Chapter 184: A Narrow Escape

The Gale Sword Saint Skatz came before Fatty and was full of praise for the Magic Bow in his hand, but showed absolutely no intention of returning it. Fatty had been rolling in the officialdom for so many years; seeing this, how could he not know what the other party wanted? So he pretended to be serious and said, “Respected Duke Kaz, actually your praise is a bit too much. After all, this kind of bow is still newly developed. Although it looks very good, it might hide some unsuitable places. I think, in order to fully check the characteristics of this bow, could I trouble you to study it carefully for a few days? How about that?”

Although Fatty spoke politely, everyone present knew that this bow was probably going to be kept permanently by the Gale Sword Saint Skatz.

“For the interests of the Kingdom, I am duty-bound!” The Gale Sword Saint Skatz was also sensible and immediately said righteously.

Having received the benefit, the Gale Sword Saint Skatz was exceptionally easy to talk to next. He directly dismissed the people of the Augustus Family and gave all of this year’s bow and arrow procurement tasks for the army to the workshops of the Stephen Family. Not only that, he even requested to purchase an additional batch of Magic Bows to equip a group of the most elite divine archers. Of course, Fatty stated beforehand that future Magic Bows would definitely not be as good as this one, because this one was specially made by an Expert.

The Gale Sword Saint Skatz naturally immediately asked curiously who made it. At this time, Fatty pretended to be in a difficult situation and whispered, “Master Thunder!”

Hearing that the bow in his hand was actually the work of that recently emerged Master, the Gale Sword Saint Skatz’s jaw almost dropped. You know, the Auction House of the Stephen Family had shocked the Continent, so he naturally could not be unaware of what price that Master’s works sold for; that was a sky-high price of hundreds of thousands of Gold Coins! As a Noble born a commoner, without a foundation, he could never get that much money in his life, unless he dared to embezzle military pay on a large scale. But that was obviously unrealistic; after all, the Griffin Kingdom was still in an unstable period, with troops fighting wars from time to time, so the Royal Family was very strict in controlling the treatment and control of the army below. With the status of the Gale Sword Saint Skatz, embezzling a little was not a big problem, but if he wanted to swallow hundreds of thousands of Gold Coins, that would definitely cause trouble.

Thinking that he had received such a big gift, the Gale Sword Saint Skatz felt the thing in his hand become hot. He secretly decided to play with it for a few days and then quickly send this thing back; he dared not really keep it.

Fatty also saw his uneasiness and hurriedly said with a smile, “My Lord Duke, don’t mind it. You must have realized that although this bow is a good thing, its actual power is limited. In fact, it was just something the Master used to practice his skills; it doesn’t count as the Master’s own work, so the Master didn’t even sign his name. Therefore, it’s not worth much at all!”

Hearing this, the Gale Sword Saint Skatz felt slightly comforted. After the business was concluded, Fatty said goodbye with a smile. Kaz did not detain him either; after seeing Fatty off, he hurriedly rushed towards the Imperial Palace. He had to report today’s sudden events to Your Majesty.

…

In the Imperial Palace, the Emperor was enjoying afternoon tea with the Queen in the garden. When he heard from below that the Gale Sword Saint Skatz wanted an audience, the Emperor immediately laughed, “It seems there is news! Hehe, I want to see how much meat your family can bite off from the Stephen Family this time! Haha!”

“No matter how much, I want to thank Your Majesty for the care on behalf of my brother!” The Queen immediately answered with a smile.

“Hehe, we are husband and wife; if I don’t help you, who will I help?” The Emperor said hypocritically.

The Queen immediately showed a happy smile. However, both of them knew in their hearts that if it weren’t for interests at play, the Emperor would not be so generous.

Afterward, the Emperor ordered his subordinates to invite the Gale Sword Saint Skatz. Soon, the Gale Sword Saint Skatz arrived. The Emperor still respected this Sword Saint very much; he personally stood up with the Queen to welcome him, then invited him to sit down, served a cup of top-quality afternoon tea, and after being polite, he asked, “What is it? Did the tender meeting end so quickly?”

“Yes, it has ended!” The Gale Sword Saint Skatz immediately replied.

“Then what is the result?” The Emperor immediately asked curiously, “How much share did each of their two families get? How much was the price reduced?”

“Reporting to Your Majesty!” The Gale Sword Saint Skatz said with a bitter smile, “The share was all taken by the Stephen Family, and the price not only did not decrease, but increased by fifty percent!”

“What?” The Emperor and the Queen were stunned when they heard this; they never expected such a result. The Emperor hurriedly asked, “How could this be? Did the Augustus Family not participate in the competition?”

“They participated!” The Gale Sword Saint Skatz said.

“Then is their bow and arrow quality still as bad as before?” The Emperor asked again.

