Chapter 32 Negotiation
White Stone City, side gate passageway.
It was dark and damp here, far from the bustling main road. Crolle stopped his horse and turned to look at the three people behind him.
"We'll be parting ways here."
Crowe pointed to a side road leading to the lower town. "Mr. Wolf, Mr. Husky, we have arranged rooms for you at the Broken Blade Inn."
He then looked at the can: "As for, Mr. Can... come with me. His Holiness the Bishop wishes to see you."
Upon hearing this, the husky who wasn't mentioned immediately became unhappy and shouted in the team chat (although it's also used face-to-face):
"Holy crap? What's with this NPC? Why is he only bringing one person, Canned Food? Is he going to enter a private instance to see exclusive storylines?"
"Stop messing around." Canned Food straightened his gray robe and said in a low voice, "This is a diplomatic occasion. If you go there and start with 'Holy crap,' you'll easily ruin your image."
"Tch, I think it's discrimination against stalkers." Husky curled his lip, playing with the dagger in his hand. "Alright, since you're not going to play with us, Wolf Bro and I are going to explore the map. It's such a big map, it would be a waste not to do some side quests."
The Wolf of Wall Street nodded, his eyes gleaming: "Perfect, I'll go check out the prices and market here. I took a look when I entered the city earlier, and the prices of monster resources are ridiculously high."
"Alright, let's split up." Canned Food gave a final instruction. "Remember, this isn't a wasteland, so don't show your health bar unnecessarily. If there's an emergency, log off immediately, and we'll figure something out in the WeChat group."
"Okay, see you later."
The three men briefly bumped fists, then quickly separated under Crowe's strange gaze.
...
White Stone Cathedral, prayer room.
The air here is filled with the stale smell of wax and a suffocating stillness.
There was no grand scene as imagined, nor a horde of paladins surrounding them. When the canned food pushed open the heavy oak door, all that was seen was a slightly hunched back.
Cardinal Alban was kneeling before a dimly lit statue of a god. He was not wearing the scarlet robe that symbolized power, but rather a patched-up coarse linen garment—the attire of an ascetic.
"Crow said in his letter that he had witnessed a miracle."
Alban didn't turn around, his voice old and hoarse, revealing neither joy nor anger. "He said that in that cursed forest, the ancient 'forbidden' has awakened. Not only that, He has also bestowed divine power upon a group of undead, protecting those people we have abandoned."
Canned Food stood at the door, silent, simply watching the figure's retreating back. No hostile red name popped up on the Heart Mirror interface, but he could feel a tangible pressure filling the entire room.
That was the aura of a high-ranking clergyman.
"Tell me, stranger."
Alban slowly turned around. It was a gaunt face with sunken eyes, but in those murky eyes burned two flames on the verge of madness.
"Is that really Him sitting on that black throne...?"
This wasn't an interview; it was a confirmation of despair.
The man with the can pushed up his nose, a refined smile playing on his lips. He wasn't intimidated by the other's imposing manner; instead, he stepped forward, his tone carrying a hint of the charlatan's characteristic pity:
"Your Excellency, what are you afraid of? Are you afraid that He has not awakened and that this is just a lie? Or are you afraid that He has really awakened, and that you will have to ask a former 'enemy' for help?"
"presumptuous!"
Alban slammed his scepter to the ground.
Buzz—!
A faint but extremely pure shockwave of holy light swept out.
This is a test!
If the canned food was just a charlatan sorcerer, or a low-level monster in disguise, this holy light would be enough to expose his true form, or even reduce him to ashes.
But the canned food didn't dodge.
The level 5 [Mystic] activated his full mental power, and the [Evil God Amulet] on his chest instantly sensed the host's danger.
Buzz—!
A pitch-black barrier instantly opened up in front of the can.
The holy light and the black mist collided violently. There was no earth-shattering explosion, only a teeth-grinding "sizzle," like a red-hot iron block being thrown into ice water.
The amulet frantically drew upon the divine power within, and the surging black mist actually devoured the holy light completely.
However, the cost is also enormous.
"Click".
A crisp cracking sound pierced the silent prayer room.
Canned Food pulled the amulet from his pocket. The obsidian pendant, which had originally emitted an eerie red light, had now turned grayish-white and was covered with spiderweb-like cracks.
With a gentle breeze, it turned into a handful of black powder in the can's hand and fell down in a flurry.
"call..."
The canned food casually dusted off his hands, though his back was actually soaked in cold sweat.
That was close! That old man is really ruthless! If it weren't for this talisman, I would have returned to the city for free just now!
Although he was internally panicking, Canned Food remained outwardly calm. He looked at the pile of powder on the ground with an expression that was a mixture of regret and disdain:
"What a pity. The mundane vessel can never bear the collision between 'the past' and 'glory'."
He raised his head, looked directly at the shocked Alban, and began his performance (deception):
"Your Excellency, did you see that? A little trinket casually bestowed by the great God can block an attack from you, a noble bishop. We have plenty of these things. How much holy light do you have?"
The most important thing in negotiations is to make a show of it, and Canned Food is well-versed in this. In fact, Li Wei had been unable to speak for many days because he wanted to make more amulets for the outing team, but the other party did not know this.
Alban staggered back a step, grabbing the base of the statue for support, his voice trembling, "It's true... Kro didn't lie to me... that being has really returned."
