“Chapter 31”

"Chapter 31"

"When Phelos arrived at the Chaotic Seas, it was the peak time of the night market."

"Euphemistically called 'bustling,' stripped of its decorative descriptors, it was simply messy and disorderly."

"Stalls were run by sea folks, with intelligent races like the blood clan, elves, necromancers, and giants not uncommon."

"However, the stalls were secured through brawls, with no designated areas, making walking a few steps feel like navigating a labyrinth."

"Bang! Bang! Bang—"

"Say that again?! I dare you to shout at me one more time!" As the sound of flesh hitting flesh echoed, pale blue blood pooled at Philosopher's feet.

Philosopher glanced over and saw two sea creatures fighting.

One was a blue-skinned giant, seemingly a hybrid of sea creature and giant, possessing the massive stature and rocky skin of a giant, with faint traces of scales.

Giants and humans are quite similar, but giants are much larger in both height and weight. Ironically, reproduction between giants and humans is extremely challenging.

The other was a Spiked Whip Sea Demon, resembling a colossal squid with just one eye, but with thousands of mouths on its eight tentacles.

The Spiked Whip Sea Demon wasn't weak in attack, but most of them were spellcasters, and a caster caught in close combat was usually doomed.

Its powerful whip and sharp teeth might be a nightmare for other species, but they were merely a tickle to the rock-hard skin of the Wavebreaker Giant.

"Ungrateful! Couldn't you have just moved away earlier? Daring to compete with me for a spot, not knowing your place!"

This area, legally part of the Narnia Empire, also fell under Philosopher's territory. However, previous lords and governors, lacking armed forces, avoided this beach eighty kilometers from the city, let alone managing it.

Philosopher pondered for half a second whether to intervene, then spotted heads of various sizes in the vendors' crates.

There were goblin heads, human heads, and those of other races.

This place was a congregation spot for supernatural beings; humans were present but few, and all were supernaturals.

Ordinary people here were merely disposable commodities, soon to die and then be used as feed or food.

Philosopher was generally amicable, but he also chose to politely respect the rules.

Thus, after a brief struggle, the Spiked Whip Sea Demon was gutted by the fish-scaled giant and placed directly on the fire to roast.

In a world where fists did the talking, not only was the opponent's property seized, but the Spiked Whip Sea Demon itself became merchandise for wealth building.

"Grilled squid! Fresh grilled giant squid here!" the fish-scaled giant bellowed, advertising his catch, "Fresh giant squid!"

The Spiked Whip Sea Demon even breathed its last in the fire, its freshness evident to all, attracting a crowd.

The several-meter-long Spiked Whip Squid sold out in less than ten minutes, fetching hundreds of thousands of gold coins due to its level 83 rarity.

The giant with fish-scale skin clutched a mass of gold coins in his enormous hand, so many coins that they were conspicuously visible even beside the towering giant.

The fish-scale giant closed his eyes in enjoyment, savoring the clinking sound of the gold coins.

"Crabs, big crabs, deliciously huge abyssal crabs!"

Philosius walked straight to the giant at the neighboring stall.

The creature before the flames and seafood was a very burly, muscular man.

He appeared to be eight meters tall and three meters wide, slightly shorter than the fish-scale giant next door, but still a colossus to humans. His teeth were sharp like a shark's, his arms bare, wearing only a fish skin around his waist. His brawny muscles, darkened by the fire, glistened with oil that seeped both from the grilled fish and his own skin.

Philosius took out a gold coin: "One squid tentacle, one crab leg."

This stall also sold squid, but only ordinary magical beasts, not the barbed sea monsters.

The muscle-bound stall owner frowned, struggling to lower his head to notice Philosius: "You're just here to cause trouble, aren't you, kid!"

The squid he sold was "not big," merely around 100 kilograms.

The 30th-level multi-legged squids were common in the sea and not expensive, costing only 3000 gold coins each, unlike the barbed sea monsters, which most people bought whole.

With fifty tentacles on a multi-legged squid, how much would one tentacle cost?

"Typical of the penniless human race! If you can't afford it, don't bother buying!"

Giants and humans are quite similar, but in terms of magical talent, they are incomparable!

In physical defense, giants, whose skin is tougher than rock, are among the top, only comparable perhaps to dragons and magical turtles.

Not to mention their maxed-out physical defense, the giants, with their strength maxed out, are natural-born warriors.

