A Sudden Windfall

Chapter 39: A Sudden Windfall

"180!"

"200!"

"No. The highest price is 180 gold coins per pound of Mithril. A price of 200 is impossible!" Arthur said stubbornly. He might not care about a few gold coins, but he could not ignore tens of thousands of them.

As Princess Angel's executor, he had to use every possible means to protect Her Highness's interests and glory.

Anything Her Highness would not do, or even think of doing, had to be done by him as the villain.

William and Lotner exchanged a glance. They had long known that Mithril would never sell for more than 200 gold coins in Blue Moon Town.

But trading here was safe. They did not have to worry about any Elves leaking information about the deal, or even sending people to rob and hunt them down.

"Then it's settled. Five hundred pounds of Mithril at 180 gold coins per pound. That makes 90,000 gold coins!" William nodded at Arthur.

Arthur looked impatient. He had no favorable impression of William—or rather, he had no favorable impression of any prince from Blackleaf Forest. "The calculation is correct. If we trade now, have the Mithril brought over. Then you can leave."

"How about rounding it up to 100,000 gold coins?" William asked cautiously.

"..." Arthur, who had already turned away, slowly turned back. His gaze was icy, as if asking, Do you think I'm an idiot?

But!

Handsome's talent effect had indeed shown its advantage.

For some unknown reason.

Arthur's favorability toward him gradually rose by a full 67 points—exactly William's Charm stat...

Arthur did not know whether his brain had short-circuited, but he actually said, "It wasn't easy for you to come all this way. I'll count it as 91,000 gold coins."

William immediately stood up. "Then it's settled. Lotner, have Nock bring over the Mithril. We'll take the gold and head back!"

The transaction went smoothly.

Whether they were Black Leaf Elves, Moonlight Elves, or Snow Elves, they all had one thing in common.

Pride.

They would not cheat over such a small deal.

Unless the fate of their race was at stake.

Even though Arthur regretted and felt bewildered the moment he said it, William had already trotted off and slipped away...

As for that princess who kept a little white horse, they did not meet again.

William did not linger over it either. He was not in much of a hurry on the way back, so he let the Elves under his command rest for several hours and enjoy a hearty meal before setting off.

Based on the Mithril Vein's current output, it could produce roughly 100 pounds of Mithril each month. William therefore agreed with Arthur on a monthly transaction volume of 50 pounds, which meant a fixed income of 9,000 gold coins every month.

"With these 91,000 gold coins, plus the future income, Border Town will definitely expand into a proper town within half a year as long as you arrange things properly, my lord!" Lotner sighed softly. Border Town was finally getting on track.

Ever since arriving in town, William's rise as its lord had not been slow. It could even be called rapid.

For example, the suddenly discovered Iron Ore Vein and Mithril Vein had provided both a foundation for construction and a source of gold.

Then there were the considerable number of Dwarves.

And those Orcs who had foolishly thrown their lives away, giving the Elven Warriors in the territory plenty of experience.

After all.

Aside from training, eating magical beast meat, using potions, and so on, NPCs could only gain experience through battle. When NPCs experienced life-and-death combat, they could even level up several times in a row.

NPC Warriors who survived a hundred battles did not grow any slower than players.

That was why, whenever a version level cap was lifted, NPCs caught in war could also rapidly increase their levels.

For instance, Lotner had originally been level 56. After fighting Pale Orcs above his level, he successfully leveled up twice in a row, reaching level 58.

Though he was still a mid-tier combat professional, he had taken another step closer to the level 70 cap.

Thinking of this, William could not help glancing at Lotner. He always wanted to find some powerful monsters and get his personal bodyguard to the version level cap as soon as possible.

Seeing that ill-intentioned look, Lotner silently shut his mouth.

Still, he had heard those two words...

"Uncle, I heard there are some Trolls near the territory?" William asked thoughtfully from horseback.

"Huh? Are there? Is that really a thing..." Lotner twitched his mouth. Trolls were pack creatures that favored dark, damp places and usually chose caves with lakes.

Their strength?

Since they lived near lakes, they could conveniently catch animals, magical beasts, and even anything else that came to drink.

They were very strong...

William explained with feigned understanding, "How could there not be? You know there are two mountain peaks directly south of Border Town, right? Between them is a large lake, and that is where our Rainbow River begins.

Actually, I have some ideas about the ocean and that lake.

We could build two docks, one near the lake and one near the ocean, and make some fishing boats. That would not only increase our food supply, but also add more variety to our meals.

But if we want to reach the ocean, going from the lakeshore is the shortest route. Otherwise, we would have to go around the lake and pass between the two mountain peaks from either side. That would be more trouble than it was worth. The journey would double, and it would be far too dangerous!"

"If you have something to say, my lord, just say it. You don't need to call me uncle..." Seeing that William would not let it go, Lotner could only hold firm.

"When you have time, wipe out those Trolls, along with the other magical beasts by the lake. How about it?"

"No problem."

"Good." William nodded, ignoring Lotner's mournful expression. There was no helping it—he did not know how to refuse, nor could he refuse. He would just have to bear it like a real man.

There were no accidents on the way back either.

The depths of Blackleaf Forest were dangerous, but only for individuals or small teams. Most magical beasts had no interest in treating a large group as food.

Likewise.

William was carrying so much gold that he feared unexpected trouble, and he had no interest in dealing with any magical beasts they happened to encounter.

Finally.

When Border Town, still in the midst of expansion, came into view.

William and the others finally breathed a sigh of relief. Odom also put down his work and came to greet the group, his dazzling golden hair flowing behind him.

"It's only been six days, and you're already back, my lord. That was fast!" Odom's eyes gleamed as he looked at the crates upon crates of gold coins...

Dwarves and Dragons shared the same hobby: they both loved glittering gold coins.

Coupled with the Dwarf Race's love of mining, the former Dwarf Empire and the current seven Dwarf Kingdoms were all exceptionally wealthy nations, far beyond ordinary human kingdoms.

"Stop staring. I'll raise your wages!" William waved a hand in front of his eyes. But when he entered the town, he saw many unfamiliar faces he had never met before.

"Who are these people?" William asked curiously. Could Kuri have sent the slaves over early?

Odom pointed at them. "They're poor people from Blackrock Duchy and Steel Duchy. They heard Border Town was expanding and paying wages, so they came here to work.

During the six days you were gone, more than 200 people arrived one after another. It looks like even more will keep coming!"

"Do any of them want to settle here?" William saw plenty of young people. They were all such excellent fresh recruits...

"Quite a few do. After all, a thriving town is a hundred times better than those human towns filled with Vampire nobles!" Odom sighed.

It had to be said.

The reason people kept joining the Neutral Faction was that the human nobility system had exploited too many commoners until they could no longer bear it...

Thanks for the reward: sb stole account.

As usual, please vote with recommendation tickets... Looking at the number of votes makes me want to cry.