Extraordinary Rise: Starting Contract with the Silver Dragon Countess

Chapter 133 Borrowing chickens to lay eggs? No, stealing chickens to lay eggs! (Happy National Day xdm!)
(Thanks to "Snow White Bun" for the tip, thank you boss!)
Windsard gently took Cohen's arm, smiled gently, and said to Moro and the others:

"Welcome, I hope you will have a wonderful memory tonight."

Manager Morrow exclaimed:

"Beautiful lady, your peerless beauty is definitely one that stands out even among the elves, who are known for their outstanding appearance."

Windsordler smiled implicitly and said:
"Manager Moreau, you're so polite. Could you please introduce the guests arriving tonight to me and my husband?"

Manager Moro nodded and said:
"This is my duty, beautiful elf lady."

He glanced at Cohen next to Windsardler. The young man was still wearing a mask and no special expression could be seen.

He suppressed his emotions and introduced them to Cohen and the other man one by one.

He first pointed to the middle-aged man dressed as a priest:

"This is the Archbishop of the 'Fallen Church', Bishop Ino Firks."

——Religious leaders.

Then he pointed at the young man in the black leather jacket:
"Liman Taiwo's family is in the financial business and controls several banks and chambers of commerce in the 'Oasis of Order'."

——Big chaebol.

Next came a tall, middle-aged man with a stiff face.

"Ryder Gallo, formerly a staff member of the Blood Lord, responsible for intelligence work."

——A veteran intelligence officer.

The next one was an old-fashioned gentleman who was obviously much older than everyone else.

"Precito Solari is a descendant of an old family from the 'Land of the Lost', and his family's origins can be traced back to when the 'Land of the Lost' was first established.

The family owns a large amount of land, castles and other assets, and has deep roots in gambling, winemaking, engineering construction and other fields.

It's no exaggeration to say that the Solari family has made a significant contribution to the development of the Cultivator City-State into its current size."

——A great nobleman in reality.

Finally, there is the fair-skinned young man who covets Windsordale:
"Demp Nilsson, his family is in the arms business.

Well, Ivan Petrov, the one you chased away, was able to equip a 'regular-level' security force thanks to the support of the Nelson family."

——Arms dealer.

Moro finished his introduction and hadn't even caught his breath.

Damp Nelson immediately stepped forward, extended his hand toward Windsardler, and said:

"Beautiful Elf Lady, may I have the honor of learning your name?"

Windsardelle's lips curled slightly, revealing a smile, but his eyes didn't move at all. His eyes were very cold, revealing an unmistakable sense of alienation. He said his name calmly:
"Windsandler Windrunner."

When the name came out, Danpu was stunned for a moment, and then seemed to think of something. His mouth was slightly open, as if he had been splashed with a basin of cold water, and he froze in place.

The expressions of the people behind him also changed slightly.

They may not have heard of the name Windsordler, but they definitely know the surname Wind Walker!
The royal surname of the Winged Elves, the most martial and influential of the elves!
Damp is just lustful, not a fool.

As the third heir to the Nelson family, a famous arms dealer in the "Lost Land", he naturally knew what the surname "Wind Walker" meant.

For these elves who can live in the sky, the "Lost Land" does not impose many restrictions on them.

Therefore, the Winged Elves and the Dragons are tacitly regarded by the "Lost Land" as two races that should not be easily provoked.

For a moment, Cohen's identity became even more mysterious.

This man could take a daughter of a royal family of winged elves as his lover. Could he be the illegitimate son of a god?

Danpu still has self-knowledge. He is confident that he can defeat an ordinary elf, but a royal family of winged elves is not something that someone of his level is qualified to pursue.

He withdrew his hand awkwardly, a complicated look on his face.

Cohen then spoke slowly:
"It's an honor to meet you all. Please take your seats. Let's start with the sumptuous dinner and then talk business!"

……

There is a secret room built on the side of the inner hall. Grace, Asuna and others are observing the scene in the banquet hall through a magic circle.

When Moreau and his group of six passed through the archway, a mirror in Grace's hand clearly showed that these people had items that responded to supernatural powers.

After Moro introduced everyone's identities to Cohen, Grace said to Freya, who was holding a pen and paper:

"Miss Secretary, please remember what I said."

Freya showed a serious expression on her face and said:

"Okay, Sister Grace."

Grace began to speak one by one:

"The brooch worn by Bishop Ino Felix on his chest is a legendary magical equipment, disposable, and can instantly deliver a legendary attack.

It should be the 'Knuckle of the Hatred'. This thing actually spread to the 'Lost Land'!"

"That person's called Liman Taiwo. He has a teleportation scroll in his arms. Hmm... judging by the energy response, it can probably break through the Legendary blockade."

