Due to the height of dwarfs, even though Su Mo’s smile was as friendly as possible, it still had a creepy feeling in the eyes of others.
Still, Shi Ren could walk in with a calm smile faced with such an expression.
The person who stood behind him was already trembling in fear. His legs went rubbery, and his eyes were filled with horror!
“Hmm? Are you enforcing family law? It seems that I’ve come at a bad time!”
The screams in the courtyard were quiet through the door, but they were much louder as soon as they entered the house.
Turner was filled with anger and distress because they had lost money. Naturally, he was not going to end their suffering quickly.
He was going to collect all the mercenaries’ marks.
Su Mo glanced at the crowd standing at the door and watching the scene inside, then he pursed his lips. Hao Qiang stepped forward and closed the door again.
“Don’t worry about it. It’s an honor for Minister Shi Ren to come see me! There isn’t anything such as bad timing!
“As for those traitors, I’m sorry you had to see such a scene.
“This city is filled with people but not enough of the pie to share. Everyone is thinking about how to calculate their own people, but few ever think about exploring the outside world like you!
“These people couldn’t stand it and wanted to suppress me because I gained some attention!”
Su Mo vacated the seat next to the counter for Shi Ren to sit down. His words seemed unintentional, but he was bothered by it, so he complained.
Shi Ren paused momentarily and nodded without a change in expression. “Indeed. Now that our Demon clan is without a territory lord, the people below are panicking. The conservatives have completely taken the upper hand, and they would naturally oppress progressives like us.
“However, their good days are about to end!”
“Oh? Why do you say so?”
The two intended to make friends with each other. Thus, as soon as they met, they immediately became acquainted as if they were old friends.
Seeing that Su Mo had asked, he fiddled with the beads in his arms calmly and changed the topic.
“Hahaha! You’re a wonderful person! It seems that I’ve made the right choice to come this time!
“These days, the outside world said that you’re merely a brave fool who only has brute force and courage. Seeing you now completely proves the rumors wrong.”
Su Mo shook his head. “The outside world also had rumors that the Minister of Foreign Affairs is a scumbag who only knows how to send the interests of the city to the outside world. Even after developing so long, you have not found any alliances. Now, that doesn’t seem too true either!”
Inside Freedom City, Shi Ren’s authority over foreign affairs was neither small nor big.
In the case of having allies, he would be responsible for establishing diplomatic relations with allies and negotiating trade exchanges between the two territories. Naturally, he had a lot of benefits to reap.
However, without any allies, his status was an empty, disposable title.
Their conversation did not reveal their motives, but Shi Ren’s expression changed and turned calm after slightly testing the waters.
“It seems that you’re aware of why I’ve come today. Then, I’ll stop beating around the bush since I’m a very straightforward person and like to speak frankly!
“The news about the gathering place of 30,000 humans is to be sent to the human lord, Su Mo. I’ve already checked it out for you in advance, and have asked about their location and situation. It’s recorded on this piece of paper.
“I also bought the person who knows the information and will bring them to you now. As long as you bring the person and this paper over, the human lord, Su Mo will be more generous toward you.
“On the other hand, I’m not going to ask for much. I want you to bring me over to see this human lord, Su Mo.
“I can also assure you that as long as the demon clan and the humans can form an alliance, I will give you 5% of the trade profits from the transactions between both parties!”
He took out a piece of paper and turned around, then pointed to the traitor who was kneeling on the ground with an astonished face. Shi Ren’s expression was rarely serious.
“Why do you have that much faith in me?”
“If it wasn’t for you dealing with the mercenaries today, then I might still have some reservations about you. But now, listening to these beautiful screams, I believe that our goals, our motives, and even us are pretty much the same class of people!” Shi Ren replied.
“There are many forces in this city and there are many people with power, but most don’t seem to understand where their power comes from. At the same time, they don’t understand that the moment someone decides to take action, their self-righteous power will be gone in an instant, just like the shopkeeper of the Demon Domain Exchange.”
“You and the Fire Exchange have already been completely caught up in the middle of this. Trust me, there’s no future in this city. Once winter is over, these anxious people will force you to make a decision, and by that time, it might already be… too late!”
Shi Ren spoke word after word very unpleasantly, but he did not stutter. Obviously, he had already prepared a script before he came.
After he finished speaking, something magical happened.
Looking at Shi Ren’s unremarkable old face and his clothes without any peculiarities, Su Mo felt that he was pleasing to the eye. No matter how he looked at him, he felt a familiarity like never before rising in his heart.
It felt as if they really were long-lost friends, so much that he subconsciously wanted to nod in agreement to the other’s request.
However, the feeling did not last any longer.
A blue screen that emitted a somewhat substantial light rose up. After blocking Shi Ren from his sight, Su Mo’s mind quickly regained its clarity.
