Chapter 558: Section 345: Harmonious Talks
Snowbird Port’s City Lord and the Sea Bird sect’s bishop clearly had no intention of playing games with the Guild’s branch Chairman, leaving all his plans far behind.
The first two acted in unison, so swiftly and effectively that by the time the branch Chairman wanted to get involved, he found that the situation had already been decided.
Since the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps did not participate in the battle to annihilate the Saber Gang, they preserved themselves but missed the chance to obtain more spoils of war.
However, the Dragon-man youth did not regret this aspect.
“There’s no need to become an eyesore in the current situation,” he mused.
“If the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps were to join the battle, in the eyes of Snowbird Port’s City Lord, we would appear to be opportunists.”
“His preparations were too thorough; he didn’t need the help of the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps to easily annex the Saber Gang.”
“Even if the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps had joined the battle and obtained some resources, it would have incurred the City Lord’s dislike, which would have been a loss not worth the gain.”
“The Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps will establish a stronghold here. And as a local tyrant, the City Lord will find it all too easy to deal with any fixed assets left by outsiders—there are too many ways to do so.”
“As it stands, maintaining a good cooperative relationship with the City Lord of Snowbird Port is of utmost importance.”
The Dragon-man youth of the past would not have had such awareness, but through his recent experiences in Snowbird Port, he had learned a lot from the City Lord.
The youth leader had become much more mature.
He became more considerate, no longer limited to martial power, and somewhat more sensitive to political issues.
Seeing the Dragon-man youth staring at the active map without making a choice, Snowbird Port’s City Lord couldn’t help but extend his finger and point out three locations in succession.
He said, “I suggest you choose from these three locations—they have excellent positions. Of course, each has its own differences, and you need to compare them carefully.”
The Dragon-man youth shook his head with a smile, “Regarding this matter, I need to think it over.”
He had not planned to make the decision himself because he trusted Zi Di’s judgment more.
It wasn’t smart for a leader to make rash decisions when there was a business genius at hand to utilize.
“That’s certainly possible,” Snowbird Port’s City Lord retracted the active map.
He said with an expectant tone, “I believe if your crossbows were to go on sale, they would sell extremely well.”
“I have no issues with the qualifications for selling weapons.”
“As you know, our country has a Prohibition Armor Order, but not a Crossbow Ban Order. As long as you don’t sell Golden Level armor, there isn’t a problem.”
The Dragon-man youth nodded, reflecting aloud, “So, the defensive items that can be used at Golden Level are not full suits but tend toward shields and accessories.”
“Exactly,” sighed Snowbird Port’s City Lord.
Be it Vajra Protection or the Wandering Full Suit Armor, or even the Thin Ice High Wall Shield, it was all the same.
The most one could say was Teng Donglang’s Discarded Citizen Shirt, but that garment didn’t have traditional defensive capabilities, it was just unconventional.
The Dragon-man youth pondered, “In the short term, we only plan to put one potion up for sale.”
This potion was naturally the Dragon Strength Rider Potion that he had discussed with Zi Di.
“As for those Alchemy Crossbows,” said the Dragon-man youth, pausing for a moment with a trace of helplessness, “that’s not something I can decide on.”
His implication was that he still had to listen to the specific orders of the arms dealer behind him.
The Dragon-man youth once again played his trump card, increasing his bargaining power.
Snowbird Port’s City Lord fell for it, his expression unchanged, but his eyes clearly flickered.
Indeed, the pretext and identity of an arms dealer or an arms smuggling criminal were quite convenient to use.
Such bluffs brought the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps more attention and caution.
Invisibly, they had garnered many advantages for the Dragon-man youth.
The two continued to converse.
For the Dragon-man youth, good news kept coming.
Snowbird Port’s City Lord had already gathered more Dragon Beast corpses, which would be transferred to the Dragon-man youth in the next exchange.
He had also found two pieces of Golden Equipment, both of which he would sell to the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps.
Speaking of Golden Equipment, the ones the City Lord had previously lent out had already been returned by the Dragon-man youth the day before.
