Chapter 18: Magical Beast Trading Market
On the Continent of the Gods, summoners were revered as the highest combat profession, utilizing summoned magical beasts to fight alongside them. With countless summoners, there was a great demand for magical beasts.
Magical beasts evolved through contracts with magical creatures, which naturally gave rise to a class of people who made a living by capturing magical beasts. These individuals, in turn, contributed to the emergence of related markets, such as the magical beast trading market!
However, within each country, the trading of high-tier magical beasts was prohibited in the market. Only magical beasts of fifth tier or lower could be bought and sold in the trading market.
As the sun reached its zenith, Li Xie and Kano finished their lunch and headed to the magical beast trading market in the imperial capital.
The market was a vast expanse of land with numerous stalls set up, resembling Earth's flower and bird markets. There were many people buying and selling magical beasts, with sellers of various types and buyers consisting mainly of nobles and wealthy individuals from the imperial capital.
"Dada Rabbit, first-tier magical beast Dada Rabbit, rare blue variety available, five thousand gold coins each."
"Teddy Bear, chubby Teddy Bear, on sale at a bargain price."
"Obama, rare pure black miniature horse, suitable for breeding."
Li Xie and Kano walked along, with Li Xie's fondness for animals causing him to linger, curious as he observed and inquired about various creatures, seemingly forgetting the purpose of their visit.
The magical beast trading market was quite large, with a dazzling array of magical beasts. After satisfying his curiosity, Li Xie felt puzzled.
Despite the similarities between the magical beasts of the otherworld and Earth's animals in terms of species, with only minor differences in appearance and vastly differing abilities, Li Xie had walked about a quarter of the market and hadn't seen a single cat!
Cats were Li Xie's favorite animals!
Perhaps there were no cats in the otherworld, Li Xie speculated.
Another puzzling observation was that after walking for half a day, they had only seen first and second-tier magical beasts. For Kano to be equipped with a magical beast, it would need to be at least fourth tier—a first or second-tier magical beast wouldn't be suitable!
"Kano, are there no higher-tier magical beasts for sale here?"
"Master, the stalls up ahead are selling pets for the nobles to enjoy. If we go deeper into the market, we'll find third and fourth-tier magical beasts."
"Oh, but with so many magical beasts here, the nobles and wealthy individuals in the imperial capital wouldn't be able to consume so many. What happens to the magical beasts that can't be sold?" Li Xie, who had a soft spot for small animals, was genuinely concerned about the fate of the unsold low-tier magical beasts.
Kano sneered, "Low-tier magical beasts are just used by nobles to pamper their children, and they usually get tired of them quickly! Moreover, the magical beasts here have been injected with poison and won't live for more than a few years!"
"Poison?" Humanity's greed knew no bounds! Seeing the adorable low-tier magical beasts around him and thinking about their fate, Li Xie clenched his fists.
"Master, if you want a magical beast, you don't need to buy it here. Only magical beasts of fifth tier or below are sold here, and those below fifth tier lack intelligence. No one would use them as main battle magical beasts; at most, they are for entertainment. If you want high-tier magical beasts, you could ask His Majesty. Since His Majesty values you so much and even gave away the unknown egg, he probably wouldn't refuse if you asked for a fifth or sixth-tier magical beast."
Li Xie shook his head, "I'm not getting one for myself. I want to buy some magical beasts for you and the guards, to equip yourselves first. When I have the ability, I'll get you better ones. Since there are no intelligent magical beasts here, let's forget about it. Kano, do you know where we can get magical beasts above fifth tier?"
Touching his head, Kano felt moved. He had only followed Lord Xie for a few days, yet Lord Xie was already considering his well-being! He had joined the military at a young age and had never owned a magical beast. The first magical beast he had was provided by the Lionheart Legion. Even today, without the legion's magical beasts, he still missed the days when he had one.
"Master, the high-tier magical beasts of the kingdom are under His Majesty's personal control. If you want high-tier magical beasts, you can only seek His Majesty's approval. However, His Majesty doesn't have many high-tier magical beasts, especially adult ones. If you ask for one or two, he might agree, but if you ask for more, he probably won't be able to fulfill the request. After all, the kingdom has equipped the military with adult high-tier magical beasts, and His Majesty probably doesn't have many unassigned magical beasts."
"Adult magical beasts? Are they not good?"
Kano smiled, "Magical beasts have long lifespans, with adolescence lasting from ten to several decades, and even hundreds of years. During adolescence, magical beasts don't possess powerful skills. Only adult magical beasts can be truly used in combat. A ninth-tier adolescent magical beast is not as useful as a sixth-tier adult magical beast because by the time a summoner's ninth-tier adolescent magical beast matures, the summoner would likely have passed away."
Li Xie thought it over and nodded, "Then let's go to the palace. I'll ask His Majesty for an adult high-tier magical beast for you. As for the other brothers, I'll figure something out."
Brothers!
This habitual expression from Earth made Kano's heart tremble!
No noble would refer to their guards as "brothers"!
Moreover, this noble was a count and the heir of the Lamborghini family, with the emperor's favor and a royal gold medal. This man, who was destined to be high above, actually called his humble guard "brother"!
