“This is the goods I’ve prepared for this trip,” the fly demon said, leading Lynn to its stall.
In front of the stall, a little demon was stationed, keeping watch. The fly demon waved casually, and the little demon quickly stepped aside, clearing the way for Lynn and the fly demon to approach the stall.
The fly demon’s stall was quite spacious, about the size of a classroom. It was not just filled with inanimate objects; there were also some living creatures.
“These are the goods I have for trade,” the fly demon explained. “I’m not sure what you wizards prefer, so I’ve prepared a variety of things. Once you decide what interests you, we can arrange a larger transaction next time.”
“What kind of bug is this?” Lynn’s gaze fell on a creature before him—the size of a tabletop, with a shell bearing a small, tower-like mound on its back. Upon closer inspection, he could see that this mound was made of assorted debris, including small rocks, twigs, and even bits of trash.
The bug lay quietly on the ground, its only movement being the slight twitching of its antennae, which indicated that it was still alive.
“That’s an infernal bug,” the fly demon answered. “Some demons use them as pack animals. These infernal bugs have a natural inclination to carry loads on their backs from birth. They’ll climb to great heights while bearing these loads, and they would rather work themselves to death than stop.”
“You can make these infernal bugs walk continuously by blocking their vision with a cover, so they can only see the sky and not their feet. They’ll keep moving forward, and they require minimal sustenance while working hard. Interested?”
Lynn crouched down and observed the bug on the ground. Its eyes were covered, rendering it motionless and docile.
“I’m not interested. It needs to be fed. I prefer labor that doesn’t require food,” Lynn said with a smile.The fly demon chuckled strangely when it heard that. “You are more like a demon than I am!”
Lynn simply smiled in response. After all, weren’t gargoyles the same way?
There were also some alchemical creatures that only needed to absorb ambient energy to sustain themselves. Simply put, “drinking the northwest wind1” can make them full—much more convenient than the bugs.
This was one reason alchemical creatures were so popular among wizards: they were easy to maintain, loyal, and not afraid of death.
“This is the demon blood essence. I heard that many wizards like to purchase this.” The fly demon pointed to a jar filled with a viscous, blood-red substance that emitted a strong, metallic odor.
“I’ll take some of this,” Lynn decided. He knew that demon blood essence could be used to create a rudimentary bloodline potion through special methods. When consumed by any creature, it would impart a portion of the demon’s bloodline to them, as long as they survived the process.
Lynn was now well-versed in this level of research.
In truth, many wizards, including apprentices, employed this method. Besides crafting alchemical constructs through alchemy, it was a common practice to quickly create a batch of familiars with unique bloodlines.
The only concern was the loyalty of these familiars with special bloodlines. However, wizards had numerous methods to coerce and manipulate their subordinates.
Lynn thought he could buy some and select a few from the lot for transformation. If successful, they would become an artificial army of demon goblins.
“These are ores unique to the Abyss. See if any of them interest you,” the fly demon said.
After receiving permission from the fly demon, Lynn took several samples and conducted a brief test on the performance of these ores. He had to admit that the ores from the Abyss had their own advantages.
Firstly, they could withstand the power of demons without being corroded. Demon power possessed a corrosive quality that could damage items it came into contact with. Only special or exceptionally powerful weapons could resist this corrosion.
For powerful beings with self-sustaining energy fields, this minor corrosion was negligible, but for ordinary humans, it posed a significant danger. There were frequent stories of humans finding weapons once used by demons and then being controlled by demonic influence, gaining power and causing bloody chaos.
Such tales were not baseless; weapons used by demons for extended periods often carried a portion of their power within them.
“I’ll take these batches of ores,” Lynn said. “In exchange, I’ll craft weapons for you free of charge. We can split the results 50-50—half for you, half for me. How does that sound?” 𝘳ÅŊổ𝔟ĚS̩
Upon hearing this, the fly demon’s already large eyes grew even wider and brighter. It rubbed its two thin, fly-like legs together in excitement.
“Is there really such a good deal?”
While demons in the Abyss excelled at destruction, they were far from skilled at creation. Asking them to craft was akin to asking a group of iron-forging, beer-drinking dwarves to perform ballet. Consequently, demons typically captured and enslaved races skilled in crafting.
Now, with wizards in the mix, things have improved significantly. Wizards could collaborate with demons, but while the purchase price of ores was relatively high, the selling price of the weapons was even higher.
It generally took about ten parts of ores to produce a weapon worth only one part of ore.
“However, I do have some conditions,” Lynn said, narrowing his eyes with a smile.
The fly demon was not surprised that Lynn would stipulate additional conditions. In fact, if Lynn had proposed no terms at all, it would have been strange.
“My conditions are as follows: I need you to expand your influence as much as possible. I’m looking for a partner who is ambitious and driven. Specifically, I require a batch of high-level demon slaves. While the level doesn’t need to be particularly high, their lineage must be prestigious. Furthermore, all the weapons I sell to you must be brought back to me for after-sales maintenance,” Lynn explained.
“I need exclusive after-sales rights. Naturally, I will also provide one year of free warranty and after-sales service for the weapons I sell. In truth, a year seems quite generous, considering that demons are prone to frequent battles and the weapons are likely to see much more use compared to other races,” Lynn added.
Upon hearing that Lynn was willing to offer a year of free after-sales service, the fly demon’s eyes widened in surprise.
Lynn retrieved a pen and paper from his spatial ring, “I will begin drafting a contract for you now.”
The fly demon stood behind Lynn.
《Weapon After-Sales Service Contract》
- Weapon repair services will be provided by Wizard Lynn, his followers, and related cooperative partners. If the user modifies the weapon privately or takes it to a non-affiliated shop for repairs, after-sales service will be void, and relevant liabilities will be pursued.
- Weapon damage will be assessed by Lynn. Repairs will be free only if the damage is caused by normal combat use. Damage resulting from improper use or alternative applications of the weapon will not be repaired.
- The free repair period begins from the date of weapon delivery. We offer extended warranty services: an additional 2 years can be obtained for just 5% of the weapon’s original value, 5 years for 15%, and a lifetime extension for 50% of the weapon’s value, giving your weapon a second chance at life.
- Additionally, Lynn’s team offers free weapon upgrades, with a guarantee that material wastage will not exceed 50%.
…
——
- TL/N:
-The idiom “喝西北风” (hē xīběi fēng) literally translates to “drink the northwest wind.”
-It is a Chinese expression used to describe a situation where someone is so poor or in such dire straits that they have nothing to eat or survive on, so they are left with nothing but the cold wind to sustain them. Essentially, it means to be in extreme poverty or to live in destitution. ↩︎
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