They might be slightly inferior in magical talent, but with their affinity to earth elements, as long as they stand on the ground, they can draw endless power from the earth.

Humans, on the other hand, apart from being more prolific than giants, are physically fragile and not particularly strong in magical affinity.

Even though there are always a few exceptionally powerful geniuses in the realms of humans, they are just that – a few.

The difference is just too great.

The giants held a disdainful view towards humans who shared similar traits with them.

"Inferior rejects!"

The giant's enormous eye shifted, catching a glimpse of the golden light from next door. The previously scornful gaze quickly turned greedy: "Scram! Don’t dirty my place with your filthy breath!"

The giant, roughly swiping his hand, prepared to squash Phelos like an ant. Human bodies weren’t as valuable as those of the Thorn Whip Sea Monsters, but it's well-known that humans are the most money-making species! Even better at exploiting their own kind than Dragons or Goblins!

"Bones can be sold to the undead, clothes stripped and sold to other humans, and their spatial devices looted. It’s a decent profit, after all."

The giant clicked his abacus, but just as Phelos was about to pull out his dagger, a voice suddenly thundered over the market.

"Who dared harm my sea tribe's people?" It was someone from the sea tribe.

The giant, who had raised his massive hand, paused and then, turning towards the direction of the voice, stormed off angrily.

As he left, the giant didn’t forget to shout at Phelos furiously: "Consider yourself lucky, you stinking bug!"

Phelos thought to himself that his luck was indeed quite good.

The surrounding giants all stood up.

Although giants are a race with strong individual combat abilities, they are exceptionally united.

It's normal to carry weapons at a stall in the Chaotic Seas, where bloodshed is inevitable.

A huge mallet was drawn out. It looked unimpressive, but it was made of a highly durable magical wood — still, it was no match for their own fists.

Giants preferred hand-to-hand combat, leveraging their strong defense to bulldoze through. Their hardest and most powerful weapons were their fists. But a five to six-meter long mallet had an impressive visual impact, so giants of all ages and genders used it as their weapon.

"What are you looking at? Get lost!" The giant, seeing Phelos still around, ignited a fiery rage, eager to feel the thrill of crushing an ant from a height.

The foot, mountainous in size, lifted high, bringing an overwhelming sense of oppression.

However, just as his foot had only just lifted, in the next second, it crashed down.

It seemed as if the blood hadn’t even had time to react, pausing for a second, before a fountain-like gush of red liquid burst forth.

"Ahhhhhh!" The giant let out a thunderous, earth-shattering scream.

Giants’ skin was not only tough but also thick, rarely penetrated by any creature capable of slicing through their rock-hard hide.

Thus, a giant, unaccustomed to pain, lost all dignity and writhed on the ground, clutching his severed foot.

Immediately following, the hand that had reached out towards Phelos also fell to the ground.

"Ahhhhhh!"

"Damn it! What did you do?!"

The giants, united in their cause, quickly armed themselves with mallets, targeting Phelos after seeing a fellow giant dismembered.

Several mountainous giants converged, with the fish-scaled giant, evident in his physical prominence, leading the front – his stature indicating a high position within their ranks.

The fish-scaled giant towered over the rest, his massive frame suggesting he was either their leader or a "captain."

"Human, did you injure my tribesman?"

Their feud with the sea tribe was momentarily forgotten; after all, their conflict with the sea tribe stemmed from slaying their sea monsters, whereas with Phelos, it was their own kin who were injured.

Standing atop the charred giant’s head, Phelos, at 1.86 meters, appeared almost dainty compared to the giants.

Yet, when his boot, smaller than a giant’s ear, pressed against the giant’s head, the giant couldn’t even manage the minor act of turning his head.

The rank in the Chaotic Seas was significantly higher than in Lansville City, and even among transcendents, they were not in the same league.

If Lansville's average level was akin to a newbie's dungeon around level 10 or so, the Chaotic Seas was an advanced dungeon, inaccessible to those below level 70.

But what of it?

"I am Phelos, the lord of this land," declared Phelos, lifting his gaze. He disliked the act of looking up, which strained his neck and head.

"Thud!"

"Thud—"

A powerful aura of authority enveloped the area. Those lucky enough simply collapsed to their knees, while the taller ones faced the ignominy of falling face-first to the ground.

And the plumper giants, due to their 'thickness,' were pressed into the soil.

"Perhaps you weren’t informed earlier due to manpower issues, but that’s fine. It's all the same now that you know."

