Pirate Kingship.

Chapter 514 Would you be willing to exchange your soul for this roll of toilet paper?

[Devil in the Bottle] I first felt that it was absurd that the other party was showing off his skills in front of an expert, and subconsciously wanted to open the bottle and actively give the other party three wishes.

But thinking that this was the Dragon King's Court of the New World, theoretically there were no other demons except him and a few of his subordinates, a hint of vigilance suddenly rose in his eyes.

In addition, they were also tasked with establishing a colonial bridgehead, so they decided to ignore it regardless of whether it was a botched prank or not.

"No matter who you are or what you are doing, as long as I have no desires, no one can do anything to me.

No one knows how to use discipline and rules to defeat the enemy better than us, the extraordinary people of the East Continent!"

The Eastern Continent is ruled by all kinds of horrific "knowledge". Unknown, bizarre, and cursed spirits from ancient history, myths and legends, and horror stories sit on the throne, herding all living beings.

Mortals can only survive by keeping secrets, observing precepts and isolating themselves.

They are even passively divided into the outer world and the inner world. Being cautious and abiding by the "precepts" has long become their daily instinct.

Moreover, the devil in the bottle did not believe that in a place where civilization had stagnated for a thousand years, there would be something he longed for that would cause his greed to get out of control.

creak!creak!
He walked in a semicircle on the snow in the forest, and was about to get away from the suspicious bottle.

Bang!
The bottle cap suddenly opened by itself, revealing the true face of the person in the hazy mist.

In the middle was a set of gorgeous tables and chairs that seemed to be made entirely of gold and inlaid with countless precious gems.

On the table was a piece of parchment that looked a bit old, a quill pen with a sapphire nib, a bottle of ink, and a silver tinderbox.

For a moment, even the air in the forest seemed to be filled with the smell of money.

Click!

Just as he looked over intently, the tinderbox opened automatically and emitted a blue flame.

A line of six stunningly beautiful girls in black and white maid outfits walked out, stood on either side of the desk, and saluted him by lifting their skirts.

They were beautiful, elegant, and stunning, as if they were not maids but six princesses of noble birth.

Then, a young man in a formal suit and a black bow tie, whose face was so blurry that his details could not be seen, appeared on the golden chair, smiled and raised his hand to invite him to sit at the table.

“Dear guest, welcome to Pawn Shop No. 8. I am the owner of the pawn shop, and you can call me Mr. Wednesday.

You're welcome, please take a seat."

As soon as he finished speaking, a red carpet automatically extended from the golden table to the feet of the Devil in the Bottle.

This pomp and momentum are far superior to the "Blue Smurf" image that the devil just fooled George, Duke of Clarence with.

The devil in the bottle, who had originally planned to ignore it according to the rules of the East Continent, could not help but stare in amazement, his heart surging with waves.

"This, this, this"

Look at their luxurious configuration.

The pure gold inlaid jewel furniture that shows off wealth, the glittering golden texture, and the pile of sparkling pigeon eggs, who wouldn’t be confused when seeing them?

Financial failure!

Look at those six first-rate and stunning maids. Even if they were placed in the king’s palace, they would have to be treated with great care. Who would be willing to use them as maids?
For any man, this is equivalent to the ultimate trap for adventurers to capture goblins. There is absolutely no resistance and no possibility of air force.

Packaging failure!

Although no one has ever seen the other's true face, who doesn't know that "Mr. Wednesday" is the master behind the online financial street?

Legend has it that he is a fifth-rank [Pawnbroker] of the Jinyuan sequence, who controls a huge amount of capital flow and countless treasures.

Together with another Ms. Friday who has made more appearances and is more famous, she is called the destined future king of business and even the richest man in the world!

He didn't need to use any control spells on his "clients".

Because even if the most powerful Pope on this continent heard this name, he would most likely take the time to listen to what the other party has to say and beg for alms, no, ask him for donations.

Therefore, the brand effect is a complete failure!

[Devil in the Bottle] The catchphrase: "I can fulfill one of your wishes" can no longer be said out loud. Instead, I subconsciously want to blurt out: "Rich man, take me with you."

“The tertiary industry must be built on the abundant materials of the primary and secondary industries.

