Reputation was everything for a band of mercenaries, after all who was going to hire untrustworthy soldiers.
"Let's all calm down! I'm sure the Elder didn't mean that" Lawrence said as he raised his arms trying to calm the mood among those present. It was obvious from the expression of the Elder of the Purple Mountain Sect that he did mean what he said a few moments ago, but in the face of Lawrence's threatening gaze, he simply kept his mouth shut.
'These bastards planned everything from the beginning... They let our forces weaken so that we would not be in a position to reject their terms.'
'Shit... But it's not like we can afford to give them much... Our coffers are practically empty after this war and it will take us a considerable time to recover...'
'Not to mention those bastards from the Neighboring Sects who will undoubtedly be lurking like vultures... Shit, I have to think carefully about what I'm doing...' An infinite number of thoughts passed through Lawrence's mind at that moment, after all, it wasn't for nothing that he was the Sect Leader.
"What are the terms that Commander Aaron suggests?" Lawrence asked with a gentle tone that clearly hid his murderous intentions.
"We would like an increase in our pay rate of at least fifty percent"
"This can also be paid in slaves and other goods if it is facilitated to the Sect Leader that way…" Aaron said with a cruel smile. Slaves were also assets that could be exchanged at auction houses, so they would naturally have a value especially if they were cultivators.
'Shit… This damn bastard is not leaving me a way out' Lawrence had an expression as if he had just chewed shit, after all he had planned to finance this campaign by selling the disciples of the Three Swords Sect to the slave traders.
"But Commander Aaron. As you can witness. Our situation is not at all the best…"
"Many of our Elders and Disciples have fallen so it is natural that their families require compensation… This is not counting the costs of the war" Lawrence said with a pitiful expression, he did not care in the least about his proud image at this moment, he simply wanted to save as much money as possible.
"I assume then that the Sect Leader has some payment alternative that can satisfy us all?" Commander Aaron asked with a smile.
'Sect Leader... I think the lightning grass would be quite useful in these cases.' While Lawrence was devising some method of payment, a mental transmission from the Elder of his Sect's treasury came to his head.
'But Lightning Grass is a rather rare and valuable resource... The previous leader of the Sect found it by pure chance on the Lightning Islands, I don't consider it wise to give it to these bastards' Lawrence said with frustration.
Lightning Grass was a valuable ingredient for an elemental affinity pill for those cultivators who controlled the lightning element. . Her rich Yang attribute made her quite a valuable resource for male cultivators.
'I know Sect Leader; however remember that our coffers cannot meet your demands...'
'Also, see this as an investment in the future after all, once we manage to manage the Assets of the Three Swords Sect, our income will almost triple!' Said the Treasury Elder with a convincing tone of voice.
'Mmmm, take one step back to take two steps forward... What Elder Mao says is true... If we can get hold of the assets of the Three Sword Sect we will have more than enough to recover from this crisis' After thinking about it one last time, Lawrence finally agreed.
"I have an item that may be of interest to Commander Aaron and his men" Lawrence said as he ordered the Treasury Elder to bring the Lightning Grass with him. Because they were in an invasion, he had decided to bring most of his treasures with him to avoid leaving them unprotected in the Sect.
"This is a Lightning Grass… I think that Commander Aaron with his extensive experience will know of its importance and above all its value…" Lawrence said while showing a small piece of grass through which small strands of electricity ran.
Unconsciously Aaron and the rest turned to see Ruvan after all he was a user who mastered the lightning element.
"I'm sure that if Commander Aaron auctions off this herb he will get a very generous amount of cristals for you and your men" Lawrence said with a salesman's smile.
"Mmmm it's good to do business with reasonable people like Sect Leader Lawrence" Aaron said with a smile as he took the container containing the small Lightning Grass.
After a few words it was finally time to say goodbye.
"It was a pleasure to have worked for Sect Leader Lawrence… You know that when you need us the doors of our Mercenary Band will always be open" Aaron said with a kind smile as he gave Lawrence a friendly squeeze.
'You fucking greedy bastards... You're dreaming if you think I'll ask for your services again' Lawrence cursed internally as he just smiled friendly in front of Aaron and his men.
After a few more exchanges of words, the group of mercenaries finally set off back to the Yellow City where they had their base of operations.
"Hey Commander! What exactly are we going to do with the Lightning Grass?" Jiri asked at that moment, who was on top of his mount, which was a quite beautiful white unicorn.
"For now I will keep it with me until the time is right to put it up for auction" Aaron said while riding a rather large black wolf. The Wolf had a beautiful black coat that made it quite rare in the region.
"I guess Commander Aaron is referring to the Great Spring Auction," said Ruvan who at this time was also riding his snake named Viridis.
"Exactly! That auction will be our best chance to get a lot of money for this Herb unless one of you wants to buy it" Aaron said with a smile as he directed his gaze towards Ruvan.
"I appreciate the offer but unfortunately I don't have enough spiritual stones" Ruvan said with a sad smile.
'sneaky little fox... As if we didn't know you have more spirtual stones than all of us combined' Aaron murmurs in his mind with an amused smile.
"And where is the idiot Wiltord? Why don't I see him leading his troops? At that moment Jiri noticed that the giant Rhino that Wiltord was using as a mount was galloping calmly without a rider.
"The Captain is relaxing for a while with some of the prisoners." At that moment, Wiltord's second lieutenant responded with a lascivious smile.