Davis, the new mayor of Baker City, was a tall, thin, fair-faced man with a bit of arrogance and disrespect. It was his first impression on Rod.

I saw that when he met Rod, he was sitting on an ivory-white chair, looking high. On either side stood his servants and guards.

"You're that Lord of Blackhammer Keep, Rod?"

He asked. A pair of blue eyes swept over Rod and Caroline. He then turned his gaze back to his desk and continued to look at the papers he had.

"Yes. ”

Despite the upset, Rhodes maintained the proper manners and manners.

"I've read your request, and to put it simply, I don't agree to sell you guns and ammunition at such a low price. ”

Davis said coldly. His eyes didn't even look at Rod squarely, but his lips were moving, and he looked like a noble boy. Caroline was already upset, but she had promised Rhodes not to speak, let alone move. So, for the time being, I still held back and kept silent.

"Your Excellency, is this a low price?"

Rhodes asked rhetorically.

"Low, of course low, one and a half times the original price, don't you know that all parts of the empire have begun to restrict the arms trade? at least three times before it can be shipped. ”

Davis said, tossing the papers aside and turning his gaze back to Rod. At the same time, he was half-lying and lifted his Erlang's legs.

"Your Excellency...... Kislev and the Empire are old friends, and I've heard on my way here that the price of firearms on the market has indeed risen, but not three times the price. I would like to ask why firearms exported to Kislev are sold at such a high price? ”

Rod asked as politely as he could.

"Got it done? Who did you look it out with? The third-rate dealer who just walked out of here? Or the sea market? Let me tell you why you need such a price to export to you. Because the pirates of the north are more rampant, the Empire is a covenant-abiding nation, and even more so in the Oster Realm. We are all responsible for the ships that go to sea, and the Gulf of Kislev is full of pirates, so the cost of our escort increases. ”

Davis said. He crossed his hands and stared at Rhodes condescendingly.

"As long as you sell me the goods, the escort matter can be completely solved by me personally. ”

Rhodes returned. He thought of the Gnosca Marauders, who along the way, protected merchant ships and could hardly worry about being robbed again.

But Davis still didn't look satisfied.

"It's up to you to do it personally? Do you have divine powers, or do you have three heads and six arms, and can you escort the whole ship by yourself?"

City Governor Davis scoffed.

"You don't have to worry about this, I have manpower. ”

Rod replied with a smile.

"Needless to say, I don't trust you people, Marauders? Mrs. Kesley, without the escort of Imperial soldiers, I bet merchant ships would not have been able to reach the North. ”

Davis took a sip of hot tea and continued—

"Triple the price, triple the price, no room for negotiation. If you want to take it away, if you don't have enough money, please leave here. I have a lot of things to do, and a lot of poor guys like you who want to find me. What is Blackhammer Fort? How come I've never heard of it before. It doesn't seem to be marked on the map, right?"

Davis's arrogant appearance finally made the Frost Witch beside Rod unbearable, and she was about to scold, but Rod grabbed her wrist and forcibly stopped her.

"In your eyes, is this trade just a matter of money?"

Rhodes asked rhetorically.

"And what else do you think is the problem?"

Davis, the mayor of Baker City, asked rhetorically.

"In the Battle of the Evil Moon that has just passed, my men risked their lives to repel hundreds of beastmen and timberwolves and defend the northern defenses. However, we are understaffed and need firearms support from the Empire. It's the common duty and responsibility of all mankind on this continent, isn't it?"

Rod said neither humbly nor arrogantly.

He stared at Davis, the fine-skinned and tender Imperial official, his eyes full of questioning.

But the new mayor apparently didn't take Rod's words seriously, let alone as a foreigner. His gaze wandered, not even looking directly into Rod's eyes. Just lazily half lying on his office chair, he replied in a low voice-

"Hundreds of beastmen, hmph, your castle is really strong, and your people are really brave. How did I hear that in Kislev, once there is a team of hundreds of beastmen, your Ice Queen will send a regular army to exterminate it. Why, this time, she didn't take the intruder into account?"

Davis said, the expression on his face full of disdain.

"Before the news reached the capital, we exterminated the herd. ”

That's all Rhodes can explain.

"Hehe, news from Kislev is getting fast enough. ”

Unexpectedly, Davis still dismissed. Rhodes wanted to pinch him to death, but on this occasion, he couldn't be rude, and this was in the empire, once he started it, the consequences would be serious.

For the sake of survival and the future, Rhodes endured. It's Caroline, who has a big face. If it weren't for Rod dragging her to death, I'm afraid she would have gone crazy on the spot. It will not be a matter of personal affairs, but of diplomacy between Kislev and the Empire. The Snow Queen will surely rain her wrath. Rod didn't want to get into such a big trouble at this time.

......

"You shouldn't stop me, aren't you angry about that?"

Upon returning from the municipal mansion, Caroline was indignant. Extremely dissatisfied with what happened just now, Baker City is also just a city, the same as Blackhammer Castle, it also belongs to a territory. Theoretically, the two were on equal footing, however, the performance of that imperial official was nothing short of contempt. He despised Kislev and ridiculed the embarrassment of the north and the remoteness of the countryside.

Caroline knew that if Rod hadn't stopped her just now, she would have slapped the haughty Baker mayor in the face. He was simply a little white face, who had never even experienced war, but he mocked the soldiers who fought bloodily on the front line.

"Angry. But what can we do? If we want to import firearms, we have to import them from the Empire. This is the closest Imperial port to Blackhammer Castle. If firearms are not available here, it is even less likely elsewhere. The cost will be higher. At the very least, the cost of transportation is unaffordable for us. ”

Rodra explained, as Caroline explained.

"Then we don't have to look for him, didn't the merchant you talked to just now say that he could sell us guns and gunpowder for twice the price?"

Caroline continued to ask with a straight face.

"The biggest salt merchant and jeweler in Port Baker?"

"Isn't it?"

"Do you believe his nonsense? Baker Harbor is an important port city in the northern part of Osterdom, and the richness of this city cannot be reached even by the ten Black Hammer Castles and Heidelberg combined, and the biggest salt merchant in Baker City will not be like this, he will not be close to us because of a small order, let alone come here to beg the mayor to do something. On the contrary, Davis may still have to have a good relationship with him, haven't you heard the truth that a strong dragon does not suppress the head snake? The merchant named Tours is at best a land merchant, and he will not have more than three ships in his hands. ”

Rod analyzed. In fact, from the beginning, he saw that the businessman was unreliable, but he didn't want to expose him to his face. The richer the city, the more scammers there are, and knowing how to cheat money into other people's pockets is also a skill.

"Then don't use firearms, I don't believe that we can't hold the northern border without firearms, maybe this evil moon is just an accident. ”

Caroline still felt aggrieved, she was dragged by Rod, pulled out her hand, and muttered dissatisfiedly.

"No, that's not an accident, Alves has already monitored that the next evil moon will become stronger and stronger every year, there will be more and more beastmen, they will become more and more manic, and their strength will become stronger and stronger, and sooner or later we will need more powerful weapons to guard the north. You know, etiquette is a necessity for diplomacy, and Davis is an inexperienced furry boy who will pay the price for his arrogance and ignorance sooner or later, but not today. ”

Rhodes said.