A Crooked Merchant's Scheme

Entrance to the Him Cavern.

Ruogejin's hands moved swiftly, and under his control, precious Magic Crystal Core were embedded into the pre-drilled holes in the alchemical components, producing a series of crisp "click" sounds.

"Why is it a week late?" Ruogejin asked Immanuel, his voice tinged with displeasure.

"I'm sorry, sir, this shipment is too large, and there have been some minor problems with the transport of the rough stones." Immanuel wiped the sweat from his brow, trying his best to suppress his nervousness.

As a powerful magical weapon, the "Eternal Cataclysm Star Ring" also consumes a huge amount of energy. Ordinary magic crystals are simply not enough to power it; only the highest-grade Magic Crystal Core can activate it.

Although the Northern Lands are underdeveloped, they do produce a variety of magical materials. Due to their sparse local population, these materials are mainly exported. This has ironically led to the Northern Lands ranking among the world's top exporters.

This is also why the Plundering Clock ultimately chose to procure locally to make up for the shortfall. The Whitaker Family, to which Immanuel belongs...

It is one of the merchant guilds that has long been engaged in the business of Magic Crystal Core.

However, according to the original plan, the goods should have been handed over en route to this location, giving them ample time to assemble and test the magical weapons.

If it weren't for this supply chain delay, things wouldn't have dragged on until now, and these outsiders wouldn't have been brought to this secret hideout.

"According to the contract, 7% of your payment will be deducted for overdue payments!" Ruogejin said coldly.

"Yes, sir!" Immanuel swallowed.

Ruogejin quickly completed the installation. He reached out and activated the "Star Wall" component. Magic Crystal Core lit up, rich Magic Power flowed, and a faint cyan defensive shield rose up.

"Not bad!" Abigai slowly walked out of the cave. She squinted her cloudy eyes, examining the magical weapon on the ground with only two components, and ordered, "Assemble the ' Star Core ' part as well. I want to test it as a whole."

Ruogejin opened his mouth, wanting to dissuade him. Lighting up the component was one thing, but actual testing meant huge consumption - even the shortest time of operation meant the consumption of tens of thousands of gold coins.

If Abigai wants to conduct other tests, the costs will be even more immeasurable.

But he ultimately simply lowered his head and respectfully replied, "Yes, sir."

He then turned around and gave the order, and the bears immediately began assembling the "Star Core" components.

"Go and rest over there," Ruogejin said to Immanuel, who was in his way.

Immanuel, suppressing his trembling, slowly walked to the edge of the cave and sat down beside the stone wall. In his heart, he had already cursed Bennyfinn a thousand times.

Bennyfinn Whittaker, Immanuel's uncle, is known for his extreme lechery, and despite his advanced age, he still indulges in all sorts of tastes.

This lecherous old man must have offended some powerful figure in Shafeng'er Town, for he was killed despite being heavily guarded. Even the fact that his family had placed two elite guards in the escort team was to no avail.

The assassins used a vicious weapon never before heard of, one that sent chills down the spines of all who witnessed it. The two elite guards only suffered a day longer than ordinary guards in their agony. According to eyewitnesses, their deaths were extremely gruesome.

Bennyfinn deserves to die, but the worst part is that the batch of high-grade Magic Crystal Core he secretly transported under the guise of collecting taxes has been lost!

These crystal cores did not belong to the Whitaker Family alone. For this transaction, the Whitaker Family used their territory as collateral to purchase them on credit from several merchants and nobles in the Northern Lands.

So when the goods disappeared, the Whitaker Family was immediately plunged into a dead end. The creditors who owed them money were truly going to tear the family members apart and then divide up their territory!

With no other options, the Whitaker Family had no choice but to take a desperate gamble and use their ancestral forgery techniques to attach a thin crystal core to the outer layer of a flawless magic crystal, disguising it as a superior Magic Crystal Core.

This method requires complex and specialized processes, Whitaker Family went to great lengths to barely manage to assemble this batch of counterfeit goods.

In the past, they only dared to use this trick on customers without connections or unsuspecting victims. This is because although counterfeit goods could fool initial inspections, the energy density of magic crystals is only a fraction of that of the crystal core.

If it's used in a real-world setting, it will definitely be exposed!

As originally planned, Immanuel delivered the counterfeit goods at the transaction location to complete the deal. Emanuel Immanuel absconded with the remaining payment, and the entire Whitaker Family immediately fled with the money.

By the time the buyer officially activates the magical weapon and discovers the problem, who knows how long it will be before they're far from the troublesome Northern Lands!

But what Immanuel didn't expect was that not only did he not receive the final payment, he was also taken here as a prisoner.

The buyer has already installed the crystal core and lit up the "Star Wall" component. This should work fine for a short period of time, since the magic crystal does have Magic Power.

But the other party will conduct actual tests next, which will definitely expose him, and then he will be doomed!