Hundreds of years after the true gods fell silent, he actually saw the power fluctuations of a true god again in a "heretic".
"Now, do you believe it?"
The canned goods dispersed the black mist, straightened their collar, and returned to their harmless appearance. "We are not the 'evil' you speak of. Your light has abandoned believers, but our great god... endures forever."
Alban remained silent for a long time.
He looked at the indifferent canned food, the madness in his eyes gradually subsiding, replaced by a coldness called "transaction".
"Now that He has returned, why doesn't He descend directly?" Alban asked bluntly. "He sent you, His retinue, because He is still too weak to leave that temple, isn't that right?"
"The gods have their own considerations."
Instead of giving a direct answer, the canned food offered a bargaining chip that the other party couldn't refuse: "But we can come out. Your Excellency, as long as the power of the gods can be projected, does it matter how it is projected?"
"What we want is simple: White Rock City's resources, intelligence, and a legitimate identity."
"And what you will gain is an immortal legion, an ally who can protect your back when the Black Tide comes."
Alban took a deep breath.
He turned around and looked at the silent, radiant god.
"Glory is dead..."
The old bishop murmured to himself, as if trying to convince himself, or as if making a final confession.
"Your Excellency," Canned Food dusted off his hands, his tone calm yet sharp, "I have proven His 'return.' Now, it's time to talk about the price."
Alban slowly turned around, his cloudy old eyes still filled with deep disgust and wariness.
"I can give you an identity."
The old bishop took a few ordinary, somewhat rusty bronze badges from the drawer and threw them on the table with a dull thud.
"I can arrange for you to join the clergy and become several fifth-rank deacons."
Alban's voice carried a sense of helplessness. "These are the clergy closest to the bottom of the church. They are usually responsible for cleaning, moving corpses, and cleaning sewers. They have no right to preach, no law enforcement power, and they can't even enter the inner sanctuary."
"With this, the city guards won't arrest you as heretics. But if you cause trouble outside, or expose your power... the church can declare you 'corrupted fallen ones' at any time and send you to the stake."
"This is practically the temporary worker of temporary workers," a cannon fodder specifically used to take the blame.
Looking at the few pieces of scrap metal on the table, Guan Tou cursed the old man inwardly for being so stingy, but a hint of hesitation appeared on his face.
"A fifth-level deacon... that's a bit too much..."
"This is the bottom line," Alban interrupted him. "I can't give you too high a position. If others, especially the knights, find out about our deal, White Rock City will really fall into chaos, and then everything will be over."
The negotiations have reached a stalemate.
On the surface, the canned food seemed to be under pressure. But just when Alban thought he had the other side under control, the canned food suddenly sighed and reached for the bronze badge.
"Alright, a fifth-level deacon it is."
The man tossed the badge in his hand, seemingly resigned. But he quickly changed the subject, throwing out the carefully packaged "poison pill" clause he truly wanted:
"However, Your Excellency, since we are low-ranking clergy responsible for 'cleaning,' it's not unreasonable for us to request an additional authority, is it?"
"What authority?" Alban frowned.
"Repair".
Canned food pointed to a small angel statue with a broken arm and covered in dust in the corner of the prayer room, and then to the holy emblems in the square outside that had become dull and tarnished due to years of neglect.
"Along the way, I saw that many of the statues in the city were damaged, and the nodes of the defensive array were also ineffective due to lack of maintenance. This is a huge blow to morale."
The canned food vendor said with an earnest (charlatan) expression:
"We have some special materials from the North, and some… unique repair techniques. Anyway, we're novice priests, so it's our job to do the dirty work. Let us do some repairs and relight those dim idols, even if it's just to make them look nice, it'll appease the people, right?"
Alban paused for a moment.
He had expected this greedy heretic to demand money, equipment, and the right to pardon. Unexpectedly, he actually volunteered to… repair the idol?
Alban knew perfectly well what this guy was up to. He claimed to be repairing the statue, but it wasn't impossible that he'd secretly add features of the deceitful god to it, or even gradually alter the god's image. But...
"Okay." Alban seemed to have no energy left. "However, you'd better not go too far. If you cause any trouble, I won't have the resources to cover for you."
Alban looked at the angel's feather that was about to go out, and then thought of the pile of holy relics in the warehouse that had turned into waste stones due to the depletion of divine power.
The church's current predicament is that orthodox pastors lack the divine power to activate sacred objects, while those with divine power (followers of evil gods) are heretics.
If these guys can make those abandoned defense nodes light up again... even if the energy isn't pure, as long as they can keep the monsters away, who cares if it emits white or purple light?
It's just a repairman's job anyway, so it doesn't matter if we give it to them.
Although Alban nodded, he remained cautious. "This is limited to the damaged statues and sewer nodes in the outer city. You are forbidden from touching the relics inside the cathedral."
"No problem." The canned food smiled so broadly that his eyes narrowed, a smile so sincere it was unsettling. "We'll definitely restore those idols to... pristine condition."
"Go."
Alban waved wearily. "I need to go chair a meeting. The deacon's uniform will be sent to your hotel."
"I'll follow your instructions." The canned food chuckled as it withdrew, casually posting the recorded negotiation video to the forum.
"Brothers, I've made it!"