Many local residents of Cado City could not bear to watch the land they had lived in since childhood fall into decline. Now that such a good opportunity had arisen, they spontaneously spread the word within the city. Coupled with the covert efforts of Avril and the City Lord's Mansion, it only took a few hours for even toddlers who could barely speak to clamor about coming to Willow Street to see the dwarves.
This was even more so for mercenaries who lived with their heads on their belts. Upon hearing of the dwarves' arrival, they immediately dug out their hidden gold coins from under their beds and strode to purchase suitable weapons. Everyone knew that weapons forged by dwarves were top-quality.
Unfortunately, they learned of the news too late. Not only could they not buy weapons, but they couldn't even squeeze into Willow Street.
When important news is concealed, it is no longer a secret to the upper echelons of society. Thus, when ordinary citizens arrived, they could only see the remaining nobles and wealthy merchants of Cado City filling every shop. They had their subordinates block outsiders, waving their gold coins, loudly proclaiming their identities, their assets, and their desire to join, to partner, to share equity – they would even beg to get a piece of the action on Willow Street.
Watching chest after chest of gold and silver coins being carried into various shops, ordinary people realized then that Cado City hadn't declined due to a lack of money, but because the money had been cunningly and ruthlessly taken by these black-hearted capitalists.
With fewer than two hundred dwarves, and fewer than a hundred of them capable of forging weapons, they could forge at most a hundred weapons a day. These weapons, let alone supplying other cities, would take months to satisfy the current demand in Cado City alone.
Therefore, the most prominent notice on the bulletin board was not about other news, but about recruiting apprentices.
The number of positions was not one or two, but thousands. The requirements were also very low, with anyone who had experience in blacksmithing or had worked in a blacksmith shop eligible to apply. Cado City had lowered its standards so much, yet it still couldn't gather these thousand apprentices.
Avril, reasoning that they were all her retainers and the dwarves wouldn't run away, decided to treat them like beasts of burden. One dwarf would be responsible for ten apprentices – a quantity that even master blacksmiths among humans could not achieve. Mido's master, who was quite skilled, could only train two apprentices, Andy and Mido.
Furthermore, all recruited apprentices would have to sign contracts, requiring them to work in the dwarf blacksmith shop for at least ten years. Avril's move was aimed at bringing the entire weapon forging industry of Cado City under her control, creating a monopoly. This woman's ambition was truly immense.
Li Xi naturally saw through Avril's ambition. Monopoly, which in his previous life would have been punishable by death, felt incredibly sweet when he was in a position of power. As a beneficiary, why would he stop Avril? At this moment, Li Xi had to steadfastly support Avril. Anyone who dared to hinder their expansion would undoubtedly face the guillotine.
...
Nevar, who was still as lucky as ever, managed to avoid the vampire chaos last time by being out of Cado City on a mission. He only returned three days later to discover that he had once again narrowly escaped death.
Having been rewarded with fifteen hundred gold coins by Li Xi, he did not choose to become a shop owner. After using some of the coins to thank his friends, he spent half of the remaining money on learning dou qi secret manuals and the other half on a new set of equipment. In the blink of an eye, only over seven hundred gold coins remained from the fifteen hundred. Thanks to the expensive equipment, he had managed to survive several difficult missions and was no longer on the brink of being expelled from the Adventurers' Guild.
This time, upon hearing about the dwarf-forged weapons, he didn't hesitate, grabbed his remaining gold coins, and ran over. Only those who had truly experienced life and death knew the preciousness of good weapons; they were life-saving tools.
He had heard about the dwarves slightly earlier than others, but he was still behind those nobles and wealthy merchants in line.
The finished weapons forged by the dwarves could not be sold by the dwarves themselves. Cunning humans would find all sorts of ways to suppress the dwarves' prices, which would only lead to the dwarves and their weapons perishing together.
Fortunately, with Avril around, two clever and nimble maids were trained as auctioneers, holding a newly forged dwarf weapon and demonstrating it for the crowd.
A single strand of hair, drifting down, landed on the blade. With a faint, crisp sound, the hair was cut in two without obstruction, as if it had always been two strands.
The maid heavily lifted the long saber. Fifty sheets of parchment were placed on the table. Simply placing the saber on the parchment, its weight alone was enough to cut through all fifty sheets.
Such sharpness was terrifying. Ordinary weapons could only achieve such an effect after being imbued with dou qi, yet this long saber, with its own weight, could accomplish this, refreshing the crowd's perception of weapons.
After the demonstration, the maid introduced, "The saber is three feet one inch long and weighs twenty-one point five pounds. This long saber can withstand the full force attack of a high-level warrior without breaking, and it can also be enchanted by a spellcaster to add elemental attributes."
"Due to the current scarcity of weapons, it will be sold to the highest bidder. If you are not in urgent need of dwarf weapons, you can wait a few more days. In just half a month, we will have more than enough weapons."
There was no foolish propaganda to inflate prices. Instead, they presented the situation truthfully. To avoid offending the powers that be in Cado City, they adopted a humble attitude, but every single copper coin that should be earned would be.
"The normal price is 230 gold coins. The auction begins now."
"240."
"250."
"260."
To be honest, these nobles bidding were not planning to use these sabers to fight on the battlefield; they were purely for display at home.
