Chapter 272 Lord Gray
"This is your problem, not mine," Brody said.
Brody, with his hoodie pulled low over his face and his hands shoved in his pockets, spoke in a flat, emotionless tone.
The big guy didn't care. "The Nine Lords' territories are split now. Your opinion doesn't matter. From where I stand, Accraville City is my domain, and I want full control."
He pointed to the conference center across the street, his voice gravelly. "We both know why the trade association's changing. As we evolve, it's getting tougher to gather materials. With all Nine Lords together, resources are gonna get scarce, and we'll lose our edge. Look at these people. They're almost at our level. Sure, we can still take them out easily, but do they really deserve to be on our level?"
Quincy Gray, the burly man, tilted his head, making his neck crack loudly. "With the territories divided, our trade association's reach will expand. Each of us Lords will become the new 'trade association.' With nine of us combined, we can control the whole land. We're born kings!" Quincy declared.
Brody kept his hands in his pockets, staying silent, like talking was too much effort. But no one underestimated him. Even among the Nine Lords, Brody's strength was well-known.
"I know you're pissed about not getting Accraville City and even went to see the leader alone. But the Stardust region, while it doesn't have a big city like Accraville, has several interconnected city clusters. Its foundation is just as strong, maybe stronger. Why are you so hung up on this place? We've known each other since training camp. If you weren't unhappy, you wouldn't say 'it has nothing to do with you.' You're the only one among the Nine Lords I can call a friend," Quincy continued.
Their subordinates stood behind them, heads slightly bowed, showing utmost respect.
After a moment of silence, Brody finally spoke, "There's a group here I'm really interested in. If I leave, I won't get to mess with them."
Quincy laughed, "Who are they? I can mess with them for you."
Brody started to back away. If Gemma were here, she'd be shocked to see Brody moving even faster than before.
"Quincy," Brody said, his voice barely a whisper, "just try not to die." And with that, he disappeared into the urban canyons of Accraville City.
Quincy sneered, then got serious and waved at the target.
The operation began.
"Death? From them? That's funny." Quincy muttered.
Seeing the blood-stained gear and weapons, many were stunned.
Most of the roulette wheels everyone could spin were stuck on the first-level wheel. There were some gray-level items on it, but they were rare and disappeared quickly.
The second and third-level wheels had more gray items, and sometimes the third-level wheel even had white items. For example, the white longsword the Mercy Vanguard warband just auctioned probably came from the wheel.
But now, since the higher-level wheels were rarely used, getting top-tier gear was tough.
Seeing the price of the white longsword earlier, it was clear how valuable these items were. Plus, look at what the elites of Accraville City were wearing and wielding; having even one or two pieces of gray-level gear was impressive.
Given the situation, William brought these items to make a profit.
But seeing everyone's reactions, William's heart sank a bit. 'Do these people not need these weapons and gear and prefer Evolution Elixir and Career Scrolls?'
Before William could say anything, dozens of hands suddenly reached out, grabbing the items and tossing down second-level Magic Crystals.
These folks didn't think the gear was bad; they thought it was too cheap!
This gray-level machete was sharp enough to take down second-level mutant life. Regular weapons? They'd barely scratch these second-level beasts.
To put it simply, second-level mutants were the main targets for all the factions now. But these creatures were smart. They knew how to avoid danger. When survivors hunted them, they'd bolt.
This put survivors in a tough spot. They'd go after the ones with low defense, which were easier to kill, but those were too quick and would escape. The slower ones were thick-skinned monsters, and taking one down was a huge effort.
That's where gray-level weapons came in handy. These weapons could pierce the defenses of second-level mutants, making it easier to kill them and reducing casualties. Over time, this advantage added up. A single weapon could take out multiple second-level mutants, and it only cost one second-level Magic Crystal. That price was a steal.
And those gray riot suits? Top-notch defense. Wearing one gave you a sense of security, and every leader wanted one.
As long as you were alive, you could get other stuff. Bloodstains? Nobody cared.
In fact, very few gray-level weapons and gear were circulating in Accraville City now. When one or two did show up, they sold for high prices. But today, someone was selling them cheap.
"Sir, got more? I need five more."
"Weapons, I need weapons. If you have three more of this quality, I'll give you five second-level Magic Crystals."
"Are you from the Burning Fury warband? Are you an Artisan?"
People were saying all sorts of things, some even trying to figure out who the Artisan was.
It was common knowledge that many gray pieces of equipment appearing together had to be the work of an Artisan. These folks didn't know which force in Accraville City had an Artisan, but they'd heard of one in a village nearby who was good at modifying firearms. Stella Cooper, the president of Star Beauty Company, had one. It was said to be very powerful.
William ignored them. He was selling this gear because he didn't have many high-level Magic Crystals. Otherwise, in a world where friends and foes were hard to tell apart, he wouldn't want to see someone using his gear against him one day.
William rummaged through his bag, combined with the stock he had from killing Blood Swallow before, and gathered a hundred second-level Magic Crystals to give to Lawrence of the Peaceful warband. Lawrence handed the Career Scroll to William without a word.
Darryl and Sasha came over to see what the profession was. William trusted them and didn't mind. He glanced at it casually, his expression changed slightly, and then he put it away.
With Lawrence's items exchanged and William's gear sold out, the crowd dispersed. But William still felt many eyes on him, most of them not friendly.
The trading fair continued, though the absence of the highly coveted Career Scrolls was noticeable. Instead, they were trading various practical items.
William thought for a moment and decided to take out The Gilded Form scroll. No one in his team could use it, so he might as well try to trade it for something.
The appearance of the skill scroll drew everyone around again, and this time even Chester, who was trading with someone and missed the Career Scroll, came over.
"Beginner The Gilded Form, after use, can turn your whole body golden, greatly increasing defense, and also boosting strength. It doesn't affect the use of other skills and equipment, only agility is somewhat affected. But compared to the increased strength and defense, this is nothing. Moreover, this is an upgradeable skill. With the strength of the leaders here, once learned, single-handedly killing a third-level zombie is no problem." William held up the scroll, his voice full of temptation.
