327 Acquisition of Deep Forest Town Part 1 (2/2)

Make no mistake, the Qin noblemen were very aggressive. The fact that their private armies could hold their own against the Holy See's forces over at Loulan meant that aside from the fact that Chanake the Great's death had demoralized some of the Qins, the Qin noblemen's battle skills were far stronger than that of the Sikeqinyan noblemen.

”Since the male baron is not going to put up a fight, we will save a lot of time,” Saleen said lazily.

”You're going to snatch the town from him?” Aini asked, shocked that Saleen would even consider such a thing. Even though Aini had no qualms about killing off the male baron, he would only do so if his life was threatened and he had no other choice. If Saleen were to start fighting here, it would anger Holy Rock City. Even though the Grand Duke of Phoenix was a coward, the people on his side over in Holy Rock City would be able to convince his easily persuaded mind to spend a little money and deploy armed forces to attack Saleen's troops.

The Clyde family was good with business, not battle.

”Who said anything about snatching? I'm going to buy this town from the baron,” Saleen said lazily.

”But… this territory… his ancestors gave this plot of land to him…” Aini stuttered.

”Tell him to look for Viscountess Lex. There's so much land over in the north, we'll just give him a bigger piece of it! Aini, would you like to be the baron here?” Saleen asked.

”Baron? Are you kidding me? I'm a mage!” Aini exclaimed.

”Oh Aini… you've changed,” Saleen sighed upon seeing how afraid Aini was to take on new challenges. The Aini that he remembered was decisive, ruthless, and a risk-taker. The Aini now was of course more experienced, but also more prudent and unwilling to step out of his boundaries.

”I… need to settle my parents first. They've done too much for me,” Aini said seriously, rendering Saleen speechless. The latter reckoned that if his parents were still around, he would probably have had the same views as Aini.

After Aini's statement, an awkward silence filled the entire room. The male baron who had been waiting outside the entire time was sweating from nervousness even though it was a very cold day. The people inside the room would determine his fate. Yet, the same people had already forgotten about his existence.

”Hey, I'm a fair businessman. All I'm going to do is have him sign a contract. Lex is coming back soon. We'll give him another plot of land over in the north. Well, I can't guarantee that it'll be bigger, but oh well, we'll try our best. Plus, it's not like the land over there can't produce any grain or whatever. I'm not committing daylight robbery, if that's what you're implying,” Saleen told Aini smugly.

Aini thought about it for a while before gritting out a reply, ”Fine. I'm in on this plan. The Grand Duke of Phoenix won't dare to do anything against two archmages, even if he is instigated to do so by the people around him.”

”Glad we're on the same page. The royal mages will have Lex's back too. But don't tell that to anyone else. Just remember it for when you need it,” Saleen cautioned Aini. Even if the Grand Duke of Phoenix really did want to send his troops to seize back control of Deep Forest Town, it was almost impossible to gather any mages at this time of year. An army, without the backing of any mage, would be easy to wipe out, meaning that Lex would not have too worry too much about them.

Aini was smart enough to immediately understand what Saleen meant.

”Eh, I think the male baron is still outside waiting for us!” Saleen exclaimed, suddenly remembering his existence.

”What? I thought you left him outside to scare him!” Aini replied.

Saleen did not know whether to laugh or cry in response. Even though he could look and play the part of someone in power, he was barely an adult. He had not experienced what it was like to be viewed by other people and have them form opinions about him. He had known that the male baron was still waiting outside. He would not dare to leave unless Saleen said he could. Saleen was very certain of that.

”Poor thing. Let's invite him in, shall we?” Saleen said before he raised his voice and continued, ”Please come in.” As he said those three words, he scattered the clouds that had been formed as a result of the Quickcloud spell.

Just a simple three-word sentence caused the male baron to let out a gasp that he did not even realize he had been holding. All that nervousness and fear brought about by the wait was so unbearable that the male baron thought death was a better option. Had he waited any longer, he might just have gone crazy.

The door opened with a slight creak, causing both archmages to look towards the door at the same time to see what the other party looked like. The first thing that they saw though was neither his facial nor bodily features. It was the fact that his entire face was covered in sweat. The middle-aged man looked to be quite plump and was dressed for the occasion. In fact, his attire was flashier and gaudier than the clothes that actors would normally wear on stage. His golden fringe was stuck to his eyebrows as a result of his excessive sweat. The only thing missing from the male baron's outfit was his saber.

Qin males were allowed to have some sort of sword with them. In fact, the noblemen took pride in carrying these types of weapons with them everywhere they went. It was a symbol of honor and glory, at least to them. However, since the male baron was going to see the two mages, he had not dared to bring any pointy weapons with him. He knew that mages hated swords.