City of Sin

Fight

A dazzling mote of light appeared before Sharon’s eyes in the void. This was her destination, Faelor. The crystal wall surrounding the plane was already in front of her, and an incomparably pure stream of mana burst forth from her hands to create a passage that she entered through.

The view from the other side of the wall was completely different. There were numerous planets and stars floating in space here, but before she could even start looking for Richard’s location a pike of golden light assaulted her!

A powerful collision sent the legendary mage flying back a great distance, her hair waving in the air. Her eyes spat fire as she glared at a lofty god with golden light around his body stepping out in front of her.

“Away, invader!” the god roared like thunder, “Faelor does not welcome you!”

A pale blue light appeared in Sharon’s eyes. “A mere lesser god dares to say something like that?” she sneered, “Even the Lord of the Abyss can’t chase me out of his territory, but a fool like you wants to try?”

The god instantly grew furious, “Wretched mortal! I will shackle you in a world of divine fire for ten thousand years!”

The shout caused the legendary mage to sigh helplessly, “You’re saying such stupid things… You’ve never ventured outside this wall of yours, have you?”

However, her expression changed in the very next instant. The outlines of a dozen divine realms appeared in the void, gods walking out one after the other. Sharon’s eyes went wide as saucers, and she sucked in a breath. “DAMN IT!” was all she could shout before she was drowned out by torrential waves of divine force!

……

Back within the meeting hall in the Deepblue, the grand mages were discussing how to convince Sharon to change her teleportation point to the roof of the tower. A portal suddenly appeared before them, the legendary mage flying out of it like a cannonball. She crashed down to the ground, taking out not only the conference table but also two successive floors before she stopped.

An inexplicably violent stream of divine force spurted out, converging into indescribable waves of fire that followed Sharon through the path she had smashed out. Only when the portal closed did the stream break off.

The grand mages were all experienced, instantly activating all sorts of defensive measures. However, all their attempts broke down upon contact with the divine flames.

Fortunately, the flames only rushed past them. The control gods had over their power far exceeded that of mortals. Basically no extra energy was expended, but still the glancing might was enough to overwhelm the mages. Any of them would have been completely annihilated if they were the target.

A terrifying, deep hole had already opened up in the floor. A few coughs sounded from the legendary mage underneath, before Sharon said intermittently, “I’m… fine! Get back to work! Anyone who needs healing, go get it done!”

A familiar wave of mana could be felt from the hole underneath. She’d already gone off to who-knew-where.

The entire group of grand mages was injured, groaning as they got up and looked at each other with eyes full of shock. Her Excellency had said she was going to visit another plane, but why did it seem like she had just robbed some god’s divine kingdom?

……

The sun was setting on Faelor. The story of the events near the crystal sphere was something most living beings would never come across in their lifetime. The millions upon millions of mortals of varying sizes were still walking their own paths, enjoying their lives and struggling in them as well.

Richard, who had already returned once more, already had enough clout in Bluewater Oasis to make changes in the city. The small place could no longer contain his strength, necessitating expansion.

He now had nearly a thousand soldiers, of which the humanoid soldiers and throwers were each equal to elite knights. With Flowsand, Io, and Kellac leading a clergy of nearly ten members, his force was something any organisation within the Bloodstained Lands would be envious of.

And then there were his followers, all young and full of potential. The battle might they had just displayed was enough to raise eyebrows.

The importance of Richard’s first dinner after his return was huge. Only those closest to him could accompany him on this meal.

There were three more people attending the dinner. Outside of the ore merchant Bivier, Richard had never seen them before. Both the newcomers were recommended by Devon and Amon, representing large merchant groups. These powers had risen after the turmoil in the Bloodstained Lands, and each was backed by a true earl at minimum.

Sword Saint Rolf was elected to sit at the head of the table. In a world where might made right, this ought to have made logical sense. However, he felt the seat beneath his buttocks was slightly warm and uncomfortable. The War Construct scroll in his pocket caused him to look at Richard with a complicated look in his eyes.

