Lord of Rot

Things didn’t go as Leech had hoped. His plan—to follow Prince Hoffman, sweep through the cavern, kill a few more beasts above the Extraordinary level, and get his hands on some more Extraordinary effluence—did not come to pass.

Prince Hoffman had clearly intended to show off her muscle in front of Leech, and incidentally use the four-headed snake to offset over ten thousand Jinri.

Then, she turned and made a stylish exit.

The rest, naturally, was left for Leech to discuss with the muscular fatty, Vito.

In Leech’s mind, this muscular fatty earned the title ’Cunning Barbarian’.

The man looked like a bundle of knotted muscles, but his mind was actually very sharp.

The headless corpse of the four-headed snake, plus three Extraordinary effluences, one above-Extraordinary effluence, and the Rhino Horn, were priced at a total of 11,400 Jinri.

The human-faced bats in the cavern were all thrown in for free, but Leech would need to send his own people to dig up the corpses, and it was hard to say how many treasures they might unearth.

After returning to Burning City, Vito took Leech to see the city’s treasury.

It was filled to the brim with treasures.

The golden gleam was blinding.

”What kind of weapon is this?” Leech asked, picking up a Longsword.

It was made of silver steel and shaped like a two-handed sword, but with a curved barb on the pommel.

”A weapon from a vanished tribe in the history of Giant’s Foot,” Vito said. ”It’s said you can use the hook to rip out a person’s throat. Now it’s just a collector’s item.”

Leech tried it a few times and found that he was more likely to hurt himself with the weapon; hurting others was actually quite difficult.

Its shape was ill-suited for slashing or thrusting; its only real offensive move was a backward hooking motion.

But how many people in this world would obediently stick their necks out waiting for someone to hook them?

In terms of material alone, the silver steel was indeed quite valuable and could be reforged into a new weapon.

It could also be considered an antique art piece, but considering the Lu Leiyi Continent’s own history was a muddled mess, antiques had very little value.

He tossed the sword aside and picked up a Golden Cup inlaid with hundreds of gemstones.

The gemstones were sparkling and translucent.

Leech held a torch above the Golden Cup, and the firelight scattered through the gemstones, casting patches of red and green light on the ground like a disco ball.

’Expensive!’

That was the only thought on his mind.

Selling it for one or two hundred Jinri shouldn’t be a problem.

You could say this little cup alone could be exchanged for a powerful army.

In the hands of an ordinary person, it could buy a small manor, some military guards and servants, support a few lovers, and let them live a comfortable life.

As long as their luck wasn’t too bad, there would even be enough left over for their son to inherit.

And that was for an extremely extravagant lifestyle.

But now, Leech just felt a headache coming on.

The entire treasury was piled high with similar fine goods. After so many years of war and infighting in Giant’s Foot, most of the good stuff had been concentrated in the hands of a few. But after Prince Hoffman appeared and swept through all of Giant’s Foot, all these fine things became hers alone.

But most of these treasures were the type that had a price but no market.

Everyone would recognize them as fine things if you took them out, but not many people were willing to fork over real gold and silver for them.

Leech glanced around the treasury. There were at least a hundred treasures here, definitely worth 20,000 Jinri, but that was only if he could sell them.

Vito’s price was very reasonable. Including the profits from the waterfall cavern, it would offset 30,000 of the debt.

If Leech could find a channel to sell these treasures, he could make at least five thousand Jinri in profit. If his luck was a bit better, their value might even double.

But the most likely scenario was that he would only sell one or two pieces a year. If he couldn’t find buyers, it was all just hypothetical.

’If it really comes down to it, I’ll keep the good-looking and useful ones for myself… Oh, right! I can borrow money, go into debt, and then use these treasures to pay it off!’ He had just come up with a way to liquidate the assets.

It was a rather scummy idea.

After they finished taking inventory of the treasures in the treasury, Leech followed Vito out.