A surge of emotion hit Kano's forehead, causing his eyes to shimmer with gratitude. He quickly said, "Master, there's no need to trouble His Majesty. Actually, there might be fifth-tier magical beasts for sale here. Let's go over there and take a look."
If Kano claimed he didn't want a high-tier magical beast, it would definitely be a lie. However, seeing Li Xie's consideration for him, Kano started to truly lean towards Li Xie. In Kano's view, adult high-tier magical beasts were extremely rare. Even His Majesty wouldn't have many of them. Li Xie had just received a generous gift from His Majesty, and now he wanted to ask for a high-tier magical beast. It might affect Li Xie's status in His Majesty's eyes. Therefore, Kano made such a suggestion.
Of course, Kano was overthinking it. Li Xie's status in His Majesty's heart was far beyond what Kano could imagine. Even if he had just received the "unknown egg" and a hundred thousand gold coins, and now he wanted to ask for a high-tier magical beast, His Majesty would definitely not refuse.
"Well, alright, let's take a look first," Li Xie replied. In his opinion, even the Tudor Dynasty getting excited about an eighth-tier magical beast evolving into a ninth-tier magical beast showed that His Majesty probably couldn't provide many high-tier magical beasts either. Li Xie lacked a concrete understanding of magical beasts, but he wanted to equip Kano and the one hundred guards with magical beasts of at least seventh tier to ensure their protection.
One or two wouldn't be enough for Li Xie!
So, he decided to follow Kano's lead and buy some lower-tier magical beasts for now, while figuring out the rest later.
Kano seemed more familiar with the magical beast trading market in the capital and led Li Xie to a possible location for high-tier magical beasts—the Exotic Beast Pavilion.
This was the largest establishment in the magical beast trading market. The front was filled with stalls, and inside was a large courtyard where many magical beasts were kept in steel cages. Deeper inside was another door.
A servant recognized Kano, the former commander of the Lionheart Legion, and treated him respectfully. Seeing Li Xie, Kano's master, the servant was even more deferential and immediately led the two into the courtyard.
The servant began to pitch their merchandise to Li Xie, "Sir, the exotic beasts recently acquired by our shop are all here. These are special breeds among magical beasts, and only someone of your status deserves these most cherished magical beasts."
Li Xie glanced around. The magical beasts in the courtyard were still the low-tier ones, albeit perhaps some rare mutated breeds. He shook his head lightly.
Beside him, Kano called out, "Summon old man Digs."
"Sir, my master is currently receiving distinguis..."
"Get out of here!" Without waiting for the servant to finish speaking, Kano pushed him aside and said to Li Xie, "Master, if old man Digs is receiving important guests, he must be in the inner courtyard. Let's go in."
Li Xie didn't object and walked straight towards the door to the inner courtyard.
The servant wanted to intervene, but a fierce glare from Kano silenced him. Hearing the commotion, four thugs rushed over, but upon seeing Kano, none of them dared to act. It seemed that Kano had some reputation in the capital.
Entering through the door, they indeed found themselves in another courtyard. Unlike the previous one, this inner courtyard resembled a small garden, with trees, flowers, and a gravel path extending inward.
Lowering his head, Kano whispered to Li Xie, "Old man Digs is the owner of the Exotic Beast Pavilion. He has the support of Count Pantheon, the commander of the Cheetah Legion and the Right Prime Minister. They usually sell low-tier magical beasts, but occasionally they deal in high-tier ones!"
Li Xie frowned, "His Majesty doesn't care?"
Kano replied, "His Majesty is well aware, but he turns a blind eye to it. After all, the high-tier magical beasts of the kingdom are under His Majesty's control, and some noble offspring also need high-tier magical beasts. It wouldn't be appropriate for them to capture them themselves or buy them from other countries. As long as the sale of high-tier magical beasts isn't too frequent and doesn't exceed the seventh tier, His Majesty won't interfere. It's an unwritten rule, and in fact, His Majesty even runs a similar business himself!"
"Oh? Why don't we buy from His Majesty then?" Li Xie wondered aloud, but he didn't voice his intention to let Mercedes VII know that he needed high-tier magical beasts.
Kano chuckled, "The shop backed by His Majesty only sells fifth-tier magical beasts at most, while here, they sometimes have sixth-tier ones!"
As they conversed, they arrived at a clearing of over three hundred square meters. In the center was a cage, inside of which was a magical beast restrained by thick iron chains. It resembled a lizard, red all over, with two heads and a length of about two meters.
Standing outside the cage were three people. One was an old man wearing dark clothes, with a round belly that made him look like a barrel. Except for his gray hair, he didn't show any signs of aging due to his obesity. This person should be the "old man Digs" Kano mentioned. The other two were significantly younger.
One of the two younger men, dressed in purple and gold robes, appeared to be in his mid-twenties, with a long sword at his waist and a dachshund by his side. The other, slightly older and dressed in sturdy attire, stood behind him with his arms crossed and another sword at his waist.
"Master, it's a Two-Headed Dragon Lizard! A sixth-tier magical beast! Its red skin indicates that it's an adult!" Kano's eyes gleamed with excitement as he gazed at the magical beast in the cage.
Kano's voice immediately caught the attention of the three men. The old man Digs burst into laughter, "Well, well, look who's here! Viscount Aston! Our former commander! Oh, once upon a time..."