Chapter 180: 180

Chapter 180: Testing The Magical Beasts

“What did you say?”

Gerant had yet to recover from his shock when he heard Anna’s words. He opened his mouth subconsciously; all his deductions had been wrong. Did the Mage Guild lose?

It was not only him; the others looked surprised too.

“What about the astrologer—”

Gerant doubted that the astrologer would lose, but Ron interrupted him before he could finish his words. “The astrologer became Young Master Watson’s master because he valued Young Master Watson’s talent, and now he is also a member of Blackmoon Castle.

“By the way, Ron and the Mage Guild members, except for Miss Anna, are only Blackmoon Castle’s slaves.”

Zeke knew that Gerant had a misunderstanding, so he smiled as he threw that bombshell at him.

‘Are they for real?’?

Gerant leaned against his chair weakly. The Mage Guild had lost, and the astrologer had rebelled against them. Blackmoon Castle could move unhindered across the entire border with the support of a platinum-tier elite.

Not many people would dare to provoke Blackmoon Castle after that. Even if the Ptolemy family was influential in the kingdom, they still had to respect the astrologer.

He thought Ron and the Mage Guild members had returned from their victory against the Blackmoon Castle. It seemed like it was the opposite; Blackmoon Castle had control over them.

Gerant took a few deep breaths before he recovered from the shock. He sat up straight and put on a polite attitude. “My dear distinguished guests from Blackmoon Castle, my men might have offended you just now. Please forgive us. You just said that we could buy a giant rock golem for 1,000 gold coins. I want to buy a few more, and I can pay 1,500 gold coins for each one.”

Regardless of Blackmoon Castle’s power, he would not dare to offend them due to their relationship with the astrologer.

If he had known about the Mage Guild’s defeat, he would not have let his subordinates make those inappropriate remarks; he would get them to compliment Blackmoon Castle instead. He wondered if their words had angered Zeke. What if the man was mad and reported the issue to the astrologer?

It was all Ron’s fault.

Ron had acted so arrogantly that he thought they had won the battle. Was that not cheating? He was furious. Gerant glared at Ron in anger. Monte Town could not even withstand a magical beast, let alone bear the wrath of a platinum-tier elite.

“Mayor Gerant, there’s no need to do that. I’ve just said it. A giant rock golem costs one thousand gold coins. That price will not change. The people of Blackmoon Castle are all friendly businessmen. We bear no ill intentions.”

When Zeke saw that Gerant wanted to back down, he waved his hand and said, “Other manor owners had rented those giant rock golems. If you would like them, Mayor Gerant, I’ll go back to Blackmoon Castle to get them for you. There might not be enough time! I do have many magical beasts. I can sell them to you first. The price is one gold coin for a bronze-tier magical beast and ten gold coins for a silver-tier magical beast.

“Other than magical beasts, we can also provide excellent weapons and armor. We can guarantee that Monte Town will be able to survive this crisis. The price is also one gold coin for bronze-tier equipment and ten gold coins for silver-tier equipment. What do you think?”

Zeke could certainly take advantage of the chance to raise, if not double, the price of the giant rock golem. He thought Geralt had nothing to say, but he did not intend to do so because Blackmoon Castle wanted to establish a long-term arrangement with Monte Town, not a one-time deal.

“Davis, what do you think?”

Gerrard pondered for a moment before he turned to look at the Finance Minister, Davis, who was beside him. Davis was in charge of the finances of the entire Monte Town, and he was more proficient at material prices.

“Lord Mayor, bronze-tier monsters and equipment are generally sold for several gold coins or even ten gold coins, and better silver-tier equipment can fetch the price of a hundred gold coins. I think that the price is very low! However, we need to inspect the goods first to see if there are any problems with those magical beasts and weapons.”

Davis stroked his white beard as he spoke. His tone was no longer as fiery as before that. He realized that Blackmoon Castle was so strong that not even the Mage Guild and the North Wind mercenary group could defeat it. He could not provoke them; he wanted to repay their sincerity instead.

