We ran through the streets, past the flower-filled nurseries and into the free market in the central square, where we sat on wooden benches in the shade, Kurtz on the far left next to me, me in Katrina's arms, Katrina breathing heavily with one arm around me, the shocking bloodstain on her neck still visible, and Kiger, a little too excited, carrying the intricately carved We were all reminiscing about the thrilling moment we'd just had, the sense of life we'd gained from the aftermath of the disaster, and how we'd all felt a little closer to each other after being in more of the same trouble.
"Ja, how are you doing with your injuries?" Kurtz asked me with some concern.
I gave Kurtz a look of utterly ignorant contempt, my heart had not yet calmed down at this moment and was still beating violently, following the mantra taught by the old kuru, mentally reciting and stripping the red energy from my body's blood and running it slowly and rudimentarily along the meridians in my body, my bruises evaporated like water in the cool summer desert at a rate visible to the naked eye. As I tried to move my aching body, I said, "Is that a question for an awakened orc wolf warrior? I don't die that easily now as long as I don't get my head chopped off with an axe. This little wound ... ouch ... is nothing!"
My wounds were healing quickly, but the pain was definitely not half as bad. Katrina looked curiously at my horrible self-healing ability and asked in a bit of surprise, "Is that what werewolves are capable of?"
"Pretty much, higher werewolves would also have horrible abilities like bloodlust and berserk, you shouldn't expect your little man to have them, he's already a bit overpowered with his gift. But you, Lina, can't you break through the barrier inside you at that point? Can't break through that barrier even if you die yourself?" Kiger asked Katrina with a frown as she slid her magical sword into its sharkskin scabbard.
Katrina paled a little and looked grim as she lowered her head to gently stroke the triangular wound on the corner of my forehead, it was like the wound was being brought to life at that moment, those exposed flesh and blood slowly wriggling and clearly visible as the wound slowly shrank to a soft pink scar. With an unnatural sigh, she said, "Whenever I get scared, my mind goes blank. I don't know what to do at all."
Kiger saw me turn my head with a curious look before saying, "Don't always think you're the only one with a great talent, if she wasn't naturally timid, maybe Katrina would be a very good fighter, she has twice the basic physical qualities of an ordinary human.
Then narrowing her eyes at me with an ambiguous smile, she said, "You'll get a deep appreciation of that later, I kind of feel like this little bunny is getting away from you now!"
Big sister, you're going too far! Are you flirting with a seven year old boy and a nineteen year old beauty in her prime? You're thinking too broadly, I spat in my mind, but seeing Katrina's slightly red face, my mouth defiantly said, "Just don't regret it later, I'll take her away when this trip is over, if you're willing!"
"You're not going to stay in the Imperial City?" Kiger asked in surprise, unable to understand my thoughts.
I also couldn't seem to remember that I hadn't said anything about my future plans when we had talked earlier, so I said to her, "Didn't I tell you that my first plan was to open a chain of belt buckle shops in the city of Biel?"
"I thought you were just talking, not every Imperial needs that iron buckle on your belt, the most orthodox attire in the Grimm Empire is an elaborate belt pouch tied around your waist." Kig stood up from her long chair and struck a very pretty pose with her hands at her waist to show me her fine belt pouch.
I have to say, after seeing Kiger's belt pouch, I realised why there was no such thing as a belt in the Grimm Empire, in fact belts had been completely replaced by belt pouches, people here didn't like to have unnecessary pockets sewn onto their bodies, instead they preferred to carry items in leather pockets behind their backs or slung over their shoulders, however some items that needed to be used from time to time, like coins and potions and other small items, were actually However, some small items, such as coins and potions, are actually carried in a belt pouch, which usually has four to six compartments where you can carry your most commonly used items. The belt pouch also serves as a belt and can be tied around the waist. Tied in a knot on the right side of the body, it has a distinctive charm.
Many wizards also sew magical storage pouches into their belt pouches, just like the magical belt pouch of Sister Gogo. It turned out that it wasn't that there were no belts in the Grimm Empire, they were just designed to be more practical.
"See, doesn't this limited edition Emma Man fanny pack of mine look pretty with a bow tied like this?" Kiger shows off her face on rare occasions, and she usually prefers to keep a low profile. At the moment her slim, soft little waist was gently swinging her hips and twisting as I watched, as if she were dancing alone.
