Chapter 182: Showing Off

“There are 150 silver-tier magical beasts and 3000 bronze-tier magical beasts; they are worth 4500 gold coins. Young Master Zeke, here is the money; please count it.”

Gerant placed a chest full of gold coins, about half the person’s height, in front of Zeke.

After he saw the strength of those magical beasts that Blackmoon Castle had fused, he had made up his mind to buy them. Of course, he was a cautious person, so he tested ten more magical beasts randomly, which included five silver-tier and five bronze-tier magical beasts, respectively. Those magical beasts displayed considerable combat strength as well.

The one-horned moon rabbit was the weakest of the silver-tier magical beasts, indeed. Each of the other silver-tier magical beasts could rival more than ten silver-tier warriors of the same level. They had extraordinary defensive and offensive powers, and it was the same for the bronze-tier magical beasts.

Monte Town would have about a thousand more silver-tier warriors and tens of thousands of bronze-tier warriors, with those magical beasts included in the number. Even if the City Defense Force did not roll out, that would be enough to ensure their survival during the winter.

“Mayor Gerant, are you sure about the number of gold coins here?”

Zeke opened the box and took a look; it was filled with gold coins. Under the light, they reflected a bright light. At a rough glance, it looked like there were 30,000 gold coins in it.

An hour had passed since they tested the magical beasts, and everyone had returned to the city hall. The building was decorated with lanterns and banners.

Long tables filled with delicacies were placed in their workroom. Geralt decided to treat them to a feast due to Blackmoon Castle’s contribution. Dozens of manor owners and officials were there as well.

However, Edmund was not there. He had fought with the one-horned moon rabbit, and then he had claimed that he did not feel well and wanted to go home to recuperate. He was humiliated; he was a silver-tier warrior who could only cut the nails of magical beasts of the same level. He felt that he had no reason to stay.

“That’s right, Young Master Zeke. That money is to pay for all the things we wanted.”

Gerant stretched out his finger and calculated for Zeke. “The magical beasts cost 4,500 gold coins, and we also wanted to buy ten giant rock golems. So, that’s 14,500 gold coins. Other than that, we also wanted the high-quality weapons and armor that you mentioned. It should be around 30,000 gold coins.”

His thoughts changed when he learned Blackmoon Castle’s magical beasts were of high quality.

He imagined that he could equip all his soldiers with a complete set of silver-tier equipment. Then, with those magical beasts of the same tier and the giant rock golems, they could kill any magical beast with just a single punch. Why would he be afraid of winter? He could even charge into the Misty Forest and destroy those magical beasts’ lairs.

He wanted to think about how to make Monte Town stronger. He wanted to earn more achievements and then return to his family to be placed in an important position. He had the winter to thank for that. If the season had not crept up so suddenly, he would not have been able to get Blackmoon Castle’s help. When he returned from the West Gate, he asked his men and learned that the people from Blackmoon Castle had only gone to Monte Town. They had not contacted the other three towns on the border.

That was a great opportunity.

If he could ally with Blackmoon Castle, he would leave the other towns far behind. That was also why he bought magical beasts worth 4,500 gold coins, but he decided to give more to Zeke. He wanted to show goodwill to them.

The banquet went on in an orderly manner while Gerant did the transaction with Zeke.

“I thought that Edmund was strong, but it seemed like I had overestimated his ability. He also has his weapon—the Razor Blade. Perhaps we should call it a nail blade instead.”

“Don’t say that. Edmund is strong, but our magical beasts are stronger. Other silver-tier warriors would not have broken through their defenses either.”

“Don’t say that. Edmund’s strength is still quite strong. It’s just that the magical beasts brought over from Blackmoon Castle are stronger. If there were any other silver-tier warriors, they wouldn’t be able to break through their defenses.”

A few city hall officials chatted and laughed together; they looked relaxed.

Initially, they had not been able to absolve themselves from the blame for Monte Town’s damages. However, the benefits that Monte Town had obtained were more than enough to make up for that. Blackmoon Castle had sold them silver-tier magical beasts for only ten gold coins, and they could sell them for hundreds of gold coins.

