Chapter 1303
No, we can't bargain with him anymore. This guy probably never intended to hand over John's corpse to me. He set a high price, and if we refuse, he'll have every reason to hang John's body on the gates of Winterless City.
Let the reputation of the Gilded Rose intimidate those restless bandit groups, or deter anyone else with ideas.
Yes, that's it. He definitely doesn't want to give us the body, but we absolutely can't let him take the corpse away.
Thoughts racing through his mind, Pax Rodney quickly made up his mind, his face showing a hint of difficulty, his tone slightly negotiating.
"Archmage Leon Merlin, the number of these materials is simply too much. I don't have the authority to decide, nor can I mobilize the inventory. After all, you know, these materials are a bit excessive."
"Please wait a moment, I'll report to the family. There will be a decision soon, it won't take too much of your time."
Pax Rodney sent the conditions list back to the Rodney Family via magical beacon. In less than five minutes, a reply came through the beacon, bearing the name of the Rodney Family Elder Council—just two words.
Give him.
Seeing those two words, Pax Rodney breathed a slight sigh of relief. The main goal now was to reclaim John's corpse; everything else was secondary.
"Archmage Leon Merlin, the family has agreed to your terms, but there are too many materials and it will take some time to deliver them. Please wait for one hour."
Leon nodded and waited quietly.
After an hour, a portal slowly opened in the sky, and a Sky Rank Level 2 powerhouse stepped out, handing five space rings to Pax Rodney.
Pax Rodney handed the space rings to Leon.
"Archmage Leon Merlin, you may check the materials. Once everything is in order, the transaction will be complete."
Leon unceremoniously opened the space rings and checked the materials inside, then sneered inwardly without saying a word.
Once he had all the materials, Leon handed John's corpse to Pax Rodney.
"Lord Pax Rodney, if there are ever any bandit groups like the Scythe Raiders again, you can notify me. I can help the Rodney Family deal with them."
With that, Leon flew into the sky and disappeared.
Leon didn't fly far before entering the semi-plane directly. Then, above the Mana Lake, he crushed all five space rings in his hand.
As the spatial rings burst open, the materials inside showered down toward the Mana Lake like rain.
Then, Leon channeled the pure mana gathered within the Mana Lake, condensing it into mana-infused water that formed a massive water dragon, enveloping all the materials. This utterly pure mana washed over every item, not only refining their quality, but—most importantly—erasing any possible marks left within.
Any marks or imprints within the normal rules would be completely erased by this pure mana-infused water.
Leon didn’t believe any of these materials carried marks left by a godfire-igniting powerhouse. If the Rodney Family had someone of that caliber, they wouldn’t bother negotiating with the Gilded Rose—they could crush Leon from thousands of kilometers away with a single finger, and no one would dare question it.
Clearly, the Rodney Family agreed so readily to give up the materials because they had ulterior motives. They were probably planning to track Leon using the marks on the materials as soon as he flew away.
Leon is the true master of the Gilded Rose. If he died, the Gilded Rose would be left vulnerable to the Rodney Family, and taking it over would be a simple matter.
Unfortunately for them, Leon had already anticipated the Rodney Family’s eagerness—he knew they were up to something.
The first thing he did upon receiving the materials was to cleanse them. Unless the marks were left by someone like Agalon, who could alter the rules themselves, there was no mark the Mana Lake couldn’t wash away.
After cleansing, Leon repacked all the materials, a smile spreading across his face.
The value of the materials and alchemical items lost by the Gilded Rose previously didn’t even compare to the value of what Leon now held. In fact, these materials were worth twice as much as what the Gilded Rose’s merchant fleet had lost.
Once all these materials are turned into alchemical items, the profits will be dozens of times higher.
Besides, that corpse was always meant to be used to extort the Rodney Family. The price Leon asked for was exactly at the Rodney Family’s limit. After weighing their options, they were bound to agree, just not very willingly.
Anyway, the conflict with the Rodney Family is far from over. More trouble is sure to follow. If Leon had hung the corpse on the gates of Neverwinter City, the Rodney Family would have lost all face and kept opposing the Gilded Rose.
They rushed to reclaim the corpse, but in the end, they’re still at odds with the Gilded Rose. So why bother? Since the outcome wouldn’t change, Leon might as well take the opportunity to extort the Rodney Family and make up for the Gilded Rose’s losses.
After cleansing all the materials and packing them into new spatial rings, Leon left the demi-plane, opened a portal gate, and returned to the outside of Neverwinter City.
Meanwhile, several elders of the Rodney Family were furious. Less than a minute after Leon left Pax’s sight, the tracking alchemical array was activated, only to find the marks had vanished completely.
The marks on the spatial rings and the materials inside had all stopped responding, as if they’d been wiped away in an instant.
Leon’s Natural Demi-plane had been reinforced with tens of thousands of kilograms of Eternal Dark Gold. As the demi-plane upgraded, the Dark Gold fully merged with it, making its defenses unimaginably strong—a completely sealed barrier.
Even if the Natural Demi-plane one day becomes a true world, no one will ever discover the path to enter it.
Those marks are nothing but a joke…