Black Hearted Mage

Chapter 150 The Gallant Old Quinn

If anyone in Fire Maple City were to be the most informed, it would undoubtedly be the renowned Imperial Eagle Eyes. This powerful organization possessed a vast army of well-trained spies, who moved silently and unnoticed through every corner of the city, gathering vital intelligence.

Just as Caesars displayed the extremely precious Fire Crystals and the gorgeous Flame Flowers on his stall, the spy chief in the castle immediately received the relevant news.

The spy chief's face was gloomy, his eyes gleaming fiercely. He slammed the table and shouted, "Come! Immediately arrest that audacious, treacherous tax collector and throw him into that dark prison for a thorough interrogation! Also, immediately send a message to the Imperial Council and the Court of Justice, demanding they come and discuss this matter as soon as possible. With the enemy at our doorstep and the situation so tense, yet someone dares to disregard the greater good and attempt to seize vital magical materials that the empire desperately needs. This matter must be thoroughly investigated and shown no mercy!"

Following the spy chief's order, Hawkeye's men began to act quickly.

According to the detailed intelligence held by the Empire's Eagle Eye, the seemingly closely united magic guild is no longer a solid block, but has split into two opposing factions.

At this moment, the old man Quinn, with his gray hair and wrinkled face but still in good spirits, frowned and said slowly, "Carlos, that guy is really going too far. The price of the fire crystal he is offering is simply ridiculously high. But even so, I'm afraid we still have to consider purchasing it..."

"Quinn, if we use gold coins as the item for this transaction, then the price offered by Caesars is really outrageous. However, we can use dark magic crystals to make this transaction with him. Although dark magic crystals are a scarce resource, almost no magicians have a demand for them. The storage rings in the warehouse that contain dark magic crystals are already full!" The masked spy chief said this softly, and his words even revealed a hint of joy that was difficult to conceal.

"Well, what you said does make sense! It is precisely because few people need dark magic crystals that the mine was assigned to Hawkeye. If it were magic crystals of other properties, His Majesty the Emperor would not be willing to let it go! Carlos, I will go to the big square now to buy fire flowers and fire crystals. Look at your unique outfit. As long as you appear in Fire Maple City, everyone will know that the spy chief has appeared! Haha..." Quinn, who was wearing a black magic robe, slowly stood up and teased Carlos with a smile on his face.

"Quinn, you'd better hurry up, or someone else will snatch your things away first!" Carlos urged.

The Imperial City's Grand Plaza was now a sea of ​​people. Leather-clad mercenaries were bustling in and out of the Mercenary Guild, and a crowd gathered around Kaisas's stall. Ninety-percent-new magic steel weapons were being sold for the price of brand-new weapons. Several magicians, gritting their teeth, struck deals with Kaisas for a high-grade magic crystal and a flame mushroom.

Several beautifully decorated carriages rolled slowly, finally coming to a steady stop in front of the magnificent Magic Guild. At that moment, Caesars was staring at the stalls, completely oblivious to what was happening not far behind him, at the entrance to the Magic Guild.

The black snake that had been beside Caesar seemed to have sensed something. It suddenly raised its sleek black body and called out twice anxiously at Caesar, as if conveying some important information to its master.

At this moment, a deafening "clang" suddenly erupted from one of the carriages at the entrance of the Magic Guild. The sound was so loud, like a bolt from the blue. Then, a series of continuous crashing noises rang out, as if something was violently ramming the solid magic steel carriage.

Hearing the sudden noise, Caesars instinctively turned his head. The moment he turned, a familiar figure appeared in his sight. A master alchemist, Kandel, dressed in a blue magic robe and a pointed hat, hurriedly opened the carriage door and trotted towards the back.

When Kandel reached the rear of the carriage and lifted the thick hide covering it, a dazzling golden light flashed. Caesars looked closely and saw a massive, golden-eyed black snake. Its body was as thick as a thigh, its scales gleaming, and its golden eyes emanated a chilling aura.

"Fuck! They actually brought your mother out!" Caesars couldn't help but exclaim in a low voice. He quickly reached out and gently stroked the head of the small black snake beside him, trying to calm its agitation. At the same time, he quickly took action, with a powerful sweep of his hands, gathering the huge animal hides spread out on the ground to display the merchandise. Then, he grabbed the small black snake and sprinted towards the entrance of the Magic Guild.

"Master Kandel, what are you doing bringing it out here?"

Kaisas patted the alchemist's shoulder, which startled Kandel. He stuffed the small black snake in his hand into the magic steel cage and patted the snake's head.

"Kaissa, don't talk behind my back, you almost scared me!" Kandel said a little guiltily.

"Master Kandel, I didn't mean to scare you. You were afraid that the golden-eyed black snake would suddenly spit poison. I was just setting up a stall there, and when your carriage arrived, my little black snake became uneasy!"

As Caesars spoke, he looked into the cage and saw the big snake touching the small snake with its tongue. There must be some kind of induction between them.

"Kaisas, how did you raise your snake? How did it get so big? It's half the thickness of the other two little golden-eyed black snakes!"

"I used to feed it low-level magical beasts, but now I feed it mid-level magical beasts - the Flame Viper. By the way, you haven't told me yet, what are you doing with the big snake? You're not going to sell it to the magic guild, are you?" Kaisas asked.

"We're not selling the snake. We're taking it to the Northern Plateau. We've received news from the people of the North. Too many vipers have emerged from the cracks in the earth. They're spreading like a tide, and their range of activity extends four or five miles on either side of the cracks. Vipers are afraid of the golden-eyed black demon snake. Taking it with us will help us be safer!"

Kandel patiently explained, and then Old Roman got off the carriage and walked over. When Caesar saw him, he didn't know how to address him.

