Chapter 961: Alternate Timeline: Firearms Deal

"Theoretically, such a creature should possess almost no weakness. But if you ask specifically about Juren Frost, the Zheng raised by my brother, then I can tell you this..."

A faint smile appeared on the old man’s wrinkled face.

"He loved playing games of chase. And whenever he lost, he would sulk for hours like a spoiled child."

Eamor coughed softly while trying not to laugh.

Ares continued. "He was also extremely fond of fish. Whether all Zheng share similar preferences, I cannot say."

Kiara listened silently.

Honestly...

None of this sounded useful.

It felt less like information about the legendary beast and more like an old grandfather reminiscing about a troublesome family pet.

Then Ares Frost added another point.

"One true weakness shared by Zheng beasts is their terrible temper."

Kiara raised an eyebrow slightly. "How is that a weakness?"

The old man leaned back slowly. "Because anger clouds judgment."

His voice deepened.

"Even intelligent creatures become foolish once rage controls them. A beast blinded by fury destroys everything around it, creates enemies everywhere it goes, and eventually invites its own destruction during difficult times."

The room became quiet afterward.

Meanwhile, Kiara internally thought, "You are giving me life advice instead of monster information."

Still, she nodded politely before smoothly changing the topic, seeing that it was useless to talk about Zheng anymore.

"Speaking of important matters," she said, "let us discuss the Solaria Kingdom now."

Ares Frost looked toward her.

Kiara smiled slightly. "I wonder whether your king knows about the modern weapons I sell."

Then she added casually, "After all, the last time you visited this store, you purchased explosives worth one thousand gold coins."

Eamor’s eyes widened instantly. "How did you know that?"

The words escaped his mouth before he could stop them.

Then realization struck him immediately afterward.

Back then, their robes concealed their cultivation...

Not their faces.

Obviously, Zion, who served as a receptionist previously, would have informed Kiara afterward.

If Zion could sketch Kiara’s appearance from memory, remembering their faces would naturally be easy.

Realizing he had asked something foolish again, Eamor immediately closed his mouth awkwardly.

Meanwhile, Ares Frost answered honestly. "To be truthful, I originally had little interest in your weapons. I only purchased them because I sought answers from your... servant."

Kiara’s expression immediately changed.

Not hostile.

But firm.

"First," she said calmly, "do not call him my servant."

Her tone sharpened slightly.

"Zion is my younger brother."

The atmosphere shifted subtly.

Eamor quietly straightened his back.

Even Ares Frost noticed the seriousness behind those words.

Kiara then continued normally. "Second... I have plans to expand my business across other empires."

She leaned back leisurely.

"Recently, I opened a branch in Celestra after their king officially accepted firearms into the military."

Ares Frost narrowed his eyes thoughtfully.

Then Kiara smiled brightly.

"Since you are already here, perhaps this is the perfect opportunity to expand into Solaria as well."

A brief silence followed.

Then came the real purpose hidden beneath her words.

"How about this?" she continued smoothly. "You purchase one of every model and present them to your king personally."

Eamor almost choked internally.

Here it comes again.

Kiara smiled like a fox basking in the sunlight.

"It does not matter whether he immediately accepts firearms into his army. But he should at least understand that there now exists a weapon capable of allowing weaker Spirit Warriors to fight stronger enemies."

Her voice slowed meaningfully.

"And if he becomes interested... then I will personally visit Solaria Kingdom for negotiations."

At first glance, it sounded like a simple business expansion proposal.

But in reality...

Kiara was turning this entire meeting into profit.

Money.

Influence.

Quest completion.

Future alliances.

She intended to gain everything possible from this encounter.

By now, even Ares Frost and Eamor had fully realized something.

Kiara was far more calculating than she initially appeared.

What made it worse was that none of her requests were actually unreasonable.

That was the truly frustrating part.

Eamor even began worrying whether another request would suddenly appear next.

Thankfully, Kiara understood exactly how far to push before stopping.

After Ares Frost reluctantly agreed once more and asked whether she needed anything else, Kiara finally shook her head with a pleasant smile.

"Nothing else."

Then after a tiny pause, she added casually, "At least for now."

Eamor nearly twitched.

At least for now?

Wonderful.

Absolutely wonderful.

Still, he remained silent because, in truth, their own future depended heavily upon Kiara returning eventually to the House Frost.

Soon afterward, Kiara opened her inventory.

