Chapter 855: Negotiation
Translator: Translation Nation Editor: Translation Nation
Sheyan smiled.
"It seems that you still don't understand what I mean. There is no difference between justice and evil for us believers of the High God. We gave the fragment to you because we believe that we will gain greater benefits from you. As for things such as light and darkness, righteousness and evil, they are all but an illusion. If one were to state it in a more direct term, victory is justice, and failure is evil, because history is always written by the victors."
Saruman gently clapped and smiled.
"Your opinion is wonderful, Mr. Seaman."
From the short conversation up to this moment, Sheyan found that Saruman's reputation was well-deserved indeed. His voice and speech were extremely convincing, and his rhetoric was strong. People who were not determined enough would find their minds shaken when they hear him speak. In addition to that, his voice contained a sense of spring blessings. It was no wonder that Saruman could keep his identity so well-hidden after becoming Sauron's secret ally, and only exposed himself when he imprisoned Gandalf.
Sheyan also felt at ease by now, because his guess was indeed not wrong - the one he was facing was an old sly fox - and it looked like he was also very greedy, so at least he wouldn't do something ridiculous like instantly ordering his underlings to kill the three of them. That was to say, the worst case scenario for them was just to fail the main storyline mission.
Therefore, his confidence soared. He then added.
"The great Lord Saruman must know that the High God is known for His strictness and omnipotence, so if we can't get a satisfactory price here, then our consequences will be quite severe...."
Saruman laughed and told them passionately.
"Of course I have enough wealth to satisfy you, but the point is, I still don't know what you are selling."
Sheyan smiled and said.
"I guess my lord must know of a shocking event that happened recently - the eight great Ringwraiths grouped up to attack the leaders of the Elven tribe."
Saruman's expression turned heavy.
"Yes, my friendship with the elves has lasted for thousands of years. This kind of despicable behavior has of course caused me serious concern."
"The fight was fierce, and both parties suffered heavy losses. According to the intelligence we gathered, at least the Ringwraith Dwar was almost destroyed - the second gift I presented to you was proof of that. But the Elven tribe had also permanently lost an important figure." said Sheyan gravely.
Saruman was moved.
"Who?"
Fang Senyan stared into his eyes and said very seriously:
"The Lord of Rivendell, the holder of the Ring of Air - Lord Elrond."
"That's impossible!" Saruman cracked the handle of his chair that he was grabbing. His white beard and white hair all fluttered up. At that moment, he exposed an overbearing aura akin to a lion looking down on all existences!
"As a believer of the High God, lying is a heavy sin," said Sheyan indifferently. "More importantly, the merchandise I am offering this time has a lot to do with Lord Elrond."
"How could Elrond fall? Was he not protected by the Ring of Air?" Saruman was still in disbelief.
"We don't know the exact details either," Sheyan immediately lied.
"The ones present on the scene at that time was another group of believers of the High God. The only thing I care about right now is how much the great Lord Saruman can pay us for the goods we bring."
Saruman closed his eyes, apparently to digest the impact this news had caused him, and then very seriously said.
"I must first look at what you brought in."
"The essence Mr. Elrond left behind after his death....three of them in total," said Sheyan as he pulled out the crystal belonging to him from his private storage space.
When Saruman saw the crystal, he was visibly moved! He grabbed the [Elven Illusion Bone Crystal] from Sheyan's hand, and closed his eyes while he stroked it. One can feel the powerful magic on Saruman's fingers. Space seemed to be distorted around the crystal!
"An Illusion Bone Crystal! It really is an Illusion Bone Crystal! This is an Illusion Bone Crystal that recorded the life experiences of Elrond!! With a bit of time and luck, I can obtain Elrond's power!"
After Sheyan saw Saruman's reaction, he casually said.
"Mr. Saruman, because you haven't paid for it yet nor have you shown any tendency to pay, please be careful when you inspect the goods...."
Saruman suddenly lifted his head. The look on his face at that moment was one of brutality mixed with ridicule. The voice he emitted was extremely cold.
"Lurtz! These three are your dinner! There are still such crystals on the other two, so search for them and hand them over to me before you do your thing."
The door of the laboratory suddenly burst open, and the familiar face of the Uruk-hai Lurtz appeared in front of Sheyan. He licked his lips with his scarlet tongue and coldly told Sheyan.
