Gensokyo's Dimensional Black Shop

Page 85

Stryker cursed under his breath when he realized that Jason had completely ignored the coded signal he had secretly given.

Before he could make any further move, he felt a sharp pain in his neck, then everything went black, and he collapsed limply to the ground.

Before his consciousness completely faded into darkness, his only reaction was probably...

Why are there two Magnetos?

……

A few days later, Magneto, whose mental state was visibly different from when he last visited, returned to the Dimensional Shop. As for Gandalf…

Bai Ye almost didn't recognize the fashionable old man dressed in designer clothes, wearing sunglasses, and leaning on a cane.

"Judging from your appearance, have you already been released from that prison?"

“Yes, actually, we came out not long after we went there. In the time that followed, we resolved some major issues related to the fate of mutants. At least now the Brotherhood is no longer the disorganized mess it was when I was inside. Humans need to consider whether it’s worth it to target mutants.” Magneto’s face showed a relieved smile.

"Well, congratulations then." Bai Ye nodded slightly.

"Then... I might need to trouble you with two things, Manager. The first is that Gandalf told me you have a pass that allows someone to return here without the help of others?"

"You can just ask them for help." Bai Ye pointed to the twin sisters who were lazily eating iced watermelon.

As time went on, the two of them became more and more at ease. Fortunately, when guests who needed their presence arrived, they were still able to maintain basic professional conduct. Otherwise, Bai Ye would have really considered giving them a warning...

“Then, the second one… Since Gandalf can come to my world, then by the same token, can I also go to his world? Although he kept emphasizing that it didn’t matter if I was delayed for a few days, I still felt a little bad…” Magneto paused: “At least with my abilities, I should be able to help in some way in the era of cold weapons that still use iron.”

If the Golden Gate Bridge, which measures tens of thousands of tons, can be lifted and flown, are you sure that once you get there, all you can do to help is "some favors"?

Looking at Gandalf, who seemed completely unfazed as if he had no idea how powerful Magneto was when he unleashed his full power, Bai Ye suddenly realized that this guy's strength might extend beyond just his muscles...

“That works too. Just like I told Gandalf that day, as long as you can afford the travel expenses, I don’t mind.”

"That's fine then." Holding the card and looking at the amount of Origin Coins displayed on it (just over a thousand), Magneto tilted his head, turned around, and walked towards the portal: "I'll go pick up a few more people."

As for Gandalf, who had spent a few days recruiting a top-tier henchman, he took off his sunglasses—the brand of which was unknown—and pulled out his own card, approaching Bai Ye: "Shopkeeper, I need to purchase a batch of iron armor, vests, and weapons. Quantity..."

Thinking about the military equipment of the various tribes he had seen during his travels, Gandalf gritted his teeth and said, "Roughly speaking, it might take several hundred thousand sets."

Then he suddenly noticed that Bai Ye's smile had become strange...

Chapter 209 Sargeras's True Form Descends

"Manager, what is this...?" Gandalf, who felt a little uneasy, looked at Bai Ye in confusion... He couldn't possibly say that he had inexplicably violated some taboo, could he?

"It's nothing, it's just that I have quite a few types of armor here, and I don't know which one you want..."

With a chuckle, Bai Ye tossed out a stack of cards. As the cards left his hand, they shattered one by one, transforming into sets of armor of different styles before Gandalf's eyes.

“These…” Gandalf looked around in confusion, “Is there any difference?”

"Of course there are differences. The most obvious difference is in appearance. As you can see, every piece of armor here is different."

Gandalf: "..."

"Okay, looks like you're not a member of the appearance-obsessed club like me." Bai Ye chuckled awkwardly. "The three sets on your left are the most normal. One set is for a normal adult human, one set is for an elf from some other world, and the last set is for dwarves and gnomes... I'm not so sure about the last two, but they should be pretty much correct. Which type do you want?"

"Should I... take them all?" After comparing the sizes of the three suits of armor, Gandalf felt as if White Night had dug a pit for him to jump into.

But that doesn't make sense, since he had never shown any intention of purchasing military supplies before.

Gandalf glanced at the seemingly unperturbed White Night and could only suppress his doubts for the time being, turning his attention to the other suits of armor.

