"What?"

Beim felt as if he’d been struck by lightning, his face a mask of disbelief. He never expected Levi to raise the price at this moment.

"Lord, you can’t do this..."

Before he could finish, Levi cut him off, his voice unhurried. "The price is now a forty percent markup." 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

"Just what do you want?" Beim’s eyes went red as he asked through gritted teeth, "Your weapons are already priced fifty percent higher than Debei’s! That’s the absolute limit for our Wind Surge Tribe! You black-hearted swine, and now you’re raising the price again? What in the world do you want?!"

’Damn this mouth of mine!’ Beim immediately slapped himself across the face. "I’m sorry, Lord! I shouldn’t have said that! It was my fault, please don’t hold it against me!"

"Now it’s a fifty percent markup," the Lord said, still smiling, though his eyes had grown colder.

’Excellent. Just excellent. This son of a bitch is the first person to dare curse Lord Li to his face.’ The petty Lord thoroughly committed the insult to memory.

The Wind Surge Tribe was a large tribe with several thousand people. Evidently, the renowned Warriors within his tribe had given Beim enough confidence to lose his sense of reverence for the Lord.

That old fox Sam was also a real piece of work. It was obvious he hadn’t told his supposed "bosom buddy" Beim that the Lord had once led a force that crushed a Wilderness Alliance Army of several thousand men.

If Beim gathered all the able-bodied men of his tribe, they would barely be a fraction of that number.

If he knew, one had to wonder if he’d be breaking out in a cold sweat.

"Damn it," Beim cursed. Faced with the unyielding Levi, he finally had no choice but to agree. "Fine! I agree! We’ll pay your price plus an extra fifty! Percent!"

He bit out the last two words with particular force.

He had no choice. The moment he saw Alexis, Beim knew he had to buy the weapons no matter what.

So, faced with the exorbitant price, he could only swallow the bitter pill and bear it.

Fortunately, the Wind Surge Tribe was very wealthy, so they could afford even a price like this.

"Zat, take him to see the goods."

"Let’s go, old man."

Such a contemptuous form of address darkened Beim’s expression. By the old rules, such gross disrespect would earn a hundred lashes at the very least.

But after a glance at the hulking Beastman, who was all burly muscle, Beim’s mood suddenly calmed considerably for some reason.

’Forget it. He’s a brainless brute. Not worth getting worked up over him.’

As he turned to leave, Beim didn’t forget to shoot a fierce, provocative glare at the Lizardman.

Although the Wind Surge Tribe had to pay a much higher price for their weapons, these Lizardmen were so poor they only wore tattered leather skirts. Beim didn’t believe they could afford to buy many weapons at all.

’Once we’ve upgraded the Wind Surge Tribe’s weapons, the first thing we’ll do is wipe out this bunch of Lizardmen. Then, we’ll march south and take High...’

Beim was already beginning to fantasize about the days after the Wind Surge Tribe’s rise to power.

Only after Beim’s figure had vanished from the great hall did Alexis cautiously ask his question.

"Lord, were you serious about what you said earlier?"

"Of course. My word is my bond."

Levi rolled his eyes. The way he asked made it sound like Levi was the kind of person who went back on his word at any moment.

Alexis let out a small sigh of relief. Just before the Ten Gu Division’s hourglass timer had run out, the Lord had suddenly approached him and told him that all he had to do was say one line at the critical moment.

In return, the weapons he purchased would be given a twenty-percent discount. It was a great opportunity to screw over the Wind Surge Tribe, and he would have done it without hesitation even without the reward.

The conflict with the Wind Surge Tribe had grown more intense over the years. Although the Warriors of his tribe were exceptionally brave, they were outnumbered and thus at a disadvantage.

When he heard that a noble from Debei was willing to sell weapons in the Wilderness, he had rushed over without delay.

He just never expected this noble to be the same formidable figure who had repelled the Wilderness Alliance Army with an inferior force. This made him even more respectful.

Levi waved his hand, and Hog led the Lizardman away to see the weapons.

If it weren’t for the chance to fleece the Wind Surge Tribe, he couldn’t have been bothered to come here personally.

After all, his status was completely different now. If he had to personally receive every Tom, Dick, and Harry, it would be a great loss of face.

The Wind Surge Tribe occupied a large Maple Forest and made an unknown fortune every year by trading the maple syrup it produced.

Levi had long been coveting this juicy piece of meat.

But the Wind Surge Tribe was no small fry. With a population of three to four thousand and nearly a thousand Warriors, they were a force to be reckoned with.

If High Cliff Castle attacked them head-on, it would inevitably suffer losses.

Therefore, Levi planned to use this method to gradually weaken the Wind Surge Tribe’s strength.

He would use the arms trade to covertly suppress the Wind Surge Tribe while supporting their rivals, the Lizardman Tribe.

This way, not only would High Cliff Castle rake in a massive profit, but it could also get the two tribes to beat each other’s brains out without losing a single soldier. Then, he could go in and clean up the mess.

In his previous life, Uncle Sam had been a master of this trick. The Lord had only learned a fraction of it.

...

Completely unaware that he was just a pawn in the Lord and the Lizardman’s little game, Beim arrived at High Cliff Castle’s armory, full of excitement.

When two Beastmen pushed open the warehouse doors, the dazzling array of weapons, all glinting with a cold light, left Beim stunned. He was like a country bumpkin who had stumbled into a vault full of gold bars.

A bone-deep greed appeared on his face.

’If the Wind Surge Tribe acquired all these weapons, it wouldn’t be long before we become the hegemon of the Wilderness!’

"Don’t get any funny ideas!" Zat sneered. "I’ve got a bad temper. It wouldn’t be good for our friendship if I ’accidentally’ hurt you."

Beim’s expression flickered. To be honest, the thought had indeed just crossed his mind.

Leading Beim to a corner where wooden crates were neatly stacked, Zat lifted the lid of one.

A sharp hiss of indrawn breath sounded.

Looking at the weapons in the crate, a feeling called jealousy rose in Beim’s heart. ’Why don’t these weapons belong to the Wind Surge Tribe?’

Neatly arranged inside the crate were long spears. The shafts were made of White Maple Wood, polished to a bright sheen and clearly maintained with wax.

The spearheads were forged from iron ingots, their sharp edges looking as if they could pierce a Lizardman’s scales in an instant.

Beim felt he had to take back his earlier words. Just based on their appearance, they weren’t much worse than the goods from Debei.

"Ten crates of Long Spears, five crates of battle-sabers, and some assorted One-Handed Swords," Zat counted off.

Just as Beim was about to reach out and test the quality of the goods...

"Payment first!" Zat said, crossing his arms. His massive figure, like a mountain, blocked Beim’s feverish gaze.

Beim, who had been about to argue, caught sight of Alexis’s figure appearing outside the armory. He stomped his foot hard and said, exasperated, "Wait for me! I’ll go back to the Tribe and get the money right now!"

With that, he rushed out in a flurry.