Foreign Land Reclamation By a Vegetable-growing Skeleton

“All guards on alert!” Seeing the three silhouettes, Mist immediately shouted, with all weapons pointed at them. The arranged trade was only for food, why were there three extra people?

The smallest of the three figures quickly raised both hands: “Don’t be hasty, it’s me, it’s me.”

As the light dissipated, it revealed three figures in the grain pile. The two figures on the outside were dressed as maids, beautiful and petite women. The figure in the middle was a goblin, raising both his hands, beaming warmly: “It’s me, Silver Coin, from the Silver Light Mercantile Company.”

“Chairman Silver Coin? Why have you come? Our trade agreement didn’t include hosting your visit.” Mist clenched her fists, making a ‘no attack’ gesture. The situation inside was clear; a goblin and two petite maids, it didn’t seem threatening.

“Where there’s a scent of money, how could I not be present? Also, it’s ‘deputy’ not ‘chairman’, seventh in the pecking order.”

Chairman Silver Coin lifted his hands, maintaining a completely non-threatening pose, and walked out from the grain pile: “Excuse my intrusion, 120 tons of food, an extra 20 tons as a gesture of goodwill; I hope that Lord Mist will allow us to establish a small shop here, selling Silver Light Mercantile Company’s specialty goods.”

Upon hearing ‘deputy, seventh in line’ , Mist confirmed his identity. It truly was the goblin named Silver Coin, who had been trading with her.

Ice City only had one teleportation array of a small scale for outer communication. This small teleportation array couldn’t even transport humans; communication was only through letters without hearing a voice or seeing a face. How could she verify who was on the other side of the array?

Therefore, secret signals were necessary to confirm each other’s identity. Mist needed to ensure safety, and Silver Coin needed to guarantee that their customers weren’t stolen by other deputy chairmen. After all, he was merely the seventh deputy chairman and seventh partner of the Silver Light Mercantile Company.

Having confirmed his identity and hearing about the extra ‘twenty tons’ , according to the transaction cost, it was a very generous gift worth hundreds of demon crystals.

Mist glanced back at Anna, who nodded without hesitation.

The twenty tons of food wasn’t significant, what was more valuable was the exchange. For the first time, possibly in countless years, an intelligent being had come to this world. Any information he revealed was valuable data to understanding other worlds, not to mention they brought specialty goods from the Silver Light Mercantile Company

As for the potential problems that might come along, what trouble could two petite maids and a goblin cause? The biggest problem probably is the need to assign people to protect them, to prevent the delicate maids from being snatched away.

“Welcome, welcome, if you had informed us in advance, we would have organized a warm welcoming banquet for you. We are delighted to have the Silver Light Mercantile Company set up here, remember to give us a discount in the future.”

“You’re too kind. Wherever there is the smell of gold coins, the Silver Light Mercantile Company will be there. Let’s talk about the discount later. In addition to the twenty tons of gifts, we also brought an extra thirty tons of food as the starting capital. I hope Lord Mist can find a temporary place for us.”

Mist silently cursed inside: stingy goblin, postponing talks about discounts? Any time the price comes up, he wants to talk about it later. It’s just like a dragon’s stinginess.

But she kept a smile on her face: “No problem at all. Just give some token rent, not much, one-third, say ten tons of food, and I’ll find you a large and spacious place right away.”

Chairman Silver Coin’s smile vanished immediately: “Lord Mist, you’re too kind. No need for it to be too big, wonder how large a place one ton of food might rent? Would it be large enough to pile up a few hundred tons of food? If not, future transactions might be inconvenient. Surely, Lord Mist, you won’t only buy food once?”

This was a threat, using the next trade as leverage, really hitting Mist where it hurts. She hurriedly placates him with a smile: “Of course not a problem, not just a few hundred tons, even thousands of tons can be piled up. We just need to choose a dry place to avoid dampness.”

A competitive gleam flashed in Silver Coin’s eyes. Good move, soft yet firm. This was as good as saying cheap goods aren’t good, and food was the most afraid of dampness.

“Two tons then, two tons of food. Find me a dry and spacious place.”

“Done, no problem. Do you need laborers to move things? They’re very cheap here, two hundred pounds of food for a day’s work should be sufficient.”

“Hehe, no need for that, I’ll hire my own. In the human world, I can hire laborers for ten pounds of food per day. I believe that for twenty pounds of food per day a lot of warm-hearted people here would be willing to help me. In any case, I still have the Space Ring. It can hold five hundred kilograms, I only need to make sixty trips.”

Watching Mist and Silver Coin haggle over the price, Anna was stunned. The friendly conversation was shrouded with so many treacherous tactics, listening to it casually made it seem like both parties were very personable.

In the end, both sides agreed to lease a dry cave, capable of storing a few thousand tons of food, for two tons of food per month. Mist arranged for people to shift Silver Coin’s thirty tons of food over to the cave, paying each worker twenty pounds of food.

