CHAPTER 480
Evening banquet
"What incredible speed! Did you see how he moved? "
"What a vicious attack! Don't use weapons, just crush the opponent's bones! "
There was a flurry of discussion in the palace, and a man with a green tattoo on his face was enraged. He stood up and was about to fight Xia Fei, but the old man beside him hurriedly pulled him back. "A high-rank speed ability user! You are no match for him! "
The tattooed man clenched his teeth and returned to his seat. Then, he gulped down the wine in his cup.
Though they were furious, no one dared to make a move against Xia Fei. His unpredictable speed had greatly shocked them, and anyone who wanted to make an enemy out of Xia Fei would first have to consider whether or not they could break his speed.
Xia Fei tossed the corpse aside and swept his gaze across the crowd. It's fine that he offended me, but the problem is that he didn't have enough strength, so he died.
He very calmly walked back to Constantine's side. Killing someone in Blood Candle was a common occurrence, but taking someone's life in the Imperial Palace was somewhat inappropriate. Constantine grimaced and couldn't help but worry.
This was when the little prince, Campos, stood up and pointed at Xia Fei's nose. "Father, this man killed General Lonce at the palace banquet. He should be punished!"
Campos and Constantine did not resemble each other at all. Constantine was thin and weak, while this man had a fat head and big ears. His nose was so high that it was almost reaching the sky, and the fat all over his body jiggled as he walked. His skin was dark, and his beady eyes were looking at Xia Fei with ill intentions.
Xia Fei merely glanced at him before boldly returning to the seat he had prepared for himself. He picked up a grape from the plate and stuffed it into his mouth, looking at Campos with an amused expression as if saying, 'Punish me for my crimes? You? "
The queen, on the other hand, had a good eye and realized that Xia Fei was not someone to be trifled with, so she ordered her son to sit down. Then, she smiled and whispered something into Lester's ear. The queen was just as plump as her son. It was hard to say what the King of Blood Candle saw in her that he would dote on her so much. In comparison, even Constantine's fiancée could be considered a stunning beauty.
After hearing the Queen's words, Lester said, "That's right! Lance's fault was that he wasn't strong enough. There was nothing to say even if he was killed. Guards! Drag him away! "
Very soon, some guards came in to drag the corpse away. Lars was a huge man, and it took two guards a lot of effort to lift him up. He was wobbling as he walked, but this big man was like a weak little chick in Xia Fei's hands.
The Queen smiled at Xia Fei and asked, "Region Ruler, I'm afraid that your speed has already exceeded ten thousand, yes?"
Xia Fei extended three fingers and softly said, "Thirty thousand per second."
His voice was not loud, but it was like a boulder striking everyone's heart. The speed ability was the most difficult ability to cultivate, and these warriors were well aware of what it meant for a person to break ten thousand meters per second, not to mention that Xia Fei had already reached an astonishing thirty thousand!
The tattooed man, who was unconvinced just now, broke out in a cold sweat and muttered to himself, "Luckily I didn't make a move."
The King of Blood Candle, Lester, heartily laughed and praised Xia Fei. The tension in the palace greatly eased, and everyone began to drink.
Xia Fei had been observing their reactions this entire time. He realized that the officials were divided into three factions. One faction was clearly on the Queen's side, another was on Constantine's side, and there were around thirty or forty people who were not on either side.
In terms of the number of supporters, Constantine was undoubtedly at a disadvantage. This had to do with the Queen's methods and Constantine's somewhat different personality from the ordinary people of Blood Candle. In this group of barbarians, Constantine stood out.
After exchanging some pleasantries, Xia Fei gave Constantine a look, and the latter stood up and indicated for everyone to be quiet.
"Royal Father, the Blood Candle Kingdom's production of Magnared Alloy has remained high, but sales have never been good. I've discussed it with Region Ruler Xia Fei, and he is willing to purchase large amounts of Magnared Alloy for the construction of the Terminus Star Region."
The palace was quiet. Blood Candle's greatest characteristic was its poverty. How to exchange Magnared Alloy for money had always been a worry for the entire empire. After all, that cold and hard metal could not be eaten, and the people of Blood Candle did not have the technology to use it to build weapons and warships.
It was true that the Alliance would purchase a batch of Magnared Alloy from Blood Candle every year, but the long journey to the Alliance would mean that the metal would not be cheap. The majority of merchants would only use it in a few crucial areas. For other uses, they would use the cheaper but less effective Qingtai Alloy and Tritanium Alloy instead.
This was precisely the problem with Magnared Alloy. In terms of performance, it was only thirty percent better than other alloys that could be mass-produced, but its price was several times higher. This was why its production and sales were not booming.
If Xia Fei could purchase large amounts of Magnared Alloy for construction, it would be an enormous boon to the Blood Candle Kingdom. After all, the Terminus Star Region was very close, and transportation was convenient. If he could exchange it for the food and daily necessities that Blood Candle urgently needed, it would be a great boon to the empire's development.
Of course, this was only because Xia Fei was in charge of Terminus. The local warlords before him were not much richer than the Blood Candle Kingdom. Even if they wanted to purchase large amounts of Magnared Alloy, they did not have the strength to do so.
