Abyss, Floating Life General Store.
“Welcome! What would you like to buy?”
Lu Sinian heard the elevator bell ring and habitually looked up to ask.
To his surprise, it was Vorris standing outside the door, somewhat nervous.
“Manager, I came to tell you something. Your goods are very popular and sell out incredibly fast. I brought enough money and would like to buy some more.”
“Great, take your pick. The store just received a new stock, and should last for a while.”
Lu Sinian’s eyes lit up. This meant another large sum of money coming in.
After Vorris had once again bought out the entire store, he promptly placed a large bag of gold coins on the table.
Lu Sinian deposited the gold coins into the cash register, earning tens of thousands of energy coins this time alone.
He turned around and found that Vorris hadn’t left. He stood at the door, his face full of apprehension.
“Is there anything else?”
Vorris closed his eyes, looking quite embarrassed, and said, “Um… there’s something.”
He explained his grudge against Hawthorne, then stammered that he hoped Lu Sinian would try to avoid cooperating with Hawthorne.
He quickly added, “Please, I know this request is quite unreasonable, but if you don’t want to, you don’t need to care about what I just said!”
Lu Sinian casually replied, “What’s wrong with that? Since I’ve chosen to cooperate with you, I naturally won’t look for anyone else.”
Vorris was stunned, then became excited: “Thank you, Shopkeeper! Don’t worry, I will definitely promote you. From now on, I’m your loyal follower, and the capital city of Caldera is in my hands!”
Lu Sinian waved his hand and said, “It’s nothing. If anything, I should be thanking you.”
The happy merchant didn’t take his words to heart at all.
Thank him?
What a joke!
The demon lord’s magical artifacts possessed such wondrous effects that they would sell without any trouble, making his conditions unnecessary.
He had come to the Abyss alone this time. Caldera’s main city required a large number of personnel for defense, and was currently at a busy time.
Vorris had successfully achieved his goal, and established connections with numerous nobles.
Now, within Caldera’s noble circles, who wasn’t proud to skip the queue and obtain goods ahead of time?
It was common knowledge that Vorris’s caravan was unyielding, and under the King’s rule, no one dared to force a sale.
Even acquiring a single item was enough to boast about at banquets, demonstrating the depth of their family’s background and the breadth of their connections.
Vorris had successfully completed the first step of his goal, infiltrating those noble circles.
The Church of Light had always touted the elimination of evil and the salvation of the people. Now that the demon lord’s power was gradually becoming known to outsiders, many who had originally followed the Church of Light had switched to the Floating Life Church. The Church of Light would certainly not let this go unpunished. However, the royal family and the Church of Light have always been at odds. If he could establish a connection with the royal family, it would undoubtedly make the Floating Life Church’s path more stable.
Since the Demon Lord trusts him so much and has helped him so much, Vorris is determined to serve the Demon Lord loyally, allowing Him to absorb even more faith power!
To be honest, he initially joined the Church somewhat perfunctorily, and only joined out of necessity to purchase goods.
But now, he is genuinely moved by the Demon Shop’s products, and joining is definitely not a loss for him.
Vorris finally understood why Abel was so devoted to the demon.
His attitude became respectful. He bowed deeply to Lu Sinian and then placed his purchases into his spatial storage.
Since he had come in a hurry, he hadn’t brought a caravan. He had bought this five-square-meter spatial storage unit through a nobleman’s connection, specifically for purchasing goods.
After purchasing enough goods, he took the elevator and left the Abyss.
*
Outside Vista City, several luxuriously decorated carriages were parked.
The city guards immediately became alert. Two guards exchanged glances, then stepped forward simultaneously, drawing their swords and demanding, “Who goes there? Do you have any passes?”
These days, Vista City had indeed seen many outsiders, mostly on their way to the Abyss to find the demon shop and stopping briefly for a rest. Their travel-worn appearance clearly indicated their purpose.
But these imposing caravans were different. Their aggressive approach suggested ill intentions.
The short guard stepped forward, fulfilling his duty of protecting the city: “Out-of-towners, please produce your passes, otherwise, you will not be allowed into the city.”
A voice came from inside the carriage, somewhat incredulous: “Do you know who I am? Look at this coat of arms, I’m from the main city of Caldera!”
“Who cares which main city you’re from? Outsiders come to Vista with a pass!”
“Just because you’re a noble doesn’t mean you can ignore His Majesty’s decrees! How arrogant! Vista has its rules, without a pass, we won’t let you in!”
Seated in the carriage was Viscount Hawthorne. He never expected that the first obstacle he encountered upon arriving in Vista would be these ignorant commoners.
He twirled the ring on his ring finger, a cold smile playing on his lips. Today, no one could stop him. He wanted to see just what this so-called shop was all about.
