novelraw Chapter 326: 101 Calculating or Not
Chapter 326: 101 Calculating or Not
"Alright, what are your demands?"
"Don't be hasty, we said we need to discuss it. Otherwise, I wouldn't have gone through to such great lengths to summon my compatriots scattered across the world, traveling ten thousand miles to return here... However, you, little Mixed-Blood Species friend, seem to have quite a reputation outside. So many compatriots recognize you; your fame isn't small."
Hiding behind Fisher, Kexiening also cast a somewhat curious glance at the Fisher before her. Just now, she had always thought he and that Eldest Miss from the Turan Family sitting in the wheelchair were a couple. Now it seemed that wasn't the case; he appeared to be a couple with many people.
After Fisher nodded, the massive Slime King beckoned to the compatriots beside him. A yellow Slime behind him dragged a huge stone basin and placed it in the middle of the group of Slimes. Then, the Slime King and the various elders all placed the ends of their coiled third hands from atop their heads into the basin.
Those Slimes wrapped in humanoid shapes also successively extended a gelatinous tentacle from various parts of their bodies. As the Slimes' tentacles converged together, the entire venue instantly quieted down. Only the pacifier-sucking Slime King turned his head and shouted at Kexiening, who was still lingering behind Fisher,
"What the hell are you dazing there for instead of rolling over here for the meeting? Did running a circus make you stupid?"
"Huh? I can discuss with you guys too?"
Kexiening pointed at herself in unbelievable disbelief. Under the disdainful or sizing-up gazes of her fellow clansmen, she also walked over to the huge stone basin and placed the green tentacle on her head inside. As the last Slime present joined the gathering, the entire venue truly fell silent. Only Fisher, an outsider standing by, stood with his arms crossed, completely clueless as to what they were doing.
"Heh, what a spectacle. I heard that when ancient Slimes went to negotiate, their hands were all linked together. This way, they could converse with their partners without speaking, leaving the negotiation targets with no opening to exploit, falling into the trap of their transactions... Now it seems they also like to do this when discussing matters."
Eimhart popped his head out from Fisher's embrace. He narrowed his eyes, glanced at the gathered Slimes, then turned his head and said with a chuckle,"You must have encountered Slime-kin when you traveled around the world before. I genuinely didn't know that in the century or two since they left the Northern Border, they managed to expand their business to such an extent. Their voices can be found all over the world. It's truly a pity they don't open an intelligence agency..."
Fisher, with his arms crossed, shook his head and said somewhat amusingly,
"For them, intelligence has always been shared within the clan; this is the safest approach. If no one outside the Slime race knows their identities... if someone were to sell information elsewhere, they would eventually expose a flaw and be completely wiped out by someone taking advantage of the situation. The true cleverness of the Slimes doesn't lie in maximizing value, but rather in their ability to endure the pain of relinquishing graspable value in exchange for safety and stability. In a sense, this is the true maximization of interests..."
"Bang!"
The bizarre, silent conversation before him didn't last long. Fisher didn't know how they conversed, only capable of meagerly imagining their consciousnesses being collectively pulled into an invisible, concealed space where they bickered inside. But their speed of conversation was surprisingly fast, leading Fisher to ultimately reject this idea.
He saw the largest Slime King take the lead in pulling the tentacle on his head out of the huge stone basin. He bit down on the pacifier in his mouth, while the tentacle on his head simultaneously took the shape of an oval Crown.
"Ah, little Mixed-Blood Species friend, we have finished our discussion. Next, I'll tell you about it, and you can see if you agree. If there are any objections, we can discuss further."
"Alright, please speak."
The Slime King rubbed his chubby hands while looking at Fisher with immense interest. He held up three fingers toward him,
"We don't want any tangible wealth or items. You know, to some extent, there are no poor people in our clan, except for the disgraceful thing behind you. So, we have three demands for you."
"First, we hope you will let bygones be bygones regarding the theft of the True Ice by the mother-and-daughters trio of Kexiening, and properly let them leave the Northern Border to return to the Borderland."
"Second, you need to share your progress in finding the Frostwood Sycamore Tree with us. Of course, we are also happy to provide you with some intelligence assistance. Although I'm so old I can barely walk, I still have memories of past events."
Upon hearing this, Fisher frowned. He looked somewhat speechlessly at the Slime King before him, who had pulled out the pacifier to suck on his own finger. His tone also carried a hint of disbelief,
"Just these?"
"What else? Of course, just as you said before, we are loyal supporters of the Phoenix Race. How could we make so many demands? Reasonably speaking, we should even be providing you with assistance... but don't be hasty, the final demand hasn't been stated yet. The last demand: we want a promise of a favor from you, Fisher Benavides."
