Chapter 55: Nokron's Trade Envoy

"Clausuna, can you spare some manpower here? Personnel from the War God Church."

"Sakavi, can't you see? How busy am I here? The students of the entire Magic Academy have been pulled by me to process demon materials. There are three batches of personnel coming to discuss buying and selling related equipment and demon corpses this afternoon. It's enough that you don't send reinforcements, and you still have the nerve to ask me for people to do other things."

"Sorry, our side is only mature in inscription engraving in terms of magic material processing. I know there is not enough manpower, but I have already arranged for Claw-Shadow Green-Scale to catch Drow Elves. In a few days, I will need you to provide a few people from the War God Church to help them change their faith, otherwise it will be difficult for us to control this group of guys."

"I only have missionaries here. Don't think about the Luo Sen Empire sending people to support. Preaching among sub-races makes many people inside them very difficult to accept. No one is willing to provoke the faith problem of Drow Elves, unless it is you, this lunatic.

The magic attainments of Gray Dwarves are also good. Don't you plan to catch them together? And without this trouble of Lolth the God Queen, you dealing with Drow Elves alone will lead to regional power imbalance, which does not conform to our interests."

"We shouldn't provoke two gods at the same time, and the Gray Dwarves in the Dragon Spine Mountains are our own people. The faith problem will be fiercely opposed by them. If the faith is not changed, rebellions will emerge one after another among those guys. You know, when we migrated Gray Dwarves to the Dragon Spine Mountains, it was because of this thorny problem."

"Let the Gray Dwarves solve this problem themselves. Don't they like to enslave their own people very much? This time, satisfy them. Anyway, it's not about truly assimilating them. What does their life or death have to do with us? As long as they don't cause trouble, it's already not bad."

"Clausuna, this method of yours is good. After this training plan is over, I think we should take the initiative to attack. Staying here and waiting to get moldy is not interesting." But it's best to wait for Vilna to come back. Now going to find trouble with the Luo Sen Empire, for us, we can't get any benefits."

"Can she really come back? Or do you know where she went? Although that guy likes to tease people, her brain is indeed unusually good. By rights, she shouldn't go to any dangerous place."

"According to the scorpion you described last time, I guess it should be the 'Mechanus'. This place was sealed by the elves during the war between gnomes and elves, and few people can find it. You can be considered lucky this time."

"Lady Clausuna, there is a human priest who claims to be from Nokron looking for you, and he is already waiting in the hall." A Deep Gnome came to report sneakily, his eyes scanning Sakavi up and down, looking both like a thief and a curious child, making people feel very uncomfortable.

"I know, I'll go right away. Sakavi, let's talk here for now. This envoy from the Nokron Empire is a big client. They have mature processing technology there, maybe they can get a lot of equipment. Are you interested in taking a look together? Seeing that you have nothing to do."

"Salute to you, great Abyss Conqueror, Black Dragon Grand Duke, I am Romanov, representing Archbishop Boris, and I wish you well." This envoy from the Nokron Empire wore an exquisite deep purple holy robe, and the hem of the robe was embroidered with complex star charts and geometric patterns with silver thread. This was not only a symbol of the god he served, but also hinted at his profound knowledge. Outside the holy robe, he covered a light gray wool shawl to resist the chill of the castle, adding a bit of elegance.

Sakavi looked up and saw that his face was clear and thin, and time had carved fine lines at the corners of his eyes, but those gray eyes like deep pools flashed with the wisdom light tempered by countless classics and files. His posture was calm and unhurried, as if he had just walked out of a grand library, rather than crossing a dangerous planar channel.

His right hand held a simple walnut wood staff, the staff body was smooth, and the top was not embedded with gems, but a cube composed of pure light energy floating and rotating slowly. It absorbed the magic light around it silently, which was both a detection tool and a manifestation of his power.

His left hand always held a heavy metal-cornered classic that seemed difficult to shake. The book cover was worn black leather, and the gilded title could be vaguely seen, "Abyssal Species Appraisal and Its Material Application · Seventh Revised Edition". His thumb was sandwiched between the pages, as if ready to cite classics at any time.

"Your Excellency Bishop, you are too polite. I'm just here to join in the fun this time. Trade negotiations should be left to professionals. Today, Lady Clausuna is the protagonist. I wish you a pleasant talk."

"Romanov, we can be considered old acquaintances. Let's skip the polite words. Let's follow the old rules: check the goods first and then talk about the price. If there is no problem, let's start."

I saw Romanov walking toward a pile of demon remains unhurriedly. He did not touch them directly with his staff, but let the light of the cube at the top flow, and at the same time, he opened the giant book in his left hand with a "pop" of a finger, accurately turning to a certain page, his eyes moving rapidly between the pages and the corpses, as if conducting a rigorous comparison.

