Chapter 66: Astronomical Price for Black Diamond, Purchasing Golden Equipment!

Upon hearing this, Hilton fell into deep thought.

Following a merchant's instinct, he would certainly have employed his exquisite rhetoric at this moment to downplay the value of the Black Diamond.

Then, he would have aggressively bargained to acquire it at an extremely low price to maximize his profits.

However, because of Cao Xing's identity as a Chosen Lord, and the fact that he brought out such a precious item as a [Black Diamond] for his first transaction,

it made Hilton feel that Cao Xing was a lord with immense potential.

If he could leave a good impression on him, there might be opportunities for future cooperation.

Weighing short-term gains against long-term benefits, he chose the latter.

Thus, Hilton said, "The market price for an average Black Diamond is usually between 200,000 and 400,000 crowns."

"A high-quality Black Diamond can sell for 500,000 crowns."

Hearing this, a hint of joy appeared at the corners of Cao Xing's mouth.

500,000 crowns! This was truly a massive sum, and it indeed exceeded the price of a purple-tier piece of equipment.

However, Hilton's next words surprised him even more.

"And the Black Diamond you have in your hand is a top-tier piece."

Hilton pondered for a moment and stated a price.

"950,000 crowns, how does that sound?"

When he quoted this price, a flash of surprise appeared in Cao Xing's eyes!

Because this price had far exceeded his expectations.

It even exceeded the price of that golden shield!

Although Cao Xing did not understand the prices of this world,

it was clearly a reasonable price.

Because it was already higher than the price of that golden shield.

Cao Xing let out a long sigh.

He hadn't expected that the Black Diamond he scavenged from that raider camp could actually be exchanged for a piece of golden equipment.

This made Cao Xing secretly decide that if he had the chance in the future, he must clear out a few more raider camps. What if he found more good things?

Thus, Cao Xing said, "How about this, I want that golden shield, plus 100,000 crowns, making it exactly 1,000,000."

Hearing Cao Xing increase the price by another 50,000, Hilton pondered for a moment, then nodded.

"Deal."

Joy appeared on both of their faces.

After speaking, Hilton signaled to the mercenaries behind him.

Two mercenaries walked over, each carrying a large black box.

Then, they opened the boxes in front of Cao Xing.

Inside one box lay a hexagonal shield, over a meter tall, completely golden.

It was engraved with intricate patterns, combining beauty with a powerful sense of weight.

The magnificence of this shield's appearance was comparable to some works of art.

And in the other large box were stacks upon stacks of crowns.

Hilton exclaimed, "Lord Cao Xing, you truly have an eye for quality."

"I collected this shield from an ancient tribe. It has at least a thousand years of history, and its craftsmanship even made the dwarven forging master, Taidake, marvel."

"Master Taidake said that this forging method has very likely been lost."

"Therefore, this might be the last shield of its kind on the entire continent, possessing extremely high collection value."

Cao Xing nodded; he could also see the preciousness of this shield.

Even that group of natives looked at the box with longing in their eyes.

Of course, as for what Hilton said about it being a limited edition, Cao Xing didn't pay it any mind.

After all, these merchants always liked to blow their goods out of proportion to increase their added value.

Then, they exchanged the goods.

[Transaction successful: You obtained [Paladin Shield (Gold)], [Coins] * 100,000, you lost [Black Diamond] * 1]

Upon completing the transaction, joy appeared on both of their faces.

And Cao Xing looked at the golden shield in his inventory, feeling extremely excited.

After all, this was the first piece of golden equipment he had obtained.

At this moment, Hilton once again looked at Cao Xing with eager eyes and asked, "Respected Chosen Lord, I wonder if you have any other special items?"

He seemed unsatisfied, as although the acquisition price for this Black Diamond was very high,

he still had ways to use it to earn huge profits.

Cao Xing shook his head, "Not for the moment, Lord Hilton."

Hilton looked a bit regretful, but he quickly recovered and said, "No problem, Lord Cao Xing. I will often come to the Gale Snowfield in the future. If you have any special items, please try your best to trade them with me."

Cao Xing also nodded with a smile, "That's easy to say, Lord Hilton, happy to cooperate."

After speaking, Cao Xing took the initiative to step out of his territory and shook hands with Hilton to show his sincerity.

Hilton also extended his chubby little hand.

"Happy to cooperate!"

At this moment, Hilton glanced at the territory behind Cao Xing.

His gaze lingered for a moment on the [Lord's Cabin] and the [Primary Elemental Arrow Tower].

He nodded secretly.

Then, his gaze fixed on the [Tavern] that was already half-built.

Hilton's eyes lit up; he seemed to have made some kind of decision.

"Lord Cao Xing, I see that your territory has already begun to take shape, and you are even close to finishing the construction of a tavern."

"I wonder if you are willing to establish trade relations with our Black Lion Chamber of Commerce?"

"Trade relations?"

"Yes."

