City of Sin Book 2, Chapter 198

Transaction
Richard received a leather bag that his soldiers had found on one of the gunmen, opening it to find that it was full of gunpowder. He poured some into a bottle and placed it on a rock, moving far away before sending a wisp of fire out towards it.
*BANG!* The explosion was far louder than he had expected. The small bottle had destroyed the rock underneath, affecting even him who was a dozen metres away. The shrapnel even cut a few of the barbarians who were standing too close.
This explosion told him all he needed to know. This was obviously a new formula of gunpowder, several times more powerful than what Norland’s dwarves used. This was the reason those guns were so tremendously powerful.
He called Flowsand over, passing the guns and powder for a look as he spoke in awe, “I never thought there would be something on Faelor that was more advanced than on Norland.”
Flowsand sensed the vigilance and worry within his words. These guns might just be the start; the dwarves might have all sorts of puppets or strange machines that worked with this gunpowder as a base.
This was a system of power not much weaker than Norland’s. Faelor already had legendary beings, and so far it didn’t seem much weaker outside of a lack of runes and the absence of the Eternal Dragon. Norland’s magic was much more developed, yes, but the endless fighting with countless planes had already told them that magic was not the only high-ranking power system.
Flowsand took a close look at every part of the guns and then at the gunpowder, flipping through the Book of Time for a few moments before she spoke up, “Indeed, these guns are far more powerful than those on Norland. However, we probably don’t need to worry too much. Think about it. Norland’s dwarves are a powerful race that occupy a lot of land. They also have several large empires. Don’t you remember what the dwarven tribes are known for?”
Being quite knowledgeable himself, Richard immediately answered, “The foundation of the dwarves’ combat is in their warriors, crusaders, and clerics.”
“Mm. Guns are not their forte, so they have no need for them.”
This left him deep in thought, “You mean to say that Norland’s advanced magic and melee combat systems stunted the growth of guns?”
Flowsand raised the gun in her hands, “These guns are powerful, yes, but in Norland they would still be used in the same way. Their only use would be to deal with monsters.
“You should know that it’s easy to find a dozen great mages in Norland. In front of such a force, any number of dwarven gunmen is just a bunch of cannon fodder holding metal sticks.”
A moment of thought later, Richard shook his head, “That might not be the case. These guns might not affect battles between powerhouses, but they can certainly change the situation on a battlefield. If there’s enough of them they become just like my throwers, gaining unthinkable power. They can also bring nightmares to the enemy in certain special situations like fort defense.
“Also, don’t forget that this is Faelor. Nobody here can pull out a dozen great mages so easily.”
Turning back to the dwarves, he asked about the situation with the Anvil of Lightning and found that it was a large tribe with hundreds of thousands of people. They had ‘uncountable’ guns. Dwarves as a race were quite reluctant to deal with numbers, so none of these fellows in front of him could give him a precise range. The only thing he could infer was that they had a lot of these weapons.
Hearing that, he instructed for the dwarven gunmen to be imprisoned. He would take his time to process all this before taking a decision.
By the time Richard was done with the questioning, the battlefield had already been cleaned up. The caravan had been transporting rare ores mined by the Anvil of Lightning, an entire dozen different types ranging from refined iron to mithril and even spherulite steel. If these ores could be taken to the Sequoia Kingdom they would sell for over 200,000 gold coins, and the entire cost of buying these ores and transporting it would sum up to a mere 20,000!
As expected, one could earn back ten times as much as they spent when travelling through the Bloodstained Lands!
Richard’s path to the Sequoia Kingdom was blocked for now; he would have to go through several organisations in Bluewater to sell these goods off. The Iron Triangle Empire was not far away, but it was also the main base of Red Cossack. He wasn’t so stupid as to rob their caravan and dispose of the stolen goods at the source.
This battle had given Richard a whole new understanding of the value of the Bloodstained Lands, especially with its adjacency to the Ashen Plateau and the barbarians’ ancestral plains. He even found a few large magic crystal ores within the carriages! If they were cut into standard size, there were over 70 to be had! This would allow the broodmother to create a new type of grade 5 troop, or unlock another grade 5 upgrade. It was enough to make a dozen elementary runes as well!
Most important was the information that there was a deposit of magic crystals in the Anvil of Lightning’s lands. This caused Richard to grow even more interested in the dwarves.
There were a hundred survivors from the caravan. Richard ordered for them to be released, allowing them to spread news of him having appeared in the Bloodstained Lands once more. He wasn’t specifically merciful nor was he addicted to killing, and he was starting to find a harmony between the two. However, this specific act was not to ease the tensions between him and Red Cossack. The memories of being pursued around the Bloodstained Lands were still ever-present, and he was resolved to wipe the group off the map of the Bloodstained Lands.
It was impossible to keep one’s power hidden if they wished to gain profits in the Bloodstained Lands. Disabling or eliminating a powerful organisation was the best method of proving your strength.
Having dealt with everything, Richard sent one of his guards rushing straight for Bluewater to get in touch with a few important people. He needed to be flexible to deal with such a large group, and that was not possible with dozens of carriages of goods.
The next five days were spent quietly as Richard travelled to Bluewater Oasis once more. He met a few old friends at the same hotel he had auctioned his runes in. Although Bluewater had endured a baptism of blood by Sinclair, these old fellows were knowledgeable people. All of them were completely fine.
Devon was evidently much fatter than before. He said it was because nothing good had happened lately, that he could only eat good food for physical pleasure to fill the void in his soul. The more depressed he became, the fatter he got.
Amon’s temperament had grown sharpened, while Bivier looked to be worried about something. Kellac seemed to be even more interested in Richard himself, not even bothering to hide his curiosity as he constantly observed him. Thankfully the fellow had some self-control, not doing something like casting a detection spell.
The meal didn’t take much time; the main event would only come after. Once the table was cleaned up. Richard took out a box and placed it on the table, “This is a sample of my most recent harvest, see if any of you have a need for it.”