Quest System, Activated!

"A trade? You want us to do your bidding, just like the last time you came here!" Moa's voice was as cold as ever, unchanged.

"Uh, while the end result is indeed the same, there's a big difference. Simply put, if you just do things for me, only I benefit. But if this is a trade, then both of us benefit. It's good for me, and it's good for you too," Landen said, spreading his hands again and explaining earnestly.

"Oh, thank you for thinking of us, great Lord." Moa bowed deeply towards Landen from afar. The respectful gesture was in stark contrast to his clearly disdainful voice.

At the same time, as Moa bowed, a powerful yet invisible force surged towards Landen.

"Ah!" Landen let out a sharp cry, his body instantly shrinking, curling into a ball as if he had suffered immense damage!

Over there, Moa let out a smug snort and was about to command the Flesh Puppets to charge and capture Landen and his group.

However, before Moa could issue the order, Landen, who had seemed on the verge of death just a second ago, stood up straight, showing no signs of injury at all.

"My, oh my, that was close, so close." Landen patted his chest vigorously, looking as if he had narrowly escaped danger. Then, he reached into a cloth bag hanging from his waist and took out an item. "Phew, I was worried this thing wouldn't work, but it seems to be quite reliable after all. I guess it was right for me to prepare so much."

As he spoke, he rather smugly patted the bulging cloth bag, which clearly contained many things.

These were the items Landen and Aila had worked all night to create: disposable spiritual defense talismans. Actually, calling them spiritual defense talismans was an exaggeration. In fact, their only function was to defend against Mind Blasts; they couldn't defend against any other spiritual attacks.

Of course, that alone was enough.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Moa, for making you waste so much spiritual energy. To compensate for your loss, I'm willing to stand here and continue to accept your attacks. If Mind Blast isn't enough, you can use Mind Storm or something similar, it's fine too," Landen said solemnly, but coupled with his hand resting on the bulging cloth bag, his words sounded more like a provocation.

"You came prepared." Moa snorted coldly but did not launch another spiritual attack as Landen suggested. Instead, he said, "Alright, let's talk. What's the content of this trade?"

"It's my honor," Landen smiled, seemingly having forgotten the Mind Blast that could have turned his brain into mush just moments ago. "It's actually very simple. My request is the same as last time: you act as my subordinates. Well, just in name. You don't have to follow me; you can continue to live here. I just hope you can lend a hand when I need your help, and rest assured, I will never ask you to fight opponents you can't possibly win against."

"And for you," Landen patted the cloth bag on his waist again, "this is an alchemical product. Well, I don't think you're unfamiliar with Alchemy, are you? I have some other alchemical recipes. One of them can greatly enhance spiritual power, and its effect is much better than eating a Lizardfolk's brain every month. If the trade is agreed upon, I can provide it to you regularly."

"Oh, right," Landen said, as if just remembering something, and pointed to the small Mind Flayer in the cloth bag beside him. "This little guy, if I'm not mistaken, has been poisoned by some kind of spiritual toxin, and I can cure it!"

"You did this to my child, and you expect me to agree to your trade?" Moa sneered.

"I reiterate, it was entirely an accident," Landen gestured to Ibaka, a Dark Elf carrying another cloth bag beside him. Ibaka took down the bag and opened it, revealing the corpse of Miss Janie, a Dark Elf.

Landen pointed at Janie's body and said, "Speaking of which, it's quite interesting. This was my guest. A few days ago, she came to me with the order of my sister, Matriarch Vivian of Yatat City. Because she didn't get used to the food at my place, she went out to find food on her own and never returned. Helplessly, I had to lead my subordinates out to search, only to find a corpse in the end... and this little guy, who had fainted by the body."

He paused, then continued, "Miss Janie here is Matriarch Vivian's right-hand woman and a renowned master assassin in Yatat City. If my sister learns of her death, she will be furious, and at that time, some unpleasant things might happen. However, as the child with the best relationship with my sister, I will do my utmost to protect you all."

After his speech, Moa on the opposite side did not immediately retort aggressively as before. This time, it fell silent. Then, Mosen, who had been standing beside Moa and had not spoken, opened his mouth. "A trade is built on trust, Lord. Do you believe there is trust between us?"

"No, Mosen, you're mistaken. A trade built on trust can often be ruined by a crisis of trust. Only a trade built on a contract can be truly guaranteed, and I am bringing precisely that sincerity to you."

As he spoke, Landen made another move to reach into his bag. However, this time, he didn't pull out a talisman but a whole scroll of parchment. "See, I've even prepared the contract in advance."

The Minotaur Butler standing beside Landen watched all this quietly. A conversation from not long ago suddenly appeared in his mind, a conversation with Landen.

"Sir, aren't we being a bit too hasty in going to find those Mind Flayers? We don't have anything except a corpse!"

"No, Old Niu, everything is ready. Everything is ready."

Just a few minutes ago, the Minotaur Butler had thought Landen was boasting, but now?

Watching the few Mind Flayers leaving their marks on the parchment scrolls in the distance, the Minotaur Butler couldn't help but ask himself again, "Is everything, really, ready?"

At this moment, Landen clearly wasn't paying attention to the Minotaur Butler's thoughts, nor was he even paying attention to the Mind Flayers signing the contract in the distance. He had completely immersed himself in the Omnipotent Lord System.

As the first Mind Flayer signed the contract, a familiar voice suddenly rang in Landen's ears, the system notification sound that classmate Degang had heard countless times in his previous life.

"Successfully subdued the first batch of residents and soldiers in the territory. Quest System activated. Congratulations, please continue to work hard and unlock more functions!"