Hilton nodded, "In the future, when our Black Lion Chamber of Commerce travels through the Gale Snowfield, we will also come to your territory and use it as a trading point."

"Of course, we will pay a certain fee. At the same time, if you become our partner, you will be able to enjoy a 5% discount when purchasing items from the Black Lion Chamber of Commerce in the future."

Hilton finished speaking in one breath, and Cao Xing understood what he meant.

He had taken a liking to the development prospects of his territory and planned to come here frequently for trade in the future.

A system prompt appeared.

[Your territory's prosperity has reached the requirement. Hilton of the Black Lion Chamber of Commerce is applying to establish trade relations with your territory. Do you accept?]

Cao Xing pondered to himself.

Clearly, this condition had no downsides for him.

Furthermore, because of the influence of the Black Lion Chamber of Commerce, more people would come to the vicinity of his territory in the future, and the probability of recruiting powerful heroes would also become higher.

Cao Xing replied, "Lord Hilton, I would be very happy to establish a cooperative relationship with the Black Lion Chamber of Commerce."

Upon hearing this, Hilton immediately beamed with joy.

[Trade relations have been successfully established. Favorability with the Black Lion Chamber of Commerce has increased. Current favorability: Friendly]

Both parties shook hands happily once again.

At this moment, Cao Xing added, "Lord Hilton, my territory is still under construction, and it will take some time to perfect the facilities."

Upon hearing this, Hilton waved his hand and said, "No worries, Lord Cao Xing, we are not in a rush."

At this moment, the two eyes on Hilton's greasy, large face rolled, as if he had thought of something.

"Lord Cao Xing, the construction of a territory requires more manpower. I wonder if you need to recruit a batch of new territory residents?"

Cao Xing frowned slightly upon hearing this, "Lord Hilton, what do you mean?"

Hilton smiled mysteriously.

Then, he had someone uncover the black curtains on the last two carriages.

Cao Xing immediately saw a group of humanoid creatures with white skin, wearing clothes sewn from white leaves, and even having white hair, curled up in the carriage.

"These are?" Cao Xing asked, puzzled.

Hilton explained, "These are the Tree Spirit Clan. They are the guardians of the Pale Holy Tree, but because of the awakening of the Ancient Dragon Zhaitan, their homeland was destroyed."

"A large number of the Tree Spirit Clan are homeless. They fled all the way from the Northern Continent and came to our Western Continent."

"Our Black Lion Chamber of Commerce president couldn't bear to see this group of former guardians displaced, so he asked us merchants to bring the Tree Spirit Clan along when we travel for business, to see if we could find a kind-hearted lord to take them in."

Speaking of this, Hilton added, "Lord Cao Xing, please rest assured, the Tree Spirit Clan has lived in the Northern Continent for years; they are hardworking and will not slack off when working."

After listening to Hilton's introduction, Cao Xing understood.

These Tree Spirit Clan members were not captured by them, but rather, because they were homeless, they had voluntarily sought refuge with the Black Lion Chamber of Commerce.

Now, the Black Lion Chamber of Commerce was looking for a place for this group of fugitives to settle down.

From this perspective, the Black Lion Chamber of Commerce was not like those traditional merchants who are always unscrupulous; at least they still retained a shred of conscience.

Of course, this batch of Tree Spirit Clan members must have also brought them quite a bit of profit.

Cao Xing couldn't help but think: 'It seems this world is not peaceful either. There are all kinds of cultists, evil gods, and now even an Ancient Dragon has appeared.'

From a distance, Cao Xing saw the attributes of these Tree Spirit Clan members.

[Tree Spirit: Valerie lv6]

[Health Points: 360/360]

[Attack Power: 27~31]

[Skill: None]

[Talent: Pale Tree Guardian (Within the range of the Pale Tree, restores 0.1% of health per second)]

…

[Tree Spirit: Voino lv4]

[Health Points: 280/280]

[Attack Power: 23~25]

[Skill: None]

[Talent: Pale Tree Guardian]

…

[Pale Seed: Nive lv5]

[Tier: Tier 1 Elite]

[Health Points: 420/420]

[Skill: Forest Eye (Can share vision with a plant within the nearby range)]

[Talent: Pale Tree Guardian]

…

Seeing Nive's attributes, Cao Xing's eyes immediately lit up.

She was actually a Tier 1 Elite, and she even had a special skill.

Cao Xing's gaze locked onto a rather petite Tree Spirit Clan member in the carriage.

She was also looking at Cao Xing with curious eyes.

With eyes like ice crystals and skin as white as snow, she looked like a crystal doll.

However, the moment she made eye contact with Cao Xing, this Nive lowered her head.

It was estimated that Nive herself hadn't discovered her own uniqueness.

After all, Elite tier only had 30% more attributes than normal creatures; at a low level, this advantage was not that obvious.

The attributes of the other Tree Spirit Clan members were not bad either; they could be used as labor units.

They could also be trained into Frost Archers after the training barracks were built.

At this moment, Cao Xing was truly tempted!

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