Chapter Eighty: Business

“Business?” Rednor looked puzzled. How could the grand Ancient Saint Priest engage in business with a small mercenary group like his? “Haha, Your Highness, how could we possibly do business with you? Just tell me what you need.”

“Praise the Goddess of Life!” Chu Tian said solemnly. “How could I take advantage of you? You work hard to earn your money. By the way, how much does your mercenary group make annually?”

“Well…” Just like on Earth, the annual income of a mercenary group is a closely guarded secret. Rednor was reluctant to say, but Chu Tian’s intense gaze left him no choice. “Your Highness, it’s about one million gold coins.”

“One million? That little?” Chu Tian looked disappointed, but a million was indeed a modest sum for him. The young master Chu could barely keep track of his own earnings—smuggling drugs and magical beasts, monopolizing the empire’s pharmaceutical industry, and even running a magical beast hospital. These were all highly profitable ventures, so Chu Tian had never bothered to calculate his exact annual income. But it was definitely far more than a million.

“Heh, it’s not much nowadays. Mercenary work isn’t as lucrative as it used to be,” Rednor said, taken aback by Chu Tian’s indifferent expression. Few on the continent would treat a million gold coins so casually.

“So, how many men does your mercenary group have? And what’s your strength?” Chu Tian probed further, “How many high-level magical beasts do you have?”

Mentioning his mercenary group made Rednor proud. Under his leadership, the Earth Dragon Mercenary Group had grown from a few hundred men into one of the empire’s top three mercenary groups—a feat that had taken considerable effort.

“We have 30,000 members, with headquarters in Pompeii City. We have branches in the main countries of the continent. The core experts include me as the leader, a few level-seven elites, and when it comes to magical beasts, my strongest is my pet—an eight-level sub-dragon beast, the Earth Dragon…”

“I heard your mercenary group ranks in the top three in the empire; where do you stand on the continent?” Chu Tian was a bit skeptical. Could such strength really place them among the top three?

“About twentieth on the continent,” Rednor admitted somewhat dejectedly. The Earth Dragon Mercenary Group’s lower continental ranking wasn’t due to his lack of ability, but because of the Caesar Empire’s policies. Although Caesar valued military power, it concentrated royal authority and strictly controlled civilian armed forces. Even dukes like Chu Tian only commanded 3,000 guards, and nobles with territories could only raise private armies of under 10,000.

If nobles faced such restrictions, mercenary groups—being civilian organizations—were even more constrained. In fact, Earth Dragon Mercenary Group’s annual income far exceeded one million gold coins, but to maintain a force of 30,000, most earnings were used to appease Caesar’s officials.

Having grasped the basics of the Earth Dragon Mercenary Group, Chu Tian narrowed his eyes and began discussing business. “I want to invest in your mercenary group. How about it?”

Praise the Goddess of Life! Although the empire strictly controlled noble private armies, nobles were not fools; they naturally sought ways to strengthen their power. Hiring mercenary groups was the best option. Besides the various guilds, mercenary groups were the only form of civilian armed force legally permitted by the empire, so many had secret noble backers.

Chu Tian had been in the Illusion Beast Continent for some time and was well aware of this. A mercenary group that could make money regularly and fight when needed was exactly what he wanted. Previously, he hesitated, fearing it might arouse King Ludi III’s suspicion. But now, with his interests intertwined with Ludi III’s, the emperor would turn a blind eye to Chu Tian’s power enhancements. After all, the stronger Chu Tian became, the more it benefited Ludi III, as long as Chu Tian didn’t threaten the royal family.

“Your Highness, you want to absorb our Earth Dragon Mercenary Group?” Rednor’s face changed. Although he knew the other two top mercenary groups had long become private armies of nobles, and he probably could not escape the same fate, he could not accept handing over years of hard work. “Your Highness, I cannot agree to that!”

“No, no.” Chu Tian shook his head and smiled warmly. “It’s not absorption, it’s cooperation!”

Then, before Rednor could speak, Chu Tian stopped him and continued, “I will give your mercenary group five million gold coins annually, along with sufficient magical beasts and equipment. Moreover, I will not interfere with your management—this mercenary group will still be yours!”

“What do you want us to do then?” Rednor was tempted. Absorption was out of the question; he would fight to the death to resist. But cooperation was worth considering. The offer was generous, and Chu Tian promised not to take over leadership. If cooperation failed, there were still thousands of Caesar’s Iron Cavalry outside his headquarters threatening him!

Weighing the benefits, only one question remained: what did Chu Tian want?