”Sir Vito, this stuff can’t be exchanged for five million pounds of grain,” Leech said, glancing at Vito. He felt his neck getting a little sore from craning it up to look at the man, so he casually shook his head as he added, ”And it’ll be a huge pain for me to sell all this…”

’The treasures are all fine and good, but being unable to cash them out is just frustrating.’

’Overall, I’ve definitely made a profit.’

Vito said, ”We also have a batch of furs and leather…”

Leech’s eyes lit up.

Last time he had no money and could only act as a middleman, watching others make a fortune. This time, getting the furs and leather into his own hands was a completely different story.

Daily necessities were equivalent to cash.

Finally, after a round of serious discussion, for the remaining 40,000 Jinri of debt, Vito was willing to pay off 20,000 with an equivalent value in furs and leather. However, it would take time to transport them, and the soonest they could be gathered was September.

’September… What if Prince Hoffman refuses to honor the deal then?’

’I’d never be able to block her signature move, the Thunder Hand Skull Crusher.’

So, putting on a very agreeable air, Leech proposed the concept of installment payments: as soon as a batch of pelts was gathered, it would be delivered, continuing until the debt was cleared.

They would sign a contract.

’I can’t beat them in a fight, but I still want to make money. Of course, I’m the one who has to compromise.’

The remaining 20,000 Jinri portion of the debt was what Leech truly wanted.

Alchemy Materials and Special Herbs!

Whether it was copper or iron ore, medicinal herbs, or deadly poisons, he wanted them all.

Moreover, because the base unit price of these items was extremely high, it was impossible that they would weigh hundreds of thousands or millions of pounds. At most, they would weigh one to two hundred thousand pounds.

After they had settled the terms, Leech said, ”I have a few small requests left. They aren’t just good for me, but for you as well.”

Vito already felt he had profited, since his side hadn’t spent a single copper star and was just getting rid of backlogged goods in exchange for grain.

Giant’s Foot was far less prosperous than the East Gorge. The previous batch of backlogged pelts was only a portion of what Burning City had; there were many more similar stockpiles. For Leech to agree so readily was already a huge help, so listening to a few small requests was no big deal.

”I want tax exemption.”

Leech said, ”I hope the caravans from Iron Valley and Porcupine Territory can trade tax-free.”

”Done!” This was exactly what Vito wanted.

He had been worrying that merchants from the East Gorge were unwilling to come. He felt it was a loss to give discounts to others, but giving them to the friendly and cooperative Leech was acceptable.

”Also, I want to hire craftsmen from Giant’s Foot. Whether they’re masons, leatherworkers, female weavers, brewers…”

”This…” Vito hesitated.

A brain drain was not something he wanted to see.

”We can sign a contract,” Leech said. ”The longest I’ll hire them for is three years, the shortest is ten months. You can vet their qualifications to decide who can come. And once they’ve come, they can absolutely never come a second time.”

”Done!”

Three years was no problem at all, since they wouldn’t be settling in Leech’s territory.

They could absolutely earn money abroad and come back to spend it.

Moreover, in Vito’s eyes, sending an apprentice to work in Leech’s territory meant that when they returned after three years, they would not only have money but also improved skills. He would essentially be gaining a craftsman without any investment.

’A profit!’

Leech knew what Vito was thinking when he made this proposal. Unfortunately, Vito had miscalculated one thing… Leech wanted assembly line workers. No matter how skilled you were, if you came, you worked the assembly line.

After another round of friendly negotiations, the two sides finalized the deal.

The rest would require Leech to send a steward to handle the details.

A layman doesn’t direct an expert. What Leech needed to do was expand his own fame and power, attract more talented people, and then give those talents opportunities to work.

After sending the two Corpse Ghosts into the waterfall cavern, Leech led his party away from Burning City on horseback.

’No one knows how long the Extraordinary effluence can last out in the open, or if it will dissipate. I have to make use of it quickly!’