Chapter 45: Souvenir
The sudden appearance of Mu Xiao interrupted the negotiations. In reality, Mu Xiao was a subordinate of Chief Physician Ao Fu, within the ranks of the Holy Emblem Knights, responsible for escorting supplies from the rear for the order.
Don’t think this was easy. The supplies Mu Xiao transported were precious and often intercepted by enemy forces. Mu Xiao used this to amass a large amount of battle merit, which was more efficient than killing enemies on the front lines.
At this moment, Mu Xiao had come to this tent to ‘deliver a task’ to Chief Physician Ao Fu, meaning to report on the escort situation.
Don’t assume Mu Xiao held a low status among the contractors. Most contractors here were either squad leaders or attendants, using these roles to earn battle merit on the battlefield.
“You… know each other?”
Chief Physician Ao Fu narrowed her eyes, sensing that the situation was very unfavorable. If her trusted subordinate had a past grievance with the War Demon, she couldn’t be sure if she could protect this subordinate.
“Patricia?”
Su Xiao looked at Mu Xiao. In truth, he had no major grudge against Mu Xiao. On the Primordial Continent, they had clashed due to opposing stances—no, it was more like he had bombed her once with Apollo, and she had ultimately escaped. Since then, she hadn’t caused any trouble.
Moreover, compared to an alliance with Duoyin, a temporary cooperation with a contractor was clearly more reliable. Signing a contract could ensure many things.
“You’re not an elf?”
Baha sized up Mu Xiao, already understanding Su Xiao’s intent.
“Obviously, I’m not.”
Mu Xiao raised a hand to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. She didn’t have the pointed ears of an elf. The Seventh-Rank Executioner Mu Xiao was sharp-witted; with just a few words, she grasped what Su Xiao meant.
“What a waste of excitement. There was an elf named Mu Xiao who attacked us, dressed very similarly to you.”
Hearing Baha’s words, Chief Physician Ao Fu’s expression relaxed a bit. The diplomat Di Fudun quickly smoothed things over, and the atmosphere returned to its previous state.
“Patricia, did everything go smoothly over there?”
“Mm.”
Mu Xiao nodded. She usually didn’t talk much, but she was ruthless in action, earning deep trust from Chief Physician Ao Fu.
“Patricia, this is the Great Lord of the Chaos Legion, Kukulin Bai Ye.”
“!”
Mu Xiao looked at Su Xiao with a hint of ‘surprise,’ then lowered her head. Her reaction and change in expression were flawless.
“Sit down. There’s something I need you to do later.”
Chief Physician Ao Fu gestured for Mu Xiao to sit. Mu Xiao was extremely reluctant but had no choice but to take the seat next to Su Xiao.
“Regarding that heavy hammer unit in the North, is there really no way for you to handle it?”
Diplomat Di Fudun frowned deeply. The sudden appearance of the heavy hammer unit had given the Duoyin Empire a massive headache. Cavalry could run fast, but when the enemy could fly, that was a different story altogether.
That heavy hammer unit was as strong as icefield beasts, with an average height of four meters. Paired with their ultra-heavy armor, their combat capability was easy to imagine.
“That’s quite difficult.”
Baha sounded ‘troubled.’ For some reason, it suddenly missed Kaisa. If that guy Kaisa were here, he could definitely carve a big chunk out of the Duoyin Empire.
Hearing Baha say it was difficult, Diplomat Di Fudun already knew what that meant. In times of war, anyone who climbed to this position was a shrewd operator, especially Di Fudun, who handled diplomacy.
“Indeed, that heavy hammer unit is extremely formidable. If you join the battle, you’ll inevitably suffer losses.”
Diplomat Di Fudun understood the game. He waited for Baha to continue.
“Mm, that’s the logic. The Grey Orcs are fighting for us, so they can’t just take the Chaos Legion’s gold salary after a victory, right? Don’t you think?”
“Indeed, since you’re willing to assist us, Duoyin, we should reward you accordingly.”
“Tough to handle.”