"At crucial moments, when we need your help, we might come looking for you; if we are threatened by other races, we might use your banner to seek shelter; or perhaps when we cooperate with someone, we might need your name to act as a bridge... in short, one favor from you is our third demand."
The Slime King smilingly put the pacifier back into his mouth. The Slimes wearing false skins behind him also looked toward Fisher, seemingly awaiting his reply.
Fisher exchanged a glance with Eimhart in his embrace, then chuckled somewhat dumbfoundedly,
"This is the first time I've realized I have such great capability, that even my favors can be used as bargaining chips."
"Ah, you are one part, and those women who are related to you are another part... at least before the secret is out about your affairs, your favor is still very useful. Before they get to know each other, we will use up this favor, so please rest assured."
"If so, then it's a deal?"
Fisher nodded, acknowledging the Slimes' demands. Subsequently, with the Slime King's permission, he walked to the front of the Frostwood Sycamore Tree statue behind him and gently extended his hand to pick up the circular Slime Mark. Similar to the other sigils, in the center of this oval-shaped mark, a twisted humanoid figure seemingly composed of gel was respectfully looking up at the statue of the Frostwood Sycamore Tree in the sky.
Thus, the fourth Six Races Seal was successfully obtained.
"Very well, Mixed-Blood Species child. I really like making deals with you... seeing as you're so straightforward, I can give you two extra gifts..."
He clapped his hands, and a giant Slime behind him gently extended a hand to place an item into the hands of Kexiening, who was standing beside the stone basin. Fisher looked closely and saw it was a translucent, circular shield resembling a pot lid. On the front of the shield, there were circles of twisting tentacles, just like the tentacles that formed the Slime's Crown.
This was a Relic, and its quality was very good.
"This item is a gift to you. It's called the [Slime Loop], one of the treasures bestowed upon my grandfather by the Phoenixes back then. It can protect its bearer three times. Counting the one time each that my grandfather and my father used it, it currently has one use remaining."
Fisher reached out and took the circular shield. Only upon holding it did he discover that this shield was as soft as a Slime's body. The next moment, the tentacles on it seemed to come alive, coiling around Fisher's arm circle by circle. The cold sensation was incredibly wondrous.
"Another thing. If you are searching for the Six Races Seals, the other races' shouldn't be too hard to find. The Cangniao-zhong's should have been taken to the grave by their descendants; the Moon Rabbit-kin, Snow Fox-kin, and Cloud Cat-kin ones are properly safe-guarded by their tribes. Only the sigil belonging to those Giant Troll-kin should cause you quite a headache, right?"
Upon hearing a clue regarding the near-extinct Giant Troll-kin's sigil, Fisher perked his ears up, focusing intently to listen to the other party's words. The Slime King raised a finger and looked at Fisher, speaking mysteriously,
"You should have already obtained the entrance location of the Frostwood Sycamore Tree, but in reality, the location marked on the map is still quite a distance away from the true entrance. That place is the [Tree Base]. It was originally where the Cangniao-zhong lived, but after the incident occurred within the Sycamore Tree, the Trolls took up guard there, forbidding any living creature from entering the Sycamore Tree."
"The ancestors of the Cangniao-zhong, my father, and the ancestors of the other three races all attempted to enter the Sycamore Tree to discover the truth of what happened inside, but they were all stopped outside the tree... Hah, the Moon Princess issued a death order. From the time everyone still remembered the Phoenix Race, up until now when they have faded into myth, the Giant Troll-kin have constantly guarded there. Any creature that dares to intrude will be slaughtered by them."
"If you have gathered all the sigils, then head to the Tree Base to communicate with those female-superior, male-inferior Trolls. I'm not sure if you can succeed either, but giving it a try is not a bad idea. If it really doesn't work, we'll send someone else to retrieve the sigil."
Clutching the sigil in his hand, Fisher remained silent for a moment, then etched all the information the other party told him firmly into his heart.
"Many thanks. I will relay this information to the person in charge."
"Haha, then that's it. We've talked enough tonight... Kexiening, take this little friend back to the Northern Border. They still have a lot of things to do later. Hope you succeed. Although we live well in other places, ultimately, the Northern Border is our homeland. We also look forward to the day we can return to the Tree Base of the Sycamore tree and sleep peacefully under the protection of the Phoenix's wings."
The Slime King waved his hand at Fisher. Looking somewhat tired, he wrapped his hands around his pudgy belly, adopting the posture of a baby preparing to sleep. Meanwhile, Kexiening approached Fisher's side, retrieving the currently-concealed Boundary Flute from behind her back, and tentatively asked Fisher,
"Shall we set off?"
