Overlord: Start from the Goblin Lair.

Chapter 52 The Captive Merchant
The last Ring of Fortitude, which had one use left, was given to Sera by Ron. The barbarian's life-and-death fighting style was most suitable for this.

Moreover, they have an advantage over the Madwug King: they have priests who can heal wounds. Although it is still dangerous to take double damage, when the time comes for a do-or-die battle, Sera will not die.

Ivy and Victoria had no objection to this distribution. In fact, Driver wanted it. But when Sera "kindly" proposed fair competition, Driver decisively backed down when he saw the opponent's muscles.

"Let's take a short break and then explore further inside." Ron looked deep into the cave, which seemed to be empty, and decided to be more careful.

"Ron, is that Lord Ron?"

As the team slowly moved deeper into the cave, a hoarse voice caught their attention.

It was a cage woven from some unknown tough plant, hung above the cave by the Madwugs. There were still living people in three of the cages, while the rest had begun to emit a rotten smell.

The shout just now came from one of the three people.

"Do you know me?" Ron looked up. It was a Dragonborn man in his early thirties. Ron couldn't tell his gender - Dragonborn were generally much taller and stronger than ordinary humanoids, and their physiological structure was different from that of humans. It was really difficult for Ron to judge their gender based on their body shape and sexual characteristics.

"Of course! I stayed at the trading post for two days, and you were there too!" The Dragonborn coughed twice with difficulty, and when he spoke again, his tone was much clearer. Only then did Ron realize that the other party was a woman.

But her current state was not so elegant—the Bully Wugs had taken away almost everything from her, not even leaving her a piece of clothing. The bronze scales all over the Dragonborn's body were exposed to the air.

"Are you Sulina?" Victoria recognized her. "Aren't you going to Flåm for business? How did you get caught here?"

"This is a long story..." Dragonborn Sulina said in an embarrassed tone, "If it's convenient, can you put us down first and then talk?"

When they found the rope that held up the cage and lowered the three prisoners, Victoria recognized two more people. They were all merchants who had crossed over from the other side of the Delusion Land and were going to Fromm. Because Ron had been recovering from an illness a few days ago, Victoria was in charge of most of the affairs of the trading post, and she was also responsible for registering the passers-by.

"Oh, thank you! You are such kind people!" Su Lina took the blanket that Ivy handed over and wrapped herself in it, finally breathing a sigh of relief, "It would be better if the efficiency could be higher."

"More efficient? What do you mean?" Ron was confused.

"Of course, we're going to open up the fantasy land," Sulina looked at the other two people she was traveling with. They were just ordinary humans, with much worse physical conditions than hers. Although they were still alive, they were basically unrecognizable. She was the only one who could speak. "There are still a lot of monsters running around here, and the safety of people like us is still not guaranteed - of course, it was like this before."

"The only change now is the addition of a trading post. I really have to thank you for that. You know, compared to preparing supplies for a long journey, paying a little money here is really nothing."

"Why do you want to do business in Fromm?" Ron asked curiously, "Are there any special products there?"

"Honestly, no," Sulina blinked mischievously, "but Fromm Town is the nearest road to Yungang. Although both the Delusion Land and the Gobi Desert are very dangerous, as long as we succeed once, we can enjoy a good life for several years, so people like us are willing to take some risks." "Take me for example, I will trade some wood from there, and then bring back pearls and other materials from Yungang. I have taken this route four times, and the chance of success is 50% including this time."

"But the profit can reach 1,000 to 2,000 percent."

"What a huge profit..." Ron couldn't help but exclaim, "But is it really worth it? Isn't there a relatively safer route?"

"Yes, but it's too far," Sulina thought for a moment. "It's safe to take the water route along the continental coastline, but it takes a long detour just to get from where I am to the port. Do you know how many towns and city-states we have to pass along the way? And how much tolls those city-states will charge? If we keep exploiting them, we won't make any money!"

"Add to that various taxes, and the last time we took this route, we were robbed in the Gobi Desert. One of my companions took that route again, and in the end, he lost six gold coins and three silver coins. Don't you think it's funny?"

"No wonder the guy I escorted before wanted to cross the mountains," Ivy nodded, "but he didn't expect that the mountains are more dangerous than the outside."

"We don't dare go into the mountains!" Sulina said hurriedly, "I heard that there was a spice merchant in Rose City who went to open up a new trade route, and then there was no news!"

Ivy: ...

It would be strange if there was any news! Isn't the only survivor right in front of you?

"Then I roughly understand. Why don't you tell me why you guys failed this time?" Ron nodded slightly. "You guys have already arrived at the trading post, so why were you captured by the Madwugs here?"

"After we replenished our supplies at your place, we headed for Flåm Town, but something unexpected happened that night," Sulina said with her head down. "A huge monster flying in the sky took a fancy to our horses carrying goods, swooped down and began to feast on them. The guards tried to stop it, but were easily defeated."

"We saw with our own eyes that several soldiers were pierced by its tail, strung up on a string, and eaten by it like skewers."

"We were terrified and ran desperately towards this side, but it was too dark. We ran into a swamp without knowing where to go, and then our feet suddenly went empty - and when we woke up, we were here."

Sulina said this, wrapping the blanket tightly around herself with lingering fear.

"Could it be that you encountered a wild griffin..." Victoria frowned, "This powerful creature loves to prey on horses. You are really unlucky to have encountered it."

"It's not a griffin. How could I not recognize a griffin?" Sulina shook her head repeatedly. "It does have a body like a lion, but its tail is long and thin, and its face is flat. It looks weird."

"That's right! It can speak Common, but it sounds terrible!"

(End of this chapter)