Big-eared monsters are the most common subhumans and can be found almost everywhere on the continent. They are about the size of humans, with green skin, generally ugly appearance, and are characterized by a pair of large ears on the back of their heads. Strictly speaking, they are also considered a type of orcs, although their intelligence is a little lower than that of humans, but they also use human language. It seems that they also have their own language, and it is said that a country of their own existed a long time ago, but then it collapsed for some unknown reason. Because they are the only race that has some connection to human society, they are not regarded as beasts like other orcs, but as inferior races. They usually live in the cracks of human society, petty theft is a good trick, and some are engaged in various low-level jobs. Hostage-taking like this had never been done before.

Asa followed the map left by the big-eared monsters, originally thinking that it would be a hidden and heavily guarded lair, but he didn't expect it to be just a mountain a dozen miles outside the city of Bracada. The cottage that was blatantly built outside the cave is very conspicuous, and it can be seen from afar.

After Asa reported his identity and intentions, the big-eared monsters introduced him to the cottage. There were about a hundred big-eared monsters inside, and when they heard that Asa had come to redeem the hostages, they were all happy to point at him from a distance. Asa noticed that it didn't seem to be a well-laid out nest, but more like a makeshift camp. They are all houses made of planks and thatch, one east and one west.

The big-eared monsters did not tell the informant at the beginning of the kidnapping how much ransom they wanted, but only asked the duke to send someone. It seems that he didn't expect such an unexpected valuable gain, and he has to go back and slowly think about how much money he can get.

"Where's the people?" Asa was always concerned about the book, and he wanted to meet Chrissy first.

A few big-eared monsters chirped and discussed, and took him to a cave.

The entrance to the cave was separated by a wooden fence and became a ready-made prison. Judging by the amount of food left inside, it seems that the Big-Eared Monsters did not abuse the precious captive. But Chriss, who had been frightened enough, seemed to be very haggard, and sat down with joy when she heard that her father had sent someone to redeem herself, and she sat down beside the wooden fence and wept. She was surprised when she made it clear that it was Asa. "Is that you?"

"What about the book?" asked Asa.

"What books?" was Chris's reply, which made his heart tremble.

"It's the book I lent you, in the library of the Academy of Magic, and you said you were going to read it on the way when you left. ”

"I've been locked up here for so long, I'm afraid to die, and when you meet, you don't even ask me how I am, you don't care about me at all, and you ask what kind of books you have. Chrissy burst into tears.

Asa tried to calm down, and said in a voice that was as gentle as possible to coax the child, "Don't worry, since I'm here you'll be fine." I'm glad to see that you're okay and still in good spirits. But that book is so important, do you remember where it is?"

"I was in my bag and was snatched by these guys. ”

The words made Asa almost jump. But come to think of it, maybe the big-eared monsters wouldn't have shipped it away without checking it, and if they saw it, they might have thrown it somewhere.

"Well, you wait here, I'll get you out as soon as I've discussed it with them. Asa reached in and patted Chrissy on the head, comforting her. He turned to the big-eared monster behind him and said, "I want to see your leader." The big-eared monster purred and led him outside.

In the middle of a makeshift wooden house sat an ornate table, apparently stolen, and a big-eared monster that appeared to be the leader sat at the table, as if standing majestically straight, and several other big-eared monsters standing behind him.

Asa wanted to ask about the book as soon as he opened his mouth, but he thought that he had come to ransom people after all, and that he had to finish the matter before he could say it, so he also sat down at the table and asked, "How much do you want?" ”

The leader of the big-eared monster grunted, as if to clear his throat, and said in a deep and nasal voice characteristic of the big-eared monster: "You humans have always looked down on us, and have always oppressed us, belittled us as a barbaric race, in fact, we also have a long culture..... You see, we didn't mistreat the hostages, and we tried to hurt as little as possible when we robbed...."His ugly face seemed to be trying to create a serious and calm demeanor of a diplomat.

Asa said impatiently, "Let's be more direct, what do you want, how much ransom do you want?"

The leader of the big-eared monsters slapped the table as if offended, and said, "Your attitude is contempt for us. Do you think we are an inferior people? Let me tell you, the time has come for us to turn over, and we will no longer allow you human beings to oppress us. "That ugly face slammed hard.

Asa nodded and waved his hand and said, "How much do you want?"

The leader of the big-eared monster turned his head, made eye contact with a few companions behind him, turned around and said, "Don't underestimate us, we know that she is the daughter of a duke named Mrak, and we have also sent someone to investigate, this duke's power and financial resources are very large." He stretched out five fingers and then immediately retracted into one. "We want five..... One thousand gold coins. His narrow eyes flickered as he looked at Assa.

"Good. Asa nodded dryly.

The leader of the big-eared monster froze for a moment, not expecting him to agree so simply. A big-eared monster behind him seemed to push him with his foot, and he immediately held up another finger, "No, it's two thousand gold coins." ”

"Good. "Asa is more refreshed. All he wanted to do was get a good deal on the price so he could ask about the book.

Even the few big-eared monsters behind the leader shrugged up. This time, the leader did not wait for their signal, but immediately stood up on his own, and said a little excitedly: "No, I said it wrong, we are going to ..... Want... Five thousand gold coins. ”

Asa frowned. He could see that the guys were steering the rudder in the wind. But if he only saw a few silver coins in front of him, he might be able to clearly discern the exact meaning of what they represented, but once he had a large amount beyond his experience, he was completely dizzy. It felt to him that a hundred gold coins and ten thousand gold coins were all sharing a simple concept of 'a lot'. Thinking of the status of the Duke, he probably didn't have any money, so he nodded.

