Chapter 1316: The Adventurer Under the Knife, Returning to Nan Jing

Watching Evans's smug expression, Xia Duo sighed continuously in his heart. The fact that Elves do not need to accept the command of Dwarves is actually a reflection of the status of the country behind them; even if they caused trouble, hadn't one seen any punishment for them?

As for humans going over there, one really doesn't know if they are being used as tools or as cannon fodder.

If it is the former, at most it is just harder and more tiring, and there is always a chance of survival; but if it is the latter, that is truly a one-in-a-hundred chance of survival!

Even if the Dwarves promise more wealth, if the life is lost, that is all for nothing.

After thinking about it, Xia Duo did not say anything in opposition. After all, those Adventurers, from the very first day they became Adventurers, had already tied their heads to their belts.

If they were just doing odd jobs in the neighborhood, that would be one thing, but the most deadly thing is running around in the wild; if you walk the night path too often, you will eventually run into a ghost.

To this day, Xia Duo has not seen many Adventurers over the age of forty; it is not that they cannot live to that age, but that they have already kicked the bucket before reaching it.

Those who can truly retreat unscathed are truly few and far between.

Jiabasi, the Supervisor of relic searching within Xia Duo's Territory, was once a veteran Adventurer, but only later discovered that taking shortcuts was more profitable and safer, so he stopped in time and turned to traveling around selling imitation ancient Elven Magic Artifacts.

But he eventually fell into Xia Duo's hands. It was fortunate that Xia Duo is not a bloodthirsty person; if it were another High Mage, perhaps they would have been unable to swallow their anger at being deceived by a lowly Adventurer and would have run over to kill Jiabasi.

Or perhaps the quick way to make money would have been coveted by a High Mage, and he would have been coerced into "making the business bigger and stronger," only to die at the hands of another victim.

In any case, it would not have been a good ending.

Seeing Evans still waiting expectantly for his reply, Xia Duo relaxed his brow, an idea suddenly forming in his heart, and so he said:

"I have some understanding of the current situation in Danzo. The simple mind-protection Amulet I gave you has very limited protective effects against the aura of demons. Unless you buy many of them to keep on your person, I do not recommend using such an Amulet."

Evans heard the strong tone of refusal in Xia Duo's words, and he became a bit anxious, hurriedly asking: "Then what should be done?"

"This is also simple. There is something called a 'Demon-Slaying Amulet'. It might not have spread yet, but before long, you will know that this thing is provided by Keman to Danzo, specifically used to protect against the Stun aura of demons."

"Then, can you provide this 'Demon-Slaying Amulet', my lord?" Evans asked with expectation in his eyes.

"Of course I can."

Xia Duo answered affirmatively.

An ordinary person might not be able to know the relevant details of the Northland Alliance negotiations in advance, but he is not an ordinary person. Furthermore, the Lord of Halan even obtained the design blueprints for the 【Demon-Slaying Arrow】 and 【Demon-Slaying Amulet】 through special connections.

And a portion of the Demon-Slaying Amulet orders that the Lord of Halan received from the Dwarves was distributed to the Tower of Time for contract manufacturing. When Ai Bote went back yesterday, Xia Duo had already had him take the mass-production blueprints for the 【Demon-Slaying Amulet】 back.

Although only two-thirds of this month remain, Xia Duo has long since mastered the production process of the 【Demon-Slaying Amulet】, and he does not believe the Tower of Time will fail to complete the order.

Not only will they not fail to complete the order, but if everything goes smoothly, there will be quite a bit of extra output beyond the order.

The Tower of Time has no use for this extra output, so of course, it must find some suitable buyers for them!

Previously, Xia Duo thought of using them for subsequent contract orders, but now, it is clear that selling them to Adventurers will yield higher profits.

After all, orders are in batches, and one must leave profit margins for the ordering party, such as the Lord of Halan or someone else, so one's own profit is much less.

Selling to Adventurers, however, is retail, transacted at market price or even higher than market price, so the profit is naturally higher.

"At the end of this month, I will come to Saivendun again. At that time, I will bring about 20 【Demon-Slaying Amulets】. The unit price is 5000 Gold Coins, and they can be paid for with Adamantine, Mithril, or Five-Colored Gemstones."

In reality, if everything goes smoothly for the Tower of Time, they can probably produce an extra 40 【Demon-Slaying Amulets】. It is just that because they are being brought to Saivendun to be sold, if he took out too many at once, wouldn't the Lord of Halan immediately know he had been taken for a fool?

If he didn't look for the Tower of Time for the next contract, wouldn't that be a loss?

As time goes on, he can slowly release more, and the reason is very simple: it is no longer the first month after just getting the blueprints, and the Tower of Time will certainly be able to expand production capacity later.

As for the price of 5000 Gold Coins, it is slightly higher than the market price, but not too exaggerated; it is, after all, Xia Duo's usual approachable style.

Using Adamantine, Mithril, or Five-Colored Gemstones for payment is also specifically set up for Adventurers; every veteran Adventurer is filthy rich.

It is just that no one will start the precedent of violent extortion, thereby cutting off future income, but various hidden "kitchen knives" are constantly cutting away.

To say nothing else, even Evans's tavern specifically raises the prices of many alcoholic drinks and meals for Adventurers.

Anyway, even if the prices of those things were lower, Commoners could not afford them, and Spellcasters do not care; what is being slaughtered is the Adventurers (including some low-to-mid-level Spellcasters).

The only ones who do not treat Adventurers differently are probably the Temples of the Lord of Radiance.

Although fairness has nothing to do with the Doctrine of the Lord of Radiance, fairness is an important pillar of order.

As long as the law does not stipulate that Adventurers are inferior, the relevant clergy will not deliberately target them, because targeting them means being one step further away from their Lord.

……

After finishing the matter of the Demon-Slaying Amulet, Xia Duo prepared to leave. He had stayed outside for too long and was already impatient to go home.

Sending Evans away, Xia Duo returned to the Teleportation Room of the Arcane Union. However, before going home, he still needed to make a trip to Leisen Territory to understand the relevant details of the resurrection experiment accident that the Lord of Leisen had back then.

With those details, Xia Duo would be able to find a more precise "Negative Energy Downgrade" plan.

……

Perhaps because Kelifu had already given instructions, the Lord of Leisen did not feel much surprise at Xia Duo's sudden visit, and regarding the situation Xia Duo wanted to understand, he was no longer as tight-lipped as before, but spoke quite readily.

Regarding this, Xia Duo was of course very happy, but at that moment, he still inevitably lamented that the Time Loop within the 【Projection Plane: Empire Remnants】 could not have come a dozen days later.

If he had been given another dozen days back then, plus the details he just obtained regarding the accident where the Lord of Leisen lost his Spellcasting ability, perhaps he could have immediately derived a practical version 1.0 of the 【Negative Energy Downgrade】 spell.

Unlike now, he is afraid he will have to wait for quite a long time!

"Sigh—"

……

After ordering a batch of Mithril ore from the Lord of Leisen, Xia Duo did not delay too much, soon said his goodbyes, and returned to Nan Jing.