Three years have passed in the blink of an eye.
The caravan has already crossed two prefectures, and it is estimated that it will reach its destination Azure Cloud Prefecture, in another year.
The Fate Clone had no inspiration for a while, and Jason kept absorbing the Soul Pearl along the way, absorbing them all in a year.
Fearing suspicion, Jason did not purchase any more Soul Pearl from Feiliya; there were over three hundred Soul Gold Bead among Sadista's relics, but Jason felt that absorbing them all was too wasteful, and besides, such a small amount wouldn't be of much use.
"The soul power of my Fate Clone isn't weak right now, so I won't focus on that for now. Once we return to the Northbone Prefecture, I'll use the family's name to buy some Netherworld River Water."
In the Netherworld, the most common products similar to "Infernal Realm Amethyst" are "Netherworld River Water" and "Soul Pearl". Netherworld River Water is produced in the "Netherworld River Prefecture" in the eastern part of the continent, Jason probably has no chance to go there.
A divine sense enveloped them; it was two Four Star Fiend summoning the rest of the caravan, indicating an enemy threat.
The caravan members gathered there. Over the past three years, because the caravan was so ordinary and had Highgod or Fiend guarding it, most bandits would turn tail at the sight of it. Only two groups of bandits had actually fought each other, and neither of them fought to the death. The nineteen members of the caravan had not been lost.
This time, it seems to be the third group of bandits targeting the caravan.
"Have you ever carried out an eviction?" Feiliya asked.
"We've tried to drive them away a few times, but they keep trailing behind us. We suspect they have reinforcements, and dragging this out could be dangerous," said the burly, Four Star Fiend.
The task of monitoring and driving away the bandits was handled by Four Star Fiend in rotation. Although Jason was Highgod Fiend god, he was only a two-star demon and received a two-star reward, so he naturally only did the work of Two-Star Fiend.
Feiliya glanced out the window and confirmed that the other side was a bandit gang led by two Highgod. Such bandit gangs usually stayed in one area and had a semi-tribal, semi-bandit organizational structure. It was rare for them to chase a target this far.
"Let's meet the enemy," Feiliya decided.
Feiliya put away the Metallic Airship, and the eighteen Fiend charged straight at it.
In this situation, the Fiend had no reason to hesitate. If they dragged it out and the enemy reinforcements arrived, things would get even more complicated. It was better to act decisively and cut the Gordian knot.
The two Highgod leaders of the opposing bandit group fully utilized a common tactic used by Netherworld bandits—sending their subordinates first.
Because of the existence of the Undead Realm in the north, the number of lower and Midgod in the Netherworld is slightly greater than in other planes, and the lower and Mid Godhead are naturally cheaper. This makes the cost of mass-producing Refine Divine Spark Deity-level lower.
For the Highgod in the Netherworld who cultivate the Edicts of Death, the souls of the lower-ranking and Midgod Refine Divine Spark sparks are weak, easy to control, numerous, and cheap, leading to the prevalence of Soul Seed control within Netherworld bandit groups.
During battle, even a common Death Edict Highgod can control more than a dozen low-level and Midgod who Refine Divine Spark, using them as cheap cannon fodder.
Clearly, this is the kind of tactic Jason and his men are currently facing against the bandit gang.
The two Highgod had already taken this opportunity to retreat, while the twenty-odd Midgod Refine Divine Spark were no match for the Fiend ' attacks and didn't even have a chance to escape. They were wiped out in just two minutes.
Jason pretended to be a newly ascended Highgod and collected all the spoils of war.
He had roughly figured out the strength of this caravan; it was far inferior to the caravan established by Johanna, the city lord's daughter, where his other two clones were located.
Firstly, the two Four Star Fiend were mediocre; Feiliya also had Fiend Medallion, but she was Highgod had just broken through and dared not participate in the Four Star Fiend assessment; as for the other Midgod Fiend, they were all standard one- or two-star strength, and Jason did not see any experts among them.
The group returned to the Metallic Airship, but this time the airship was flying much slower.
"They'll probably come again," said a handsome, Four Star Fiend.
Clearly, they had taken on many such routine escort missions and encountered similar situations before.
The two Four Star Fiend seemed to know each other. The other Four Star Fiend asked, "Lady Feiliya, this band of bandits has a clear target. Could they be your enemies?"
Feiliya pondered for a moment, "We wouldn't call them enemies, but rather competitors. To be honest, this shipment is for the Lord of Azure Cloud Prefecture. He has a powerful subordinate who can quickly refine Soul Pearl into Soul Gold Bead, which is also a source of income for the Lord of Azure Cloud Prefecture."
Of course, the person directly handling the transactions with us wasn't a big shot like the Lord of the Manor, but rather his third daughter. And the Soul Pearl she acquires each year aren't just for our family.
As you know, our Soul Pearl industry is characterized by low prices, large quantities, and fierce competition. Now, a certain force wants to seize our market share but doesn't want to compete by lowering prices. Therefore, they might resort to force.
