Chapter 145: Giant Dragon Logistics

In early spring, the territory was full of vitality.

Standing on the city walls, looking into the distance, the greenery was like a sea. A gust of wind came, causing the mountain mist to undulate and the green waves to roll.

The recent spring rain made the sown grains sprout with delightful shoots.

In the past, Baron Badma would have been in a great mood.

However, at this moment, he was pacing restlessly on the city wall, his expression somewhat anxious.

Introduced by the dark arts magician Redmond, he successfully connected with Tony’s caravan after just one meeting.

The two agreed that Tony would deliver the goods, and he would transfer the payment through the Internet Bank.

For this, he even gritted his teeth and advanced a thirty percent deposit.

According to the agreed time, Tony’s caravan should arrive at the castle by noon today.

However, no matter how long he waited, he couldn’t see any sign of Tony.

Even the subordinates stationed at the entrance of the territory hadn’t seen Tony’s caravan’s banner.

“Baron Badma, could this… be a scam? Do you want me to…”

A Grand Mage in a green robe approached and whispered, gesturing a throat-cutting motion on his neck.

His name was Amos, and he was Baron Badma’s capable assistant.

He had never been fond of the dark arts magician Raymond.

On the surface, he despised Raymond for studying the evil summoning of demons, but in reality, he was jealous of Raymond’s power and the fact he had usurped his position.

“It shouldn’t be a scam. A thirty percent deposit isn’t enough to fool someone, unless…”

Baron Badma’s eyes suddenly widened. He quickly opened the Internet and sent a message to his subordinates stationed at the warehouse to inquire about the situation.

“Baron Badma, everything is normal at the warehouse.”

The message from the warehouse relieved Baron Badma.

He couldn’t hold back any longer and sent Tony a voice message again, a sense of emotion lurking deep in his heart.

The emergence of the Internet is truly convenient.

Especially social networking on the Internet, it’s incredibly practical.

“Hey, my old friend, where are you now? Didn’t you say you were almost here? Why haven’t I seen you yet?”

As soon as the voice connected, Baron Badma couldn’t help but complain.

“Dear Baron Badma, I’m indeed almost there. Blame it on your castle for being too small.”

Tony, with a hint of teasing in his voice, made Baron Badma’s old face darken.

“My castle is indeed small, but my territory is absolutely large. With such a large territory, don’t tell me you got lost?”

Baron Badma sarcastically remarked.

This was not him boasting.

Though he was only the lowest rank of baron lord, his territory’s area was enough for people to believe it was an earl’s because it encompassed a barren mountain range.

“Haha, I really did get lost. Ha, I see you now!”

Tony’s words left Baron Badma stunned.

Saw me?

He turned his head in bewilderment, looking around. Outside the castle, there were vast areas of green farmland, with no place to conceal oneself.

How did Tony see him?

Before the suspicious Baron Badma could ask, his vision suddenly darkened.

A huge black spot covered the city wall.

“Look quickly—”

“What is that?”

“Oh my!”

Inside the castle, a burst of exclamations arose.

Baron Badma’s pupils dilated as he suddenly reacted and looked up.

He saw an elliptical, gigantic metal creation, resembling a giant dragon with a large metal pod at its bottom, slowly descending from the air.

“A Floating Airship—”

Baron Badma exclaimed!

As a loyal user of the Internet, he immediately recognized what this creation was.

But this did not diminish the shock deep in his heart!

Why did the miraculous creation of the Internet God suddenly appear here?

Could it be… the Internet God is preparing to attack the Karman United Republic?

Before he could turn around and flee, a teasing voice came from the air:

“Hey, dear Baron Badma, sorry about that, the mountain fog is dense, we overshot! Damn it, we didn’t realize until we flew over the Capella Ridge! By the way, quickly prepare some manpower to transport the goods, my time is tight, and I’ll be leaving soon.”

Baron Badma was stunned.

He couldn’t believe his ears.

This Floating Airship is Tony’s?

This… how is this possible?

In the midst of shock, countless thoughts surged in his mind.

Ultimately, he gritted his teeth and turned to instruct his subordinates to prepare to receive the goods.

—It wasn’t that he wasn’t afraid of deceit here, but he was just a low-ranking baron, and his most powerful force was the dark arts magician Raymond, who was recruited midway and was of unknown origin and acted on his orders but not on his commands.