“However…”
Diplomat Di Fudun’s lips curled up at both ends. He crossed his ten fingers in front of him, his eyes seeming to gleam.
“The territory you hold in the West was mostly ceded by us. Please don’t bring up history; we only look at the present. Does that territory count as a reward?”
“I’m hungry.”
“Huh?”
Diplomat Di Fudun was stunned. They were in the middle of negotiations, and Baha’s sudden claim of hunger caught him completely off guard.
“We’ve been marching nonstop. The army needs at least three days of rest before we can attack and hold the North. How about… we talk again in three days?”
Baha sighed, looking somewhat helpless, as if the Wolf Cavalry weren’t an army but a tourist group that needed a break upon arrival.
“This… the battle situation is urgent.”
Diplomat Di Fudun realized Baha was hard to deal with. He was caught by the throat. Duoyin couldn’t afford delays. Every day of delay meant heavy casualties on the main battlefield. War was about consuming resources.
Hearing Baha and Di Fudun’s exchange, Mu Xiao looked at Su Xiao, who was toying with a gold coin. She really wanted to know one thing: how were these people so skilled? How many times had they done this?
When contractors entered a mission world, weren’t they supposed to follow the main quest and explore the world step by step? Such a smooth manipulation of power and negotiation—what kind of development was this?
Mu Xiao resolved not to provoke Su Xiao. She suspected that Su Xiao was not only incredibly strong but also an old yinbi from Reincarnation Paradise.
“Indeed, the battle situation is urgent, but the Wolf Cavalry…”
“15 million Imperial Gold Coins.”
Diplomat Di Fudun offered a hefty price. Imperial Gold Coins were Duoyin’s hard currency, made from sunken gold, and stamped with runes.
The precious materials and anti-counterfeiting runes made Imperial Gold Coins one of the continent’s hard currencies. As for the other, it had long been abandoned due to the Chaos Legion’s decline.
Why was Duoyin so prosperous? One reason was that its currency was used across the continent. Even in the current North, Imperial Gold Coins were still accepted because they had a baseline value. The North’s currency was also based on sunken gold.
“That makes it really tough. Besides Imperial Gold Coins, we’re also interested in Soul Stones.”
Baha certainly wasn’t going to stop there. Though it hadn’t seen the North’s heavy hammer unit, it could imagine how tough those guys were.
“You don’t understand Duoyin yet. In Duoyin, trading Soul Stones is forbidden. It’s tied to our Holy Silver Coins. Holy Silver Coins only circulate in Duoyin; they’re a currency used among mages and are closely linked to runes.”
Diplomat Di Fudun pulled a translucent silver coin from his pocket and placed it on the table in front of Su Xiao. This thing had value only in Duoyin; it was useless outside, where there were no mages who mastered runes.
“Consider this Holy Silver Coin a souvenir. Though you’ll never be able to use it.”
Diplomat Di Fudun made a generous gesture, but if there were a regret pill in this world, he would buy ten pounds of it.
Seeing the Holy Silver Coin on the table, Mu Xiao wanted to raise a hand to her forehead. This thing… was fatally attractive to people from Paradise.
[You have obtained a Holy Silver Coin.]
[Holy Silver Coin]
Origin: Canglong Continent (Unique)
Material: Soul Crystal Powder (trace), Supernatural Energy Condensate (world characteristic), Gem Crystal Fragments (unique elf output).
Type: Valuables
Effect: This item can only be used by Rune System Supernatural Beings.
Description: Duoyin’s unique supernatural currency, created through its exclusive rune technology to transform materials, enhancing the quality of gem crystal fragments before pressing them into coin form.
Selling Price: 15,000 Paradise Coins.
…
1 Holy Silver Coin = 15,000 Paradise Coins. 10 coins would be 150,000 Paradise Coins. Then converting Paradise Coins into Soul Coins…
Thinking of this, Su Xiao picked up the Holy Silver Coin from the table. With such a good thing, of course, he would continue cooperating with Duoyin.