Chapter 43: Trade
The Eastern World has many special training methods.
For example, the Eastern ascetics have a unique specialty called “Wisdom Heart,” which is a more powerful ability than the legendary specialty “Sixth Sense.” In addition to this, the training methods of Eastern monks also provide many extra specialties, such as “Divine Step,” “Wind Listening and Positioning,” “Def,” and so on. Many of these specialties are universal and can be mastered by other professionists, among which druids and sword saints have learned the most from monks.
The warden in front of me must have also mastered some special specialty.
He was surprisingly able to detect Soren’s trace the moment he moved his foot, so there was no need for him to continue hiding and stepped out directly, saying in a deep voice, “Warden! Long time no see!”
Upon hearing Soren’s words, the warden slightly lowered his tightly gripped warhammer, frowning, “Who are you? Have we met before?”
Soren’s words served as a psychological suggestion, indicating that they had indeed met before.
This would lower the likelihood of the other party attacking him directly, making it easier for him to convey what he wanted to say next.
“I met you a long time ago.”
Soren glanced at the paladin beside him. This young paladin did not recognize him, as Soren was wearing a cloak at that moment and had only met him briefly in the City of Wealth. At that time, Soren did not possess the imposing aura he had now. As long as Soren wasn’t willing to reveal himself, even people he had encountered before would find it challenging to recognize him at once.
He looked at the warden and said in a deep voice, “In fact, I was just passing through here.”
“However, since I’ve encountered you, Warden, I am prepared to make a trade!”
Trade?
The warden’s expression shifted to surprise, and he said in a low voice, “What sort of trade?”
The individual before him was likely a legendary level wanderer. Regardless of whether he was evil, the warden did not have much confidence in winning. Moreover, fighting a legendary wanderer might endanger the paladin nearby, and he did not wish for such a young seed to fall here. The number of holy avengers was already very few, and most paladins had gathered under the Lord of Radiance. Compared to the ruthless and decisive methods of avengers, the dealings of the Lord of Radiance more closely aligned with the beliefs of paladins.
For example, ‘Eradicate Evil Completely.’ This is one of the tenets of holy avengers!
They advocate striking at the root without mercy, while other paladins believe in ‘being kind to captives,’ ‘not striking the defenseless,’ and that ‘those who have committed lighter sins can obtain forgiveness if they repent,’ and so on. To use the sand raiders as an example, holy avengers would eliminate them completely, while orthodox paladins might spare some.
Soren watched the warden and said in a low voice, “I have come across some information by chance.”
“This information might be very useful to you! However, to obtain this information from me, a reward must be paid. Coincidentally, I have something to ask of you as well.”
Thieves’ Guild?
Or a wanderer from another organization?
The warden slightly furrowed his brow and said solemnly, “What information? What do you want?”
Soren smiled and said, “I unexpectedly came across some information during my travels, knowing where a gem of the ‘Holy Avenger’ – Casomir is located! I know you have been hoping to restore this artifact. So, I believe you would be interested in this information.”
Holy Avenger?!
The warden’s expression showed some shock as he involuntarily took a step forward, locking onto Soren with a solemn voice, “Are you sure you know the lead on Casomir?”
Holy Avenger – Casomir.
A +5 level artifact. It is one of the most powerful weapons in the mortal realm!
However, it is currently not complete, as it is missing one crucial part. That is the “Eye of Tyr.”
The eye of the previous “God of Justice.”
This orb is similar to a gem, and it can be used to restore “Holy Avenger” – Casomir, turning it into a true artifact. For a long time, the organization of holy avengers has been searching for its whereabouts. Unfortunately, they have always lacked leads. Soren had not seen this eye either, but he happened to have its clues in his memory. It was something Soren currently had no way of obtaining, but he didn’t mind telling the warden in front of him ahead of time.
“What do you want?”
The warden’s expression gradually calmed, and he said solemnly, “I am curious what a wanderer would want from us.”
He believed it.
Because if an ordinary professionist said this, he would probably scoff at it, but if it came from a legendary level wanderer, the credibility was significantly higher.
Among many professionists, wanderers are the most adept at gathering information.
“Nothing important.”