Fisher gave one final, profound glance at the massive Slime King before him, then nodded and said to Kexiening,
"Sorry for the trouble."
"Kexiening Kexiening Kexiening Kexiening!"
As that high-pitched, cheerful singing voice rang out once more, Fisher and Kexiening's silhouettes were once again enveloped by the golden light of Value. Kexiening slightly flicked the used Northern Border silver coins in her hand, and the two of them instantly vanished from this Borderland.
The Slime Borderland plunged into silence in the blink of an eye. A Slime wearing false skin nearby crossed his arms and softly spoke to the Slime King, who was leisurely lying on the ground,
"Zu Zu, he seemed to have noticed."
"...Ah, it doesn't matter. As long as he wants the sigil, this matter cannot fail. Besides, it seems he currently isn't very close to that fledgling Phoenix beside him. Even if he saw through why we are helping him, he wouldn't tell that fledgling Phoenix."
"Phoenix... never thought there would still be one in the Northern Border. Really want to go back and see what they actually look like, and whether they resemble the myths."
Hearing his descendant's remark, the Slime chuckled softly and said,
"Hehe, not alike at all. Phoenixes possess bad tempers you cannot imagine. But undeniably, they are an exceptionally great race... In reality, the Giant Troll-kin only refuse living beings other than Phoenixes from entering the Sycamore Tree. This is the true reason why our six races have been unable to return to the Sycamore Tree for thousands of years. But that Fisher Benavides carries the scent of a fledgling Phoenix, which allowed me to see an opportunity."
"Moreover, this little playboy seems to be an interesting person too. Who knows, he might just spark something with that fledgling Phoenix. Calculating carefully, this guy has connections in the human society in Naris, connections in the New Dragon Court in the Southern Continent, and connections on the ocean... Hmm, just not sure if he has connections underwater. This favor can be used many times, wow, we hit the jackpot..."
The chubby Slime King sucked on his pacifier and narrowed his eyes in calculation. Within those baby-like sleepy eyes, however, burst forth the brilliant radiance of Value. As he spoke, he casually pointed to a few Slime-kin standing below him and instructed,
"Solidify this favor. We can start moving on the matters in the Southern Continent. That Dragon Queen is someone who can be reasoned with. I heard that although she is at war with humans, she doesn't reject human goods and technology. Therefore, cooperating with certain humans must be her first choice. We can act as a bridge and profit from it. Any recommendations?"
Following this remark, the blonde mayor of Naris stepped forward and said to the Slime King,
"Zu Zu, the Petric Family of Naris is worth a try. Recently, I've been getting close to a member of their family named 'Keken'. This guy has great foresight, but most importantly, he dares to try and wants to accomplish a grand undertaking. We can try cooperating with him. If something goes wrong, we can just push him out to take the blame..."
"Then do as you said. But remember not to be too hands-on. Queen Elizabeth is currently finding you very useful for implementing her new policies. You might get promoted someday, so don't leave any leverage; as for the Pirate Port, who knows if the Black Chieftain can find the Stormsea or not. But since the Black Chieftain intends to ask Alajina for help, you can also use this favor to get involved. What if it's found someday? Those who didn't get a share of the favor, figure things out with those who did and see how you can collaborate. But don't be too obvious. If you really can't get a share, prefer maintaining the status quo over forcing it. Remember what I taught you: be content and know your place!"
"Yes, Zu Zu... truly unexpected. This Fisher delivered such a useful favor. No wonder you practically didn't mention your first two demands, and even gave away a Relic and intel. Only then did he agree so willingly. Truly infallible calculation!"
Facing the descendants below who were looking up with shining eyes, the Slime King shook his head. Lying on the square, the massive statue of the Frostwood Sycamore Tree before his eyes seemed to shift, as if lowering its wing-like branches toward him. He smiled with a sigh of emotion,
"Heh, saying it's all calculation isn't entirely true either, because I, your Zu Zu, also genuinely wish to return beneath the Frostwood Sycamore Tree. I also look forward to the day when the gates of the Sycamore Tree that blot out the sky can open for our six races once again, allowing me to bathe in the brilliance of the True Ice anew..."
Those descendants all turned their heads together to look at the massive Sycamore Tree at the end of the square. At the very top of that Sycamore Tree, there seemed to be a giant winged figure looking down. Beneath that tree trunk, six Demi-human Race figures of varying shapes respectfully cupped their hands, as if receiving a blessing, feeling the legendary past of the Northern Border buried beneath the frost and snow, yet shining with epic glory.