One after another, modern rifles began appearing across the living room floor with metallic sounds echoing softly against polished wood.

Eamor stared wide-eyed.

Even Ares Frost’s pupils shrank slightly.

The room quickly transformed into something resembling a miniature armory.

Kiara picked up one rifle calmly. "This..."

She said, "This is the M16. Names might be weird, but my firearms are all like this, mixed with codenames filled with letters and numbers sometimes. So, don’t get confused. Anyway..."

The cold black metal reflected faint sunlight from the nearby windows.

"It weighs less than three kilograms and can accurately hit targets over five hundred meters away."

Then she tapped the weapon lightly.

"The firing speed ranges between 500 and 750 rounds per minute. In simple terms, it’s like shooting more than 500 arrows one after another under one minute."

Eamor swallowed subconsciously.

However, Kiara calmly continued her explanation like a professional merchant demonstrating priceless artifacts.

"Of course, practical firing differs from theory. The magazine only contains 36 rounds, so reloading reduces the overall sustained rate."

She then lifted several bullets between her fingers.

"This assault rifle uses 5.56x46mm ammunition."

Her eyes narrowed slightly.

"And its firepower, combined with its terrifying speed, is sufficient to kill anyone below the 4-star rank."

A brief pause followed.

"If every bullet strikes accurately without interruption... even a 5-rank Spirit Warrior may not survive."

Eamor’s breathing now became heavier unconsciously.

Meanwhile, Kiara continued pulling out weapons one after another.

"This is AUG."

"This is TAR-21."

"This is SG 550."

"And this is called FN Scar-L."

The metallic scent of oil and steel slowly filled the room while weapons lined the floor like sleeping beasts awaiting war.

"All these assault rifles cost only 250 gold coins each," Kiara explained calmly.

"The ammunition costs one gold coin. And an empty magazine holding twenty or thirty rounds costs another gold coin."

Then she slowly picked up another weapon entirely.

Longer.

Sharper.

More sinister.

"Now then..." she said while lightly brushing her fingers across the scope attached above it.

"Let us discuss sniper rifles."

A faint smile appeared on her face.

"But first... You should understand what a sniper rifle actually is."

Kiara’s explanations regarding the weapons continued for more than an hour.

The living room upstairs gradually transformed into something between a merchant hall and a battlefield museum as rifles, magazines, ammunition boxes, grenades, and scopes covered tables, carpets, and even empty corners near the walls, while Ares Frost and Eamor listened with expressions that shifted repeatedly between confusion, disbelief, greed, caution, and admiration.

Every time Kiara picked up another weapon, the metallic clicking sounds echoed softly through the room, blending with the faint rustling of robes, the low creaking of wooden chairs, and the distant noises from the busy streets outside the store.

At first, Eamor tried maintaining the calm appearance expected from a disciple of the House Frost.

But eventually...

Even he failed.

While he couldn’t understand many terms that Kiara used while explaining, he understood the overall concept, and the truth tightened his chest.

Especially after watching Kiara explain how ordinary mortals could threaten higher realm Spirit Warriors using weapons forged without spirit inscriptions or cultivation methods.

It is like giving a plainfolk the power to erase the existence of Spirit Warriors when plainfolks are supposed to cower in fear of death.

To people raised in a cultivation world, this felt almost unnatural, like seeing ants suddenly capable of biting through dragon scales.

By the time the demonstration finally ended, even the old fox Ares Frost had fallen into deep thought several times.

Soon afterward, the three of them descended downstairs.

The heavy footsteps on the wooden staircase drew everyone’s attention briefly before work inside the store resumed once more.

Alucard immediately stepped forward to help with packaging the purchased weapons while Kiara deliberately pushed another task toward Arceus Silver.

"Mr. Manager," she said calmly while moving several boxes aside, "calculate the final total."

The sudden assignment caused Arceus to pause for a moment.

Still...

He quietly nodded.

Despite his current circumstances, Arceus Silver remained someone personally educated by the Royal Tutor of the Phoenix Empire.

While he might not possess the frightening intelligence of Gideon Crescent, calculations and bookkeeping were still well within his capabilities.

The moment Kiara began listing weapon quantities and ammunition orders, Arceus opened the notebook he had carefully prepared earlier, where every model and price had already been recorded in clean, elegant handwriting.

The scratching sounds of ink against paper slowly filled the air.