Wrath, Greed, Gluttony, Envy, Sloth, and Pride.

  The equipment of the Seven Deadly Sins series relied entirely on passive skills—but they were passives of a terrifying caliber.

  The two Rare-grade items were particularly bone-chilling: a 100-fold increase in magic power and a 128-fold boost to dual resistances. Just imagining an opponent with those stats was enough to drive someone to despair.

  "Hidden gear is hidden gear for a reason; it’s leagues ahead of the standard drops," Kael marveled.

  If Rare-grade equipment was already this broken, he could only wonder what the higher tiers would do. Would they grant the power to reshape the world? Kael found himself looking forward to it.

  With the two Gacha pools exhausted for the moment, the items on Robert’s list were nearly accounted for. Kael stopped pulling; weapons and armor took up far too much space in the warehouse. Unlike pills, which could be stacked by the dozens in a single crate, a chestplate was a bulky, uncooperative piece of inventory.

  "Now for the elixirs," Kael muttered, opening the Common-rank Pill Pool.

  In truth, the three supply channels Kael currently controlled provided mostly "universal" goods. They were items that many people needed and many could use. Even if the prices were a bit steep, they remained within reach for a large enough demographic.

  As for variety, Kael knew there were still items with extremely low drop rates that he hadn't even displayed yet—mostly because the shop was simply too small. He wasn't complaining, though. Finding himself in this strange world with a secure roof over his head was a stroke of luck he didn't take for granted.

  This time, the pill pool didn't yield anything new. Kael hadn't expected it to; a warehouse expansion didn't automatically multiply the variety of goods overnight. Once the crates were filled, he began hauling everything out.

  Robert waited respectfully in the shop. Once he confirmed the manifest was complete, he produced a small chest of monster cores.

  "Manager Kael, here is the payment. Please, feel free to count it."

  "No need. The amount is correct," Kael said, taking the chest and dumping its contents directly into the automated collection box. He’d let the System handle the bean-counting.

  "Your trust is appreciated, Manager. The front lines are tense, and they’re waiting on this shipment, so I’ll take my leave," Robert said with a polite bow.

  "Don't mention it. Safe travels," Kael nodded.

  Despite Robert being a "VIP" client, Kael’s shop was a definitive seller's market. If the city didn't want the goods, someone else would. He had absolute confidence in his inventory.

  "Until next time," Robert added before leading the supply wagons away.

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  Kael watched the retreating dust of the wagons, a thoughtful expression crossing his face. For the City Lord’s manor to pay in monster cores rather than pure Spirit Crystals meant one thing: the battle at the front was a grueling stalemate.

  On one hand, the city treasury was likely bleeding dry—after all, they had dropped 400,000 crystals here recently without seeing a return on that investment yet. On the other hand, the sheer volume of cores proved the overwhelming number of monsters they were facing.

  Cloud Mist Forest was famous for its low-tier beasts. If even the Brave-rank and Class-rank monsters were appearing in such numbers that the city was swimming in cores, the population of sub-Brave-rank fodder must be astronomical.

  "I need to figure something out if I'm going to finish my mission," Kael thought, rubbing his chin.

  Cloud Mist City was his base of operations. If the city fell, the shop would survive thanks to the System’s protection, but a shop standing in the middle of a smoking ruin wouldn't be making any money. Kael couldn't even imagine such a dismal scenario.

  The Following Day.

  The sky was just beginning to pale, the starlight not yet faded as a sliver of white appeared on the horizon.

  The City Guard stationed outside the walls had already finished their breakfast. Campfires were extinguished, tents were struck, and the soldiers stood ready for battle.

  Qin Ming arrived at the ramparts, taking his seat at the command post. The new equipment had been swapped in overnight, and the fresh batch of pills had been distributed. Even accounting for previous casualties, the City Guard’s overall combat power had only dipped by about 20%.

  As Qin Ming was lost in thought, a messenger ran up.

  "City Lord! Mu Qianqiu of the Mercenary Guild requests an audience. He says he has matters to discuss."

  Qin Ming’s brow furrowed. What could that old man want at a time like this?

  Despite his annoyance, he waved the messenger off. "Let him up."

  A moment later, Mu Qianqiu ascended the wall. He wasn't alone; three men followed closely behind him. Qin Ming hadn't planned on standing up to greet the Guild Master, but once he saw the three figures in the rear, he had no choice but to rise.

  "Guild Master Mu, Captain Blood Wolf, Tiger-Hunt, Captain Berserk Bear... a surprise to see the four of you here. My apologies for the lack of a proper welcome," Qin Ming said courteously.

  The three men behind Mu Qianqiu were indeed the heavy hitters of the mercenary world. As City Lord, Qin Ming’s status was undisputed, and while he had never particularly liked Mu Qianqiu, the other three represented a massive boost to the front-line strength.

  The mercenary groups led by Blood Wolf and Berserk Bear, in particular, boasted a higher average combat level than the standard City Guard.

  "You are too kind, City Lord Qin. As the head of the local Mercenary Guild, protecting Cloud Mist City is my responsibility as well," Mu Qianqiu replied with practiced grace. It was all empty political talk, but it had to be said.

  "With your help, I’m sure holding back this tide will be much easier," Qin Ming followed up, playing along.

  "Oh, I'm just the middleman. All the credit goes to the brave mercenaries under the Guild," Mu Qianqiu said, deftly deflecting the burden of responsibility while patting his subordinates on the back.

  While the two leaders traded pleasantries, Blood Wolf nudged Tiger-Hunt’s arm. "I thought the 'Big Three' squads were all coming. Where are Lan Ye and her girls?"

  "Probably at the Boss’s shop," Tiger-Hunt answered without skipping a beat.

  In Cloud Mist City at this hour, there was really only one place worth being. If they weren't on the walls, they were at Kael’s place.

  Blood Wolf nodded. "Makes sense. If I’d known, I wouldn't have come either. I could've spent the morning training with my brothers."

  Tiger-Hunt chuckled. "You’re here now, so drop the attitude. Just focus on hoarding some Spirit Crystals and cores. Your men are counting on you."

  Blood Wolf smiled. The two of them instinctively excluded Berserk Bear from their conversation. The only reason they had followed Mu Qianqiu here was for the massive amount of Mercenary Points offered as a reward for the mission.