Going (1)

The details of the transaction were finally settled after a lengthy discussion.

Ang sat at the end of the long table, his tone gentle yet always in control of the pace, calmly distributing the more than twenty thousand Black Magic Crystals in his possession among the forty-odd investigators present.

Although the investigators received differing amounts, each of them could sense Ang's fairness and restraint in the distribution.

More importantly, Ang had not exchanged this enormous sum of Black Magic Crystals for ordinary magic crystals.

Instead, he directly traded them for a large quantity of precious magical materials—many of which rarely circulated on the market and existed only in the private holdings of noble families.

Most of these nobles were not newly elevated, but families that had passed down their titles for one or two generations.

Ang keenly caught the details Abel, Feldman, and the others casually revealed during their conversation. The magical ores, alchemical metals, and special plants all came from "exclusive planes" controlled by their families.

These planes did not belong to the Empire's taxation system. They were privately operated, self-sustaining, and entirely controlled by the families. Not only were they exempt from taxes, but even Imperial inspectors found it difficult to interfere.

"So, all of you have planes privately owned by your families?" Ang asked thoughtfully.

Abel exchanged glances with several nobles, then nodded somewhat cautiously.

"Yes," Feldman said with a smile. "These materials were transferred from our planes. Otherwise, there'd be no way to gather them all in such a short time."

"You'll understand once you go to the God-Demon Battlefield." Abel raised his wineglass.

"Some plane coordinates can be exchanged for military merit on the battlefield. Once you obtain the coordinates and successfully seize control, all the resources, land, and magic nodes of that plane belong