"It's decided, we want 10,000. Asa's cheerfulness aroused the ambition and fighting spirit of the leader, and the lion suddenly opened his mouth.

Asa slapped the table and stood up, he was already angry. The leader immediately made a gesture of concession, raised his hands and waved, and said, "At this price, we will never increase it again, never again." He saw Asa sit back down and said. "Who doesn't feel sorry for their children? Think about it, no matter what kind of animal they are, they love their children, and if something happens to my children, I will definitely save them at any cost. The Duke must be the same. Compared with gold coins, of course, it is the daughter who is important. He'll have to pay that back. ”

Asa frowned and said, "Okay, then that's it." I'll bring the money tomorrow, and you'll release them." The chief's eyes lit up with excitement, and he said with great strength, "Good." ”

"By the way, there's one more thing .....," Asa said lightly, as he began to talk about his true purpose. "Our young lady still has a book with her, and I hope you will return it to me. ”

"I don't know where the book is. The leader and a few big-eared monsters behind him looked at each other and shook their heads.

"It's really useless to you, it's not valuable, it's just a little memorable. It's in our lady's bag, please go find it for me. Asa watched the big-eared monsters carefully.

"All the goods have already been ..... Dispose.... Let's go. The big-eared monster seemed cautious, vaguely speaking, but it confirmed what Asa feared most.

"Where the hell is that book now?" Asa asked, holding on to a last glimmer of hope.

The leader suddenly became sensitively angry, slapped the table and stood up, and said, "We are not good at deceiving you, don't try to get news from us. He waved his hand at Asa. "Alright, let's go, remember to bring the money tomorrow. Otherwise, I'll wait to collect your lady's body. ”

Asa was almost driven out by those big-eared monsters, and several times he almost wanted to punch the ugly face of the big-eared monsters pushing behind, but he endured and endured it before he didn't make a move.

Sure enough, in the worst-case scenario, the book was indeed delivered to the orc's city. How do you get it back?' Asa was so upset that he suddenly started a fire. He'd never been so angry, and this kind of anger can be circulated and escalated in this kind of place. If it weren't for the fact that Chrissy was still in their hands, he promised to turn around and go back and kill the green-skinned idiots.

This sulking continued until he returned to the town hall in Bracada. He was going to go to Master Porugan and explain the ransom.

"Ten thousand gold coins?" Lord Porugan jumped up from the big chair as if he had been stabbed by this number, and looked straight at Asa with his mouth wide open and his big drum eyes.

"Is this the amount that the Duke has told you in advance? ”

Looking at Lord Porugan's reaction, Asa realized that something seemed to be wrong. He shook his head.

"Do you know what you can do with 10,000 gold coins?" said Master Porugan's expression.

Asa still shook his head. He really didn't have any idea about that.

"One silver coin can make a poor family live for a month. Did you know?"

Asa nodded. He also once worked as a mercenary for a dozen copper coins.

"One gold coin is enough for the average family to live for ten years, and five is enough for them to live for a lifetime. 10,000 can provide 2,000 families with a lifetime. 2,000 households, more than 10,000 people, one, generation, and son. The rest of the features on Lord Porugan's face didn't move, and occasionally the high-pitched duck voice leaked out of the big mouth one by one, allowing Asa to understand the seriousness of the matter.

"Even if I arrest all the caravans in this city, immediately collect all their property and goods and sell them to you, plus all the funds in the city, and sell all the houses, I can probably make up 10,000. Big, general, that's it. And in fact it is not possible. ”

Asa swallowed hard.

The two looked at each other for several minutes, and Master Porugan jumped from his chair onto the table and said to Asa, "Sir, sit down and tell me in detail what is going on. ”

After listening to Asa's story, Lord Porugan stared at Asa and shook his head and said, "I suspect that Lord Duke has sent the wrong person, and you are really not suitable to deal with these things. Asa blushed a little.

"Those big-eared monsters seem to be poor, and they have no concept of money, how can they come up with such a price? Do they think that the Duke is in charge of the treasury?" the broomstick eyebrows of Lord Porugan stood up in the middle again. He didn't notice that Asa's face was getting redder.

"I didn't know they had their nest in a place like that. Hmph, if it weren't for the fact that all the troops stationed here had been transferred to the south, my men would have to deal with the thieves and other gangs of big-eared monsters in the city, otherwise they would have been trampled on a long time ago. But it seems that this is the first time they have done such a thing as kidnapping, so they are so hasty. It's not enough to really pay them, maybe we can think of using our own methods......"

Asa didn't listen to him too seriously, he kept torn between annoyance, anger and some shame. It was an emotion he hadn't experienced in his life

, He himself has always done what he wants, if he can't do it, he will do it harder, and if he can't do it hard, he will be forced to do it with murderous energy, as direct as an animal. He has never lacked fighting spirit, perseverance and wit, but he has no experience in dealing with this kind of thing, let alone the ability to deal with his own complex emotions. But in such a trance, a sentence from Lord Porugan suddenly hooked his mind, and when he thought about it in this direction, his feelings suddenly brightened.

That's it, it's long overdue. As soon as he had a direction, the anger that was still spinning in his mind turned into fighting spirit and strength. He looked up at Lord Porugan and said, "Don't worry, I know what to do." He stood up and walked out, turning his head around.

"Hey, hey, wait a minute...."Lord Porugan chased after him for a few steps, but only as soon as he chased out of the town hall Asa was gone.