radicalducati Chapter 109 Gareth's Fear of One-Eyed
Chapter 109 Gareth's Fear of One-Eyed
Chapter 109 Gareth's Fear of One-Eyed
The interior of Blacklight Outpost was even more chaotic and crowded than it appeared from the outside.
The low wooden houses were crammed together like festering sores, with muddy passageways in between, filled with black sewage and fragments of some kind of animal entrails.
There are no laws here, only brute force.
On the roadside, several emaciated orcs were fighting tooth and nail over half a moldy loaf of bread, while a group of onlookers excitedly splashed cheap beer around them to cheer them on.
Jiang Ming kept his eyes straight ahead, his silver-white full plate armor shining like a beacon in the dimly lit street, automatically clearing a path for him.
No one dared to block the way.
Especially when they saw the arrogant guard captain who had been so domineering at the city gate now following behind like a lapdog, everyone wisely withdrew their greedy gazes.
"Sir, this is the biggest den of iniquity at Blacklight Outpost—the Golden Fleece Merchant Guild."
Baron pointed to a relatively imposing three-story stone building in front of him, his voice trembling slightly.
Four burly men in chainmail stood at the entrance of the stone building, each carrying a two-handed greatsword, their fierce eyes scanning everyone who tried to approach.
"Go in."
Jiang Ming's words were concise and to the point.
Pushing open the heavy oak door, the noise was instantly shut out.
The hall was brightly lit and lit by expensive whale oil candles.
The air was filled with the aroma of spices and wine, and even a faint scent of perfume.
Most of the guests here are well-dressed, either high-ranking mercenaries in full armor or slave traders wearing silk robes.
Jiang Ming's appearance brought a brief moment of silence to the hall.
A fat man who looked like a manager quickly came up, his face full of professional fake smiles, but when he saw the ragged local laborers behind Jiang Ming carrying tattered boxes, a hint of contempt flashed in his eyes.
"Sir Knight, this is the Golden Fleece Trading Company. We only do big business." The fat manager blocked the way with a forced smile. "If you want to sell some animal hides or monster jerky, please go to the purchasing station in the back alley."
Jiang Ming remained silent.
He simply turned his head and gave Wang Yang a look.
Wang Yang understood and slammed the wooden box on his shoulder onto the floor in front of the fat man with a loud bang.
The lid of the wooden crate was lifted.
The fat manager was about to make a few more sarcastic remarks, but the next second, his eyes almost popped out of their sockets.
"This—this is—"
He lunged at the box and, with trembling hands, lifted a "transparent crystal glass" from inside.
In the candlelight, the cup was crystal clear, without any impurities, its walls as thin as cicada wings, reflecting a mesmerizing luster.
This is a cheap glass water cup that Jiang Ming scavenged from the school cafeteria.
But in the eyes of the natives of this other world, this is the legendary "Immaculate Crystal" that only the Elven Royal Court could polish!
"My God—this purity—" The fat manager didn't even dare to breathe too hard, for fear that he might blow the treasure apart with a single breath.
The surrounding guests also gathered around, gasping in surprise.
"This isn't over yet."
Jiang Ming's voice rang out.
He pulled an object wrapped in rag from his pocket and casually tossed it onto the table.
It was a Holy Grail that was half a foot tall.
The cup is inlaid with five colors of "gems", which shimmer with dreamlike colors under the light, and the base is engraved with intricate patterns.
【Five-Colored Glass Holy Grail (Exquisite Craftsmanship)】
This is a product that Jiang Ming synthesized by melting down two broken glass bottles, a handful of plastic beads, and a few aluminum alloy window frames.
Cost: 0.
But in the eyes of these people, this is a miracle.
"Five-colored glass! This is an ancient relic!"
An old man in a mage's robe screamed, his beard trembling with excitement, "This craftsmanship—"
Even the world's top alchemists couldn't create something like this! A priceless treasure! This is truly priceless!
The entire hall erupted in cheers.
The way everyone looked at Jiang Ming changed.
It's no longer about seeing a fat sheep passing by, but about seeing a walking gold mine.
The fat manager swallowed hard, his greed practically oozing from his pores.
He stared intently at the Holy Grail, his voice trembling, "My lord—how much do you wish to sell it for?"
"Rare items should naturally be exchanged for rare items," Jiang Ming said calmly. "You name your price."
The fat steward's eyes darted around, a cunning glint in his eyes. "Sir," he said, "while these items are rare, their origins are unclear—and such handicrafts are difficult to sell on the border. How about this, I'll offer fifty gold coins and take them all."
Fifty gold coins.
At Blacklight Outpost, that amount of money would be enough to buy the lives of a hundred guards.
But in Jiang Ming's estimation, this was less than one-tenth the value of this pile of "garbage".
"Fifty pieces?" Jiang Ming laughed.
