Chapter 124: The Formidable Crystal Shield, Some News

Jier signaled for the few Merchants who had just bought Dwarf weapons to attack the shield with their newly purchased gear as they pleased.

Because the shield was currently in the hands of Young Master Lipuerde, and fearing that this young man in poor health might get hurt, Jier took it over and held it in one hand: "Come, launch an attack at the shield in my hand; I will use the crystals on the shield to actively block your attacks."

The few Merchants looked at each other; they didn't think anyone had the ability to hurt Jier, after all, Jier had just told them about the intense battles he had recently experienced, and it was unlikely they could be more formidable than the ruthless and terrifying Parasitic Vine Monster.

Old Mr. Bantuolisa took the Dwarf one-handed sword he had just purchased from his Merchant Guild Shop Assistant behind him, but for the sake of safety, he gripped it with both hands and then charged at Jier.

In Jier's senses, Old Mr. Bantuolisa's movements were simply too slow; he moved the grip behind the shield with his left hand and shifted it, just in time to block the old gentleman's line of attack with the front of a crystal.

Ding—

A crisp sound rang out; Jier didn't even move, and the shield in his hand didn't have a single scratch, whereas Mr. Bantuolisa let out a muffled grunt, nearly unable to hold onto the heavy Dwarf one-handed sword in his hand.

"Whew, I'm old, I'm old; I almost couldn't even hold the sword. However..." He handed the weapon back to his Shop Assistant and stepped forward to stroke the spot where he had just poked with the one-handed sword; it was smooth, without the slightest trace of a mark.

"This is impossible..." He was somewhat incredulous; even a heavy shield made of steel would usually leave at least a white mark after being poked on the surface by a heavy sword-type weapon, right?

Yet this crystal had no wear at all.

The Vice President of the Burning Furnace Merchant Guild leaned in with interest; he hadn't been interested in this thing just a moment ago, after all, compared to the weapons and equipment provided by their Merchant Guild and crafted by master blacksmiths, these Dwarf shields looked a bit gaudy.

But the performance of this item at this moment piqued his interest.

If the protective performance of the crystal was truly this good, would it be feasible to craft weapons and equipment following a similar line of thought?

"Shall I give it a try?"

After checking that the shield in Jier's hand indeed had no damage, Vice President Norris couldn't hold back anymore and took the initiative to suggest it.

Jier shrugged, signaling for the other party to go ahead.

So, Vice President Norris took out a protective Dagger with a simple design but inlaid with gold and silver. Although it looked a bit overly ornate, the main body of this Dagger was of extremely high quality, a formidable Dagger made with a mix of various Magic Materials.

"Be careful, Knight Jier. This Dagger of mine is a fine piece crafted by a famous master weapon smith, named 【Sturdy Fang】." After saying this, he gripped the Dagger with both hands, held it against his abdomen, and then moved his legs to charge at Jier.

Because Mr. Norris was quite heavy, his charge while holding the weapon like this still had quite a bit of impact; an ordinary person really couldn't block it, and even if they blocked the opponent's attack, they would lose in the subsequent test of weight, causing the defender to be knocked flying.

But the person defending at this moment was Jier!

He kept his left foot still, moved his right foot back slightly, lowered his body a bit from the hips, and slightly adjusted his entire defensive stance. This was a combat adjustment that the surrounding Merchants couldn't perceive; only 'Shishou', who was setting up a stall nearby, caught a glimpse of Jier's movements, but this Dwarf Warrior was more adept at heavy, powerful attacks and didn't quite understand this slight adjustment Jier made based on combat experience.

Ding—

It was the same crisp echo; Mr. Norris instead sat down on the ground on his backside, while Jier remained motionless.

The onlookers let out an uproar; if the movements of the fifty-something-year-old Mr. Bantuolisa could be attributed to his advanced age and lack of stamina, then the attack from the prime-aged Vice President Norris truly revealed the level of Jier's shield usage and the protective capability of the shield in his hand.

Before Mr. Norris could stand up with the help of Mr. Scott, bold Merchants nearby crowded in front of the 'Long Tail' stall, actively asking about the price of the shields.

However, contrary to everyone's expectations, the shields were much more expensive than the previous Dwarf weapons.

According to the size of each shield at the stall and the number of crystals inlaid on them, the price was roughly between three Gold Coins and twelve Gold Coins. The largest Dwarf Crystal Shield was no longer in the category of a one-handed shield; it was a two-handed shield made by Dwarf Miners when they were bored.