[Warning, an unauthorized presence is trying to invade the domain of the host consciousness, and the defense strength of the other party is being analyzed…]
[The opponent’s psychic attack strength is 3.8 and the host’s psychic defense strength is 6.69. It is recommended to strengthen psychic defense or actively increase defensive barriers.]
[For every 100 survival points paid, the system will automatically provide the host with 1 point of psychic defense for 12 hours.]
‘Psychic attack?
‘Is this the ability of Shi Ren’s template or… the power of the authority behind the mark?’
Glancing at the information prompted by the system, Su Mo felt his brain lose the weird feeling it had before, and he decided not to spend the survival points.
Humans may be physically weak, but they were not inferior to other creatures in terms of mental strength.
Additionally, even though this body seemed to be an ordinary dwarf, it was in fact a demigod body with multiple authorities. Therefore, Shi Ren’s attack was not close to enough to cause damage.
“Lord Harl? Lord Harl?”
The blue system screen and the strong light emitted from it was invisible to others.
However, Shi Ren could evidently see the changes on Su Mo’s face a moment ago.
In the first moment when he unleashed his power, Su Mo seemed to have been resisting.
But, in a few seconds, he was completely disoriented, and his eyes were blankly staring at nowhere as if he was in a daze.
His reaction was not the same as when it was used on other people.
Seeing Su Mo return to his senses and the “natural” kindness on his face, Shi Ren felt a sudden joy in his heart.
“Okay! Since the minister wants to meet the human lord, Su Mo, for the sake of our Demon clan, how could I refuse?
“However, the winter season is coming, and Su Mo must be very busy. He might not have the time to see us. If you want to visit, I suggest you wait until the blizzard is over.
“A-hem! So, I’ll visit in a few days to help you request a meeting. Once Su Mo agrees to it, I’ll bring you there as soon as I return!”
Looking at Hao Qiang, who was desperately trying to hold back his smile in the corner, Su Mo coughed. There was a hint of difficulty in wanting to fulfill the request of his old friend on his face.
After seeing this, he confirmed that his spell was successful, and Shi Ren could not sit still. He stood up and said happily.
“You don’t have to rush! There’s no rush at all, Harl! This is a matter that should not be rushed!
“Now that the friendship between you and Su Mo had just been established. We should not do things that make each other unhappy at this stage. No matter what decisions are to be made, we must make them cautiously!
“It’s only a blizzard! We can afford to wait! Please do bring a few good words to express the advantages of our alliance in the future…”
Blah blah blah… Shi Ren shared a lot of nonsense and eventually became incoherent in his speech.
From the construction of Freedom City to the city’s problematic situation after the loss of their territory lord, to the positive impact of the cooperation between the two parties and the opportunity for Fire Exchange to grow…
Under Su Mo’s intentional flattery, Shi Ren spoke for almost half an hour before he finally sat down to pick up the tea and gulped it down.
Then, after checking the time, determining the specific cooperation matters and leaving the human who was still begging for mercy on the ground, Shi Ren opened the door and walked away with satisfaction.
Although there were some twists and turns in the process, some unexpected things happened, such as Harl’s reaction after being affected by his ability being very different from others’.
However, the development of things was not much different from his prediction before coming, and went very smoothly!
‘Last time, because of caution, I missed the best opportunity to make a comeback, and these shameless villains stole it.
‘This time, I won’t miss it.
‘Wait until Harl completes the negotiation. When I go to the territory of the human, Su Mo, it will be the time the Demon clan’s… no, it will be the time when this New World changes!’
He shook his head and looked at the signboard with the words “Fire Exchange” hanging behind him, as well as the people who had come to apologize waiting at the door. Shi Ren laughed at himself and quickly disappeared around the corner of the street.
The reality was proven.
In Freedom City, everyone wants to break the rules but at the same time needs the rules to protect them.
Shi Ren wanted to regain his position but did not want to break the rules, so he could only follow the system slowly.
After he left, more and more people came to pay their gambling debts.
With the first family, the other families followed after and behaved decently. They assigned people to send their compensation.
There were eleven companies in total. According to the extent of the damage, after the last person had left, the Fire Exchange recorded another 94,000 contribution points.
Compared to standard business practices, this kind of money came so fast that after Turner had received all the money, he was still stunned and unaware of what had just happened.
“Have all the marks been collected?”
Su Mo instructed the mercenaries to go out to dispose of the corpse and looked at the bloody mess on the ground.
He frowned and walked into the house.
“I’ve collected everything. There are 18 marks in total. According to what you said last time, I gave everyone a green mark, and now all the marks I’ve collected are green.”
He lifted the lid of the container in his hand and glanced at the marks floating up and down in the green liquid through the transparent glass.
