Bab 14: Chapter 14. package delivery!
Six days crawled by as the tension in town grew heavier with each passing hour. The streets were quieter than usual, with hushed whispers of the approaching Virelith army spreading like wildfire. The unease was palpable, even among the guards who were supposed to keep morale high.
Shina requested a private meeting with me that evening, her face grim. She handed over a sealed letter, the parchment bearing signs of urgency. "This is from one of my contacts," she said, her voice low.
I opened the message and scanned its contents. My eyebrows twitched involuntarily.
"They're closer than we thought," Shina said, breaking the silence. "And the general… he's not just Grade 3. He's a war veteran. Ruthless. Efficient. Rumors say he's close to breaking through to Grade 4."
I let out a slow breath, my expression carefully neutral. "Good," I said, leaning back in my chair. "Let him come."
Shina raised an eyebrow. "You have a plan?"
"Of course," I replied with the confidence of a man who absolutely did not have a plan. "Don't I always?"
The truth, though, was as bare as my empty strategy board. My only plan involved vague hopes and the comforting thought of my growing wealth.
As Shina left the room, I leaned forward, resting my elbows on the desk. My mind spiraled into increasingly ridiculous scenarios.
"Maybe I could bribe the general," I thought, fingers idly drumming on the wood. "Gold solves everything, right? What's the going rate for a Grade 3 general these days? Fifty thousand gold? A hundred thousand? Surely it's cheaper than losing a war."
I imagined marching up to the enemy camp with sacks of gold, a charming smile, and an outstretched hand. "Here you go, good sir. Kindly take this and go bother someone else."
But then, reality hit me. What if he took the gold and attacked anyway? I'd lose my money and my pride. No, bribery wasn't reliable.
---
My best bet was still Kirin. If she could deliver those nine Grade 3 troops on time, we'd have a fighting chance.
And if not? Well, there was always the system. Ten gold per soldier. The idea was so absurdly tempting. I could see it now: an endless horde of troops pouring out of the town gates. The sheer spectacle alone might give the Virelith army a heart attack before we even clashed.
The image made me laugh. Not a dignified chuckle, but a full-on, belly-shaking laugh. I could almost see myself standing atop a pile of gold, shouting, "Come at me, Virelith! I've got more troops than you've got patience!"
---
As I reveled in my hypothetical victory, a report came in: the factory had produced 110,000 mana potions so far.
"Wait… what?" I said aloud, sitting up straight. "How did I forget about this? That's my money-printing machine!"
I stared at the report, baffled by my own negligence. With proper funding, the factory could've produced at least 210,000 potions by now. But no. Funds had been cut off because, apparently, I'd been too busy admiring my gold to remember the machine that printed it.
"I amaze even myself sometimes," I muttered, shaking my head.
Still, 110,000 potions were nothing to scoff at. I quickly sprang into action, posting 100,000 potions for sale in our Chamber of Commerce at 100 gold apiece. The remaining 10,000 went to the system stall at 150 gold each.
"Of course, the system takes a 10% cut as a transportation fee," I grumbled. "Scam artists. The lot of them."
It didn't take long for the 10,000 potions on the system stall to sell out. Just as I was about to pull the 100,000 from the Chamber of Commerce and move them to the system stall for a better profit margin, Kirin contacted me.
"Hey, Kirin," I said when her voice came through the comms. "What's with the potion flipping? I saw you buying up stock and reselling it."
"Oh, that?" she replied nonchalantly. "Just trying to earn some money,you won't mind right? But forget that—did you get the package I sent?"
I blinked. "Package? What package?"
"The troops," she clarified. "I sent the nine Grade 3 soldiers yesterday."
I froze. "Wait, you're telling me you… sent nine grown men in a package?"
"Yeah," she said, as though it were the most normal thing in the world. "System trading logistics, you know. It's efficient."
Efficient?! My brain struggled to process the image of nine hulking warriors crammed into some kind of mystical parcel.
"You're joking," I said flatly.
"Nope," she replied cheerfully. "Should have already arrived. Check the delivery notice , i contacted you as you haven't accepted the goods."
Sure enough, when I opened the system panel, there it was: Package Delivered: 9x Grade 3 Troops.
"WTF system," I muttered under my breath. "Just… WTF."
I kept my newfound "delivery" of Grade 3 troops under wraps for now, unwilling to explain how our elite defenders had arrived like a shipment of potatoes.
Shina was working tirelessly to gather more intel, and Lucia had her hands full coordinating defenses. I, on the other hand, focused on the only thing I could truly control: my wealth.
Gold: 1,540,000 units
Magic core: 0 units
Mana crystals: 619,410 units
Besides, with 100,000 potions still in the Chamber of Commerce and gold pouring in from the system stall sales, I was riding a wave of success.
For now, I had everything under control. Probably. Maybe. Sort of.
---
'Yes! Let's be positive here.'
I thought to myself. 'Once this whole mess is over, I'll make sure the Virelith Kingdom doesn't get so much as a sniff of my mana crystals! Not a single one! Producing 75,000 mana crystals a day, I'll be rolling in gold soon enough. Who needs to worry about funding when I have a literal money-printing machine working nonstop? My future is bright—so bright I might need a mana crystal-powered visor to shield my eyes.
And let's not forget the nine Grade 3 troops heading my way. A veteran general? Please. No matter how skilled he thinks he is, he's not walking away from my army unscathed. Nine Grade 3 troops could raze an entire town without breaking a sweat.!'
With these thoughts, I managed to ease my nerves. I clung to the idea of overwhelming power and endless wealth as I closed my eyes and let sleep take me.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone