Chapter 972: Teacher, the Archmages at Home, Come and Share the Gold! |
I Can't find Chapter 971
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“What? You want compensation?”
Tetra, the Snake Woman, was dumbfounded. My lord, you've changed! You weren’t like this before!
Previously, if you said you’d provide medicine, you provided it. If you said you’d go to the battlefield, you went without hesitation. You never haggled over compensation or demanded upfront payment!
But there was no other choice. Tetra thought to herself, back then, they held the hostages, and the Son of the Thunder God had to endure humiliation for the sake of his companions.
Now, the hostages had been handed over. As the son of the Thunder God, who holds the power of the Plague, how could he not assume the proper dignity and demand what he deserved?
Besides, the one negotiating with them now was Lord Lynn, along with an assistant of the Son of the Thunder God. The Son of the Thunder God himself sat quietly in the middle with an expression that said, "I don’t know, I don’t care, you handle it," clearly not wanting to be involved in the negotiations.
That innocent, confused look, with unfocused eyes, made it obvious he was just there for show and had no intention of participating in the negotiations.
“So, fighting alongside you and helping you deal with strong enemies doesn’t require compensation?” Lynn’s voice had grown cold.
“In the last battle, Garrett and Miss Cirilla risked their lives to confront the Plague Maiden head-on, shattering her to pieces. Although they didn’t ask for it, the tribal chiefs later offered generous rewards—what about you?”
The small box they received was nothing compared to the baskets of gold and the subsequent gifts of gemstones, magic crystals, and magical beast materials offered by the tribal chiefs. In terms of value and sincerity, there was no comparison!
“Or do you consider freeing me and sending me back as part of the compensation?!”
“Of course not!” Tetra, the Snake Woman, was startled and quickly replied:
“You are a friend of the Son of the Thunder God, which makes you our friend! The previous misunderstanding was Nierka acting on her own. If you allow it, we’re willing to offer gold equivalent to each of your weights as compensation for your assistance!”
Hmm, that sounds like a lot at first...
Lynn glanced at Garrett, calculating silently. Garrett had mentioned long ago that he was 175 centimeters tall and weighed 68 kilograms. Over the years, he had probably grown taller and gained more muscle.
From their first meeting until now, it had been seven or eight years. From 16 to 24 years old, Garrett had indeed grown taller and, as a knight, gained muscle mass. So, perhaps 70 kilograms? 72? 75?
Assuming 75 kilograms, and considering the standard Kent Kingdom gold coin weighed 8 grams, his weight in gold coins wouldn’t even amount to 10,000 coins. Considering the native’s metallurgical skills were not very advanced, the gold’s purity would be lower, decreasing its value further.
Hiring a Level 10 Mage for one action at a price of 10,000 gold coins or 2,500 contribution points was rather low.
And that was just the price for one action. For long-term engagement against powerful enemies, the cost would be much higher...
Lynn noticed Cirilla leaning forward, her silver-blue eyes turning into shining silver orbs.
—Oh no, Cirilla, don’t transform here!
Don’t turn into a dragon right now!
The phrase "gold equivalent to each of your weights" didn’t include the weight of an adult silver dragon!
Without prior communication with Nevis, and with the big shots not present, don’t rashly turn into a dragon here!
If someone gets greedy and you can’t fight them off, it’ll be a mess!
Garrett noticed the silver dragon girl’s expression and felt his scalp tingle. He quickly grabbed her hand, intertwining their fingers, and led her outside:
“Cirilla, let’s take a walk and let Brother Lynn handle the negotiations... I have a magic spell I need your advice on, I’m not sure how to modify it...”
Their voices faded as they walked away. Lynn silently watched them leave, his eyes lingering on their clasped hands until the tent flap fell, then he refocused his attention:
“Before we finalize the compensation, we have other issues to discuss. How does the Kingdom of the Eagle God intend to ensure our personal safety while in your country? No injuries, no coercion, no imprisonment, and no being thrown into dangerous positions while dealing with the White Ghost?”
Garrett and Cirilla walked around outside for a long time and then spent half a day in the wizard’s hut studying magic. It wasn’t until their stomachs growled that Lynn came knocking with a victorious smile:
“The negotiations are settled. The Kingdom of the Eagle God agrees to provide an initial batch of gold and gemstones, along with a box of intermediate and above magic beast cores, and 10 high-level cores—”
He gestured with his hands, outlining a box about shoulder-width and twice as long:
“This will be the upfront payment and the energy supply for establishing contact between us and Nevis. Once Nevis sends people, we’ll calculate the compensation based on their strength.
