Chapter 435: A Private Treasure Room

No matter what the circumstances were, being able to secure additional troops was a welcome surprise. By recruiting the Undermarsh Murlocs for war, the Shadowhunter Clan should be able to reduce their casualties significantly. Cannon fodders, I think the technical term was…

While the Murloc Clanleader was still vehemently against this entire idea when he woke up, I managed to convince him otherwise with one simple sentence.

“If you die, Lily will end up marrying your brother.”

Upon hearing that, the Murloc Clanleader began to seriously consider his decision. Finally, he decided that he would rather ruin his brother’s future instead.

“Your holiness is absolutely a lucky star for Paliseth; Paliseth has never received such a huge gift with such ease before.” Now that the Undermarsh Murlocs were well and truly settled, Paliseth hooked her arms around my own and edged in closer. Her growing fragrance rushed into my nose, overwhelming my senses in an instant and threatened to get the better of me. Or at least it would have… if I had my pee pee. What was even more infuriating was that this lady even blew into my ear and tried to flirt with me. “Paliseth has nothing to offer in return, but perhaps tonight we can…”

“It’s fine, I would rather spend time with your daughter instead.” I swiftly pulled my arm free from her embrace and then hugged a still-confused Jezsere tightly.

“Master…” Jezsere stared up into my eyes then sneaked a glance back at her mother, clearly at a loss as to how to react to this sudden turn of events.

To be honest, I could tell that Paliseth wasn’t actually interested in going through with what she said. Because she still had feelings for Solar-sama. That was why when I showed Jezsere my affection, and Jezsere reciprocated this affection, she chose to quietly back out.

If it was Zurnalin who was here instead, she would have definitely tried to contest this affection. Fortunately, Zurnalin had been sent out not too long ago on another mission. She was in charge of recovering those Murloc warriors who had escaped with the help of that Murloc Shaman. At the same time, she was tasked with finding the other Murloc settlement living in the Fluorescent Marsh.

What was worth noting at this point was that Lily wasn’t from the Undermarsh Murlocs at all. She was the clan leader of another tribe known as the Darkscale Murlocs.

The Darkscales and the Undermarshes often intermarried but a hiccup had recently formed between the two. And this hiccup started with Lily. Rather, it wasn’t about who she was marrying -either brother would have been fine. It was that these two brothers often came to blows over this issue. Lily herself didn’t care who she married and no one really knew who she preferred as well. Did she like the younger brother? The older brother? Or maybe none of them at all.

Well, all that wasn’t important. At the end of the day, Zurnalin and the rest of the troops’ mission was to recruit the Darkscale Murlocs.

Hopefully that shaman does well on this mission, otherwise I will have to encourage him with some of his big brother’s body parts.

In the meantime, the Murloc Clanleader was escorted back to Shadowhunter City. Paliseth mentioned that she wanted to thank me so she offered to bring us to their clan’s treasure room… Technically, that treasure room belongs to me though… and with how devoted they are to Lolthe, I’m sure they wouldn’t object to me taking whatever I wanted. But I have principles, I would never do something as crass as emptying someone’s treasure room.

So I’ll just take half of it! That way, both of us can share in its glory equally. I’m such a kind soul!

Paliseth first brought us to her bedroom where in a certain hidden corner of her bed, she pressed a button to a resounding click. Right in front of our very eyes, the sturdy stone wall of her bedroom opened up to reveal a descending stairway…

“Follow me closely, your holiness.” She winked at me out of pure habit then beckoned to me with a wave. “This is the entrance to Paliseth’s own treasure room. Most of the items inside are part of Paliseth’s own collection. If there’s anything that catches your holiness’s fancy, just help yourself. Of course, Jezsere as well.”

“Jezsere… as well?” Jezsere gingerly asked, her hands clutching onto my sleeves for support as she eyed her surroundings nervously.

“Of course.” Paliseth smiled sweetly back at her.

The moment she heard that, a surge of adrenaline and joy rushed up to her, threatening to overwhelm her right there and then. Thankfully, I spotted her lightheadedness and caught her in the nick of time. Seeing her swoon so badly in my arms, I knew I was going to have to carry her down the stairs. Not that I minded at all, she was really comfortable to hug.