The most cutting-edge economics and social sciences will only be born in places where material civilization is most developed, and other places can just copy them.

So, could it be that the Kingdom of Hettings where I landed is actually just a poor and remote area on the edge of the Dragon King's Court, and there are countries in other parts of the continent that are much more powerful than them?

For example, the faction that Mr. Wednesday belongs to? ! "

When the frustrated [Devil in the Bottle] came to his senses, he found that he had subconsciously sat in front of the golden table.

Come face to face with Mr. Wednesday, the fifth-level [Pawnbroker].

Even though he could not feel the pressure of a High-Sequence Transcendent from the other party at all, he inferred that the other party might just be a projection randomly projected to various parts of the world and did not see what he had just done.

But he did not dare to neglect the shadow of the tree as a person's reputation.

The vigilance that had originally worried that I would suffer a loss has also subsided a lot.

After all, the richest man had a meal with you by chance and said that he had a project in which you could have a share, but only one share.

When you sell everything you have to seize this opportunity, you will never feel that the other party is just after your capital. Instead, you will be extremely grateful that the other party thinks highly of you and is willing to help you make a fortune, right?
After all, how could the richest man be without these few things?

The mentality of both is the same.

Byron was so impressive just by saying a name, without any of the cheap behavior of introducing himself and using mind control like the genie in the bottle.

He casually pushed a blank copy of "Faust Contract" in front of the "Devil in the Bottle" and gave him a harmless smile:

“As rumored, my favorite thing to do is to trade with people all over the world, and the financial street is my game.

The 'Pawnshop No. 8', which I run personally, has all the goods that can be found in the known world: treasures, intelligence, spices, knowledge, various extraordinary raw materials, and so on.

Even such intangible things as supernatural powers, beauty, health, and time are in sufficient supply.

So, sign a contract with me and become the supreme customer of Magic Financial Street.

I can offer you three trading opportunities of unequal value.

Oh, right! "

Byron stared deeply into his eyes and continued bewitchingly:
"My guests call this place the 'universal wishing machine'. Three chances equals three wishes.

This is a lucky opportunity that only comes once in a lifetime, please cherish this opportunity."

Despite carrying one-third of the Faust Contract of the great pirate Flint, the [Contracted Devil], it eventually fell into the hands of Dagon, the [Nightmare of the Abyss].

But Byron himself and Violet also mastered the "Alchemy of Life", so to some extent it was not wrong to call themselves wish-making machines. Ordinary material things were no longer a problem for them.

[The Devil in the Bottle] was taken advantage of by Byron, and his attitude changed from "There's nothing here that I'm interested in" at the beginning to "I want to take this opportunity to spy on military intelligence and take a good look at what the real rich people in the New World are like."

After his eyes fell on the Faustian Contract, he could no longer move his eyes away, and his gaze widened:
"【Panacea】, 【The Art of Turning Stone into Gold】, 【The Book of the Beast Families (Volumes 1 and 2)】.
Agricultural technology [ridge cultivation], [composting], epoch-making industrial technology [blast furnace ironmaking].
Military technology [whale oil copper shell fixed ammunition], [bolt-action rifle], [pump shotgun], [hydraulic boring machine]."

"Faust Contract" can use the greed in people's hearts as a beacon and easily project its own power into anyone's inner world.

It can manifest in the spiritual world or in the material world, always firmly anchoring the other party's greed.

Because the [Contracted Devil] had cheated so many people before, he could easily guess what George wanted for his first two wishes.

At this moment, he himself was like a buyer who could never escape the lock of big data, and could not escape the greedy anchor of the Faustian contract.

The Faustian Contract only takes one encounter to clearly know what he wants, break through his weaknesses, and be invincible.

The devil in the bottle's hands, which were holding the contract, began to tremble slightly.

"How is this possible? Forget about the [panacea] that can give people perfect immortality, and the [alchemy] that can truly and permanently change matter.

The value of the mundane technologies behind it alone is inestimable.

During the war, Hastings did not even have the ability to process arms. It was said that most of the weapons on both sides were purchased from abroad.

If we have these technologies, it will be enough to build a super arsenal.