How could he resist?

There was simply no way to resist!

So, besides secretly instructing his capable assistant, the Grand Mage Amos, to take him out of the castle at the first sign of trouble, he had no other choice.

In front of the castle, the Floating Airship slowly landed.

Baron Badma, accompanied by a trembling group of servants, went to receive the goods.

Through the wide-open pod door, Baron Badma could see the goods piled inside.

In addition, there were a few magical puppets hanging in various corners of the Floating Airship.

Tony, whom he had met once, jumped down smiling from the pod. While reprimanding his servants to be careful not to damage the pod, he walked toward Baron Badma and gave him a warm hug.

“Haha, Baron Badma, how have you been lately?”

“Not bad!”

“I can tell, you’ve made quite a bit of money in Khazad-dûm, right? It’s enviable! I just don’t have your fortune. I’m destined to work hard and can only run around everywhere.”

Tony joked about himself, but there was no hint of frustration in his eyes.

On the contrary, when he looked at Baron Badma and the castle behind him, there was a faint sense of superiority, as if a noble lord had visited the countryside.

Although his father was merely a baron as well.

“Just some hard-earned money! By the way, is this Floating Airship… yours?” Baron Badma couldn’t hold back asking.

“I wish it was mine! I can’t afford to buy a Floating Airship. To be honest, this is Lord Ajef’s Floating Airship; I just hired it.”

“Hired?” Baron Badma was puzzled.

“The generous Lord Ajef has started a Giant Dragon Logistics company… Yeah, a company like a guild. Giant Dragon Logistics accepts hirelings to transport goods, so this airship is counted as my hire.”

Tony did not hide it; after all, it couldn’t be hidden.

Although it hadn’t spread widely on the Internet yet, any merchant who had been to Vis Els knew; it couldn’t be hidden for long.

“Alright, let’s quickly check the goods. My time is tight, and renting this airship is charged by the hour.”

Tony hurried again.

While processing the sudden information he received, Baron Badma instructed his subordinates to inspect the goods.

Tony did honest business.

There were more goods than expected.

After checking, Baron Badma was very satisfied. So after paying the balance for the goods, he looked at the remaining goods in the airship pod and couldn’t hold back asking: “What’s inside here? Don’t get me wrong, what I mean is, can I purchase some more goods?”

“Of course you can, but you’ll have to wait a few days. These goods have already been reserved by others.”

“Alright then, the usual rule, a thirty percent deposit?”

“Alright!”

Upon hearing this, Baron Badma quickly instructed his subordinates to retrieve money from the treasury.

“Hold on, you’re paying in cash?” Tony interrupted Badma’s actions.

“That’s right, is there a problem?”

“Oh my, of course, there’s a problem! If it’s cash, I only accept pure gold or liquid magical materials, and the deposit must increase by ten percent.” Tony said with a face of distain and trouble.

“This joke is not funny! I’m paying cash!” Baron Badma felt it was ridiculous.

“Baron Badma, I’m not joking! Don’t you know that the magicians in Quever only accept bank transfers, not cash? For transactions, we have to deposit the money in the bank. Do you know how troublesome this process is?”

Tony lamented:

“You would know if you’ve been to Vis Els. The Vis Els bank has opened five counters already, and there are still queues reaching the city gates every day! Do we have that much time to queue? So whether it’s having servants queue or buying numbers, it’s a lot of money. Even exchanging money from a big trading company requires finding a trusted connection, very troublesome.”

“Additionally, the currency minted by our Karman United Republic is only recognized as silver and gold coins by them. They have to check the gold content one by one, and severely worn ones are not accepted. Even slightly worn ones have to be discounted. It’s an invisible expense again.”

“Moreover, you know that money in the bank earns interest, right? The thirty percent deposit you pay me is not just that amount, it also includes interest. If you pay me in cash now, I lose this interest. Adding this all up, to be honest, if not for knowing you, I wouldn’t do this business at all. Charging you a forty percent deposit is already because we’re acquaintances.”

Listening to Tony list the details as if reciting family treasures, Baron Badma felt unwell.

The idea came to his mind: is the gold I’ve painstakingly hoarded in the treasury… worthless?