Mercenary Wars

Chapter 185 Lohar
The expert on potent drugs fell silent for a moment.

From a business perspective, as an intermediary, she certainly didn't want to see buyers and sellers establish direct contact. But she quickly realized she had to tell Gaugano, otherwise he would simply walk away.

So she gave the answer: "Lohar".

Lohar...

Since learning that Jarrell was using the Cisron drug, Gaucano had expected this answer, so he did not show any surprise and his face remained calm.

The expert on potent medicines said, "Actually, Lohar has always wanted to meet you. Since you don't want to do this business anymore, I think you should meet with him. He will definitely offer a high price to buy the formula for the Sithron Potion. And even if you don't sell the formula, just meeting with him will be enough for Lohar to pay you a meeting fee of one hundred gold coins."

A meeting fee of one hundred gold coins!
To be honest, Gaucano was tempted when he heard the offer.

So his next response was: "Meeting under real names?"

“You can remain anonymous,” the expert added, “and you can also choose the location.”

Gaucano touched his chin.

You can earn 100 gold coins just by meeting someone, without having to reveal your true face, and you can also choose the meeting place yourself.

With such generous terms, it's unlikely anyone in Nanhai Town could refuse.

Gaucano was no exception.

So he quickly made a decision: "I can meet with Lohar."

Where shall we meet?

“Right on the black market.” Gaucano pointed. “Renting a ‘private meeting room’—I shouldn’t have to pay for it, right?”

"Of course, what about three days from now?"

"can."

After exchanging a few more words with the expert on potent drugs, Gao Jiano left the black market and returned home.

As soon as he got home, he called Daryls over.

“I’ve bought a bewitching corpse. You can process it later and turn it into jerky.” Gaucano took out the bewitching corpse.

Darliss stared in surprise at the beholder corpse on the ground: "Why does it still have eyes?"

Gao Jiano shrugged helplessly: "The seller was unwilling to divide it, so I had to buy it as a whole. Fortunately, it was cheap, so it wasn't a loss."

"So you're planning to sell these five eyes?"

“Otherwise, I don’t know how to use them,” Gao Jiano said. “I now have ten Eye Demon Eyes, perhaps I should entrust them to the black market auction.”

Darius: "You can buy a book that records the Beholder summoning ritual, and then use these eyes to summon Beholders, so you'll have a continuous supply of Beholder jerky!"

Gaucano: "It's not that easy. You can't summon an eye demon just by having an eye stalk."

“But the eyes are the key material for summoning a beholder; the other materials can be bought anytime. Four eye stalks can summon a beholder of the same level, and eight eye stalks can summon a beholder of a higher level.” Dariss’s tone was full of persuasion; she clearly hoped to have a steady stream of beholder jerky to feed Little Gu.

Gaugano didn't respond, but instead took out Sindragosa's Oracle Chest: "Here, take this."

Daryls took the box: "What's this?"

"The Oracle Chest of Sindragosa".

Daryls's face showed surprise.

Gaucano urged, "Try it quickly and see what oracle is in the box."

Darliss immediately took out her wand, chanted a spell, and carefully cast a spell on the Oracle Chest—Dispel.

Dispelling is a common spell used to break seals, and it's also the spell most likely to trigger the Oracle Chest.

As the spell hit its mark, the previously unremarkable Oracle Chest immediately emitted a faint glow.

At the same time, Dariss began to emit a faint light, echoing the Oracle Chest.

Bathed in the dim light, Daryls's face first lit up with surprise, then she frowned and fell into a long silence.

"What is an oracle?" Gao Jiano couldn't help but ask.

Darius lowered her head: "If I tell others the contents of the oracle, I will have no choice but to complete it."

Gaucano: "It seems the oracle is a bit difficult."

Daryls nodded: "But the things in the box are also very valuable."

"what?"

Darliss shook her head: "This is also part of the oracle, and cannot be revealed casually."

Gaucano recalled what he had seen and heard.

It seems that all oracle chests work this way; information about the contents is revealed along with the oracle.

Receiving a divine oracle does not necessarily mean you have to fulfill it.

However, if the contents of the oracle or information about the hidden object are revealed, then the oracle must be completed.

Therefore, oracle chests can often be resold an unlimited number of times, and no matter how many times they are resold, the contents inside and the related oracles will remain mysterious.

“I need to think about whether or not to carry out Sindragosa’s oracle before making a decision,” Darius said, holding the box.

Gaucano: "If you don't want to carry it out, just put it in the living room and I'll sell it again."

Daryls nodded first, then sighed, touching the box as she said, "Ah, if only there were a way to get the contents directly."

As she spoke, she pressed her face against the box for a while, closed her eyes, and mumbled, "I want it so badly..."

This made Gaucano extremely curious.

What exactly is hidden in the box?
Unfortunately, he couldn't know the truth until Daryl decided to carry out the oracle.

Even if Darius decides to carry out the oracle, she might not tell him. After all, as long as the information isn't leaked, she can always back out, but once it is, there's no choice.

So even though Gaucano was itching with curiosity, he didn't ask any more questions.

Three days flew by.

Gaucano returned to the black market and, led by a potent drug expert, arrived at the door of a secret meeting room.

As the name suggests, the secret meeting room is a place prepared by the black market for various secret negotiations. There are only a few of them in total.

The private meeting room is protected by multiple layers of magic, completely isolating sound. Even if you shout yourself hoarse inside, no one outside will hear a thing. In addition, this private meeting room can also block probing magic up to the fourth ring—including divination.