Now that Bai Ye has brought them out, they must be of some use, right?

With this in mind, Gandalf pointed to a set of slender, light armor on his right, also suited to the physique of an elf: "So, how are these armors different from the previous one?"

"The armor you're pointing to, besides its basic defensive capabilities, also has a lightness enchantment. Wearing it will increase agility to a certain extent, although not by much. But the advantage is that every suit of armor has the same attribute, which will boost the combat power of the entire army." Bai Ye paused here, "Of course, if elves are wearing them, then another attribute is that they'll look even more beautiful..."

Although Gandalf didn't show any reaction on the surface, he had already labeled Bai Ye as a shrewd businessman in his heart... and Bai Ye as someone who was very good at doing business.

Given the elves' status as die-hard members of the "appearance association," if you put this armor set next to the previous one, even if the latter doesn't have attributes that suit the elven fighting style, and even if its performance is worse, I reckon if you asked ten elves, those ten would all choose the latter set...

There might even be one or two high-ranking elves who will step forward and say that their elven race is already very strong and doesn't need to wear these tacky-looking armors to improve their combat power, blah blah blah... After all that rambling, won't it all end up with people buying based on looks?

But in this case...

Looking at the even more magnificent armor in the distance, Gandalf silently wrapped his trench coat tighter.

I'm afraid I'm going to have a huge hemorrhage today?

……

By the time Magneto returned to the Dimensional Shop with a few... barely passable subordinates, Gandalf had already completed his deal with White Night and was just waiting for this helper to arrive.

Noticing that Gandalf's expression seemed rather unpleasant, Magneto glanced at Bai Ye, then at the Gemini, who were watching the scene from a distance, seemingly indifferent, and couldn't help but ask with concern, "What's wrong?"

"N-nothing." Gandalf's smile was forced, thinking about the burden he had incurred in buying these armors.

The price of a single suit of armor isn't actually that high. After all, once these items are sold, they will be equipped by soldiers. If all soldiers were piled up in top-tier gear and could kill anyone they encountered, that wouldn't be war. In large-scale battles, increasing each soldier's strength by 20% or even 10% can drastically alter the outcome of the entire war… But the problem lies in the sheer volume he's buying!

He merely prepared a suit of armor and matching weapons based on the number of standing armies of each race he knew. The final amount made Gandalf feel an urge to flip the table and run to Magneto's world to enjoy a lifetime of leisure.

"You don't need to be so sad..." Bai Ye kindly comforted Gandalf, having roughly guessed his thoughts at the moment.

"What do you mean by this?"

"You're not Medivh, you don't need to shoulder the burden of the whole world. Although you're paying for these things here, you have no obligation to give them away for free when you return to your own world. You can just make up some story about finding some hidden race that's dedicated to forging you and you're just charging for materials... How much for materials is still up to you, isn't it?"

Holy crap, is this guy trying to fool his own boss in front of so many people?

No, that's not right. Magneto's beard isn't that big, so who is this guy who has the exact same face as his boss?

The mutants who followed Magneto in looked at Magneto and Gandalf standing together and smirked.

"Eric, who is...?"

“Just watch from the side.” Magneto shook his head at Mystique and the others, indicating that they could discuss any questions later.

As for Gandalf, who was being bombarded by Bai Ye's fallacies and heresies, after a period of internal struggle, he suddenly realized that what Bai Ye said actually made a damn good point...

However, judging from Bai Ye's nonchalant attitude when he said these words, does it mean that these armors had already undergone a price increase that he could hardly verify when they passed from the seller to Bai Ye and then to himself?

"Manager, may I ask you a question?"

"Ask me any questions. I still stand by my principle: once the money and goods are settled, the only way to back out is if you can beat me."

"...I just wanted to ask, you mentioned a Mr. Medivh who truly shoulders the safety of the world, could you please introduce me if there's an opportunity?"

"Alright, if he manages to emerge from the Twisting Nether in a few decades, I'll introduce you two." Bai Ye nodded. "Provided he's not killed... You agree, Lord Sargeras?"

"Hmph, if he hadn't run fast enough, I would have locked him up in Legion headquarters and tortured him forever!" Sargeras, who came out of the portal, confirmed Bai Ye's statement, then glanced at Gandalf with displeasure: "A strange mage, why are you always getting such strange guests here?"

