This Lich Requests More Remuneration
Chapter 328 - 305 An Accident

Chapter 328: Chapter 305 An Accident

The new capital of the Dwarves, City of Gold, shimmered under the sunlight with a brilliant color.

Did this gold-like reflection bear some nostalgia for the original Desert Palace? This was a question even the Dwarf King himself found difficult to answer.

Even though they had left the old palace, which had been passed down for a thousand years, the new capital was quite nice in many aspects. If one must find a fault, it would only be that there wasn’t an endless supply of gold buried underground.

Perhaps for that reason, the new capital of the Dwarves not only looked like it was made of gold but also vigorously promoted the development of domestic commerce, hoping to recreate the splendid days when Dwarves were never short of money.

Endel Mark was a fortunate benefactor of the times, the lucky one who fed on the wind of the era. The young noble wiped the sweat off his forehead as he climbed down from his carriage.

Inside the carriage were the newly delivered "Alchemy God’s Selected Elixir of Youth", each small bottle valued at one thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine Gold Coins, and the entire carriage load was worth a million Gold Coins.

That was only because the luxurious packaging took up a lot of space; otherwise, it could have held even more.

But the packaging was necessary. It was a good thing not for fleecing the poor, specially supplied to those nobles.

Leveraging the distribution rights for this Fountain of Youth, the Mark Family profited handsomely, transforming from the brink of bankruptcy into a rising star in the business world. They even received a summons from the Dwarf King, who generously offered the highest-grade Fountain of Youth as a special supply for the Royal Family.

This business deal may not have made a fortune, but the brand effect was triggered.

The Dwarf King was the new lord of this land; if he favored a product, wouldn’t other nobles scramble to buy it? Regardless of whether you like it or not, if your home isn’t stocked with a few bottles, aren’t you dissatisfied with the rule of the Dwarves?

Though it’s an exaggeration to say so, Dwarves weren’t accustomed to oppressive rule.

But even without resorting to draconian measures, missing this opportunity to curry favor with the Dwarf Royal Family meant a lot – aren’t the entry-level products just over a thousand Gold Coins? Can’t I buy them if I want to?

Consequently, the business of the Mark Family really took off, accumulating a considerable amount of wealth quickly.

But just as the Mark Family thought they could soar high, they received shocking news. The Alchemy God’s Choice brand wasn’t limited to just the Fountain of Youth; a new type of sunscreen had already hit the market in the desert, and a limited quantity of Magical Automatons were selling well among Adventurers.

Magical Automatons didn’t matter much, they were in small quantities and posed no threat.

But the sunscreen was different; it was a mass-market product aimed at the common people, and it immediately killed off all competition with its extremely low price.

There was no option; if someone else’s product worked just as well, was cheaper, had the certification of a Legendary Alchemist, and was endorsed by the God of Alchemy, who wouldn’t choose it? I heard that the God of Alchemy performed a miracle in the desert – an ice cube coated with sunscreen didn’t melt under the sun for ten days.

Putting aside whether this was true or not, just the advertising effect alone had already crushed all competing products.

When selling to the masses, what matters is the cost-performance ratio; when selling to the nobility, brand and style are what count. Not only is the sunscreen cheap, but it’s also a deity-certified product – whether it’s commoners or nobles, everyone would make the right choice. As for the issue of price, couldn’t they just tier the products like they did with the Fountain of Youth? Nobles always prefer buying expensive goods over cheap ones anyway.

A little inquiry by Young Master Mark revealed that the sunscreen was more profitable than his Fountain of Youth, the figures were enough to make one envious.

And when he was delivering the usual fee to Miss Isabelle, he was shocked to learn of another situation—Isabelle was looking for Fountain of Youth distributors in other kingdoms.

It was only then that Young Master Mark realized that the distribution rights he had fought so hard to secure were only for the Dwarf Kingdom.

On reviewing the contract carefully, he found that it did indeed include relevant terms. They were just mixed in with a bunch of other clauses, and Young Master Mark hadn’t paid close attention when signing.

Could the distribution rights really be sold by the region?

This was an approach he hadn’t known about because, in the past, Alchemy City had either exclusive distribution rights or no sales restrictions at all—regional distribution rights were unheard of.

After learning of this, the Mark Family immediately made two choices: continuing to negotiate and bid for the Fountain of Youth distribution rights in other regions, and promptly dispatching personnel to other kingdoms to open up markets before the distribution rights were secured.

Endel Mark checked the cargo on the carriage and immediately urged the coachman towards the commercial Teleportation Circle.

This time, his destination was the Kingdom of Impure Hymns in Tiflin, where the Mark Family had well-connected friends who could help open up trade routes.

But as soon as he neared the Teleportation Circle, Endel Mark saw a queue of carriages so long that the end was out of sight.

Endel Mark sighed. It was not the first time he had seen this kind of thing.

Ever since the Dwarf King actively promoted commercial development, and various alchemy products began reappearing, everyone had been working hard to fill the previous market voids with their own colors.

Those engaged in transcontinental business couldn’t do without a Teleportation Circle.