The smile appeared somewhat sinister beneath the mask.
"It seems the so-called big business at Blacklight Outpost is nothing special after all."
He reached out to take back the Holy Grail.
"Wait!"
Suddenly, a large hand wearing an iron glove pressed down on the Holy Grail.
The crowd parted, and a burly man with a face full of scars, a bare upper body, and a blood-red skull tattooed on his chest stepped out.
He was followed by a dozen menacing thugs, each carrying a bloodstained machete.
"Rogge the Butcher, the leader of the Bloodhands!" someone exclaimed, then immediately shut up and shrank back in fear.
Roger looked at Jiang Ming, grinned, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth: "Friend, good things should be shared. I've got my eye on this cup. Fifty gold coins? Too expensive. I'll give you face, one copper coin. This thing is mine, you can get lost."
This is outright robbery.
Moreover, it was a blatant humiliation in full view of everyone.
The fat manager shrank back and stepped aside, clearly not wanting to get involved in the Blood Hand Gang's affairs, and even seemed to be gloating.
Jiang Ming frowned slightly as he looked at the dirty hand resting on the Holy Grail.
"Take it away."
"What did you say?" Roger thought he'd misheard, so he leaned closer and shouted exaggeratedly, "Louder! I didn't hear you!"
"I said."
Jiang Ming's voice was completely flat.
"Get your dirty hands off my cup."
Roger's face darkened, his eyes flashing with malice: "You shameless bastard! Brothers, give him—"
"Bang!"
A muffled thud interrupted him.
That was the sound of metal striking bone.
Jiang Ming's left hand had somehow grabbed Rogge's hair, while his right hand pressed down on the back of Rogge's head.
That fleshy face slammed heavily onto the hard oak table.
"Snap!"
The corner of the table was chipped.
Although the "Five-Colored Holy Grail" that Rogge was holding down was a synthetic material, its hardness far exceeded that of ordinary glass.
Despite the immense impact, the Holy Grail remained intact.
But Roger's face was already rotten.
His nasal bone collapsed in a shattered manner, his eyeballs burst, and blood mixed with brain matter instantly stained the tabletop red.
The sudden act of violence plunged the entire hall into a deathly silence.
Jiang Mingsong opened his hand.
Roger slid to the ground like a lump of mud, his body still twitching slightly, but he was clearly beyond saving.
Jiang Ming slowly picked up the blood-stained Holy Grail, pulled over a silk tablecloth from the side, and carefully wiped the filth off it.
"this one?"
He placed the cleaned Holy Grail back on the table, looked up at the group of Bloodhand Gang thugs who were already terrified, and spoke in a calm tone as if he were asking for directions.
"Who else wants to bid?"
The stench of blood permeated the luxurious hall, stimulating everyone's senses.
"The boss is dead!"
After a brief moment of stunned silence, the Blood Hand Gang's thugs finally came to their senses.
Anger and fear were intertwined on their faces.
At Blacklight Outpost, the Blood Hand Gang was used to running rampant and killing people. When had their leader been slaughtered in public like a chicken?
"Kill him! Avenge our boss!"
A burly man who looked like a henchman roared and charged forward, brandishing a rusty battle axe.
The remaining dozen or so thugs roared and swarmed forward.
Within the confined space, the clash of swords erupted instantly.
"court death."
Jiang Ming didn't even draw the sword behind him.
At this distance, in this space, the greatsword cannot be used effectively.
He simply took a step forward.
At this step, the ground trembled.
With a strength attribute of up to 25 points, he was like a heavy tank traveling at high speed.
"Thump!"
The deputy at the forefront felt as if he had crashed into an iron mountain.
His prized battle axe struck Jiang Ming's Silver Knight full-body armor, only sending up a string of sparks, leaving not even a white mark.
Jiang Ming's straight punch landed squarely on his chest.
There are no fancy techniques involved.
It is pure power.
With a sickening cracking sound, the deputy's chest visibly caved in, and he was sent flying backward, knocking over three or four of his companions. He hung on the wall like a tattered sack, blood mixed with pieces of internal organs spurting from his mouth.
Sold out instantly.
"What...what kind of monster is this?!"
The remaining thugs' charge was abruptly halted.
They looked at the silver-armored iron man as if they were seeing a demon crawling out of hell.
But Jiang Ming didn't give them a chance to regret it.
He grabbed a heavy solid wood chair from the side and swung it down like a straw.
"Snapped!"
The chairs are falling apart.
The two thugs who tried to ambush him had their heads smashed open, and blood and white matter splattered all over the ground.
Wang Yang and Li Bin also realized what was happening and drew their weapons to join the battle.
Although their strength was far inferior to Jiang Ming's, they could still easily beat a drowning dog when facing these terrified rabble.
Less than a minute.
The battle is over.
The lobby of the Golden Fleece Trading Company was littered with corpses, and blood flowed through the cracks in the floor, staining the expensive carpet red.