"Amazing magic materials," he said, his tone as if lecturing in a classroom, "According to the 'Appraisal', the heart muscle of this breed of Berserk Demon is indeed the top carrier for manufacturing 'Fury Cores'. However," he changed the subject and pointed to the strange patterns on the demon's skin that were gradually losing activity, "Please observe these 'Chaos Spots' carefully.

According to the latest research report of our Seventh Laboratory, if these spots are not solidified with 'Order Spring' spring water mixed with moon silver powder within three hours after peeling, the rule fragments contained within will completely disintegrate, and the value... will be less than one-tenth.

Considering such a huge quantity, as well as the extremely harsh space-time sealing costs required to safely transport it to the church, this requires us to use at least three Legendary Rank holy artifacts. The church is willing to pay 10,000 gold coins per standard Berserk Demon corpse. This price has fully covered the transportation risks and storage losses, and it is the most generous condition I can strive for under the existing trade framework."

A hint of playfulness flashed in the dragon pupils of the Black Dragon Dragon Beast, and a low voice vibrated the air: "Old guy, your bookishness almost made me forget how large the sales volume of the Light Church's magic weapons is. Since you are familiar with their value, you should understand even more that only I can provide such a scale of raw materials at one time. Time is tight, perhaps your competitors, those mages of the Nokron Empire, will possess more... efficient solidification technology."

Hearing this, Romanov was not only not panicked, but revealed a faint academic excitement that only appeared when encountering an opponent worth debating. He gently closed the giant book in his hand.

"The lady is right, the alchemy of the Nokron Empire is indeed powerful. However," he changed the subject subtly again, "The 'Pantheon Alchemy Agreement · Appendix 3' clearly restricts the circulation of high-risk chaotic materials between major planes to avoid uncontrollable magic energy turbulence. And trading with the church fully complies with the 'Cross-Plane Resource Safety Development Convention'.

In the long run, a stable, compliant and... profitable channel is far more valuable than a one-time risk speculation. You see, can we increase the initial quotation by 20%? This is both a tribute to your power and a compensation for the academic risks I stated."

"Deal, you old guy, you are always so cunning. Sometimes I even doubt whether you have fused the soul of a Deep Gnome. Let's talk about the price of Vrock Demons! If you dare to give me 10,000 gold coins again, I guarantee I will pull out all your beard."

The priest walked to a Vrock Demon corpse, the crystal on the scepter glowed slightly, and he stated calmly, like a connoisseur evaluating an antique with flaws:

"Undoubtedly, these are top-grade raw materials. Especially the spine of this Vrock Demon, if the chaotic core contained within can be completely peeled off, it is enough to serve as the core of a Legendary staff. However, lady, you also know that the value of unprocessed demon materials is greatly discounted."

He paused, letting the pressure in his words settle.

"First of all, the Abyssal pollution it carries is extremely dangerous and requires at least three Master-level purifiers to work continuously for a week, which is costly. Secondly, the unstable characteristics of energy make long-distance transportation risks double, and we must use the top-level magic sealing boxes. Finally, the market's digestion capacity is limited, and such a large batch of high-level materials pouring in will impact the existing market and lead to price drops."

He looked up, his ice-blue eyes staring directly at the dragon pupils, and reported a price: "Therefore, we are willing to acquire all of them at a price of 30,000 gold coins per Vrock Demon. This price has fully considered the processing costs and market risks, reflecting the church's greatest sincerity."

The Black Dragon Dragon Beast let out a low laugh with the smell of sulfur. "Old guy, do you think I lack those few purifiers here, or do you think I lack those few magic sealing boxes?"

Her Dragon Might was slightly released, making the air viscous.

"These raw materials were exchanged for the blood of my warriors. They are not unsalable goods, but fragments of power. The processing costs you see, what I see, are the cornerstones of your church's military equipment upgrade. A more reasonable price should be... 1.5 times your quotation just now. Don't forget, if you refuse this transaction, what I lose is just piled-up skeletons, and what you are about to lose may be the key advantage in the Abyssal conflict."

After several rounds of such verbal sparring, both sides would find a price point that could retain face after testing the other's bottom line. The final transaction price was 1.2 times between the initial quotation and the Black Dragon Dragon Beast's asking price.

The transaction was reached in an apparently harmonious atmosphere, and both sides knew well that the other was a seasoned and difficult opponent. The human priest strived for the lowest possible cost for the church, while the Black Dragon Dragon Beast successfully turned a pile of dangerous spoils into real gold and resources that could be used for the next expansion. This was a battle without smoke, but it also tested wisdom and will.

After the transaction was reached, Clausuna took the opportunity to propose buying the church's purification equipment. This kind of thing was a restricted sales item, and ordinary channels could not buy it, but today, looking at the huge transaction volume, the human priest agreed very readily. ===== CHAPTER 56 =====