Honestly, at such a price, Ice City made quite the profit. Even at five pounds of food, many people would scramble to work. A dry cave, capable of storing items, was worth next to nothing, yet it could earn two tons of food each month and gained them a new Silver Light Mercantile Company stronghold for free.

After settling Silver Coin and his maids, Mist returned to Anna’s side, wiping off her cold sweat and took a deep breath: “Indeed, the goblin Silver Coin, his stingy nature is exactly how he is in the letters.”

“What? You argued with him for so long just to verify his identity?” Anna expressed incredulously.

“Of course, otherwise what’s the point of asking him for a tonne or two of grain? It was also a way to probe his intentions. If his intentions were impure, he wouldn’t haggle over minor details. Only someone truly committed to doing business would account for every single copper coin,” Lord Mist explained.

Anna nodded in realization, “That makes sense. The real buyer is the one who picks at flaws. Those who agree to everything you say, most likely have a hidden agenda. But, do you really think his only aim is to set up a base?”

Lord Mist sneered, “What else could he want, Holy Essence Liquid? But do you think he can find Lord Ange?”

Anna nodded, “A goblin can’t do much. We’ll just keep a close eye on him.”

“Mmm, but I don’t like those two maidservants that he has. They give me a very uncomfortable feeling,” Lord Mist said thoughtfully.

Silver Coin, who had moved grain into the cave, had paid some grain to have a door installed. Once he had closed the door, he hung a scroll on the back. If anyone forcefully opened the door, they would rip the scroll, triggering the magic within. It was a simple but effective defense strategy.

Once ready, Silver Coin instructed the two maidservants to kneel side by side, hands clasped together. Their obedient, submissive expressions dissolved, leaving them looking like emotionless statues.

A holy light emanated from their clasped hands. Silver Coin hurriedly approached the light to give his report.

“The plan has changed. The informant Lord Mist bears the mark of the burial cloth but he isn’t a witch, he’s a living person. Regardless, he is definitely connected to heresy. Preaching will be extremely difficult. I’ll settle in for now, probe the source of the Holy Essence Liquid and locate the spot. Then will execute the Holy Blade,” he reported.

Soon, the voice of Leonardo emanated from within the light, “How problematic. Alright, call me once the target has been established.”

“My Lord, my Lord,” Silver Coin, familiar with Leonardo’s habits, quickly said, “Gathering intelligence will take some time. Please grant me another bottle of the Holy Medicine, just in case.”

Leonardo was straightforward. A small bottle the size of half a palm emerged from the light, before the light receded.

Picking up the small bottle, Silver Coin let out a sigh of relief, a feeling of reassurance washing over him.

Ever since he was cured of a severe poison decades ago, he’d been left with lingering symptoms that required long-term medication. Otherwise, his entire body would become rotten and unbearably itchy. He would feel the urge to tear his skin apart.

Only the Church of Light had the ability to refine this medicine and the price was steep. After expending all his wealth, Silver Coin had no choice but to join the Church of Light to secure a free supply of the medicine.

One pill was enough for ten days and the small bottle contained three pills. For at least a month, Silver Coin wouldn’t need to worry about his condition. The disease was excruciating due to the itching, making him want to rip off his skin.

In order to receive this medicine for free, Silver Coin was fully obedient to Leonardo, showing no signs of disloyalty. Sometimes, he couldn’t help but think that the Church of Light purposely induced these lingering symptoms just to secure his free and loyal service.

Of course, this was just a fleeting thought, given the effectiveness of the medication. Aside from treating his lingering symptoms, it also cured a variety of physical discomforts such as wounds, loss of hair, and erectile dysfunction.

While Silver Coin was already ninety years old and considered elderly among the goblins, he looked remarkably youthful. Thanks to these pills, he was able to perform admirably three times a month with the tavern girls. There were cons, but also pros.

Looking at the bleeding wound in his arm prior to his delivery, he realized how a minor wound could be quite difficult to heal for an elderly goblin like him.

Such an injury could be easily cured with one pill, but Silver Coin refused to waste a pill on such a minor wound. He quickly wrapped it and began working again.

With each party warily watching the other, Silver Coin and the maidservants settled temporarily outside Ice City. However, before he could make further progress, a plump and tender woman appeared before him. She grasped his injured hand, and holy light radiated from her palm.

As Silver Coin looked dumbfounded at the holy light, the woman unwrapped the cloth around his wound, revealing it healed as though it had never existed. Smiling at him, she said, “Chairman Silver Coin, do you believe in miracles? My

Lord Ange can bring miracles to you.”

Why does this woman have holy light? His secondary symptoms were about to act up, his skin beginning to feel itchy again. Why didn’t he feel itchy where the woman’s holy light had shone, while the other areas were starting to itch? Did this woman’s holy light cure his lingering symptoms?

This could indeed be considered a miracle..