Deities: Starting From Goblins

Cain Scarlet spoke confidently. The foundations of the three Lords were naturally very strong; years of accumulation had saved up quite a lot of Spirit Stones. Moreover, even if they couldn’t produce the sum themselves, a call to the people within the city could raise it in a single day.

In any case, at this juncture, they could only trust Logan unconditionally. After all, apart from him, they could not think of any other strategies to counter the Demonic Sky Gate. Logan, a foreigner, had such confidence; thus, the forces and Sects of the Western Wilderness must show their stance.

Logan nodded, then stretched out his finger. The Lords breathed a sigh of relief at the sight—one hand could only mean at most five million Spirit Stones. This wouldn’t even require several Lords to pool together; any single one of them could afford it. They had all been prepared to contribute more than ten million.

“Do you look down on the Holy See with five million Spirit Stones?” Logan shook his head, feeling that these Lords were somewhat ignorant. How could he possibly ask for only a few million? Previously, when he had set up the Spirit Gathering Array against the City-protecting Array, it took the strength of millions of people from the entire city, which was also worth tens of millions of Spirit Stones.

“Be direct, how much is needed?” Samuel Westman did not want to guess, inviting Logan to speak plainly. No matter how much it was, they would give it; indeed, five million Spirit Stones was too little.

“A total of fifty million Spirit Stones,” Logan stated seriously. His words made everyone gasp in shock. Ten million Spirit Stones was already a price they considered astronomical; fifty million would almost require selling their Lord’s cities to scrape together barely enough.

Though they were each a Lord of their domain, managing cities with millions of people, they only collected six to seven million Spirit Stones a year; a large portion of which went to city operations and maintenance, leaving barely over a million Spirit Stones for the Lord’s Manor annually.

Sandy Wexler, however, remained composed. He had already given Logan over twenty million Spirit Stones in the past, as the Wexler Clan was immensely wealthy within the entire Western Wilderness. But due to the complications that arose with the City-protecting Array, he spent tens of millions of Spirit Stones; otherwise, he could have produced fifty million on his own.

He glanced at the others and was the first to speak up, “Let’s discuss and contribute together. After all, there’s over a dozen Sects present—do we not even have fifty million Spirit Stones? We three Lords can contribute the majority, with the other Sects offering a smaller portion. It shouldn’t be too difficult.”

“Fifty million is too much. We might as well just raid the Demonic Sky Gate. Our Sect collects a mere million Spirit Stones a year. Are we expected to give away all our Sect’s foundation?”

A small Sect Leader sighed, smiling wryly, “It’s not that we don’t want to contribute, but it’s genuinely difficult. Can’t the demand for fifty million Spirit Stones be reduced a bit, perhaps cut in half?”

“The Western Wilderness is indeed poor. Fifty million Spirit Stones are hard to assemble. My Scarlet Clan has always lived a simple life, these numbers are astronomical to us!”

Cain Scarlet also felt overwhelmed. Unlike other Lords, the Scarlet Clan never collected Spirit Stones from the cultivators in the city, their only income coming from rental fees for city shops and properties, but most of the Spirit Stones were used for guard salaries.

In cities like that of the Wexler Clan, businesses involving Spirit Stones were common, which is why Sandy Wexler was richer than many top-tier Sects; even the most ordinary city guards within their city earned a yearly salary of tens of thousands of Spirit Stones, exceeding that of the Elders of smaller Sects.

Samuel Westman frowned as well, shaking his head, “Even if we manage to gather fifty million Spirit Stones, it would practically empty the foundations of our major forces. What if we still fail to defeat the Demonic Sky Gate in the end? Wouldn’t that effort be wasted?”

“Each of you seems reluctant, but let me ask one question: am I the one pocketing the fifty million Spirit Stones? Isn’t it used for the array against the Demonic Sky Gate? I could ask for fewer Spirit Stones, but the strength of the array will definitely decrease. Weigh the pros and cons.”

Upon hearing the complaints, Logan’s expression changed, “If you are unwilling, let it be. Don’t give them, and we won’t set up the array against the Demonic Sky Gate. After all, this is an ungrateful task. You all fear the Holy See but have you not thought about how difficult it is to counter such might?”

“Don’t get angry; they’re not complaining about you, just genuinely strapped for cash.” Seeing Logan getting irate, Sandy Wexler quickly interposed to mediate. It had not been easy to unite everyone against the Demonic Sky Gate, and even Logan was willing to get involved personally. He did not want a minor conflict to ruin this opportunity.

For the sake of continuing the cooperation, Sandy Wexler made a tough decision, “If you won’t contribute, that’s fine. I, the Wexler Clan, will provide the fifty million Spirit Stones alone. If necessary, we’ll sell all our city businesses. Life for the Wexler Clan may be harder, but at least the Western Wilderness could be secure.”

“That’s centuries of accumulation for the Wexler Clan; we can’t do it this way!” Cain Scarlet immediately intervened upon hearing this. Countering the Demonic Sky Gate wasn’t just Sandy Wexler’s responsibility but a burden for all Western Wilderness Forces. He certainly complained earlier, but that did not mean he was unwilling to contribute.

“The Scarlet Clan might be poor, but with some effort, we can also contribute fifty million Spirit Stones. However, due to the time pressure and not knowing when the Demonic Sky Gate will act, if we only have half a day, we can only raise ten million Spirit Stones.”