Chapter 426 - Inventory of major gains (Part 2)

This is a leather belt with a clasp made from the scales of a bronze dragon. After being appraised and cleaned of its old and dusty appearance, its visual appeal was not low, and it went directly around Gaven’s waist.Overall, the belt’s value wasn’t high.

Because the spell for underwater breathing isn’t of a high level.

It’s just that it is quite rare inland.

In coastal ports, there’s a wide variety of magic items related to underwater breathing such as potions and masks. There are many kinds, they are widely available, and due to the large number of people making them, the prices are relatively moderate.

Salvaging shipwrecks, especially the search and recovery of the Watcher’s Call, requires going deep underwater.

He had long intended to find a similar magic item, but he hadn’t had the time until now, and this saved him the effort.

Gaven’s gaze turned to the last magic item.

This was a highly attractive half-mask of gold that could cover the upper half of the face.

Although it glittered golden, it was not made of gold but fashioned from the scales of a gold dragon.

This equipment, known as the Golden Mask, was an enhanced and upgraded version of the Dragon’s Sight Glasses.

It endowed the wearer with vision similar to that of a giant dragon, not only capable of glimpsing parts of data panels but also granting the user twilight vision and dark vision.

Beyond that, it even came with an increase of two charisma points and activated an intimidating aura with a radius of six meters. Anyone entering this range would be dominated by fear akin to the imposing presence of a giant dragon, potentially resulting in trembling or uncontrolled shivering.

Without hesitation, Gaven handed the Golden Mask to Zalanda, saying, "Big sister, this is for you."

"For me?" Zalanda was somewhat astonished, obviously not expecting to receive a gift while watching the excitement, and especially not an extraordinary one.

She shook her head repeatedly, "I’ve already received enough gifts today; I can’t accept more. You should keep it for yourself!"

"It’s not that I don’t want to use it, but that I can’t," Gaven replied, summoning his combat armor and holding the Golden Mask up to his face, "What do you think, is there still room for it? And I have a piece of equipment similar in function to this one, one that is compatible."

Because of the strength of his combat armor, Gaven now had to consider compatibility when searching for new equipment.

"Even if you can’t use it, you can give it to others in your realm," Zalanda said, still reluctant to accept.

Because she felt she already owed Gaven too much.

"Among them, no one can really bring out the true power of this mask. It’s most useful to you, big sister. Think of it as a loan from me. When you don’t need it anymore, or if I do, I’ll come to you for it," Gaven said, insisting on putting it in Zalanda’s hands.

"This..." Zalanda still wanted to refuse.

Gaven was already by her side, whispering in a voice only she could hear, "Do you really want me to publicly declare that I’m sure I fell for big sister the moment I saw her charge into battle after taking off her mask? Regardless of the attributes, this mask belongs to no one but you."

Zalanda had always had a special fondness for masks since her youth.

Even though she knew that helmets offered far greater protection than masks, she never managed to change this bad habit.

But there’s no denying the inspiring sight of her in a mask, with blue ribbons tied into a bow atop her flaming red hair, leading the charge.

In the dreams of midnight, this image had motivated Gaven countless times.

With so much said.

If Zalanda were to refuse again, Gaven might pull another stunt.

Blushing, she said, "Then I’ll use it for now, and give it back to you when you need it."

"What are you waiting for?" Gaven said impatiently, "Put it on and let us see."

"You..." Zalanda gave Gaven a glare. It was just a mask, a perfectly normal piece of equipment, but after what Gaven had just suggested, it seemed to have taken on a different nature, almost like an item of intimate apparel.

Gaven made a face and mimed with his mouth, the threat clear.

Zalanda glared at him again but ultimately decided to yield, moving to place the Golden Mask against her face.

As soon as it touched her skin, the Golden Mask began to wriggle and change, quickly adjusting itself to fit Zalanda perfectly, clinging firmly to her face even without any straps.

This was a feature common to most magic items; they could adjust to their users to enhance compatibility.

The stunning beauty of Zalanda’s face, when half-concealed by the Golden Mask, not only didn’t diminish her beauty but added a sense of allure as if only partially revealing a musical instrument.

The gaze would inevitably fall upon her beautifully curved, full lips, coupled with her straight nose, inciting curiosity about her unveiled beauty.

Her face was generally robust, but her eyebrows and eyes were very feminine, especially her eyebrows, which with a subtle movement and the fluid look in her eyes, could give one the impression of conveying emotions.

As a female leader, this appearance certainly made her approachable, yet it also lacked a certain dignity.

With the Golden Mask, this deficiency was completely compensated for.

Beauty was now commingled with authority.

Two traits that didn’t seem to match were merged seamlessly.

The closer to her, the more pronounced this feeling became, and not just because of her aura; the effect of the magic intimidation aura played a part as well.

The more Gaven looked, the more he liked it. She suited the mask much better than he ever could, and he even felt an itch to spar with her up close and personal if the setting were different.

Zalanda seemed to catch what Gaven was thinking, her eyes growing soft and watery, adding a hint of springtime to her authority, emanating charm and full of queenly grace.

Daphne, observant as a fox, shifted her gaze back and forth between Gaven and Zalanda several times, understanding everything in her heart.

