Chapter 179 – Black Fortress

Upon hearing Bloodclaw’s request, Punk didn’t hesitate much. With complete composure, he retrieved the “Embrace Blood” he had just stored in his Storage Ring and tossed it to Bloodclaw. Although this item was quite rare, its practicality was extremely limited. Punk didn’t need to create vampires and had no immediate use for two bottles of “Embrace Blood” in potion brewing, so he simply returned them to Bloodclaw.

Moreover, he was very curious about what “little treasure” this guy had that required feeding ten living humans per week. This information could help gauge the other party’s financial strength—in other words, it would give him one more thing to leverage in the upcoming negotiations.

Bloodclaw caught the two bottles of “Embrace Blood” with a speed so fast it left only an afterimage, then carefully placed them back in his pocket.

“Alright, alright! That thing is something you can’t obtain nor feed. I’ve already formed a master-servant contract with it. Even if you got your hands on it, it’d be useless. Might as well tell you!”

“Stop wasting time!”

“It’s a Docleina Man-eating Tree!”

“A Docleina Man-eating Tree?”

Hearing this name, Punk couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow.

This peculiar magical plant was one of the rare few that possessed a certain level of intelligence even at low levels. It preferred to feed on intelligent beings and could store highly concentrated life force extracted from their bodies in “Doclayna Man-Eating Fruits.” Thus, its fruits often contained refined life force second only to that of “Life Spring Water.”

However, this plant instinctively required intelligent beings as nutritional supplements and had very demanding growth conditions. Without intelligent beings to consume, there was no hope of it obediently bearing fruit.

So if Bloodclaw truly possessed a Docleina Man-eating Tree, it would indeed be difficult for him to make concessions regarding “prey.”

After careful consideration, Punk believed Bloodclaw had no reason to lie. If they were to cooperate moving forward, Punk would inevitably propose “purchasing” Doclayna Man-Eating Fruits. Even if Bloodclaw refused to sell, Punk would verify through various means—after all, a Docleina Man-eating Tree was an incredibly alluring and precious treasure.

But compared to this treasure, Punk had more pressing matters to attend to. He fixed Bloodclaw with an icy gaze as magical energy slowly swirled in his pupils. Golem Two, standing nearby, tensed all her muscles, ready to charge forward at any moment. The tense silence lingered for a long while before Punk finally spoke in a chilling tone:

“So, you refuse to give up your weekly quota of twenty ‘hunting’ spots?”

“Hey! Hey! Don’t tell me you’re some chaos-aligned lunatic? Can’t we discuss things properly? No need to immediately resort to violence!”

“Unfortunately, my experiments also require sufficient materials. And in these Slums, the monthly ‘hunting’ limit cannot exceed twenty. So it seems we have no possibility of peaceful coexistence.”

Hearing Punk’s words, energy began gathering in Bloodclaw’s body, though his expression remained one of flattery mixed with surprise.”I say, my friend, there’s no need to fight to the death over a few ‘prey,’ right? If it really comes down to it, just go to ‘Black Fort’ and buy a few replacements. Though it’s a bit pricey… it shouldn’t be a problem for a mage’s finances, right? Even I can afford it!”

“Black Fort? What kind of place is that? A black market?”

Hearing Bloodclaw mention a new term, Punk temporarily withdrew the “Kinetic Burst” he had ready in his hand and sat back down in his chair, asking nonchalantly.

Seeing that Punk didn’t immediately attack, Bloodclaw seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. He plopped down on a stone stool and asked in surprise, “You don’t know about Black Fort? I thought you were one of the underground professionals. Most of us receive invitations from Black Fort, don’t you have one?”

“I really haven’t received one. As for the reason… no comment! Now, I think it’s necessary for you to tell me about this Black Fort.”

Faced with Bloodclaw’s surprise, Punk didn’t show any extra expression, but inwardly, he couldn’t help but let out a bitter smile.

When he first arrived in the Dillon Kingdom, his identity was that of a reclusive mage. Afterward, he spent five years researching metamagic techniques in this slum without anyone noticing, with almost zero contact with the outside world. Of course, he wouldn’t have received an invitation from Black Fort.

But these were things Punk had no intention of explaining to Bloodclaw, and Bloodclaw wouldn’t pry unnecessarily. In fact, once Bloodclaw realized that Punk simply didn’t know about Black Fort’s existence, he relaxed considerably. This meant that the dispute over the “prey” quota was half-resolved—at least the two could split the “prey” in the slums and then purchase slaves from Black Fort to make up the remaining quota.

“Black Fort was established three hundred years ago by a Master-Level Mage. Its level of secrecy is neither too high nor too low, but that’s unavoidable. After all, the National Guardian Archmage of the Dillon Kingdom is a fool from the good alignment. Aside from a madman named Punk Cyan a few years ago, no one dares to cause trouble openly. Although the Master of Black Fort isn’t afraid of him, it’s better not to operate too openly.

You don’t have to worry about me lying. In fact, many people with shady identities know about Black Fort’s information. The Archmage who founded Black Fort never set up any barriers against Divination Spells, so you can just use one to verify the truth yourself.”

After listening to Bloodclaw’s account, Punk gave him a deep look and then, without hesitation, used multiple Divination Spells on the spot to investigate. In the end, Punk came to a conclusion—this guy wasn’t lying!

“It seems this fellow knows that a single lie can’t fool a spellcaster skilled in Divination Spells.”

Punk ended the divination without any change in expression and then, without any warning, stood up and turned to leave.

Since the dispute had temporarily come to an end and he had gained significant information, Punk had no interest in continuing the conversation with the grinning Bloodclaw. He planned to analyze the details and formulate a strategy after returning.

But Bloodclaw had no intention of letting it end there. Seeing Punk about to leave, he immediately called out to stop him.”Hey! Hey! Buddy, don’t rush off! Listen: I’m planning to go to Black Fort recently for their famous auction. Let me tell you, the number of amazing items there is beyond imagination. How about it? Interested in coming with me? Traveling together would be safer, right?”

Bloodclaw spoke with an expression that seemed genuinely concerned for others, his gestures even more exaggerated.

Hearing Bloodclaw’s nonsense, Punk smirked meaningfully and sat back down:

“Why not speak plainly? Neither of us likes to beat around the bush, right?”

Seeing that Punk completely ignored his earlier rambling, Bloodclaw had no choice but to stop his spiel, making a silly expression as he scratched his head.

“Alright, alright, you win again. Here’s how it is…”

(Requesting votes and collections! Monthly votes are nearly a hundred already, could you help me reach a hundred monthly votes? Thank you everyone!)

(End of Chapter)