Chapter 19: The Jiggly Belly
A green, scaleless lizard with green eyes appeared in their vision. Looking at this, the pupils of the red lizards widened.
Out of the lesser lizard species, the green lizards were one of the strongest. They were also one of the wisest; this was why even the chief of Frostzards regarded them highly.
"What do you both think you're doing?"
"Respected sir, we are just planning to help this old man, isn't that right?" said one of the red lizards as he looked at the chief. The other red lizard also looked at him, their eyes clearly having a threatening aura.
The green lizard clearly knew of this tactic; they were trying to threaten this old blue lizard.
"Don't you dare lie to me."
"No sir, we're not lying. On top of that, this old lizard looks too poor to buy something."
"And why does that matter to you? Just leave them alone."
"But-"
"Silence!" Suddenly, the shadow growled as she looked at the red lizards with menacing eyes. Clenching her fist, she thought bitterly. 'I might end up killing them, sigh, I have to control my anger.' Unlike other members of her race, she had anger issues. The master and shadow were completely opposite, with the chief being calm and the shadow being more prideful than the young chief.
Gritting her teeth, she looked at them. Those two lizards felt chills traveling through their spine as those two dark orbs stared through the depth of their soul. After an entire minute, she looked at the green lizard, her gaze softening.
"Here's a tip for you." Saying this, she took his palm and placed something in them.
???
A confused look appeared on his face. "Tip? But I don't even work here."
"Then start working." Saying this, she walked away, leaving the dumbfounded green lizard.
"Ha! See sir, I told you they were extremely poor. She just paid you by giving rocks."
"Rocks?" The lizard looked at two rocks in his palms. At that second, a crack appeared on the rock, revealing a green glow.
More and more cracks appeared on it; finally, the outer layer turned into dust, revealing two green orbs.
"Green jade?!" The two red lizards were absolutely baffled. They felt like someone slapped tightly on their face.
This was called face slapping at its peak!
Meanwhile, on the other hand, the shadow was scanning the environment thoroughly. Right now, her priority was to find her master.
'Not a minute passed by, but like a honeybee in a garden of flowers, master already disappeared.' Her eyes soon paused on the old-looking blue lizard who was talking to a toad man.
"Hmm, interesting so you people see wine too? Along with weapons."
"Yes."
"That red wine looks delicious. Bring a bottle of that; it'll be amazing on this frosty night."
Hearing the words "frosty night," the toad raised his eyebrow.
"And why do you want to drink that wine, sir?"
'Why? Is there something wrong with his brain?'
"It is to kill time." The lizard said after thinking for a second.
"Fufu. To kill time, I see." The toad then walked towards the wine.
'Weird toad.' This was the only thought in the chief's mind as he looked at the toad who grabbed the bottle of wine. But he didn't bring it back; instead, he pressed some kind of button concealed properly.
A secret compartment opened through which, the toad took out a red-colored rifle, its barrel resembling a dragon's open mouth. As the toad brought the weapon near, the chief nearly leaped from the seat.
'Devus Rank Weapon?!' The chief himself had broken through Concetum rank and reached Devus rank. Reaching this height of strength, he was sure he could dominate the entire region within the great boundary. Not only that, he could become a respected figure on the entire continent. However, he kept it hidden because he had received a few injuries while breaking through Concetum rank and reaching Devus rank.
Anything that reached this rank would become too powerful, especially a weapon. Though he was shocked, he didn't hold this weapon or wish to buy it now. It would cost too much, and his body wasn't suitable enough with his injuries.
If any other race came to know of this weapon, then undoubtedly they would attack the Frostzards. They didn't dare to offend the true powerhouses beyond the boundary.
Holding a weapon when you're not strong enough is nothing but a sin. Slightly clenching his fist, he said. "Sir, I actually want a real wine."
"So, a real wine, eh?" The toad said, his smile widening as he focused on the word real. "Sorry for the wrong interpretation. And why do you wish for that wine, sir?"
"Man, I just wanna taste some good wine and quench my thirst." He managed to say with his eyelids twitching slightly. He had to make sure these words sounded normal.
"So you wanna quench your thirst, sir?" However, the smile on the toad's face just deepened as he forced on the word 'quench.'
"Forget it,"
"So you wanna forget it, sir?" This time he focused on "forget it."
'Does he have a brain? Or is he acting dumb? New marketing strategy?'
This indeed was a marketing strategy made by Allen. On his instructions, the Toadmen memorized a few code words. Upon hearing these code words, they'd bring a few premium weapons. But these so-called secret codes were actually something that the species would say daily. Instead of directly putting these special strong weapons on display and secretly providing them, the customer would feel special, and the urge to buy these weapons would intensify.
Some would even feel that they are the chosen ones, or they are extremely lucky, boosting their ego.
Rule #3: To sell something, make your customer feel good. Boost their ego!
Of course, the ones who possess a lot of wisdom would be able to see through these tricks.
"Hey, listen, I never asked for wine, okay? I never asked for—"
Thud!
The sound of something heavy crashing on the ground echoed. Both of them looked at the circular staircase; this was the direction from which the sound had echoed.
Shadow who had already reached her master also looked in the direction.
Thud!
Another loud sound echoed. What their fixated eyes saw, was a fat red belly.
'It's huge!' Shadow thought inwardly as the jiggly belly jiggled. More and more sounds of thuds echoed as finally the gigantic red Toad was revealed.
"That isn't the owner right?"
"Yes master."
The chief recognized this Toad. He was one of the most famous merchants in the entirety of the continent.
"Merchant Sheng," people called him. Looking at the fat merchant Sheng descending the stairs while complaining about how difficult it was, looked quite comical.
"Huff, huff. Owner, you should install a magical carpet that lifts people up."
"Sure thing," Allen replied with a warm yet sharp smile. When the Lizard chief saw his figure, he quietly whispered, "So that's the owner."
"Yes," Shadow affirmed.
A slight frown appeared on the chief's face as he looked at Allen from top to bottom. "I don't sense any godhood."
"Sir, try to pry into his eyes."
"Hmm, alright." Channeling frost energy into his eyes, he tried to pry into Allen's eyes. What happened next was something that he would never forget in his entire life.