Everyone whispered to each other and discussed spiritedly. Once this proposal came out, everyone was extremely tempted.
On the side, the queen and the young prince had very ugly expressions. Constantine had already stated that he was Xia Fei's friend, and if they reached an agreement, he would undoubtedly be credited with the greatest merit.
Although King Lester of Blood Candle was growing weaker by the day, he was not muddle-headed. He hurriedly asked, "Is this true?"
Xia Fei nodded. "It is."
Lester thought for a few moments before saying, "I wonder how much Terminus can purchase each year. Blood Candle has no less than one hundred metallurgy factories of various sizes, and the output every year is astronomical."
Xia Fei smiled. "I've already taken a look. Blood Candle's smelting factories are of varying grades, and the quality of the Magnared Alloy produced by the majority of the factories isn't very high. At best, it can only be used to build housing, and it's still far from enough to make warships. Even if I buy it, I'll have to smelt it again."
Everyone nodded. Blood Candle was a barbaric enclave, and its technology was relatively backward. Thus, not every smelting factory's technology was up to par. In any case, they had plenty of Magnared Ore, so the people of Blood Candle sold the high-grade alloy to the Alliance while the low-grade alloy was used to build houses and walls.
Lester slightly frowned. He realized that Xia Fei seemed to look down on low-grade alloy and believed that he was just like the Alliance, buying a small batch every year for critical purposes.
Xia Fei cleared his throat and sternly said, "However, even the low-grade alloy is made from Magnared Ore. No matter how much Blood Candle has, I will buy them all. Even if you tear down the walls and the ground, it's not a big deal.
"In short, the question isn't how much I want, but how much you have!"
These bold words left everyone stunned. Did the Blood Candle Kingdom have a lot of Magnared Alloy? Of course they had a lot! If they could build walls with this alloy, how could they not have a lot of it?
Lester began to cough violently in his excitement. The queen hurriedly brought over some tissues and looked uneasily at Xia Fei.
"Region Ruler, the price of Magnared Alloy isn't cheap," the queen softly said.
Xia Fei raised an eyebrow and smiled. "This is the Death Trio Star Region, after all. Aside from food and weapons, even human lives are cheap. If the queen wishes to sell Magnared Alloy at the same price as the Alliance, you'd better find someone else."
Xia Fei retreated in order to advance, causing everyone to complain about the queen, blaming her for being too greedy. It was not like that mountain of alloy could be eaten. As long as someone wanted it, what was the point of keeping it around instead of selling it?
The people of Blood Candle had never been good at scheming. It was common for a bottle of strong alcohol to be exchanged for a virgin, and no one cared about the metal that could not be eaten or drunk.
"Get out of my way!" Lester pushed away the queen, who was massaging his back, and rudely said, "Women shouldn't interfere in the affairs of men!"
The queen's eyes reddened at Lester's words, and she ran away in tears. Lester angrily cursed, "Blabbermouth." There was no hint of remorse. The young prince's face was ashen, and his gaze toward Xia Fei and Constantine became even more venomous.
"Ignore her. In Blood Candle, it's always the men who call the shots. Other than tossing and turning on the bed, women are nothing!"
Laughter came from the palace. Lester's words were well received by the officials, and they all shared the same opinion as their king.
"This is a major matter. Let's find another time to discuss it."
Xia Fei smiled. "I have a habit of not casually trusting others, but once I do, I won't hold back. Constantine is my friend, and I've already given him full authority to handle this matter. He's also your son, so I trust that you won't have any objections, right?"
Everyone was utterly shocked. Xia Fei had so easily handed over the most important matter to the people of Blood Candle to Constantine. Even the ministers who usually looked down on this eccentric prince had to look up to him. After all, controlling the empire's largest trade route was equivalent to controlling the entire economic lifeline.
These ministers each controlled one or two metallurgy factories of various sizes, or at least had a stake in one of them. They were all thinking about how to curry favor with Constantine and get a good price for their goods.
Constantine gave Xia Fei a grateful look. Just a few words from Xia Fei had raised him to the most sought-after person in the empire. This was truly a great gift.
"As long as you can trust him, why can't I?" Lester heartily laughed. "Son, the Region Ruler is so forthright, so we of Blood Candle must also be a little more magnanimous. I order you to be fully responsible for the trade with the Terminus Star Region. Don't let others say that we of Blood Candle aren't generous enough."
Constantine nodded in agreement. Having obtained the trust of Xia Fei and his father, Constantine was in high spirits. The ministers and generals in the distance all raised their cups to him, none of them showing any disrespect.
The people of Blood Candle were naturally very happy to be able to sell the Magnared Alloy they had accumulated for many years in exchange for wine. Xia Fei found the banquet to be too noisy, so he excused himself by saying that he was tired.
"Haha, Constantine has his sights set on the throne, so in order to obtain your support, he'll definitely think of a way to lower the price as low as possible. You don't even need to move your mouth; you can just sit there and collect the alloy. You've profited from this business," Phantom said with a smile. Phantom chuckled. "You've done quite a favor this time. If Constantine ascends to the throne, he'll definitely listen to your every word. When the time comes, Terminus' first vassal faction will definitely be Blood Candle."
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