Although we in the Eastern Continent have whale oil technology, it is just one of many strange and cursed objects. It is not as easy for ordinary people to use as described in the instructions that come with these whale oil guns.

Ever since I saw the [Silver Law], I knew that the development path of the New World was completely different from ours. This was actually a great power belonging to mortals.

Aren't they afraid that these things will endanger the status of the rulers?"

What is the most dangerous thing in the Eastern Continent? Knowledge!
What is the most precious thing? Knowledge!
Therefore, according to the greedy guidance of the "Devil in the Bottle", the commodities that appear in the contract are all kinds of knowledge.

He didn't have much expectations for the closed and conservative knowledge of the New World, but he didn't expect to be "shocked" at the very beginning.

So much so that the first thought was to find a way to use some kind of cursed object to lock down the technological development of the New World before the two sides actually came into contact.

Otherwise, when the source tide continues to rise for a few years or decades and the conditions for large-scale colonization are met, it is still unknown what this continent will have developed into.

The second thought was to be anxious to take every bit of knowledge home.

Byron, who was sitting across the table, saw with his own eyes a devil and an angel appear behind him, and they started to fight and argue with each other, until their heads were bleeding.

"Oh, the best is yet to come."

The long poem "Faust" tells the story of how the devil and the Creator each induce Faust.

The essence is that the "animal side" of spirituality, which represents chaos and depravity, and the "divine side", which represents order and sublimation, compete with each other for the "human self", which represents freedom and the right to choose.

A person must fight for "freedom" from the two colluding tyrants: the "id" and the "superego".

If you submit to either side, you will only become a slave of the contract.

If you want to become its master, you must be an explorer with an independent "self", who never stops seeking knowledge and pursues "freedom" and "truth" throughout your life.

At the beginning, the one being fought over by the two tyrants was Faust, a few years ago it was the big pirate Flint, last year it was Byron, and now it is every guest who sits in front of the "Faust Contract" who is being fought over.

And so far, no one has been able to pass the test except Byron, "a man as free as the wind"!

So from the moment the other party sat down in front of the Faustian Contract, Byron had no worries that he would not buy anything.

Just as the [Devil in the Bottle] was wavering in his mind and picked up the feather pen, ready to sign his "real name", which is the "devil's seal" in mysticism.

He suddenly saw that there was a price tag behind each type of knowledge: "Equivalent knowledge or memory, family affection, love, or friendship, choose one." He couldn't help but hesitate.

As a fourth-level devil who believes in the great red dragon Abaddon, the Messenger of the Abyss and the Lord of the Abyss, he knows better than any other extraordinary person on the path that these things may seem insignificant, but they are actually important components of the soul.

Although the other party did not want to take away his entire soul, the price was indeed very favorable.

But if any part of the soul is missing, it may have a significant impact on the path to transcendence, which makes him feel a little dilemma.

The hand holding the pen froze in mid-air, and then was about to move away from the contract little by little with great difficulty.

But at this moment, new content appeared on the parchment:
“The whale oil powered steam engine that ignited the light of human civilization and promoted the industrial revolution and material explosion!
The prototype has been promoted to a Level 20 holy relic. The power of a conventional steam engine ranges from tens to thousands of horsepower, and the mechanical efficiency exceeds %. Just like whale oil guns, it can be operated by mortals."

Just by looking at the name "Devil in the Bottle", you can only know that this is another whale oil technology invented by the people of the New World, but when you see the specific parameters behind it, you can't help but stand up in surprise.

The artisans and naturalists of the Dragon Court have been debating two different research paths:
"One is the extraordinary route, which is to develop the rich source of essence contained in whale oil to drive alchemical machinery and various magic arrays.

The disadvantage is that ordinary people cannot use it and it is difficult to promote on a large scale.”

"The other is a purely mechanical route, using whale oil to heat water. The threshold is extremely low, anyone with hands can operate it and it can be applied on a large scale (Chapter 407)."

However, in the Eastern Continent, there is no [Ladder of Glory] that focuses on stability. Instead, there is only forbidden knowledge that has been developed to its peak.

All the high-ranking officials in charge of the major forces are powerful mythical creatures who attribute great power to themselves, or even false gods.