Chapter 210 So, let's throw Archimonde over there to fight Sauron!

Strange guests...

Looking at Sargeras's appearance, Gandalf almost drew his sword and gave the guy a good whack.

Don't you have any idea who those weird customers are?

Sargeras didn't seem to care about Gandalf's gaze. In fact, in his eyes, the only person worth paying attention to in the entire Dimensional Shop was probably White Night, the shopkeeper. The others looked like they couldn't withstand a single sword strike from him.

"Aren't you two Kil'jaeden's lieutenants?" Sargeras suddenly asked, his gaze falling on the twin sisters not far away.

"For various reasons..."

"In short, we have already been given to our master by Lord Kil'jaeden."

As she spoke, Aurecis pointed to Bai Ye to indicate who her master was.

“I see…” The Fallen Titan sat down in the chair in front of the counter. “Although he left the Legion, this result isn’t too bad.”

“I really didn’t know you were the kind of person who liked to chat about everyday things.” Shaking his head, Bai Ye poured Sargeras a glass of strong demon liquor: “Did you call me here this time to personally launch a full-scale attack on Azeroth?”

If it were Sargeras himself, in his full form, arriving in Azeroth via the portal, he probably wouldn't need three sword strikes. The first would cleave the powerful beings in Azeroth who resisted him into ashes, the second would split Azeroth apart, and the third would be enough to kill the Star Soul...

“That’s not it.” Sargeras took a sip of his drink and nodded with satisfaction. “In fact, because I was tricked by that Guardian this time, I saw some things in the Twisting Nether that I didn’t want to see. So now I’m hoping that the world soul of Azeroth can grow up quickly, otherwise I alone may not be a match for those guys.”

“Even you are no match for him… Are you sure?” Bai Ye tilted his head, looking at Sargeras in surprise.

Holy crap, are you kidding me? Even the Pantheon has been overturned, and there's someone even more powerful than you?

“I am indeed not afraid of any being when fighting alone, but there are more than just one or two of them. Not counting the ten thousand years I was held up by Azeroth, from the time I left the Pantheon until I met Azeroth, I have been exploring the Twisting Nether for more than ten thousand years, and the final result is…” Sargeras irritably gripped the wine glass in his hand.

Fortunately, this cup was also from the Dimensional Shop; otherwise, with his immense force, it probably wouldn't even be left as a crumb.

Hearing the former boss's words, the twin sisters exchanged a glance and shrugged at the same time... At times like this, they felt that being given to White Night by Kil'jaeden wasn't such a bad thing. Judging from Sargeras's current performance, the Burning Legion probably has a lot of easy battles ahead.

"Anyway, given the current situation, if I were to intervene, Azeroth might not be able to hold out for long, and even Archimonde and Kil'jaeden might not fare well..." Sargeras put down his cup, rested his chin on his hand, and pondered, "From this perspective, even after ten thousand years, Azeroth will still be as disappointing as it gets, don't you think?"

He asked the last question while looking in the direction of the Gemini sisters.

Upon hearing Sassa's question, the twin sisters both gave an awkward yet polite smile... In any case, whether Azeroth lived up to expectations or not was no longer their concern.

But judging from your tone, Mr. Sargeras, are you planning to sell Archimonde and Kil'jaeden without anyone noticing?

“Boss, do you need more manpower here? If I just order a halt to the attack, I reckon those guys in the Legion who somehow infiltrated will cause some trouble. Although those guys aren't very strong, they're definitely good at espionage... So, without me getting involved myself, I need a place where Kil'jaeden and Archimonde can leave temporarily, or at least Archimonde needs to be there.”

Finally, seemingly pleased with his idea, Sargeras muttered to himself, "Yes, that's him. Although he's not exactly a saint, he's generally easier to fool than Kil'jaeden. As for Kil'jaeden, let him continue to manage Azeroth's affairs as before."

In fact, if it weren't for the Dimensional Shop, which could send demons from the Legion to Azeroth without any cost, he wouldn't have needed to worry so much. Fortunately, the convenient door opened by Bai Ye had stated beforehand that it would only cost a hundred or two at most.

