Badge in Azure Chapter 209

Chapter 209: Pointless Cracks (Part 2)
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Andrew was also pissed off when he heard Saleen say that. Andrew stood up and said, “Did I say something wrong? Why is Mr. Saleen so angry that I am punishing a warrior?”
“Mr. Andrew, you are mistaken, I am not angry. In my life thus far, only one person has made me angry. And when I return to Sikeqinya, I am going to kill that person.”
Daniel was thinking of standing up again, but Lex glared at him and then said to Saleen, “Saleen, we are here on a mission this time.”
“Lex, if somebody insulted your friend, what would you do?” Saleen knew which mission Lex was referring to.
“Saleen, my only friend is you.” As Lex spoke, she stood up and tugged Saleen, then shoved Nailisi aside and had Saleen sit beside her.
Daniel was terrified. He had almost offended Saleen just now. Luckily, he had not spoken in Andrew’s tone. Daniel had not expected the relationship between Lex and Saleen to be more intimate than he had thought. After this incident, the two of them had grown even closer.
Nailisi grinned as she came before Andrew and said, “Excuse me. Let me pass through.”
Out of everyone in the cabin, Nailisi was the happiest. If Andrew had fallen out with Saleen, she would have found a chance to kill Andrew. Nailisi had never eaten mages before, so she was curious how they tasted.
“Andrew, if you think that warriors are useless, why did you still hire two warriors to stay by your side?” Lex said straightforwardly.
“That is my business. Keegan, let’s go.” Andrew did not understand why Saleen was enraged and had embarrassed him. Andrew tried to shove Nailisi out of the way. However, a flash of golden light appeared in Nailisi’s green eyes, and she then inflated her chest before pushing back against Andrew. If Andrew had really shoved Nailisi, she would have killed him so quickly that he would not have known what killed him.
In response, Andrew withdrew his hand. At this point in time, a low voice could be heard outside the door, “Stop!”
Nailisi immediately retracted her already outstretched index finger, having tapped into the power of the Dragon’s Tooth Dagger by then. Had Andrew touched her, she would have burst open Andrew’s heart inside of his body. The Dragon’s Tooth Dagger would have frozen Andrew’s heart, making it appear as though he had been killed by magic.
However, the person who had stopped the fight was Juno, and Nailisi was not confident of overpowering this grade-7 sorcerer. If the sorcerer had managed to discover her identity, she would have created huge trouble for Saleen.
“Sir!” As Andrew saw Juno entering the cabin, he hastily tried to explain that he had not been trying to touch Nailisi’s chest earlier on. As a mage who was totally subsumed into the world of magic, Andrew had low requirements for women. Nailisi might have looked decent to Andrew, but she would not cause him to disgrace himself like that.
“Andrew, you and Keegan have gone on two hunting missions, so go to the front and monitor the situation,” Juno simply interrupted Andrew. Andrew did not say much, merely executing a mage’s bow in response. Nailisi obediently made way for Andrew and Keegan to leave the cabin. The four swordsmen hired from the swordsman’s camp followed them, but they looked indifferent.
Those swordsmen had overheard the argument between the mages, so naturally, the swordsmen were inclined towards Saleen. It was just that in front of Juno, they did not dare express their emotions.
Juno had not brought his two grade-6 mages along. He took a seat and faced Saleen and Lex.
“Your Highness…”
“Oh? That means you know who I am.” Lex’s demeanor took an abrupt turn. It was just like the first time Saleen had met her. She had been right in front of him, and yet Saleen had not been able to decipher her thoughts at all. Lex was not trying to put on airs. She was similar to a mountain. A mountain did not look down on anyone, and yet its stature could not be ignored.
“Of course I do. I also know that you had already become a grade-5 mage master five years ago. I must be wrong. You must already be grade-6, right?” Juno said with due respect. Essentially, the Grukos royal family had no control over Alchemy City. Both parties simply respected each other, or, were perhaps tolerating each other.
“It’s been two years, and as for the issue earlier…” Lex displayed a look which signalled that she did not want to engage in conversation.
Juno laughed and said, “For this mission, you will no longer be with them. In fact, given your capabilities, you are already able to take on intermediate and high grade missions.”
“I am not a risk-taker, and I do not lack money,” Lex replied casually.
“Then what do you lack? I can see to it if it is convenient,” Juno responded enthusiastically. He was not suspicious since it was normal for Lex to come to Alchemy City. After all, she was a grade-6 mage. Even though Bitter Water County was far from the battlefield in Loulan, Lex still had to take some precautions.
“Aye, I don’t have enough manpower, so I can only compensate with better equipment. But, I do not want average equipment, so here I am in Alchemy City. I have reviewed the goods list of Alchemy City, but the equipment was either unsatisfactory, or it could not be supplied in mass quantities.”
“That is true. How many swordsman’s camps does Bitter Water County have?”
“I plan to build ten. In three years at the latest, I plan to deploy my troops to Loulan.” Lex was being ambiguous here, because even if she deployed one troop or one hundred thousand troops, it would still be considered troop deployment. However, Lex was truly in need of equipment, but almost all of the equipment provided by Alchemy City could not be mass produced. The sole exception was puppets.
Normal war puppets could be manufactured in Holy Rock City and Lex’s Bitter Water Prefecture, whereas the production of large war puppets was entirely dependent on gold coins. The armor which Lex urgently required had already been acquired during the robbing of Dragon’s Tooth Town.
Before Lex went out to sea, she had specially contacted Holy Rock City one more time. Even though Safilos was aloof towards her, he still earnestly gathered some men and sent them to infiltrate Cloudflow after receiving the intelligence regarding Cloudflow. If what Lex said was true, then not only would Safilos not be able to attack Loulan next year, but he would also have no choice but to build a second line of defense in the southern part of the empire.