From the very beginning, no one had considered the second route from a mortal perspective.

Great power has always belonged to the extraordinary. It has been like this since ancient times. What is there to doubt?

Who would create a tool for mortals to use in order to take their own life?

The current finished product of [Whale Oil Power Furnace] is mainly made of various extraordinary materials. Not only is it very restricted in use, but its energy efficiency cannot be compared with that of a steam engine. At best, it is just equivalent to a strange prop.

It did not produce earth-shaking productivity, nor did it transform into any holy relic.

I said my top technology is 100,000 tons, and you said your other technological route is more than 80,000 tons.

The word "余" alone is enough to make people imagine, not to mention that the data on paper is already higher than mine.

Comparing the two, how could [Devil in the Bottle] not break through the defense on the spot?

When he saw the price tag at the end: "Equal knowledge or half the divinity", he no longer felt that his soul was precious.

If the leaders of the sects in the Eastern Continent were allowed to make a deal, they would most likely be willing to exchange the soul of a fifth-level pseudo-god, rather than a fourth-level mythical creature.

But it's not over yet.

[Whale Oil Powered Steam Engine] A new line of product listings appeared below:
"【Sugarcane bagasse papermaking technique】, the raw material of sugarcane bagasse paper is widely available, cheap, and has a long shelf life. It is a level 0 holy relic in the process of transformation."

If he had been horrified when he saw the whale oil-powered steam engine, now he was only filled with horror.

Perhaps in the Dragon King's Court, sugarcane bagasse paper is just a literacy tool, and it can also greatly increase the number of extraordinary people.

But in the eyes of the people of East Continent who believe that "knowledge is power", it is disruptive technology and something more valuable than a whale oil-powered steam engine.

[Devil in the Bottle] Knowing that bagasse paper was very popular in Hattings, he originally planned to secretly obtain the papermaking technology, but he didn't know that Mr. Wednesday's pawnshop No. 8 had it.

What made him even more upset was that Byron put a roll of clean white toilet paper on the table, tore off a piece and slowly wiped the big gold ring on his hand.

Anyway, bagasse paper is cheap and you don’t feel bad about using it.

This thing has been transformed into many categories through the technical transformation of the artisan branch [paper craftsmen], and is seizing the upper-class market at an unimaginable speed.

Therefore, even when [Devil in the Bottle] saw the price tag behind it was: "Half of the Beast", he made up his mind without hesitation:

“It must be taken!
Only in the hands of us in the East Continent can the influence of this papermaking technique be maximized.

In the mythological era, the new continent was called the [Dragon King's Court], the southern continent was called the [Beast Paradise], and our eastern continent was called the [Corridor of Truth].

This knowledge that can create zero-level holy relics has the potential to become new gods in the Corridor of Truth, and I can also gain unparalleled power through it.

Just like many of the old gods’ followers, my ancestors were swept by the blue hole to the Skeleton Coast ruled by the Abaddon Cult in the eastern continent, adjacent to the Mermaid Kingdom.

It was because of this that I was able to find descendants with similar blood in the Dragon King's Court, and I also got the opportunity to be the first to enter the New World and establish a bridgehead.

But as an outsider, my origins have always affected my status.

If only I could bring these treasures to [Devil Lord], [Death Pianist] Her Majesty Lorena.

Even if the mission here fails, she will at least make me a prince and help me advance to the fifth rank!"

Not only that.

He clenched the feather pen in his hand, and a faint light shone on it. He sneered in his heart:

"How can a mere pawnbroker's research on the soul compare to that of us devils?
Even pawnbrokers have extraordinary abilities [contract fraud], so how could we devils not have them too?

When we reach the third level, our spiritual transformation will give rise to the [Aura of Fraud], which enables us to seize every ambiguity and loophole in a transaction and distort all the terms that are not in our favor into what we want.

For example, sacrifice my lower-level servants and let them pay the price on my behalf!
Even if my soul is incomplete due to the lack of divinity and animality, I can ask Her Majesty Lorena, a fifth-order subordinate god, to personally take action and consume a large amount of the "fifth element" to help me complete it.

This deal is a win-win situation!"