They had already decided to buy as many items from Blackmoon Castle as possible. They could sell the surplus and distribute some to those who had suffered injuries during the battle. They would be able to earn a lot of money.

They could compensate those who were injured, and they could give them more benefits too. Monte Town would prosper, and everyone would be happy.

At that moment, the officials were no longer feeling conflicted about Blackmoon Castle. Instead, they wanted to curry favor with them. They knew that Blackmoon Castle was rich and powerful; they did not care about those things at all.

They even fawned over those ten manor owners who were there with those from Blackmon Castle.

“Miss Christine, I heard that you became a business partner with Blackmoon Castle a few months ago. Do you know them well?”

Christine was the most popular manor owner there. She was beautiful, and she had a business in Monte Town, so she knew most of those officials. It was also because she wore gold-tier armor; those officials envied her.

She laughed.

“Of course, I know them. They would not have been able to achieve their achievements without my help. I’ve sent many maids to Blackmoon Castle to most of their higher-ups. Otherwise, why would they be willing to equip me with gold-tier armor?”

Christine held a wine glass in her hand. It was a banquet, but she did not wear a formal suit. Instead, she wore the Holy Light Armor of God’s Blessing; it rustled with every move she made. It was obvious she wanted to show off.

Morgan stood nearby; he stuck a piece of steak into his mouth with a fork. He looked at the few officials around him; he looked a little jealous. “What an annoying woman. She should talk in a low voice during the banquet. That is the right etiquette for a noble. Doesn’t she understand that? Does she even have a high-ranking position? It’s apparent that she had stolen that armor. She didn’t even make as much contribution to Blackmoon Castle as I did.”

“Mr. Morgan, may I know what kind of contribution you’ve made to Blackmoon Castle?”

Morgan did not mumble that softly, so the other officials heard him, and they looked at him curiously.

He cleared his throat and used a handkerchief to wipe his mouth elegantly. “Well, if I tell you about my contribution to Blackmoon Castle, you might be frightened!”

He continued to say, “I provide all the wine at Blackmoon Castle. Well, you all know that the most important thing in life is to eat. You’ll only have the strength to work when you’re full. Well, my wine is not ordinary. All guards in Blackmoon Castle became gold-tier warriors after they drank my wine.

“Really? Then you are too amazing!” An official complimented him.

Another person said, “Can you give me a bottle of that wine as well? I am willing to spend 100 gold coins to buy it.”

Morgan laughed. “I want to sell it to you too, but it is only available at Blackmoon Castle. If you want it, wait until I return to Blackmoon Castle in a few days and ask Young Master Watson for it.” He was not weaker than Christine in long-term planning. When the officials around Christine heard that, they walked to his side.

Christine and Morgan’s gazes met; it caused sparks to fly.

‘Damn that Morgan! He’s stealing my limelight.’

Christine gritted her teeth, her voice raised by an octave. “Listen to me, that’s not all my contribution to the Blackmoon Castle. I also hand picked those magical beasts for Monte Town. Young Master Watson has about 4,000 silver-tier magical beasts and tens of thousands of bronze-tier magical beasts. I have about 500 silver-tier magical beasts in my manor, and each of them is stronger than the silver-tier magical beasts here.”

“Miss Christine, it is as expected of you.”

The officials complimented her and returned to Christine’s side. She turned toward Morgan with a smug look and rolled her eyes at him.

Morgan was furious. He was not willing to be outdone, so he said, “You speak as if we are not the same. I have even more in my manor—600 silver-tier magical beasts!

Morgan could not help but feel a surge of anger. Not willing to be outdone, he retorted, “You speak as if we are not the same. I have left even more in my manor, a total of six hundred silver-tier magical beasts! I don’t have any bronze-tier magical beasts because I do not fancy them.”

The two of them were at an impasse. The officials were stunned when they heard that; they jumped back and forth between those two.

It looked like they had sent the leftover silver-tier magical beasts to Monte Town; no wonder Blackmoon Castle only wanted ten gold coins for each of them. Even the leftover ones were that powerful; they could not imagine the strength of the other ordinary magical beasts in Blackmoon Castle.