Chapter 83: Strange Armor

Through the curtains of the carriage, Rod could clearly see the outside. After leaving the residential area, they soon arrived at the scene of the commotion. The noisy sounds became clearer, with an endless stream of passersby and numerous shops and stalls, creating a bustling atmosphere. After crossing several streets, they arrived at a very wide avenue. Here, it was vastly different from what they had seen before—it was clearly the core area of the capital, the best commercial street, with magnificent buildings, clean streets, and large stores and hotels everywhere.

Relatively speaking, there were fewer mercenaries here. Judging from the clothing of the passersby, this was a high-end shopping area. Everyone was dressed in luxurious and expensive attire, behaving in an elegant manner. Rod sighed inwardly—truly the capital. Even compared to the high-end shopping streets on Earth, this place was no worse.

The carriage stopped in front of a store, pulling Rod back to reality. At Lucia’s invitation, he got off the carriage, only to find it was a clothing store. It was quite large. Excitedly, she pulled Rod and Lawrence inside quickly. Soon, Lucia was captivated by the array of clothes and jewelry. She forgot about Rod and Lawrence for a moment, took the maid Nicole with her, and the three began to browse thoroughly.

With the enthusiastic service of the staff, things became lively, much to the frustration of Rod and Lawrence. With a bitter smile, Rod thought to himself that he might have made a wrong choice. If he had known this, it would have been better to go out by himself—far better than following others around here uselessly.

Time seemed to pass especially slowly in agony. Finally, when the flowers had withered, they ended their shopping spree at this store. It had to be admitted that, with Lucia around, the already nice clothes looked even more stunning, and her beauty shone even brighter against them, making the female shoppers jealous and the male shoppers utterly enchanted—truly, people enhance each other.

“Cough, cough, cough—go on without me. I’ll go explore on my own!” Exiting the store, Rod glanced back in fear, finally realizing the horror of shopping with women. He let out a long sigh, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and said with a bitter smile.

“I’m sorry for making you wait just now. Don’t worry; the place we’re going to next definitely won’t disappoint you. I’m sure you’ll like it!” It seemed she had no intention of letting Rod leave alone. Realizing what had happened, Lucia spoke earnestly.
Looking into her eyes, Rod frowned slightly and sighed helplessly. What could he do? It was always hard to refuse a beauty’s request, especially one as stunning as her.
Under Lawrence’s guidance, they soon arrived at a blacksmith shop in no time and stopped there.
Staring at the huge blacksmith shop and the various armors and weapons displayed inside, Rod was stunned. He glanced at Lawrence and Lucia beside him with a questioning look.
“Hehe, Lucia said you didn’t have any armor. To repay you for saving my life, she asked me to take you here to take a look,” Lawrence said with a smile upon sensing Rod’s gaze.
Hearing Lawrence’s words, Rod turned his gaze to Lucia. Looking at this little girl, he couldn’t quite figure out how he felt!
Feeling Rod’s gaze, Lucia’s fair cheeks turned slightly red. She shyly lowered her head, avoiding his stare, and fiddled with her sleeve—rarely showing a girlish demeanor.
With a sigh, she said, “Come on, let’s go in and take a look!” Indeed, it might be a good opportunity to check it out. He really needed a set of protective armor.
Upon entering the shop, they were immediately greeted warmly by the staff. With their guidance and explanations, Rod finally realized just how large this weapons store was!
Seeing the exquisitely crafted armors and weapons, he nodded in approval. As expected for such a large store, everything was extraordinary. Many of the weapons here could be considered top-notch—at least that’s what Xuan Yuan Jian Ling said. The fact that they had passed his scrutiny showed just how skilled this blacksmith shop was. Instantly, Rod was captivated.
“Hehe, isn’t it great? This is the best and most famous blacksmith shop in the capital and even the entire empire. The blacksmiths here are the finest masters in the empire. Especially Master Grut’s works are among the best in the entire continent.” Seeing Rod’s expression, Lawrence explained satisfactorily. Indeed, none of the items here were inferior—they were all treasures that warriors dreamed of possessing.

