Five days passed and Fabian arrived in Brettel City, followed by a group of merchants. This time, they had brought far more goods than on their previous trip. The enthusiasm of the merchants, who had tasted an untapped market, far exceeded Han Shuo's expectations.
Each merchant had brought a caravan this time. Each had wagons pulled by earth dragons, loaded with bags of various sizes. Inside the various bags were goblin missiles and sacks of crossbows and arrows.
The goods in the rear of the wagons were tightly wrapped in canvas. Although, from the look of the bulky packages, it didn't take a genius to figure out that each wagon held ammunition, and lots of it. Two large, slow-moving earth dragons pulled each wagon, each 5 metres wide and 10 metres long. Each of these gigantic carriages was large enough to hold 10 battle chariots or catapults.
The carriages pulled by the dragons contained at least 20 battle chariots, while the 27 smaller carriages behind them were pulled by war horses. Although these 27 carriages weren't as large as those pulled by the earth dragons, each was large enough to hold 3 battle chariots.
Even further back were the Cloudmound Beasts. Extraordinarily, these creatures were as strong as the earth dragons, but just as slow. They were twice the size of warhorses, each long leg as big as an elephant's. They carried sacks of food and other necessities. They should be able to fill the warehouses of Brettel City.
The number of merchants had doubled from the last time, each wearing a smile that only widened as they approached the city. They all wore casual expressions, each talking about their soon to be profits.
They hadn't seen a single corpse on the road from Seamist City to Brettel City, nor had they seen a single hide or hair of a bandit. After Dorcas' extermination campaign, all bandits had been wiped out. Those who had co-operated had been conscripted as hard-working janitors, keeping the streets free of litter.
As they noticed these subtle details, the merchants began to relax. When they reached the city, Jack, Brettel City's Minister of Finance, paid the merchants in a lump sum after taking an inventory of the goods delivered.
The merchants, who had come such a long way, were delighted to receive their money. They didn't leave Brettel City right away, but they begged Jack to allow them to open a shop in Brettel City.
"Jack, the Boozt Merchant Guild is also planning to open a branch here, help us prepare a suitable location," Fabian said to Jack.
"Understood. The branch of the Boozt Merchant Guild will be the first to be prepared," Jack promised with a smile. Despite the objections of the nearby merchants, he secretly took Fabian aside and asked, "These merchants have finally come to their senses and want to set up shop in Brettel City?"
Since the defeat of the four major bandit groups, Brettel City has become known as a merchant's paradise after our meticulous marketing campaign. To be honest, the mines surrounding Brettel City are rich in resources. As long as we have enough smiths, Brettel City will certainly be able to use these resources to create weapons.
"Brettel City is also the closest connection to the seven grand duchies. As for the nobility of the seven grand duchies, the Lancelot Empire's ornate clothing and porcelain were luxury products that they were willing to spend large amounts of money on. On the other hand, the hardy horses, furs and jewels produced by the Seven Grand Duchies are also much sought after by the Lancelot Empire.
If it weren't for the fact that Brettel City's security could not be guaranteed, the city's ideal location would have made it the place to be for merchants. Now that the news of the defeat of the four bandit groups has spread, along with the guarantee of safe passage, many merchants will willingly come to the Boozt Merchant Guild to sell their wares."
"Just wait, this is only the first wave. As long as Brettel City can make the merchants feel safe, more and more merchants will come in droves. At that point we'd be hard pressed to even try to stop the activity." Fabian explained to Jack.
"It seems that our decision was a wise one." The little fat man smiled until his small eyes almost crinkled at Fabian's words, "Guess what, Bryan made a trip to the underground world a while ago. Do you know how many precious things he brought back? Haha, I now have two million gold coins at my disposal! If we include the crystals and other valuables, the amount of money at my disposal reaches three million! I never thought I would be able to control so much money!
Fabian was visibly shocked when he heard these words, then sighed, "Follow Bryan well, you little brat. The very fact that he's given you so much money to look after is a sign of his confidence in you. As long as you work hard, becoming a noble is only a matter of time."
"Rest assured, Uncle, I know what I have to do. The crystals, gold, silver, jewels and other valuables must be sold through the merchant guilds. Brettel City is an iron fortress as long as we have enough money," Jack replied.
"There are some merchants here who might be interested in your products. You should find them and deal with them directly." Fabian laughed and said, "We're going to see Bryan, Phoebe asked me to bring him some things."
"Go on in. He's waiting for you." Jack replied.
Fabian soon found Han Shuo's room after leaving Jack. Han Shuo waited impatiently because he already knew that Fabian was coming. Han Shuo greeted Fabian as soon as he heard his footsteps. Smiling, he said, "Mister Fabian. Did Phoebe ask you to bring me something?"
""Of course. This space ring contains what you need." Fabian laughed and handed the space ring to Han Shuo. Han Shuo focused his mental power into the space ring and immediately joined in Fabian's laughter.
"Take this sword to Phoebe for me. Be careful and make sure nothing happens on the way." Taking out the Divine Artefact 'Starry Sky', Han Shuo handed it to Fabian with a warning: "This is the divine weapon 'Starry Sky', formerly belonging to the leader of the Redbud Knights, Celt. You should know its value."
Fabian's expression immediately turned serious as he realised what he was holding in his hand. He stored "Starry Sky" in his own space ring and said, "Rest assured, I will definitely bring this sword to Miss Phoebe."
"Tell Phoebe to continue collecting the items on this list." Han Shuo took out another list and handed it to Fabian.