Phelos reiterated, "I am the lord of this land; here, I am the only god."

"Cough, cough cough..."

The giants groaned in pain. Connected to the earth, they usually receive its favor, but their 'immortality' now brought unbearable agony.

Struggling to breathe, the dust and dirt seemed to go mad, relentlessly pouring into their mouths and noses.

Phelos's ire was directed at the giants. Other races, though threatened, felt little impact, suffering at most from some breathing difficulties.

Phelos could punish or even slaughter the giants without objection, but his claim to be the 'only god' was more than the other races could tolerate!

The Bloodline had their Progenitor, the Sea Folk their Sea God, Elves their Mother Tree, and the Undead their Dark God... Indeed, this world was full of true gods with many loyal followers!

A noble-looking vampire signalled to his butler, who subtly nodded and then addressed Phelos, "Your Excellency, please—"

Phelos swept his gaze over them. Without uttering a threat, his indifferent calm made the butler instantly fear that another syllable might lead to his demise.

Others too received this silent warning.

Faith in the gods mustn't waver, but one must live to worship!

Progenitor/Sea God/Mother of Elves... Divine above, punish this audacious human who dares compare himself to you!

Devout believers angrily reported Phelos's blasphemy to their gods, conveniently absolving themselves.

Unconcerned with their scheming, Phelos pondered his next move.

His original intention was to establish a maritime public transit route, not to stir up trouble.

He thought of leveraging the chaotic sea region's resources to open a seafood barbecue street—though he liked the idea, a current lack of manpower meant postponing it until the main city area of Lansville was developed.

He didn't seek trouble, but it always seemed to find him, which was increasingly irritating.

"‘Why am I subjected to this racially discriminatory and humiliating insult just for wanting to buy a squid tentacle and a crab stick?’"

Phelos concluded firmly, "My territory does not need merchants who intimidate others with verbal violence. If I still see your stalls in this area by 6 am tomorrow, you'd better not leave."

The giant's head was large, but not its brain. Hearing this, the scale giant struggled with all its might.

"You're being unreasonable! So what if you are the lord? This area is under the rule of the Chaotic Seas. Even as a lord, you must follow our rules!"

With overwhelming might, the towering figure of the Scale Giant, strained like mountains thrust upwards during tectonic collisions, bones cracking and clashing like an earthquake.

"Crack, crack..."

"Crack crack crack..."

The eerie sound of bone collisions, initially distant, seemed to approach from another world.

A necromancer, shrouded in black, reacted fastest. Pale fingers gripping his staff, he tried to tear open space to escape, but even his expertise as a level 90 necromancer with dual-space magic couldn't open a rift.

"How can this be..." The necromancer first in disbelief, then urgently looked at Phelos, "Respected Lord, the Endless Plain's undead army is approaching. Please unlock the spatial blockade."

A level 90 dual-system mage is a top expert in any empire, yet his first instinct upon sensing the undead army's approach was to flee.

No wonder, the undead scourge is too horrifying! Although a necromancer, he's not a true undead.

He would be torn apart, turned into mindless, soulless undead, with no chance of release.

"What?! The undead army!"

"How can this be?! Let me go! One billion gold coins, I'll give you one billion if you let me leave safely!"

"How could the Endless Plain advance so quickly?!"

Like an infinite horde, the undead surrounded the market to the sound of clashing bones.

Without vocal cords and no need for communication, the undead clattered their bones. The collective brittle sounds were loud yet paradoxically filled with a sense of "silence."

The empty skeletal frames were not purely white, but tinged with yellow. They wore nothing, their hollow eye sockets burning with twin flames of soul fire.

Which only made them more terrifying.

Minutes ago, the intellectual races watching indifferently were now drenched in cold sweat: "Lord..."

"Master, following your command, we have cleared all the trash around."

Those about to enlighten the naive Phelos on the difference between the Endless Plain's undead army and the necromancer's undead were stunned.

It was then they noticed that the countless undead were each holding a garbage bag, as if they could never be fully counted.

"Ensure proper waste sorting, and dispose of it accordingly."

Logically, they understood Phelos was ordering the skeletons to deal with the trash they had collected, but emotionally, they couldn't help but feel terrified!

"Thump—" The dual-system mage was the first to kneel in submission.

As a necromancer over a thousand years old, no one knew better the terrifying extent of such control.

