Badge in Azure Chapter 219

Chapter 219: Shengfeng Country (Part 2)
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Saleen saw that Lex was not stopping him from speaking nonsense and had an idea of where this was going. He said to Fellett, “Captain, since you constantly have deals with the Qin Empire, you should know the Clyde family, right?”
“I do, but your surname is Metatrin.” Fellett not only knew who the Clyde family was, but he was very familiar with the rules of the merchant families in the Qin Empire. Those who did not take on the family names would never rise to the upper echelons. The price of one hundred pieces of heavy magic armor exceeded that of a castle. If Saleen continued spouting nonsense, he did not intend to continue listening to it.
Fellett rubbed his moustache with his fingers, giving a cold laugh.
Saleen took out a badge from his sleeve. “You should recognize this.”
Fellett’s face changed as he looked at the silver of the badge in Saleen’s hands. In the middle was the symbol of the Clyde family. It was possible to create an imitation, but the price would have been astronomical.
The front of the badge was golden while the back was a dark blue, having been created from two different metals. After leaving Holy Rock City, the Clyde family had given him this badge for future dealings. However, since leaving Holy Rock City, Saleen had not had a chance to return to Bitter Water Prefecture, and the things that he were supposed to do for Lex had been set aside.
“I have done much business with the Clyde family. I receive fifty percent of whatever is difficult for them to sell. This batch of armor is from Loulan Duchy. I meant to keep it for myself. However, I have better alchemists with me and if I exchange the armor for the pan’s turtle, we will both have nothing to lose. Even if you bring this pan’s turtle back with you, you might not be able to create one hundred pieces of armor, right?”
Saleen had spoken grandiosely, but unless he controlled the weapons deals of Bitter Water Prefecture, he would not be able to obtain such a big share from the Clyde family, even if they were going to be dealt in the black market. However, he was very good at reading people and knew that if he did not say it like this, the man with the moustache would not believe him.
Even though Fellett went back and forth between the Qin Empire and Shengfeng country, he did not have a web of information in the Qin Empire and all of his news was purchased from the professional union. He had a certain understanding of the situation on the mainland, but was not as familiar as Saleen with inside information.
Loulan Duchy was at war and the wealthy at the frontline were especially cautious. The Holy See had paid a heavy price in their bid to kill Emperor Chanake, and this had led to a temporary, special balance.
Looking at things in the long term, the Qin Empire had lost an emperor who had been able to unify them. The pope of the Holy See had not died, and of course, the Qin Empire was at a disadvantage. However, looking at the wealthy who were gathering their forces to attack, they would definitely be able to drive the Holy See out of Loulan Duchy.
Many of the wealthy from Loulan Duchy had died and the troops from the Qin Empire had not only declared war with the Holy See, but had snatched away many of the castles from Loulan’s wealthy. If Chanake had still been alive, no one would have dared to have done that. Now that Safilos was backing the young emperor, Holy Rock City had no dissenting voice, yet it did not mean he could control the entire country.
The differences between Safilos and Chanake were visible here. When Chanake had still been alive, the Qin Empire had been a metal plate. Once Chanake had died, Safilos had immediately lost. Unless he became the emperor himself, the wealthy would not trust his words.
However, if he were to snatch away the position of the emperor from his nephew, the wealthy in Holy Rock City would be unappeasable.
Fellett only knew of the news at the frontline and had no idea of the despicable things going on behind the scenes. He had assumed that the Qin Empire was corrupt and that the wealthy on the frontline were not willing to fight with their lives. It was not surprising that an army without any combat power would sell their army’s weapons for a profit. Saleen had said that his armor was from the frontline, and hence he did not bother questioning it too much. This was high-grade armor, and it was said that only the royal swordsmen would use such equipment in the future.
There were still many remaining royal swordsmen that had not returned from Titan Duchy, and Fellett naturally thought about that. Saleen’s armor might have been taken from the Titan Duchy. It was hard to sell such armor, and it was normal for a mage to use it in trades.
“Where’s the armor?” Fellett was interested. Shengfeng country was facing war from all sides as well, and one hundred pieces of heavy magic armor would be immensely significant. If he was able to purchase them and bring them back, he would certainly gain recognition. The areas of land in many of the islands were small, and in using one hundred pieces of heavy magic armor to form an army, one could definitely take down a country.
“In Alchemy City,” Saleen said, smiling.
Even though Fellett was suspicious, he mostly believed Saleen’s story. Much of the armor from the frontline meant for resale tended to have several special symbols, and no matter if one was planning to get rid of these magic symbols or to sell them as they were, the best place to go would be Alchemy City.
“How did you all end up in the sea?” Fellett asked his last question.
Saleen was not flustered at all and naturally pointed to Lex, directing him to ask her. He had an innocent look on his face, but his heart was pounding. He had no idea what Lex had told Fellett, and in the event that he said something different, they would be exposed.
Lex could read his mind and said, “We had set off from Lianyun City, wanting to reach Alchemy City by sea. The goods went by land. Even if something happened, it would not have anything to do with us. However, the boat we hired met with a storm and sank, leaving just us. There were some goods on the boats at first. Look at these boxes. They were used to store armor.”
