32: Chapter 32 Processing and Revenue Sharing

Black Cat looked at the boots in his hands, stunned for a moment.

She hadn't expected Richard to identify this piece of equipment so quickly; she hadn't even discovered the special nature of these boots herself.

Just a moment ago, she had held some grievances against Richard for his swift decision to execute the prisoners, yet now, this same person was stating the value of a piece of magical equipment without reservation, letting everyone discuss it together.

"Do you know how to identify items?" she asked.

"I do. From now on, identification within the team is free." Richard tossed the boots to her.

Black Cat caught them with one hand, looked down at the boots, then looked up at Richard and nodded.

She didn't say any words of thanks, but her expression had clearly become much happier.

"There is one more small problem." Richard stood up, shouldered his halberd, and turned his gaze toward the direction where the Archer had disappeared.

"That Archer ran away. We must cut the weeds and eliminate the roots. If she comes back with people from the Pirate Council to cause us trouble, or if she ambushes us with an arrow on the road one day... the risk is too great."

"Pursue." Cecilia replied with only one word.

"Hey, hey, Richard, it's almost dark." Jinbao complained.

Richard turned to look at Morpheus: "We'll resolve this before dark; I'm counting on your tracking magic."

Morpheus completely agreed with Richard's assessment and took his divination cards out from his sleeve again.

He crouched beside the pile of rubble where the Archer had disappeared, placed a card on the ground, closed his eyes, and chanted a few incantations.

A moment later, he opened his eyes, stood up, and pointed toward a direction deep in the fern forest: "Southeast, less than an hour's journey away."

After a while, it turned out the Archer really hadn't run far.

She was hiding behind a fallen Petrified Lizard fern tree, leaning against the trunk, organizing her equipment while muttering curses under her breath.

She didn't notice the figures approaching from behind until flash powder exploded above her head.

Blinding white light engulfed her entire vision; she screamed and covered her eyes, her bow sliding from her grasp.

She instinctively reached for the short blade at her waist, but before she could even pull it halfway out, an irresistible force of impact slammed into her.

Richard initiated a Charge, slamming into her while staying almost flush with the ground. He didn't use the spearhead of his halberd but instead used the side of the shaft to sweep, striking her knee and sweeping her entire body to the ground.

The back of her head hit the petrified fern leaves, and she let out a muffled groan. As she struggled to climb back up, she saw the spearhead of the halberd already resting right in front of her throat.

The Archer wailed in a hurry: "Spare me! Spare me! I'm willing to give you all of my wealth. I have a large sum of money deposited in the Temple Bank; as long as you let me go, I will withdraw it all and give it to you!"

"Does your team have any other members?" Richard asked.

"There are only five of us, no one else!"

Upon hearing this, Richard did not hesitate; he thrust the spearhead forward, piercing her throat.

[Killed Human Archer × 1 — Gained 60 EXP]

[Current EXP: 820 / 1600]

Richard pulled out the spearhead, wiped the blood clean on the Archer's clothes, and straightened his back.

The last glimmer of the sunset was slowly fading from above the fern forest, and the gray-green mist began to spread once more, enveloping the entire canyon.

He glanced at the EXP on his panel; he was still seven hundred and eighty points away from leveling up. It would be soon.

After the group finished collecting the equipment and valuables from the deceased, they returned to Blackwater City, and the corpses on the ground would be cleaned up by wild animals.

The sea breeze in Blackwater City was still full of a salty, fishy smell.

The sails at the harbor glowed with a warm, golden light in the setting sun. The fish market had already dispersed, and in the dock area, only a few old fishwives were still packing up their stalls, along with a flock of seagulls fighting over fish entrails.

Richard and his party greeted the guards at the city gate and went inside.

The guards took a couple of extra looks at the Petrified Lizard skin they were carrying, but once the Adventurers Guild badge was shown, they didn't say anything else.

The Brandon family estate was located in the upper district of Blackwater City, a three-story stone building with a garden.

Old Brandon was a bald, fat merchant wearing a silk robe that was soaked in a large area by tears. When he received Victor's petrified head with both hands, he seemed to age ten years in an instant.

He held the head in his arms and stood there for a very, very long time.

His wife was crying so hard beside him that she could barely stand, and she would have collapsed if not for two maids supporting her.

He fulfilled his promise readily: a reward of one hundred gold coins, plus a cat's-eye gemstone. It was golden in color with a sharp, clear cat's-eye line, and its market value was no less than one hundred gold coins.

When the old merchant handed the gemstone to Richard, he said in a hoarse voice:

"Thank you for at least bringing him back. In the future, if there are any private commissions, I will prioritize looking for you."

The Petrified Lizard egg was also sold off very quickly.

A manager from a certain merchant guild heard the news and personally ran to the Adventurers Guild to purchase it, offering three hundred and fifty gold coins.

Morpheus smiled and bargained with him for three minutes, finally closing the deal at four hundred gold coins.

Jinbao watched from the side, dumbfounded. Afterward, he secretly told Richard that when Morpheus did business, he was even more ruthless than when he used alchemical bombs to blow people up.

There were also two Petrified Lizard skins. One was bought by a workshop specializing in leather armor and protective gear for fifteen gold coins; Richard kept the other one, intending to make new leather armor.

The eyeballs, poison glands, stomach sacs, and other miscellaneous materials were sold to two alchemy material shops, adding up to another sum.

The equipment from the ambush team—the Swordsman Captain's chainmail, the two Rogues' leather armor and short blades, and the remains of the shattered staff—were bought in a bundle by a second-hand equipment shop for a total of over forty gold coins.

All income, including the reward for this mission, added up to a total of seven hundred and ten gold coins.

Richard sat in the corner of the tavern, dividing the gold coins into five small pouches, placing one in front of each person, with one hundred and forty-two gold coins each.

Morpheus held the money pouch in his hand, looked up, and said: "I do not believe an equal split is the fairest solution."

"The frontal combat pressure from the Petrified Lizards was basically borne by Mr. Richard and Ms. Lia (pseudonym). If not for them holding off the Petrifying Gaze of those two lizards, the rest of us would already be a row of stones in the canyon."

"Evaluating by contribution, I propose that we three give up twenty gold coins from our own shares, totaling sixty, to Richard and Lia."

Jinbao, who was happily hiding in the corner counting his gold coins, paused when he heard this, then shrugged and fished twenty gold coins out of his cloth bag, pushing them in front of Richard.

"This master's eyes aren't blind. Without you two holding the line in front, I wouldn't have had any chance to throw those bottles and jars. Take it."

Morpheus smiled and handed over his share of twenty gold coins as well.

Black Cat didn't speak. In addition to taking out twenty gold coins, she also took out fifty gold coins.

She explained: "These fifty gold coins are payment for my purchase of the enchanted equipment, the Boots of Speed; you four can split it."

Everyone agreed, and they happily divided the money.

Richard looked at the dozens of extra gold coins in front of him. He did not refuse and chose to split them equally with Cecilia; the total amount he had on hand was already a significant sum of savings.