161 Killing the Grand Swordmaster Part 2 (1/2)

Saleen felt neither remorse nor pity for what he had done to the bronze grand swordmaster. To him, the most important thing now was to study how the residual sword aura inside the swordmaster’s body could be destroyed using only Grade 1 spells. Seeing that Nailisi was still standing beside him, Saleen said, ”Nailisi, whatever information you’ve squeezed from this guy, tell it to Lex. Now.”

”But what about him…” Nailisi’s voice faded out as she pointed her finger towards the bronze grand swordmaster. She had not tortured him just to set him free, after all. Understanding what she meant, Saleen nodded his head, acceding to her request to use the swordmaster as a human dartboard.

Nailisi made her way out of the tent, satisfied that she had gotten what she wanted. The black fog was still present, shrouding the surroundings in complete darkness. Nailisi called softly, ”Lex?”

”So what did he tell you Nailisi?” Lex asked.

Nailisi grinned and replied, ”Well… it seems like we’ve got the wrong person. It was Forest Enterprises that stole their goods. They were just trying to get them back.” As she spoke, she observed Lex’s reaction.

”Oh?” Lex was not surprised, nor was she flustered. Even if Forest Enterprise had stolen the goods, the goods that they had been robbed of had probably been illegal anyway. This would explain why those people had needed to disguise themselves as bandits to try and get them back. To Lex, the matter of which party was at fault did not matter. She was not a lawyer representing the noblemen, nor was she a referee settling disputes. Even if they had killed the wrong people, it had been their own faults for dressing up as bandits.

Seeing Lex’s stony expression, Nailisi knew that she had failed to rile her up. She continued trying to fan the flames by saying casually, ”The goods that they were smuggling were emperor berries.”

Emperor berries! Lex thought.

Lex was surprised that they had managed to get their hands on such a rare fruit. The emperor’s berry was a poisonous plant that only existed in small quantities over in the southern jungles of the Qin Empire. The strange thing about the berry was that it could not be artificially cultivated, no matter how hard other people had tried. The emperor’s berry was similar to the opium poppy, in that the raw juice of the emperor’s berry was addictive. However, for an opium poppy to achieve the same effect, its juices had to be refined. Even the strongest swordmasters would be hopelessly addicted to the fruit after accidentally ingesting just a single emperor’s berry.

However, the emperor’s berry was not dangerous to mages. As long as the ideal ratio of one part berry to twelve thousand parts water was reached, the juice of the poisonous fruit was basically harmless. Any mages who were still skeptical about this golden ratio could use magic to find out the toxicity levels of the fruit before deciding whether or not to consume it.

The most distinct feature of the emperor’s berry, one that did not require magic to see, was the strong smell of alcohol which the fruit would emit. The smell could not be hidden, not even with magic. The emperor’s berry could be used to refine medicine. Hence, it was one of the most important imperial medical supplies in the Qin Empire. Medicines prepared using the berry could get rid of plagues and act as anti-inflammatory painkillers. In the hands of a mage, the berry was basically harmless. This was what distinguished the emperor’s berry from the opium poppy, for the latter would still be poisonous even after being refined.

Unfortunately, the emperor’s berry was best known for being an active ingredient in some wines. The fruit was only about the size of a pearl, but it was enough to convert an entire bucket of water into hard liquor. Those smugglers possessed no knowledge on converting the berry into medicine. Therefore, any attempts at smuggling the berry were probably done with the intention of manufacturing inferior hard liquor for sale. This alcohol had a low toxicity level, and drinking too much of it was detrimental to one’s health. What was even worse was the fact that a person could even get addicted to the drink.

Nailisi continued, ”Six months ago, the Holy See proclaimed a ban on this alcohol. Those emperor’s berries they had smuggled were worth nearly four hundred thousand gold coins in the Tanggulasi black market.”

Lex was all caught up now. She could not believe her ears. They had gotten all worked up over a simple smuggling case. The only thing interesting about the case was how quickly the price of the berry had soared. Four hundred thousand gold coins. This amount was enough to ”inspire” noblemen to take risks – to the extent that his men had needed to play dress-up in order to get ahold of the fruit.

The fact that the Holy See had issued a liquor ban was the most important news Lex had heard all day. In all four empires, wine-related businesses were always some of the most lucrative industries. The only difference was that each empire produced different-tasting wines.

A person could say that the Tanggulasi people were infatuated with hard liquor. In fact, large amounts of grains were harvested every year solely for the purpose of being used for the refinement of wine. Contrary to popular belief, despite the huge size of the Tanggulasi country, the amount of land suitable for the cultivation of these grains was very scarce. The fact that the Holy See had declared a ban on alcohol meant that they were trying to save up these grains for the future. Maybe they’re planning an attack in the spring, Lex thought. In fact, with the amount of food they were saving up, they could even increase the scale of the war before winter started.

The Tanggulasi Empire had issued repeated alcohol bans, but to no avail. Now, with the Holy See joining in, the Tanggulasi merchants would no longer have the guts to fight back. As expected, once the alcohol ban had been announced, the price of hard liquor had soared so quickly that it was nearly ridiculous. It was simple economics, after all.

Under these circumstances, the smuggling of the berries was potentially a good thing.

Not only would hard liquor made from the emperor’s berry inflict mental harm upon the enemy, but the production and sale of these items was also very profitable. Had Lex known earlier that the Holy See had implemented such a law, she would have been tempted to do the same.

As a Qin citizen, she could not give two hoots about the health of the Tanggulasi people. In case anyone was wondering, she was not worried about how her plan, if executed, could have backfired on the Qin Empire either.

Hard liquor, compared to other businesses, did not bring in as much money in her country. The wines that sold well here were those that were fermented using grapes. All grapes were best grown in gravelly soils. Unfortunately, the type of soil in the country did not prove to be a suitable environment for the cultivation of grains.

”Who’s behind all of this?” Lex asked. She was no longer concerned about the details. Smuggling was not exactly a rare occurrence. The issue was that smuggling things into enemy territory, regardless of whether or not it would tilt the odds of the battle, had the potential of being used as political leverage. Even if the matter was escalated to the imperial capital, it was possible that the officials there would not make this case their top priority.

”Marquess Gilya from Dragon Bone City.” Nailisi replied.

”Oh? He’s something else,” Lex praised. Marquess Gilya was the head of the Goethe clan and was also a prominent nobleman in the south. He was one of the few people who could grow the emperor’s berry in his own fields. He had produced the fruit solely for the purpose of selling them to royal archmages. This time around, the smuggling had been an inside job, and he was the mastermind. The emperor’s berry had always been produced in the Qin Empire. However, it could only be sold to the royal families.