Though necromancers can command the undead, it drains their mental strength!

As a level 90 dual-system mage, his mental strength was at least double the average!

Yet even so, his undead army could only number around a million.

How many skeletons were there in this sea of the undead? He couldn't count, nor could he discern with his mental powers.

But one thing was certain—Phelos was far more terrifying than he had imagined, by a great margin!

"Lord, I pledge to support your rule, your command is the creed I shall strive for in my life!"

The giants, not the brightest, but not brainless either, immediately echoed the sentiment.

"Lord..."

Phelos had only turned to give instructions on waste sorting, but found himself suddenly "enthroned," a development even he hadn't anticipated. The atmosphere was set, so Phelos could only respond lukewarmly.

*

The construction of Lansville was still underway, and Phelos hadn't forgotten the lesson of not biting off more than he could chew. So, for this territory's management, he planned to continue the previous market business approach—starting with a vegetable market!

Only, the previous model was completely unsuitable and needed drastic changes.

"Make it broader, look further ahead, don't just settle for the status quo."

Philosopher was busy directing the giant laborers.

In terms of strength, dragons of the same level were no match for giants. The only ones stronger than giants were the Titans, but as the War God's kin, they had been wiped out in the countless divine wars of the Silver Age.

In the tens of thousands of years since, no sign of the Titans had been seen; they likely had gone extinct.

The giants weren't the brightest, but their immense strength made them incredibly fast and efficient workers!

He had many high-level professionals under his command, but Philosopher didn't bother managing these defiant figures. What Lansville currently lacked was high-level talent that could contribute to its development, not "honorary citizens" who required sustenance and conditional protection.

Phelos gave them the choice to leave, only detaining the giants to atone through labor — which essentially meant forced labor reform.

The deadline was one month; as long as they built a market to Philosopher's satisfaction within a month, their freedom would be returned.

Giants lacked regenerative abilities, but they clearly had their own secrets. The giant who had his limbs severed by Philosopher showed up for work the next day with new wrists and feet already grown.

However, the newly grown skin was "tender," not as sturdy as the original limbs. This necessitated continuous exercise and labor to toughen and harden the skin.

"Respected Lord, I misspoke yesterday. I apologize for my impudence and shortsightedness!"

A flowery apology, evidently rehearsed and memorized countless times, was delivered with effort.

But Philosopher was not convinced: "You're just taking a temporary step back due to fear of the undead army."

Philosopher always thought he lacked a sense of "collective honor," but what was more laughable was— he genuinely got angry when he heard the giants' disdainful and mocking scorn for humans.

There have been many outstanding human saviors in every era, each a breathtaking [Messiah].

Giants, elves, dragons, and the blood race are classified as "High-Intelligence Magical Races."

But humans are only considered a "medium intelligence species."

Humans are neither magical races nor high-intelligence magical races.

They are considered medium-level, out of respect for these saviors.

Humans are acknowledged as an intelligent race because, unlike magical beasts, they possess intellect instead of mere instinct.

As a race that has produced numerous [Messiahs], how can humans not feel anger and dissatisfaction with being labeled as a "medium-intelligence race"?

Of course, they do.

But that doesn’t change reality.

The probability of a human becoming a supernatural being is 1% or even lower, whereas for high-intelligence magical races, the baseline is that 95% are supernatural beings.

For a race to be considered high-level, 50% of its population must be above level 50, while for medium-level, 40% must exceed level 30.

Humans can't even ensure that 40% of the top 1% of their extraordinary individuals surpass level 30.

Thus, the title of [medium intelligence species] as a backdoor honor for humanity in light of the saviors' contributions is completely unproblematic.

"The notion that 'elves, dragon-bloods, and giants only have the advantage of lesser numbers' is just an excuse to resist change and cling to the status quo."

Breaking the monopoly on knowledge, implementing compulsory education, and emancipating serfs—accomplishing any of these could change the status quo; it's not an impossible 'miracle.'

But the current life is too comfortable and blissful—especially for the high-ranking beneficiaries.

Having a group of people striving for their blissful life without doing anything, just lying down and accepting it—such a temptation is too hard to give up!

"L-Lord..." Tom, the giant who was so arrogant and haughty yesterday, was terrified by Phelos' demeanor, exuding an aura of "weakness, pity, and helplessness" despite his eight-meter stature.

Phelos came back to his senses, composed himself, and ordered, "Go catch some magical beasts."