"You weakling. We meet again. I could already sniff your unique smell the moment you walked into the Mage Tower. You can rest assured that my stomach will be the best grave you can find."
Sheyan sighed.
"Mr. Saruman, you seem to have forgotten one thing."
Saruman stared at him in disdain. At this time, Lurtz had already punched the face of Sheyan, flinging him away! But at that instant, the Illusion Bone Crystal in Saruman's hand suddenly disappeared. Saruman was stunned for a moment, then he couldn't help but release a painful roar!
Sheyan, who lay weakly against a wall, suddenly burst into laughter.
"Mr. Saruman, I am a believer of the High God! Maybe you can kill me, but the Elven Illusion Bone Crystal was stored inside my personal space bestowed by the High God! My soul is still connected to it, so trying to take it by force is a huge mistake. You're this close to kissing Elrond's Illusion Bone Crystal goodbye, but lucky for you, it's still not too late to turn back!"
Saruman suddenly froze, but after five seconds he revealed a passionate smile and laughed.
"That was just a joke, my friends! How can you take it so seriously?"
Sheyan touched his swollen face, forced out a mouthful of blood, spat out a few teeth, and gnawed.
"This joke isn't funny at all."
Saruman raised his eyebrows and smiled.
"I apologise for the rude behaviour of my servant."
As he said that, he pointed at Sheyan and applied a healing spell. Only then did Sheyan give him an insincere smile.
"Do you mind if I joke with your servant too?"
Saruman instantly breathed a sigh of relief and said happily.
"Feel free."
Sheyan walked over and instantly kicked Lurtz's groin! Lurtz's face immediately turned green. His simple mind apparently hadn't figured out what was going on. Then Sheyan followed up with a punch to his nose! Lurtz snarled wildly and was about to retaliate, but his action immediately halted when Saruman pointed at him. Saruman's eyes were cold as he said.
"My esteemed guests are just joking with you. What do you think you're doing?"
Sheyan unceremoniously knocked Lurtz down and gave him a hard beating. Although he did not cause any substantial harm to the tough body of the Uruk-hai, it was still extremely humiliating. Lurtz's eyes turned blood red! He gritted his teeth so hard that they made a grating noise, but there was nothing he could do!
Sheyan exhaled a breath of satisfaction and smeared his soles on Mr. Lurtz's face, then clapped his hands.
"My dear Mr. Saruman, I think we can go back to our original discussion now - how much can you pay for these goods? Of course, the price for that piece of Nazgul armour fragment must also be included."
Saruman spread his arms and said.
"Money isn't a problem. State your price. How much platinum coins do you want?"
Sheyan suddenly laughed.
"Mr. Saruman, we don't lack platinum coins."
"So it's Mithril you want?" asked Saruman.
Sheyan continued to shake his head.
"Let me tell you about my personal wish. Mr. Saruman, I am ashamed to admit that I once encountered a note by accident. The note recorded your experience in producing Uruk-hais. I feel that this note had helped me a lot, but there are still a lot of things that I don't understand, so I hope you can help me make great strides in this area.... As for confidentiality, you can rest assured. As you can see, I've been acquainted with Mr. Lurtz for a long time, but there had never been any bad rumours circulating about you.
Saruman's face sank.
"I must first see what you learned!"
Sheyan then showed the "Rank 6 ability: Uruk-hai Genetic Mix (Damaged)" that had not been upgraded for a long time. After Saruman observed for a while, he exclaimed in slight surprise.
"You learned all this by yourself?"
Sheyan sighed.
"Mr. Saruman, have you ever taught me? Who else can teach me this knowledge besides yourself? If I didn't figure things out myself, who else could I have relied on?"
Saruman apparently did not expect Sheyan to propose such a condition. He thought for a moment before replying.
"I can help you improve this ability, but your friends' demands can't be too high."
It seemed that Sheyan would need to take a share from Reef's and Franklin's rewards to complete his request. However, the three were all in the same team now so they naturally have nothing to say to that. At that moment, Saruman called Gansdore over and asked him to fulfill the requests of both Reef and Franklin. He planned to waste no time in taking Sheyan to his orc laboratory.