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Chapter 359: The Not-So-Simple Elder Sister
🕑 Added 2024-10-30 11:01:01 +0000 UTCSubaru originally thought that after Wood pointed out the flaws in his battle strategy, he would mock him, thus undermining his credibility within the team.
However, much to his surprise, even though Wood had indeed highlighted the weaknesses in Subaru's plan, he did not take the opportunity to ridicule him. Instead, he supported Subaru's plan and even offered a solution to the problem he had mentioned.
"Given the current state of our faction, financial support is essential if we want to secure victory. Therefore, I am in favor of trading and commerce."
"As for the logistics, like intelligence gathering on products in various cities and ensuring safety, I have a way to find people who can help."
"Of course, these people are not likely to work for free. Since we currently lack sufficient funds to pay them outright, I suggest offering them around half of the stock in shares as compensation."
The people Wood was referring to were, naturally, members of the underground assassin organization that he had already taken control of.
The underground assassin organization, originally focused on assassination jobs, had begun diversifying into intelligence, bounty hunting, and escort missions under Wood's influence.
For the time being, the core business of assassination could not be entirely abandoned; otherwise, the organization would struggle to maintain itself.
But ever since Wood became a Royal Guard knight, he had been planning to use his aristocratic connections to help the assassin organization transform itself into something more elite.
Simply put, Wood's assassin organization would only take on high-end contracts in the future, such as missions involving the assassination of nobles or wealthy individuals.
Of course, higher-tier contracts also meant greater risks, and not every member of the assassin organization would be up to the task.
This left many lower-tier members of the organization without regular jobs.
Instead of abandoning these lower-level operatives entirely, Wood found a new purpose for them—turning them into intelligence agents. Thanks to their network of contacts, they had been quite successful in their new role. Gathering information on commodity prices and ideal routes between cities was no longer a difficult task for them.
Moreover, while these members might lack combat skills compared to elite assassins, they were still far more experienced than average guards or common folk, making them perfect candidates to serve as caravan escorts.
"We don't need to pay any upfront costs; we just have to promise them a share of the future profits, and you'll be able to find such a group of people?"
Subaru's expression was filled with amazement after hearing Wood's words. It wasn't that the share of half the profits seemed too high—it was more that Subaru was bewildered as to where Wood would find such agreeable individuals.
After all, their plans for commercial trade were still in their infancy. Subaru had experience with similar scenarios in games and was confident about the general idea. However, to others, they were simply newbie merchants—why would anyone invest in them when they had no experience or reputation?
"You don't need to worry about that," Wood replied calmly. "I'll bring in a reliable team. As for how to maximize profits from trading and negotiating with other merchants, that will be your area of expertise."
Even though Subaru had no idea whether the people Wood planned to bring in were reliable or not, he still accepted the task. His reasoning was simple—with the goddess Emilia watching, how could a man say he wasn't up to the challenge?
Besides, Wood had already done so much. If Subaru didn't make an effort to catch up, he would be nothing more than a bystander.
Of course, there was another key factor—Subaru wasn't afraid of the dangers involved. Even if he ended up dying due to bad luck, his ability, "Return by Death," would simply reset time.
While Emilia's faction was finalizing their strategy, the core members of Anastasia's faction were also holding a strategy meeting in a lavish room at a luxury hotel.
If one looked closely, it would become apparent that besides Anastasia and her knight Julius, all the other core members of her faction were demi-humans.
Demi-humans referred to humanoid races, and the demi-humans in Anastasia's faction were primarily beastmen.
There were four demi-humans present. One was a canine beastman over two meters tall, with dark brown fur and a wolf-like face. The other three were small feline beastmen, each barely reaching Anastasia's waist, and all three were rare triplets.
The two-meter-tall canine beastman was named Ricardo Welkin, leader of Anastasia's personal mercenary group, "Iron Fangs."
Like Anastasia, Ricardo had no divine protection and no magic, but his formidable physique and beastly combat instincts made him a force to be reckoned with.
In fact, he had once challenged Julius out of dissatisfaction, and their duel had ended in a draw.
Of course, that was largely because Julius had held back. Still, the "Finest Knight" acknowledged that Ricardo's abilities were among the best, even within the Royal Guard.
Ricardo had known Anastasia and Wood since their childhood in Kararagi. As he had taken care of them from a young age, he was more like a non-blood-related father to them.
As for the feline triplets, they were named Mimi, Hetaro, and Tivey Pearlbaton.
Mimi, the eldest sister, was carefree and cheerful. The second brother, Hetaro, was serious and level-headed, while the youngest brother, Tivey, was smart but stubborn and acted mature beyond his years.
The three had been abandoned in the wilderness by their parents when they were born, only to be found and taken in by Wood and brought to the Hoshin Trading Company.
For Mimi and her siblings, who had been abandoned as infants, the Hoshin Trading Company was their true family. Ricardo was a father figure, and Anastasia and Wood were like their sister and brother.
The triplets possessed a shared blessing called the "Trinity Blessing," which allowed them to share pain, combat injuries, and emotions among themselves.
Mimi was the strongest of the three, but her brothers often took it upon themselves to share her injuries, leading her to never fully understand what it meant to feel pain when she fell.
Although they were young, the triplets served as the vice-captains of "Iron Fangs." Thanks to their combination technique known as "Resonance Wave," they could even surpass Ricardo's strength when they fought together.