Using the Golden Eagle Warriors as the benchmark, for each additional warrior’s worth of strength, the Kingdom of the Eagle God will forge a gold statue the same size as the person as payment.”
Garrett quickly did the math. The human body’s density was roughly the same as water, meaning a person’s weight in kilograms would displace the same volume in liters of water.
Assuming a mage weighed 75 kilograms, they would receive a 75-cubic-decimeter gold statue... With gold’s density of 19.32 tons per cubic meter, 0.075 cubic meters equaled 1.449 tons, translating to approximately 180,000 gold coins...
180,000 gold coins to hire a Level 15 Archmage for one trip was a pretty good reward. If it were an 18th-level Archmage, the compensation would be several times higher. Hmm, the homeland should be satisfied with this?
At the very least, Cirilla was pleased. She blinked, counted on her fingers several times, and her eyes sparkled:
“I can defeat three with no problem, maybe even six if I try hard... I need to gain some weight! Let them make my statue bigger!”
Garrett almost laughed out loud. He quickly held Cirilla back, preventing her from running off like a whirlwind to shout for more food. He tightened his grip and said swiftly:
“Cirilla, you transformed using polymorph! To gain weight, you need to adjust the spell, not eat more!—No, there’s no rush to adjust it now!”
“Alright...” Cirilla dejectedly lowered her shoulders. She paused, then lifted her head again:
“Should I call my parents, my aunt, and other relatives to come over too?”
Come to share the wealth! The Kingdom of the Eagle God has so much gold, it would be a pity not to get a share!
“Well...” Garrett wiped his sweat and glanced quickly at Lynn. Hey, you’re the only one who’s been to the Kingdom of the Eagle God, any advice?
Is there enough gold over there? In a previous life, didn’t some Inca Empire offer enough gold to fill a room—several rooms—to ransom their king?
How much gold would fill a room? If packed tightly, a room could hold dozens, maybe close to a hundred people. Enough for the Archmages, but with the dragon clan, it wouldn’t be enough!
“Let’s wait a bit.” Lynn smiled and shook his head:
“We don’t know how many people Nevis will send. Even a native kingdom with hundreds of years of accumulation has limited gold reserves, right? If we bring in two Level 18 Archmages to hold the fort and a few Level 15s, that should be enough?”
Cirilla dejectedly lowered her shoulders. Garrett patted her comfortingly:
“It’s okay, when it’s time to share the gold, you can have my share too!”
“Woo...”
However, for the dragon clan, whose gold is whose? Even for Cirilla, after leaving the nest, she couldn’t expect to get even a grain of gold from her parents—except for occasional gifts during visits. So Cirilla quickly lifted her head again:
“What next?”
Next, of course, they wrote letters to be sent back. Garrett returned to his quarters and began writing:
“Respected teacher:
I have arrived in the southwest of the New World and successfully rescued Lynn, advancing to Level 10.
We are currently stationed near the Kingdom of the Eagle God. The Kingdom of the Eagle God is located in the southwest corner of the northern part of the New World, bordered by the sea on both sides, and adjacent to the Storm Islands on the east... Currently, they are under attack from the Radiant Church and seek our assistance...”
Garrett detailed the information he gathered from the Golden Eagle Warriors and the Snake Woman Tetra, his assessment of the Kingdom of the Eagle God's strength, and his evaluation of the Radiant Church's power. Finally, he wrote down Tetra’s promised compensation and his own opinion:
“During my journey, through healing diseases and plagues, I have established good relations with many tribes, who have promised to provide convenience for my friends. I believe, if the council’s strength is sufficient, now is the time to establish a foothold near the Storm Islands...”
He sketched a simple map of the New World, heavily circling the location of the Kingdom of the Eagle God. After
finishing the official letter, he switched to a new sheet to write personal matters:
“Furthermore, during my recent advancement, something unexpected happened, and I hope for your guidance... My contracted spirit devoured part of the totem god's core, and during my advancement, I felt as if I were becoming a totem god...”
Writing swiftly, Garrett filled page after page, ending up with a thick stack of letters. Ah, does the Mage Tower in the New World transmit actual paper or just messages...
But there was no choice, so much information needed to be conveyed. Garrett left his room with the letters, only to see Lynn coming out as well. Seeing him, Garrett generously handed over the letters:
“Let’s cross-check the information to see if we missed anything.”
They exchanged letters, and as Garrett read, he saw the beginning was a reassurance letter to their teacher, informing him of his rescue and recounting his capture in the Kingdom of the Eagle God. Further down...
“Ahhh, Brother Lynn, don’t write everything down! Don’t casually mention the Son of the Thunder God or the Plague Lord!”
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