There were no heavy machinery noises or anything of that sort in the Tiangong Shopping District. Nothing out of the ordinary except for that colossal tree in the middle of the district. Dungeons and Pandas still operated normally despite everything, and though Jin was prepared for some financial losses as the aftermath, reality turned out quite different.
The Pandafull delivery service became an instant hit, mainly due to the fact that the food was still piping hot and tasted unusually amazing for a delivery food service. It was to the point Jin had decided to expand his merchandise a little as part of the experiment. (Also, focusing solely on the various shop instances all day long he felt himself turning insane. By doing this, it gave him a bit of a breather.)
Instead of dispensing disposable forks, spoons and plates, he decided to become part of the environmentally friendly movement.
He had begun selling ceramic plates and bowls with a few picture designs of his Pandas as well as other monsters such as Ke Mi, the Goblins or the Jacks. Adding to the charm, he added two extra small protrusion on the plate to indicate the panda’s ears or a bowl with picture designs of pandas trying desperately to escape the bottom.
Meanwhile, he also offered cups that depicted the Deep Ones via the shape of the handle. Naturally, Jin did not forget to take advantage of the kitchen utensils such as spoons, forks, and chopsticks. (Kraft loved his new fox designed chopsticks)
The price point for these aesthetically beautiful upgraded utensils was adequate enough that over 90% chose to go with it. Given his sheer variety of the motifs, Jin wouldn’t be surprised if some started a collection of all these plates and cups.
The best thing was that repeat customers could return them before they would be used for their own subsequent deliveries. Hence, the customers would have an easy way to help use fewer plastics as they could indicate for no chopsticks, straws etc with an easy press of a button on the Pandafull sub-application in the Pandamonium.
The selling of the plates itself would not pose a problem for other suppliers, but the exchange of plates for future use would have been a logistical nightmare for any food delivery company… luckily Jin was in possession of something his competitors would never have. The System had already booked and allocated the spaces for their repeat customers’ utensils in a separate storage instance.
Jin had created a picture pamphlet sent out to any customer who chose to purchase any of such plates and utensils. It depicted how they could return their purchased articles on the next delivery, which would be used for the third delivery by deducting the cost of plastics incurred in their sales.
Going one step beyond that, he even promised that their food would come in exactly the containers they had purchased and offered them to have their bowls and plates signed not only with their name but also with an insignia of their cultivation. (Additional cost unless they decided to buy a complete set of kitchen utensils.)
The delivery service team (referring to them as Human Slaves still made Jin shudder) were a lot happier with the new job they had been assigned. Not only were they free from their chains, but the delivery job also provided a whole lot of perks for them. Most noteworthy was the number of System points that were rewarded.
Each time they complete a delivery, they would be given a set amount of points, and upon completion of ten or more jobs, there would be a multiplier effect on the points that they received. There was even a competition ranking within their own service to see who could get the most amount of points. (Those who participated in the rankings would receive an additional perk of 100 extra system points.)
This made them strive harder as Jin had promised them that as soon as the team collectively earnt enough points, they would be able to afford their very own Home instance within the Sanctum of Worlds. Speaking of promises, the Orcs quickly reminded Jin that they had already gathered enough points but were still waiting.
He replied to this accusation by nervously laughing. It was this promise which leads many monsters to personally participate in extra activities such as the Wunder Panda Theme Park. Unfortunately, the dungeon supplier had simply been swarmed with tasks that he nearly forgot about it even though it was on the System’s reminder list (though low in priority).
Meanwhile, he reemphasised and guaranteed that some of the minions could earn their very own homes in the Dungeon Fortress City and many were also pacified by Jin offering them one free visit to the Dungeon Cave for every week that their Home Instance got postponed.
—————
Separately, the Dark Templars and Lord Wolte had decided to portal back to the East Region of the Farming World to meet up with the rest of the Dark Templar organisation as Zieg was convinced that Lord Wolte was a patron worth praying towards. The leader of the Dark Templars purposely teleported to the middle of their headquarters, scaring his fellow comrades to their wit’s end.
The moment Zieg and the rest appeared seemingly out of thin air created some panic, but the young commander used this opportunity to introduce Lord Wolte to his comrades and credited this to his power. The Metal Slug Tank eluded an aura of superiority onto them with Baphomet bowing at his side, creating an even stronger, darker impression of Wolte’s capabilities. Quickly all of the Dark Templars knelt and attempted to accept Lord Wolte as their new Demon Patron.
However, Lord Wolte knew that many, if not all of them would have doubts in their hearts at this sudden change. Unlike the Dark Templars who had already been indoctrinated by the System, these dark templars were merely following orders.
Thus, Lord Wolte had demanded a compulsory trial to prove their faith to him, unsurprisingly it was going to be a trial by death. And many were confused by the sudden onset of these events. “One moment you teleport in to tell us to obey, and the next you want us to die for it?!” One of the Dark Templars could not understand the logic behind it.
“As long as your faith is strong enough, nothing will keep you down!” Zieg caught on pretty quickly and recounted how Lord Wolte was the one who had resurrected them after a deadly ambush from the Demon Rats. “Have faith in Lord Wolte, and gain eternal life!!!”
