Chapter 143 Northern Trade
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Most Northern Witches possess special prophetic divination abilities.
This often gives them remarkably impressive intuition, allowing them to vaguely sense fragments of the future. For example, Soren, having only been here for a day, noticed that the Northern cities seemed to be preparing for war, and it appeared they had been doing so for some time. The food, weapons, and essential supplies here are now uniformly managed by the Chamber under the High Witch Council, and compared to the delays in other places, the Northern response is quite swift.
Soren is also calculating the time for the tumultuous years to commence!
At the latest, the first batch of deities and saints will appear around October this year, and it’s already nearing February. Who can better navigate the coming tumultuous period depends on how well they prepare over the next eight months. Once the war between the deities begins, all manner of divine power will wreak havoc on the mortal realm, making production difficult. Additionally, with Abyss Demons invading the Material Plane and Infernal Devils sowing discord everywhere, the resources in the entire Material Plane will become scarce.
Soren has been stockpiling food; Snake Island is almost turning into a large granary!
It can be said that the price of food on the Southern Coast has risen by over 50% due to his massive purchases, and it is expected to continue climbing, potentially doubling around March.
The next day at noon.
A pirate under Soren’s command returned with news: the fleet he ordered had reached Deepwater Harbour, but out of fear of Soren’s power, Deepwater Harbour refused to let Soren’s fleet dock and urgently reported to the High Witch Council. If it weren’t for Gloria’s status, the High Witch Council might have directly expelled Soren’s fleet. The more powerful one is, the more attention they draw. The fleet dispatched by Soren poses a threat to seize a port city, so even with Gloria aboard, the fleet is still prohibited from docking.
“Let them stay at the offshore entrance,” Soren said, glancing at the northern terrain map and pointing to a location. He instructed, “First, transport the initial batch of goods back. I’m currently negotiating a deal with the Witch Council, which might take two more days.”
The Cyclops Pirate standing in front of Soren bowed slightly and then said, “Rest assured, Your Excellency. I will load the first batch onto the ship right now.”
Soon, the Cyclops Pirate set off with a group.
Soren stood on the balcony of the Wizard Tower, watching the departing merchant caravan, and then turned toward the laboratory. Gloria, who was in a research state, seemed very busy. They hadn’t been close these last two days due to their respective busyness. Soren was never a sentimental person. Since he had developed such an intimate relationship with Gloria, it would be quite foolish not to leverage her connections for opportunities to cooperate with the Witch Council.
The resources of the Witch Council are incredibly abundant!
Moreover, they possess something Soren desperately needs—a large quantity of extraordinary-level equipment.
Right.
Any alliance or council related to wizards engages in high-value arms trading, including alchemical weapons, extraordinary equipment, Puppet Golems, and so on. This kind of trade is difficult to engage in without connections.
The heavy footsteps of a Clay Golem resounded!
A dull voice came from behind Soren as the Clay Golem spoke, “Your Excellency! A wizard named Saruman wishes to see you.”
Saruman?
Upon hearing this name, Soren paused momentarily.
Then, he remembered he had mentioned in his correspondence with Gloria that he needed a wizard proficient in alchemy, someone who can mass-produce quality fertilizer from bird droppings. Gloria had told Soren that someone would come to see him today but hadn’t mentioned his name. He didn’t expect it to be Saruman, a name not commonly heard in the Northern Region.
He almost thought he misheard!
Soren nodded slightly and said, “I understand. Bring him in.”
Soon.
A Clay Golem led an older male wizard into the room. He had a nearly gray beard and appeared quite elderly, though his profession level was not high, probably only around level 10. This indicated his talent was not great; not all wizards advance smoothly, and many remain stuck at the threshold of the third tier throughout their lives. Otherwise, Gloria, who previously had roughly fourth-tier strength, would not have been able to become a member of the High Witch Council.
There are also many male wizards under the Northern Witch Council, and Saruman before him was one of them!
He must be of considerable age.
Even if he hasn’t undergone any special life-extending rituals, he looks to be nearly sixty or seventy years old. Soren observed the elderly wizard, while the wizard observed him. From any perspective, this was a wizard who would never ascend to legendary status. Though he dressed neatly, he appeared somewhat disheveled and worn, with bloodshot, tired eyes, as if he hadn’t had a decent rest in a long time. One of the parts of his staff was visibly damaged, yet it showed no signs of repair.