At this point, Fellett basically no longer had any suspicions. When he had saved Lex and the others, the unconscious white-robed mage had been lying on a pile of boxes. Those boxes were used to to store armor, specifically high-grade armor. Those boxes were completely sealed. They had been immersed in the water for quite a while, but not a single one had water in them.
“If that is the case, I will make a trip to Alchemy City. But how do I know this deal is safe?”
Now that Saleen had set down such large bait, Fellett was worried that he would go back on his word.
“There are mages on this boat. We can sign a magic contract,” Saleen replied, Lex had a batch of top grade armor with her that had been soaked in dragon’s blood. With a little processing, it could be used to make a deal. These pieces of armor definitely cost more than the value of the pan’s turtle, but just by their descriptions alone, they were definitely top grade magic armor.
The two young grand swordmasters by Fellett side broke into smiles and their attitude towards Saleen changed immediately. A magic contract was something that a mage would not dare to go against lightly. Even though a magic contract was not immediate like divinity, if a mage tried to go against it, they would be destroyed by the contract in the future.
Saleen was not afraid of being bitten by the magic contract. He would only write about the contents of their deal in the contract, and anything that had been said prior was not needed. Exchanging magic armor for the pan’s turtle would be alright so long as he did not lie about that.
Fellett immediately called another mage and Saleen wrote the magic contract on the spot. Looking at the white-robed mage who Fellett had found, Saleen felt even more secure.
It seemed that there were not many mages in Shengfeng. There were three grand swordmasters on this boat, and it was enough to show the importance this boat had in Shengfeng. However, on a boat like this, the mage overseeing his contract was only grade-3.
After writing the contract under the guidance of the white-robed mage, Fellett wrote his name on the contract as well, and he and Saleen each placed a drop of their blood onto the same magic array. This had nothing to do with the magic, but instead had been passed down since ancient times.
“Fellett, you must have a certain position in Shengfeng.” Once Saleen had signed the contract, the atmosphere within the cabin had lightened considerably. The two parties had dropped the messy honorifics and had started calling each other by name.
“Sigh. To be honest, I am already a duke in Shengfeng. However, my island has been conquered by a neighboring country and I have no choice but to return to Shengfeng island to find another way out.”
“Duke! Then I should be addressing you as Your Excellency!”
Fellett was slightly embarrassed. There were many people in Shengfeng country, and yet the entire country was still not as big as a prefecture of the Qin Empire. The number of islands he controlled composed a territory smaller than that of a baron within the Qin Empire.
However, he did not think Saleen would know and hence gave a laugh and changed the subject. “Saleen, your maidservant is very pretty. Trade her to me for ten high-grade magic nuclei. How does that sound?”
Nailisi was enraged. She lowered her head and concealed the golden light within her eyes. Saleen knew things were not going well. With Nailisi’s temper, she was going to hate Fellett, and if the two were alone, it was very possible that Nailisi would attack and kill a duke from Shengfeng.
If they had been on land, Saleen would not have been afraid, but they were on a boat and the other party had two actual grand swordmasters. He would not be able to display his true powers as a mage. If they attacked, Lex could not destroy the boat, could she?
“I’m afraid not. In Alchemy City, I refused even when someone offered dragon glass. Nailisi is more important to me than Holy Rock City.” Saleen looked away from Fellett and instead stared lovingly at Nailisi.
Fellett said nonchalantly, “Saleen, if you follow me to Shengfeng, I can give you ten of such women. I just want something fresh. How can this woman be worth a dragon glass?”
He had taken his words lightly and Saleen saw that the two young grand swordmasters bore the same look as Fellett. He knew that this was the way Shengfeng handled such things. Women were not respected there.
In the Qin or Cloudflow Empire, women had inheritance rights and were not allowed to be peddled.
“Fellett, that is not right of you.” Lex said in a disapproving voice, furrowing her brows.
Fellett burst into laughter and said, “You are a grand mage. In Shengfeng, you could even have been a mermaid and nobody would have been disrespectful to you. I was not referring to you.”
“I am tired. I need a rest. You all can continue drinking.” With that, Lex stood up and dragged Nailisi away.
Only then did Sika raise her head and give a look of shock towards Saleen before asking, “They haven’t eaten anything, right?”
The plates in front of Sika were in a mess. There were piles of empty bowls that had once been filled with smoked meat. Her hands and face were smothered with a layer of oil, she had a leg on the table, and with a flair like this, even if she had been born pretty, it was all for naught.
“You should almost be done too. Go back. I still have things to discuss with Master Fellett.” Saleen was afraid Sika would say something wrong and quickly dismissed her. He suddenly had another idea. Bitter Water Prefecture was blocked off from all four sides, and even if it were to be developed, traffic would be inconvenient and the dealings with the Clyde family would be restricted. If they could link up with Shengfeng, it might not be such a bad thing. The main problem was that Bitter Water Prefecture did not have a port.
Obtaining a port was not impossible. The Qin Empire had two important ports, and one was at Alchemy City while the other was at Lianyun City. That was, unless he built a third port even further north.