She had felt earlier that there was something special between Lord Gaven and this woman, and now it seemed she was right.

Lord Gaven was no ordinary man; in just a few days, he had managed to bring back a quasi-legendary capable of casting ninth-level spells.

I wonder if Lady Virginia is aware of this matter?

Daphne’s mind raced, but her expression remained unchanged as she asked, "Lord, what are your plans for those mercenaries?"

"After confiscating all their weapons and equipment, I’ll disperse them and put them to work at the construction sites. As long as they don’t try to disrupt order or escape, they will enjoy the same treatment as the Tesser immigrants," Gaven didn’t harbor much prejudice against these mercenaries.

They were just a group of fence-sitters who worked for money.

After some thought, Gaven turned to the Dog Demon and said, "Expand the ranks of the wild wolves, place a pack around the construction sites, and execute any escapees on the spot."

Given free rein, the Dog Demon could recruit thousands of wild wolves.

But considering they were wild animals with a lack of organizational discipline, having too many could cause significant damage to the local ecological balance, and collective maintenance would consume too much.

Therefore, Gaven typically maintained a team of around three hundred wild wolves.

They were led by Zuo Langs with a certain level of intelligence and roamed freely around the Yewen Channel and the new villages, serving as mobile sentries and a first line of expendable defense.

Using them to supervise the mercenary captives couldn’t be more suitable.

After all, with such a large number and them being on the construction sites, even with strict supervision, there were bound to be loopholes.

Imagine their horror when they realize, upon fleeing into the wilderness, that hundreds of wild wolves are awaiting them there.

After a few chickens are killed, the remaining monkeys will behave.

"As you command." Whether it was Daphne or the Dog Demon, they immediately understood Gaven’s intent.

And implementing it did not pose any psychological barriers; that was the advantage of being from an evil alignment—they only cared about practicality, as for whether or not their conscience would pain them, could that even be eaten?

In fact, not only those from evil alignments but even those from good alignments rarely raised objections, as this was the most suitable course of action.

The number of mercenary captives was too great, and even when counting the demi-humans, Gaven’s population was merely on par with them.

Nor could he simply let them go.

To kill them would be to easily earn a bad reputation. It was better to use them as strong labor forces.

Zalanda added from the side, "Merely using force may not be enough to motivate them. Since they are mercenaries, loyalty is undoubtedly scarce. We might as well hire them with money and make them work for you. You’re not short on funds right now, and a combined approach should yield better results."

Gaven stroked his chin, pondered for a moment, then nodded and said, "That makes sense. I oversimplified the matter. They could potentially be future lieges. If we could find a way to keep them, it wouldn’t just be a matter of thousands of lieges.

It would be thousands of families, and that requires meticulous planning.

Let’s cool them off for the night. I’ll make a trip down there myself tomorrow."

In a flash, Gaven thought of several ideas.

They weren’t just any immigrants, and the strategies for dealing with them had to be differentiated.

Ordinary immigrants received both kindness and severity.

For them, severity needed to outweigh kindness, at least initially, followed by subtly changing their mindset later on.

As long as they see a future full of unlimited possibilities here, they will unhesitatingly join the pursuit of a better life—this is the core principle for all mercenaries.

Once they establish their homes here, with something to guard, they are no longer mercenaries, but warriors defending their homelands. Google seaʀᴄh novᴇl(ꜰ)ire.ɴet

Many new settlements in the wilderness were established by mercenaries.

Gaven turned to Daphne and continued, "Is there a way to extract some of the memories I need from the Red Dragon corpse, to create something like a Memory Crystal?"

"There is, but it requires a clear focus because a person’s memory is vast, especially that of a Giant Dragon," Daphne replied, "also, the necessary casting materials will need to be prepared."

"The ones who attacked the East Road Caravan and everything related to this, I’m interested in all of their memories, the more extracted the better. List the casting materials for me, and I’ll prepare them," Gaven’s expression revealed his uncontrollable delight.

As long as there was a way, that was all he feared—having no solution.

Daphne nodded and said, "Besides that, I’ll need the power of Ms. Estelle. If I’m not mistaken, the Red Dragon Wraith she previously controlled with music wasn’t just a mere manor power; if we have a Dragon Soul to assist, the effect will be much better."

"Good," Gaven nodded in agreement, "make a list of the tools needed for dealing with the Red Dragon corpse and give it to me as well."

"As you command."

Weizemay Manor was destined to have a sleepless night.

Even though they didn’t need to personally count the Gold Coins and equipment.

The Magic Equipment obtained just now were only of some unique abilities within the Dragon’s Nest, not all there was.

There were at least a dozen or more Magic Weapons of the likes of +1, +2, and +3.

The same number of Magic Armors up to +3 were also present.

Most of these Magic Equipments, originating from the guards of the East Road Caravans, weren’t of the highest quality.

But if used by the manor’s guards, they were extremely practical.

The equipment stripped from the mercenaries consisted mostly of ordinary gear.

Arrays of Magic Equipment, though not as numerous as those in the Dragon’s Nest.

If they all had worn Magic Equipment, they wouldn’t have ended up as mercenaries.

Now, Gaven had the gear but lacked the population, so he refrained from using them for the time being.