Of course, he did not simply believe Zeke’s words. Did Blackmoon Castle lower the prices out of the kindness of their hearts?

He did not think so. It was also possible that the items were defective, so he did not dare to offer a high price.

“Young Masters from Blackmoon Castle, I want to see the goods you mentioned. Will there be any problem?” As colleagues who had worked together for many years, Gerant understood what Davis meant and asked tentatively.

“Of course, Mayor Gerant, please.”

Zeke stood up and gave a traditional noble salute. He made an inviting gesture with a confident expression. He believed that their magical beasts would definitely satisfy the people at Monte Town.

..

Half an hour later, at a manor nearby Monte Town’s West Gate.

It used to be the residence of a rich man. A few hours ago, that rich man and his servants were torn apart by the magical beasts that broke through the West Gate. Then, the guards had cleared that place and used it to house the magical beasts.

Hundreds of guards surrounded the manor. They were on high alert as they watched the inside of the manor with nervous expressions. They subconsciously tightened their grip on the weapons in their hands; they feared that the beasts would escape.

There were more than 50,000 magical beasts in the manor. One by one, they crawled on the ground; they filled the manor to the brim. Only a vast empty space was left in the middle. More than a hundred magical beasts of various shapes and sizes stood there. There was a storm eagle that was combing its long feathers. There was also a two-headed winged liger. When any of the magical beasts caught their eye, those beasts would lower their heads.

Those magical beasts in the middle were all silver-tier beasts; they were well-deserved kings. No other magical beasts would dare to act so rashly.

“Did you bring those silver-tier magical beasts in the innermost part of the manor, Young Master Zeke? There are more than a hundred silver-tier magical beasts there. Blackmoon Castle is really rich.”

Gerant stood outside the manor as he looked into it. His gaze fell on the silver-tiered magical beasts in the middle. He sighed. A few guards beside him noticed that, so they walked up to him respectfully and said, “Greetings, Lord Mayor.” He nodded in response.

“That’s right, Mayor Gerant. Those magical beasts are from the Blackmoon Castle,” Zeke said.

“Those magical beasts look pretty good. I wonder how strong they are?” The Finance Minister, Davis, who was following Gerant, said as he looked at the magical beasts in the center of the manor carefully.

The magical beasts were mainly sorted into three categories—size, species, and the color of their fur.

There was no need to mention their sizes. The larger a magical beast was, the greater its strength and defense. Its species was also critical. As silver-tier magical beasts, large carnivorous magical beasts were stronger than rabbits and pheasants with a grassy diet. Next was the color of its fur—the purer the color, the purer its bloodline.

Since he had a detailed understanding of magical beasts, Davis discovered that the silver-tier magical beasts brought by Blackmoon Castle were all top-tier in terms of size, species, and color of their fur. He could even tell at a glance which of the 50,000 magical beasts were wild ones and which belonged to Blackmoon Castle.

“There doesn’t seem to be anything wrong with those beasts, but who knows if there are any diseases that can’t be seen from the outside?” Davis muttered softly.

He was still a little worried. In his opinion, each of those magical beasts could be sold for at least a hundred gold coins, but Blackmoon Castle wanted to sell them for only ten gold coins. It was too big of a loss!

Which businessman in the world would want to make a loss?

“If Sir Davis has doubts, let’s do a test. I’ll pick a random magical beast to fight against Monte Town’s silver-tier soldiers. We’ll see who wins in the end. That way, they should be able to verify the quality of the magical beasts,” Zeke said.

That was a good idea.

The officials who were traveling with him looked at each other and nodded. Gerant also agreed and gave an order to the group of guards around the manor. “Go and find me a silver-tier warrior!”

After he said that, he thought for a moment and said, “No, let’s get a few more silver-tier warriors and invite Edmund as well.”

Humans were no match for magical beasts of the same level as them. It was better to get a few more men just to be on the safe side. They could see the power of those silver-tier magical beasts that Zeke had brought with him when they fought against the silver-tier warriors.