“No, the bow and arrow level of the Augustus Family has indeed become roughly the same as the previous Stephen Family; even if it is a little worse, it wouldn’t have too much impact!” The Gale Sword Saint Skatz said honestly.

“In that case, why did you still give all the share to the Stephen Family? And even added fifty percent to the quote?” The Emperor asked in great puzzlement.

“Because the Stephen Family came up with a stronger bow!” The Gale Sword Saint Skatz smiled bitterly, “After this kind of bow appeared, the previous kind of bows can be completely scrapped! So I made the decision to give all the orders to the Stephen Family and accepted their request for a price increase.”

“Ah?” The Emperor and the Queen were both surprised when they heard this. The Emperor didn’t mind so much, but the Queen couldn’t take it. She hurriedly asked anxiously, “My Lord Duke, are you sure the Stephen Family’s bows are a completely new variety? And are they definitely as good as you say?”

“Yes, I am sure!” The Gale Sword Saint Skatz nodded and said, “If you don’t believe me, you can look at the samples I brought!”

“Where are the samples?” The Emperor asked hurriedly.

“Outside. You know, according to the rules of the palace, I cannot carry weapons to see you!” The Gale Sword Saint Skatz said.

“Bring them in quickly!” The Emperor then ordered the Guard outside.

Soon, two Refined Steel bows were placed before the Emperor. The Emperor himself was also an Expert and had a deep understanding of bows and arrows. He picked up the two Refined Steel bows and adjusted them slightly, then immediately understood everything. He then could not help but smile bitterly, “The Stephen Family can actually create such strong bows, and can even freely attach Magic. Heavens, Teacher is indeed worthy of being the most famous Grandmaster Alchemist on the Continent; his work is indeed extraordinary. No wonder you would rather spend a high price to give the orders to the Stephen Family. You did very well this time!”

“Thank you for your praise, Your Majesty!” The Gale Sword Saint Skatz bowed slightly, then hesitated a little, and still said, “Your Majesty, I heard from Duke Stephen that that Magic Bow was made by Master Thunder. I suspect that this casting technique of the Stephen Family was also taught by Master Thunder and has nothing to do with Teacher!”

“Master Thunder!” After hearing this, the Emperor suddenly realized, “Ah, right, right, right, it should be him. It is said that Master Thunder even held an auction at the Stephen Family’s Auction House. I felt at that time that he had a relationship with the Stephen Family, and adding this time, I am afraid it can be confirmed! Oh my, the Stephen Family is really becoming more and more remarkable. Originally, they had a family Expert like Teacher protecting them, and then Little Stephen, that freak, appeared; he even subdued a Sword Saint. If we count Master Thunder as well, hehe, that would be truly remarkable!”

“Hehe!” The Gale Sword Saint Skatz did not dare to answer, so he could only accompany him with a dry laugh, then hurriedly said, “Your Majesty, I have to go back and carefully study the application of this bow on the battlefield, so I will not disturb your time!” As he said, he stood up.

“Hehe, then you go ahead. It has been hard on you!” The Emperor encouraged.

“I dare not, it is all my duty!” The Gale Sword Saint Skatz hurriedly said politely, “Then, this subject takes his leave!” As he said, he picked up the two sample bows, turned around, and walked out.

As soon as the Gale Sword Saint Skatz left, the Emperor turned to the Queen, shrugged helplessly, and smiled bitterly, “My dear, you saw it too. It is not that I am not helping; it is just that the Stephen Family is not that easy to deal with!”

“Your Majesty, I know your difficulties, but you must know that in order to get this order, my brother has almost smashed his entire family fortune. Now his warehouse is full of beast horns and other materials for making bows and arrows. If these things are stuck in his hands, heavens, I am afraid our family will go bankrupt!” As the Queen spoke, she could not help but cry.

“Sigh, I have no way either?” The Emperor said helplessly, “I can’t force the Military Department to buy the Augustus Family’s bows, right? If that happens, the Gale Sword Saint Skatz will definitely be the first to disagree!”

“But you can’t just watch them die without saving them?” The Queen cried, hugging the Emperor’s leg, “The Augustus Family has fought for the Griffin Kingdom for hundreds of years. The men in the family who died on the battlefield add up to over a thousand. Now, are you just going to watch us go bankrupt?”

“This~” When this was mentioned, the Emperor was indeed embarrassed to be too heartless. He thought for a moment, and finally said helplessly, “How about this, I will write a handwritten order to allow your family to transport that batch of materials to the Empire of Light as soon as possible. They obviously cannot get enough metal bows in a short time; at least in the coming years, ordinary bows will still be their main weapons. So they still need these materials very much. You might even make a little profit!”

“Thank you, Your Majesty!” The Queen immediately said excitedly.