The rent is certainly not cheap.

If rented by the hour, the price is a whopping one gold coin per hour! Such an exorbitant rent means that only important figures and big deals will negotiate here.

Fortunately, Gaugano doesn't have to pay rent.

Lohar, the richest man and number one bully in the slums, had already rented a private meeting room and was sitting inside, giving Gaugano a welcoming smile outside the door.

“Apothecary Taf, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I guess you should know me!” Lohar sat in a large chair, his thick arms resting on the back, his bushy beard trembling slightly as he spoke.

As he spoke, he gave a wink to a gangster standing at the door.

To Gaucano's great surprise, the gangster was Colin.

It seems Colin is doing quite well in the Brotherhood of Iron Fist and enjoys Lohar's trust.

Clearly, Colin harbored deep resentment towards Lohar, but he never revealed it to Lohar.

Not only that, he also behaved very submissively.

For example, with just a glance from Lohar, he immediately understood, took out two money pouches, and handed one to the drastic medicine expert: "This is your commission."

The expert in potent medicine took the money bag, opened it, and then turned and left.

Then Colin handed another money bag to Gaucano: "This is for your meeting fee."

In order to conceal his identity as much as possible, Gaucano made quite thorough preparations.

He not only upgraded Blood Disguise to the second ring, but also brought Dariss's disguise cloak to further enhance Blood Disguise's disguise.

As for his clothes and appearance, they were completely different from his usual style.

With multiple disguises, Gao Jiano was certain that, at least in Southsea Town, no one could see through his disguise.

Colin, of course, couldn't see through him.

So despite the fact that the two were familiar with each other and had met just a few days earlier, Colin still did not recognize Gaucano at all.

Gao Jiano took the money bag, opened it, and reached out to touch it.

One hundred gold coins!
This was the first time he had ever earned money so easily.

Even though he was already quite wealthy, Gao Jiano still felt a sense of satisfaction.

For a long time, he had a very bad impression of Lohar.

But under the influence of money, he suddenly felt that Lohar wasn't so bad after all.

“Please come in, Mr. Taf,” Colin gestured.

Gaucano hesitated for a moment.

Until Luo laughed heartily: "Haha, don't worry, I'm here to talk business! If you're still uneasy, I can even swear on a scroll. Besides, this is Raven's territory, I wouldn't dare do anything to you here."

He's right.

As the core sphere of influence of the Thieves' Guild, even if Lohar harbored ill intentions, Raven would never allow him to ruin his reputation in the Black Market.

So Gao Jiano did not hesitate any longer and immediately went into the private room.

As soon as the door closed, all the noise outside was instantly shut out, as if entering another world.

Gaucano had only experienced a similar feeling in the Tidal Land. However, although the Tidal Land had a perfect isolation effect, there were still countless sounds inside, so in terms of sound perception, the Secret Room was the quietest place he had ever seen.

There was no one else in the private room except Loja and Gaugano.

Gaucano sat in a chair.

Lohar asked, "Are you a local from Southshore?"

Gaucano did not answer.

Lohar smiled and said, "Then I won't waste any more words. You should know my purpose."

Gao Jiano asked expressionlessly, "You want the formula for the Cislon drug?"

“That’s right!” Lohar nodded.

Gaucano thought for a moment: "Can you tell me what you'll use it for?"

Lohar didn't hide anything: "With the Sithron serum, I can decide the outcome of the boxing match."

Gaucano: "Match-fixing?"

“No, how can this be considered match-fixing?” Lohar shook his head. “Our arena is under the supervision of divine magic, and every fighter swears an oath before the fight. Under these circumstances, no one would dare to risk fixing a match.”

“Actually, it’s not that they’ve never thrown a match,” he added. “But after some players were punished by the gods, no one dared to throw a match anymore. Many people would rather be tortured by Niels than deceive Mosa and Saint Yves.”

He then changed the subject: "So the competition has always been almost uncontrollable, until the appearance of the Synthron serum."

Lohar's tone was a little excited as he continued, "Just by drinking a few bottles of Sithron serum, a boxer will immediately become stronger, and it will be a long-lasting, noticeable increase in strength, without any side effects!"

Gao Jiano was taken aback: "The side effects of Cislon are severe, it—"

“I know, it reduces lifespan,” Lohar interrupted him, saying dismissively, “Is that considered a side effect?”

Gaucano was speechless.

Lohar: "In the slums, in the ring, how many people live to a ripe old age? Not even here, anywhere, how many people live to seventy? Many die in their forties or fifties, and that's clearly not because they've exhausted their 'lifespan'!"

He then added, "Moreover, what good is it if you live to be seventy or a hundred if you accomplish nothing? Would you rather be a long-lived but unremarkable country farmer, or a saint who dies at twenty and is eternally revered by all Mosas?"

Gaucano also thought about this issue.

He wasn't interested in being a Mosaic saint, but he certainly didn't want to live a completely mediocre life, no matter how long he lived.

Lohar: "Do you know how many boxing champions I've trained during this time? From first division to fifth division, all the champions were trained by me... oh no, I mean designated by me!"

"With the help of the Synthron drug, they don't even need to train. An average boxer only needs to drink twelve bottles of Synthron to become a strong contender for the boxing championship!"

After saying that, Lohar continued, "How about selling me your four recipes for a thousand gold coins?"

He stared directly at Gaucano, his gaze burning.

(End of this chapter)