My mouth grew and I just nodded vigorously like a fool. Kiggy had such a seductive charm that if I was even slightly inattentive, I would be charmed by her and then molested like a demented child. I was chagrined every time, but I was helpless against her endless tactics. Just coming to my senses I said, "Let's go to the bow and crossbow weapon shop first, it's still a pain in the ass to stay here too long and get found by those guys."
I got up and grabbed Kurtz, who was sitting next to me, and ran over there, not looking back, no matter how angry Kiger was behind me.
The ground floor of the shop was only a small space of about ten square metres, and the wooden wall panels behind the counter were lined with all sorts of bows and arrows, from ordinary longbows made of quassia wood to crescent bows made of buffalo horn, hunter's bows, forest bows, naiad bows and ironwood bows. We could even smell the oil that had been used to maintain the wooden bows, which were neatly lined up on the wooden walls, while on the counter there were quivers of arrows, each filled with feathered arrows of different kinds. It was an eye-opener for me and Kurtz. A young orc girl standing behind the counter politely asked in a sweet voice, "Would you two like to buy bows? Or would you like to shop for some feathers and arrows?"
Then she smiled and looked at me and Kurtz, showing a very cute pair of little tiger teeth, slightly dark skin, and an extremely slender and fit body. She had a long twisted braid at the back of her head, and her eyes were very bright, and she didn't look impatient when she saw us both standing in the shop looking at the various bows on the wall.
There were not many people in the shop, and a hunter was discussing a bull's-string with another male attendant, who looked like he wanted a different string. Seeing that we both had little experience, this orc maiden asked, "Do you buy longbows or hunting bows? A longbow has a longer range and a lot of power, so it's good for throwing in a group battle, but it's not very easy to carry around, and a hunting bow is more explosive and can be used in the jungle, so it's good for hunting. We have different arm strength requirements for each type of bow here, so if you two are the ones who want to buy one?"
Kurtz puffed out his chest at this point, signalling that it was him.
"If it's you, I'd go so far as to suggest you buy a hunter's bow, almost all orc kids your age are using hunter's bows, they are a bit demanding on arm strength, but according to the orc werewolf kid's physicality, you shouldn't have any trouble using it!" The orc girl turned and took a brand new hunter's bow off the shelf, skillfully hung the string on it, experimented with it and then cast a searching look at Kurtz.
Kurtz stammered a little, "I have ... I think ..."
The boy had probably been in the merchant guild for too long and hadn't spoken to a girl for too long, and was actually becoming nervous at this moment when he needed to interact with this young orc girl. I had to stand beside him and help him out, "We have hunter bows, in fact, we'd like to get a better naiti bow or an ironwood bow, if it's a naiti bow I'd like one with a slight increase in range and penetration, preferably with the same pulling power. Or an ironwood bow would be fine, but I would like something with a reduced draw requirement."
The orc maiden was clearly not expecting us, two small children, to be looking to buy such a high class item. Her mouth opened in an O-shape, then realising she had lost her temper, she hastily apologised and said, "Oh, I'm sorry, that was rude! Please wait, if it's a bow with increasing properties like that, it's already considered a magic bow, if you want to buy one, please wait, I'll take you upstairs to see our shop manager, we only have a bit more advanced bows like this on the first floor here."
It was then that Kig and Katrina came in from outside. The orc girl was about to ask when Katrina said to her with a slight gentle smile, "We are with them."
That natural beauty of Katrina's flowed out, surprisingly causing even the orc maiden to lose her composure a little.
"Please follow me!"
The orc maiden led us to the first floor, and through a narrow staircase I climbed up to the first floor of this shop. I didn't expect the room on this floor to be the size of 30 or 40 square metres, and it looked much bigger than the ground floor. There were only two wooden tables and a few chairs in the corner of the empty room, and an old orc in magic antelope skin armour sat in the chair with his eyes closed, a wooden tea set on the table, two ordinary bows hanging on the stone wall, and a round wooden target on the opposite wall.
Probably hearing the sound of someone coming up the stairs, the old orc slowly opened his eyes and lit up at the sight of Kurtz, a look of praise in his eyes as he slowly rose from his chair and straightened his back. I noticed that in only a split second, the old orc's image became unusually tall, and when he saw that there were three humans among our group, he spoke in fluent Imperial, "My name is Su, and I am the manager of this bow shop, may I ask if you are planning to buy a magic bow?"
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