Endel Mark even heard that due to the excessive use of Teleportation Circles recently, several Mages responsible for maintaining them had collapsed from exhaustion. There had also been a few teleportation accidents; either the wrong destination was reached, or people and goods were blasted to smithereens.

Later, the kingdom had no choice but to order the construction of new Continental Transmission Arrays, but even now it seemed inadequate, as the queue was interminable.

But Endel Mark was well-prepared for this, so he had set out ahead of time and could still afford to wait.

After about three hours in line, Endel Mark’s carriage procession finally entered the Continental Transmission Array. He handed the teleportation address to the dark-circled Dwarf Mage, along with a whole chest of Gold Coins, and the Teleportation Circle’s light slowly brightened.

Space was gradually distorting, a force that would tear apart space itself, allowing the destination’s spatial coordinates to overlap with this location, then sever the connection from this side’s spatial coordinates, causing people and goods to instantly appear in another place.

Generally, this would not affect people, although individuals overly sensitive to spatial changes might feel dizzy and nauseous. Endel Mark had teleported many times before and was no longer affected by teleportation sickness.

But this time, something seemed off. Was the light from the Teleportation Circle a bit too bright?

Curious, Endel Mark suddenly heard the groggy dwarven Mage shout, "Something’s wrong! Quick, get off the Teleportation Circle!"

However, it was already too late. The light from the Teleportation Circle enveloped Endel Mark and his entire caravan.

The next second, space began to warp, and everything on the Teleportation Circle vanished.

"How is this possible? This is the newly constructed Continental Transmission Array!"

The dwarven Mage hastily notified to halt the teleportation, then started to thoroughly check the Teleportation Magic Array, eventually reaching a conclusion.

It had been operating way above capacity these past few days, causing even the newly constructed teleportation device to malfunction. However, the kingdom’s policy was clear: Use of the teleportation device was at one’s own risk; whether you died or were crippled, there would be no compensation.

The dwarven Mage, looking at the fees Endel Mark had paid, couldn’t help but sigh, "That’s just tragic. With space twisted so severely, they’re probably all turned into a pile of mush now."

On the other side of the continent, Endel Mark and his caravan appeared in a small, remote grove.

He wasn’t injured, but the carriage containing the Fountain of Youth was seriously damaged.

The carriage was crumpled at a corner by the spatial distortion, smashing two crates of the Fountain of Youth.

Luckily, there were no fatalities. The coachman and several workers responsible for transport were all alive, only one unfortunate worker had his right hand completely twisted into a spiral, and yet, he didn’t feel pain, his fingers still able to move.

This was a classic case of teleportation failure, where chaotic space could twist the body’s structure. It wasn’t just a physical injury, but a direct alteration of the body’s formation.

Like the worker, his arm wasn’t just twisted; it had grown into that shape.

Endel Mark said helplessly, "After we get back, collect your pension, and go home."

This condition wasn’t untreatable but was far too expensive; to amputate and regrow the limb would cost enough to hire thirty workers. The Mark Family couldn’t possibly spend that much to treat a single worker—it was as if he were dead, just give some pension and be done with it.

The worker understood that this was the best outcome, at least he was still alive.

After comforting everyone, Endel Mark then ordered, "Quick, unload the Fountain of Youth and check it!"

The workers hurried to unload the cargo, carefully opening the exquisite packaging, only to confirm all the Fountain of Youth was compromised.

Originally, this batch had the color of the starry sky and looked very attractive, but now, while the starry sky was still there, red specks had been added.

While it might look even more appealing than before at a glance, these bottles of Fountain of Youth were definitely ruined.

It must have been the spatial distortion during teleportation that caused impurities to enter the potion. The formula for alchemical potions is incredibly precise; even a slight deviation can either render it ineffective or turn a healing potion into poison.

This contaminated Fountain of Youth, Endel Mark dared not sell it.

"It’s over! Goods worth millions!"

This time, the Mark Family suffered a massive loss. Had it not been for a significant profit previously, such a loss could have bankrupted the family.

Endel Mark was frustrated, but that was the nature of business. As long as they could hold on, they would try to make it back the next time.

Now, the priority was not the damaged goods but finding their way home; the teleportation had failed, leaving them unsure of their current location.

Just as Endel Mark was about to send someone to gather information, a rapid sound of hoofbeats approached, and a silver-white armored troop appeared, surrounding Endel Mark and his group.

Silver-White Armor, Rose Pattern, this was the Paladin Legion of the Laine Empire!

Had the teleportation thrown them inside Laine territory?!

Endel Mark quickly ordered, "Everyone, down on the ground, don’t resist!"

All his people promptly prostrated themselves on the ground, an act of submission that made the Paladins, who had already raised their crossbows, ease up a bit.

A Paladin with a full head of red hair, strong as a lion, rode up to Endel Mark and demanded, "Where did you spies come from? How did you bypass our city’s defensive Magic Array?"

Endel Mark slowly raised his head and, seeing the conspicuous red hair, immediately recognized the formidable general.

The Ironblood General Rachel Angelo of Laine, this was bad. Everyone knew that this Ironblood General not only despised foreign races, but he didn’t spare his own kind either!