Immanuel cowered in the corner, cold sweat pouring down his face, racking his brains for a way to escape.

Not far away, two ragged human slaves were struggling to carry a heavy box.

"There's something wrong with that merchant representative," Rupert said in a low voice.

"We have problems too," Zephlin replied curtly.

The workload of moving things had increased dramatically in the past few days, but the two men's treatment had actually improved. They not only received food and water, but they didn't even suffer any new wounds. The overseers finally realized that after killing the slaves, they would have to do these hard jobs themselves!

"Slow down," Zephlin said, panting.

The two were wearing shackles that sealed their Magic Power, so Zephlin couldn't keep up with the strong Rupert.

"Give it your all, let's get this over there quickly," Rupert urged.

"So eager to work for the enemy?" Zephlin looked at Rupert with a puzzled expression. "Are you out of your mind?"

"Hurry up and get there so we can strike up a conversation with that merchant representative!" Rupert explained. "I think he's also trying to escape. Anyway, once the work is done, these people will definitely kill us, so we might as well try anything!"

The two carried the box to the designated location and put it down. Surrounded by bear-men who couldn't understand Zephlin and Rupert's common language, they spoke without restraint.

"I'm not questioning your judgment," Zephlin sighed, "I just don't believe in your luck."

"What's wrong with my luck?!" Rupert.

"You kept telling us not to provoke powerful enemies, but what happened?" Zephlin gestured towards where Abigai and the others were standing. "You led us straight into the heart of the biggest enemy group, without even a turn!"

Three days ago, the two successfully tracked down Rosalia, the town's most beautiful girl, near Xueqila Town Kalaning Village, and followed her all the way to this area. Before they even saw the Him Cavern, they were grabbed by the neck by the Grand Magus Mentor Ruogejin, who descended from the sky.

There was absolutely no suspense throughout the entire process!

"Didn't I send a distress signal using Animal Messenger!" Rupert said. "At least the squirrel managed to escape!"

To this end, he even sacrificed the oak leaf badge he carried, turning it to dust to complete the spell. This caused him a pang of heartache—he had abstained from alcohol for almost a year to save enough money to buy the badge!

Zephlin hesitated, after all, Rupert's proposal was logically sound.

So, should we go?

The priest's gaze darted back and forth between Immanuel and the bear-men around him, his heart torn between his inner turmoil and his own.

m*m*

On the distant eastern horizon, ten dazzling points of light suddenly appeared, followed by more that gradually formed a string.

Abigai's eyes narrowed suddenly, and her wrinkled hand rose swiftly. With her movement, "Eternal Cataclysm Star Orbit" floated up from the ground. The Star Core was not yet fully assembled, so only the "Star Wall" and "Starlight" components responded to the call.

Radiant magical patterns spread across the two rings, flying over to surround Abigai and slowly rotating.

Abigai manipulated the powerful magical weapon, instantly taking to the air, his cloudy eyes observing the approaching bright spots in the sky.

The flying objects, trailing long, fiery tails, were terrifying in number—they quickly filled the sky like locusts. They tore through the air with sharp whistling sounds, hurtling towards us at an alarming speed.

It seems to be a magical weapon unlike anything seen before, Abigai judged.

"Hmph!" She was extremely displeased; how dare someone be so audacious as to launch a sneak attack on them!

Abigai quickly switched "Eternal Cataclysm Star Orbit" to combat mode. The two rings emitted a crisp mechanical sound as they disintegrated into dozens of exquisite fan-shaped components.

The portion belonging to the "Star Wall" quickly arranged into three ring-shaped defensive zones, swirling and dancing around her. Dense Magic Power surged like a tide, and a tangible cyan shield rapidly formed around her, its surface flowing with complex magical runes.

The "Starlight" components in the central ring retract inside the shield, forming a spherical shape, and begin to quietly accumulate energy.

Abigai activated her full perception and quickly locked onto the drones lurking on a nearby hilltop. She snorted coldly and raised her hand, sending dozens of sharp wind blades shooting out with a sharp whooshing sound.

Three drones took off almost simultaneously to evade, but were still accurately hit and exploded into pieces in mid-air, falling back to the snow like raindrops.

Abigai then turned her attention to the swarm of rockets in front of her, and more Magic Power gathered at her fingertips.

The blessing of "Eternal Cataclysm Star Orbit" gave her full confidence that no matter what kind of monsters came, she could defeat them all!

On the ground, Immanuel was Soul·Scatter to see the "Star Wall" equipped with a counterfeit crystal core operating at full power. He disregarded everything else and immediately ordered his guards to flee in the chaos, wishing they could use both hands and feet.

"Let's run too!" Rupert saw the opportunity and tried to pull Zephlin along, but the priest pulled him back and held him firmly in place.

"Don't go!" Zephlin insisted. "This time, listen to me!"