"That seems even more wasteful and expensive. However, it is none of my business how much money the council wastes."

Almort says "Actually, this wasn't the most expensive plan proposed. It is just the one that everyone could agree on. If you hadn't returned, they would probably still be arguing. Now do you see why I want to retire?"

"Yes, I do see your point. Maybe when you retire you should ask Zachariah for a job. His business is doing really well lately."

Almort says "I am aware and it is mostly because of you. I already planned to talk to him if I actually do retire."

"Alright. Well, I have other things to do, so let's get this done."

Almort says "Go ahead. The wall and the area around it are already cleared."

As Almort steps away, I step forward to the wall and place my hand on it. Since this is the second time I am doing this, I am a lot less nervous about it. It only takes me a couple of minutes to finish the spell for all the sections of the wall and trigger it.

The flames this time are even more impressive since it is wrapping around half the city. It makes me hope that the council informed the people, otherwise there will be panic. If they didn't, then it is their own fault and they will have to deal with it.

Almort says "Wow! That is bigger than I was expecting!"

"It is an impressive sight, isn't it?"

Almort says "Yes. How long will it last?"

"At least a couple of hours, probably more."

Almort says "The adventurers are definitely going to earn their money this time. Too bad we didn't do this at night. I bet that would be an even more amazing sight."

"Do you want to attract every single demonic beast?"

Almort says "Oh, good point."

"Anyway, I don't plan to stay here and watch it burn, I have other things to do. It has been a pleasure working with you, Almort. I wish you the best."

Almort says "Thank you, King Ash. It has been an honor and a privilege."

Almort stays to watch the wall burn and I head over to Zachariah's place. Almort said he would have my reward delivered to the castle so I don't have to worry about it. When I enter the merchant group's building I am immediately escorted to Zachariah's office.

When I walk in, Zachariah isn't in his office, but I notice the door to the balcony is open. When I walk over and look out I find Zachariah staring at the wall of fire in the distance. I have to admit that seeing the city with the fire in the background is a unique sight.

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Zachariah says "Welcome back, Ash. I am guessing that you had something to do with this?"

"Yes. Did the council not inform everyone of what was going to happen?"

Zachariah says "No. They only said that a disturbance would occur and not to panic. They didn't say what it would be or why. Mind filling me in?"

"Sure."

We head back into his office and over tea I tell him what I found out about the wall. I also tell him about the council's plans for the new walls and my worries for the city. However, to my surprise he doesn't seem too worried by what he hears.

Zachariah says "We are already prepared. It is the merchant group's policy to build an escape route whenever we build a branch. Not to mention, this building has extra defenses that would slow down the demonic beasts for a while."

"Oh, that makes sense."

Zachariah says "That aside, did the branch in the southern capital deliver the materials to you?"

"Yes, they did. It was quite the surprise."

Zachariah says "Good. I was worried that they wouldn't catch you. So, how did your visit to the south go?"

"Far better than I was expecting."

I give Zachariah a general run down of my trip to the southern empire. I leave out some details, but they are mostly things he doesn't need to know. I do tell him about the desert, word will spread soon enough and he might be able to make some profit.

Zachariah says "The emperor really signed an alliance with you?!"

"Yes. Why do you find that so surprising?"

Zachariah says "Because Demon Hunter City has been trying to form an alliance with the southern empire for several decades."

"You are probably too closely tied to the northern empire. As long as the two empires are hostile to each other, you can probably forget it."

Zachariah says "That's probably true. Not that it really matters to me, I was just surprised that you formed an alliance so easily. Then again, I for one know just how useful it is to be on your good side so I don't blame the emperor."

"Anyway, I came by to see if there is anything you need before I leave the city? We are probably leaving tomorrow, the day after at the latest."

Zachariah says "The only thing I need is to know what you want to do about the rest of your share of the profits? The materials covered some of it, but not all of it."

"Can I just leave it with you? Or with the merchant group?"

Zachariah says "Are you talking about us keeping it as an account that you can spend, or are you asking to invest in the group?"

"I just have no need to take a bunch of gold back to the peninsula. Which would you suggest?"

Zachariah says "Well, if money isn't a concern, I would say either invest all of it, or place an order. If you want to place an order I can fill it and hold it here until you or your man comes back to the city."

"When Pol comes here, he will have trade goods and funds, so let's just go with investing it."

Zachariah says "All of it?"

"Yes."

Zachariah says "Alright. I will take care of it."

"So, is there anything else?"

Zachariah says "Not that I can think of. Have a safe trip and I hope that we meet again in the future."

"Anything is possible. It has been a pleasure doing business with you and good luck with your promotion."

After saying goodbye to Zachariah, I return to the castle only to find a bunch of wagons parked in front of it. I quickly find out that these wagons are carrying the materials that are my reward. Almort isn't with them, so they couldn't get into the castle to unload them.

So, I open the gates and then stand by and watch as all of the crates are unloaded. There are twenty wagons in total, each carrying fifteen or more crates each. When they are all unloaded it adds up to form a small mountain of crates.