"Understood, I know what to do." Fabian put the letter away and continued to reassure Han Shuo.
After Fabian said goodbye, Han Shuo found Chester, gave him some instructions and then returned to the Cemetery of Death.
The Cemetery of Death was bathed in the aura of death all year round. A large oval hole had appeared amongst the white bones. The hole was surrounded by 12 colourful banners, each about 10 metres high and still managing to flutter despite the complete lack of wind. Each banner was emblazoned with some exotic symbol.
The oval pit was filled with large bone spikes, all pointing upwards. Some of these bones had been pulled from the green dragon's corpse by Han Shuo, while the others had come from the forbidden land from the previous time. All of the bones belonged to deceased powerful magical creatures.
Han Shuo dumped buckets of black and shimmering purple liquid into the oval pit. Bucket after bucket was dumped in, Han Shuo seemingly having an endless supply from his space ring. All of it went into the pit.
This liquid was either metallic smelling blood or juices of a much more gruesome nature. It came in many colours and the smell was far from flattering. After dozens of buckets had been dumped into the pit, Han Shuo took out a dagger and made a shallow slit in his wrist. He held it over the hole as drops of fresh blood dripped from his arm.
As Han Shuo's fresh blood splashed into the hole, the liquid began to emit red smoke. Surprisingly, the drops of Han Shuo's blood didn't diffuse but floated around like red agates. The still liquid began to bubble, catalysed by Han Shuo's blood, as a crackling sound filled the air.
Han Shuo lifted his head and whistled, a long, low dragon cry that promised sinister things to come. The Demonslayer Edge shot out from the back of Han Shuo's neck, bringing with it the spirits of the fallen. The silently flailing and screaming ghosts resembled a nest of snakes as they were drawn into the twelve banners. After hundreds of ghosts had been absorbed by the banners, a killing aura began to emanate from the banner, slowly rising into the sky.
The killing aura seemed to be attracted to the liquid in the hole, arcing down into the hole at a speed visible to the eye. With the help of this killing aura, Han Shuo's originally emulsified blood gradually dissolved into the liquid contained within the hole, soon disappearing without a trace.
Taking a deep breath, Han Shuo circulated his magical yuan towards the wound on his wrist, watching as the cut from his dagger quickly healed.
Pulling out the skeleton staff, Han Shuo began to quickly chant an incantation. Three evil knights on horseback suddenly appeared in front of Han Shuo. He pointed his staff at the hole in the ground. The bound evil knights didn't hesitate and jumped into the hole one after the other.
As the first evil knight and his horse landed in the pit, the previously silent knight and horse suddenly threw their heads back in a soundless roar. Not a sound came from the pit as they screamed, the knight's bronze armour and the horse's sizzling as they came into contact with the liquid. Both gave off clouds of smoke that rose high into the air.
The evil knight and his horse looked as if they were in the worst pain imaginable. The evil knight, who normally would not dare to violate the contract, suddenly tried to break the power of the contract, trying to get out of the hole that was causing him so much pain, his body twisting and thrashing in agony.
The Evil Knight was no lowly being like the Skeleton Warriors. These powerful fighters had their own version of intelligence in their dimension. Although their prodigious strength was limited by the magical contract, the excruciating pain that surpassed that of death forced him to instinctively fight against the contract.
Han Shuo cursed under his breath as he held the skeletal staff. "How can you be reborn if you can't feel this kind of pain? You do not know what is good for you. You'll know what this pain has brought you after you've been tempered and your body reforged. The materials required for this Twelve Demon Rearing Fragment Formation alone cost at least one hundred thousand gold coins. Stop struggling!"
As Han Shuo cursed, he used his consciousness to suppress the evil knight's struggles and force the other two evil knights into the pit as well.
Just like the first evil knight, the other two evil knights forced into the pit began to resist due to the overwhelming pain and tried to break the contract Han Shuo held over them.
Han Shuo could easily handle the rebellion of a single evil knight. However, when three evil knights and their steeds resisted as a group, even he would have trouble dealing with them. Han Shuo was forced to use all of his available mental strength to firmly suppress their combined attack on the magical contract.
"Nine cycles of demon reincarnation, scattered souls return to your positions, reduce!" Even as Han Shuo used his mental strength to bring the evil knights back under control, he still had to expend some effort to manipulate the spell.
After he spat out the words, the killing aura emanating from the twelve banners began to thicken. The mysterious patterns inscribed on the banners began to form faces. Under the infusion of the spirit's power, twelve sinister demon faces gradually appeared. Although each demon's face was unique, they had a terrifying resemblance. They struck fear into the hearts of men and women alike.
These twelve demon faces were identical to the demon heads that had entered Han Shuo's body when he had entered the separate demon realm. After the twelve grimacing demon faces had all appeared on the banners, twelve demon heads slowly emerged from Han Shuo's body and floated in front of their respective faces.
After the twelve demon heads had returned to the banners from Han Shuo's body, the killing aura emitted by the banners suddenly swirled into a vortex and gathered in the centre of the central pit. The three knights and their mounts felt as if their souls had suddenly been set on fire. Their pain had doubled and they began to fight even harder against the contract that bound them.
Han Shuo froze, barely managing to put down the skeletal staff. He sat in place in front of the pit, using every ounce of his formidable mental strength to suppress the evil knights and their steeds. Inside the pit, the evil knights swung their bone lances wildly, as if they wanted to decapitate Han Shuo right then and there.