Chapter 2: Other Merchant Guilds
No one had expected that the Goblin Merchant Guild, once known for its greed, high prices, yet abundant capital and integrity, would be the most willing to part with resources as the Abyss calamity approached. Especially since the Goblin Merchant Guild had already made substantial investments in the Ten Thousand Races Realm, clearly intending to deeply participate in the resistance against this Abyss doomsday calamity.
The once immensely profitable Goblin Merchant Guild had seen its total assets shrink by a full thirty percent, all due to these reckless investments. In contrast, the Ten Thousand Races Realm was gradually taking shape as a stronghold against the Abyss invasion.
The Star Clan and Soul Clan were tempted to head to the Ten Thousand Races Realm precisely because of the Goblin Merchant Guild's reckless investments there.
Of course, once the Abyss calamity was successfully resisted, these investments by the Goblin Merchant Guild would yield exorbitant returns. No one was envious of this, and no one had yet attempted to imitate it.
However, the Gilurius Family was showing signs of eagerness, seemingly preparing to make massive investments in the Ten Thousand Races Realm as well. Though the Gilurius Family appeared more cautious, in truth, if this family truly decided to act, they would bet over half their wealth. The Gilurius Family had built its fortune precisely through venture capital.
As for the Merchant Guild Alliance, namely the Giant Bank and the Underworld Bank, they took a different approach. They were more inclined to believe that Arcane Eternal Star could withstand this Abyss doomsday calamity. In their view, the current hegemon was the true protagonist of this calamity, not the Ten Thousand Races Realm, which had only recently transcended.
In particular, several top figures of the Giant Bank and Underworld Bank had experienced the secrets of the Second Era. They understood better than outsiders just how terrifying the true power of Arcane Eternal Star was. Moreover, the Star Realm had once survived an Abyss calamity, which made them generally not pessimistic about the second Abyss calamity facing the Star Realm.
Life could continue as usual. With this mindset, the obvious course was to plunder wealth aggressively before the so-called disaster struck, securing their stronghold in the Void. When the calamity ended and the mid-Third Era arrived, the Merchant Guild Alliance's core principle was: they didn't need to be the strongest fighters, but they had to be the ones who could endure.
From a broader perspective, the Goblin Merchant Guild was the outlier, while the Merchant Guild Alliance represented the safer choice that merchants preferred. This was why the Shadow Merchant Guild had also joined the Merchant Guild Alliance.
From this angle, the Demon Race joining the Merchant Guild Alliance was indeed an excellent choice. They had neither remained on Arcane Eternal Star's ship nor completely broken ties. Since the Merchant Guild Alliance's overarching leader was still Arcane Eternal Star, the Demon Race had chosen the middle path between "A and B" — not wrong, and they had given their answer.
If this were a "Share Certificate" from the Goblin Merchant Guild, Su Xiao would definitely keep it and later sell it back to them. But since it was from the Merchant Guild Alliance, he handed the [Share Certificate] in his hand to Kaisa.
Kaisa, who had been looking somewhat weary, immediately perked up. Seeing this, the others present felt their wallets grow cold.
"My dear friend, about the post-event split~"
"Eighty-twenty."
"Impossible. How can I only get eighty percent? Kaisa worked so hard, I should get at least ninety percent."
Kaisa put on a pitiful, sleazy expression. After some back-and-forth negotiation, the final split was settled at fifty-fifty.
Having dealt with the Original Sin karma, Su Xiao saw off the Goddess of Fortune, Shenfu, and Kaisa. He then led Bubu Wang and Baha to the first floor, where a teleportation array formed.
Boom!
Before the entrance to the personal laboratory of Legendary Wizard Sawyer in the rear district of Yinmi Maosi.
Su Xiao knocked on the massive metal door. A small door within the giant metal door opened, and he stepped inside, finding himself in a chaotic spatial zone. He took out the spatial talisman that Legendary Wizard Sawyer had given him earlier, which stabilized the surrounding space and revealed a spatial passage.
Following the passage, after a brief teleportation, Su Xiao arrived inside a sealed metal structure. It was a grand hall that appeared to be an ancient building, modified by Legendary Wizard Sawyer due to its high-quality materials.
The floor was covered in mysterious, twisted array diagrams. A bowl-shaped, dark-golden ritual vessel over five meters in diameter sat at the center of the ritual.
The Eye Princess, who had already consumed various customized potions, was seated at the initial node of the "Abyss Eye Ritual" array. The array had been activated. The Eye Princess, Loris, hung her head weakly, her aura faint. As promised, she was not only alive, but the hidden injuries and ailments on her body had been over ninety percent healed by the potions she had drunk.
"Bai Ye, I succeeded. I succeeded."
Legendary Wizard Sawyer, who had a scruffy beard and a rough appearance but was actually courteous and polite, stood beside the ritual vessel, suppressing his inner excitement.
"Next, once this ritual vessel is filled, I can proceed to the final stage."
Legendary Wizard Sawyer patted the edge of the large bowl-shaped ritual vessel. Seeing this, Su Xiao took out a communicator and dialed. The other side quickly answered. He got straight to the point and asked:
"Is it settled?"
"Mm. The Deer God and I have temporarily set aside our grievances. The Deer God loves battle, but he has no desire to become a ritual sacrifice for someone else."
The Crimson Beast, Dilo, chuckled on the other end. The Deer God nearby remained silent.
"So, Bai Ye, do you agree to this cooperation? Only you are left."
"I have a condition."
"Name it."
"I choose the first target to deal with."
"Of course. That's acceptable."
The Crimson Beast, Dilo, smiled even more meaningfully. He simply asked, "Then let's be direct. Who's our first target?"
"Spider Lady."
Su Xiao generally didn't hold grudges. The Spider Lady had killed the Knight Commander of the Wind Sea Continent, and that Knight Commander had once fought alongside Su Xiao against the Wolf God. As for why Su Xiao didn't hold grudges, it was because, after advancing to the same rank as his enemy, he would swiftly kill them. Naturally, he didn't hold grudges.