"Reid Gallo, this old intelligence officer only has a sword on him, which is a gold-level magic equipment. However, he himself has reached the peak of the seventh level and is the only gold-level among the six."

"Precito Solari, tsk tsk, this oldest comrade is the most afraid of death. Let me see, there are two pieces of legendary protective equipment. This one looks like a replica of the 'Titan Armor', and the other one should be the 'Dragon Scale Belt'.

Well, the rest are some gold-level weapons and equipment."

"Demp Nilsson, this guy has a legendary 'Explosive Crystal' on him. Seriously, is he planning to die together?"

Freya wrote furiously, writing down every word Grace said.

There was admiration in her eyes:
"Sister Grace is amazing. She knows so many extraordinary equipments."

Grace waved her hand:

“Not as good as your master, well, you can ask Nephthys to tell him the information.

Aside from Liman Taiwo, who possesses the teleportation scroll, there's no need to worry too much about the others."

The "Insight" in Nephthys's hand emitted a faint light, and she established a mental channel with Cohen, telling him what Grace had said.

Cohen was chatting politely with Manager Moro. When he heard Nephthys's thoughts, his eyebrows relaxed slightly and he glanced inconspicuously at Liman Taiwo, who had the teleportation scroll.

She still kept the same smile on her face, but quietly paid more attention to the young master of the wealthy family.

Windsordler also maintained a polite smile throughout the whole process, clinked glasses lightly with everyone, and exchanged a few words with them.

Damp Nelson, who had originally had some thoughts about Windsardler, immediately gave up the idea and looked much more well-behaved after learning of Windsardler's true identity.

It was a grand dinner where both the host and the guests had a great time and seemed to be enjoying themselves, as if the friendship between the two sides had been further deepened.

Finally, after the banquet, Manager Morrow took the lead in expressing the main purpose of tonight's visit:

"Mr. and Madam, we are here today to discuss the future development of the Cultivator City-State.

Although we are not Sequencers, nor are we the original residents of the "City of Cultivators", we have lived here for so long that we have developed deep feelings for it.

Therefore, we are willing to contribute to the future development of the city-state and hope that you two can provide us with such an opportunity."

Cohen slowly put down his wine glass, his voice expressing neither joy nor anger.
"I have sensed your enthusiasm and genuine concern for the city-state, and to be honest, I am deeply moved."

Then, Cohen changed the subject and said:
"But I'm a newcomer after all, and I don't have a clear understanding of your abilities. I don't know how to provide you with such an opportunity."

Moro smiled and said:
"We were inconsiderate. How about this? Let's each briefly report to you two on the contributions we can make to the city-state?
Of course, we are talking about our previous cooperation with the Petrov family. I hope Mr. Headmaster doesn't mind.

Cohen raised his glass from a distance:

"Manager Morrow, you're too polite. Please get started."

Moro exchanged glances with the other five people and said:
"I'm in charge of the 'potions' business.

Therefore, in my previous cooperation with the Petrov family, I provided their direct family members with potion materials worth 100,000 gold coins every year free of charge."

Manager Morrow paused, glanced at Cohen, and continued:

"In exchange, all the potions in the Cultivator City must be supplied by our family!
The 'City of Farmers' must also leave a sufficient share of the grain produced each year for our Chamber of Commerce."

Cohen's eyes darkened and he asked softly:
"I haven't asked Mr. Moreau yet..."

Moro straightened up slightly, with a hint of arrogance on his face, and said:

"Continental Manager of 'Unicorn Trading Company', responsible for the mysterious continent of 'Lord of Sequence'!"

"Unicorn Trading Company" is one of the five major trading companies in the "Lost Land". Its influence is spread across the five oases. The president of the trading company is a legendary strongman, and his mount is a legendary unicorn. He is very powerful.

Cohen's face remained calm as he continued to ask:
"An annual potion quota of 100,000 gold coins is indeed an attractive condition. However, as you can see, my demand for potions doesn't seem to be that great."

Manager Moro regained his gentle smile and said:
"Besides potions, our Unicorn Company also specializes in other businesses, such as magic crystals, rare metals, luxury goods, and logistics. As long as you need something, we can provide you with 10... No, I'll make the decision. I'll provide Mr. Leader with a free credit of 200,000 per year!"

The title of Windsardler Windrunner made Manager Moreau decide to give the other party a little more benefits.

When Cohen heard the word "logistics and transportation", his eyes moved slightly and he instantly became interested.

He did not forget his main mission in the "Lost Land", which was to cooperate with the "Pale Wings" to complete the establishment of a cross-racial trade route with the dwarves.

If we can make use of the local logistics routes of the "Lost Land", the resistance and difficulties encountered will be much smaller.

