered, stitched clothes of varying colors and materials, barely covering their scarred bodies. They all looked like ruthless thugs who had lived on the edge, and their eyes radiated an unsettling ferocity.
Florian leaned closer to him, lowered her voice, and said with her lips almost touching Simon's ear: "This is the cave raiders' camp. I've been here twice before, both times with the boss, but it's more chaotic now, with more people and a lot of strangers."
"Welcome to the Friendly Camp!" Karl introduced them solemnly. "This place used to belong only to cave raiders, but it's different now. As long as you are a Friendly, whether you are a criminal, a deserter, or a poor wretch wanted by the Empire, you can rest here."
Simon glanced around, and deep within the camp, a white shadow swept past the edge of his field of vision.
Her long, silvery-white hair reached her waist and gleamed coldly in the dark green lantern light.
The man walked quickly, went around the back of the tent, and disappeared behind a pile of broken wooden crates.
Simon couldn't see her face clearly, only a pale nape of her neck and a strand of white hair being blown by the wind.
A burly figure suddenly stepped out from the crowd. The man was at least 1.9 meters tall, with shoulders as broad as a door. He wore a leather vest that was stretched taut, revealing his two thick arms.
"Look who's here!" His loud voice instantly drew everyone's attention. "It's Elphis's puppies!"
Some of the tomb raiders threw their heads back and laughed heartily, while others frowned slightly, their fingers hooking onto their weapons.
Florian's hand had already reached for the hilt of the gun at her waist, but Karl waved her hand, telling her not to make any rash moves.
"Excuse me, what did you just say?" Karl looked at the burly man, his hand pulled out of his pocket, not holding a gun, but just hanging at his side.
There was nothing particularly striking about him; people would often overlook him, like this burly man who didn't even notice him.
The bald man was still smiling, but when his gaze fell on the unassuming man, his expression changed drastically.
The tall man knelt down on the ground, his knees hitting the gravel with a dull thud.
This reaction was unusual, and Simon silently became more vigilant; the Karl before him was no ordinary person.
"I...I didn't know it was you..." The burly man's voice was squeezed out of his throat, trembling.
"The Friendly Camp only needs friendly people." Karl's voice was still so soft. "Do you think your words and actions just now were friendly?"
"I will be a kind person, I absolutely will! Please give me another chance!"
Carl bent down, opened his palm, and gently patted the bald man's head, as if he were patting a docile pet.
"Go ahead, but don't do it again next time."
Carl turned to look at Simon, his relaxed smile returning to his face.
"Come on, let's go inside the tent and talk." He gestured with his chin toward the largest and most beautiful canvas tent deep in the camp.