Chapter 135: The First Transportation Mission—An Informal Wager Destined to Fail

"You still need to be cautious on the battlefield, and avoid being reckless," Verin couldn't help but remind him.

"I'll rein it in from now on," Brian gave a wry smile. "A million-man scale war is truly brutal; even the secondary battlefield isn't easy to handle."

"Military achievements aren't easy to come by. During this trip, I was repeatedly ambushed. Although I managed to handle them, I still suffered quite a few casualties."

"That's the cruelty of war; no matter what you do, there are risks." Brian felt a deep sense of agreement. Recklessness required picking the right time and place. In future battles, he would definitely follow Adrian's advice—he had no desire to walk the edge of life and death again.

"Lord Verin, do you still have any of this potion?"

At this moment, Adrian interrupted their conversation and asked abruptly.

Seeing his lord nod, Kyle reported to the group, "We brought fifty vials of Ice Blue Potion for this operation. We consumed thirteen along the way, used one for Lord Brian, and we currently have thirty-six remaining."

"Verin, how much does a vial of Ice Blue Potion cost? I'd like to buy twenty vials."

Brian had gained a profound appreciation for the effects of this potion.

Its healing efficacy was comparable to diluted life potions, and most importantly, the physical pain was diminished by three to five times compared to before. It was undoubtedly a potion with an extremely high cost-performance ratio.

"Two gold coins per vial," Verin said without hesitation.

"Really? Don't pull my leg." Brian looked at Verin with some hesitation, his tone uncertain.

"Naturally I'm not lying to you. I supply the South Kour Chamber of Commerce at three gold coins a vial."

Verin smiled and spoke indifferently.

"Verin, I'd like to know how much stock you have left of this potion."

"About two thousand vials or so."

Hearing this, Brian hesitated: "Verin, I hope you can sell me two hundred vials."

"No problem, cousin. I'll leave twenty vials for you this time, and the remaining one hundred and eighty will be delivered together during the next shipment." After pondering for a moment, Verin agreed.

"Go and fetch six hundred gold coins," Brian immediately instructed Adrian who stood beside him.

"Cousin, at two gold coins a vial, there's really no need to give this much," Verin hurriedly spoke up to stop him.

"Although I am reckless, I know the value of such items. Even though its effect is slightly weaker than the diluted holy water of life, the pain-relieving effect is something diluted life potions simply don't possess. Frankly speaking, I'm the one profiting here."

Not long after, Adrian produced six one-hundred-gold-coin notes and handed them to Verin.

"Lord Verin, this potion is very valuable. The Church prices the diluted holy water of life at five gold coins a vial. I suggest that when selling externally, you could raise the price to ten or fifteen gold coins per vial."

"Thank you for the suggestion, Adrian."

Verin nodded, agreeing with Adrian's advice.

Pricing his product lower than or equal to the Life Church's diluted holy water of life meant competing with the Church for business. Although it would only be local competition, it would undoubtedly provoke dissatisfaction from the Church.

However, pricing it one to two times higher than the Church could help filter out customers without impinging upon the Church's interests in the grassroots market.

"How are our grand-uncles and the others?" Verin looked up and asked Brian.

"They're fine, except their troops suffered somewhat heavy losses. Grand-uncle Alcott's troops took a ten percent casualty rate, and Grand-uncle Edgar's troops suffered fifteen percent."

"That severe?" Verin expressed great surprise at this.

"That's still considered decent. Some aristocratic armies suffered casualty rates as high as twenty-five percent."

"How much longer do you have to fight? If this continues, I'm afraid the troops you worked so hard to cultivate will be consumed for nothing."

"According to the information obtained by Viscount Sigro, the corps' main force is advancing smoothly. In about half a year, the first phase of military objectives will conclude, and by then they should retreat back to the Brazil Base Camp."

"It seems the objective is very clear: first break the enemy's momentum, and then train the troops. It's just a bit cruel to the armies participating in the first phase." Verin fell silent for a moment before speaking.

Brian took it in stride and didn't feel angry: "Someone has to do these things; it's just that we happen to be located on the border. But then again, the crueler the war, the more military achievements one earns."

"That's true. Looking at it another way, nobles in the inner provinces might even envy you," Verin nodded in agreement.

"By the way, cousin, how many military achievements do you have now?"

Thinking of this, Verin asked with some curiosity.

"A little more than you, three achievements. Being a viscount is still a very long way off," Brian replied with a smile.

"Indeed very far. Let's see who becomes a viscount first."

"Alright, let's have a race."

Brian clenched his right hand into a fist and extended it in front of Verin.

Seeing this, Verin likewise clenched his right fist, palm facing downward, and bumped it against Brian's, forming an informal wager.

"It's getting late. I still need to go check on our two grand-uncles. Cousin, you should recover well and stay off the battlefield for the time being." Verin stood up and bade farewell to Brian.

"I know. Be careful and cautious on your way back. Although there are no silver-tier monsters in the rear, there are still plenty of troublesome monster clans."

"I'll remember that."

After Verin left, Brian lay on the bed and said to his guardian knight Adrian, "I have a hunch that my cousin will definitely become a viscount within ten years."

"Lord, then why did you make that informal wager with Lord Verin?"

"Hahaha, you don't understand this. Putting a little pressure on my cousin has its benefits."

"However, I don't think you can put any pressure on Lord Verin," Adrian replied with a straight face.

"Uh, why is that?"

Brian asked in puzzlement.

"Earlier, when you were conversing with Lord Verin, I observed the young man beside him. He possesses the strength of a silver knight, and he isn't one of Lord Verin's fourteen guardian knights. This means that young man was cultivated by Lord Verin from scratch."

"Is it really that outrageous?"

Brian looked at Adrian, his eyes filled with shock.

"It is precisely that outrageous," Adrian nodded heavily, confirming it once more.

"Alright, actually I had a bit of fighting spirit just now, but now I've decided to act as a mere witness and lie back to watch how Verin rises." Brian collapsed onto the bed once more, speaking without any posture to speak of.

Seeing this, Adrian tucked the blanket over Brian and left the tent.

Under these circumstances, if he wanted to choose to obey his lord's decision, well, he had no other choice anyway. What else could he do?

On the other side, after paying separate visits to Alcott and Edgar, Verin secured an order for six hundred vials of Ice Blue Potion through a mix of sales and gifts.

On the third morning, the Thirteenth Transport Battalion began its return journey to the Brazil Base Camp.