The Big Ear Monsters are the most common subhuman, and their tracks can be found almost everywhere on the continent. They have a similar head shape to humans, with green skin, generally ugly appearance, and distinctive large ears at the back of their brain. Strictly speaking, they should also be considered a type of beastman, although their intelligence is slightly lower than that of humans, but they use human language as well. It seems that they also have their own language, and it is said that in the distant past, there was even a country of their own, but for some reason, it collapsed. Because they are the only race that has some connection with human society, people do not treat them as wild beasts like other beastmen, but rather as a low-ranking race. They usually live in the gaps of human society, and petty theft is their specialty, and they also engage in various lowly jobs. This kind of hostage-taking incident was unprecedented before.

  Asa followed the map left by the big-eared monsters, originally thinking it would be a hidden and heavily guarded lair, but unexpectedly it was just a mountain outside Brakada City. The mountain stronghold built openly in front of the cave was very eye-catching, visible from far away.

  After Asa revealed his identity and purpose, the Big Ears led him into their hideout. There were over a hundred Big Ears inside, who, upon learning that Asa had come to redeem the hostages, excitedly pointed at him from a distance. Asa noticed that this didn't seem like a heavily guarded lair, but rather a temporary camp. The houses were all made of wooden boards and thatched with straw, hastily built here and there.

  The big ear monsters didn't mention the ransom amount to the messenger at first, they just asked the duke to send someone over. It seemed like they hadn't anticipated such an unexpected valuable gain and needed to go back and consider how much money they could get.

  "Where is he?" Asa was still concerned about that book and wanted to see Chris first.

  Several big-eared monsters chattered and consulted with each other for a while, then took him to a cave.

  The cave entrance was blocked off with a wooden fence, making it an instant prison. Judging from the remaining food inside, it seemed that the Big Ears hadn't mistreated their precious captive. However, Chris had been frightened enough and looked rather haggard. When she heard that her father's people had come to ransom her, she was overjoyed and sat down beside the wooden fence, crying. When she took a closer look and saw it was Asa, she was surprised. "Is that you?"

  "What about that book?" Asa asked.

  "What book?" Chris's response made his heart skip a beat.

  "It's that book I lent you, in the library of the Magic Academy. You said you'd read it on the way when you left."

  "I've been locked up here for so long, I'm scared to death. You come see me and don't even ask how I am, not a bit concerned about me, but instead ask what book." Chris burst into tears at once.

  "Ah Sa tried to calm down and said in a gentle voice, 'Don't worry, since I'm here you'll definitely be fine. Seeing that you're fine and still so spirited makes me happy too. But that book is really important, do you remember where it is?'"

  "I had it in my luggage, but those guys stole it."

  This sentence almost made Asa jump up. But thinking again, maybe the big ear monsters wouldn't leave without checking the goods either, and if they saw this book, they might just throw it somewhere.

  "Wait here, I'll negotiate with them and get you out as soon as possible." Asa reached in to pat Kris's head reassuringly. Turning around, he said to the big-eared creature behind him, "I want to see your leader." The big-eared creature grunted and led him away.

  In the center of a makeshift wooden hut, a luxurious table that was obviously stolen was placed. A large-eared monster who looked like the leader sat in front of the table with his back straight and seemed very majestic. Several other large-eared monsters stood behind him.

  A Sa wanted to ask about the book, but then thought that after all, he came to redeem someone, so it's better to settle this matter first. So he also sat down at the table and asked: "How much money do you want?"

  The leader of the Big Ear Monsters let out a loud "Grrr" sound, as if clearing his throat, and spoke in a thick, nasal voice unique to his kind: "You humans have always looked down on us, oppressed us, and belittled us as a barbaric race... but we too have a rich culture... See, we haven't mistreated the hostages, and when we robbed, we tried our best not to harm anyone..." His ugly face seemed to be trying its hardest to maintain a diplomat's stern composure.

  "Look, just get to the point," Asa said impatiently. "What do you want? How much ransom are you asking for?"

  The leader of the Big Ear Monsters, seemingly offended, slapped the table and said: "Your attitude is contemptuous of us. Do you think we are an inferior race? I'm telling you, our time to turn things around has come, and we won't be oppressed by humans anymore." That ugly face was sternly serious.

  A Sa nodded and waved his hand, saying: "How much do you want?"

  The big-eared monster leader turned his head, exchanged a look with several companions behind him, and said: "Don't underestimate us, we know she's the daughter of a duke named Muraq. We've also sent people to investigate, this duke's power and wealth are very great." He first stretched out five fingers and then quickly retracted them into one. "We want...one thousand gold coins." His beady eyes flickered nervously as he looked at Asa.

  "Good." Asa nodded crisply.

  The Big Ear Monster leader was taken aback, not expecting him to agree so readily. One of the Big Ears behind him seemed to nudge him with his foot, and he immediately raised another finger, "No, it's two thousand gold coins."

  "Good." Asa felt more relieved. He just wanted to quickly settle the price and ask about that book.

  Even the several big-eared monsters behind the leader moved slightly. This time, the leader didn't wait for their signal and immediately stood up himself, saying excitedly: "No, I was wrong, we want... five thousand gold coins."

  Asa frowned. He could tell that these guys were just going with the flow. However, if he only saw a few silver coins in front of him, he might still be able to clearly distinguish the exact meaning they represented, but once it exceeded his experience and reached a large number, he would become completely confused. In his mind, 100 gold coins and 10,000 gold coins shared a simple concept of "a lot". Thinking about the duke's identity and status, probably no amount of money was worth mentioning, so he just nodded.

