Louis Smythe shook his head with a wry smile. "Bloody Glory is an ancient and extremely obscure Supernatural Power. Not many people walk this path. I found two of them. One had no interest whatsoever in the price I offered. The other gentleman wanted me to buy back another Vampiric Weapon he possesses, but his asking price was too high for me to accept."
Charlotte naturally knew how obscure Bloody Glory was. In his year at Sheffield University, he had been the only one to choose this path. Going back three classes, he was still the only one.
His interest was piqued. Bloody Glory gathered and flowed into this Vampiric Weapon.
Louis Smythe's eyes lit up slightly. Charlotte was interested in Vampiric Weapons, and he had already guessed this young man's supernatural path. He could not help feeling rather expectant.
The Black Iron Ring did not reject Charlotte's Bloody Glory, but neither was it infinitely ravenous like the Vampire Hand Axe. It silently devoured a certain amount of Bloody Glory and let out a faint hum. Blood-red light bloomed from Charlotte's hand as it transformed into a golden spear over two Pimi long.
Countless patterns were inscribed along the shaft, with blood-colored flames seemingly flowing beneath them. It radiated an extraordinary aura.
Louis Smythe revealed a shocked expression and blurted out, "The Spear of Sharlons!"
"It's actually a Supernatural Weapon of the Sharlons Arthur Family."
Charlotte was equally surprised. He had not recognized the Sharlons Family crest, nor had he ever heard of the Spear of Sharlons. However, he knew of this family famed for crafting Magic Weapons. He also knew that every shape-shifting Magic Weapon was of exceptional quality and especially expensive.
Few people could wield Vampiric Weapons, causing Blood Kindred Supernatural Artifacts to sell for absurdly low prices compared to ordinary Magic Weapons. Yet supreme-grade items capable of changing form sold for even more than Magic Weapons of equivalent quality.
That was determined by market supply and demand.
Business principles?
There was no way to explain them clearly in a moment.
Louis Smythe hesitated for a moment before saying, "Mr. Mecklen, you have truly given me a tremendous surprise. There is something difficult I would like to discuss with you."
"The Spear of Sharlons is a top-tier treasure. If it is auctioned off in haste, it will not fetch an appropriate price. I intend to wait for a top-tier auction next year before sending it there."
"That means you will have to wait a long time."
"I am willing to pay you an advance. You may suffer a small loss, but you will receive your payment today. I am not forcing you. If you are willing to wait, I will honor my promise as well."
Charlotte deliberately pondered for a moment, then smiled. "I wish Mr. Louis unprecedented success at that top-tier auction. I have no desire to wait that long."
Charlotte did not think waiting for next year's auction was a good idea.
Louis Smythe was a merchant, and profit determined his attitude. Once he returned to Strasbourg and learned that Charlot Mecklenburg was already an Imperial wanted criminal, there was a hundred percent chance he would not pay a single Centime.
Getting a windfall for nothing was worthwhile no matter how one looked at it.
Louis Smythe was overjoyed. He selected a rapier from among the goods and said, "I am willing to give this Supernatural Weapon to Mr. Mecklen, along with another two hundred Écu."
"This rapier is also a Vampiric Weapon, made by the Asilo Family. Although its blade is slightly damaged, it is still worth more than one hundred and fifty Écu."
"House of Asilo is one of the Three Imperial Blood Kindred Families, on par with the Arthur Family. They excel at martial arts, and their swordsmanship ranks first among the Thirty-Seven Blood Kindred Clans. Their family also produces many famous swords."
Louis Smythe turned the hilt around to show Charlotte. There was a special inscription on the guard. "This Blood Kindred Supernatural Weapon also has a very lovely and elegant name—Blood Rose."
"It is practically a perfect match for you!"
Louis Smythe displayed the inscription on the hilt as clearly as possible, yet showed no intention whatsoever of drawing the rapier even an inch.
Charlotte was startled. He knew the Spear of Sharlons had to be expensive, but he had not expected it to be this expensive.
Louis Smythe had promised thirty percent of the net profit. Since he wanted to pay in advance, thirty percent of the net profit had to exceed one Vampiric Weapon plus two hundred Écu.
Vampiric Weapons were absurdly cheap compared with ordinary Supernatural Weapons. Louis Smythe's valuation of one hundred and fifty Écu was probably somewhat inflated, but not by much.
In other words, the Spear of Sharlons might sell at auction for the astronomical price of more than twelve hundred Écu.
Converted into RMB, that was more than twenty million yuan—enough to buy a near-top-tier luxury home in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, or Shenzhen. In the Empire of Fars, it was enough to purchase a medium-sized estate.
Charlotte flashed a toothy smile. "Louis, you really are an excellent merchant. Doing business with you is wonderfully comfortable."
He accepted the Vampiric Weapon and recalled a short poem from his previous life: "A night's soft thunder scatters countless threads of rain; clear light floats on blue-green tiles in uneven rows. Sentient peonies hold spring tears; helpless roses lie upon dawn branches."
Blood Rose was not a famous sword.
At least, Charlotte did not know its origins, nor did he intend to inquire into its history.
In his hands, this Vampiric Rapier was destined to remain obscure.
Charlotte had no intention of using it to achieve great deeds.
Louis Smythe took out another money pouch and handed it to Charlotte. The pouch was heavy, clearly not filled with banknotes.
Charlotte accepted the pouch, rather surprised that Louis Smythe had paid in Écu gold coins rather than Flor banknotes.
Louis Smythe seemed to understand his confusion. He shrugged and said, "I just went to Byron on business. They do not accept Flor banknotes there, only Gold Écu and Silver Foer. I did not bring any Flor banknotes, so I could only pay in Gold Écu."
Écu came in two denominations, one Écu and five Écu. Farsians habitually called them Small Écu and Large Écu. The gold coins Louis Smythe paid included both denominations.
Charlotte pocketed the money pouch and put away the Vampiric Rapier as well. This transaction seemed to have deepened the friendship between the two of them by another layer.
The five members of the Great Axe Adventurer Group watched Charlotte and Louis Smythe seemingly conclude a transaction. However, they were standing too far away to hear their conversation. They only saw Louis Smythe give Charlotte both a rapier and a pouch of coins, leaving them utterly baffled about what the two had been doing.
Mason said in a low voice, "Qian Nan is no ordinary person!"
The other four members nodded together. Charlotte was far more than merely unlike an ordinary person—his performance since earlier had been utterly mind-blowing.
Hannah's gaze heated slightly as her little schemes began turning even more actively.
More than ten minutes later, White Wolf emerged in a clean change of clothes. He glanced at the members of the Great Axe Adventurer Group, then said to Charlotte, "None of your companions are suited to become Demon Hunters. Even if you know Louis, I will not make an exception."
Charlotte did not mind much, but Mason was exceptionally disappointed. He had known before coming that the chances were slim, yet having someone directly shatter that hope still felt terrible.
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