As the saying goes, professionals are good at their expertise.
The Demon clan that developed the marks had also made great efforts to preserve it.
The green mark, stored in a liquid of the corresponding color, could guarantee that there would be no damage for 60 days.
Su Mo placed the lit back on and covered up the marks inside. He carefully placed it in the corner of the bed and covered it under the quilt.
“Harl, we won’t be able to use these marks anymore. It’s useless to collect them. Is there some sort of secret in their marks?
Watching Su Mo’s actions, Turner tilted his head and thought for a moment, but finally asked out of curiosity.
“No, I collected them just in case. By the way, you must never tell anyone else about the marks!”
“Of course, I know that much!”
Under the dim light of the oil lamp, the two dwarves looked at each other.
Looking at Turner’s honest expression, Su Mo nodded and turned his eyes toward the outside sky.
“After tonight, there’ll only be seven days before the blizzard. After I finish dealing with the matter within the city, I’ll have to leave again. The next time I come back, it’ll probably be after the blizzard is over, or… even later!”
Turner remained silent.
“You don’t have to worry about me. I’ve already built an alliance with the humans. I used to help them deal with some complicated things. There won’t be any risks. I’ll leave Hao Qiang with you to help within the city. If Hao Qiang decides to take action, you must cooperate with him and don’t miss the opportunity!
“I have a hunch that the peace in this city won’t last long!”
For some reason, the sky was unusually darker than normal these past seven days, which made it very unsettling.
During the day, the sky was still clear, but after the sun went down, the dark clouds quickly accumulated as if they had been ordered to do so.
It was only nine o’clock in the evening. However, the skies of Freedom City were covered, and it was already hard to see the moonlight shine down like usual.
Coupled with the howling, cold wind blowing into the house’s interior, when the blowing oil lamp flames swayed the feeling was even more terrifying!
“I know. Don’t worry, I’ll take care of things at home.”
“Freedom City is already a dead city. Paceful days are just a dream for some people. If our strength does not increase every day, then we live every day preparing to become someone else’s… meat on a plate!”
Some people lived chaotic lives, and they would never understand even when they get old.
Some people found an opportunity, and in just a few days, they underwent extreme changes as if reborn.
Seeing there was a clear determination in Turner’s eyes that had never been seen before, Su Mo smiled and put his hand on him.
However, before Su Mo could continue to speak…
Boom!
A tremor similar to when Iron Rock Mountain was rebuilt suddenly spread through the ground and hit the bottom of Freedom City heavily, and then transmitted to every building in the city.
After a few tremors, the newly renovated flat courtyard grounds of the Fire Exchange were fine, but there were several huge gaps in the ground, revealing the dark bricks below.
In the distance, other buildings that had not been reinforced would not have such good luck!
In just a split second, several four-story buildings that could be seen through the windows collapsed with a thunderous roar.
At the same time, a series of cries and howls, accompanied by shouts of murder and sky-high fire, began to spread in the city and across the skies.
“Shopkeer! This isn’t good! The beasts of the Light Empire have snuck their way in! Hurry up! Hurry up to the inner city for refuge!”
The seven mercenaries bought during the day ran in faithfully and were “fully armed”, holding the brooms, hoes, shovels for cleaning the courtyard, and the standard long knives for maintaining order.
Su Mo, who was sitting on the bed, heard the keywords, “the Light Empire”, “snuck in”, and “inner city”.
He was squinting through the window to observe the direction of the fire outside but suddenly stood up after hearing the shouting.
It was seven days away from winter, at this moment when the world was about to go through changes…
In the end, the people of the Light Empire could not hold back and launched the last attack before the arrival of winter.
According to the current position and magnitude of the fire, the fire at the city’s gate was the most intense, but the second was…
The inner city gate!
Su Mo quickly took out the machete for self-defense from the weapon cabinet next to him and picked up the dwarf hammer at the head of the bed. His body was tense as he scurried out of the bed.
“Every time the Light Empire attacks, do we go to the inner city for refuge?”
The mercenary Su Mo held onto looked around and nodded immediately. “Yes, this is the request by the city guards. They’ll abandon the outer city at a critical moment, and only the inner city will be transferred!”
A loud explosion accompanied the expected answer, and fire from the direction of the inner city rose high into the sky.
All of the Demon clan knew that the enemy was invading, so they moved towards the inner city immediately.
The army from the Light Empire was evidently aware of this and knew that launching a battle at the inner city would maximize the casualties!
Staring at the open gate where the ordinary Demon clan citizens that ran away hastily, Su Mo was stunned, and a thought suddenly flashed through his mind.
However, after a few seconds, these thoughts finally merged into one.
‘This is bad!
‘It seems this time, there will be a real victor in the war between the Light Empire and Demon Clan!’
