The Kingdom Hunter

Black Street

If there’s one place in Wildfire Town that is the most bustling, vibrant, and simultaneously chaotic, it would be “Black Street.”

Black Street isn’t an official designation. In fact, neither the Byzantine Empire nor Odin, who briefly occupied Wildfire Town, had the time to register and catalog all the streets and buildings of the town—so brief was their occupation that the more ignorant Odinites didn't even count the population.

Black Street is an informal term used to refer to the street located at the western edge of Wildfire Town, nearest to the outskirts. This street was originally very wide, one of the broadest in the town, capable of accommodating two carriages side by side. Such a broad road is rare in such a remote place, and even in the advanced Byzantine Empire, it was only found in some large cities.

But that was the “original” width, before the street was taken over by numerous street vendors.

Here, you can find all sorts of strange and exotic items from across the continent. Anything you can imagine can be found here.

Of course, if you’re looking to buy something, no matter how rare or peculiar, as long as you put up a “Wanted” sign in Wildfire Town’s Black Street, within half a day, you’ll definitely have a few dirty-robed, shadowy figures approach you with their offers.

These individuals are neither con artists nor beggars. They are representatives of mercenary tribes.

In the Wildfire Plain, there are numerous tribes, large and small. Some have hundreds or even thousands of members, and while some of these tribes act as mercenaries, many others are bandit groups.

It’s difficult to distinguish whether these tribes are mercenaries or bandits—it depends on their mood.

A Byzantine saying goes that the difference between a mercenary group and a bandit group is:“If you hire mercenaries as bodyguards, you can simply pay them afterward. If they suddenly get in a bad mood, they’ll not only take your money but also rob you clean—then they are a bandit group.”

Of course, this saying is strongly resisted by the capital’s trading guild, which insists that only registered mercenary groups are legal and legitimate. These official mercenary groups follow the law. The mixed mercenary-bandit groups are considered illegal black gangs.

However, these black gangs on the Wildfire Plain are quite useful. They are willing to take on all sorts of jobs, no matter how dangerous!

If you pay enough, they might even take on extremely risky tasks! For example, capturing dwarf slaves, a job that legitimate mercenary groups won’t touch—black gangs will do it... if you pay the price.

Despite the harsh natural environment, Wildfire Plain is a land full of business opportunities! It is the buffer zone between the Byzantine and Odin empires, and the only trade route between the two great empires. Odin’s merchants and Byzantine’s merchants must pass through here to do business in each other’s countries.

The Wildfire Plain is vast and treacherous. To the north of Wildfire Town is the Blue Basin, inhabited by the fierce and reclusive dwarf race. If you are a human merchant, it is best not to approach there; otherwise, your skull might end up as a lacquerware ornament on a shelf in Black Street.

Only a few merchants who have established trust with the dwarves can approach their territory and conduct trade.

If the dwarves are somewhat orderly (they won’t bother you as long as you don’t provoke them), then the goblins are truly troublesome. These creatures, like underground mice, proliferate in the northern part of Wildfire Plain. They are true bandits—robbing everything, including food, clothing, and even what you eat.

If you are unlucky enough to be captured by them, congratulations.

Your flesh will be dried into jerky, your bones ground into powder for soup, and your hair used to make blankets! In summary, goblins possess an admirable quality that humans greatly lack: they are exceptionally frugal and thrifty!

Trade across the Wildfire Plain is extremely dangerous but also highly profitable!

Byzantine Empire’s finely crafted armor and weapons, horses, cattle, sheep, minerals, and artworks...

And from the northern Odin Empire, the finest furs, various crystals, and sculptures (ironically, while Odin is known for its crude and ignorant reputation, it is actually the only country with the finest sculpture skills, which has always made Byzantine sculptors feel inferior. To express their disdain, Byzantines explain this with a saying: "The Odin people divide their time into three parts: one third for fighting, one third for mating, and one third for carving idols and praying.")

However, only the most powerful merchant groups can manage such trades.

Smaller merchant teams need to be extremely daring to engage in such business.

Of course, many are willing to risk their lives for the huge profits. At least half of those coming to Wildfire Town are here chasing after dreams of wealth.

And periodically, one or two lucky souls survive the perilous journey across the Wildfire Plain to the other empire, striking it rich overnight. This inspires more people to come to Wildfire Plain with dreams of fortune.

There’s a saying on the Wildfire Plain: “Go outside the town, grab a shovel, and dig up a handful of dirt from the fields—underneath, you'll find the remains of adventurers’ corpses.”

Eisen Frank walked into Black Street with a straight back, mainly because he had just filled his stomach—thanks to the foolish outsider scammer.

Black Street looked the same as usual, except that the bandit group that previously occupied Wildfire Town had been driven away. Now, a mercenary group’s soldiers patrolled the streets. The townsfolk were accustomed to such changes, and the new mercenaries were quite well-behaved, not raising the tax rates.

By the way, the tax rate in Wildfire Town is very simple: there is only one tax—an entry tax! No matter who you are or your status, you must pay a copper coin per person when entering the town.

Apart from this, there are no commercial taxes or any other taxations.

Today, Eisen Frank paid his last copper coin to the soldier at the town gate.

So, if he didn’t find a way to earn money today, he’d really have to join the beggars’ gang...

Black Street was crowded, with shouting and arguing coming from the shops and stalls on either side... The town’s people were tough, and those who ventured far to such a place were usually not easy to deal with—thus, Wildfire Town had no good people. These rough folks argued and haggled as if they were insulting each other.

Occasionally, some drunks were thrown out of taverns and discarded in the trash piles in the corners.

There were also some suspicious characters sneaking through the crowd, engaging in petty theft.

Fortunately, none of the thieves paid any attention to Eisen Frank—he looked even worse than a beggar.

Eisen Frank moved along with the crowd, looking around for a way to make money. His plan was simple: he needed to earn some money first. His idea was to take a temporary job as a monster hunter.

Monster hunters and hunters are two different professions. Although their work is somewhat similar, the targets are different.

Hunters hunt animals like rabbits, foxes, wild chickens, and coyotes—just knowing how to use a bow or set traps is enough.

But monster hunters only hunt one thing: magical beasts!

When his old guardian was alive, he had forbidden Eisen Frank from hunting magical beasts, but Eisen Frank didn’t want to spend his whole life as a hermit hunter in the mountains. The adventurous and stimulating life of a monster hunter, along with the chance to make money, was what young people yearned for.

So, he had secretly done this job several times behind the old man’s back and had successfully hunted some magical beasts. Unfortunately, he had never saved much money, as most of his earnings went into alcohol to fill the stomachs of his two drunkards at home.

Finally, Eisen Frank found a target.

At the end of Black Street, a small shop had a sign hanging outside.

"Heavy money to buy Warcraft cubs......"