The Holy Man of Another Century Gospel

Chapter 40 Redwood Forest

The two carriages sped along the avenue, hardly stopping except for the occasional accident.

Maintaining this speed, before sunset, they had left the Otville Province to which Dent County belonged and entered the Holterdam Province.

The farthest Eric had ever traveled in his life, he had never left his own territory, so the surrounding scenery had long since become unfamiliar to him. Even with memories of his past life, galloping along such a road, he had difficulty recognizing his current location - compared to the real world he was in, the distance in the game, which could be covered in minutes by just getting on a mount, was countless times shorter.

"Rest when it gets dark," Eric said to the driver. "When we set out again, someone else will drive."

"Yes, Master."

The driver nodded first, then said, "But we have to leave this mountainous area first. It's too dangerous to stay here after dark."

As the sun gradually set, Eric nodded, looking at the shadowy mountains and forests on both sides of the road, without objection.

The Holtdam Province is located in the northwest of the empire. It has a vast area with many high mountains. The northernmost part is even covered with snow all year round. The snow-capped mountains are continuous, but there is a warm plain in the southeast corner, where the capital of the empire, Lutia, is located.

Strictly speaking, Dent County, which is only one province away from Lutia, is not too far away from the imperial capital geographically. It’s just that the rolling mountains between the two lengthen the actual distance, and all the prosperity of the imperial capital seems to be isolated on the other side of the mountains.

After the sun sets, it gets dark very quickly in the mountains.

In order to avoid accidents, the carriage had to slow down and continue running on the road relying on a small light hanging under the horse's head that could not illuminate very far.

After a while, a little light appeared in the darkness ahead and became more and more obvious as they got closer. It was a small village beside the highway.

"Master," the driver said, "let's stop at the small town ahead."

"Have we reached the redwood forest yet?" Eric took over. "Then let's rest here."

The driver was stunned for a moment, then nodded quickly, "Yes, the young master actually knows this place."

Eric smiled. He didn't remember the route, but he remembered the several nodes along the way clearly.

Hongmulin Town is named after the large redwood forest behind it. In this place where there is no village in front and no shop behind, it has developed entirely by the pedestrians and tourists passing by on Hero Avenue.

There were two bright cold flame street lamps at the intersection. The carriage slowed down here, left the avenue, and turned into the brightly lit town.

"Fine elven wine! Brewed by a wood elf girl herself, one cup can dispel all your fatigue. Come to Hannah's tavern and try it!"

"Redwood Forest Wild Boar Leg Roast, cheap and filling!"

When they saw the carriage, someone would quickly come up to them and enthusiastically recommend their own tavern or hotel to the newly arrived travelers.

"Since the main product is Elf Handmade Brew, then we should find a beautiful Elf girl to sell it."

Eric sat at the front of the car, scanning the area, feeling quite fresh. When he noticed the driver next to him looking at him frequently, he suddenly realized that he was waiting for him to make a decision.

"Willy, have you been here before?"

"I have stayed here several times, sir, when I was on duty for the Count."

"Then find us a quiet place to stay." Eric thought for a moment and added, "We won't have to travel tonight."

"Okay, young master!" The coachman finally felt confident and drove the carriage a little faster until he stopped in front of a smaller tavern.

Eric jumped out of the carriage and looked around.

This Lao Si Ji's carefully selected pub is a bit small, but it should be high-end. The environment is clean and quiet, and the customers sitting inside seem to be dressed more appropriately than those in other pubs. He even has some impression of this store.

The group sat down at two tables, Eric and the two nuns at one table, looking at the layout of the tavern while waiting for the food to be served.

The more he looked at it, the more familiar it looked. If he remembered correctly, this was the end point of a side quest that started in Lutia.

And the starting point of that mission...

Eric's eyes suddenly became focused as a young man came to their table carrying a thick soup sprinkled with shredded cheese.

"Your onion soup."

His body.

Baker was a new soldier who died in the defense of Lutia. The player received a mission from his comrade. After a round of investigation, he came to this tavern in the redwood forest and returned the relic to his family - and then got it from his family rightfully.

