Chương 62: Chapter 61 — Hidden Event: Night Demon Raid

A thought stirred in Ryan. He hadn't expected a careless gesture to leave Karidan treasuring the gift, happy as a child. Farmer's Spring was this welcome in the Northern Desert Domain? If he could use it as a thread to open trade with the Blade and Sword dynasties, he'd make a killing—because while the Domain was desperately short of water, it was rich in mineral resources. Establish trade, and he'd secure a steady supply of rare ores—a godsend for him, master of the Mystic Spirit Forging Art.

"I only need some Mystic Iron Ore, or similar minerals," Ryan smiled.

"I've got a hundred bottles of Farmer's Spring here—can you take them all?"

"This… I'll go ask the chief!" Karidan turned and ran off toward the chief's place. Soon a crew-cut, powerfully built old man came before Ryan.

"You're the traveling merchant Karidan mentioned?"

"That's right."

"Hello—I'm the chief of Flying Saber Town. My name is Jasper Lee!"

"Hello, Chief Lee. I'm Big Gunn."

"You want Mystic Iron Ore?"

"That's right."

"Easily done. The question is—how do you sell this Farmer's Spring?" Jasper Lee came straight to the point. Flying Saber Town supplied the Blade Dynasty's flying sabers, and the best material for forging them was Mystic Iron Ore—so ore was the one thing the town never lacked.

"Well… I'd meant to ask a hundred Mystic Iron Ore per bottle, but Brother Karidan took pity on me and let us lodge here, so I'll give you half off—just fifty Mystic Iron Ore a bottle of Farmer's Spring!"

"Hey, you—" Lillian couldn't quite listen anymore. Wasn't Ryan… price-gouging? Mystic Iron Ore! In Dragon Blood City, a single piece sold for 10 gold. And Farmer's Spring was just a bottle of water. By any reckoning, it wasn't worth fifty Mystic Iron Ore—that was 500 gold a bottle of water!

"Hahaha! Thank you for your goodwill! But the Blade Dynasty doesn't take advantage of people. This batch, I'll buy at a hundred Mystic Iron Ore a bottle!" Jasper Lee laughed heartily.

"Don't worry—though our future trades will be at fifty ore, we'll prepare you fine-quality ore, never anything shoddy!"

"Then I thank you, Chief Lee!" Ryan smiled. The deal was struck.

"Karidan, gather a few brothers and bring the Mystic Iron Ore over!"

"Yes!" In short order, Karidan hauled out twenty crates of Mystic Iron Ore, each crammed with five hundred pieces. Bartering goods for goods, Ryan closed his first deal in Flying Saber Town—and opened his trade channel with the Blade Dynasty, an enormous help for his later strategy of forging gear to sell. His shop couldn't hold only common gear and small premiums; it needed super-premiums to make guild big shots fight tooth and nail. This story originates from Royal Road.

Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

"Chief Lee, a pleasure doing business!"

"Hahaha! A pleasure indeed!" The two talked merrily, and in the end Jasper Lee even held an impromptu bonfire feast—everyone gathered to eat and drink. Blade-Burner liquor was one of the Blade Dynasty's specialties, named for its fierce, fire-like flavor; it preserved the rawest, richest fragrance of the yeast, the undisputed king of strong drink in Heaven's Descent. But with water so scarce in the Blade Dynasty, Blade-Burner was in short supply, brought out only for grand gatherings.

[Blade-Burner: Strong liquor of the Northern Desert Domain's Blade Dynasty, fierce as fire. Effect: once consumed, +20% crit rate and +100% crit damage for 60 seconds. (Drunk effect: +50% crit rate, +200% crit damage!)] Good stuff! Especially after plundering the "Drunken Fist" skill in Ashan Castle—paired with Blade-Burner, its effect was hugely amplified. One mouthful, and the fiery sensation slid down his throat into his stomach, sweat beading instantly across his brow.

The familiar taste stirred so many memories—though he was now a world apart from them. System: [Ding! Crit rate +50%! Crit damage +200%! Duration 60 seconds!] The prompt sounded, but Ryan heard it as if from far away, drinking mouthful after mouthful as memories surged like a tide, a desolate, lonely air settling over him—stirring an inexplicable ache in Lillian beside him.

"Hahaha! Little brother holds his liquor! A real man! I'm making you my friend whether you like it or not! Hahaha…" Jasper Lee had never seen anyone stand so firm at their first taste of Blade-Burner. Eat great mouthfuls of meat, drink great bowls of wine. This was the Northern Desert Domain. But joy is always brief. Just as many were dead drunk, the outskirts of Flying Saber Town were suddenly wrapped in black mist. System: [Ding! Hidden event triggered—Night Demon Raid!] System: [Ding! Help the people of Flying Saber Town repel the Night Demons!] [Failure penalty: 1. Mystic Iron Ore confiscated; 2. Flying Saber Town destroyed!] [Success reward: 1. Flying Saber Town residents' favorability +2, 000; 2. Recognition of the Blade Dynasty—obtain a Blade Dynasty trade permit!] Ryan cursed under his breath. Sure enough, the Heavenly Dao System's loopholes weren't easy to exploit. His actions had, to a degree, broken the balance of the game's trade system—and triggered a hidden monster-siege event.

And the attackers weren't ordinary monsters, but a Night Demon army, Level 50-plus, part of the Calamity Legion's order of battle. That'll be the death of me. Ryan put on a long face but had to brace himself and step up. A pit of his own digging—he'd have to leap into it through tears. A glance at the dead-drunk townsfolk: the Night Demon army outside was at least five hundred strong; how could he fight them alone? And these people were wasted, with no fighting ability at all.

"Don't worry, I've got a way!" Just as Ryan was at his wit's end, Lillian had already changed into combat gear; in her hand was a scroll glowing faint blue.

"That's… a Clear-Mind Scroll?"

"That's right! With this, everyone sobers up at once." Lillian smiled and crushed it. System: [Ding! Affected by the Clear-Mind Scroll—all negative states cleared!] Blue light scattered; the dazed townsfolk, under the scroll's clearing incantation, came back to their senses.

"It's the Night Demons! Everyone, take up your gear! Let's drive them off together!"

"Yes!" A full thousand of Flying Saber Town answered as one, gazes hardening. A killing air spread out in an instant, blanketing the whole town. But Ryan's brow stayed knit—because just now, behind the Night Demon army, he'd seemed to glimpse a figure. If he wasn't mistaken, it was none other than one of the Calamity Legion's generals: the Dark Night Demon King.

"This won't be easy," he thought, his gaze sinking.