"Archimonde's strength would be considered above average in many worlds, and to be honest, I'm actually a little tempted." At this point, Bai Ye changed the subject: "But this is a shop after all, selling things is the main business. If you just dump him on me and let him gather dust in a corner for months, even the dumbest person would realize it, right?"

Hearing this, the twin sisters, who were a little further away, rolled their eyes in unison. When did one of the three leaders of the Burning Legion fall to the point where he was despised by the two of you?

That said, judging from Sargeras' casual tone in "dealing with" Kil'jaeden and Archimonde, the disparity in status among the three giants is probably far greater than they imagined.

“Master, I suddenly have a good suggestion.” Saloras raised his voice as he noticed Gandalf and his group, who were completely unable to join the conversation between White Night and Sargeras.

"A suggestion? Tell me."

"Didn't this Mr. Gandalf say that their world is facing an enemy named Sauron?" Saloras pointed at Gandalf with a smile: "Since he is a powerful being who can pose a threat to a world, then Lord Archimonde's personal intervention should not be enough to resolve the situation quickly."

Archimonde vs. Soren?

After careful consideration, Bai Ye suddenly realized that this pair might actually be capable of fighting. One was one of the three leaders of the Burning Legion, who broke the neck of the demigod Malorne when he appeared in the War of the Ancients. The other, apart from the creator god and the fourteen Vita-level gods who never appeared, might not be the strongest among the demigods in Middle-earth, but he still had a chance of being among the top few.

The only question now is whether Archimonde will be taken down as a boss before he can face Sauron once he arrives in Middle-earth, since his title of "Defiler" is well-deserved.

Oh, right, and what about Gandalf's opinion?

“Of course I welcome the addition of a strong individual.” Gandalf, who was unaware that Archimonde had made a grand entrance carrying a speaker and radiating an aura of power, quickly responded when he noticed that Bai Ye and Sargeras were looking at him together.

Even Saruman in his white robes wouldn't dare say he could face Sauron head-on, let alone Saruman in his grey robes before his first class change. Of course, the more helpers he has, the better.

Chapter 211 Wang Hassan Receives the Order

With the promise that he would "come back in a few days to get a henchman of Sauron's caliber," Gandalf led Magneto and his band of mutants back to Middle-earth with great pride and confidence.

Gandalf didn't say why he didn't take Akula back now, but judging from Bai Ye's own experience, the most likely reason was that he had just placed an order for so many armors and weapons. If he were to develop into a powerful opponent of the same level fighting Sauron before even sending out a single one, wouldn't all the armors that had emptied his coffers be completely useless in his hands...

Does this mean we're being too realistic about Gandalf?

Thinking about it carefully, Sauron's orc army was indeed a problem. It would be good to clear them out before the final battle to avoid any unforeseen circumstances during the decisive battle (serious face).

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What a ghost!

Silently giving Gandalf the middle finger from behind, Bai Ye immediately labeled him as "this old geezer is not only wicked, but also heartless."

Gandalf and his gang were gone. Bai Ye glanced around and saw that only he, Jeanne Alter, the twin sisters, and Sargeras, who was chugging wine down his throat like it was water, remained in the shop.

Hmm, I have a feeling that something out of place has snuck in. I hope it's not just my imagination.

"I said... besides selling Archimonde, who has fought alongside you for so many years, what else do you want?" Bai Ye picked up the small wine cup in front of him, took a sip, and unleashed a death stare at Sargeras.

The subtext is quite clear: if you have nothing better to do, get lost and stop getting in my way. At least the Gemini sisters wear fishnet stockings; they're pleasing to the eye when you look at them. Unlike you…

"There doesn't seem to be a rule that says you can't stay here if you don't have something to do, right?" Sargeras chuckled twice.

"No..."

“That’s fine. To be honest, ever since I came back from the Twisting Nether, every time I see those traitors in the Legion, I have the urge to kill them all. At least here I can avoid seeing them and getting annoyed.” Now that there are no “one of our own” from the Legion here, Sargeras makes no attempt to hide his malice towards the Legion.

"It's okay to chop one or two when you're bored, right? What's that old saying again? Beating a child on a rainy day. You're bored anyway, right? At most, you'll just hit them a little too hard."