In addition, besides Mimi, who had the strongest magic, Hetaro and Tivey specialized in water magic and fire magic, respectively.
During the Anastasia faction's strategy meeting, which primarily concerned the Royal Selection, a disagreement quickly arose among the core members.
Julius believed that, although Anastasia's faction was not in the weakest position, winning the throne wouldn't be easy.
Currently, among the five candidates, Crusch Karsten appeared to be the strongest contender in both influence and power.
Thus, Julius proposed that Anastasia first form an alliance with the weaker factions to eliminate Crusch, the strongest candidate, and then gradually vie for the throne afterward.
As for who they should ally with, Julius already had someone in mind—Emilia's faction.
Considering their current position, Emilia's faction was the weakest in terms of influence, wealth, and reputation. If Anastasia offered an olive branch, they would most likely accept.
Besides, Emilia's knight, Wood, was Anastasia's brother. Their natural familial connection would make the collaboration smoother.
Although Emilia's faction lacked wealth, influence, and connections, they did have considerable combat power.
If they needed to deal with someone as overpowered as Reinhard, Julius believed Wood's strength would be indispensable.
Truth be told, there was a reason why Julius was known as the "Finest Knight." Besides his formidable skills, he was also highly intelligent and had great strategic insight. His suggestion was undoubtedly the best course of action for Anastasia.
Uniting with the weak to defeat the strong, and then ultimately eliminating the weaker members to ensure their supremacy—this was a classic strategy used in warfare.
However, the key issue was that Anastasia did not want to ally with Emilia's faction. In fact, her first target was Emilia!
Her reasoning was simple. Anastasia believed that her brother Wood had been bewitched by that half-elf, Emilia, which led him to become her knight and stay by her side.
Wood might be powerful, but Emilia was a half-elf who looked exactly like the Witch of Envy—Satella. For all Anastasia knew, Wood could have fallen victim to some spell.
Ricardo argued that with Wood's strength, it would be impossible for him to fall for any enchantment, even if it came from the Witch of Envy herself.
Unfortunately, even his words failed to sway Anastasia. She was determined to act against Emilia, and Mimi, Hetaro, and Tivey shared her stance.
Mimi simply followed Anastasia's lead, agreeing that "family should be together."
Hetaro and Tivey, on the other hand, idolized Wood from a young age and had no wish to become enemies with him.
Whether Wood was under some kind of magic or not, if they eliminated Emilia, Wood's role as her protector would be meaningless.
"I think you're all crazy," Julius snapped. "Emilia's faction lacks influence and connections. If we simply leave them be, they are bound to be eliminated eventually.
"And now you want to focus on taking down the weakest faction instead of dealing with Crusch, the real threat?"
"How exactly do you plan to eliminate Emilia's faction—by force? Even if I hate to admit it, even if we all joined forces, I'm not sure we could defeat Wood."
Ricardo, Mimi, and the others made no attempt to argue against Julius's point.
Being as close as family, they understood Wood's strength very well. Ricardo had even described Wood as a "born warrior."
Though he had never encountered the Witch of Envy, Ricardo believed that Wood would not necessarily lose to someone like her. His faith in Wood's abilities spoke volumes.
"No, eliminating Emilia doesn't require direct confrontation. All it takes is using the power of public opinion..."
As Anastasia spoke, a rather malicious plan formed in her mind.
Despite Anastasia's innocent appearance, even with her childish face, she was far from an easy opponent.
Out of all five candidates for the throne, Crusch was a charismatic leader, Priscilla was a sharp-tongued tsundere, and both Emilia and Felt were naïve and innocent.
Anastasia, on the other hand, was a cunning and calculating woman, willing to take extreme measures to achieve her goals.
It wasn't surprising. Unlike the others, who had either lived comfortably or were generally naïve, Anastasia had fought her way out of poverty—she was a true survivor of the slums.
The slums were chaotic, and as a woman, without shrewdness, Anastasia could never have founded the Hoshin Trading Company or become the president of Kararagi's largest merchant association.
There were rumors that Wood had played a crucial role in her success, but in reality, Anastasia had built the Hoshin Trading Company herself, with Wood only ensuring her safety.
As a merchant, Anastasia understood the value of reputation.
Her initial idea was to use the "Iron Fangs" mercenary group to spread malicious rumors against Emilia throughout the capital.
Emilia was a half-elf who bore a striking resemblance to Satella—that alone was a severe disadvantage for her.
The populace was often ignorant, and once public sentiment began to turn, Emilia's chances of becoming the next ruler would be doomed. And all of this could be done without losing a single soldier.
Hearing Anastasia's rather cruel plan, Julius, who held himself to high moral standards as the "Finest Knight," naturally rejected such underhanded tactics.
However, Anastasia was having none of it. She argued that business was war, and that spreading rumors about one's opponent was simply part of the game. She accused Emilia of ensnaring her beloved brother, and now she wanted to retaliate.
While Anastasia and Julius were locked in a heated argument over their differences, a Hoshin Trading Company staff member suddenly rushed into the room.
"President, there's been an incident with our caravan destined for the capital!
"Not only have all the transported goods been lost, but we've also lost nearly all contact with the Iron Fangs mercenaries who were escorting it.
"According to the sole survivor, a dense fog suddenly engulfed them on their journey. Everyone—whether ground dragons or beastmen—became disoriented in the mist. It appears they encountered the Witchbeast, the 'White Whale'!"