Soren glanced at him and said slowly, “I know your organization has been active in the desert for many years, and I want a map of this area, but not an ordinary map. I need a map marked with those ancient ruins, as one of those ruins holds what I need, making this a very fair trade.”
The desert is home to numerous dangerous ancient ruins.
Many places are remnants from the Arcane Empire era. Paladins secretly monitor these areas to prevent the terrifying monsters sealed within from emerging.
Energy radiation has created many mutated creatures.
The existence of ancient evil artifacts has always been a great enemy of the Eastern World, and paladins also bear part of the responsibility of the Eastern monks.
“A map?”
The warden fell into silence upon hearing this. As Soren said, this was not something too important.
The worst-case scenario was merely that the wanderer before him opened some dangerous places; even without a map, if a legendary wanderer was determined, they could still find what they were looking for.
“Where is it?”
The warden stared at Soren and said solemnly, “First tell me where it is, and I will have someone deliver the map to you.”
The words of a paladin are still quite reliable.
Soren looked at him and said slowly, “In an eye demon nest in the Underdark, currently held by a Beholder Tyrant. With your capabilities, you should be able to request a legendary wizard to use divination. Just a spell would be enough to ascertain the authenticity of the information. As for the exact location, I will tell you when the map arrives.”
Divination has significant limitations.
However, as long as there are some leads, confirming its truth shouldn’t be that difficult.
Even if they can’t directly divine ‘the Eye of Tyr,’ they can approach it through alternate means, such as divining whether something related to the “Holy Avenger” – Casomir is there, or if there is an item belonging to the “God of Justice” – Tyr in its possession, or use some other approach for divination. Many things can’t be completely concealed with spell shielding once there are leads, and the paladin in front could determine the authenticity of the message by simply changing his approach.
Of course.
This is on the condition that Soren is telling the truth, as legendary divination can only ascertain the truth if that is the case.
If what he mentioned cannot be found, then divining with just ‘the Eye of Tyr’ would likely yield no leads.
The warden looked deeply at Soren and then said solemnly, “Alright. As long as the information is true, what you want will be delivered to you soon.”
“We’re leaving.”
The legendary sword saint turned and left, seemingly eager to confirm the truth of the news.
Before leaving, the young paladin couldn’t help but glance at Soren a few more times, as if finding him somewhat familiar.
Although Soren did not specify the exact location, as long as the information he provided was true, the might of the holy avengers could still track it down. However, the cost would be substantial, as they must first find the Beholder Tyrant in the Underdark. Such a creature, even the warden in front, might not have much confidence against, not to mention that it held an eye from a deity.
………………
A day quickly passed.
The holy avengers moved quickly, and by noon the next day, Soren received what he wanted.
A map marking most of the ruins in the desert area.
He could easily determine if it was genuine with just one glance, because even though he wasn’t very familiar with the desert terrain, he still had some impression of the locations of the ruins that many adventurers had tracked and explored years ago. Over seventy percent of the desert ruins were vaguely remembered by him, and naturally, the site he intended to visit was marked on the map.
At the deepest part of this ruin was a Balroth Fire Demon, clearly marked on the map.
Soren’s memory coincided with this, as among those who sealed the Balroth Fire Demon back then were holy avengers; this was a creature of biological level 27.
The item Soren was looking for was not in the place that contained it, so it should not have too much intersection with this monster!
Nearly half of the items on the map were marked.
From golems, evil artifacts, demons, all the way to devils, what lay beneath many locations was clearly documented. Such maps are held by only a few powerful organizations, and he had only obtained half a map in the Eastern World years ago.
Soren shared what he knew with them.
As for whether they could obtain it, that was up to the paladins; the dangers within the Underdark made their entry no small feat.
A legendary team would surely be necessary to complete the task.
With the items in hand.
Soren had no need to linger here and directly headed to the location of the underground ruins. However, before that, he needed to hire some manpower, thinking of ways to dig a passage to enter the interior. Even though these ancient ruins were buried by the desert outside, many things inside remained relatively intact, and if necessary, Soren could also dig a passage himself.
Of course.
This would certainly require preparing some tools in advance and see if he could recruit some cannon fodder.
………………(To be continued ~^~)