However, the Devil in the Bottle was affected by the Faustian Contract, and once its greed was aroused, it could no longer be contained, like a flood bursting a dam.

"It's the same if we replace one or two anyway, so we might as well replace the ones in front as well.

Panacea, the Midas Touch, blast furnace ironmaking, military whale oil guns, whale oil powered steam engines, bagasse papermaking. I want them all! "

next moment.

Byron: "Friend, would you trade your soul for this roll of toilet paper?"

Devil in the Bottle: "Yes, I do!"

With the latter signing his name on the contract, the transaction was completed.

A series of knowledge began to pour into the devil's brain. He browsed through the knowledge eagerly, dancing with excitement:

"Hahaha, you fool who lost the watermelon and picked up the sesame seeds. Soon I will be invincible!"

It took the devil a while to calm down, but he found that Mr. Wednesday had not yet taken the price he was supposed to pay.

She waved her hand at him and said generously:

"Mr. Wednesday, I have always believed in fair trade, and I am especially willing to pay for knowledge. Please take your payment."

But secretly he had already made preparations to make his subordinate servants pay their price the moment the contract was activated.

[Devil Duke] Richard and [Kingmaker] Warwick are of the same rank or even higher than him. He cannot control them except for extracting commissions. However, it is not difficult to control the puppet George and some other subordinates.

Byron nodded and confirmed again:
"Very good, then your memory, family affection, love, friendship, half of your divinity, and half of your animality all belong to me.

That means more than half of your soul belongs to me, right?"

After getting confirmation from the Devil in the Bottle, he did not initiate the transaction, but took out another relic from his pocket [The First Stock].

But this time, instead of using [Sell] like many times in the past, [Buy] was launched!
"Use any asset worth more than one pound to start a buy-in and become a small shareholder in an organization.

When the equity exceeds 50%, the actual ownership of the organization is immediately acquired, which is not subject to human will. "

For Byron, there is no need to collect payment. He can just fast forward to "I acquire you". What's yours is mine, and what's mine is still mine.

"Wait"

The next moment, the fearless expression of the Devil in the Bottle froze on his face little by little.

Byron clapped his hands.

"Haha, we're done."

Whether it is the devil's wish or his deal, it is essentially a competition of who has the better deception skills.

The highest level of buying and selling is to make human traffickers be sold obediently when they know that I am also a human trafficker.

There is a story about a wise man circulating on the mainland. A wealthy businessman unexpectedly fell seriously ill. Before he died, his son was not by his side, only a servant who had served him for many years.

He was worried that after his death, his servants would see his money and take it, and his son would get nothing, so he said to his servants: I will leave all my property to you, but you must allow my son to choose any item from the inheritance.

The servant readily agreed, and in the end, he was the one who got the item chosen by his son.

So all the property, including the servants themselves, returned to the son without missing a single thing.

Byron had more cards up his sleeve than the Devil in the Bottle, and the information was more asymmetric. With these two approaches working together, the devil that had deceived countless people finally fell into his bowl.

Byron snapped his fingers, the pomp and circumstance disappeared, and his true face was revealed.

The devil's pupils suddenly shrank into needle points:
“It’s you! The great loyal minister, the Earl of Stromgarde [Sea Hunter] Saint Byron! No, no, no, I don’t know you, I didn’t see your face.

Don’t kill me!”

But at this point he needed his master's permission to even move a finger, and he couldn't even close his eyes.

Byron walked up to him with a smile, patted his shoulder and said comfortingly:
"Don't be nervous, Mr. Leonardo, the [Painter of Hell]. As long as you can fulfill one of my small wishes, I can let you go."

The latter was immediately cheered up. He might not be good at other things, but he was very familiar with this job.

"You'll let me go as long as I help you fulfill your wish? Really?"

"Of course! We can go ahead and sign the contract."

Byron grinned and told him his wish:

"My first wish is... three more wishes."

The face of [Devil in the Bottle] turned visibly blue.

He already knew what the other party's fourth wish, seventh wish, tenth wish, thirteenth, sixteenth, and nineteenth wish were.

I couldn't help but wail in despair:
“Ah! I see. You are not a Holy Spirit at all. Your true form is actually a devil!!!”

(End of this chapter)