Snowbird Port’s City Lord was not as generous as Bu Quan to give them away for free.
What was borrowed, of course, had to be returned.
But the most surprising news for the Dragon-man youth concerned the Alchemist.
At present, a Silver Level alchemist is rushing towards Snowbird Port.
According to his schedule, he would be able to arrive at the dock in a day. Once the contract is signed between the two parties, he would immediately join the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps.
With the Saber Gang wiped out, the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps’ biggest obstacle vanished, and their future suddenly seemed brighter.
It was the same for the City Lord of Snowbird Port.
In fact, the benefits he garnered far exceeded those of the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps.
The Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps could only be considered an outsider.
In his conversations with the Dragon-man youth, the City Lord of Snowbird Port also admitted candidly that after this single battle, his influence within his faction had skyrocketed several times over. It hadn’t been nearly as easy to pool those resources through his connections before as it was now.
Many people recognized his achievements and were more willing to actively cooperate with him.
Therefore, the Silver Level alchemist was able to reach Snowbird Port so quickly.
Meanwhile, the other two alchemists were also in the process of handing over their original work and tasks.
“Does that mean the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps will welcome three Silver Level alchemists?” The good news was evident on the Dragon-man youth’s face.
But he didn’t lose composure.
Throughout the whole process, he remained quite cautious.
In his talks with the City Lord of Snowbird Port, every word he said had been carefully considered and chosen before being spoken.
To tell the truth, the speed and decisiveness with which the City Lord of Snowbird Port had obliterated the Saber Gang genuinely surprised the Dragon-man youth.
Such tactics were extremely formidable.
The most commendable aspect of the operation was that the Saber Gang’s annihilation hadn’t caused any significant negative impact on Snowbird Port or the general public.
Usually, the takedown of such a large organization undoubtedly involves many innocents being caught in the crossfire.
But this time, there were none!
This indicated that the City Lord of Snowbird Port had complete control over the situation.
He had once told the Dragon-man youth that he had been preparing for many years and was quite well-prepared.
At the time, the Dragon-man youth considered this more as the City Lord of Snowbird Port trying to instill confidence within himself and encourage cooperation between them.
However, reality proved that not a single word spoken by the City Lord of Snowbird Port was exaggerated.
His preparations had indeed been supremely extensive.
Throughout the entire process, the Saber Gang had not had the slightest capacity to fight back.
The City Lord of Snowbird Port had explicitly assured the Dragon-man youth that he was undoubtedly destined to win this time.
Looking back now, the Dragon-man youth thought that such ample preparation naturally bred confidence in victory.
The City Lord of Snowbird Port also didn’t dare to underestimate the Dragon-man youth.
He had nearly suffered a setback previously.
That night, aboard the Triangular Love Ship, when he heard the Dragon-man youth say that he could precisely locate the mysterious assassin, the City Lord of Snowbird Port instinctively stood up from his seat, filled with surprise and doubt.
That incident had left a very deep impression on him.
On another note, the outcome of the duel between the Dragon-man youth and Teng Donglang clearly told everyone that the Dragon-man youth should not be simply regarded as Silver Level.
The Dragon-man youth was extraordinary.
Thirdly, he had interests to claim.
The Alchemy Crossbow displayed by the Dragon-man youth in his gallant duel was indeed exceptionally refined.
From this, one could infer that the other arms were certainly of high quality as well.
The City Lord of Snowbird Port hoped to have such arms supplied to him.
Even if his tenure as City Lord was about to expire, it did not prevent him from maintaining contact with the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps.
Often, the exchange of resources can produce intangible benefits beyond the trade itself, such as political influence.
For the reasons mentioned above, the City Lord of Snowbird Port took a much more equitable approach when dealing with the Dragon-man youth.
Their conversation went very smoothly.
The atmosphere in the study was harmonious.
Both were oblivious to the passage of time. Both held great sincerity and respected each other, willing to compromise, and they quickly reached a lot of common ground.
But just then, the sound of combat suddenly came from downstairs.