The arrival of so many dwarves could lead to an abundance of top-quality weapons. However, when weapons were of the same quality, those nobles who idled away their time would naturally value the invisible value of being the first to acquire it. For example, if this was produced on the first day and yours on the second, then you were inferior to me. Competition was ubiquitous; the lives of the wealthy were so absurd.
Nevar watched the price climb, his heart aching. His own weapon had just been shattered, a twenty-gold-coin weapon now reduced to just a hilt. He desperately needed a good weapon. He had taken a liking to this long saber at first sight. It could not only be used by him but also passed down through generations. If he found a spellcaster to enchant it, its value would be at least a thousand.
Looking at the nobles around him adorned with gold and silver, Nevar gritted his teeth and said, "500 gold coins."
The venue, which had been bidding in increments of ten gold coins, fell into silence. The nobles who had been bidding by ten gold coins at a time immediately stopped. Although they were foolish and rich, they were not foolish enough to be completely extravagant. The price of 500 gold coins far exceeded the weapon's intrinsic value. In a few more days, such an amount of gold could buy two identical weapons.
Under the gazes of everyone watching him like a fool, Nevar was incredibly nervous. Buying a weapon for 500 gold coins. If this had happened before, he would have called the person crazy. But now that it was happening to him, he understood that the price of a weapon was not just its intrinsic value but also its timeliness and importance.
No one dared to raise the price further at 500 gold coins. With the maid's call of "Sold!", the freshly forged dwarf weapon was handed over to Nevar.
The moment he held it, it felt cold as water. Under the midday sun, Nevar couldn't help but shiver. It wasn't that the weapon was cold, but the palpable killing aura emanating from the saber made him shiver. Nevar was overjoyed. If the weapon was like this right out of the forge, it would undoubtedly become even more powerful with increased bloodshed through use. 500 gold coins were well worth it.
Impatiently wrapping the weapon in rags, he swiftly slipped out of the crowd like an eel under the watchful eyes of a few interested parties. 500 gold coins was an amount that could allow an ordinary person to live a carefree life for an entire lifetime.
Li Xi saw everything that happened at the street entrance. He was currently standing in the highest room of Willow Street. This place was originally a tavern, but after some simple renovations, the upper rooms were reserved and not open to the public. Only Li Xi and Avril could enter this room, which spoke to its purpose.
Looking at the bustling scene below, Li Xi said to Avril, "Money is inexhaustible. As long as the dwarves are in our hands, no one can shake the status of the Willow Merchant Group. Instead of standing alone, it's better to blend in. Let's extend all collaborative projects and cooperate with those nobles and merchants. As long as our interests are tied together, no one in Cado City can move against us."
"This matter has already begun. In the face of money, no one can resist. What we lack now is a force that belongs to us. Your strength is immense, which is fine, but you can't be the one to handle everything, can you?" Avril entwined herself around Li Xi like a snake.
Li Xi fell into thought. Establishing his own mercenary group. The strength of his shadow clones would be sufficient, but he lacked personnel. Personnel, hmm?
Images flashed through Li Xi's mind, faces appearing one by one. "Leave this to me. I'll go find people."
While Li Xi was deep in thought, Avril had already shed her inhibitions like a lamb, her eyes hazy with desire. She whispered to Li Xi, "You've been with Sister Aisi every day these past few days, and you haven't had time to come to me. If not now, then when?"
Li Xi understood immediately, tore his clothes into shreds, and pounced on her with a hearty laugh.
Finding people, completing tasks, managing, and earning money could all wait.
It wasn't until curfew began and the dwarves, hugging wine barrels that could drown them, started drinking that Li Xi finally left the uppermost room of the tavern.
Outside a courtyard in Cado City,
"Knock knock."
Li Xi knocked on a tightly shut large door.
"Who?" someone immediately called out from within the courtyard.
"It's me, Li Xi."
The sound of a weapon being sheathed and footsteps could be heard, and the large door creaked open. Cynis, with a slightly displeased expression, greeted Li Xi with a smile, "Brother Li Xi, what's so urgent that you've come to my place so late at night?"
Li Xi followed Cynis into the courtyard and discovered that not only were the members of the Black Tiger Mercenary Group present, but so were the members of White Lion Tych. However, among the familiar faces, several were missing.
Upon seeing Li Xi, all these people came forward to greet him. Li Xi asked in confusion, "What's going on here?"
Cynis sighed, "To be honest with you, Brother Li Xi, during the last vampire rampage, our two mercenary groups lost half of their members. We were forced to merge them, and I've become the leader, with Tych as the deputy leader. We've been discussing leaving Cado City to go to other cities these past few days."
All the members remained silent. For small teams like theirs, with their strength being neither too high nor too low, they were in the most difficult position in Cado City. Low-level missions were a waste of time, and the meager commissions barely covered the cost of weapon repairs. High-level missions were very challenging and a slight misstep could lead to disaster. Honestly, leaving was their only option.
"Then why haven't you left yet?"
Tych gave an awkward smile. After experiencing Li Xi's prowess, he was like a well-behaved child in front of Li Xi. "Brother Li Xi, some of our brothers have families here in Cado City. If we leave like this, their families won't be able to endure the hardships of displacement."