The First Legendary Beast Master

Chapter 2083 Eryman

While the Darklight Host celebrated their new shops and money making ventures, far to the west, things were already beginning to go downhill.

To the east of Eryman, word had spread that the Legendary Paladin had shut down an auction by simply buying out every single item for sale before they reached the auction floor. Rumour was that the Paladin and his people were gearing up for war, and that they might want to expand their territory.

The Paladin was a force of nature in combat, and within the Holy Light Church, he was a highly revered figure.

Few would dare to question him, and even fewer would dare to fight him.

So, every rumour involving him caused a massive stir in the community, and when the rumours were ones of violence, that stir was an even larger one.

The rumour alone was enough to set off hostilities between other factions.

The ones who wanted Eryman to be named Pope, despite his objections, were always in conflict with the ones who wanted an elected political pope instead of a hardcore doctrinarian. That sort was much better for the region as a whole, but getting everyone to agree on who it should be was nearly impossible.

After all, if you were picking a political Pope, you had to find one that the majority of factions could agree on.

And that meant that most of them got assassinated.

Naturally, it was blamed on the factions outside the church, as none would dare to admit to heresy. But even their Gods knew that it was happening, and certain ranking Clerics had a habit of suffering strange ailments that cost them their abilities.

Certainly no relation to the other incident.

In his castle, Eryman was currently admiring a Peerless Grade weapon, made to the very peak of Immortal Rank. Clearly, the maker was Supreme Ranked and holding back, using inferior materials and lower power output to make weapons that were easier to sell.

It was a brilliant move, he thought.

He also knew, through his network of employees, that everyone was scheming to make him run the entire Church again, and not just his own territory.

He would have to put a stop to that.

But first, he was going to go to the Darklight Host and see what they were up to. There was something off about that Guild, and he just couldn't quite put his finger on it. But somewhere in the last fifty thousand years, he was absolutely certain that name should have meant something to him.

He had been on this world for a little over ten thousand now, as he had come looking for the opportunity that would make him a Legend, and then stayed to keep building his power.

Not a lot had actually changed in that time. He had seen plenty, and names came and went. But the politics were the same, the idiots were the same, and he was still cleaning up other people's messes.

Only now, he had some very fine weapons for his militia.

If he could find the Supreme Ranked Master who had made this blade, he fully intended to have his personal guard, all twenty Supreme Ranked Paladins, equipped with new spears and shields.

Not their primary blades, those were a personal choice.

But their secondary weapons, the highly versatile spears that went with the Church emblem shields, were something that he could offer them to bring their combat effectiveness up a bit.

The only issue was getting there.

Someone had mentioned that further east there was a city with a direct portal to the Darklight Host, but he didn't know which city it was, and once he started moving, everyone would take notice.

So, he had two choices.

Either do it quickly, or send people to find out exactly what he needed and then do it as stealthily as possible. A Supreme Ranked Guard would normally be more than enough to impress a small Guild and get them to commission what he wanted for a fair price. But if they had a Supreme Ranked rune master, there was a good chance that they were not going to be all that impressed.

Which could cost him a fortune.

He had money, in fact, he collected donations on behalf of the church in addition to the City Lord's Taxes that he levied.

But Supreme Ranked weapons were not cheap, and gold didn't get you far.

So, instead of that, he would go himself, with his storage rings full of rare materials he had gathered over the years. That should be enough to get him what he wanted. Dealing with craftsmen was usually very straightforward.

You either had what they needed, or you were sent to get it.

And he hated when he was sent to get things. If he didn't already have it, didn't that mean it was going to be nearly impossible to obtain? Just pick something else and save everyone the headache.

Unless it was a material for the construction of the item.

He was sitting at his desk, muttering to himself, when one of his personal guards came in with news.

"Sir, we have a report on the Darklight Host. We know where they are. Or, rather, how to get there. There is a portal from the New Home Merchant Clan directly to their city, and they've got a multi difficulty dungeon that can accommodate everyone up to Supreme Ranked.

It's all the rage among the Clan Leaders right now.

If they're not at each other's throats, they're at the Darklight Host's village, looking for groups for the dungeon. From what I hear, there have been multiple Epic Grade Supreme Ranked items pulled from it."

"How many dead?" Eryman asked.

"That's the thing, their Guild Leader makes them take the challenges to the arena, where there is a spell to let them escape alive."

"Very humanitarian."

"They bet on the outcome of the challenges."

The Paladin chuckled at the level of capitalism that the Darklight Host had managed. Not only had they found one of the most valuable dungeons in existence, they had managed to find a way to monetize the outrage between group members when items dropped.