Quest System, Activated!

"Trade? You mean you want us to work for you? Just like the last time you came here!" Moa's voice was still as chilling as ever, without the slightest change.

"Uh, strictly speaking, that is indeed the end result, but there's a huge difference. Simply put, if I'm just making you work for me, then only I benefit. But if this is a trade, then both sides benefit. It's good for me, and it's equally good for you." Landen spread his hands again and explained with a serious expression.

"Oh, thank you for thinking of us, great lord." Moa bowed toward Landen from a distance. His respectful gesture formed a stark contrast with the obvious disdain in his voice.

At the same time, as Moa bent down, a powerful yet invisible shockwave shot toward Landen.

"Ah!" Landen let out a sudden scream. His entire body abruptly sank down and curled into a ball, as if he had suffered an extremely severe injury!

Moa let out a smug snort and was just about to order the Flesh Puppet to charge forward and wipe out Landen and the others.

However, before Moa's command could be issued, Landen, who had seemed on the verge of death just a moment earlier, stood ramrod straight again, looking completely unharmed.

"Phew, that was close, that was close." Landen forcefully patted his chest, looking shaken. Then he reached into a cloth pouch hanging from his waist and pulled out an object. "I was worried this thing wouldn't work before, but now it seems quite reliable. Looks like preparing so many of them was the right choice."

As he spoke, he smugly patted the bulging cloth pouch, which was clearly still filled with many other things.

These were the items Landen and Ella had spent the entire night making: one-use mental defense charms. Well, calling them mental defense charms was a bit of an exaggeration. In truth, the only thing they could defend against was Mind Blast. They couldn't defend against any other kind of mental attack.

Of course, that alone was enough.

"Sorry about that, Mr. Moa. I made you waste so much mental energy for nothing. To compensate you for your loss, I'm willing to stand here and continue accepting your attacks. If Mind Blast isn't enough, you can use Mind Storm or something similar. I don't mind." Landen spoke solemnly, but with his hand resting on the bulging pouch, the words sounded far more like provocation.

"You came prepared." Moa snorted coldly, but he didn't continue launching mental attacks as Landen had suggested. Instead, he said, "All right. Tell me about the terms of the trade."

"It's my honor." Landen smiled, seemingly having completely forgotten the Mind Blast that had nearly turned his brain into mush. "It's actually very simple. My request is the same as last time. You'll work for me under the name of being my subordinates. Just in name—you don't have to come with me and can continue living here. I only need you to lend me a hand when I require your help. And you can rest assured that I'll never send you to deal with an opponent you have no chance of defeating."

"As for you..." Landen patted the pouch at his waist again. "This is an alchemical product. I assume you're not unfamiliar with alchemy. I also have some other alchemical formulas. One of them can greatly increase mental power. Its effects are far better than eating a Lizardfolk brain every month. If we reach an agreement, I can provide it to you regularly."

"Oh, right." Landen seemed to remember something only then. He pointed at the small Mind Flayer in the pouch beside him and said, "This little fellow, if I'm not mistaken, was poisoned by some kind of mental toxin. And I can cure it!"

"You turned my child into this and still expect me to agree to your trade?" Moa sneered.

"Let me reiterate: this was entirely an accident." Landen gestured toward another Dark Elf, Ibaka, who was carrying a pouch at his side. Ibaka took off the pouch and opened it, revealing Miss Janie, the Dark Elf, inside.

Landen pointed at Janie's corpse and said, "Come to think of it, this is rather interesting. She was my guest. A few days ago, she came to me with my sister, Vivian, the Matriarch of Yatat City's orders. Because she wasn't used to the food at my place, she went out to look for food on her own, but never returned. With no other choice, I had to take my subordinates out to search for her. I never expected that, in the end, we would find only a corpse and... this little fellow unconscious beside it."

After a pause, Landen continued, "Miss Janie was my sister Vivian's right hand and a famous assassin master in Yatat City. If my sister learns of her death, she'll certainly fly into a rage. When that happens, something unpleasant might very well occur. However, as the one among all her children who has the best relationship with my sister, I'll certainly do everything I can to protect all of you."

After Landen finished speaking, Moa didn't immediately respond with the same aggressive retort as before. This time, he fell silent. Mosen, who stood beside him and had not spoken until then, opened his mouth at that moment. "A trade is built on trust. Does the lord believe that trust exists between us?"

"No, Mosen, you're mistaken. Trades built on trust are often destroyed by a crisis of trust. Only trades built on contracts can truly be guaranteed. And I've come here with precisely that sincerity, bearing down on you."

As he spoke, Landen once again reached for his pouch. This time, however, he didn't take out a charm, but an entire stack of rolled parchment. "Look, I've even prepared the contracts in advance."

Jingjing, the Minotaur Butler standing beside Landen, quietly watched everything unfold. A conversation from not long ago suddenly appeared in his mind—a conversation he had had with Landen.

"My lord, isn't it a little too hasty to go looking for those Mind Flayers like this? Other than a corpse, we have absolutely nothing!"

"No, Old Niu. Everything's ready. Everything is ready."

Only a minute ago, the Minotaur Butler had thought Landen was simply boasting. But now?

As he watched the Mind Flayers in the distance leave their marks one by one on the parchment contracts, the Minotaur Butler couldn't help asking himself once more, Is everything really ready?

At that moment, Landen obviously had no interest in the Minotaur Butler's thoughts. He didn't even pay attention to the Mind Flayer family in the distance as they signed the contracts. By then, he was completely immersed in the Omnipotent Lord System.

Just as the first Mind Flayer signed the contract, a familiar voice suddenly rang in Landen's ears. It was the System Prompt sound that Dgang had heard countless times in his previous life.

"Successfully recruited the first group of residents and soldiers in the territory. Quest System activated. Congratulations! Keep up the good work and unlock more functions!"