Your Lord Has A Screw Loose?-Chapter 286 - 288: Playing Both Sides, Deepening the Conflict

Chapter 286: Chapter 288: Playing Both Sides, Deepening the Conflict

“Emperor Shen You wants to see me again? What’s the situation, with the current relations between our two forces, he isn’t coming to kill me, is he…” Qin Muye looked at the message from the Magic Network with a hint of peculiarity.

He actually wanted to refuse outright, but upon further thought, it seemed okay to meet.

Of course, it wouldn’t be him going to the meeting, sending the puppet would suffice.

Otherwise, if the other party kept seeking him out, wouldn’t it be embarrassing? And what if people misunderstood his sexual orientation?

“Then let’s meet, they say no man is a prophet in his own land, who knows what it’s for.” After some tinkering, Qin Muye pulled a figure out.

Indeed, it was his original Shadow Equipment, the Wise Man’s Book, a fine example of turning waste into treasure. Even if it got destroyed, he could revive it from the Abyss.

...

“The style hasn’t changed; it still looks like a Mage Robe made of armor, with a pattern of black and crimson. Apart from looking a bit like a villain, it’s quite nice.”

Qin Muye didn’t wear it often, although it did add to his Attributes, but Qin Muye wasn’t lacking in Attributes at all. Instead, he kept it as a mascot; after all, it could provide him with two Skills even in its Crystal Beast form.

The additional Attributes it provided were just so-so.

“Let’s see where he’s arranged to meet.” After Qin Muye checked the address, he teleported the Shadow Equipment there.

Emperor Shen You thought he would be rejected again. He didn’t expect Qin Muye to agree this time, and as he pondered when the other party would arrive, a sudden fluctuation emerged out of nowhere.

He saw a figure clad in armor that looked like a Robe appear, and at first glance, he could tell there was no one inside; it was merely a puppet.

This left him somewhat frustrated; the Lord of Demon Soil from another plane was too cautious, using a puppet even for a meeting.

Through the reflection of the Wise Man’s Book Shadow Equipment, Qin Muye observed Emperor Shen You, whose appearance was imposing and muscular, clearly a formidable fighter.

“Emperor Shen You? Speak, what business do you have with me? You’ve been troubling me every day to the point of driving me to neurosis,” Qin Muye said with a tone of annoyance.

“I came here just to ask why has the Lord of Demon Soil broken faith and loyalty, selling our armaments to foreign Demon Worms?” Emperor Shen You’s Divine Thought exploded, a massive surge of thunderous Divine Thoughts leaping around him, forming an enormous field of oppression.

This was not just to intimidate Qin Muye, but also to isolate the environment, lest others notice.

Qin Muye was not at all concerned about the pressure; he had it too, but his was even more treacherous than Emperor Shen You’s, and when released, he became an indescribable being.

“About that matter, it was you who first breached the agreement, forcibly seizing our first batch of traded arms. After you used force once, why should I trade with you again? I do not owe you anything, and of course, I need to find a different trading partner,” Qin Muye said unhurriedly.

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“What?” Emperor Shen You couldn’t help but be taken aback. Seizing by force? Hadn’t Wang Cheng paid ten million Silver Taels?

“Could there be some misunderstanding?”

At this point, Emperor Shen You also sensed that something was amiss.

“Misunderstanding? What misunderstanding could there be? We had previously agreed to a barter trade, did we not? What happened then? Someone on your side used a silver note worth ten million Taels to pay. Do you think I could use that? Where would I even cash it in?”

Emperor Shen You was internally raging, Wang Cheng really was something, no wonder Qin Muye was unwilling to trade; this really was no different from a robbery.

“You could exchange the note for Silver Taels in the Great Nether and take them away. Although the amount is large, it can be gathered,” Emperor Shen You knew that now was not the time to discuss this, he could only try to smooth things over.

Qin Muye was exasperated, “What would I do with five hundred tons of silver, and it’s not even pure. What I need are various Resources, and you instead settled with something I can’t use. If I used sea water to buy Resources from you, would you sell them?”

“Sea water is a common commodity, not comparable to gold and silver, Lord of Demon Soil, you truly have a sense of humor,” Emperor Shen You hurriedly retorted.

“Gold, silver, and other precious metals are considered valuable merely because of the value people have assigned to them. They’re very important to Great Nether, but to me, they’re just materials,” Qin Muye retorted.

