The haggling process was dull and exhausting. If not for the money, Phield truly had no interest in wasting time arguing prices with Simon.

In the end, Nightfall Domain’s rose-colored salt was supplied to Simon at the price of sixty silver coins.

At the same time, Phield signed an agreement stating that without Simon’s authorization, the rose-colored salt could not be sold to any other lord.

Another monopoly deal.

If Nightfall Domain did not rely on passing through Maple Leaf Territory to conduct trade, there was no way Phield would have accepted such an unreasonable condition.

Silently, Phield swore to himself that once he had enough power, he would smash through the trade blockade entirely. When that day came, he would sell his goods to whoever he pleased.

The Vigor Elixir and rose-colored salt brought him a total of sixty-two thousand gold coins in one go, greatly easing the territory’s financial crisis.

"Sometimes I’m honestly jealous of you, Phield." Simon still felt it was not enough profit and sighed. "That’s an astonishing amount of wealth. Pair it with a treasure map and you could start an entire treasure-hunting legend."

Simon greedily tasted the refined salt, already plotting how to earn all the gold back.

"More than a month’s income doesn’t really seem like that much, does it? On average, it’s only around two thousand gold coins per day."

Phield shook his head. For an individual, sixty thousand gold coins was enough to indulge in luxury until death.

But for Nightfall Domain, it was barely enough to make a splash.

"Farewell. I’m heading out to purchase supplies."

Phield performed a flawless noble salute and was just about to leave when he ran straight into two masked figures.

White robes with golden patterns, silver masks, clothes fluttering sharply in the wind. Their entire presence radiated dominance.

"Clang!"

Before Phield could even react, the person walking in front suddenly flicked her sleeve and drew her blade with terrifying speed. The sheer force behind it caused the air itself to let out a shrill wail.

An overwhelming killing intent instantly suppressed his magic power. For a brief moment, Phield even felt a bizarre urge to let himself be killed by that blade.

"Holy shit!"

Biting down hard on his tongue, the piercing pain snapped him back to reality. His hand immediately reached toward the Greatsword of Gluttony strapped behind him.

Ever since the Empire descended into chaos, he carried Rosalia with him wherever he went.

"Phield, their killing intent is not genuine. This is clearly a test. Even if I die in battle, it doesn’t matter. After a few hundred years, I can still be reborn within the gray mist. But if you die, you’re truly dead."

Rosalia’s warning suddenly echoed inside his mind.

At the same time, the Greatsword of Gluttony carefully concealed the corrupt aura leaking from the blade beneath the white cloth wrapped around it.

The long blade finally stopped one centimeter above Phield’s head.

The icy edge made his scalp go numb.

"S... so fast."

Deeply shaken, a faintly unhealthy flush spread across Phield’s face. He stepped backward and shouted, "Simon, what’s going on? Assassins broke in?"

"Relax, hahaha, my friend." Simon burst into malicious laughter, his round belly shaking violently. "I was frightened the same way the first time too. Such mischievous beauties. But you’d better not get angry. They’re both third-tier Divine Chosen." 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

The two masked figures stepped back several paces and removed their masks, revealing breathtakingly beautiful faces.

"We are Imperial Guards. Forgive the offense, Baron." The woman silently sheathed her blade. Her waterfall-like hair covered her left eye. "One of the Divine Chosen within the Shadow World Sect, named Lipo, possesses a body-possession ability. We must find her."

"Honestly, there’s no better method than this." The light blue-haired girl smiled teasingly. "Surely someone with your knightly spirit wouldn’t take offense."

"Oh? Moral coercion, huh."

Phield spat out a mouthful of blood. He had bitten his tongue too hard earlier, and now that the adrenaline had faded, the pain made him grimace.

He coldly looked the two women up and down before saying, "Offending a noble could never be the Empress’s order. How am I supposed to know whether you’re truly Imperial Guards or members of the Shadow World Sect?"

"We are the authority. We do not need to prove ourselves." The blue-haired Divine Chosen crossed her arms over her chest.

"With an attitude like that, I don’t see even the slightest hint of serving the Empress." Phield showed no fear and immediately challenged her.

"Ahem."

Simon was stunned by Phield’s aggressiveness and hurriedly coughed to interrupt. "Please don’t start fighting in my estate. It’ll make future business very difficult for me."

The Imperial Guards were a terrifying organization composed entirely of Divine Chosen who obeyed only the Empress herself.

They were one of the Empire’s core pillars. Though they rarely acted against nobles, there had certainly been exceptions.

If Phield got cut down here, Simon’s own interests would suffer as well.

"Understood."

The two Imperial Guards members answered casually and continued observing Phield.

"There’s no need to be so wary of him, Miss Darkcurse. I already investigated his background." The blue-haired Divine Chosen covered her mouth with a chuckle. "He’s just a pitiful man struggling to survive. Abandoned by his family, participated in a suppression campaign, yet couldn’t even keep his military merits."

So this woman actually investigated him.

Phield frowned slightly. "And you are?"

"The person who stole your achievements belongs to the same family as me. Pat even bragged to me before about how he stole a fool’s military merits."

The Divine Chosen called Darkcurse coldly replied, "Biskaly, that is not something honorable. As Imperial Guards, we should only handle matters within our duties. Don’t create unnecessary trouble."

"What does it matter? There are plenty of fallen nobles around. In Griffin Province, if you randomly throw a brick, you’ll probably hit several minor nobles."

Biskaly casually brushed aside her hair. "I’m a noble too. So what if I offend him?"

Phield questioning her identity earlier had made the proud Biskaly feel humiliated. In anger, she completely ignored the consequences and directly revealed the scandal herself.

"Tch..."

Phield unconsciously clenched his fists.

Back then, the military merits meant nothing to him anymore. But having them dragged out and mocked like this still infuriated him.

"Aren’t you afraid someone will hear you say that?"

Stealing another person’s military achievements was no small matter.

"And what if they do? The Costello family fears no challenge."

As a great family possessing a fifth-tier Divine Chosen, Biskaly truly had nothing to fear. Even if the scandal became public, no one would offend her family over a disgraced and unwanted baron.

"Phield, I changed my mind. Let’s fight them after all!"

"Not yet."

This time, it was Phield calming Rosalia down.

"Losing our heads and fighting recklessly would only get us killed for nothing. I’ll have plenty of ways to crush her in the future. No... simply crushing her would be letting her off too easily. I want her kneeling before me while I draw all over her face with shoes covered in dog shit."

Phield took a deep breath. Without saying another word, he turned and walked away.