Arms Salesman

The diplomatic delegation eventually recovered from their shock. After all, they still had a mission to fulfill. Guided by the tiefling guard, Sahiset and his party boarded a novel steam locomotive and arrived at an open clearing on the outskirts of Isdalia. The air hung heavy with the scent of gunpowder. There were few buildings here—only several dozen human-shaped target boards riddled with bullet holes. Sahiset frowned slightly. He had expected to see an imperial army flaunting its might, putting armor, blades, and spears on display, but what greeted them was nothing of the sort. "Are you certain this is the place?" "Quite certain." "This is your destination, sir." "Ah, you must be our clients from the Kingdom of Thrace!" Sahiset turned his head. Striding toward them from the distance was a half-dragon dressed in a peculiar coat patterned in black and dark green, waving at them with hearty enthusiasm. Slung across his back were several long wooden cases. "Greetings, greetings!" "I am the empire's munitions sales specialist. You can call me Zhandi Lunyiren." Beaming from ear to ear, Zhandi Lunyiren gripped Sahiset's hand in a tight grasp. Setting aside the bizarre name and attire, this overwhelming fervor struck Sahiset as somewhat baffling, making him suspect a trap. He made an effort to maintain his composure as the Kingdom of Thrace's chief diplomat, adopting an exceptionally grave expression. "You should know that the Kingdom of Thrace is currently embroiled in a massive war." "We need to procure a consignment of weapons." "I hope your wares will not disappoint me." "Of course, of course! Right this way, please." "Allow me to introduce our imperial armaments in detail. All the samples are right here—guaranteed not to disappoint!" Playing the eager host, Zhandi Lunyiren led them before the firing range and unslung the wooden cases from his back. "Are these all?" Sahiset's brow furrowed once more. In his experience, the armaments most commonly used by mortal soldiers on vast battlefields were spears, bows, and armor, with elite units having magical runes inscribed onto their gear. Nothing about the wooden cases before him suggested they could hold such equipment. With great enthusiasm, Zhandi Lunyiren popped open a case, took out a remarkably refined "staff," and deftly gripped it in his hands. "This is..." Sahiset remembered this kind of weapon. He had seen similar objects in the hands of the tiefling guard. Yet he had no inkling of its purpose, nor did he sense any magical fluctuations radiating from it. How could something like this... be used to kill enemies? As if sensing the confusion in Sahiset's eyes, Zhandi Lunyiren patted the gun in his hands and launched into a confident introduction: "This is the latest model developed by our imperial munitions division—the Foe-Breaker Fire Type III (Export Model)." "A masterpiece of imperial firearm craftsmanship, and the finest smoothbore musket on the market." In truth, Zhandi Lunyiren was telling a lie. The big shots of the Machine Cult had already pushed their research and development to the World War II era, reverse-engineering an array of firearms such as the M1 Garand, Simonov, and Mauser 98k. They had even assembled a working prototype of the Type 2 submachine gun Zhandi Lunyiren had been dreaming about. This "Foe-Breaker Fire" smoothbore musket had long been utterly phased out by the military, lagging several generations behind the empire's current standard-issue long guns. Most of them were merely gathering dust in armories, fit only for motley auxilia of kobolds and goblins. Sahiset scrutinized the contraption called a "smoothbore musket," searching for any sign of a magical circuit, but found nothing. "How... is it used?" he couldn't help asking. "Very simple and intuitive. Just watch my demonstration, and you'll understand right away!" Zhandi Lunyiren replied eagerly. Reaching into the pocket of his camouflage fatigues, he pulled out oilcloth-wrapped ammunition and expertly loaded it down the muzzle. Immediately after, Zhandi Lunyiren brought the gun smoothly to his shoulder, aimed at the target ahead, and briskly pulled the trigger. *Bang!* A gunshot shrieked as acrid smoke billowed outward. The lead shot discharged from the cartridge peppered the silhouette with a dense cluster of holes, knocking it flat on the spot. "Such power...?" "How can this be?" Sahiset looked on in sheer astonishment. The instant the firearm discharged, he had felt a violent magical reaction occur without any warning, packing a punch comparable to certain third-tier spells. Noticing the diplomat's shock, Zhandi Lunyiren chuckled, baring a mouthful of sharp white teeth as he rattled on: "Compared to the previous-generation Foe-Breaker Fire Type II, its overall performance has seen a tremendous leap." "This Foe-Breaker Fire Type III (Export Model) boasts a qualitative improvement in accuracy and effective range, a drastically reduced chance of barrel rupture, and an exceptionally sleek aesthetic." "Truly an unmatched choice for home defense, travel, battlefield slaughter, and highway robbery..." Sahiset listened to the pitch while lost in contemplation. While this weapon's firepower was respectable, it would have been nothing special in the Holy Fadlan of old. In the empire's prime, arrows loosed from the Sunwheel Bows of divine-blooded nobles carried destructive might on par with eighth- or ninth-tier high spells. Yet mortals could never draw those gilded bowstrings. This device called the "Foe-Breaker Fire," on the other hand, could be wielded with equal lethality by frail women, children, or the elderly, so long as they were of sound mind. Still, a magical weapon of this caliber could never come cheap. That emperor was likely using the guise of "trade" to extort a fortune in gold coins from them under the pretext of "aiding the Kingdom of Thrace," intending to bleed them dry. Sahiset let out a quiet sigh, already preparing to beg His Majesty Wilhelm for forgiveness upon his return. "Originally priced at one hundred and ninety-nine silver coins, it's now yours for only ninety-nine silver!" "And if you place an order of over fifty thousand units in one go, you'll even enjoy a fifteen percent discount!" Zhandi Lunyiren's tireless pitch had finally arrived at the price. "Just as I thought, ninety-nine gold..." Sahiset began with a dispirited sigh, but then his head jerked up, his pupils dilating as his mouth fell open. "Wait—" "What did you say the price was?" Zhandi Lunyiren gave him a puzzled look, but repeated clearly, "Ninety-nine silver coins per unit! If you order over fifty thousand at once, you're eligible for a fifteen percent discount." "T-This..." Sahiset's voice trembled as he repeatedly verified whether his ears were playing tricks on him. It was not because the price was too high. It was because it was absurdly cheap. So cheap it bordered on the miraculous. A single "Foe-Breaker Fire" cost a mere ninety-nine silver coins. That meant all they needed to do was round up ordinary, insignificant mortals, give them a modicum of training, and spend less than a hundred thousand gold coins to field an infantry legion of one hundred thousand soldiers. With the population and wealth of the Kingdom of Thrace, mobilizing an army of several hundred thousand such troops would be effortless. While such weapons could hardly inflict meaningful harm on legendary entities, they were more than enough to deal with regular troops and halt the advance of the Kingdom of Cassander. *This weapon is enough to turn the tide of the war!* *I must report this to His Majesty at once!* Sahiset roared inwardly with exhilaration. Yet he had no inkling that while he believed he had struck the bargain of a lifetime, he had in fact steered the Kingdom of Thrace straight into a pit painstakingly dug by the empire.