The prerequisite is that the other party must be absolutely reliable and will not leak information about this trade route to outsiders.

Cohen's tone was filled with emotion as he said slowly:

"Manager Morrow, I'm deeply touched by your generosity. In exchange, what kind of conveniences do I need to provide for Unicorn Trading Company?"

Manager Morrow's smile widened as he said:
"Just make the same promise as the Petrov family. I believe this condition is not difficult to fulfill."

Cohen nodded slightly and said:

"These are indeed very generous terms. I will seriously consider your proposal. Thank you, Manager Morrow." Faced with Cohen's ambiguous statement, Manager Morrow seemed dissatisfied, but he still managed his expression well and said gently:
"Okay, I look forward to collaborating with you."

The next person to speak was the Archbishop of the "Fallen Church", Bishop Ino Firkos.

The doctrine of the "Fallen Church" is that "blood is the key to open the door to fallen power, and every drop of blood shed will be exchanged for the favor of the fallen god."

They often gain power through dark rituals and bloody sacrifices.

It advocates that the unlimited expansion and satisfaction of personal desires is the ultimate goal of life, and believes that the world's wealth, power and pleasure should be obtained by church members by any means necessary.

Everything should be done to satisfy one's own desires, without having to consider the pain and needs of others, and others should be considered as just a stepping stone to self-realization.

This kind of value system that denies traditional concepts of good and evil and has extremely distorted moral ethics is expressly prohibited in all countries on the human continent.

Because of the special existence of the "Lost Land" itself, the "Fallen Church" has a large market here and is considered one of the top-ranked churches.

Bishop Filkers smiled sweetly and said:

“Our church has nothing but a lot of people.

The peasants and slaves in the hands of the Petrov family were all provided by us.

Many of his tenants, including hired workers, have signed soul agreements with our church.

The Petrov family has been using it for free.

As long as you are willing to continue to cooperate with us, we will transfer these tenants and hired workers to you free of charge.

All we need is your consent for our church to continue preaching in the city.

Of course, due to the deep misunderstanding and prejudice of a small group of people towards our church, bad things often happen, so we need the privilege of establishing a team of temple warriors. I hope Your Excellency will agree."

Felker's words were cryptic, but Cohen understood the threat in them.

If we cooperate well, everything will be easy.

If Cohen is unwilling, then the farmers and workers who have signed a soul agreement with the "Fallen Church" will leave the "City-State of Farmers".

By then, a good cook would be powerless without rice. Even if Cohen was very capable, he would not be able to find enough people to grow crops in a short period of time. If he could not provide enough food in time, the "City-State of Farmers" would lose its function.

By then, other forces will inevitably come to interfere with Cohen's city-state.

As for the last condition, it was in response to the one announced at the daytime meeting, which was to disband all armed forces in the city-state.

Cohen remained expressionless, but he had a deeper understanding of the power of this church.

No wonder the Petrov family, despite such a brutal rule, was able to stand for a hundred years in the "City-State of Farmers".

With such an organization that provides them with a steady supply of free labor, they can still successfully complete the food supply task no matter how much opposition there is from below.

Cohen said slowly:

"A good suggestion. If necessary, I would be happy to see the 'Fallen God' continue to spread his glory in the 'Cultivator City-State'."

Bishop Firks frowned slightly and said:
"Mr. Leader, you will see sooner or later that our church will always be your closest and most trustworthy friend."

Bishop Filkus finished speaking, and the next person to come was Liman Taiwo, who came from a wealthy family.

Liman Taiwo was a very humble young man. He saluted respectfully to Cohen and the others and said:
“Our Taiwo family can provide a considerable interest-free loan for the development of the city-state.

As long as the captain is willing to deposit the salaries of all the people in the entire city-state into the bank under our Taiwo.

In addition, if you, including every resident of the city-state, need financing or loans in the future, I hope that our Taiwo family's bank will be your first choice."

An underground money lender that offers usury?
Cohen's face showed an inexplicable emotion, and he nodded slowly:
"Mr. Taiwo, I sincerely admire your family's strong financial resources. You will get what you want."

Liman Taiwo's face showed no joy or frustration, he just nodded calmly:
"I look forward to working with you."

Next came the stiff-faced old intelligence officer, Ryder Gallo.

His voice was oddly hoarse, and he spoke directly:
"I can provide you with detailed intelligence on the various factions in the Lost Land, including negotiations with some of them. I can also help mediate.

You can think of me as a middleman, a power broker, an information dealer, whatever you want to call me.

I only want one thing: 10% of the annual profits of the Cultivator City-State."

Cohen raised his eyebrows slightly, and his voice was inarticulate:
"A very fair exchange. You are indeed an excellent intelligence officer."

Next came the oldest and most established gentleman among them, Precito Solari.

