Chapter 97: Change in Expression

“Some time?”

Sun Fei frowned, an expression that made Mazzola and Luciano’s hearts race. They heard Sun Fei continue asking, “How much time?”

“Your Excellency, if we completely exchange the four gems in your possession, they’re worth over one million low-grade Magic Stones. That amount couldn’t even be gathered by His Holiness Pope Sergiyeli at St. Isaac’s Cathedral in the Zenit Holy Church’s Sacred Palace Complex in just one or two days.” Mazzola carefully replied, trying to make his words as persuasive as possible. “Adding the round trip journey, and the need for many Knights or mercenaries to guard the transport, at least four or five months would be necessary.”

“Four or five months? Too long!” Sun Fei shook his head.

“Might I ask, Your Excellency, what you need the low-grade Magic Stones for…” Mazzola cautiously inquired.

Sun Fei’s gaze sharpened, pinning him like a sword.

Mazzola felt immense pressure instantly crash over him, stealing his breath. He quickly bent his knee in explanation. “Your Excellency, please don’t misunderstand! I have no intention of prying into Church secrets. I only thought that if you don’t need such a large quantity of low-grade Magic Stones all at once, we could exchange them slowly in batches. For example, exchanging about a thousand Magic Stones each time. It would be faster and avoid the risks of large-scale transport.”

Sun Fei’s eyes lit up upon hearing this.

Exchanging a thousand Magic Stones at a time, three or four times a month, would be enough to cover his consumption in the Diablo World. Selling these gems to the NPCs would ensure the Seven Professions faced no obstacles regarding Gold Coins’ needs. This way, the leveling speed would increase tremendously.

“Good. Arrange this for me.”

Sun Fei lightly flicked his fingers. A【Cracked Ruby】and a【Flawed Sapphire】flew toward Mazzola. “This is one medium-grade and one high-grade Magic Stone, worth eleven thousand low-grade pieces. I only need ten thousand from it. The remaining hundred will be your reward for serving me.”

“Your Excellency, serving you is our honor. We wouldn’t dare ask for payment,” both men said hastily. Though a hundred low-grade Magic Stones far surpassed their combined Church salaries and desperately scraped-together wealth from over a year, at that moment, not a hint of greed stirred in them.

“When I bestow something, no one refuses it,” Sun Fei’s voice turned icy cold.

Mazzola and Luciano exchanged a glance, seeing barely contained ecstasy in each other’s eyes. Greed finally overcame fear. They knelt down, kowtowing. “Thank you for your generous gift, Your Excellency.”

“Hmm, that’s better,” Sun Fei’s voice warmed. “Those hundred low-grade Magic Stones are what you earned. I never let loyal servants down. Do well, and more rewards will come. But if you dare pretend to obey while acting against me… heh…”

Before his last word faded, a ball of pure Golden Holy Power burst from Sun Fei’s body, like suddenly ignited sacred flames. With just a tiny flicker, the stone chair beneath him silently dissolved into dust and vanished in the air, utterly burned and shattered as if it never existed.

The Paladin Skill 【Holy Fire】.

Yet on the Azeroth Continent, the Holy Church gave this Skill another name:【Cleansing Holy Flame】. It was an incredibly high-tier protective divine art, power reserved only for the Holy Church’s highest figures. Minor Divine Masters like Mazzola, stationed in remote kingdoms with mere Three-Star rank, could only hope to master simple divine arts, the most potent being a skill similar to the Paladin’s【Holy Bolt】– something like【Light Annihilation】.

Seeing this, cold sweat instantly broke out on both men. A bone-chilling sensation shot up their spines from the tailbone to the top of their skulls, freezing them as if thrown into an icehouse. They didn’t dare even breathe loudly.

“If you dare pretend to obey while acting against me… this stone chair is your fate.”

Sun Fei finished speaking and stood, leaving the chapel directly.

Soon, only Mazzola and Luciano remained in the room.

Clumsily, they scrambled to their feet from the floor, exchanging a long look. Their faces showed complex efforts to conceal sheer terror.

“No mistake, he must be the【God’s Favored One】,” Rattlesnake Mazzola stared blankly at the spot where the stone chair had been—now just a tiny pile of white powder—and muttered in awe. “Otherwise, how could he wield the advanced divine art【Cleansing Holy Flame】and possess such top-tier Magic Stones? Outside of a Lord like him, who else could? Good thing we were sharp. Now we’ve latched onto his leg.”

“But why would such an exalted Lord demand exchanging high-grade Magic Stones for piles of low-grade ones? Isn’t that a losing trade?” Luciano wondered.

“How can the likes of us fathom the minds of such great lords?” Mazzola rubbed his temples, staring intently at the two Magic Stones in his hand. “We better focus on how to swap these two high-grade Magic Stones for low-grade ones quickly. Handle this personally. Keep it secret. Best if the bigwigs in St. Petersburg don’t learn of it yet.”

……

“Oh! So cute! Such little ones!”

The female Rogues squeezed through the crowd and got to the front. In the center was a small stall where several young mercenaries were shouting loudly. At their feet, a dozen finely crafted small cages held many strange yet adorable tiny Magical Beast cubs.

“Woah! Come look! Giant-tailed lemming pups, just weaned! Gentle and easy to raise!”