To Rolf’s left and right were Lord Moonbear and Richard respectively. Of course, Richard was obviously the star of the meal. Those familiar with him, like Devon, Bivier, and Amon, all knew that this dinner was essentially a private auction. Richard always had all sorts of items worth exclaiming over in his possession, and now that he had been gone so long it was very likely that he would surprise them all.

Everyone had little interest for the delicacies lining the table, taking a few hasty bites before putting down their cutlery. Richard had a waiter clean up and then smiled, “Everyone, I spent the last three months on my master’s semiplane…”

This sentence brought a ruckus from the newcomers. Richard was finally indicating his teacher’s status; only a legendary being could own a semiplane. On the other hand, those who understood him a little better wouldn’t believe him. The sullied divine scrolls already revealed that Richard was backed by someone far more powerful. Legendary beings could intervene in matters between gods, but there was a limit to what they could do.

Richard had no choice but to raise his hand, calming everyone down, “I don’t know if you all would be interested, but I have returned with a batch of equipment. Let’s start off with this sword… Don’t misunderstand, this is just a sample.”

Richard placed the magic sword on the table as he spoke. The expressions of the two saints changed in a single look, and Bivier was soon to follow. As someone trained in ore and metal appraisal, he easily realised how much better this sword was than normal ones.

The weapon was passed around and everyone looked at it attentively. All their gazes landed on him the moment it returned to his hands, waiting for him to continue.

“It is a longsword made of lafite steel, enchanted for a coldness effect and added sharpness.” Richard’s words verified the guesses of most. These swords were sufficient to equip a duke’s core legion or the personal guards of an earl or marquess. It was very difficult to find enchanters on the market, and the largest batches that circulated were normally only a dozen to a score.

Devon was the first to speak, “3,500 gold for each, I want as many as you have.” This was a reasonable price. A similar sword would be worth 5,000 in a human kingdom, but this was the Bloodstained Lands and Richard wanted to sell in bulk.

“Alright, I’ll sell at that price. I’ve brought 200.” Richard’s words left everyone delighted in an instant, and all the swords were instantly divided up. The swords had been worth about 1,500 in Norland; such things were made in high quantities back home.

Richard then sold five of the crossbows at 40,000 gold each, including sixty arrows. Adding on half of the shields and armour, his total earnings reached 1.5 million gold.

Immediately after, he started purchasing in bulk. He bought heavy weapons, gauntlets, and half-body plate armour to equip a thousand people. This alone cost 800,000 and by the time he was finished with ores and magic materials only 300,000 was left.

“I need to hold onto this, just in case someone sends me a head from Chuck or Phinbar. I have to pay the bounty, no?” Richard explained with a smile.

“300,000 for the two of them?” Although everyone knew Red Cossack was a mortal enemy of Richard’s, they were still shocked by the huge reward. Richard definitely wasn’t exaggerating; anyone with the slightest ability at accounting would know he was left with 300,000 gold in hand.

Finding that many of them still hadn’t learnt of the changed bounty, Richard smiled, “No, 300,000 each.”

This time there was no ruckus from the seats. Everyone instead quieted down, immediately beginning to calculate how they could get the heads of the two. With a promise of 300,000 gold, even a saint did not seem difficult to kill. Although everyone here had too much status to do it publicly, who in the Bloodstained Lands didn’t have an underground channel or two? Even if the bounty wasn’t that huge, such a business transaction would also greatly strengthen their relationship with Richard.

Rolf suddenly felt the War Construct scroll in his pocket burning.

……

Once the dinner came to an end, Rolf was in no hurry to leave. He pulled Richard over, asking quietly, “Do you have more of that scroll?”

Richard acted like he didn’t perfectly understand the swordsman, “Oh, the War Construct scrolls? They’re very difficult to make, but it’s not like I don’t have any. I should be able to get a few for 20,000 each.”

Rolf’s eyes lit up, “I want two! I’ll get someone to send you the money tonight!”