  "It's settled then, we'll take ten thousand." Asa's bold declaration ignited the leader's ambition and fighting spirit, and the lion-like mouth opened wide.

  Asa slammed his hand on the table and stood up, he had lost his temper. The leader immediately made a concessionary gesture, raising both hands and waving them saying: "At this price, we absolutely won't add any more, absolutely not." He saw Asa sit back down again and said: "Who wouldn't be heartbroken over their own children? Think about it, no matter what kind of animal, they all love and protect their young. If my child were in trouble, I would also spare no expense to rescue them. The Duke must be the same way. Compared to gold coins, his daughter is more important. He will definitely agree to this price."

  "Alright, that settles it. I'll bring the money over tomorrow and you can let him go." The leader's eyes lit up with excitement as he said firmly, "Good."

  "By the way, there's one more thing..." Asa began to talk about his true intention, saying it lightly. "Our young lady also has a personal book with her, I hope you can return the book to me."

  "Book? Don't know where it is." The leader and several big-eared monsters behind him looked at each other and shook their heads.

  "It's actually not of much use to you, it's worthless, just has some sentimental value. It's in the luggage of our family's young lady, please go find it for me." Asa carefully observed the expressions of the big-eared monsters.

  "Traveling baggage? All the goods had long been... disposed of... gone." The big-eared monster seemed very cautious, speaking vaguely, but confirmed what Asa was most worried about.

  "Where is that book now?" Asa asked with his last hope.

  The leader suddenly became sensitive and flew into a rage, slapping the table and standing up to say: "We're not good at deceiving you, don't think about getting information out of us." He waved his hand at Asa. "Alright, hurry up and leave, remember to bring the money tomorrow. Otherwise, wait for your girlfriend's funeral."

  Asa was almost driven out by those big-eared monsters, several times he nearly wanted to punch the ugly face of the big-eared monster behind him into a pulp, and endured again and again without taking action.

  It's indeed the worst-case scenario, that book was actually sent to the city of those beastmen. How are we going to get it back? Asa's head was so frustrated that he suddenly burst into flames. He had never been so angry before, and this place where anger could circulate and rise higher and higher made him even more furious. If it weren't for Chris still being in their hands, he would have turned around and killed those green-skinned fools to the last one.

  This gloomy atmosphere continued until he returned to the town hall of Brakada. He intended to go find Lord Polukin to clarify the ransom situation.

  "Ten thousand gold coins?" Lord Borukin was as if killed by this number, and directly jumped up from that big chair, with his mouth agape, those big round eyes staring straight at Asa.

  "Is this the number that His Excellency the Duke previously told you was allowed, Mr. Envoy?"

  Watching Boru Gan's reaction, Asa suddenly realized that he seemed to have caused trouble. He shook his head.

  "Do you know what can be done with ten thousand gold coins?" Boru's expression was completely wooden.

  A Sa still shook his head. He really had no idea about this.

  "One silver coin can support a poor family for a month. Did you know that?"

  A Sa nodded. He had also been a mercenary for over a dozen coppers before.

  "One gold coin is enough for an ordinary family to live on for ten years, five can last them a lifetime. Ten thousand can support two thousand households for a lifetime. Two thousand households, over ten thousand people, one generation.

  Mr. Borukan's other facial features didn't move, occasionally a high-pitched duck-like voice came out of that big mouth, letting Asa understand the severity of the matter."

  "Even if I were to seize all the merchant caravans in this city, immediately confiscate their property and goods, sell them to you, add up all the funds in the city, sell all the houses, it would only amount to about 10,000. At most, that's all. And in fact, this is not even possible."

  Asa swallowed hard.

  The two men stared at each other for several minutes, then Mr. Porukan jumped up from his chair onto the table and said to Asa: "Mr. Envoy, please sit down and tell me in detail what's going on."

  After listening to Asa's account, Lord Borukan stared at Asa and shook his head, saying: "I suspect the Duke has sent the wrong person. You're really not suited for handling these matters." Asa's face turned slightly red.

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

  "I didn't know they had set up their nest in such a place. Hmph, if it weren't for the troops stationed here being transferred to the south, my men would still be dealing with the thieves and other gangs in the city, otherwise we would have crushed them already. But looking at it now, they should be doing this kidnapping thing for the first time, so they're acting rashly. Paying their ransom is out of the question, maybe we can think of a way to use our own methods..."

  Ah Sa wasn't really listening to his words, he was still stuck in a cycle of anger, resentment and some shame. This was an emotion he had never experienced before in his life.

  He has always been the type to do things his own way, and if he can't, he'll try even harder. If that doesn't work, he'll force himself with a fierce determination, like an animal acting on instinct. He's never lacked fighting spirit, perseverance, or cleverness, but he has no experience in dealing with this kind of situation, nor does he have the ability to handle his own complex emotions. However, just as he was at a loss, Lord Borukai's words suddenly caught his attention, and upon further thought, his feelings became clear.

  It's just like that, it should have been like that from the start. With a direction in mind, the anger that was swirling around in his head transformed into determination and strength. He looked up at Lord Borukai and said, "Don't worry, I know what to do now." Then he stood up, turned around, and walked out.

  "Hey, hey, wait a minute..." Lord Borukin chased after him for several steps from behind the city hall, but Asa was gone in an instant.