“One-year-old Wing-Wind parrots, they can learn even the most twisted Elfish tongues!”

“Ha! Look at this shivering little guy, my friend! You’d never guess it—he’s a six-tier Magical Beast Gold-Maned Haoz cub! My team went through hell, narrowly escaped with our lives stealing him! When grown, he’ll sprout six wings, fly faster than anything…”

“Hey! Honest-to-goodness White Tiger cub! Descendant of the Light Emperor!”

The mercenaries tirelessly promoted their quarries. Their cages contained Magical Beast cubs: some trembled before the crowd, some snuffled and growled low, while others, eyes closed, lay lazily inside, looking like adorable little sprites. Prices were steep, though, so few actually bought, content with watching the spectacle.

The female Rogues pushed to the forefront, eyes sparkling with fascination.

Born fighting hideous demonic monsters in the World of Diablo, the prettiest creatures they’d known were big grey rats. The lovely things in those cages before them felt utterly bewitching.

Ileena drew out a small, chubby, cute little fishing kitten dozing off in one cage, cradled it as she stroked it softly. The other female Rogues likewise gathered treasures into their arms, laughing joyously as they hugged their newfound fuzzy pets. Even Sister Acarra felt an overflow of affection, her gaze firmly fastened on a pure white-feathered owlish cub, unable to waver elsewhere.

“Buy it! They’re so adorable!” came a clever mercenary girl’s plea. Spotting a money-making chance, she pushed hard.

The female Rogues all looked over at Ileena. Ileena, in turn, glanced towards Sister Acarra. Sister Acarra seemed to realize the problem. She felt inside her purple robe and her aged face flushed. She hadn’t brought money. More pressing, she wasn’t sure if Gold Coins from the Diablo World held value in this realm.

Some men tailing the girls immediately saw the predicament. A lead figure—a massive, blond-haired Warrior—gave a look to the side. A handsome yet somewhat dark-faced youth beside him stepped through the crowd, shouting:

“My Lord shall purchase all these little ones!”

He scattered a great handful of Gold Coins—at least a hundred pieces—onto the ground. Then turned toward Ileena with a grin: “His Highness commanded me to buy these little treasures, as a small gift to the Ladies. He hopes to become acquainted with such beauties. Would you grant His Highness this favor?”

Ileena and the others followed his eyes toward the outer edge of the crowd. Beneath splendid garments, watched over by attendants, stood an imposing, tall and powerfully built golden-haired Warrior who wore a smile at them. This must be His Highness.

The golden-haired Warrior had an imposing frame, bearing some heroic air. His gaze felt intensely sharp and bright. Sadly, his slightly hawk-like, hooked nose gave off traces of aggressiveness and tyranny, marring the impression somewhat.

While Ileena hadn’t encountered outsiders beyond camp much within the Diablo World, each day facing demons and monsters kept them sharp with sensitivity toward Might. Though this golden-haired Warrior hid his Might well, each could sense his strength likely equaled their Lord Sun Fei’s. Going by Lord Sun Fei’s ranking system, he must possess Four-Star Power Level.

Mulling His Majesty Alexander Sun Fei’s upcoming ascension to King—rumors cited visitors arriving from afar to pay homage—Ileena didn’t wish to stir trouble for him. She smiled graciously at the golden-haired Warrior: “Thank you, Your Highness. Yet we remain strangers to you. We can pay ourselves.”

Then Ileena looked toward Prison Warden Oleg.

That old scheming Fatso knew exactly what she meant. Seeing it unfold, inwardly he labeled the beautiful female Rogues as part of His Majesty Alexander’s future harem. ‘Tch! What arrogant fools! They’ve dared try snatching Lord Alexander’s girls? That’s like a dog chomping rocks—begging for broken teeth!’ Immediately he stepped forward, pulled out a coin pouch as he shot a provocative glance toward the handsome youth and blonde-haired Warrior. Loudly he called to the young mercenaries: “We will pay double price for these little Magical Beasts. We’re taking them all!”

The handsome youth’s expression instantly changed.

Even the golden-haired Warrior showed subtle traces of displeasure upon hearing, though he concealed it extremely well. He smiled: “Very well, I shall happily yield these little gems to you fine Ladies. My name is Obina. I remain in Shampoo City several days. We are certain to meet again.”

And like that, without lingering dispute, his bodyguards moved alongside him as he walked off.

The aura Obina projected won over many bystanders just then. His temper stayed neither too hot nor cold, perfect—neither causing Ileena’s team discomfort nor rejection, instead leaving pleasant impressions with the girls so that next time when coincidence brought another meeting, smooth greetings and groundwork exchanges could then carry forth.

One person disagreed, though. That handsome youth felt shamed. His gaze writhed with hateful resentment as he glared contempt at the warden’s standing figure, Prison Warden Oleg fatly showing off. Then his sight traced across Ileena’s party. Finally, noticing behind Ileena hung the gleam of a golden Longbow, his pupils suddenly shrank. Seeming to recall something, he quickly gathered the Gold Coins flung down moments prior and dashed after Obina.

Upon Obina’s ear he urgently whispered a few things.

Obina halted. Eyes centered upon Ileena’s bow emanating faint, ethereal golden radiance, he studied intently…

Then… His expression changed.