Chapter 1872: Chapter 1265: The Deal (Strawberries Are Getting Cheaper Lately)
While Varian was deeply worried about the future of the Alliance, Duanmu Huai seemed quite at ease, currently leading the girls on a big shopping spree at the Stormwind Auction House.
That’s right, shopping.
Duanmu Huai hadn’t forgotten to buy some small animals for Ann and Mary. Conveniently, the Stormwind Auction House had all sorts of things, including cute little animals. So he decided to look here.
I must admit, there are quite a few pets here.
"What do you think of this one?"
Looking at the pet in front of him, Duanmu Huai showed a proud smile, while the girls beside him shook their heads vigorously.
"No way."
"I think if Miss Ann and Miss Mary saw this, they might just faint... Uncle, are you deliberately teasing them?"
Naruse Mio backed away, looking at the small snake in front of them, and promptly commented. Honestly, what girl would like snakes?
"What about this one then?"
Duanmu Huai turned his attention to the Obsidian Proto-Drake next to him, only to be rejected again by the girls.
"Not cute!"
"It looks fierce!"
"Not cute at all!"
"Come on, do you guys even understand the value of dinosaurs?"
Hearing the girls’ objections, Duanmu Huai rolled his eyes helplessly. This is a Velociraptor, so cool, and you all say it’s not cute? Such a difference in taste?
"So how about this cat then?"
Feeling resigned, Duanmu Huai decided to give up and pointed to the magical feline pet in the cage next to them.
"I think this one is quite suited for Ann."
"I don’t think so. Miss Ann is a mage, not a witch."
Looking at the black cat wearing a mage’s hat, its eyes glowing a ghostly green, Homura Akemi shook her head.
"Sigh, I can see it now, you all have too many demands..."
After having several pets rejected by the girls, Duanmu Huai lost his patience. He was never a patient person to begin with. Let alone it’s just buying a pet... sigh, if he had known it would be this troublesome, he wouldn’t have bothered.
"Hey, buddy, hey buddy."
Just as Duanmu Huai was scratching his head, apparently aware of his frustration, a gnome merchant approached with a cheerful smile.
"Judging by your expression, you don’t seem too satisfied with the goods here?"
"I wouldn’t say satisfied or not satisfied, it’s mainly not me who’s unsatisfied..."
Duanmu Huai thought these were good enough, but the little girls around him opposed every option, leaving him speechless.
"In that case, would you like to take a look at the auction?"
"Auction?"
"That’s right."
The gnome merchant said while handing over a booklet.
"The Stormwind Auction gathers rare treasures from all over the Continent of Azeroth, especially some rare items hard to find in the Eastern Kingdoms. If you’re looking to buy some treasures for your companions, checking out the auction is a great choice. Here’s the catalog."
"Hmm..."
Duanmu Huai took the catalog from the gnome merchant and opened it. He wasn’t too interested in armor and weapons. After all, in a world of this level, those weapons and equipment were probably already obsolete by the Tribunal. They were of no interest to him.
However, something else in this world did catch Duanmu Huai’s attention.
That was the mounts.
Through the two reins he previously obtained, Duanmu Huai discovered that this world indeed had magical mounts, and these magical mounts were convenient. Duanmu Huai himself didn’t need these, but he could give one to Ann and Mary, especially since Mary couldn’t fly like the others and really needed a means of transportation.
As for Ann... if worse comes to worst she could always ride Greiya, right?
Fortunately, Duanmu Huai found two gifts in the catalog that matched his tastes.
These were the Warm Sun Fluffy Cat and Qiu Yi Fox.
The Warm Sun Fluffy Cat was a large orange cat about the size of a horse, looking fluffy, with two pointy ears, quite cute. The Qiu Yi Fox was an entirely pink fox with wings, looking adorably girlish—hmm, even Duanmu Huai himself wanted to ride it.
Just imagine painting his Power Armor in girlish pink, a cute Steel Warrior riding a cute pink fox, isn’t it a perfect match?
Unfortunately, both the Warm Sun Fluffy Cat and the Qiu Yi Fox were rare magical mounts, and there were only these two available at this auction, priced quite high—Duanmu Huai calculated, and it was obvious that he didn’t have enough money on hand. The currency he had in Azeroth only came from those bounties, good for food, lodging, but clearly not enough for buying these magical mounts.
Hmm...
"I don’t have that much money on hand, can I trade with other items? By the way, I don’t want to participate in the auction, I’d prefer to buy them directly."
"Oh? Of course, you can, though the price might be higher. What do you plan to trade for these two magical mounts?"
"How about this?"
As he spoke, Duanmu Huai took out a Thermite Bomb from his pocket.
"...What is this?"
Looking at the steel creation in Duanmu Huai’s hand, the gnome merchant was dumbfounded.
"Thermite Bomb."
"Bom... Bomb?"
"That’s right, just this single bomb could blow up the entire Stormwind; Blackrock Mountain was destroyed this way before, how about it? Trading this for your two magical mounts, quite a deal, right?"
"???"
Listening to Duanmu Huai’s words, the gnome merchant was utterly confused, he glanced at Duanmu Huai, then at the Thermite Bomb in his hand, showing an expression uglier than crying.
"Sir, you must be joking, I’m just an honest merchant, this... bomb, and such, we don’t deal in weapons..."
Saying this, the gnome merchant took small steps back.
"Well, then, I have to go ahead, you continue... hahaha... I just remembered I have an urgent matter..."