“Not bad!” Looking at these items and listening to Lawrence’s explanations, Rod suddenly understood. Master Grut had also heard a bit about him—said to be one of the top masters on the continent, even the number one master in the empire. His workmanship surely couldn’t be bad. Yet at that moment, he secretly hesitated. The cost of things here must be high. Touching his empty pockets, he smiled wryly.

His meager assets might be considerable for ordinary people, enough to allow them to live comfortably for a while, but here they were utterly insignificant. Even if he added the few amethyst coins Bit had forced on him before leaving, it would probably not even be enough to spend here.

Hm? Suddenly, he frowned and glanced sideways. It felt as though something over there was calling to him. A pull was drawing him there, and under the influence of that strange aura, his fighting energy became somewhat agitated.

“Master, it’s this one. Go take a look. There’s something strange about it!” Sensing Rod’s state, Xuan Yuan’s voice came from within him.

When he approached the wall, he saw a set of dark black armor hanging on it. It might not even be called armor—just simple shoulder guards, a chest plate, a pair of arm guards, a belt, and a pair of leg guards and ankle protectors. Even when fully equipped, it wouldn’t cover more than 50% of the body. It was quite simple, yet it protected all the vital areas.

Upon closer inspection, it was clear that this set of armor had been displayed here for some time. Faint rust marks could be seen on it, giving it a plain and rustic appearance, with nothing special about it.

Yet it was this very set of armor that made Rod feel a different kind of aura. Yes, it was the aura emanating from it that was pulling him.

“Rod, what’s wrong?” Noticing that something was off with Rod, who was staring intently at the old armor, Lawrence couldn’t help but ask.

He also took a closer look and frowned. It was a set of armor that couldn’t be simpler or more ordinary. He certainly didn’t think highly of it. Such armor could only be classified as low-quality; there were many better options available, whether full-body armor or similar gear. It was disappointing to find something like this in a store like this.

“Did your boss create this set of armor?” After studying it for a long time, Rod took a deep breath and asked the clerk beside him with a hint of doubt. He certainly didn’t want to repeat the situation from last time when he bought the Dark Dragon armor—enduring much pleading just to get it. But this was different; if the same thing happened again, it would be troublesome. First, he didn’t have enough money to persuade the boss, and second, such a large store wouldn’t sell their ancestral treasures just because of some issue, unless they were at their last resort.

“This? This set was found by Master Grut during one of his trips to ancient ruins. There’s nothing special about it. It’s just that the material is fairly good, so it’s been displayed here for sale. But it’s been almost three years now, and no one has shown any interest. You’re not interested in it, are you?”

The clerk looked at the customer with confusion. It was strange—there were so many better items there, so why choose this one? After all, aside from Master Grut, no one saw anything special about it. Not to mention that it had developed some rust after three years, showing it was a low-quality set of armor. If not for Master Grut’s favor, it would have been thrown away long ago.

“How much? I’ll buy it!” Hearing the clerk’s words, Rod felt relieved, thinking he might not have to pay much to get it. Though he wasn’t sure of the specifics, his intuition told him it was worth a try—maybe it was a treasure after all.

“Well… please wait a moment. I’ll go ask our boss!”

Upon hearing Rod’s words, the clerk’s expression changed, becoming somewhat strange. After sighing helplessly and staying silent for a moment, he quickly replied before running into the room inside.

“Rod, why buy this? Why not look at the others? There are so many over there—any one of them would be better than this!”

After the clerk left, Lawrence also looked at Rod in confusion and asked.

“Are you worried about not having enough money? Don’t worry. Miss Lucia said it’s a gift for you. You don’t need to worry about the price. You should know how much help a good set of armor can be!” Lawrence added, as if thinking of something else.

“Yes, don’t be polite with me. Just consider it as a thank you. How about checking something else? I heard there’s a nice set of armor in this store—it’s a new set, crafted by Master Grut himself. Shouldn’t we take a look?” Lucia also asked, looking at Rod with confusion.