“Summon your city lord. Tell him the Hawthorne family has come to visit.”
The tall guard, sensing the visitors’ ill intentions, gave another man a look, signaling him to quickly report to the city lord.
The short guard glanced at the carriage and silently ran into the city.
This farce attracted a large crowd of onlookers. They dared not approach too closely, and only secretly observed the unusual-looking carriage.
Hawthorne with his brow furrowed, waited impatiently for the city lord’s arrival.
Fortunately, the city lord of Vista didn’t keep him waiting long, soon, a hearty laugh broke the silence.
“It’s an honor to have a viscount visit my humble town. It’s an honor indeed! Please come in. The gatekeepers didn’t recognize you so please forgive their rudeness.”
The city lord, a high-ranking warrior, was a burly man with an honest and simple appearance. He stood like a small mountain outside the city gate, constantly engaging in evasive maneuvers.
Hawthorne glanced at the city lord with disdain. “Your city is indeed dilapidated, but I’ve heard there’s a rather impressive shop here? Nothing else matters. Take me to that shop tomorrow, I plan to buy something.”
His words were condescending, as if going to the shop was a favor, completely oblivious to any impropriety.
Indeed, he had been born a viscount, long ago distinguishing himself from the people of these remote cities.
If he hadn’t been desperate and forced to come, he wouldn’t have bothered coming to this tiny city of Vista, needlessly tarnishing his status.
The city lord smiled on the surface, but inwardly he scoffed. Just a lowly viscount, and he really thought he was some big shot.
The city lord had, of course, heard about the Demon Shop that had been making waves in Vista these past few days, and he had even secretly fueled the troubles.
With such a powerful figure outside the city, their small and backward city had finally seen the light at the end of the tunnel, and perhaps one day it would rise again.
The Floating Life Church was operating at a tremendous scale in Vista, drawing away countless followers from the Church of Light. Abel’s efforts alone were far from sufficient.
Furthermore, the city only had one Church of Light, which was not valued by the Church of Light as they had only sent a bishop and then left it alone.
Now, almost everyone in Vista was a loyal follower of the Floating Life Church, an overwhelming advantage compared to the Church of Light.
The Demon Lord had given them new life, and naturally they were willing to serve him like slaves, their faith unwavering.
Therefore, upon hearing Hawthorne’s disrespectful words towards the Demon Lord, everyone’s faces showed indignation.
“Tch, just a viscount. Judging by his grand entrance, I thought His Majesty the King himself had come.”
“Our Vista City isn’t like your Caldera, where we give you preferential treatment everywhere. You’d better watch out, lest you accidentally find yourself trapped in the Abyss.”
“Hahahaha, just a mid-level warrior. These days, everyone in the city is at least mid-level, and high-level warriors are everywhere. Nobles are truly useless, and not even as good as commoners.”
Hawthorne’s temples throbbed with pain as he could no longer bear their whispers. With a grim face, he said to the city lord, “Is this the hospitality of your Vista City? I swear I won’t rest until I teach them a lesson!”
The city lord exclaimed, “Your Excellency, please calm down! They’re just ignorant commoners.”
After a moment’s thought, he said with great difficulty, “How about this? You can pick anyone to vent your anger on. They’re all commoners, and certainly not as powerful as Your Excellency. I don’t care! As long as you’re appeased.”
Hawthorne, flattered, immediately chuckled smugly.
But he didn’t dare to pick anyone. He knew he was just a mid-level warrior, not very strong, and was afraid of being taken advantage of.
Just then, a thin, short man was kicked out. He staggered and fell to the ground, his face filled with terror.
“My lord, my lord, please don’t kill me!” He was disheveled, constantly covering his head and begging for mercy, looking like he couldn’t possibly fight.
Hawthorne’s eyes lit up, an idea forming in his mind. He pointed at the man.
“I choose him!”
The man, who had been lying on the ground, crying and pleading, looking pitiful, weak, and helpless, immediately stood up after hearing his words.
He clenched his fists, cracking his knuckles, and for a moment, the previously frail man appeared unusually ferocious.
At this moment, Hawthorne sensed something was amiss. He turned to look at the onlookers who all wore secret, triumphant smiles.
“Hahaha, George is a high-ranking warrior! Beating up a worthless noble is a piece of cake!”
“George, go! Avenge the Demon Lord! Give him a good beating!”
“Don’t let him get away with this so easily! How dare he provoke the Demon Lord in Vista City? Do they think we’re dead?!”
Hathone was momentarily stunned, stammering, “You…you tricked me?”
The man had no intention of listening to his continued cursing. A punch came down with incredible speed before even his guards could stop it.
The punch slammed into Hathone’s face, whistling through the air.
“Aaaaah—”
A piercing scream shattered the sky.