"Kaisas, you've grown so big!"

After Caesar left the North Tower, old Roman never saw him again, and more than ten years passed in the blink of an eye.

"Old Roman, you haven't aged at all. You're still the same as before. I'll take care of this big snake for you. You guys go do the important things. I'll take them to the stall!"

After seeing Old Roman, Caesars felt a little complicated. He didn't want to have any more contact with him. Old Roman was very selfish and decisive in his actions. He was definitely a ruthless person.

Kaisas opened the magic steel cage and waved at the thick, golden-eyed black magic snake. The huge snake head stretched out of the cage, which scared Kandel.

"Kaisas, don't do anything stupid!"

"It's okay, it listens to me. I'll let it watch over my stall!"

The moment the massive, golden-eyed black demon snake appeared, a piercing hissing sound erupted, and everyone at the entrance to the Magic Guild fled. This high-level demon beast possessed immense intelligence. Its golden, vertical pupils fixed intently on Kandel, ready to attack. Old Roman, too, was on guard, having activated his magic shield.

At this moment, Caesars slapped the big snake hard and said, "Follow me!"

Caesars walked towards the bustling square with steady, powerful steps, his stern face revealing a hint of determination and ruthlessness. Meanwhile, the fierce-looking golden-eyed black demon snake slowly twisted its head, following closely behind him. And the dainty little golden-eyed black demon snake, like a spring, suddenly leaped out of its magic steel cage and leaped at astonishing speed, following the figure ahead.

"Oh my God, old Roman, look! The black magic snake can actually jump forward!" The great alchemist standing aside widened his eyes and shouted loudly in astonishment.

Caesars walked to the front door of the mercenary guild and calmly took out the savage cowhide. He then skillfully arranged it neatly, setting up a simple stall again. This time, he did not take out the comfortable recliner to rest, but half-lying on the huge black snake.

"Hiss..." The little black snake, lying on the ground, let out a low, gentle cry, as if expressing its unbearable hunger to its owner. Caesars casually picked up a viper, its body a vibrant red, like a burning flame, and placed it next to the little snake. Surprisingly, the little black snake didn't pounce on the food. Instead, it obediently picked up the viper in its mouth and brought it to the mouth of the massive snake next to it.

The giant snake sniffed the Flame Viper a few times, then bit it and swallowed it whole. Seeing this, Caesars couldn't help but sigh.

"Saint Paul, you eat this!"

Another Flame Viper was taken out and placed next to the little snake.

The two great magicians standing at the entrance of the Magic Guild saw how obedient the Golden-Eyed Black Snake was. They both felt that the young Caesars, who had lived there for more than a decade, must have been hiding something from them.

"Old Roman, we all underestimated Caesars back then. This guy deceived me all those years ago, and yet I believed his lies!"

The great alchemist looked at the golden-eyed black snake that was used as a cushion and recalled some past events.

"When the Thorn Flower Trading Company specifically asked for Kaisas, it probably wasn't because he could feed the black snakes, but perhaps for other reasons. The magic fluctuations in his body are no different from yours. If the two of you were to compete in magic, you wouldn't necessarily be his match!"

Old Roman sighed as he spoke, then turned and walked towards the hall of the Magic Guild.

People started to come to Caesar's stall. At that moment, the tax collector who was asking for a gold coin was gagged and tied up with a rope and taken away.

"I'll take care of all the flame flowers, fire crystals, and high-grade herbs!"

A calm voice uttered the most arrogant words. Caesars quickly looked up and saw that it was the old wizard Quinn from Hawkeye. No wonder he was so confident.

"All you need is magic crystals. The price is written on the board!"

Kaisas rummaged through the space ring and took out several bags of high-grade herbs, several bundles of fire flowers, and a pile of fire crystals.

"Luckily I brought a few extra boxes of magic crystals, otherwise I would have to make another trip!"

Quinn skillfully retrieved a small stool, gently placed it on the ground, and sat down firmly on it. He took a deep breath and began carefully counting the various herbs piled high in front of him. He arranged each herb into its own category and carefully recorded the quantity in a notebook.

As time went on, Quinn gradually sorted out the high-quality herbs and calculated their value. Soon, the stall that was once filled with herbs became empty.

At this moment, several blood-red animal hides appeared on the stall. The hides were covered in red scales, and faintly emanated a faint magical fluctuation.

"This is rare fire lizard leather!" A hint of surprise flashed in Quinn's eyes, and he said without hesitation: "I want all these fire lizard leathers!"

When Caesars, who was sitting beside the stall, heard this, he was stunned for a moment, then smiled and shook his head and said, "Old Quinn, I haven't had time to mark the price yet. Are you in such a hurry to buy them all?" After that, he picked up the wooden board beside him and wrote the words "Salamander Leather" on it with a black charcoal pencil. Then he marked a staggeringly high price next to it, which was more than twice the previous selling price of Salamander Leather!

Yet, faced with such a high price, Old Quinn didn't even frown. He lowered his voice and said to Caesars, "Twenty thousand gold coins isn't too much for high-quality leather. To deal with the priests and magicians of the Saint Laurent Empire, leather armor with high magic resistance is essential. So, no matter what, I have to get these leathers today!"

Caesars nodded, but still insisted, "Old Quinn, I don't accept gold coins here. I only accept magic crystals as trading currency. Besides, there are quite a lot of fire lizard leathers here, more than forty pieces. It would be best if I could sell them all at once. It would save me the trouble of setting up a stall tomorrow!"

At this time, apart from the pile of precious fire lizard leather, there were only two staffs left on the stall, and a dozen storage rings of various styles that had not been sold.

Not long after, the snow-white-haired old Quinn left. He also bought the remaining wands and five storage rings, and left behind nearly twenty boxes of dark magic crystals.