After yesterday's incident, negotiations with the sea tribes went smoothly, gaining substantial support for the bus stops—they feared that not supporting Phelos would lead to undead armies invading the sea, turning it into an endless plain like Fenyuan.

With the bus station issue resolved, the originally planned time was now freed up.

Since sovereignty over this beach had been reclaimed, it couldn't just be left unattended.

The advantages of the Chaotic Sea area couldn't be lost; Phelos planned to establish it as the agricultural product logistics hub for the entire Lansville.

Lansville could produce various crops, but the supply of meat, eggs, and dairy lagged behind.

The livestock seized from the Chiti faction was insufficient to feed 50,000 people—it was a pipe dream! Currently, meat, eggs, and dairy products were procured daily by Bryce riding a Cloud Shuttle Devilfish from other cities.

However, the poultry farming plan was already underway, feeding the poultry with the residue from Devil Vine juice, growing them fast and strong! If all goes well, Lansville's egg products would no longer depend on imports from other cities in half a month.

However, balancing the meat supply would still take a few more months.

While soybeans and eggs could also provide protein, the irreplaceable taste of dishes like braised pork, pork with pickled vegetables, roast meat, fried chicken steak, and crispy pork belly couldn't be matched by other foods!

"Sizzle—" As he dreamt of braised pork over rice, his hands moved without a trace of pity, executing the practiced sprinkling motion with a deft and elegant flourish.

Grease dripping onto the charcoal burst into an even fiercer flame, and as the seasonings were sprinkled, an immensely terrifying aroma erupted from the skewered meat.

"Lord Phelos, I—what a delicious scent, what magic is this?" Mermaid Noi, representing the sea folk, came to discuss the transit station route planning with Phelos, but as the flame fiercely grilled the skewers, releasing an explosive aroma, he completely forgot what he initially wanted to say.

Transit? Is that the name of the magic that makes squid particularly delicious?

"Gurgle gurgle—" A thunderous rumble came from the belly of the giant Tom, but he, as if deaf, paid no heed and just crazily swallowed his saliva.

"Gulp—"

The massive disturbance, times two, brought Noi back to his senses, attempting to steer the conversation back on track: "Transit—this magic is really useful, huh? Can I purchase it from you for a billion gold coins?"

Phelos: "..."

"Eat."

Phelos offered him a skewer of squid tentacles.

Phelos had no psychological shadow over killing people, let alone squid, but he was somewhat averse to the idea of "eating sentient beings"—except for the ingredients in his backpack.

Although the dragons of this world are sentient beings, the ones in his backpack were just a string of data!

After being subdued, Tom became very obedient and seemed a bit more intelligent, specifically catching for Phelos the multi-legged squid and abyssal giant crab that he had wanted to "purchase" unsuccessfully the day before, along with other assorted ordinary magical beasts.

Phelos only grilled three items: squid tentacles, crab sticks, and oysters.

The whole squid tentacles were indeed quite large, so Phelos neatly cut them into appropriate sizes with a dagger and skewered them for easy grilling.

The oysters and crab sticks were then enhanced with a golden garlic sauce.

Phelos had tried to pick the smallest oysters and the smallest crab legs, but even the smallest level 30+ magical beasts were not that small.

Thus, oysters larger than a head and crab sticks thicker than a thigh appeared!

The squid tentacles were cut smaller, so they were the easiest to cook.

Phelos brushed them with a layer of sauce and gave them a final intense grilling to enhance the aroma, then handed them to Noi, who, despite his self-proclaimed dignity, elegance, and grace (vanity), grabbed the skewer and started eating voraciously as if enchanted.

It's said you eat from the mountain when near the mountain and from the sea when near the sea, but perhaps in this world, the darkness (unpalatability) of the cuisine is also a form of arrangement, making even the seafood taste indescribably bad.

Noi once tried seafood cooked by humans, and the taste almost left him with a lifelong aversion to seafood.

But this vow was cast into a sea of taboos deeper than the abyss itself the moment he smelled the aroma of the grilled squid.

"Awoo~" A level 125 merman wouldn't be burned by mere flames, even though he lived in the sea.

His astonishment elicited a dog-like yelp, simply because he was utterly amazed.

Raw squid has a soft and slightly crunchy texture, but honestly, it's not much different from stuffing your mouth with rice, apart from a stronger "taste of the sea."

There's even no sweetness that comes from starch breakdown.

