Chapter 508: Chapter 285: Forceful Transaction! Divine Rune Etching (Part 2)
"But growth has also taught me that everything comes at a price. I can bring you the light of victory and hope, but you must pay a price as well. This is an equivalent exchange."
Phil watched Fang Zhen for a moment, then nodded slightly. "So, how do you propose to help us solve this problem?"
Fang Zhen said nothing. He simply extended a finger on his left hand and drew a circle in the air.
Instantly, a black vortex the size of a teacup appeared mid-air. It began to spin rapidly, expanding until it was the size of a square table.
Several steel ingots tumbled out from within. Each one weighed exactly 100 kilograms and was shaped like a park bench, rolling to a stop in the center of the room.
"What is this? A portal for summoning demons? What kind of power is this?"
Fang Zhen’s display terrified the other military leaders in the room. Even the Divine Rune Masters among them were stunned by what he had done.
Fang Zhen’s expression remained calm as the dimensional vortex in the air gradually vanished, fading into nothingness.
"I’ve mastered special techniques and acquired certain resources. These steel ingots are a special alloy, of a quality leagues beyond what the Minghui Kingdom is capable of producing."
"I can obtain these materials in large quantities. Moreover, I can also acquire even higher-grade materials for Divine Rune enchanting."
"With these resources, you can forge more Divine Rune Equipment to arm your regular soldiers, enabling them to easily kill demons like the Little Demons."
"Your higher-level Divine Rune Warriors can also obtain materials from me to forge powerful weapons."
"I know the Kingdom’s casting and Divine Rune forging capabilities are very high. Three days should be enough time to equip an elite force."
"And I am willing to lead this elite force to Northwest City to defeat the Demon Lord," Fang Zhen said.
As expected of a man in his position, Duke Phil was masterful at concealing his emotions.
He examined the steel ingots on the floor carefully, then turned to a man of about fifty within the command post.
"Tory, you’re the Quartermaster. Inspect these steel ingots. See if they meet our requirements and are of the quality Fang Zhen claims."
Tory promptly stepped forward and began to examine the ingots.
A moment later, he looked up, his face a mask of astonishment. "Unbelievable," he said. "These ingots contain certain special components that can drastically enhance the power of Divine Runes."
"If we were to forge weapons from these ingots, the combat effectiveness of a regular Warrior’s weapon would increase by more than threefold. For Divine Rune Warriors, the improvement would be even greater."
At these words, the entire command post erupted in an uproar.
Fang Zhen calmly observed the scene.
’He had already learned a few things upon entering this Divine Rune Realm.’
’This world’s defining characteristic was that it had developed Divine Rune enchanting technology to its absolute peak.’
’Even a common piece of wood, once enchanted with Divine Runes, could exhibit immense power and utility.’
’But this world also had a weakness: its material resources were, for some unknown reason, relatively scarce.’
’Furthermore, the people here relied heavily on external items, while their personal strength was, by contrast, rather ordinary.’
’Taking these characteristics into account, Fang Zhen had doubled the amount of manganese steel alloy ingots he had originally prepared for his trade with the Curse Seal World.’
’And now, from Quartermaster Tory’s words, he’d gleaned a new piece of information.’
’Tory said the ingots contained some substance that created a reaction, almost like a chemical bond, with the power of a Divine Rune Master.’
’The ingots Fang Zhen had produced were a manganese steel alloy.’
’While the quality of his steel was high, it shouldn’t have been fundamentally different from the steel in this Divine Rune Realm, aside from perhaps its purity.’
’By process of elimination, then, he could deduce that what truly resonated with the Divine Rune Masters wasn’t the steel itself, but the metallic manganese within the alloy.’
’In the real world, metallic manganese wasn’t particularly expensive—about 12,000 yuan per ton. If he wanted, Fang Zhen could go back and grab a ton of it anytime.’
Upon hearing the Quartermaster’s report, Phil’s eyes immediately lit up.
Phil looked at the Quartermaster and asked, "We have Divine Rune Masters and Casters in the army. How long would it take to forge these ingots into weapons and etch them with Divine Runes?"
The Quartermaster replied directly, "The rate of weapon damage in the army is exceptionally high, so we have a dedicated Casting Camp for forging Divine Rune Weapons. To cast these ingots into weapons and rune-etch them? One day is more than enough."
"Excellent. Begin production at once," Phil ordered.
Then he turned to Fang Zhen. "Fang Zhen, I don’t know what you’ve been through, but I only need to achieve my objective: destroy the demon-summoning Teleportation Gate within Northwest City."
"But if we can kill the Demon Lord in the process, all the better."
"I won’t ask where you got these... materials. Just tell me, what do you want from me in return?"
"I need high-level Divine Runes," Fang Zhen said. "I have some equipment that I need completely reforged and enchanted, etched with high-grade Divine Runes."
As he said this, Fang Zhen tapped the butt of the Thunder Spear in his right hand on the floor.
"Furthermore, I need you to forge a large quantity of Divine Rune Weapons for me."
"These steel ingots before you, the ones for making Divine Rune Weapons, are not exactly cheap."
"I need to trade with the source of these ingots, and a trade requires something to offer. The Divine Rune Weapons you create will be my bargaining chips," Fang Zhen explained.