“Gather intelligence for me, and fight for me when I need it,” Chu Tian said slowly. “Of course, I won’t ask you to oppose any nation.”

“Alright, I personally agree.” Rednor had no choice. Chu Tian’s demands were reasonable and within his ability, and with the lure of gold and the threat of the Iron Cavalry, cooperation was his best option. “Also, we have to pay officials and nobles every year…”

“That’s easy,” Chu Tian interrupted before Rednor finished. “From now on, as long as you don’t threaten the empire, no one will trouble you.”

“I need to discuss with my men first. Can I give you an answer later?” After all, the group wasn’t Rednor’s alone; he had tens of thousands of members to consider.

“No problem!” Chu Tian gestured for Rednor to leave. Watching his back, Chu Tian smiled slyly.

In truth, today’s plan was a spur-of-the-moment idea. Initially, Chu Tian only wanted to help Xiao Bai vent his anger but never expected it to escalate this far. He had managed to manipulate a major mercenary group. Whether Rednor agreed was obvious—he had to. Agreeing meant having Chu Tian’s backing, and refusing meant offending the Ancient Saint Priest, the empire’s chief court priest—a grave consequence.

Sure enough, not long after, Rednor returned carrying a contract. “Your Highness, the members have all agreed. Please review this contract…”

“Excellent!” Chu Tian glanced at the contract, bit his finger, and dripped several drops of blood onto it. “Ha ha, it’s settled!”

“Your Highness… your…” Rednor’s eyes widened in shock as he watched Chu Tian’s wound instantly heal, and the golden blood on the contract shimmered dazzlingly.

“Knowing too much isn’t good for you,” Chu Tian said with a shake of his head and a smile. “Now, let’s discuss the specifics of our cooperation…” As they talked, Chu Tian chuckled inwardly. Who would have thought the Dragon Emperor’s blood could be so intimidating? Just the color of his blood would surely earn him loyal followers!

Once all matters with Rednor were settled, Chu Tian happily departed. He intended to absorb the entire Earth Dragon Mercenary Group eventually but knew he couldn’t rush. The first step—cooperation—was achieved. Next, he planned to pressure Rednor, showing him how wise it was to join forces.

How to apply pressure? Simple! Let the mercenary groups controlled by the Pampas family compete with the Earth Dragon Mercenary Group for business…

——————————————————————————————

One problem after another arose. Chu Tian hadn’t rested for long when a new trouble emerged, this time threatening his prestige directly!

The empire’s warhorses were sick again, and this time it was worse. Rumors spread in the capital that the last treatment by the Vladino Saint Priest had failed, worsening the condition of the unicorns.

Fortunately, the commander of the warhorse camp in Pompeii was attentive. After Chu Tian had cured the warhorses previously, the commander had asked him for advice. So when the illness appeared this time, he immediately isolated the sick horses, preventing a widespread outbreak. Still, Chu Tian could not accept this—how dare anyone doubt his medical skills? It was outrageous!

In the Pompeii warhorse camp, Chu Tian frowned as he examined the horses, with Kanas standing beside him. The war was imminent, and as one of the empire’s five great generals and the only one stationed in the capital, Kanas was responsible for gathering and maintaining war supplies.

“Vladino, these horses seem to be showing symptoms similar to what Chiyan had last time,” Kanas said.

“Chiyan? The time she was injured by the Golden Bimon Beast?” Chu Tian had only known that Chiyan had bruises from the Bimon Beast but not the details of her injury.

“Yes. Though she looked fine externally, she said she was physically weak before the battle, much like these horses. That’s why she was wounded by those four Bimon Beasts.”

Physically weak? Chu Tian racked his brain but couldn’t recall any disease that weakened reptilian physiology. The warhorses puzzled him: although their symptoms resembled foot-and-mouth disease, they displayed an additional symptom that disease did not—limb weakness.

While foot-and-mouth disease could weaken animals, it never caused such severe limb paralysis as seen in these unicorns.

Moreover, Chu Tian’s biggest doubt was that he had treated foot-and-mouth disease before, which only affected cloven-hoofed animals. Unicorns, with their round hooves, could never contract it.

Though Chu Tian had miraculously cured 100,000 warhorses before, it was more luck than skill. Now these horses were sick again, with symptoms beyond known veterinary knowledge. Despite this, Chu Tian had to cure the unicorns; otherwise, his reputation as a level-nine Saint Priest would be ruined, and he would no longer be useful to Ludi III…

[Chapter 80: Business — The fastest updates at NineCool Literature]