Chapter 73: Preparing to Do Beast Trading Business

The recruitment fair was temporarily suspended due to the incident of Li Xie being stabbed. The gates of Juhua City were tightly closed, and no one was allowed to enter or leave without Jack's authorization.

Li Xie himself stayed inside the City Lord's Mansion, not daring to go out, as the killer from the Sky List had not been found yet. Since killers from the Sky List receive payment before carrying out their missions and will not stop until they succeed, it was only a matter of time before they came again.

Beside Li Xie, there was only Zeen Nand, the capable warrior. Fan Di Sel had lost too much blood and was still recuperating, but after ten days, he was almost recovered.

In the study of the City Lord's Mansion:

Zeen Nand sat silently, lost in thought, while Li Xie and Xiao'an sat face to face at the desk, with a chessboard between them. Meow Meow was curiously watching from the side.

"General! Hmph, Xie Ge, you lost again. Hand over one thousand gold coins."

During these past ten days, Li Xie, trying to kill time, had thought of playing chess. He immediately had a custom set made, but Zeen Nand had no interest in it. So, Li Xie had to ask Xiao'an to play with him. However, after learning the rules, Xiao'an improved rapidly and defeated Li Xie in every game.

After losing tens of thousands of gold coins over the past few days, Li Xie couldn't help but lament his losses. Xiao'an, on the other hand, was smiling like a crescent moon. "Who says gambling leads to bankruptcy? Small bets can make you rich, and big bets can stabilize the nation!"

"No more!" Li Xie said in frustration.

"Xie Ge, you can't afford to lose," Xiao'an teased with a smile.

"Meow..." Meow Meow made a sound and moved the chess pieces with its paw, then sat in front of Xiao'an, lifting the corner of its mouth on the right side, revealing a small fang. "Meow... Meow Meow..."

"Oh, you silly cat," Li Xie said, without even asking Zeen Nand, he knew what Meow Meow meant. "You think you can beat me too!"

"Bring it on! Xiao'an, let me play against Meow Meow," Li Xie rolled up his sleeves, sneering disdainfully as he looked at Meow Meow, setting up the pieces.

The little cat looked at Li Xie with disdain too. "Meow... Meow Meow!'

"What does that mean? Zeen?" 

Zeen Nand glanced over at Li Xie's side. "Meow said, one finger for each game."

"Hmph! I'm not afraid of you... Wait, you don't have fingers, just claws. I almost fell for that. Let's try something else." Ever since Meow Meow bit Li Xie, the little cat developed a liking for him. It wouldn't eat anything except for occasionally biting Li Xie, which was quite annoying for him.

However, Li Xie didn't mind. He had grown accustomed to it, especially since he now kept a large supply of fresh blood in his spatial ring after the assassination attempt. He didn't mind losing a bit of flesh now and then.

"Meow..." Meow Meow made a sound.

"She says if you win, she won't bite you anymore," Xiao'an translated.

"Alright, that's fair. Meng, you're my witness. Whoever backs out becomes a little dog," Li Xie said.

"Meow!" Meow Meow responded.

So, Li Xie and the cat began playing chess. Soon enough, Li Xie was sweating profusely, and then... he was checkmated!

"I can't believe it! I quit!" Li Xie exclaimed in frustration. "I'm done with chess! I can't beat people, and now I can't even beat a cat!"

"Meow..." The little cat wagged its tail and lifted the corner of its mouth, seemingly proud of itself.

"Hmph, don't get cocky! Fine, no more chess. Let's play Go! No, that requires intelligence too. Well then, how about Snakes and Ladders!" Li Xie, feeling utterly defeated, decided to avoid intellectual games and focus on luck-based ones. Who could beat a cat at that?

Xiao'an blinked. "Go? Snakes and Ladders? Xiao'an hasn't even heard of those! Xie Ge, how do you know so much?"

"Hehe..." Li Xie chuckled proudly. "Your big brother Xie knows everything. You won't learn even a bit in your whole life..."

Li Xie hadn't realized yet how much his modern thinking and knowledge accumulated from reading various books would benefit him. These were thousands of years of cultural heritage.

Xiao'an pouted, feeling disdainful. "If I learn just a bit, I'll beat you easily! Hmph! Next time, we'll play Go and Snakes and Ladders. One game, ten thousand gold coins!"

"Wow! You little brat, so confident! Alright, I'll have someone make a Snakes and Ladders board right away. Watch my luck... Ah! Damn cat, you bit my finger without warning!"

"My Lord," Jack entered the study. "We've identified the assassin."

"Who?" Li Xie became serious. "Sit down and tell us. Xiao'an, fetch a chair for your big brother."

"No need, I'll sit myself," Jack said, pulling up a chair and sitting down. "I sent someone to the Trading Post of the Armed Forces Guild in Sun City. We found out that one of the conditions set by the top ten assassins on the Kill List has been met. It's the ninth-ranked assassin, Wester Weiser."

Jack handed a piece of parchment to Li Xie and continued, "Wester Weiser, an eighth-level summoner, known as the Phantom Assassin. He is proficient in disguise, capable of altering his body shape and even changing facial features. Moreover, he can conceal his aura fluctuations, so nobody knows his true appearance to this day. His assassination skills are unparalleled, and once targeted, none have survived."

