"Please stop your vehicle, we need to inspect the goods on the vehicle.fengyishuyuan./Produced by Fengyi Academy" Two heavily armed Wang soldiers walked up to the carriage and lifted the cover.

"Black flint. It's really a unique cargo. The soldier casually doubled in the cart to make sure that there was only one type of cargo on the four carts. Of course, it is difficult to climb to the bottom with only manpower, unless all these black flints are unloaded, the first time, these soldiers did this, but no one would want to do it again.

"This is the third time, isn't it? There's another carriage. "A man who looked like a chief came over.

"Yes, these are all high-quality black flints, and when used as fuel, they are many times better than dry firewood! The cities in the north of the empire still need these very much, and the first two times also made a lot of money. Jonas laughed as he shoved six gold coins into the chief's hand. 4 are tariffs, and the remaining two, naturally, are "honored" to someone.

"That's not right, you were three cars last time. The chief smirked.

"Yes, yes, I forgot about it, I'm so sorry. With that, Jonas pulled out another gold coin.

"Pay attention next time. Okay, let them pass. ”

It didn't take long for the same thing to happen again, except that those soldiers changed into unfamiliar imperial uniforms.

"It seems that the tariff on black flint is very low. "Zero said what he thought.

"That's right, import and export duties are different for different goods. For example, precious stones, gold, etc., are expensive and cheap, which is a corresponding strategy to prevent domestic loss. Durham explains.

"That's why there is smuggling of certain goods in order to evade customs duties. Zero sighed.

"I can't see it, you know a lot, it's not like a girl your age should look like at all. Durham gave a heartfelt approval.

"Those goods aren't black flints, or maybe they're not just black flints. Zero questioned Duren, and if it weren't for the clue that Duren's team had received what could be called a huge bounty, Zero probably wouldn't have been so suspicious. It's like a case that looks like a suicide, and the inference of suicide or homicide will have to do with whether someone made a profit.

"That's right, it's something that our team members all know. So even if I don't ask, I'll tell you. Durham continued, "Jonas is a famous magician and alchemist. ”

"Isn't it?!" was taken aback by all those who heard the news for the first time.

"If it's just a merchant, it's too unreasonable to say that an alchemist is a merchant who only transports goods like black flint. I had doubts about it. Duren and the new eight were at the back of the line, and in front of the carriage were Kate and the others. Everyone was quietly listening to Durham's story.

"The first escort mission was for me, and when I went through the checkpoint, I had already thoroughly checked the car and the belongings we were carrying, but we didn't find anything. I resolutely didn't believe that the goods were just black flint, so I secretly took a relatively large piece of it myself and smashed it.

"Probably because I was lucky, I discovered the secret inside the first time. Duren sold, "Guess what's inside?"

"Gold?"

"Gems?" seems to have just mentioned these two things with higher tariffs.

"None of them are right. It's a magic crystal nucleus, a large number of level 3 to 5 demon beast crystal nuclei, and at the same weight, the value of this thing is much higher than gold!"

"Sealed inside the black flint?!, this idea is really genius, how did you do it?" Kaos sighed.

"Alchemy...... It is very easy to restore broken things, as long as they are not very high-end items. Lena spoke in Durren's place.

"Although not every black flint is found in it, the magic crystal nuclei sealed in these four carts of black flint are conservatively estimated to be worth tens of thousands of gold coins! Most of them come from the Warcraft Forest. ”

【Previous School Trip...... Jonas, this guy probably bought most of the hedron confiscated by the academy, and then smuggled it out several times under the guise of transporting black flint. With such a use of alchemy, I'm afraid those masters will also be ashamed.]

Not only are powerful warriors and magicians and wise sages admirable, but a shrewd merchant like Jonas can also win the eyes of the world, and even in the Crotian Federation, commerce is valued far more than martial arts and magic.

"Soon we will be in Maple Leaf City, where we will rest for the night and continue on our way tomorrow. ”

Maple Leaf Castle, as its name suggests, is full of maple trees inside and outside the city, but unfortunately it's winter, so of course you can't see the autumn leaves.

After arranging the horses and vehicles, Durham led everyone to the most famous in the area, the Red Leaf Bar.

"I'm in a treat today, and I can order whatever I want. But we're on our way tomorrow, so don't drink too much!Wait until the mission is done, and then get drunk!" Duren said so loudly.

"You're welcome, Captain. A large beef pizza, rum, a large glass. Rudolph was really not polite.

Kate and the others seem to have been used to it for a long time, but the new eight are still a little restrained.

"Captain Duren, you're not the same as before. Ike felt that the current Duren was far from the previous captain of the city guard in Shuanglin City, and it was only half a year that a person could change so much.

"Well, but it feels like this Duren brother lives more realistically. Ai Xue agreed with Ike's words.

"It's thanks to Lord Lawrence, if he hadn't let me travel. I wouldn't have found a job that suited me so well. Being a mercenary is a lot more fun than staying in the City Guard. ”

"Where is this shipment going to end up?" Zero asked.

"We don't know. Duren was silent for a moment before replying.

"I don't know?! So how can we accomplish our mission?" said Kishu's words, echoing the hearts of many people.

"We're only responsible for escorting us to the border between the Empire and the Federation, and in Ulante City, there will be Jonas's Chamber of Commerce to help him with all the follow-ups. ”

"That is, these goods will not be sold in the Empire, but to the Confederation of Crotia?" Zero once again threw out his own doubts.

"I think so, but I don't know the specifics. However, these are not things we need to understand, we just need to do our job well. Keep the Black Flint a secret and we can get a great bonus. We've done this twice. Moreover, except for our fifth squad, only the regimental commander and deputy regimental commander knew about it. ”

"Why did they come to us three times instead of the other mercenary groups?" Lena was puzzled.

"Head Jessica had negotiated with Jonas about this, and if we didn't get enough benefits, the secret would be revealed. Once this happens, not only will Jonas's fortune be held accountable, but the credibility that his chamber of commerce has built up over the years will also be wiped out overnight. For merchants, credit is an invisible wealth, and unlike gold coins, once lost, it is difficult to get it back. As for the reason for just hiring a mercenary squad that is not very strong, it is also very easy to understand. If the ranks of guards are too strong, isn't it just exposing the value of the goods?"

[Sure enough, I still care a little, I always feel that there is a problem, where there is a feeling of disharmony]

――――――――――I'm the dividing line I haven't seen for a long time――――――――――

"Your Majesty, regarding our border with the Ningyue Empire, I have discovered a strange phenomenon. ”

In one of the rooms in the palace, a middle-aged man with black hair sat behind an ancient and elegant wooden table, and in front of him stood an old man over a hundred years old. Needless to say, one of them is the king of this country, and the other is a powerful level 9 magician.

"Do you find anything about the contents of the letter?" asked Liber 13.

"There was no harvest for the first three months, until I found a cart of black flint being shipped to the north of the empire. What surprised me even more was that there was a natural magic fluctuation in it, although it was very weak, it couldn't escape my perception, as if there was a crystal nucleus of a demonic beast in it. ”;