Survival Queen of the Frozen Wastes novel Chapter 173

12:24 pm Pppp.

Chapter 173 The foll

Chapter 173 The Toll

As the three were studying the map.

“Screech! Screech!”

A small ape came rushing back into the hollow, screeching and pointing outside.

“Someone else?” Riley frowned.

What was with the Deadwood Grove today? Was it becoming a tourist attraction?

The three exchanged a glance and stood up.

They walked out of the hollow and looked down from the ridge.

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On a narrow path through the grove, a man with a massive backpack was holding his hands up, blocked by a group of apes.

“Hey! Don’t shoot, fellas!”

The man held a longsword, but he wasn’t drawing it.

“I’m just passing through! Really! I’m heading for the marsh over there, I won’t hurt any of you!”

He stared at the apes armed with bows and spears, his world–view shattered.

He’d just wanted to take a shortcut through the grove to avoid high–level monsters. Since when did monkeys start using crossbows? And why were they so aggressive?

PineappleBeer squinted at him. “Gear is trash, no killing intent. Looks like a life–skiller.”

Riley nodded.

He was just an average guy trying to survive. Since there was no grudge, they weren’t about to murder him for his rags.

Normally, the apes would just chase a human away–they’d tried it with Tartking too. But TartKing had “conquered” them with a literal mountain of sweets.

Riley thought for a moment, then turned to TartKing.

“TartKing, go down there. Collect a toll.”

“Wait, what? Are we actually becoming forest bandits?” TartKing looked embarrassed.

“No, just a symbolic amount. Tell the apes that as long as humans don’t attack, they can pay a fee to pass. They can save the toks and trade them to us for food later.”

And so, Tartking took a deep breath, stood on a high branch, and cleared her throat.

“Ahem! You down there!”

The man looked up, his eyes widening at the sight of a woman in robes holding a glowing staff.

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12:24 pm P ppp.

Chapter 173 The Toll

Who is that? A survivor? Why are the monkeys letting her stand there?

Tartking tried to look stern and mystérious. “I built this path… and planted these trees… if you want to pass…”

She drew a blank.

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“Pay the bills.” Riley whispered from behind.

“Right! Pay the bills!” TartKing shouted. “It’s not much, but you have to pay if you want safe passage!”

The man was baffled.

Bills? What kind of bills do monkeys want?

He thought for a second, then reached into his bag and placed two freshly picked stalks of Spiritgrass of the ground.

The nearest ape hopped over and snatched them up.

“Pass!”

TartKing waved her hand.

The apes immediately parted, clearing the path.

The man breathed a sigh of relief and scurried along the path. He kept looking back at Tartking, her robes fluttering in the breeze.

Is she a boss? I didn’t see a system tag. A monkey king that talks? Unreal. I gotta tell the others–if you see monkeys, just pay the toll and you’re good.

The three girls on the ridge had no idea what he was thinking, but they all burst into laughter as he vanished into the trees.

They returned to the hollow and got back to the map.

PineappleBeer’s finger traced a line, stopping at a canyon about six miles from the grove.

A red scorpion icon was marked there.

Thunder Crystal Venom Scorpion King (Lv. 20 Area Boss).

“That’s our target,” PineappleBeer said.

“Its carapace is top–tier material for plate armor–perfect for Riley’s Warrior gear.

“And its stinger and venom sacs are core ingredients for Paralysis Poison and high–end toxic daggers, I need those.”

The group packed their gear and began heading in the opposite direction.

“What kind of map is that?” PineappleBeer asked, looking curiously at the map Riley was using to check the terrain. Her own map only showed markers.

“A Magic Map. It shows the biomes and pings locations, but it’s not durable. I traded for it from a guild guy. They seem to have a Cartographer,” Riley replied.

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12:24 pm P ppp.

Chapter 173 The foll

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A Cartographier? That’s a solid find.”

“His name was BigMountain. I’ll see if I can track him down once we’re back in the wastes.”

As they moved further out, Riley and PineappleBeer used their crossbows to pick off any monsters in their way. The air grew drier, and a faint static tingle prickled their skin. The tush forest thinned out, replaced by jagged reddish–brown rocks and plumes of white steam venting from cracks in the earth.