"I've experienced his assassination skills firsthand," Li Xie said coldly. "But how can he be only an eighth-level summoner? How can we be sure it's him?"

"It should be him," Jack replied. "His magical beast is a ninth-level Swift Earth Beast, one of the fastest creatures in the magical world. When armored, Wester's speed is probably not much slower than that of a Saint-level expert."

Li Xie glanced at Zane Naide. It's no wonder even Zane Naide, a ninth-level dragon, couldn't catch up.

"My Lord," Jack continued, "since we know it's the Phantom Assassin coming after you, dealing with him shouldn't be difficult. Anyone unfamiliar approaching within ten meters of you should be killed on sight. To prevent the Phantom Assassin from impersonating familiar individuals, it's best for you to establish a passphrase. Anyone meeting you must first provide the passphrase."

Li Xie nodded. "Good. If he won't stop until he kills me, then I have no choice but to kill him! But we can't live in constant fear like this. He's most likely to impersonate someone familiar to me, and whoever he impersonates may be his first target. You all must also be cautious, and Xiao'an should stay within the mansion."

Jack smiled. "Rest assured, My Lord. Assassins on the Kill List have their principles. One of them is not to harm others unrelated to the target. This is something they take pride in and won't deviate from just to eliminate a target."

Li Xie shook his head. "In any case, caution is paramount."

"Yes, My Lord!" Jack added, "There's one more thing. Kano has returned, accompanied by Minister of Beasts, Scamode."

"Good. Bring them in."

Kano and Scamode soon arrived at the study. After exchanging greetings, Li Xie said, "How are the preparations for what I requested?"

Scamode replied, "I initially planned to deliver every three months, but seeing My Lord's urgency, I've gathered quite a lot. I'll bring them to you now."

"Good. I called you here not just for this matter but to discuss the business of magical beasts."

After the assassination attempt, Li Xie became aware of the importance of his own strength. To enhance it, he needed a large quantity of high-level magical beasts' or powerful individuals' blood. However, obtaining the blood of human powerhouses was likely difficult and in insufficient quantity. Thus, he turned his attention to magical beasts.

However, relying solely on the magical beasts under Mercedes VII's control was far from enough. After all, Mercedes VII's magical beasts were mainly allocated to the military, and there were few unclaimed high-level magical beasts.

Li Xie also considered the idea of targeting Mercedes VII's military forces, such as the Earth Lions of the Lion Legion or the high-level magical beasts equipped by the Imperial Guards. However, this would likely harm the nation's foundation, and Mercedes VII would not agree to let Li Xie draw blood from his military's magical beasts every day.

Therefore, Li Xie naturally turned his attention to the magical beast market, intending to buy and sell magical beasts himself. It was simply a matter of trading money for goods, and with Juhua City as the foundation, once Juhua City stabilized, he could develop two other cities, Meihua and Lanmei. He believed that money would not be lacking, but the challenge lay in where to buy magical beasts and how to trade them.

This was the purpose of inviting Scamode.

Scamode understood Li Xie's intention and quickly said, "My lord, apart from His Majesty, it is illegal for anyone in the country to buy or sell high-level magical beasts. I understand that you want high-level magical beasts, but... perhaps my lord could first seek His Majesty's approval. If His Majesty consents and issues an edict, my lord can then legitimately..."

"Don't waste words! Don't you know I have His Majesty's gold medal in hand? Speak when I ask you to speak! Just tell me plainly." Li Xie was somewhat impatient. This matter concerned his own enhancement of power, and he decided to act first and seek permission later.

Even if Mercedes VII refused at that time, he would have to agree.

Was it possible that Mercedes VII wanted another Pantheon Duke, or another Cheetah Legion? Perhaps, at present, Li Xie did not have the ability to resist Mercedes VII. After all, apart from Zeinard and Kano, Jack and Vandi Ser were not necessarily on his side!

However, if Mercedes VII wanted to use Li Xie to restrain or even eliminate the Cheetah Legion of Taiyanghua City, if he did not even provide the convenience of buying and selling magical beasts, what else could make Li Xie work for him?

These were Li Xie's thoughts. Of course, he did not know what kind of person he was in Mercedes VII's eyes. Mercedes VII could not refuse any of Li Xie's requests. Otherwise, how could Mercedes VII bear to give talents like Vandi Ser and Jack Rothschild to Li Xie? Unless, one day, Mercedes VII realized that Li Xie was not a demigod or even a divine body, but a complete waste without any magical or fighting energy fluctuations!

The name "Duke of Evil" had already spread, and the nobles naturally feared Li Xie even more. Scamode was also the same. Seeing Li Xie was displeased and mentioning His Majesty's gold medal, he dared not say more and quickly said, "My lord, fifth and sixth-tier magical beasts can be purchased from the Continental Chamber of Commerce, and sometimes even seventh and eighth-tier magical beasts can be bought from them. However, seventh and eighth-tier magical beasts are mostly traded with the Mercenary Guild, but..."

"But what?"