[V6C149 – Sorrow of a Silent Parting]
A middle-aged man nearby was studying every detail of the ore with a magnifying glass. “Not just that, the formation of crystal iron ore might be accompanied by other rare minerals. Look at these yellow spots. If I’m not wrong, this is terran gold.”
All eyes burned up upon hearing this name.
Terran gold was an ore which appeared alongside other ores without a set pattern—there was no way to figure out which ore vein would produce it. Its addition to an alloy would significantly raise the quality of the end product, and it was also a common material used in origin armaments at grade six. At grade seven and above, it becomes a necessity. However, the production of terran gold was sparse with all known mines being divided up by the giants of each faction.
If this ore vein contained terran gold, just a finger-sized piece was enough to build a basic grade-eight weapon.
“I was wondering why the Ningyuan group accepted so many orders for top-grade weaponry. It turns out that they’ve obtained a vein of crystal iron ore. We wouldn’t have discovered this secret if we weren’t asked to keep an eye on Blackflow City.”
“This ore vein is likely within the Blackflow warzone, very likely around the locked-down Wolf City.”
“Shall we take action, right away?”
The old man sitting at the center had said nothing since the beginning. At this point, he said slowly, “We can’t attack just like that. Song Zining has already secured a seat in Prince Greensun’s advisory group, but that’s likely because of his proficiency in currying favor. I heard Zhao Jundu had caused trouble for him before, and it was Zhang Munian who had stepped in to smooth things out. One has to know that the latter is Prince Greensun’s nephew! We’ll have nothing to argue with if we attack rashly and somehow offended his excellency. This plan is impossible.”
The youngest person in the room was anxious. “It’s such a large vein of crystal iron ore! Don’t tell me we can only look on helplessly as it falls into the brat’s hands? Even if… even if…” Ultimately, he didn’t dare say it out loud, no matter how brave he was.
It was at this time that the middle-aged man put down the magnifying glass. He then said with a smile, “Elder Shi is only saying we can’t step in personally. In other words, we can’t let other people know it’s us; there must be no evidence leading back to ourselves. But that isn’t too hard, either. This accursed Evernight Continent maybe lacking in everything else but definitely not in bandits and mercenaries.”
The young man was startled. “How are we going to use those useless mercenaries?”
The middle-aged man smiled. “They’re indeed useless, but our men aren’t. Moreover, we can recruit more of those who aren’t trash.”
The young man came to a sudden realization.
At this time, the old man said, “We can leak some of this information to the expeditionary army headquarters. Those old bastards are all carrion vultures. They have no reason to let such a big piece of meat go.”
“But won’t we have to share the crystal iron mine then?”
The old man laughed calmly. “This piece of meat is too big for us to swallow on our own. We’ll still have to split some of it either way. In truth, it’s fine to share ownership of the mine on the condition that the products can only be sold to us.”
The middle-aged man praised, “Wonderful plan! Those expeditionary army people are veterans at robbery.”
A certain person in the group seemed hesitant. “Those expeditionary army big shots are wily old foxes. I fear they won’t dare touch someone related to Prince Greensun.”
The old man said with a laugh, “Wealth moves the heart. Evernight Continent is a place outside of the law, and they’ve been local emperors for so long. Why wouldn’t they dare? Moreover, even if they want to sit by and do nothing… what if there’s evidence already pointing toward them? Do you think they’ll come down for a slice of the pie or wash themselves of it?”
Everyone was enlightened. Their gaze toward the old man was full of admiration and enthusiasm.
…
Qianye turned many gazes upon returning to base.
The base had grown livelier once more with an endless stream of combat squads moving through the entrance. The base in the distance was still in the process of expanding, almost as if there would never be enough space and facility for everyone. The arrival of forces from the major aristocratic families caused the in-camp population to almost double. This increased basic demands by several times.
The noisy crowd actually quieted down after seeing Qianye approach. This momentary change was fairly noticeable. Some didn’t recognize Qianye, but they could still feel the sharp killing intent rushing at their faces.
Qianye calmly accepted their gazes as he walked into the base in large strides. Even more gazes fell upon Qianye’s back—the box there was as tall as its owner, but the burden seemed not to affect him in the least. Hence, people couldn’t quite guess what was within it.
Only when Qianye had passed by did everyone feel their bodies lighten, almost as though an invisible boulder had been lifted. Many true experts were overwhelmed. “What a powerful killing intent! Just how many people has he killed?”
The ambiance around the gates was soon restored, and the brief pause from just now was soon drowned out by the flow of people. Many people subconsciously chose to avoid topics related to Qianye.
The flow of people in the base was too great. Qianye couldn’t quite adapt to the situation on the main roads because he would subconsciously analyze the people’s openings and vitals as soon as they approached him. This had become a reflexive habit for the past half a month.