Regarding the issue of Dragon’s Tooth Town and Pompeii, Safilos actually did not mind them at all. Furthermore, he had not expected Lex to be so decisive as to rob an armor distribution center without any hesitation. After Emperor Chanake had died, Holy Rock City’s control over the nobles had decreased drastically, so Safilos could only turn a blind eye to Pompeii’s occupation of Dragon’s Tooth Town and did not investigate the matter further.
“I know that the alchemy tower possesses a set of superior drawings for magic armor, and if you buy it in the name of Grukos royal family, you will enjoy a thirty percent discount. As for ores, Cloudflow doesn’t transport a large quantity of them through here every year. Unless you are planning to equip heavy cavalry, those ores will be wasted if you purchase them. As for weapons, the ones from Red Copper Fort are pretty good. You also will not need to use equipment that is too extreme on the battlefield.”
“What’s the purpose of telling me all of this?” Lex understood that if she behaved too enthusiastically now, she would lose negotiating power later on. People who managed to become sorcerers were definitely not dumb. A stubborn person like Andrew would only have a slim chance of becoming a sorcerer not matter how hard he tried. However, Juno could not be fooled easily. Furthermore, Lex could not be sure if Juno really had the intention of helping her.
“In the past two years, Cloudflow has been acting a little strangely, so there’s quite a bit of pressure on Alchemy City as well. If Your Highness can control Loulan’s situation from the west, it will be easier for Alchemy City to deal with Cloudflow. Without a connection to the sea, Alchemy City is not much better off than Phoenix.”
“I heard that Alchemy City has sent some people to Tanggulasi, and I have a question.”
“Please speak.”
“Within that group, is there someone by the name of Jason Statham?”
“No, who is that?”
“He is my teacher,” Saleen answered from the sideline.
“He might be on Hell Island or Scales Island. There is definitely no such person in Devil’s Horn or within Alchemy City.”
“Thank you. I was just worried that my teacher might have gone to Tanggulasi.”
“Then may I know the objective of the sorcerers who went to Tanggulasi?” Lex conveniently skipped over the topic, and Saleen also looked relieved.
“I have no access to the details. I can only say that it is a very big matter. If it is executed well, the Tanggulasi Empire will no longer be a threat. If it is not, there won’t be any losses either.”
“I hope so.” Lex then fell silent.
“Your Highness.” Juno spoke sincerely, “Please do not mind Andrew, or we will be put on the spot.”
Lex smiled and said, “I will follow the laws of Alchemy City, but what about the discount you were talking about?”
“Purchasing in bulk will be thirty percent cheaper, and that is a rule only applicable to the Grukos family. If you only purchase equipment for your friends, then the discount will not be applicable, no matter what.”
While Lex and Juno were conversing, the ships had already traveled a great distance away from Devil’s Horn. With the exception of their ship, the other three hunting ships had separated from the armored ship and fanned out as they tried to search for traces of the finless whale.
“Your Highness, do you plan to leave after your procurement of equipment or do you plan to stay in Alchemy City to train?”
“I am going to stay for three years. Why do you ask?”
“How many mages do you plan to recruit in Alchemy City?” Juno asked confidently, as he thought that he knew what Lex’s agenda was.
“It might be a little cumbersome…” Juno confidently conveyed his thoughts, but Lex felt there could be some problems. Lex had thought of recruiting mages from Alchemy City, but how could she set her mind at ease? After coming to Alchemy City, Lex had discovered that Alchemy City had nearly become a county already, and the total amount of land under its control was almost on par with Bitter Water Prefecture already. Furthermore, at sea, the city also controlled three large islands and dozens of smaller ones. Plus, the waters within a one thousand mile radius were also in the hands of Alchemy City.
As a member of the royal family, it would have been odd if Lex was not vigilant. Given the power Alchemy City currently held, they already had enough power to establish a country. However, there were two problems for Alchemy City. Firstly, when the city was just built, an agreement had been inked between the mages and the Grukos family that Alchemy City would never establish a country of its own. Secondly, even if no one remembered this agreement, Alchemy City did not produce its own food. However, the empire’s main food production lines were located in the central and northern regions. If Alchemy City wanted to ensure a continuous supply of food, it would have to either purchase it from the empire or deploy troops up north.
“You should discuss this matter with the Elemental Hand.” Juno thought for a long time, but continued to beat about the bush. Now that Lex had walked right into Alchemy City, Juno would never let her discover the greater ambitions that the city harbored. A grade-6 mage could already fly. Even though their speed would not be fast, Lex would still be able to enter the mountains in the southern region, and Alchemy City was not confident of being able to capture her there.
By beating about the bush, Juno thought that he would cause Lex to lose her vigilance, but it turned out that Lex could see right through his intentions. The moment Juno raised the topic of the recruitment of mages, Lex immediately felt as though she were a cat who had been targeted by a large animal, and her hair stood on end.
Lex was no longer a viscountess. As the head of a county, she was immensely valuable in the eyes of Alchemy City!
At this point in time, Lex felt that she had been a little reckless, as she should have gone straight to Holy Rock City immediately after escaping from the hell of god’s punishment. No matter how poorly her uncle treated her, he would also not kill her. Furthermore, the mages in Holy Rock City would never interfere in the conflicts within the royal family. Had Safilos and Lex fought, the mages in the palace would have definitely stood on the sidelines, and Lex would have still had Joey.
Aye, just a single mistake. Hopefully, Alchemy City’s request will not be too significant. Now that I’m at sea, I couldn’t leave even if I wanted to.