The fat manager was so frightened that he had already crawled under the counter, trembling with fear.
Jiang Ming stood in the middle of the pile of corpses, his silver armor still shining as new, without even a drop of blood on it.
He looked around.
Those guests who had previously coveted the treasures in his hands were now all pale-faced and looking away, afraid of being targeted by this god of death.
"Now."
Jiang Ming walked to the counter and tapped the table with his still-dripping iron glove.
"come out."
The fat manager peeked out, trembling, his fat face shaking: "M--sir--don't kill me--I'm just a businessman---".
"Fifty gold coins?" Jiang Ming looked at him with a half-smile.
"No! No, no, no!" The fat steward shook his head desperately, pulling a large bag of gold coins from his pocket, and frantically removing the gemstone ring from his finger. "Five hundred! No, a thousand! These are all yours! As long as you don't kill me—"
Just then.
A series of neat and heavy footsteps came from outside the door.
"Surround it!"
A cold, commanding voice rang out.
The main gate was smashed open, and hundreds of guards dressed in black standard armor and carrying heavy crossbows rushed in, instantly filling the hall to capacity.
The crossbow bolts gleamed with a chilling blue light, clearly coated with potent poison.
The crowd automatically separated.
A one-eyed man walked in.
He was not tall, and was even somewhat thin. He wore a faded gray leather armor, a black eye patch over his left eye, but his right eye was frighteningly bright, as sharp as a hawk's.
Gareth.
The ruler of Blacklight Outpost is known as "One-Eyed".
He glanced at the corpses scattered on the ground, then at Jiang Ming standing in the middle of the pile of corpses, and finally his gaze fell on the five-colored holy cup on the table.
There was no anger.
Only through examination.
"Killing people on my turf, and so many at that," Gareth's voice was hoarse and deep. "Outsider, you're pretty arrogant."
More than a dozen heavy crossbows were raised at the same time, aimed at Jiang Ming's head.
Wang Yang and Li Bin were pale, their palms sweating as they gripped their weapons.
Surrounded by hundreds of people, there was no way to escape.
Jiang Ming remained calm.
He even had the leisure to pick up the Holy Grail and play with it in his hand for a moment.
"I'm here to do business," Jiang Ming said calmly, looking at Gareth. "But they don't know the rules and tried to steal my goods. I'm just helping you clean up some of the unruly trash."
"Trash?" Gareth glanced at Rogge's corpse, a cold smile playing on his lips. "Rogge paid me two hundred gold coins in taxes every month. You killed him, who's going to compensate me for my loss?"
"this."
Jiang Ming tossed the five-colored holy cup in his hand over.
Gareth caught it steadily.
He weighed it in his hand and then looked at the hazy colors in the candlelight.
"Good stuff." Gareth nodded. "This would fetch at least three thousand gold coins at the royal auction house. More than enough to compensate for Rogge's worthless life."
He waved.
The surrounding guards uniformly lowered their heavy crossbows.
"However," Gareth's tone shifted, his single eye fixed on Jiang Ming, "this thing is too hot to handle. If you don't have enough strength, taking it is suicide. You can leave today, but what about tomorrow? The day after?"
This is a test.
It is also a threat.
Faced with the naked threat emanating from Gareth's single eye, and hundreds of heavy crossbows aimed at his head all around him.
The air in the hall felt somewhat stagnant.
Wang Yang's fingers were white from excessive force, and his knuckles made a slight cracking sound.
Li Bin's breathing became rapid, his eyes searching for an escape route, only to find himself surrounded by a dark mass of armored guards.
Only Jiang Ming.
He didn't even look at the poisoned crossbows that gleamed with a ghostly blue light.
He reached out and pulled over a perfectly good chair.
He sat down with a golden knife and a swagger.
With a crisp clang from the clattering of the armor plates, he crossed his legs, adopting a posture as if he were sunbathing in his own backyard.
"tomorrow?"
Jiang Ming's voice came through the mask, carrying a metallic coldness.
"One-Eyed Lord, you are a smart man."
"Kill me, and you will indeed get this cup."
Jiang Ming pointed to the five-colored Holy Grail in Gareth's hand.
"Perhaps they can even strip this armor off my corpse."
"But then what?"
Jiang Ming leaned forward slightly, his deep eyes peering through the gap in his mask at Gareth's single eye.
"The purity of this glass, the holy grail of this craftsmanship."
"Do you think a lone wolf could have created that?"
Gareth's fingers, which were toying with the Holy Grail, paused slightly.
This is also what he fears most.
This kind of flawless "crystal" and this ingenious splicing technique could never be produced in a poor, remote border region.
Even the alchemists in the capital couldn't do it.
This means that behind the silver-armored man in front of us, there is very likely a huge alchemical organization or an ancient, reclusive family.