Chapter 111: Borrowing and Lending

A thousand miles beneath the surface, inside a vast subterranean cavern, over a dozen rivers of molten lava surged and roared, each a mile wide.

More than a hundred thousand sturdy men, their foreheads branded with slave markings, stood naked beside the lava flows. Using oversized, specially crafted ladles, they continuously scooped up masses of scorching molten metal from the rivers. The brilliant, blinding liquid metal was poured into custom-made metal channels, flowing into massive, strangely shaped furnaces suspended in the air over ten miles away. Beneath these furnaces, fire-eyes several feet in diameter had been carved into the ground. Primordial subterranean flames from the deep earth erupted as azure-blue pillars, their near-solid heat steadily suspending the furnaces in mid-air.

From time to time, blobs of alloy, mixed according to precise ratios, erupted from the furnaces, showering the area with sparks as they landed heavily on distant forging tables. Tens of thousands of these tables were arranged in neat rows. Beside each stood one or more short but exceptionally thick-limbed, powerful men. These men swung hammers of various sizes, clanging and hammering frantically at the alloy blobs, gradually shaping them into the rough forms of weapons. Blades, spears, arrows, powerful bows, heavy crossbows, armor, shields, and various large-scale mechanical parts—as soon as these rudimentary weapons took shape, swarms of smaller figures scurried back and forth, transporting them to the depths of the cavern, where they were stored in small, densely packed pits resembling a honeycomb.

This underground cavern was a colossal armory, a realm where flame, lava, and high temperatures reigned supreme.

Squads of heavily armored Jia Clan warriors patrolled the cavern. If any of the hard-laboring slaves faltered or made an unauthorized move, they were brutally beaten, or sometimes thrown directly into the lava rivers to be burned alive.

Di Sha, having changed into casual attire, walked into the vast cavern under the guidance of a small figure, his brow furrowed. Following a spiral path carved into the cave wall, he moved through the shifting light and shadows for quite some time until he finally reached a square doorway at the top of the cavern. Two beautiful young women smiled and pushed open the doors, releasing a blast of cool air that made the overheated Di Sha shiver.

From within, a strange, cackling laughter echoed. A sharp, thin voice murmured, "A distinguished guest, I see. Come in, come in, hurry inside. Don't let the heat from outside rush in—the stench of sweat from those wretched slaves is simply unbearable."

Di Sha hurried inside, passing through a corridor over a hundred yards long before the space suddenly opened up. It was a cavernous hall, a hundred yards in circumference, decorated with extreme extravagance. The floor was covered in thick, rare furs, and the walls were draped in luxurious tapestries. There were no lamps on the ceiling; instead, thousands of glowing pearls of various sizes were embedded there, bathing the hall in a stark, snow-white light.

In the center of the hall, seated behind a desk meticulously fashioned from red coral, a fat old man was writing rapidly in a thick ledger. Seeing Di Sha enter, he put down his pen, closed the ledger, and reached out with a smile.

"Di Sha, Di Sha... ah, I remember now. The last time I saw you was five hundred and thirty years ago, at your grandfather’s birthday celebration. Hmm, I hear you’ve been doing well these years—you’ve certainly squeezed a lot of profit out of me. Look at the slaves I have working below; half of them were purchased from your Blood Tooth Legion. That was a tidy sum of money!"

As he uttered the words "a tidy sum of money," a glimmer of greedy green light flickered in the old man's eyes. On his round, puffy face, five eyes opened wide simultaneously. The Yu Clan had three eyes, the Jia Clan had four, but this old man had five. In addition to his normal pair of eyes and the two hidden within his eyebrows, there was a vertical eye located just below his brow and above the bridge of his nose, more than twice the size of a normal eye, glowing brilliantly. Within this vertical eye, one could faintly perceive countless runes swirling rapidly, constantly assembling into bizarre magical arrays. Occasionally, complex lines would appear, sketching out the designs of strangely shaped weapons and armaments.

"Master, I need money," Di Sha said, standing before the old man and getting straight to the point. "A very, very large sum—enough to rebuild an even stronger Blood Tooth Legion and hire a group of elite 'Shadow Demon' assassins."

"Rebuild the Blood Tooth Legion?" The old man’s five eyes flickered rapidly, and he suddenly burst into laughter. "Didn't they send your younger brother, Di Luo, to the Blood Tooth Legion not long ago? Well, I must say, Di Luo has a talent for women, but in other respects, he is still far too green."

"Rebuilding the Blood Tooth Legion... does that mean the entire legion was wiped out? Such things are not uncommon in the Four Wilds. Every year, a few unlucky small-family slave-trading groups run into such misfortunes." The old man watched the sullen-faced Di Sha with a look of amusement. "But I didn't expect that even the Blood Tooth Legion, belonging to the most powerful branch of the Di Shi Clan, would..."

Di Sha’s vertical eye opened, and a deep, dark mist began to swirl slowly within it. The pearly light in the hall dimmed abruptly, as if it were being absorbed by his eye, and the air in the chamber turned chillingly cold.

With a series of hissing sounds, eight transparent figures suddenly materialized around the old man. Following a faint clash of energy, eight fully armored Yu Clan warriors appeared in the air, guarding the old man tightly.

Di Sha froze for a moment, then quietly closed his vertical eye.

The old man waved his hand with a smile and said calmly, "Don't be nervous. My relationship with the Di Shi Clan has always been excellent, so General Di Sha would not make things difficult for an old man like me, would he? Unless the Di Shi Clan wishes to never again receive a single piece of fine weaponry from my Xiu Clan, General Di Sha would certainly never trouble me."

Di Sha bowed slightly to the old man, apologizing for his earlier impulse. Then, he said coolly, "I offer all the future revenue of my legion for the next hundred years as collateral. I wish to take out a loan from you."

The old man stood up, excited. His ten fingers—snow-white, slender, and delicate, more perfect than those of a young maiden—danced rapidly. "The total revenue of a main legion of the Blood Moon for the next hundred years? Ah, that is a large sum of money indeed. Very well, I can lend you whatever you need."

He paused, looking at Di Sha with a wary expression. "I have a good relationship with the Di Shi Clan, but friendship is friendship, and business is business. The standard rules—nine out, fifteen back, and compound annual interest—cannot be changed. Furthermore, from now on, your legion and all the armaments for the Blood Tooth Legion must be purchased from me. That is also a rule, you understand?"

Di Sha was silent for a moment, then nodded firmly. He said coldly, "I also know that you have a good relationship with the Shadow Demons. Please help me contact their leader."

The old man smiled slightly and puffed out his chest.

"Well, the leader of the Shadow Demons is none other than me. My dear General Di Sha, what mission would you like to entrust to us?"

Di Sha stared at the old man, dumbfounded. After a long silence, he said with shock and venomous hatred, "Help me kill someone."

"A little mongrel from the Southern Wilds. I want him to die in the most miserable way imaginable."