Swamp Lord with an Intelligence System

According to those mercenaries, it was obtained from an extremely dangerous place, but he quickly found out the real situation... Recently, there was a space tide, causing fissures to appear in many places. Being low-level, they got nothing worthwhile and just saw this thing looking decent by the roadside, so they picked it up to see if they could fool someone with it.

As soon as he spoke, the group didn't hesitate to sell it to him.

Little did they expect to encounter the same gullible guy as last time right after returning.

The goddess truly favors us.

Lear also started to laugh.

Every time he faced such a situation, he felt particularly satisfied.

The thrill of picking up a bargain partly comes from the rarity of the treasure, but even more from the fact that the other side doesn't recognize its value and instead insists on selling it to him at a low price.

He stepped forward to make his selection.

After casually flipping through the items and asking about the prices, his attention was drawn to some stones in the back.

"What are these?"

The one-armed old man showed no sign of irritation, maintaining a high level of patience with this valuable customer.

"These are called... uh..." Staring at the golden patterns on them, he hesitated for a moment.

Ore? Nope... He had shown it to a dwarf, and the dwarf had said it wasn't any metal, just looked good on the outside.

Who knows more about ore than dwarves?

"Black Rune Stone?"

"Yes, yes, that's a good name; let's call it Black Rune Stone."

The one-armed old man didn't feel the slightest bit embarrassed and spoke softly.

"Many special ores are like this; newly mined and unseen by anyone, naturally they need new names."

"And once you can extract precious metal from them, you hit the jackpot..."

"This... Black Rune Stone is one such item."

"It's not expensive, only 10 Gold Coins apiece!"

Lear found it somewhat amusing.

"Let's stick with the old rule from last time... 10 Silver Coins each, and I'll take them all."

"Huh?"

"Hmm?"

"I..."

"Not selling?"

"Selling!!"

There were 10 of them, which could sell for one Gold Coin!!

5 Silver Coins to swap for one Gold Coin, a huge profit.

He thought about asking for more but upon looking at Lear's faintly visible figure, the one-armed old man felt a twinge of guilt.

Better to let it go; he had already earned enough, and it wouldn't do to scare this cash cow away.

Lear didn't haggle, pulling out a Gold Coin directly, taking away 10 Ancient Lizard Eggs.

Haggs's ascension tool was in hand.

But before preparing to leave, he suddenly paused.

He turned his head to look at the one-armed old man.

This guy seemed excessively lucky; he had found treasures at this stall twice already... Wondering if there was anything else good?

"Do you have any hidden treasures?"

Huh?

The one-armed old man, who was just feeling smug, was taken aback. Good heavens, he'd never seen a sheep eager to be fleeced.

"Of course, I have!"

He was more firm than anything.

After a moment's thought, he rummaged through his bag, dumping out a bunch of items.

They looked scattered, a dozen or so things, all small knick-knacks.

Broken stones, a blunted knife, animal teeth... each looking more pitiful than the last.

"Have a look, dear customer, see if there's anything you like... These are the prized pieces I've collected over the years."

Even though they were unsold junk, he looked more serious than anyone.

In this business, if you want to deceive others, you must first deceive yourself.

Lear didn't mind, earnestly examining each piece.

After a moment, his eyes landed on a palm-length iron spike.

His expression turned peculiarly odd.

The iron spike was entirely dark, with a tinge of rust, and had traces of dried bloodstains.

Among the pile of trash, it was unremarkable.

Looking up at the one-armed old man, Lear's emotions were mixed.

This guy must be favored by the God of Luck, to have something like this?

A coffin spike stained with divine blood

Level: Special

Traits: Within 100 meters, the target is hit without fail. When nailed into the target, it can seal all its powers. Each use requires consuming 100 points of divine power. The stronger the target, the more divine power is consumed.

Evaluation: After a divine spirit's death, its followers buried it, hoping for its resurrection someday. The first nail was driven into the coffin, stained by the divine spirit's blood for a million years, absorbing unfathomable power.

Lear felt a bit of a headache.

