Chapter 47 - 46 Exchanges
After the skyship landed at the skyport of Eternal City, Rocky and his companions found a carriage and then headed to the city district of Eternal City.
Since it was a trading city, the skyport of Eternal City was very close to the city district, and a half-hour carriage ride brought them inside the city area.
Upon arriving in the city district, Rocky’s first impression was of its bustling activity. It was indeed a super metropolis with a population of millions, where the streets and alleys were filled with throngs of people making it extraordinarily lively.
And the second impression it left him with was its prosperity.
The prosperity of Eternal City far exceeded Rocky’s imagination; he even saw seven- or eight-story buildings for the first time here. You must know that in Thunderhawk City, the tallest building was his City Lord’s Mansion, which is merely a two-story castle.
But in this place, structures bigger and more luxurious than Rocky’s City Lord’s Mansion were everywhere, with some restaurants almost rivaling the scale of his Mansion!
Such a vibrant and colorful sight gave Rocky a huge shock, suddenly making him feel like a country bumpkin who had finally arrived in the big city for the first time, having never seen anything like it.
In fact, his thinking was a bit too self-deprecating. Eternal City was indeed very prosperous, and this prosperity was indeed something Thunderhawk City could not compare with, but this was only limited to a comparison between Thunderhawk City and Eternal City.
In reality, the level of prosperity in Eternal City was among the top throughout the entire Sky. Not to mention the feeble Thunderhawk City, other Sky Cities could not compare to it either, including the large Sky Cities, which also could not compete with Eternal City in terms of prosperity.
"One day, I will make Thunderhawk City like this!"
Sitting in the carriage, watching the bustle of the street traffic, Rocky felt not only envy but also made a secret resolution. He was determined to build his Thunderhawk City to be just like this, no, even more prosperous than Eternal City!
In this manner, the carriage moved on. After entering the city district, it didn’t take long before they arrived at their destination, a reasonably sized hotel.
This hotel was recommended by Monte, not too expensive and very close to the trade center within the city district. Monte would stay here every time he came to Eternal City.
Regarding where to stay, be it Rocky, Liliya, or even Aileen, none of them were particularly concerned, because they were well aware that they didn’t come to Eternal City for pleasure, even though it was also the best entertainment city in the entire Sky.
"Monte, would you mind taking us to the Hunting Exchange now?"
After selecting two rooms at the hotel, Rocky said to Monte, asking him to take them directly to the Hunters Guild.
The so-called Hunting Exchange was actually a large market specializing in Demon trades. All buying and selling activities regarding Demons took place there, with numerous sellers and buyers making transactions very convenient.
"My lord, don’t you want to rest for a bit?"
Glancing at Rocky, Monte did not expect him to be in such a hurry.
Indeed, Rocky was in a rush!
You must understand that for every day they stayed in the city district, the skyship parked at the skyport had to pay a docking fee of fifty Gold Coins, a substantial amount for the cash-strapped Rocky, so he had no intention of wasting any time here.
Under these circumstances, soon after arriving at the hotel, the group almost immediately left again, and then they took the carriage straight to the Hunting Exchange.
You have to say, the hotel recommended by Monte might not look fancy, but its location was really good. They arrived at their destination in just about fifteen minutes.
"My lord, this is the Hunting Exchange."
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After getting off the carriage, Monte pointed across the street, and Rocky and his companions crossed the bustling thoroughfare to see a trading house five stories high and twice the size of Rocky’s City Lord’s Mansion.
"Good heavens, this place is really massive."
Having glanced at the trading house, Rocky couldn’t help but click his tongue, not having expected it to be so grand.
"My lord, this is Eternal City, where all demon hunters under the entire sky, if able, choose to conduct their business, because there are also the most buyers here. Moreover, any transaction is supervised and guaranteed by Eternal City, and any issues will be handled by Eternal City as well. Therefore, the trading house here is naturally quite large."
"I see..."
After listening to Monte’s explanation, Rocky nodded and then led his group across the wide street, heading straight for the trading house.
Upon entering the trading house’s lobby, what first came into view was a mana notice board so large one had to tilt their head back to see it all - it was over ten meters in size, with dense, scrolling notices, which, upon closer inspection as Rocky and his company drew near, turned out to be all transaction information.
×× Chamber of Commerce is offering a high price for Sky Antelope Demon Horn, interested parties please contact the Chamber’s representative ×××, price negotiable.
×× Chamber of Commerce is buying various demon cores in bulk, fair price assured, interested parties are welcome to discuss details at trading house’s second floor in ×× shop.
A large quantity of Earth Dragon Demon Skin for sale, for price inquiries, please contact ××××.
Long-term purchase of Greyrock Stone, price negotiable, interested parties are welcome to the second floor of the trading house to discuss in shop ×××.
The scrolling notices on the board were all about demon-related transactions, including postings from buyers and sellers alike, their number so great it was dizzying to behold.
And beneath the notice board there were also many people, like Rocky and his allies, looking up at it attentively. It was clear from the way these individuals were dressed that they were unmistakably not merchants, and if not merchants, then they must naturally be demon hunters here for business.
"The trading house is too big, so this notice board was set up to facilitate trading for everyone."
While Rocky was dazzled by the contents of the notice board, Monte at his side explained, "These messages are being updated every moment. Hunters who come here to sell demons need only follow this information to find merchants to quickly complete transactions, which is very convenient."
"Monte, none of the information on here specifies prices. Do all merchants operate this way?"
At that moment, Aileen turned her head and inquired of Monte.
"That... should be the case..."
But Monte awkwardly scratched his big head when asked, "Actually, I’m not too sure either. Each time I come here to trade, I go directly to the merchants based on the information on the notice board, so I’ve never paid much attention."
Although Monte was much smarter than the average beastman, he still retained some typical characteristics of beastmen such as being very straightforward and finding calculative affairs bothersome, like the question Aileen had just posed - a matter he had never considered before.
In Monte’s eyes, as long as he could sell the demons he hunted, what did it matter if the price was a little higher or lower? After all, he was earning either way.
After hearing his response, Aileen nodded and then looked at Rocky, "Lord, please wait here for a moment, I want to check the trading information."
Having said this, Aileen no longer paid heed to the others and took out a small notebook from her pocket. She stood under the notice board, swiftly browsing through the ceaselessly scrolling information and incessantly jotting something down in her notebook.
It was evident that upon arriving, Aileen was somewhat excited, and now she was preparing to make her move!
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