With these words, the gnome merchant turned and ran without looking back, and Duanmu Huai watched his retreating figure, helplessly shrugging his shoulders.
"Sigh, looks like I have no choice."
While sighing, Duanmu Huai turned his gaze back to the catalog in his hand.
To be honest, those two magical mounts were indeed beautiful and very suitable as gifts, but the problem was Duanmu Huai didn’t have that much money on hand right now...
Hmm, if it really doesn’t work out, maybe just steal them?
Although it’s not impossible, Duanmu Huai felt it was somewhat beneath him. After all, how could a prestigious Big Judge of the Tribunal resort to a zero-cost purchase when buying a gift for a woman?
Oh right, he still had the special skill of Heart of the Blood Raven. If push came to shove, he could just visit the auction house, and do a little "yours is mine, and mine stays mine" deal?
That might work too?
"Hey, hey, my lord......"
Just as Duanmu Huai was considering whether to drop by the auction house, a voice suddenly sounded. He then saw the gnome merchant had returned, still with that smile that looked more painful than crying.
"Uh... I went back to discuss with my colleagues at the commerce guild, and we are willing to accept your barter trade."
"Oh?"
Upon hearing this, Duanmu Huai’s eyes brightened, and he took out the Thermite Bomb again. Seeing it, the gnome merchant turned pale and waved his hands frantically.
"No, not that... The guild means... if you have something less dangerous... preferably items without military use..."
"You have quite a few requests."
Hearing the gnome merchant’s words, Duanmu Huai frowned. Why would he carry items without military use? His inventory was filled with explosives and shells because his shooting skills were terrible. Duanmu Huai didn’t even have a gun, preferring to rely on firepower saturation over accurate sniping. It’s all bombs and mines, or shells. And you’re telling me no military use? Where am I supposed to find something for you?
"Wait a moment, let me see here......."
Saying this, Duanmu Huai opened his inventory and carefully checked.
Radiation Grenade, Thermite Bomb, Cluster Mines, Stasis Bomb... no good.
Earthquake Cannon, Vulcan Mega Bomb... no good.
Explosive Weapons, Heavy Flame Sprayer? Seems like no good either.
BFG9000, Colossus Bomb? Probably even worse.
After searching through, Duanmu Huai’s gaze at the gnome merchant became more unfriendly. You sure have stringent demands, and military use is out? What’s wrong with military use?
Huh? Wait, maybe I do have something?
Spotting something in his inventory, Duanmu Huai’s eyes lit up. He then turned to the gnome merchant.
"I do have a good item for you, but I can’t take it out here. Is there a secluded place?"
"Of course, please follow me."
Led by the gnome merchant, Duanmu Huai arrived at a clearing behind the auction house.
"May I ask what you want to trade for those two magic mounts?"
"This."
Faced with the gnome merchant’s inquiry, Duanmu Huai snapped his fingers. The gnome merchant was astonished to see a steel colossus, over four meters tall, suddenly appearing in front of him, almost causing the gnome to sit down in shock.
"W-what is this?"
The gnome merchant stared in disbelief at the steel colossus. It had ostrich-like legs, and its arms were modified to resemble weapons. It looked like some mechanical creation, akin to the alchemical colossi often used by mages.
Except it was much larger.
"Oh, this is called a Mecha."
Duanmu Huai calmly introduced.
"This thing operates by a single person, using any kind of fuel."
What Duanmu Huai presented was a Knight Mech from the Human Imperial Era, originally used to assist the Titan Legion. A classic bipedal combat mech, Duanmu Huai never intended to actually use it, especially after witnessing the robots like Gundam and VF in another world, making the Knight Mech seem less impressive.
The only advantage this has over a Gundam is that it can run on anything as fuel, even wooden coal, though how long it lasts is another matter.
"But... but isn’t this military use?"
"How so?"
"Look at its left hand, this huge chainsaw..."
The gnome stared intently at the mech’s left hand, swallowing hard. The left arm and hand were entirely transformed into a long chainsaw, its serrated blade gleaming coldly under the sun, intimidating anyone who looked at it.
"Oh, that’s for logging."
Duanmu Huai explained nonchalantly.
"L-logging?"
"Logging."
"Then... what about its right hand... is that a flamethrower?"
"That’s for starting a fire. Don’t you need to build a campfire when logging outdoors?"
Duanmu Huai remained calm. Just because an axe can kill doesn’t mean it should be considered a weapon, right?
"But this is......"
"For logging."
"But......"
"For logging."
"But..."
"For logging."
"............."
The gnome merchant tried to question several times, but each time, Duanmu Huai’s response stopped him. Finally, he dropped his head in defeat.
"Please, let me report this."
After saying this, the gnome merchant turned and left dejectedly, while the other girls watched Duanmu Huai with speechless expressions.
"Truly worthy of Lord Duanmu."
Banriya couldn’t help but shake her head in amazement.
"Even as a Nightmare, I couldn’t come up with such absurd words."
"But I wasn’t wrong, was I?"
Duanmu Huai spread his hands and shrugged.
"This thing really can be used for logging, and it’s even faster than normal humans, isn’t that right?"
Faced with Duanmu Huai’s twisting logic, the girls could only nod and agree, "Yes, yes, everything you say is right..." What else could they do?
After a while, the gnome merchant came back, sweating profusely as he ran with his short legs.
"Honored customer... We’ve agreed to the trade."