He could no longer recall how many times he had killed his way into the dark race armies. There were enemies in every direction with countless blades, daggers, and origin bullets coming for him every second. Later on, combat and counterattack gradually became a part of his instincts. Every casual attack from him was as simple as it was lethal, cutting down even the most powerful of enemies in one strike.
However, this habit was now proving a bit troublesome. At this moment, there were a dozen or so aristocratic families stationed in the base, and there was no shortage of experts among them. Although Qianye was focusing his full attention toward the front, he would naturally react once he had found an opening on someone else. The more powerful the target’s cultivation, the more evident his reaction.
Those veteran champions came close to activating their full combat powers out of reflex, feeling as though a prehistoric beast had locked onto them. Qianye discovered that something wasn’t quite right after walking a hundred meters—he began hiding his power and did his utmost to ignore the incoming crowd. Only in this manner did he manage to avoid causing a disturbance.
Qianye soon arrived at the exchange area where he headed toward an empty counter.
The logistics officer there looked up and cried out involuntarily, “It’s you?”
That plump face caused Qianye to frown slightly. What an unpleasant coincidence! This person was the officer whom Qianye had knocked over last time. His expression was fairly wretched, and it would seem that his displeasure didn’t just appear after seeing Qianye. He was probably in a bad mood to begin with.
Qianye got straight to the point. “I wish to exchange contribution points, and these are the supplies I need. I’ll be leaving right away.”
“Right away?” The logistics officer’s countenance transformed into a less unsightly version as he picked up the list and inquired. Normally, even squads of experts would need to recuperate for some time.
The environments of the accursed Misty Wood made people feel stifled even without doing battle.
“Yes, immediately,” Qianye replied.
The officer shrugged. “It seems you’re trying quite hard for the rankings. Let me offer you a warning: the waters here are deep. You’d better not get involved without sufficient background.”
“Understood, thank you.”
The officer shot up from his seat after glancing at the list. “So many?!”
His loud voice attracted a lot of gazes. There were a dozen or so half-open reception counters in the area, and most of them were currently occupied.
Qianye nodded in confirmation. “Yes, I need these. That’s not considered a lot.”
“T-This isn’t a lot? Are you planning to behead a count on your own?” The officer laughed wryly.
The numbers on the military supply list Qianye had passed him were simply too big. For instance, he needed a hundred Mithril Bullets of Exorcism from every type and five hundred standard mithril containing handgun bullets.
As for Thunderbolt rounds, he needed thirty of them, five of which had to be Refined Silver Bullets of Extreme Yang. The demand for an entire aristocratic family squad wasn’t that much higher than him. The main issue was that Qianye was alone.
The logistics officer couldn’t help but ask again, “Umm… Sire Qianye, are you sure you need that much ammunition?”
The officer was fairly tactful in his words. High-grade origin guns imposed a significant drain on the user’s origin power. Even champions at rank thirteen might not use that many bullets in a dozen battles. As the officer saw it, Qianye could use this stock for half a year.
Qianye didn’t offer any explanation and merely replied with a smile, “Yes, I want that much.”
The logistics officer wiped the sweat off his forehead. “These numbers are beyond my authority. I’ll need to report this matter to a superior officer and gain his approval. Please wait a while.”
Qianye nodded and proceeded to sit down quietly.
Moments later, the logistics officer returned with a thin colonel. The latter asked after sizing Qianye up from head to toe, “You’re Qianye?”
Qianye replied with a frown as the man’s tone was apparently quite rude, “I am, what’s the matter?”
The colonel’s smile was somber. “General Qianye’s ammunition request is rather significant. However, our Li family’s armory is well-stocked and it’s not as if we can’t provide this amount. But how are you going to pay for this batch of ammunition? Gold coins, weapons, or contribution points?”
Qianye gave it some thought before replying, “Contributions.”
The value of this batch of ammunition was nothing to scoff at. Qianye didn’t have that many gold coins on him. Moreover, he hadn’t received a satisfactory explanation regarding the two Umbral Edges last time. It was only natural that he wouldn’t put more high-end weapons into the Li family’s hands.
In any case, there were so many aristocratic families in the base and none of them were lacking in wealth. He could just find a couple of random families to sell all his equipment.
The colonel was disappointed after hearing this response because, without gold coins passing through his hands, he would no longer have the opportunity to shave off some benefits.
The colonel gestured for the logistics officer to bring the registration book. He then flipped through the pages and said, “General Qianye, the contribution points under your name isn’t enough to pay for the ammunition.”
Qianye replied, “Contributions? Oh, I have some here.” With that, he lifted the box beside him and banged it onto the table. The counter made of hardwood actually cracked open from the impact. From this, one could see how heavy the box was!