As Gloria mentioned, this is a financially strained, somewhat down-and-out wizard!
Wizards are typically wealthy.
But many times they are short on cash; even the liquid funds that Gloria has may not equal a third of what Soren possesses!
Otherwise, the woman wouldn’t have asked Soren for over thirty thousand Gind for a bit of intimate time last night.
She needs a lot of expensive alchemical materials!
Anyone who has managed trade knows that the ratio of liquid funds is usually quite tight. If Soren hadn’t been engaged in risk-free deals, his financial chain wouldn’t be so robust.
This kind of wizard is precisely what Soren needs!
Because wizards with a bright future are not easy to control; those with potential for promotion may not be willing to work under Soren.
It is exactly wizards like Saruman—whose profession level is not high and who is of considerable age and perhaps has little ambition for further legendary advancement, while possessing a wealth of alchemical experience—that Soren needs as subordinates.
“Before coming here, they should have explained the situation to you,” Soren said, gazing at the elderly wizard named Saruman. He slowly added, “Your job over the next three years is to serve me. I will pay you twelve thousand Gind each year, and you can also pay to exchange spells, knowledge, and materials from Gloria, who will grant you higher exchange privileges.”
The debts of wizards are distributed layer by layer.
The expensive costs of learning spells must ultimately be shared down to low to mid-tier wizards; otherwise, the expenses involved in cultivating high-tier wizards would be astonishing.
Soren set the time for three years.
For him, three years is sufficient; by then, this wizard can choose whether to stay or leave.
Wizards unlikely to advance to legendary status should be able to work for him without issues for a year and a half.
“Understood,” the elderly wizard named Saruman replied, studying Soren. He found it somewhat hard to discern Soren’s identity. Soren appeared to be a wizard but was clearly as sharp as a wanderer, suggesting he might be a part-time adventurer. He bowed slightly in a sign of respect; from any angle, Soren standing in the Wizard Tower to speak with him indicated a superior social status, and lower-tier wizards generally show respect toward higher-tier wizards.
He nodded slowly and said, “According to the contract, I will work for you in the Overseas Islands for three years, with you paying me twelve thousand Gind annually. After three years, I can decide my own fate.”
Soren glanced at him and replied, “Yes.”
“If there are no issues, let’s formalize the contract. You can prepare; we will set off in three days.”
Hiring a wizard is quite expensive.
Though Gloria understands alchemy, it’s certainly not advisable to have her convert bird droppings into fertilizer.
The Saruman before him is also a wizard knowledgeable in alchemy, and Gloria mentioned he has considerable proficiency in alchemy. Such tasks should not pose a challenge for him.
Once the quality fertilizer is produced, Soren will have another source of income, and farming in the Overseas Islands will soar.
Self-sufficiency will become easy.
With Gloria around, Soren is not worried about this wizard trying any tricks. So, he readily paid half a year’s worth of wages. Killing an adult White Dragon significantly boosted his worth, which makes his financing relatively abundant; goods from the east sell well in the Northern Region, and witches cannot refuse exquisite silks and porcelain. Regardless of the era, female consumer potential is quite astonishing, and wealthy witches can easily spend one hundred thousand Gind in a single purchase.
There are not many items that can be taken from the Wizard Tower.
Even though Gloria manages this Wizard Tower, it is not her private property.
………………
Hiring an alchemical wizard is merely one part of Soren’s plan.
In addition, he also needs a batch of extraordinary-level weapons to arm his elite guard squad. The limit of what can be purchased on the Southern Coast is precisely well-crafted military weapons, which are still significantly inferior to first-tier extraordinary equipment. Soren intends to purchase over one hundred thousand Gind worth of first-tier extraordinary weapons in a single transaction from the Witch Council to arm his pirate legion. Such +1 extraordinary weapons can only be equipped by elite ground troops, so whether he can obtain them depends on Gloria’s influence.
These large-scale arms transactions must be approved by the Witch Council!
According to current market prices, a first-tier extraordinary weapon costs about two hundred Gind each, and Soren is preparing to buy enough equipment to arm five hundred elite men.
A small city’s elite forces likely wouldn’t even have such high levels of armament.
………
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