Gaia nodded. “Send someone to Modo immediately and announce that in three months, Greenland Town will abolish the entry tax for adventurers.”

“What!” The magistrate was shocked, and Anderson beside him was also surprised. “Young master, our taxes rely entirely on the adventurers’ entry tax. If you abolish it, how will we survive in the future?”

“What other resources does Greenland have? Aside from this bit of geographical advantage, there’s really nothing else we can develop. Waiting every year for five gold coins is just starving to death—better to take a gamble. We have a three-month buffer period to open supply shops and adventurer taverns. Magistrate.”

“Yes, my lord.”

“Calculate how much all this will cost.”

“As you command.”

Half an hour later, the honest magistrate gave a rough estimate.

“My lord, Greenland is your territory. If you want to open supply shops and taverns, the cost for houses and land is minimal; you just need to conscript the townsfolk to build them for you, so that cost is almost negligible. But the money for stocking goods is not small. I’ve done a rough calculation: just the most basic items—adventurers’ protective gear, weapons, food, low-grade magic crystals, and the tavern’s alcohol and food—will require at least one hundred and twenty gold coins.”

“One hundred and twenty gold coins!” Old Anderson gasped, and the magistrate honestly added, “That’s just the basics. The supply shop will only offer the most basic consumables, and the tavern will only sell the cheapest ale and homemade whiskey.”

Gaia stroked his chin again. “Alright, send someone to Modo to announce the news first. I’ll figure out the gold coins.”

“As you command.” After the magistrate withdrew, Anderson grew anxious. “Young master, we only have fifty gold coins left. We’re still seventy short—how are you going to manage that?”

Gaia replied confidently, “Did you forget about those two magic-armored skeleton soldiers?”

Hoganberg’s two servants, the magic-armored skeleton soldiers, had been painstakingly transported to Greenland Town by Gaia and old Anderson, and were now hidden in the basement of the “lord’s manor.” The reason “lord’s manor” is in quotes is because, although it was the best house in all of Greenland Town, it was only three wooden cabins plus a cellar that Greenlanders liked to use for storing food for the winter.

Gaia’s cellar was much larger than those of other residents, so it could be called a basement. The two magic-armored skeleton soldiers stood silently on either side of the basement entrance, like two guards.

Old Anderson moved one of the magic-armored skeleton soldiers to the center of the basement, waiting for Gaia’s instructions.

Hoganberg’s servants were certainly extraordinary. Even though Gaia didn’t understand magic, he could tell that all the materials used in these two magic-armored skeleton soldiers were top-quality magical materials—each one was worth a fortune, and even the armor they wore was anything but ordinary.

Gaia sighed. “These two magic-armored skeleton soldiers might be of great use in the future, so of course we can’t just sell them.” He began to remove the armor from the skeleton soldier, and when he took off the breastplate, he looked at it a bit reluctantly. “Such fine armor—if we sell it, we definitely won’t get its true value, but there’s no other way.”

He handed the breastplate to old Anderson. “Wrap this up. Let’s go to Modo and sell it. Seventy gold coins shouldn’t be a problem.”

While old Anderson was looking for something to wrap the breastplate, Gaia inadvertently noticed that there was a hidden compartment on the skeleton soldier’s chest.

Normally, a skeleton soldier would just be a pile of bones, but these two magic-armored skeleton soldiers were different—their bodies were completely encased in steel. No wonder old Anderson found them so heavy when he loaded them onto the wagon. On the chest of the skeleton soldier’s seamless steel body, there was a hidden compartment about the size of a bowl.

There was a tiny screw on the compartment. Gaia twisted it a few times, and with a click, the compartment actually opened!

Curious, Gaia pulled open the compartment, and a shimmering starlight spilled out from within.

Once the bowl-sized compartment was open, the space inside was actually quite large. At the bottom was a pool of dark red, unknown liquid, and floating on the surface was an orchid. The beautiful starlight was emanating from the petals of that orchid.

How beautiful! Gaia couldn’t help but lean in. Just as his head approached the compartment, something suddenly happened—the orchid’s leaves suddenly stretched out infinitely, like a green snake, fiercely wrapping around Gaia’s neck!

“Ah!” Gaia cried out in alarm, struggling to retreat, but his strength was no match for the orchid. The seemingly fragile leaves were incredibly tough, pulling Gaia’s body closer and closer to the compartment.

Old Anderson turned around and his face changed dramatically. He was about to rush over, but when he saw the starlight on the orchid’s leaves, he immediately stopped, drew his waist-knife without hesitation, bit the tip of his tongue, and spat a mouthful of blood—tinged with faint silver battle energy—onto the blade with a splat.