Chapter 375 - Chapter 375: Thotmudo’s Promise, Harvest, and Auction (2)
Chapter 375: Thotmudo’s Promise, Harvest, and Auction (2)
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
The lord to whom he pledged his allegiance was the most astonishing and magnificent presence he had ever encountered in his life. Such power and dignity crowned him as the Lord of Glory.
In his heart, he felt even more fortunate about his resolute decision to pledge loyalty.
He displayed deep respect and asked, “My Lord, what brings you to summon me?”
“Raymond, when you were with the Hanseatic Chamber of Commerce in the past, you frequently traveled between the Western Continent and other lands. Do you know where most of the dwarves in the Western Continent reside?” “Dwarves?” Raymond recalled the disheveled dwarf the Lord had brought back today and pondered. “Most dwarves now live within the Kels Mountain Range in the Western Continent.”
“Do you have means of contacting them?”
“Dwarves are highly reclusive, except for essential supplies and trade; they are self-sufficient. They hardly leave the Kels Mountain Range.”
Raymond inquired, “My Lord, are you looking for them?”
Ji Chen nodded without denial.
“The dwarven race, though in decline, still possesses some depth. Once, a kingdom dispatched an army to the Kels Mountains to conquer the dwarven tribes and have them forge dwarf weapons. However, once they entered, they never came out, until later when adventurers found the remnants of this army in a valley on the outskirts of the mountains.
If you intend to seek them out, you should exercise caution. Dwarves are notorious for their poor temper.”
Ji Chen nodded slightly.
“All right, I understand. When you travel to the Northern Continent in the future, remember not to go alone, stay in Maple City and Maple Harbor as much as possible. Even if you go out, bring enough guards with you, and if necessary, seek help from the elves.”
Raymond’s spirits lifted, and he cautiously asked, “Is it because of that evil organization called the Deceiver?”
“Exactly. We have already had a falling out with them in the Maple Principality. Although their organization there has been dismantled, there is no guarantee that they won’t send people from elsewhere to target us.”
Despite the efforts of the elves to keep things under wraps, recent events would still spread to some extent. The Deceiver would soon discover what had transpired here.
As a key figure in these events, Ji Chen, along with the Crown of the Ocean, would also come under their scrutiny, and consequently, Raymond and others would be subject to some degree of attention.
Raymond nodded. He was still quite afraid of death, especially after narrowly escaping it with a blow to the head earlier. He had become even more cautious and didn’t step out of the city unless absolutely necessary.
“How are the goods being handled?”
Raymond’s expression turned serious, and he immediately replied, “Currently, our goods have been mostly delivered to the buyers, and the payments have been received.
We obtained a total of 30,000 units of rare resources from the ten ships of weapons and equipment. The valuable items such as timber and premium coffee beans have also been delivered to the elves.
Besides these two specialties, the elf ambassador named Miligas also conveniently purchased the golden bass and various ores we brought with us.
This time, through trade, we’ve collectively earned 120,000 units of rare resources, crystals,
adamantine, and mithril, each totaling 40,000 units.
120,000 units of rare resources?
Ji Chen’s brow relaxed.
The 120,000 units of rare resources from this income were equivalent to the entire reserve of a medium-sized rare resource mine, which was quite substantial.
If he added the batch of rare resources to be obtained from the Deceiver’s base, the second objective of this journey to the Northern Continent would have also been accomplished.
“I previously instructed you to find residents willing to move to the Crown of the Ocean. How is that going?”
At this point, Raymond also nodded. “I’ve asked Gilder and other prominent merchants to help with the search. Currently, there are already 3,000 homeless refugees willing to relocate, and this number will continue to increase over time.”
In Ji Chen’s plan, this migration plan would continue for a considerable period.
In his estimation, the Crown of the Ocean would continue to absorb newcomers until the human population reached around 200,000.
Approximately 200,000 in population was about the ecological carrying capacity that suited the New Moon Islands. Any more would have appeared quite crowded, and the food supply would have become challenging.
At first glance, 200,000 people seemed like a substantial number. However, for someone as ambitious as Ji Chen, it was just a starting point. However, due to the limited land area of the New Moon Islands, there was no way to accommodate an even larger population.
Population influx was essential to maintain the vitality and productivity of the territory, so he would find ways to enable the Crown of the Ocean to accommodate even more people.
The next day, the elves transported the spoils of war that belonged to him. Dozens of carriages filled with various spoils of war formed a long line as they entered the estate, leaving many players astonished.
Ji Chen briefly examined the spoils, which included but were not limited to, various war machinery, potions, weapon equipment, military recruitment camp cores, and various resources.
Among them was the batch of rare resources promised by Yasen, totaling 270,000 rare resources, including 100,000 crystals, 100,000 adamantite, and 70,000 mithril.
With the resources obtained from previous transactions, he now possessed 140,000 crystals, 140,000 adamantite, and 110,000 mithril.
This windfall, to say the least, was a substantial improvement in their fortunes.
Amidst the joy, Ji Chen hesitated as he looked at the piled-up spoils of war.
These spoils obtained from the Deceiver’s base were certainly not ordinary items, but the problem was that most of them could be produced by the Crown of the Ocean.
Although the war machinery looked decent, according to Thotmudo’s assessment after seeing them, “These are all junk. I’ll personally make a batch when we return, guaranteed to be better than these!”
Ji Chen felt that it might not be worth the effort to transport them back.
Similarly, these potions were not as good as the ones produced by Lady Irona, and although the weapon equipment was excellent, the Crown of the Ocean could make do without them.
Just as he was somewhat distressed about how to handle this situation, Alice’s words reminded him.
“My Lord, you can sell these things you don’t need to other Lords of Glory; they might need these items.”
That’s right; players were also a market.
These items could be sold to them, even if Ji Chen didn’t value them, but most players rarely had the opportunity to buy such high-quality items.
Whether it was war machinery, weapon equipment, or potions, these were highly demanded items for players. A good piece of equipment or a healing potion could greatly increase their survival rate.
As for war machinery, it didn’t need further explanation; just place it at the entrance of the territory, and any monsters that came would meet their doom! After rewarding Alice with a kiss, Ji Chen summoned Luo Yang and instructed him on this matter.
After dealing with the Deceiver, Luo Yang returned to the Cat Tail Tarven to continue running the business, completely concealing what had happened over the past few days from other players. He even claimed to be out doing business for two or three days.
Perhaps no player knew that Luo Yang, who was highly respected among the players in Maple City, had effectively submitted to Ji Chen.
All of this did not arouse any suspicion from others, and only Monkey Gift and Monkey Gift Hair watched all of this with extremely complicated expressions but dared not say a word.
They knew that if they uttered a single word, there would be no place for them in Maple City.
Upon Luo Yang’s suggestion, Ji Chen decided to hold a player auction in Maple City, specifically for auctioning these spoils of war.
Of course, he would appear at this auction as Zhao Liangchen; this identity had its uses.
The auction would take place at the Cat Tail Tarven.
Thanks to Luo Yang’s promotion, this auction immediately garnered the attention of many players in Maple City. They halted their plans to venture outside and were even more interested when they learned that the auction items were proposed by Mr. Zhao.
After that night, there was hardly anyone in Maple City who didn’t know Zhao Liangchen’s name. Everyone expressed their intention to participate in this auction, hoping to find some valuable items.
Even those who didn’t plan to auction anything wanted to see what this extravagant individual looked like and make some connections.. Perhaps, they thought, they could be led to profit alongside this super-spendthrift