"Then why don't you hire a stronger Fiend?" Two Four Star Fiend often team up for missions and know their own strength; such missions involving business competition are quite dangerous.
"My itinerary was supposed to be kept secret, and our profit margin for this trip wasn't high. I never expected them to go to such lengths to hunt me down, and that they actually found me."
After hearing this, everyone roughly understood that the Soul Pearl business was highly competitive and suppliers had very low profits. The current team was the largest scale that Feiliya could accept after deducting costs from her profits. Adding another Four Star Fiend would result in a loss.
"Everyone, the road ahead may be dangerous, so please be careful." Feiliya's posture was very humble.
"This—" The Fiend looked at each other, and for a moment no one responded.
It's obvious that those who accepted this mission were weak, short on cash, and simply wanted a safe escort mission to earn some Nether Stone; none of Fiend wanted to get involved in such a dangerous task.
The two Four Star Fiend said, "Why don't you find a few more Fiend when you arrive in the next city, Feiliya? We'll lose some Nether Stone this time, but things will be better after that."
"Well, I'm only here to escort the goods on the orders of the clan chief. I can't explain myself if I do this," Feiliya said, looking troubled.
The crowd fell silent. Some were already secretly conspiring, deciding whether to go their separate ways once they reached the next city, or to commit murder and robbery now.
Jason glanced at the two Four Star Fiend, deciding not to be the first to stick his neck out.
At this moment, a Four Star Fiend said, "How about this, we buy some Soul Pearl from you? If we buy directly, there's no city merchant taking a cut, and everyone can make a little money. You can sell the rest in another city to minimize your losses. We'll only be covering a little more than half of this mission, so we won't charge you the mission commission."
Feiliya pondered for a moment, then looked around at the Midgod Fiend.
Some of the Midgod, Fiend present were also tempted.
The two Four Star Fiend had no intention of betraying their employer; if they abandoned the mission directly, it would be a waste of time. Although the Soul Pearl were less effective, as Deity-level, they had no shortage of time. As long as the price was low enough, absorbing more would greatly enhance their souls.
Upon seeing this, Feiliya clapped her hands together and said, "The standard price for a Soul Pearl is one thousand Nether Stone, and that's the price if I trade directly with Azure Cloud Prefecture. The price in the city is one thousand one hundred Nether Stone. How about I sell it to you for one thousand Nether Stone?"
The handsome Four Star Fiend said, "The usual price for Soul Pearl in the city is eight hundred Nether Stone. We'll waive the commission this time, so just sell them to us for nine hundred each."
The Midgod next to him chimed in, "That's right, if we don't buy, you've probably made a wasted trip."
Feiliya frowned and hesitated for a moment. "Sigh, alright, but you'll have to buy more."
Two Four Star Fiend took the lead, each buying five thousand soul pearls. For Highgod, who has a lot of free time, it is indeed beneficial to take some time to refine some Soul Pearl.
The remaining fifteen Midgod were clearly people who had been stuck at a bottleneck for a long time, and as Fiend, their purchasing power was not weak either. Each of them bought about a thousand, and those with some Nether Stone bought two thousand.
"Mr. Jason, would you like to buy some more?" Feiliya asked Jason.
Jason coughed lightly. "Feiliya, you sold it to me for a thousand Nether Stone each before—"
"Different circumstances—" As a businesswoman Feiliya certainly wouldn't spit out the meat in her mouth.
At this moment, two Four Star Fiend stepped forward to smooth things over. "How about, Lord Jason, you buy some more, and we'll lower the price again this time?"
Feiliya looked at Jason: "That depends on how much you want to buy, Jason."
Jason said, "To be honest, our family has quite a lot of members, and I've just broken through and need to replenish my soul. If it's cheap enough, I'll probably buy more."
"How about one hundred and seventy Nether Stone?"
Jason frowned. "I'm buying over 20,000, give me 851."
After all, the base price is 800 per piece, so it can't be lowered any further.
Feiliya's eyes lit up. "Deal!"
Jason took out an Earth-type High Godhead, a Water Element Highgod Spark, and four Highgod Artifact. All of them were taken from Sadista's relics, and he even deliberately took a few Divine Artifact that looked to be in relatively poor condition.
After some haggling, Jason finally obtained 25,000 Soul Pearl.
After completing the transaction, the group turned directly west, avoiding any potential ambush.
Feiliya only announced the end of the mission upon entering a city, and of course, there was no commission.
After bidding farewell, the Fiend dispersed.
Jason is preparing to go to the Fiend Hall to accept a new quest.
"This deal wasn't bad, considering I didn't have the same luck as Linley in the original story, getting so many Amethyst for free in one go." Jason thought as he walked, when suddenly a thought struck him, and he felt like he had seen his experience in the media in his previous life.
"Could they be a bunch of scammers?!"