But the problem was, this type of two-handed Crystal Shield had no market among the Dwarves; everyone was equipped with complete, thick Dwarf Soldier Armor, and there was simply no place to use such a Crystal Shield that exceeded defensive needs.

After all, in terms of defensive power, the Dwarf Soldier Armor worn by the mine garrison Soldiers responsible for combat was higher, so they had no use for this heavy and troublesome two-handed Crystal Shield. And the followers of the God of Strength who could use this type of shield all used two-handed Heavy Weapons for attacking, making this Crystal Shield seem too light.

Moreover, the defensive power was insufficient; the crystals on it couldn't block any single attack from the two-handed Heavy Weapons in their own hands.

It seemed completely useless.

But at this moment, this Dwarf shield inlaid with the most crystals was instead being vied for by several onlookers, who drove the original price of twelve Gold Coins up to twenty-two Gold Coins.

In the end, Vice President Norris of the Burning Furnace Merchant Guild waved his hand: "Twenty-five Gold Coins, I want this shield."

Those small Merchants or heads of ordinary-scale Merchant Guilds didn't want to offend the larger Burning Furnace Merchant Guild in a place like this, so they withdrew from the competition for this shield, instead refusing to let go of the other Dwarf Crystal Shields.

"Ha, it seems everyone has bought their favorite good things, let's continue looking!" Steward Deripari joined in the fun, stepping forward to congratulate Vice President Norris on obtaining a fine Dwarf shield; such a thing was a good item whether used as a gift or hung in the Merchant Guild's collection room.

As for the technology to research this kind of Dwarf shield, if one didn't know how the Dwarves managed to make the crystals light, cheap, and sturdy, this matter was basically unsolvable.

And no matter how one looked at it, it was unlikely the Dwarves would provide this technology.

However, how would one know if it wouldn't work without trying?

As a well-known Merchant with super-strong initiative, the Vice President of the Burning Furnace Merchant Guild then personally took the two-handed Dwarf Crystal Shield that cost him twenty-five Gold Coins and, under Jier's introduction, found the person in charge of these 'Dwarf mercenary teams' he had 'hired', and discussed with old 'Tieshou' whether the crystal data and the technical method of crystal inlay and fixation could be transferred.

The old Dwarf was very shrewd; he didn't say yes, nor did he say no. The two first chatted, then talked about the matter of transferring technology, then chatted again, pulling at their relationship, and subsequently actually left the backyard of this inn and went to the restaurant of the adjacent inn to talk.

Vice President Norris intentionally probed into the origins of the Dwarves, while the old Dwarf also unobtrusively inquired about news of other Dwarves appearing in the Southern Province during the conversation.

Jier and his group ignored the behavior of Vice President Norris and continued to browse this small Dwarf goods fair.

Come to think of it, because of the departure of the unfamiliar Mr. Norris, Jier noticed that the conversations between the four Senior Stewards of the Merchant Union who were familiar with each other became significantly more relaxed. Especially Mr. Scott, who had been very quiet before; once the direct leader of the Merchant Guild left, he immediately became active. Relying on his familiarity with Jier, he grabbed Jier's shoulder and called for Jier to introduce them to the most valuable items among those sold by the Dwarves!

"Most valuable? Of course there are some. Look, that set of Dwarf armor; the material seems to be the same type as the Dwarf weapons you just bought, the defensive power is absolutely top-notch, and the armor design also has many unique advantages of Dwarf equipment."

He then shrugged: "But the problem, you all aren't blind, of course you can see it. That armor was crafted for the Dwarves themselves; unless it's a child, no one can wear this thing. And it's impossible for a child to wear such heavy Dwarf armor on their body; that thing is even heavier than a child!"

One of the liveliest places in the inn's backyard was the stall displaying that set of Dwarf armor; many people were gathered there, pointing at this Dwarf armor. Of course, the Dwarf responsible for selling this armor was none other than 'Shishou', the guy with the strongest combat power in the current Dwarf team.

However, facing so many Humans pointing at him at this moment, this guy who didn't talk much was clearly very much at a loss.

He didn't have a shred of the heroism he had when fighting with all his might in the center of Torito Village earlier, which made Jier feel a trace of helplessness. Letting a Warrior do something he wasn't good at resulted in this.

If Jier were to open a Merchant Guild later, he estimated the final result would be exactly like 'Shishou' at this moment.

By then, he would probably lose even his own pants, and would have to pick up his weapon again and return to the old path of killing Bandits and fighting for gold.