The nail of the divine spirit's coffin—just hearing the name speaks volumes of its significance.

Plus, its attributes are beyond fierce.

Guaranteed to hit the target, sealing all powers.

An absolute trump card, an ace!

Previously, he had a similar trump card—the 12 mechanical broken fingers of the goblins.

But the difference is—that thing is several meters long and can't be used in ordinary combat.

But how concealed is the iron nail?!

"This pile of junk seems quite interesting... I'll give you 10 more silver coins, I'll take it all."

This fat sheep, did he really take a liking to it?

The one-armed old man's face lit up with joy, but he still instinctively grumbled.

"No, no, at least 20 gold coins, this is all the good stuff I've accumulated over the years..."

After some haggling, Lear left behind a total of two gold coins, quietly leaving with the ancient lizard egg that would promote Haggs and the divine spirit coffin nail.

This price made Lear unwilling to negotiate further; he might as well let the other party have a small advantage.

The one-armed old man held the two gold coins and sighed deeply to the sky.

If only I could meet such fat sheep every day... Those running stalls at the entrance aren't big trades, earning one or two gold coins in a year is rare.

So satisfying.

The man from the central south beside him had reddened eyes.

"Uncle Norton, learning from someone like you gives us hope!!"

The one-armed old man grinned, chuckling.

...

Lear hadn't expected this trip to the black market to yield such rich returns.

The nail of the divine spirit's coffin, no amount of gold mountains would make a trade for this!!

Unfortunately, such opportunities can only be stumbled upon, not sought.

The source of that guy's items was clearly quite straightforward, not even requiring appraisal.

Otherwise, given the full-service offerings of the black market, its value would have been known long ago.

He must come back next time, that old man is definitely his lucky star.

In a good mood, he left the black market without returning to White Crow Commerce Association, instead heading straight to Dragon Breath Manor.

He informed Kalanis of the fifth piece of intelligence, asking her to subdue the evil god worshiper who had never seen an evil god but held an important position.

Every beginning is difficult, but with a base of their own, they can proceed with confidence.

He didn't intend to participate; subduing the Faceless Hermitage required Kalanis to do it herself.

This was the first step of her revenge.

At the same time, he communicated with Kalanis about participating in the bloody combat.

Both believed that participating this time was not just about earning rewards; it was also a battle to make their names known.

Especially Kalanis, to control the Faceless Hermitage, she needed more power and a louder reputation.

The Bloody Arena was the best place.

As for winning... the absolutely confident Kalanis never considered this issue.

Lear also didn't anticipate any accidents.

Flowing with the bloodline of the ancient gods and mastering the tyrant divine format and authority, alongside an unshakable will even divine spirits couldn't move, he couldn't think of anyone on the same level who could defeat Kalanis.

Back at the White Crow Commerce Association, Lear made no further moves, quietly collecting news of shifts in the situation.

On the afternoon of the 5th, good news arrived... reinforcements from Weilu City had come.

Lear instantly felt relieved.

He went personally outside the city to receive them.

This time, the Shadow Cloak played a major role. The shadow prison acquired at Level 16 silently brought everyone to the White Crow Commerce Association.

Seven great demons, flesh butchers, King of Naga—all present.

Including him, it formed a complete team of ten.

Full of confidence.

And the Level 16 mechanical flying dragon was left to guard the territory, just in case.

At this time, Weilu City also had the seven squadrons of cold-blooded cavalry led by Haggs, along with more than seven squadrons of dark night elves and the forces of the Land of Crimson Rot.

Even if he couldn't return in a short time, there was no need for excessive worry; any incident would hardly cause significant damage.

Lear was in a very good mood; this was the most direct benefit of increased power in his hands.

No longer needing to worry about unforeseen events from splitting troops.

A few more days passed this way, as the time for the arena to open approached, one could clearly feel the atmosphere in Lorand City growing heavier.

Like the feeling of a huge stone pressing down, even making breathing feel cumbersome.

On November 8th, with only two days left until the arena opened, Lear had already risen before dawn, slowly removing the cloak from his back and throwing it into the sewer of the White Crow Commerce Association...