Really though, did she have to react so strongly to a simple smile? All Paliseth did was smile at her then she just fainted…

The journey into her private treasure room did not take all too long. The passage leading downwards was a wide one, being able to accommodate five people walking side by side. Its walls were dotted with purple luminescent crystals that provided a permanent source of light for the tunnel.

“We’re here.”

Paliseth reminded us before pulling me forward a couple steps. Thanks to that, I only had time to grab hold of Jezsere tighter before my feet took me right into the glowing purple wall ahead of me… there was no pain. In fact, I felt a strange sensation of having passed through a wall of liquid into another world. From the never-ending stairs of a second ago, I was suddenly brought into a new world, one that almost seemed like a dream to me.

Bar after bar of gold were stacked neatly atop each other until they reached the rough height of a human being. And that was just one column too, there were so many others that I didn’t even know where to start counting! Holy jeebus! It’s gold! The whole world has turned to gold and is trying to blind me with its wealth right now!

That had to be the first time I had ever seen so much gold in one spot. However, this treasure room wasn’t just a repository for gold. At the side, there were racks numbering in the hundreds holding all manners of plate armors, robes and leather armors. Every plate armor was paired with some manner of heavy weaponry like a spear or a greatsword. The leather armors were matched with daggers or crossbows. As for the robes, they were matched with intricately carved staves as you would expect. Furthermore, these armor sets were all arranged to the various classes they served, all ready to be worn at the drop of the hat…

That wasn’t the end of it as well. This treasure room also had a jewellery section, a potions section, an ingredients section and finally an assorted section where everything else that did not fit were stuffed into.

“Master? Where are we? Ahh…my eyes…” A short while after entering the treasure room, Jezsere had finally gotten over her dizziness, only to be stunned and nearly blinded by the dazzling display in front of her.

“You’ll get used to it soon.” I hurriedly pulled her into my chest then rubbed her temples.

“That’s where the completed armor sets are stored. On the other side, you have the armors and weapons which do not fit together into a set. Either way, both sides contain top quality goods only and have been arranged according to the various classes. Here we have the potions section. Most of them are healing potions and beneficial potions. For example, this vial over here is a revival potion that can pull anyone back from the brink of death. Over there’s a frenzy potion that massively raises your power for fifteen minutes. The only problem is its side effects…” Paliseth started explaining to the shell shocked Jezsere with a smile. “Then we have the ingredients section. If there’s anything your holiness needs constructed, this section should have the materials.”

Construction?

Suddenly, the image of an Eight-star Fire Elemental Core popped into my mind, followed by an Eight-star Flame Devouring Fish’s heart.

The latter was merely a fantasy on my part. The Flame Devouring Fishes were a specialty of Purgatory that might have been possible to find in the Western Human Realms, but definitely not here. The Elemental Core, on the other hand, was something worth searching for. After all, this section was huge!

“Little Brother, I remember you saying that you had something to do in the Western Human Realms.” Just as I was about to go on a massive treasure hunt, Ferti’nier suddenly interrupted me with a question. “Has that changed?”

‘Ferti’nier… you she-devil, you actually dare show your face after that whole episode?! Bah, that’s not important now. It’s not like I actually suffered because of that -I even gained a godmother too. But don’t you worry, I remember this favor of yours. We’ll settle this next time.’

“Hohohohoho, our little brother sure has grown bold! Must be because of his new godmother!” Ferti’nier chuckled in her usual teasing voice.

‘Hmph, like you’re one to talk. All that wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t screwed me over so badly.’

The moment I said that however, Ferti’nier immediately changed her tone. “But you did retrieve the Devil King Idol, right?”

‘Yes, I did. No matter what happens, I will definitely take it back.’ In fact, even if I knew about Ferti’nier’s famous ten second gateways beforehand, I would have still taken the risk and tried to sneak back into the hallway to grab the Devil King Idol.

“Good, good. As long as you get it back, it’s all good. And your big sis knows exactly what you want, some compensation, right?” Ferti’nier impatiently pointed at a certain area of the ingredients section. “Over there. There are some Fire Elemental Cores. At least three Eight-star cores, and even a Nine-star Crystal Core of a magical beast. Not bad, not bad at all.”

Being the private treasure room of a Matriarch, and given how often the Dark Elves raided others, this level of wealth was only to be expected.