"Are you talking to me?"
Loma, with pride filling his eyes, tilted his chin slightly. His arrogant demeanor was such that even Lia would have felt like giving him a couple of slaps.
He subtly twisted his wrist and walked forward slowly.
His manner suggested he might resort to violence at any moment, but Clay watched him with an unfazed expression.
Inside the camp, the atmosphere turned somewhat delicate.
Lauren's hand rested on his sword hilt, ready to draw it at any moment. The merchants also wisely retreated to the sides.
Their mission was considered complete once Clay was brought to the camp.
Whatever transpired thereafter was not their concern.
"Clay, you should remember, shouldn't you? That kick you gave me when the granary caught fire that night," Loma said, leaning his head slightly against Clay's forehead. "You seemed to want to kill me then."
"Was there anything wrong with doing that?"
Clay's expression remained unchanged, his gaze as steady as ever.
"The granary was under your jurisdiction, yet such a major incident occurred. All the provisions for the citizens of Fengqi City were burned to ashes. Did you not deserve to die for such a crime?"
"Too bad, I didn't die."
"Consider yourself lucky."
"How dare you speak to me like that?" Loma narrowed his eyes slightly and gestured around him with his chin. "This is my camp, my territory. It's not your Fengqi City. Aren't you afraid of falling here by being so arrogant?"
"Do you want to kill me?"
"Heh..."
Loma, who had been grinning, suddenly changed his expression. He reached out and embraced Clay, his eyes brimming with a smile.
"City Lord, I was just playing with you! How could I possibly kill you? The granary fire was indeed my fault. Both you and the Great City Lord were right. I know it was my dereliction of duty. See, I've come to make amends for my past mistakes. Where is our Great City Lord? Why don't I see him?"
Releasing Clay's shoulder, Loma craned his neck to look around, his eyes filled with bewilderment.
"He's not personally present for a deal involving millions of tons of grain?"
"It's just buying some grain; it doesn't require the Great City Lord to personally appear." Facing Loma's sudden shift, Clay showed no surprise, maintaining his calm and composed demeanor. "We're old acquaintances, so let's proceed with the handover quickly. If we delay further, it will be dark, and there will be dangers on the way back to the city."
"No problem."
With a smile on his face, Loma clapped his hands. The people standing behind him each took out a ring and placed it on Loma's hand.
Clay instinctively reached out to take them, but Loma pulled the rings back.
"City Lord, I said it's cash on delivery, grain on delivery. You haven't given us the money yet, and you want to take our grain. Isn't that a bit improper?"
"You should let me inspect the goods, too."
"No problem, it's just... I hope Commander Lauren can inspect it." Loma smiled and extended his hand towards Lauren. "Commander, please go and take a look."
Frowning deeply, Lauren walked to Clay's side.
At this moment, he truly wished he could run his sword through this traitor before him. However, as a knight, he also had to abide by knightly codes. Without authorization from Chen Yu and Clay, no matter how much he despised Loma, he would have to suppress it and avoid causing unnecessary trouble for the two city lords.
As his consciousness entered the ring, Lauren saw the grain stored within.
The grain was neatly stacked.
Approximately ten thousand tons of grain were piled into one mound.
"City Lord, there is grain," Lauren said, squinting slightly. "There's coarse grain and fine grain. Judging by the quantities in these rings, it seems about right..."
"Eight hundred thousand tons of coarse grain, four hundred thousand tons of fine grain, a total of 1.2 million tons of grain."
Before Lauren could finish speaking, Loma interjected with a laugh, stating the total amount. Lauren nodded slightly upon hearing this; the number was roughly in line with his estimation.
"City Lord, not bad, right?"
Loma shrugged with a face full of smiles.
"Although our granary's grain was burned and we lost some, I've provided you with even more grain. At 15 copper coins per jin for coarse grain and 30 copper coins per jin for fine grain, the total is 4.8 million gold coins. It was my negligence before that caused you to lose quite a bit of grain, so I'll deduct 300,000 and charge you 4.5 million, how about that?"
"Wow, 300,000 gold coins, quite the gesture," Clay exclaimed, clapping his hands.
"It's nothing. You treated me quite well when we were in the city, and the granary was indeed my responsibility. This 300,000 is what I should waive for you," Loma said with a carefree smile.
"Generous."
Clay nodded slightly and tapped the rings twice.
Clang!
Several chests filled with gold coins and purple-gold coins appeared before Loma. The dazzling purple and gold light was almost blinding.
Millions of gold coins laid out before them were, regardless of anything else, awe-inspiring.
"Forty thousand purple-gold coins, five hundred thousand gold coins," Clay said, pointing to the chests on the ground. "Calculating purple-gold coins at a 100:1 ratio, that's 4.5 million gold coins."
"I knew our City Lord was wealthy, but I didn't expect him to be this wealthy."
Loma's eyes were fixed on the chests, his lips smacking. He squatted on the ground, took a purple-gold coin from a chest, and bit it with his teeth, then weighed it in his hand.
"Grain."
"Here." Loma did not hesitate and tossed the rings into Clay's hands, tilting his head back and grinning. "City Lord, you should be a little more careful this time and try not to let the granary burn the grain again."
