Fine Wine

Evans thought he knew Salos's actual needs, and felt relieved. At least he felt much more at ease with the 80 gold coins in his pocket.

He continued to ask Salos, "Steward Salos, what are these supplies?"

Salos beckoned to a caravan guard, opened a carriage, took out a half-body armor, and said to the armor, "Heavy Cavalry armor, 500 sets including the horse armor, in addition to other weapons and equipment, worth a total of 2,000 gold."

Hearing this, Evans rolled his eyes and could only think to himself, "No wonder they're in business, they can really lie through their teeth. If this is Heavy Cavalry armor, then my half-handed sword must be a desert god weapon that can cut through iron like mud."

"Manager Salos, you know that although I am in charge of managing the transfer station, the final accounts still need the signatures of Regiment Commander Lassos and the logistics director of the Second Legion. Without their permission, even if I add it for you, it doesn't count."

"Don't worry about that. I'll take care of Regiment Commander Lassos and the logistics manager. Just write it down for me. Stop talking nonsense and let my guy get the stuff in first."

"Alright, I'll do as you say." Evans directed his men to open the gate and let the caravan members begin sending goods into the transfer station.

The convoy split into two groups: one group led the horses to their stalls at the transfer station, while the other group began unloading supplies from the vehicles.

Evans watched for a while and felt a little strange. These caravan workers were all strong and agile, and they didn't look like employees of the merchant guild. Instead, they looked like soldiers.

He turned to Salos and asked directly, "Steward Salos, have all your men served in the military? They seem to be of very good quality."

Salos remained calm. "Captain Evans, I'm sorry to say, but as you know, we can't let too many people know about this. I had no choice but to call my caravan guards, who all came with me from the guild headquarters. As for the employees at the trading post, there are too many people and they're too talkative, so I didn't dare bring them. Otherwise, I wouldn't have bothered you in the middle of the night."

Evans nodded upon hearing this, and the last bit of doubt in his mind completely disappeared.

However, seeing that the convoy consisted of two hundred people and moving things was too slow, he simply called to his two squad Squad Leader: "Owen, Goron, tell your soldiers to help. We won't finish moving things by dawn at this rate."

The two Squad Leader looked at each other, not wanting to refuse. They could only reluctantly order their soldiers to help. The soldiers were also unwilling, but they had no choice but to put down their weapons and start helping to move the load.

At this moment, Victor, disguised Guard Corps, nodded to Salos. Salos understood immediately and called out to Evans.

"Thank you so much, Captain Evans. I brought some good wine. Let's invite a couple of brothers over for a few drinks. The rest can be handled by the men below."

Owen and Goron readily agreed, and the two of them immediately came over.

Salos had Victor retrieve an exquisite wooden box from the carriage. Upon seeing the box, Evans' eyes immediately lit up. "Steward Salos, could this be the Tears of the Black Pearl?"

Salos gave Evans a thumbs up. "Captain Evans is truly knowledgeable. I obtained this by chance and have been reluctant to drink it. Today, I'm bringing it out as a fitting tribute to a hero."

Evans rubbed his hands together. "You're too kind, too kind. Manager Salos, I don't know what to say."

Evans led everyone directly into his tent. Before Victor entered the tent, he glanced down at the convoy. Alex was still directing the loading and unloading in the convoy, saw this and subtly returned a hand gesture.

Inside the tent, after everyone was seated, Salos opened the wooden box. Inside were two exquisitely crafted ceramic wine bottles, entirely black. Salos handed one of the bottles to Evans, Evans took it with both hands and examined it carefully.

"It really is Tears of the Black Pearl, Steward Salos. What can I say about you? This is too extravagant." Evans had only ever seen this kind of wine at banquets organized within the Sixth Legion, where it was only served to the Legion Commander and Regimental Commander. He had only seen it but never tasted it. This wine was a specialty of the Xister Kingdom in the Scorching Sun Islands, and it was quite valuable, costing at least 20 gold per bottle. Even ordinary nobles dared not drink it.

Captain Evans then introduced the wine to everyone, which drew praise from the two Squad Leader, and Salos also repeatedly praised the Battalion Commander for his erudition.

"Owen, Goron, you should thank Salos for the opportunity to drink this wine today. Otherwise, you would never have the chance to drink such good wine in your entire lives."

At this moment, Salos had already opened a bottle of wine and poured a glass for each of the three. The three carefully accepted the wine, and Owen and Goron couldn't wait to take a sip.

However, after finishing their drinks, the two didn't find them particularly delicious, and simply awkwardly raised their glasses and said something.

"Good wine!" ×2

Evans looked at the two men and cursed, "What a waste of good stuff. You two deserve nothing more than horse piss sold in bars."

The two men lowered their heads and accepted the scolding, thinking to themselves, "You drink horse piss and seem to enjoy it, don't you?"

Salos laughed heartily, "Captain Evans, these two brothers are truly genuine, there's no need to be harsh on them. How about this, I should also express my gratitude to the brothers for their help today."

After saying that, Salos made a gesture, and Victor took out two money bags from his pocket and handed them to Owen and Goron.

The two men took the money bag, opened it, and immediately grinned. Evans glanced at it from the side, but seeing that it was full of Silver Coin, he didn't say anything.

"Salos continued."

"Consider this as tea money for the brothers. Don't worry, there will be generous gifts after the job is done."

Hearing this, Evans and his two companions were overjoyed, and under Salos's guidance, they downed their drinks in one gulp.

Just like that, a few minutes later, the bottle of wine was empty.

Evans, blushing, said, "It's really good wine. I didn't feel anything when I drank it, but it's too strong. My head is starting to spin."

Owen slumped onto the table, and Goron added, "This is definitely good wine. It's really strong. I've always had a good tolerance for alcohol, so how come... hiccup... I'm so drunk today?"

Salos smiled upon hearing this.

"Of course, the wine is infused with a lot of fine Rosemary essential oil from the Viscount Rosemary's territory. Even the First Horse would be knocked down by now."

Evans was startled. He tried to stand up, but he couldn't muster any strength in his limbs. He could only stammer, "Sa... Salos, you... don't do anything stupid. Stealing... military... supplies... can... get... headed."

Thank you for your concern.

Victor was already standing behind Evans, and he reached out and pressed down on his neck. With a clockwise twist, there was a "crack" sound, and Evans' neck twisted to the side, clearly indicating that he was going to die.