Hearing Jier's commentary, the several Senior Stewards of the Merchant Guild naturally lost interest in this set of Dwarf armor and asked about other things.

Jier led them to a stall that almost no one visited.

He pointed to the wooden sculptures displayed for sale at this stall and said to these Senior Stewards: "From my own perspective, this Dwarf friend's wooden carving works can be considered the most valuable batch among all the items sold by the Dwarves."

Hearing Jier's praise, this Dwarf Miner who was skilled in wood carving immediately nodded gratefully at Jier, pushed the several lifelike Human-figure wooden carvings on the wooden table forward, and looked at these Merchants accompanying Jier with anticipation.

In terms of art appreciation, Young Master Lipuerde and Old Mr. Bantuolisa were naturally more capable. Although they didn't think Jier, this martial man, had much art appreciation ability, they at least knew that Jier's knowledge was quite extensive. Being able to receive praise from the well-informed Knight Jier meant that this Dwarf woodcarver's skill was at least not bad.

So the two approached to take a closer look.

Steward Deripari, like a companion tagging along on a shopping trip, also crowded over to join the discussion, as if he had money in his pocket.

Mr. Scott was not interested in these things; he nudged Jier with his elbow and whispered to Jier: "You're still interested in these wooden carved trinkets."

But his expression then turned serious, and he continued to whisper to Jier: "But you definitely don't know that not long after you and your team left, a series of things happened here in Duoen Town because of those wooden carvings."

Jier's expression didn't change, as if those things and those wooden carvings had nothing to do with him: "Oh, really? Tell me about it."

Seeing that Jier truly did not seem interested in this, Mr. Scott also felt it was dull, so he said casually: "In the town, among the group of debtors, some people inexplicably appeared who paid off their debts, and those debtors were also secretly holding private gatherings in remote places."

"Old Bantuolisa had just learned the news and hadn't even sent anyone to investigate what was going on when quite a few of those debtors died in their private gatherings. The person who did the killing was very formidable; the guards responsible for public order in the town couldn't figure out what happened at all, and they couldn't even find the arrows that should have killed the victims."

"Furthermore, at every crime scene, there was a clear situation of Faith power gathering. This was concluded by the Priests of the Church of the God of Wealth after they inspected them."

Jier pretended not to care; he knew how all these things came to be, but although these matters were all triggered by him, what direct relationship did they have with him?

The ones who did the killing were definitely the Church Hunters of the Hunting God Church; even if Jier pointed this out, what could everyone do once they knew? No evidence was left at the scene, nor could they catch even one of the Church Hunters in the act while they were killing.

Therefore, with no witnesses or physical evidence, and only the information provided by Jier, what could the Merchant Union of Duoen Town possibly do?

Would issuing a wanted notice without evidence have any impact on Church Hunters who hunt Alien Evil Gods?

Or would they, after knowing, be powerless, only able to rage impotently and swallow their anger?

It would be better to let this matter become a cold case from the start, letting it turn into a new eerie story on this land, circulating in the drunken talk of tavern patrons.

As for those 'innocent' debtors who died as a result, Jier also had no need to feel apologetic for their deaths. After all, the people were killed by the Hunting God Church, and the accountability should also be sought from the Hunters who did the killing, not from Jier, who paid money to find people to help make some bird-headed human-bodied Wooden Carvings.

After all, he knew that the great bird deity, who at the time wanted to spread the Human believers and harvest high-quality Human Faith, would naturally not harm those precious believers of His. The destitute debtors had nothing but their Faith. The great bird deity, possessing divine abilities, was also in need of establishing a base of Faith among these debtors in this place where Human Faith was fiercely contested within the Saint Hors Kingdom.

It should have been a mutually beneficial good thing, and at the beginning, things did indeed develop according to Jier's judgment.

But who could have imagined that the Hunting God Church would act so terrifyingly.

Whether it was eliminating those debtors who believed in the great bird deity in Duoen Town, or in New Clear Spring Village, in order to prevent the Villagers and Bandits in the village from being parasitized and affecting the subsequent decisive battle of Hunting, they actually shot and broke everyone's knees in advance.

This all shows that in the eyes of the Hunting God Church, there are only hunters and prey, and not much in the way of justice or social rules.

To a group of fanatical Church Hunters who only have hunting targets in their eyes, it is clearly more important to complete the tasks assigned by the church than anything else. In the battle to crusade against the Evil God, they could even risk their own lives; these guys are truly a group of pure hunting fanatics!

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