"That is natural."
Clay's eyes held a smile as he put the rings into his pocket.
"City Lord, before we leave, there's one more thing I want to remind you about." As Clay and his group were about to depart, Loma, who was squatting by the chests of gold, suddenly spoke. "My father is Count Luca, the City Lord of the sub-city. This grain was seized from Count Miye. Miye already knows the whereabouts of this grain. Now that the grain is in your hands, she definitely won't dare to demand it from my father. Perhaps she'll come to your city to seize the grain. You must protect this grain."
"Contraband, huh."
Clay chuckled, referring to the rings in his embrace.
"If it weren't contraband, why would it be sold so cheaply?" Loma seemed unconcerned, smiling slightly. "In any case, I've said what I needed to say. If there's an opportunity to cooperate again in the future, my father is very willing to do more business with you and our Great City Lord. Please give my regards to the Great City Lord."
"I will."
Even though he knew the grain was contraband, Clay showed no signs of anger. He raised his hand, and the soldiers followed him quietly as they departed.
In the camp, Loma watched their retreating figures. The merchants also asked nervously.
"Young master, can we leave now?"
"You've done a good job. This is the reward money given by the Count." Loma grabbed a handful of purple-gold coins and threw them at the merchants. "Scram."
The merchants, with escape on their minds, paid no heed to the reward money.
They didn't even touch the reward money thrown on the ground and bolted towards the outside of the camp, fearing that Loma might change his mind if they were any slower.
"Hmph, merchants are really wealthy. They don't even want purple-gold coins, so I'll reward you with them."
Loma gestured to the guards on the sides. Hearing this, the smiles on the guards' faces couldn't be contained as they surged forward, scrambling for the purple-gold coins on the ground.
Loma, still squatting before the chests, watched. Low whispers reached his ears.
"Young Master Loma, it's time to settle the accounts, isn't it?"
"Yes, yes, it's time to settle the accounts." Loma nodded with a smile. "The reward money is considered my personal expense. This 300,000 will be shared by everyone, no problem, right?"
The representatives dispatched by the various cities nodded noncommittally.
For their respective cities, 15 copper coins per jin for coarse grain and 30 copper coins per jin for fine grain was enough profit. Even after paying Count Luca a 2 copper coin intermediary fee, they were still making a considerable profit.
"Let's distribute the money."
Within a few minutes, the 4.5 million gold coins were all distributed.
The personnel dispatched by each city received their corresponding remuneration based on the amount of grain their city had provided. This came as a surprise to them, as they had anticipated the possibility of Luca double-crossing them.
To their surprise, Count Luca did not do so.
"Fengqi City is indeed incredibly wealthy," the representatives from other cities couldn't help but shake their heads. "To be able to produce millions of gold coins so readily, and in the form of purple-gold and gold coins. Judging by the amounts provided to us, it wasn't pieced together; they must have much more money in their coffers."
"Indeed."
Another representative narrowed his eyes and whispered.
"If only we could loot Fengqi City..."
"Hush!" Suddenly, Loma, who was squatting on the ground, raised his hand and shook his head. "Everyone, let's not think about robbing Fengqi City. If our superiors haven't authorized it, anyone who acts will be courting death. However, we can strive for more profits within the bounds of the rules."
As he spoke, Loma, from somewhere, produced a hood and put it on.
"It's time to act. If we delay any further, the cooked duck will fly away."
"Young Master Loma, we're just going to act like this?" One of the representatives frowned. "A deal worth millions of gold coins. Did Fengqi City prepare such a small force? Could there be a trap? I think we should still be cautious. Everything has gone too smoothly, which is a bit strange."
"Hmph, you think Fengqi City has an ambush?"
"Perhaps!"
"Then you're being too greedy." Loma, wearing the hood, stretched lazily. "I've been rooted in Fengqi City for so long, and I know its strength best. Do you think Fengqi City didn't want to bring more people? In fact, they simply don't have many people. The ones who came just now are already the limit of what they could bring. Didn't Commander Lauren personally accompany them? Among those people, only Lauren, with his peak Black Obsidian cultivation, is somewhat troublesome. The others... are not worth mentioning."
Loma scoffed dismissively and glanced at the representatives of the other cities.
"I believe everyone has hidden some people in this area. Call them out quickly and snatch back the grain before they truly get away."
"Of course..."
"You can also choose to give up. Selling the grain is already profitable enough. If you don't go, it means you've forfeited this business. Then, when it comes to distributing the grain and money, your city won't be included."
While everyone in the camp was deliberating whether to act, Clay and his group, who had already left the camp, were moving at a steady pace.
"City Lord, shouldn't we return to the city?"
Clay's eyes were filled with worry, and he frowned.
"Why return to the city?"
Chen Yu took off his helmet and sneered.
"If we leave now, how will our city purchase resources in the future? That money is in their hands. Our city won't develop anymore; we'll just be eating all day long, right?"
"The problem is, if they send people to intercept us..."
Chen Yu frowned and twisted his neck.
"Who's intercepting whom?"