What impressed Eric so much was that the relic was a ring with good attributes, especially suitable for warrior players.

When Baker came back to their table with the slate fried eggs, Eric quickly noticed the silver ring on his right hand.

"Wait a moment." He called to the waiter who was about to turn around and leave.

"What else do you want?" The young man reacted quickly and when he turned around he stole a glance at the two beautiful nuns sitting opposite him.

The latter's eyes were fixed on Eric, who suddenly spoke. "Two more glasses of mead," Eric said. "One for me, and the other for you."

“Thank you for your generosity and kindness.”

The young man was a little surprised, but not too shocked. He bent down and moved closer to Eric. "You look unfamiliar. This must be your first time here. What do you want to know? I know most of the things going on in Redwood Forest."

"I want to buy your ring." Eric said bluntly.

"Ring?" Baker was genuinely surprised. He raised his right hand and asked, "Are you talking about this?"

"Yes."

Eric nodded, feeling that it might be a bit abrupt, and found an excuse: "I really like your ring. I want to buy it as a gift for my friend."

Sophie sat up straight.

"This……"

Baker scratched his head, looking a little embarrassed. "To be honest with you, this ring is not a valuable thing. It was left to me by my grandmother when she passed away. But although it is not very valuable, it is also a commemoration to keep it with me..."

"One gold coin." Eric quoted the price.

"It's not about money..."

"Five gold coins."

Baker had already taken off the ring. "Would you like me to get you a clean cloth to wipe it?"

"No thanks." Eric reached into his pocket and paused.

He had no money on him—Master Eric could count on one hand the number of times he spent money throughout the year; he had no habit of carrying money.

"Well...you should wipe it off."

While Baker was happily looking for a clean cloth, Eric got up and left the tavern, returned to the carriage, opened his box, grabbed a handful of gold coins and stuffed them into his pocket, and also took the weapon that was placed beside him.

Back at his seat in the tavern, Eric waited for a while before Baker came over with a glass of mead.

He put down his glass, and with a click, the ring fell onto the table. He turned his head to glance at the bar and whispered, "Don't tell anyone about this, especially that woman over there. She's my mother. If she knew I sold Grandpa's ring, she would definitely not forgive me."

Didn’t you just say it was a ring left by grandma?
"Okay." Eric glanced at him and didn't bother to say anything more. He gave him the five gold coins he had prepared and accepted the ring.

[Aki's Ring of Uplift]

"This silver ring originally belonged to the warrior Aqi. It accompanied him to the very end of the battle and was completely soaked in blood.

Strengthens the effect of upward attack skills and briefly extends the knockback time.

"Beat him away! Don't ask why, just beat him away and you win!"

The ring strengthens the knock-up effect and is paired with a large number of upward-throwing skills. It can be regarded as a small PVP artifact for warriors to perform combo control in the early and mid-game.

Although it is not useful now, it will come in handy sooner or later, Eric thought, putting the ring on his right hand. Suddenly, he noticed that Sophie opposite him lowered her body and leaned limply on the dining table.

"Sophie," Alena whispered, not looking at her.

"..."

Sophie twisted her posture, then sat back down and continued eating her dinner in silence.

"Is this food not to Miss Sophie's liking?" Eric asked.

"...No." The little nun glanced at his ring, but didn't ask anything in the end.

Eric didn't care, but suddenly thought that he might be able to use the experience and memory of his previous life to collect more equipment and props to strengthen himself - especially some of these treasures were hidden in hidden corners that no one knew about except him.

The three of them ate for a while, and then Baker brought the last dish, fragrant salt-rock grilled bear meat.

"If I'm not mistaken, you should be a noble from the south." Baker placed the barbecue in the middle of the table.

Eric didn't deny it, but was curious about why he suddenly asked this question. He couldn't be planning to follow him, right?

"Then you'd better keep an eye on your things..." Baker lowered his voice, pretended to adjust the plate with his right hand, and made a secret gesture in front of him with his left hand, pointing to a corner.

"There are two people over there who have been staring at you for a long time."

(End of this chapter)