Grilled squid is an entirely different story!

The crunchy texture made him question whether, in his past 520 years, he had ever truly eaten squid.

Phelos chose the most resilient squid legs, full of suction cups, which, once grilled, transformed their soft flesh into a chewy and firm texture.

Sea creatures are, in a sense, pre-marinated, naturally salty; Phelos skillfully stuffed them with spices, making each bite burst with delicious juices!

The suction cups turned crunchy yet tender, trapping seasonings and oil, making each bite not only flavorfully intense but also fun to eat!

"Drip, drip, splash..."

The sound of a saliva waterfall thunderously emerged.

Initially, Tom was just salivating over the smell, but as Noi started eating, Tom couldn't help but vicariously immerse himself, his tongue, teeth, and lips moving non-stop in a deep, empathetic experience.

However, while Noi was eating grilled squid, Tom was chewing on air.

Tom, who had munched on three tons of seaweed, ten turtles, fifty giant crabs, and a hundred big fish in the morning, was hungry again.

He felt as if he had never been this hungry before.

Waves of hunger fearfully surged up, almost engulfing him.

Noi, as a partner, got his share for free, but Tom had to pay.

"Ten gold coins per skewer." A multi-legged squid had a market price of 3000 gold, and by Phelos's measure, he could sell ten thousand skewers, making 100,000 gold from ten gold per skewer.

With a cost of three thousand for ingredients and a revenue of a hundred thousand, it was more profitable than being a bandit!

"Can I have a thousand skewers?" Tom took out a large bag of gold coins, his eyes never leaving the grilled squid.

Phelos snapped his fingers, and all the skewers, except the ones he kept for himself, flew towards Tom's mouth.

"Awooh—" Tom didn't even take the time to remove the skewers, crunching down on the bamboo sticks as well.

For Noi, the skewers had to be cut smaller to eat with grace and decorum; for Tom, they weren't even big enough to get stuck in his teeth!

Dozens of squid skewers seemed to be swallowed in just a couple of bites, but as his peripheral vision caught the uncooked skewers on the grill, he chewed a few more times reluctantly.

Eating, he suddenly let out a thunderous gasp of delight: "Mmm, so delicious—"

Phelos paid no attention to his exaggeration and, having replaced the repetitive task with magic, started enjoying the fruits of his labor.

Noi skewered thirty, his upbringing (vanity) bringing back some semblance of sanity, only to see Phelos opening an oyster.

"Whoosh—" White steam, rich enough to be tangible, burst forth.

Noi's hard-earned sense of home committed a harakiri right there!

"Skewer it in my mouth, skewer it in my mouth, skewer it in my mouth—" Years of maintaining his idol image stopped him from shouting out loud, but his ocean-like eyes said it all.

Phelos remained unmoved; the first bite had to be his own! The broth in the oyster shell, not water added by Phelos, was the natural juice exuding from the cooked oyster meat.

The clear broth, the essence of the oyster, had a light salty flavor, but its lingering freshness was tongue-tingling.

The gold and silver garlic sauce was a mix of golden, crisply fried garlic and raw minced garlic—a little spicy, not much, but just enough to make the whole oyster uniquely delicious!

The oyster meat was incredibly plump, and even though it shrank a bit during cooking, the tender white flesh still quivered with richness.

The soft, chewy meat felt effortless in the mouth, tofu-like yet layered with far more depth of flavor.

"Huff, slurp—huff, slurp—"

Forgetting all about appearances, Noi, in his impatience, abandoned the spoon and began slurping the broth directly from the large oyster shell. The oyster meat, bigger than his head, seemed to magically enter his mouth in just one bite.

The oysters were large, and Phelos had grilled only three; seeing Noi reach for the last one, Tom, in a near panic, almost cried: "Let me taste it too, I'll pay!"

Competing in generosity with a merman by the sea? Noi admired his courage!

"No matter the cost, I'll pay ten times more, but give this one to me first!" Noi couldn't wait for the next batch to be grilled.

What a painful and prolonged torment this was!

"I'll add ten times more on top of your offer!" Tom wasn't good at math, but his pockets were deep! He immediately threw out another large bag of gold coins.

Just throwing gold coins – could Noy lose? Betting on the pride of the merfolk! No matter the cost, today he must have that oyster!

A giant and a merman threw money with such gusto, and Phelos, being on the receiving end, naturally couldn't interrupt them and simply refilled the empty grill.