Preshito spoke in a genuine aristocratic accent:

“As long as Your Excellency is willing to hand over all construction projects in the city-state to our Solari family, you will gain our friendship.

This friendship is enough to ensure that if you have conflicts with other forces in the future, the Solari family will help you mediate.

The power I'm referring to here is at least the high-level 'Order City-State' power."

Preshito paused, then added:
“By the way, there was once a slave in our family who was expelled. I heard that he is now working under the captain.

If it is convenient, I hope you can let me handle him."

Cohen's expression changed slightly, and he asked:
"I wonder who this Mr. Solari is talking about?"

Precito Solari said:
"Dennis Robinson, oh, I heard that many people call him 'the vegetable farmer' now."

Cohen remained calm and nodded calmly:
"A nobody, and if all goes well you'll get him."

Finally, there was the pale-faced Demp Nilsson.

Danpu's conditions were also very direct:

"I've seen your army, and its combat effectiveness is quite good, but its numbers are a bit small.

If you still have similar sources of troops, I can provide you with weapons and equipment for 30,000 people, all of which can reach the standard equipment of a "conventional-level" army.

In return, the commander of this army will be decided by our two parties through consultation."

Hearing this, Cohen asked with great interest:
"The security forces between Ivan and Ivan were also established with your support, right? Was the commander of the security forces also agreed upon by the two parties?"

At this point, a hint of embarrassment flashed across Danpu's face, and he quickly said:

"We had originally discussed this, but then... cough cough cough."

Liman Taiwo, who was not far away, gave an ambiguous smile:

"Our Master Nilsson got drunk one time and got Ivan's niece pregnant. There was no other way, so we had to compromise on the selection of the commander."

Danpu said angrily:

"That was clearly Ivan's trick! Okay, let's not dwell on these past events. Anyway, as long as Captain and Miss Elf are willing to cooperate, our Nelson family can provide you with a steady supply of arms."

The six "investors" clearly expressed their respective interests to Cohen.

Everyone's eyes were now focused on Cohen, waiting for his final decision.

Cohen silently analyzed the other party's conditions and their respective demands:

Manager Moreau's monopoly on the potion channel was equivalent to holding the lifeline of all Sequencers in the city-state;

Bishop Ino provided farmers and hired laborers, controlling the labor force within the city-state;

Liman Taiwo controlled the flow of funds and lending within the city-state;

Led Gallo was much more direct, demanding a 10% stake in the city-state;

Precito Solari was to undertake all construction projects, which meant he would control the city-state’s land and buildings;

Demp Nilsson even wants to intervene in the army and armed forces.

By this calculation, the power of the entire city-state has been divided up by them. It seems that Ivan Petrov was a poor lord here.

No wonder he wanted to climb up the line of "Chaos Demon Continent" and plan to pack up and run away.

After pondering for a while, Cohen slowly spoke:
"Regarding the transaction you proposed, I also have some ideas here and would like to discuss them with you."

Manager Moro's smile remained unchanged as he said:
"Please speak, we are happy to listen to Mr. Captain's ideas."

Cohen's voice was neither slow nor hurried, as if he was only discussing something insignificant, but the content of his words suddenly froze the atmosphere in the entire hall.

"In response to your proposal, my conditions are as follows—"

He swept his eyes over the six people's faces and said in turn:

"Manager Moro, I need the logistics route of your Unicorn Trading Company. Well, to be more precise, you need to provide me with a complete and reliable logistics route that can cross the entire Lost Land.

In other words, I must personally control this route, and you, the Unicorn Firm, are not allowed to interfere!"

"Bishop Firks, in addition to your church regularly providing me with the necessary labor, those soul contracts must be abolished!

Those who have already signed contracts should hand them over to me. The Cultivator City does not need slaves."

"Mr. Liman Taiwo, I do need a large amount of money. How about this? Your family will provide me with a loan of one million gold coins every year, with an interest rate 20% lower than the interest you provide to the five major oasis forces!"

"Mr. Ryder Gallo, I admire your intelligence capabilities. From now on, you will be responsible for providing intelligence to our Infinity Blade."

“Mr. Precito Solari, please provide me with ten engineering and construction teams, including estimators, designers, and construction teams.

I'll take care of the expenses myself."

"Mr. Damp Nilsson, please first provide the necessary equipment for 50,000 people."

As soon as the words were spoken, the expressions on the faces of the six "investors" froze, as if they had heard something funny.

Manager Moreau laughed in anger and asked:

"Mr. Captain, after all this talk, I wonder how you plan to meet the conditions we've proposed?"

Cohen smiled faintly:
"What are your conditions? Oh, I've just given it some thought, and my opinion is... no need to discuss anything!"

(End of this chapter)