Trade

The duchy's decree had been issued long ago. If not for the fact that Kalons had received a batch of weapons and equipment after wiping out an elite squad from the Blood Church some time ago, Essin City might have been utterly crushed in the conflict a few days earlier.

Compared with Bilong City, which had a relatively thriving commercial atmosphere, Essin City could only be described as worthless. Its commerce was mediocre, it had no pillar industry, and its main income still relied on the "local specialties" adventurers brought out of the Messiah Great Forest.

Now that the entire Cliff Continent was shrouded beneath the clouds of war, lords and city lords were doing everything they could to arm themselves.

The weapon-forging workshops were mostly controlled by the duchy in the royal capital and provincial capitals. To purchase weapons and equipment, one needed an approval slip, and those slips were only issued to lords close to the royal family or fiercely loyal to the duchy. Essin City received no such treatment. Even if Kalons wanted to attach himself to them, the royal family members in the provincial capital would not think much of him.

This policy had originally been used by the royal family to control the noble lords across the five major provinces. Now, however, it had instead become the last straw that broke the camel's back.

This was also the tragedy of the entire Kompno Duchy. The whole nation had clearly fallen into turbulent storms, yet the royal family members stationed in the provincial capitals still lived lives drowned in wine and dreams of death, utterly indifferent to the plight of the common people below. They had also forced lords like Kalons, who still held a trace of hope for the nation, onto the opposing side.

"Lord Aslan, I wonder how your weapons and equipment are? And how much grain do you have?"

Avilan smiled and pointed out the window at the more than twenty large wooden carts.

"It's all on them. They're all standardized weapons. We didn't bring much grain this time, only a little over a hundred thousand jin."

"Good. May I inspect the goods first?"

"Of course." Avilan waved Light Tiger over. "Take him to inspect the goods."

At the border between the Silent Night Forest and the Messiah Great Forest, a group of agile figures swiftly moved through the woods. They traveled directly across towering trees that pierced the clouds, their sharp, vigilant gazes constantly sweeping their surroundings.

"Captain Eric, wasn't the King making a mountain out of a molehill by sending our squad out?" Dixin, the second person in the formation and the vice-captain, called out with some dissatisfaction.

The reconnaissance squad they belonged to was the most elite reconnaissance squad in the entire Eternal Night Duchy. They were not deployed lightly, and whenever they were, it was always for a major mission. In the eyes of many of them, this mission to explore the Messiah Great Forest was utterly beneath notice—like using a butcher's knife to kill a chicken.

Eric waved his hand. The squad members descended in the direction he indicated, concealed themselves around the area, and grew alert.

"I remember this place. It seems to be the Blue-Dust Goblin Tribe. This tribe had more than ten thousand members, with two fourth-rank experts guarding it. It was a famous large tribe within several hundred li." Dixin looked at the tribe that had already become ruins and spoke in surprise.

The Eternal Night Duchy also loathed the Blue-Dust Goblin Tribe, but it had always remained in the Messiah Great Forest and was familiar with the terrain. If a large elven legion was dispatched, it would easily be discovered, allowing the Blue-Dust Goblin Tribe to flee without a trace. Yet sending a small number of elites to wipe out the Blue-Dust Goblin Tribe was no simple matter, and they might even suffer losses.

Fortunately, the Blue-Dust Goblin Tribe was also quite clever and rarely extended its hands into the Silent Night Forest. That was why the Eternal Night Duchy had tolerated its existence all along.

Yet this force that had always given the duchy headaches had vanished without a sound or trace. That was enough to make people afraid.

Especially with the bloodstains left all over the ground, anyone could tell at a glance that a massive bloody battle had once erupted here.

"It seems something extraordinary has appeared in the Messiah Great Forest." Eric crouched down to inspect the bloodstains on the ground, his brows tightly furrowed.

Only then did Dixin barely raise his spirits. This was the kind of mission suited to their squad.

"Dixin, we'll split into two teams and immediately scout the other large tribes nearby." Eric issued the order decisively.

Their squad had only twenty people in total. Aside from Eric and Dixin, who were both fifth-rank sword dancers, every other member was a fourth-rank expert. There was not even a single third-rank member in the team. This was one of the reasons for their pride.

"Alright."

The two teams of dark elves quickly split apart and headed in their respective directions. Yet as they departed, two red lights shot out from the hollow of a large tree. Then, a bat a full size larger than an ordinary bat flew from the hollow and headed toward Despair Fortress.

Within Chika Village, Meisha was extremely satisfied with the weapons and equipment Avilan had brought.

Although most of them were white-grade equipment, their sheer quantity made up for it. There were even several sets of Fine Iron-grade equipment, leaving Meisha overjoyed.

The weapons and equipment produced by provincial capitals were generally white-grade or Fine Iron-grade, with silver-grade items appearing only occasionally. As for gold-grade weapons, only master-level blacksmiths could personally forge them for the strong.

"The quality of the weapons and equipment is good. I wonder about the price." Meisha had already sent someone to notify City Lord Kalons, but before Kalons arrived, she had to get a clear understanding of the prices.

"I'll speak frankly. I still have plenty of this equipment on my side. The price can follow the market rate. If your side wishes to purchase in large quantities, I can make a slight concession on the price." Avilan smiled. "For example, if you buy one hundred sets of armor and weapons in one go, the price will be reduced by 0.5 points. For two hundred sets, it will be reduced by another point. If it's one thousand sets, the price will be directly reduced by seven points."

"Wait, Lord Aslan, what are points?" Meisha roughly understood what Avilan meant, but she did not understand how much a point was.

"Oh, my apologies." After thinking for a moment, Avilan said, "For example, if a set of equipment costs one hundred gold coins, then one point is one gold coin. If you buy one thousand sets in one go, each set will be seven gold coins cheaper."

At Avilan's words, Meisha's eyes immediately lit up. This discount was extremely generous.

"Then, sir, what if we purchase even more?" Meisha asked excitedly.

"If you purchase five thousand sets in one go, I can reduce the price by fifteen points. Of course, five thousand sets is the limit. I can't provide any more than that." Avilan thought for a moment before answering.

"I understand. Then what is the price for each set?" Meisha began negotiating the price. If she could press it down even a little, then after factoring in the points, the amount they could save would be simply astonishing.

But when it came to the price, Avilan was like oil and salt that would not soak in, refusing to yield even half a step. A set of white-grade equipment cost fifty gold coins, Fine Iron-grade equipment cost one hundred gold coins, and grain cost fifty copper coins per jin. A hundred thousand jin came to only five hundred gold coins, which could only be considered a small extra in this transaction.