Dark Wizard: Rise! My undead army!

After finishing the exchange at the supply depot, Lynn did not return to the camp, but went directly to the small market mentioned by the garrison wizard.

There is a small alley next to the supplies office, with various stalls on both sides.

There are vendors selling supplies, materials, equipment, and miscellaneous goods.

Most of the stall owners were wizards, but there were also a few apprentices or puppeteers.

Lynn walked along the alley, looking at each house one by one.

The first stall sold weapons and equipment, including swords, spears, and daggers, all of standard type, engraved with the simplest sharp and sturdy runes.

This thing is for assembling undead and servants on a large scale; Lynn doesn't need it.

The fourth stall sells materials.

Holy Light Crystals, Holy Light Essence, Angel Feathers, and Angel Bones are cheaper than at the Supplies Shop.

Holy Light Essence Blood sells for 500 merit points per bottle at the Supply Shop, but it sells for 400 here.

Angel feathers sell for 50 merit points each at the supply depot, but they sell for 40 here.

Angel bones, which sell for 200 merit points each at the supply depot, are selling for 150 here.

Other materials are not very useful to Lynn, but Holy Light Essence is alright.

The stall owner was a first-ring wizard, who looked to be in his early twenties with a youthful face and a few acne scars, making him look like an honest kid who had just come from a farmhouse.

Lynn glanced at him and immediately realized that the face was a disguise.

The bone age is wrong, the skin texture is wrong, the eyes are wrong, and the aura of the soul is even more wrong.

Those who have spent decades in dark wizarding academies, crawling out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood, can never fake innocence, no matter how hard they try.

However, Lynn had no interest in exposing him.

How many of those who can train to become formal wizards at the Dark Wizard Academy are simpletons? Who doesn't have a few enemies?

As long as the goods are genuine, who cares what they look like?

The items displayed at the stall were genuine: Holy Light Crystals, Holy Light Essence, Angel Feathers, and Angel Bones—all of good quality.

Lynn crouched down, picked up a bottle of Holy Light Essence Blood, and examined it against the light.

The liquid is golden, very thick, and free of impurities; the bottle is sealed tightly.

He put down the bottle and looked at the stall owner.

"How much Holy Light Essence Blood is there?"

The stall owner glanced at Lynn's wizard robes, his pupils shrinking slightly.

The Great Wizard of the Third Ring?

He quickly stood up, forcing a smile, but the smile was a little stiff, and his voice was a little strained.

"Sir, there are more than thirty bottles, all fresh, just collected from the battlefield a couple of days ago."

"I'll take them all."

The stall owner paused for a moment, then hurriedly rummaged under his stall and pulled out a box.

The box was made of wood and had simple runes engraved on its surface, used for preservation.

He opened the box, inside which were thirty-three bottles of Holy Light Essence Blood, neatly arranged in rows.

The bottle was transparent, and the liquid inside was golden, shimmering in the dark red sunlight.

Lynn scanned the box with his mental power and found no issues with its quality, but he noticed that the vendor's hand paused on the lid of the box for a moment.

The fingers of that hand were slightly bent, and the pads of the fingers pressed against a groove on the edge of the box. There was a tiny rune in the groove, which was barely visible unless you looked closely.

Lynn didn't even activate his analysis; his keen mental power directly detected the subtle movements.

That rune doesn't preserve, it replaces!

Swap the contents of the box with the contents hidden in a certain space.

In other words, the blood essence displayed on the market is just a sample. After the customer has inspected the goods and paid, the stall owner will activate the runes while packing the goods to replace the good ones with the bad ones.

Hmm... In my past life, I've seen street vendors switch out inferior goods after selecting them, using the weighing as a cover, in order to "pass off inferior goods as superior ones".

I never thought I'd see the same technique again in my lifetime.

No... this method is clearly more sophisticated. If it were an ordinary low-level wizard, they might actually fall for it.

However, he was no ordinary wizard.

Lynn looked at the stall owner quietly, without any intention of exposing anything, as if she hadn't noticed anything amiss.

The stall owner looked at Lynn and felt immense pressure.

A fine layer of sweat appeared on his forehead, and his fingers were still pressed on the groove, but he didn't press down.

His eyes darted away, avoiding Lynn's gaze. His lips moved as if he wanted to say something to distract Lynn, but he swallowed the words back.

Lynn didn't move, she just looked at him.

After a few breaths, the stall owner finally removed his finger from the groove.

He closed the box, grabbed a clean cloth bag from the side, and put the thirty-three bottles of essence blood into it one by one.

The movements were slow and careful; after each bottle was filled, the bottle was wiped with a cloth, as if it were a precious work of art.

He was finally afraid.

Having finally cultivated to become a formal wizard, there's no need to offend a third-ring archmage for a few thousand magic stones.

Due to the academy's regulations, this person might not directly attack me, but how many people who have cultivated to the third ring are actually simpletons?

If someone secretly gives me a couple of stabs, I won't be able to stand it.

Moreover, even if he were to kill himself, given the academy's nature, they wouldn't risk offending a high-potential third-ring wizard for the sake of a dead first-ring wizard.

Saving your life is the most important thing!

After packing, the vendor tied the cloth bag shut and handed it over with both hands.

"Sir, please examine it."

Lynn took the bag without checking it.

He gave the stall owner a deep look, but the stall owner kept his head down, not daring to look at him.

Lynn counted out magic stones from his ring and placed them on the stall; thirteen thousand two hundred, not a penny less.

Lynn put the cloth bag into his ring and turned to leave.

The stall owner stood behind his stall, staring blankly at Lynn's back for a long time, then seemed to realize something and suddenly came back to his senses.

Don't stay here for long!

He quickly squatted down and hurriedly gathered the items from the stall into the box. He closed the box, activated the runes, and the entire stall shrank to the size of a palm-sized piece of cloth.

He stuffed the cloth into his clothes and turned to leave.

The wizard selling materials nearby watched his retreating figure and called out, "Hey, where are you going? There's still so much stock!"

The stall owner didn't turn around, but quickened his pace.

He walked through the alley, turned into a side street, then into another side street, and after many twists and turns, disappeared in the direction of the city wall.

Lynn did not turn around to look at him.

He knew the stall owner wasn't a good person.

He knew the stall owner intended to rip him off, but ultimately didn't dare to do so.

But he did not pursue the matter.

Since it doesn't harm me, why cut off someone else's livelihood?

It's not easy for anyone to make a living on the front lines. Everyone who's survived this long has had to grit their teeth and endure it.

The less trouble, the better.

Garlic birds, garlic birds, life isn't easy for anyone...