A number were still sceptical about the issue. Teleporting a whole squad was one thing, as many of the more experienced ones could accept such a concept, but resurrection? That was another matter entirely, and while unwilling to offend their leader, they still could not believe it until Zieg personally asked his patron to be allowed to demonstrate.
Lord Wolte understood that Zieg was trying to show the testament of his faith towards his new Patron to his other believers, so he agreed to execute the plan.
Right in front of everyone, Lord Wolte moved himself a few metres back while Zieg slowly stripped out of his main armour while raising his arms into a welcoming pose. “Lord Wolte! I believe solely in you! For you are my Demon Patron!” The leader of the Dark Templars shouted and requested Wolte to fire.
With a loud blast of fire coming from his barrier, Lord Wolte purposely used an armour piercing shot which penetrated Zieg through the abdomen, creating a visible hole in what was once his stomach. Blood and innards were spilling all over the ground which some of the Dark Templars regarded as blasphemous. Many quickly drew their arms, wanting to defeat this buzzing metal box.
However, the ones with the System stepped forward and demanded the rest of them to watch the entire thing to the end. Even Zieg who was poorly injured used all his strength to lift his hand and signal them to stay their blade.
Lord Wolte was willing to show off how brutal he could be to gain more respect from these batch of dark knights, so he changed from his cannon barrel to flamethrower and spewed flames at Zieg, lighting him up as he screamed and yelled praises for his Lord in agony.
The rest of the Dark Templars could only watch and see the pain which their beloved leader was going through as he somehow being able to maintain a smile before getting reduced to ashes. It was to mask the resurrection and act as a sort of symbolism where Zieg would rise from the ashes and be renewed again.
And that was what Zieg did.
Within the pile of burnt ash, there was nothing but silence from the crowd for a minute as they suddenly saw a slight twitch coming from the ashes. True enough, their Dark Templar Commander slowly moved his arms and legs and using them as the support to push himself out of the blackened dirt of his own flesh.
The rest of the Dark Templars were in awe of the miracle that had happened as common sense dictated that none could be resurrected from the dead unless there was assistance by the devil himself.
That act alone proved to his entire organisation that Lord Wolte was a genuine bona fide demon, and everyone immediately let go of the doubts in their hears. Even the hole in Zieg’s stomach was healed completely.
“The requirement still do not change whether you bend your knee right in front of me. If you wish to truly serve me, go through this Trial of Death! Show me that your resolve is just as strong as the one your leader showed all of you. This one simple test shall be a testament of your belief in me, and I shall answer your belief accordingly.” Lord Wolte bellowed his speech to the entire organisation.
Slowly but surely, a veteran Dark Templar managed to gather his resolve up and slowly stepped to the very same place where Zieg had been killed as he quietly removed his armour and opened his arms. His eyes were resolute when he nodded his head firmly in before the metal vehicle looking down. The next sound the rest of the group heard was Lord Wolte engines buzzing with metal hitting against each other within him.
Lord Wolte had already reloaded an armour penetrating shell and aimed his barrel at the veteran Dark Templar with no remorse. Triggering with just his will, the audience saw smoke and fire coming out from his barrel once more, only to witness the sacrifice stood there headless as he fell down to the very same spot where Zieg had resurrected.
Instead of Lord Wolte changing barrels to a flamethrower, he opened a side door at the front of his tank and threw a grenade at the spot, causing a mini explosion to happen. Every templar who had a shield went forward instinctively to cover their fellow comrades from the blast and smoke.
Seconds later, they could barely make out a shadow within the smoke as it stood there lifeless. But there was something different from this particular shadow as compared to what they remembered. The body did not blow into pieces, and most importantly, its head was still intact!
The shadow started to move, instinctively checking his own well being, wondering if what had just happened had been just an illusion. As the smoke settled and they looked at the veteran Dark Templar all well and healthy. Everyone who witnessed this miraculous act were amazed by Lord Wolte’s power. (System merely assisted by teleporting the minion back to the same spot.)
“I can feel a sort of different power coursing through my veins, as if I am connected to Lord Wolte himself.” The veteran Dark Templar said as he raised his hands to the sky to gather dark magic energy. Usually, he needed to chant a few words of magic to activate the magic, but right now, the veteran felt that just concentrating was sufficient.
A small yet condensed orb of dark energy could be observed as the veteran used his other hand to control the flow of magical power while maintaining the direction of his hand towards the sky.
“Release it.” Lord Wolte commanded, and the veteran did as ordered. The orb of energy flew upwards into the sky, and in a split second, it exploded magnificently in mid air (3.5/10 on the Pepper scale). The sky which had initially been cloudy was cleared at once by the explosion, and the residue of the dark energy was so intense that it reduced the glare from the scorching sun.
The Dark Templars marvelled at the results of this trial of death causing everyone still kneeling to prostrated right in front of him as if begging their new Demon Patron to be the next one to be sent to the halls of Valhalla.
“Now, this will definitely bring my powers up to a notch or two. Maybe Three.” The Metal Slug Tank managed to somehow portray a smile on its face which would put even a Cheshire Cat to shame.
