The First Magic World War

Although Charles had never visited Notruden, he was proficient in seven languages of the Old Continent, including Inglima Language. Using the languages he had studied at university, he asked a few locals and quickly found the busiest street in Notruden, soon discovering an exquisitely decorated weapon shop with a very imposing sign hanging above the door—"Grandfather's Store!"

Charles was intrigued by the sign and calmly pushed the door open to enter. This store spanned five floors, each covering over two thousand square "pi mi". The building's footprint was three to four times larger than Charles's residence on Elysian Pastoral Street No. 58. However, the yard of the shop was quite small, capable of fitting only a single carriage, evidently a trade-off made during its construction.

The first floor was designed in an ancient store layout, with counters on all sides and a central H-shaped counter leading to the stairs upstairs. Inside the H-shaped counter, more than a dozen clerks bustled about attending to customers.

A young female clerk approached with a smile and asked in a very respectful tone, "Sir, may I assist you with something?"

The young female clerk's appearance could only be described as passable, far from beautiful, but her youth and practiced propriety in speech made her unobjectionable.

Charles silently praised the store to himself, appreciating the commendable staff training, and responded with a slight smile, "I am looking to find a weapon suitable for myself."

Charles was not strapped for cash, but based on ample life experience, he didn't reveal his eagerness to buy, instead adopting a casual browsing demeanor.

The young clerk's eyes brightened slightly as she spoke, "You've come at just the right time; we've recently received a batch of fine products. If you had come a few days later, they would have been sold out—this batch is indeed very popular."

Charles couldn't help but commend Grandfather's Store again. He did not believe for a second that this young clerk could have come up with such a polished sales pitch on her own; it must have been carefully trained by the experienced shop owner, word by word.

He did not expose her, instead saying, "Then please help me find a few suitable rapiers, the standard models will do. If there are any weapons from the Blood Clan, please bring them all to me."

In Grandfather's Weapon Shop, the substantial profits came from magical items, while ordinary goods were just complementary sales and did not constitute the main profit.

The young clerk, hearing that standard models were sufficient, showed little change in expression but her eyes clearly displayed some disappointment. Upon hearing about Blood Clan weapons, her spirits lifted, and she quietly said, "Blood Clan weapons are not displayed on this floor, please follow me, I will take you to the third floor."

Charles, not at all daunted, followed the clerk through the winding counters and up two floors.

The third floor was designed with VIP rooms, each served by a dedicated person, furnished like small parlors, complete with offer of black tea and tobacco.

Soon, more than ten Blood Clan weapons were laid out before Charles, and astonishingly, three of them were even bloodsucking weapons.

Bloodsucking weapons were rare among the Blood Clan and even rarer among humans.

In his lifetime, Charles had only seen a few. Many of the renowned top-tier weapon stores in the Fars Empire did not have any bloodsucking weapons. Louis Simi had acquired two bloodsucking weapons in Byron purely by accident. That Grandfather's Weapon Shop could produce three showcased their exceptional prowess.

He casually picked up a Vampire Dagger, glanced at the engravings, and said with a smile, "The Arthur family's inscription, a pity it's not from a prestigious house, and the quality of the Blood Core used is also somewhat inferior." He put down the Vampire Dagger, thinking to himself, "Daggers really aren't my style."

Charles skillfully demonstrated the expertise of an aficionado of niche weapons. Such discerning expertise was not found in every customer.

The young female clerk showed a look of admiration; she whispered, "Our shop has never had this many bloodsucking weapons before. These three bloodsucking weapons have complicated origins. Had you come a day earlier, you wouldn't have seen them."

Bloodsucking weapons, a category apart within magic weapons, could only unleash their power in the hands of the Blood Clan. Ordinary people couldn't use them—indeed, they would have their life essence drawn by the weapon. Besides collectors, almost no one was interested in bloodsucking weapons, and the clerk was very eager to sell them, the commission from selling one extraordinary weapon being substantial enough for her to stretch some rules, adding some extra "implications" while selling.

Charles pretended not to notice, having no interest in such low-level "implications."

Another bloodsucking weapon was a rapier, of much higher quality than the dagger, crafted by the Bellos Family.

Charles slowly drew it out, appraised it with a few words, and put it down again. He already had the Blood Rose, so he did not particularly need the Vampiric Rapier, especially since the Bellos Family was not renowned for their swordsmanship, and the quality of their rapiers was mediocre.

The third vampire weapon was a short handgun.

The Blood Clan especially liked to use rapiers and handguns as weapons, having produced over a dozen famed handguns and three rapiers that had ranked among the top ten in the world.

Although Julian had mentioned that Byron had developed a super long-range repeating alchemical rifle, he had never seen the Blood Clan's extraordinary firearms.

This handgun was not mass-produced, exhibiting master-level craftsmanship in its finish,

Charles also did not know the origin of this bloodsucking weapon.

As he was pondering about this weapon, a hearty voice came from outside, "So it's Mr. Qian Nan, what brings you to my humble store?"

Julian Asilo walked into the VIP room, gave Charles a big hug, causing the young female shop assistant to wear a complicated expression.

This young gentleman knew the owner personally, clearly a highly esteemed guest. However, since the boss himself had come out to greet him, she guessed that her expected commission would probably fall through.

The young female shop assistant tactfully stepped aside, which was part of the training for employees at the store belonging to the old gentleman: clever, obedient, knowing when to advance or retreat, understanding when to remain silent.

Charles was genuinely shocked, a significance that was indeed extraordinary. He inquired in astonishment, "How do you have property in Notruden?"

Julian smiled and said, "Let's talk on the fifth floor, it's not convenient here."

He led Charles up to the fifth floor, entering an obviously very private and luxurious office, before he finally spoke lightly, "My surname is Asilo, a descendant of the three Blood Clan emperors. Owning several properties abroad, isn't that a common occurrence?"

Charles felt it was somewhat incredulous, and keenly sensed something different about Julian. His demeanor had undergone a radical transformation and no longer carried the naive innocence of their first encounter.

He found a sofa to sit on, and Julian casually handed him a cup of black tea, yet remained silent.

The room quietened down, and the atmosphere turned slightly odd for a moment.

Charles slowly sipped the black tea, noticing it did not contain blood bait. He smiled faintly, put down the teacup, and said, "Allow me to reintroduce myself: Supreme Commander of Lucavaro District Patrolling Army, Westwind Knights' Commander, Head of Lucavaro District Administration Bureau, the Fars Empire's Emissary to Inglima Empire with Full War Powers, 28th Rank Deputy Chief Administrative Officer, Charles Mecklen!"

A smile slowly spread across Julian's face as he said, "Julian Asilo, freshman at Heidelberg University. Before departing for Fars, I was just promoted to 24th Rank First-Level Warrant Officer."

"Senior! It's my first foray, and I still carry a bit of naiveté. You truly gave me a substantial lesson!"

Charles had deceived Julian, and there were no good intentions toward this Byron youth, but after all, he was a transmigrator, and transmigrators have thick skins. With a flush of embarrassment, Charles said, "War and lies, indeed, are the greatest tests of character. It's only been a few days! You've grown from a clueless youth into a qualified man."

"Congratulations!"

Julian also poured himself a cup of black tea, speaking leisurely, "I always thought my life's first deception would come from a beautiful older sister."

"Yet I never expected to be preempted by a devious senior."