“Furthermore, the silver you provided was impure, adulterated with a variety of copper and iron. I would have to re-refine it as a material. Do you think I would continue trading with you under these circumstances?”

Qin Muye was indeed truly angered. The silver provided was not pure but had other substances mixed into it. At the time, there had been no testing, and it directly resulted in a batch of equipment being ruined. In the end, I had to refine it, which increased the workload significantly.

For a moment, Emperor Shen You was at a loss for words.

He had come to realize that the system within the Demon Soil was entirely different from that of the Great Nether, and the differences between the two had led to various problems.

To them, gold and silver were currency, but in the Demon Soil, these were mere materials with no commercial value. It was no wonder that the other party preferred bartering with goods instead of settling with currency.

“We can discuss this matter further, as long as you do not supply military provisions to the insect demons of the Exotic Realm…”

Emperor Shen You had not finished speaking when Qin Muye directly interrupted him, “That’s impossible. Compared to you, the insect demons are much more trustworthy. At least they truly provided a full equivalent in return.”

“However, I’m not saying I can’t sell to the Great Nether. In light of your presence, we can talk again, but forget about monopolizing. You’ve given up that right yourself.”

Emperor Shen You thought rather highly of himself, wanting to reap all the benefits while avoiding any of the drawbacks.

But for Qin Muye, this was actually a good thing. The two most ferocious competitors were buying his arms, meaning he could make a considerable profit, and he still had plans to sell to the Spirit Realm later on.

If there had been no issues with the initial transaction, Qin Muye wouldn’t have minded granting exclusivity. After all, it would have been tantamount to helping him deplete the power of the insect demons of the Exotic Realm. But now, thinking about it, since it was all internal strife, it might as well be more intense. Let them all wear each other down together.

Qin Muye would profit either way. Otherwise, if he really refused to sell, and the insect demons of the Exotic Realm were to break through easily, wouldn’t that just benefit the other side? Then Qin Muye might as well make the profit himself.

A flicker of murderous intent passed through Emperor Shen You’s eyes; he had not expected Qin Muye to be so defiant.

But he quickly subdued his anger, “Very well, then thank you, Lord of Demon Soil, for granting me this favor.”

He knew he could not afford to fall out with Qin Muye at the moment, as he still needed enough weapons to arm the magicians guarding the frontier. Without Qin Muye’s weaponry, Husheng Pass might be breached not just this time, but again in the future.

‘Once the Ministry of Industry fully deciphers the secrets of your military equipment, let’s see how smug you’ll be.’

The Ministry of Industry’s progress in cracking the 0.21 version of the Crimson System energy weapons was exceedingly slow. After all, it was a blend of various different systems of weaponry, and the official magicians in the ministry were better at scheming than inventing. Moreover, because “the ancestral laws must not change,” such bold and innovative methods were generally regarded as heretical. Therefore, the styles of military equipment had not been updated for many years, still based on templates that were thousands of years old.

So replicating them would certainly take a significant amount of time, and neither Emperor Shen You nor any of his civil or military officials had realized this issue. Perhaps some had noticed but chose to ignore or suppress it due to vested interests.

Luckily, magicians as a profession were particularly favored by nature and did not rely too much on equipment; otherwise, they would have been lost long ago.

“Alright, I hope that next time, we can avoid such unpleasantness. I have other matters to attend to, so I won’t keep you with idle chatter any longer,” said Qin Muye with a salute before adding, “I’m leaving.”

After he spoke, he disappeared abruptly, leaving Emperor Shen You with pupils constricted: “What a profound spell.”

“This Lord of Demon Soil is truly extraordinary. I couldn’t even tell how he left.”

He had been slightly aware when Qin Muye arrived, but this time he sensed nothing at all, as if Qin Muye had vanished out of thin air.

And that was because the arrival had been through teleportation, while the departure was through direct wishing with the Prayer Technique—naturally, there was a difference.

After all, the Prayer Technique was crafted by the hands of Zeus, Hecate, Hephaestus, and other 8th-tier members of the Titan Divine Race, not something a 7th-tier like Emperor Shen You could contend with.

“And that Wang Cheng, truly more trouble than he’s worth!”

Emperor Shen You had not expected that such a trivial issue would lead to a breakdown in cooperation.

It was merely a minor matter, and the Lord of Demon Soil hadn’t even noticed that there was a problem with his merchants. It was because of the forced buying and selling.

If he were in the same situation, exchanging his gold and silver for worthless mud and water, he would have been irritated as well.