The duchy's decree had been issued long ago. If Kalons had not 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 defeated in the conflict a few days earlier.
Compared to Bilong City, which had a stronger commercial atmosphere, Essin City could only be described as worthless. Its trade was mediocre, it had no pillar industries, 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 in the clouds of war, lords and city lords were doing everything they could to arm themselves.
Weapon-forging workshops were largely controlled by the duchy and concentrated in the royal capital and provincial capitals. To purchase weapons and equipment, one needed an authorization slip, and those slips were issued only to lords close to the royal family or utterly loyal to the duchy. Essin City received no such treatment. Even if Kalons wanted to curry favor with 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 throughout the five provinces, but now it had instead become the final straw that broke the camel's back.
This was also the tragedy of the entire Kompno Duchy. The whole nation was already caught in turbulent times, yet those royal family members enfeoffed in the provincial capitals still indulged in drunken, decadent lives. They paid no attention whatsoever to the commoners below, and they had driven lords like Kalons, who still held a shred of hope for the country, to the opposing side.
"Lord Aslan, how are your weapons and equipment? And how much grain do you have?"
Avilan smiled and pointed at the more than twenty large wooden carts outside the window.
"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. Then may I inspect the goods first?"
"Of course." Avilan waved for Light Tiger to come over. "Take her to see the goods."
At the border between the Silent Night Forest and the Messiah Great Forest, a team of agile figures darted swiftly through the woods. They moved directly through the towering trees that reached into the clouds, their sharp, vigilant gazes constantly sweeping their surroundings.
"Captain Eric, isn't the king making too much of this by sending our squad out?" Dixin, the vice-captain and second person in the group, called out with some dissatisfaction.
Their reconnaissance squad was the most elite scouting unit in the entire Eternal Night Duchy. They were not deployed lightly, and whenever they were sent out, it was always for a major mission. In the eyes of many among them, this task of exploring the Messiah Great Forest was utterly insignificant—like using a butcher's knife to kill a chicken.
Eric waved a hand. The squad members descended in the direction he indicated, concealing themselves around the area while remaining alert.
"I remember this place. It seems to be the Blue-Dust Goblin Tribe. This tribe had over ten thousand members and two fourth-rank experts guarding it. It was a famous large tribe within several hundred li of here." Dixin looked at the tribe, now reduced to ruins, and spoke in surprise.
The Eternal Night Duchy also deeply despised the Blue-Dust Goblin Tribe, but the goblins had always remained in the Messiah Great Forest and knew the terrain well. If a large-scale elven force was deployed, it would be easily discovered, allowing the Blue-Dust Goblin Tribe to flee without a trace. Yet sending a small number of elites made it far from easy to wipe out the tribe entirely, and they might even suffer casualties.
Fortunately, the Blue-Dust Goblin Tribe was also very clever and rarely extended its reach into the Silent Night Forest. That was why the Eternal Night Duchy had continued tolerating its existence.
Yet this force, which had always given the duchy such headaches, had vanished without a trace before anyone even noticed. That was enough to make people uneasy.
Especially with so many bloodstains left across the ground, anyone could tell at a glance that a massive bloody battle had once taken place here.
"It seems something extraordinary has appeared in the Messiah Great Forest." Eric crouched down and inspected the bloodstains on the ground, speaking with a deep frown.
Only then did Dixin barely manage to rouse his spirits. This was the kind of mission suited to their squad.
"Dixin, we'll split into two teams and immediately investigate the other major tribes nearby." Eric issued the order decisively.
Their squad had only twenty members in total. Aside from Eric and Dixin, who were both fifth-rank sword dancers, all the others were fourth-rank experts. 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. But as they left, two beams of red light shot out from the hollow of a large tree. Then a bat, slightly larger than an ordinary one, flew from the tree 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 rated as white-grade equipment, there was simply too much of it. There were even several sets of Fine Iron-quality gear, which delighted Meisha beyond measure.
Most weapons and equipment produced in provincial capitals were white-grade or Fine Iron-quality. Silver-quality items appeared only occasionally, while Gold-quality weapons could only be crafted personally by master-level blacksmiths for powerful experts.
"The quality of the weapons and equipment is quite good. I wonder about the price." Meisha had already sent someone to notify Lord Kalons, but before Kalons arrived, she needed to get a rough understanding of the price.
"I'll be frank. I still have plenty of this equipment on hand, so the price can follow market rates. If your side wishes to purchase in large quantities, I can offer a slight discount." Avilan smiled. "For example, if you buy one hundred sets of armor and weapons at once, the price will be reduced by 0.5 points. For two hundred sets, it will be reduced by another point. For one thousand sets, it will be reduced by seven points directly."
"Wait, Lord Aslan, what is a point?" Meisha roughly understood what Avilan meant, but she did not understand how much the points he mentioned were worth.
"Oh, my apologies." Avilan thought for a moment before explaining, "For example, if one set of equipment costs one hundred gold coins, then one point is one gold coin. If you buy one thousand sets at once, each set will be seven gold coins cheaper."
Meisha's eyes immediately lit up upon hearing Avilan's words. This was an enormous discount.
"Then, sir, what if we purchase even more?" Meisha asked excitedly.
"If you purchase five thousand sets at once, I can reduce the price by fifteen points. Of course, five thousand sets is the limit. I cannot provide any more than that." Avilan thought for a moment before answering.
"I understand. Then what is the price for each set?" Meisha began discussing the price. If she could press it down even a little, then combined with the points discount, the amount they could save would be astonishing.
But when it came to the price, Avilan would not yield an inch. White-grade equipment cost fifty gold coins per set, Fine Iron equipment cost one hundred gold coins per set, and grain cost fifty copper coins per jin. Even one hundred thousand jin came to only five hundred gold coins, making it nothing more than a minor addition to this deal.
Before you continue