In the courtyard, the sun was shining on the green lawn. On the round table under the shade of the tree, the attendants had already placed hot tea and pastries. Sitting in a chair, leisurely drinking hot tea and admiring the sparkling lake not far away, many people envied this kind of life. But how could they know that the people who could really have this kind of life were no longer in the mood to enjoy the scenery?
"Sorry to keep you waiting."
Frank interrupted Tang En's thoughts and sat down next to him.
It was the first time that Tang En had seen Frank outside. He was wearing very simple clothes, and it was impossible to tell that he was a high-ranking Grand Duke. However, after taking a closer look, Tang En found that these seemingly simple clothes were not simple at all.
The fabric was velvet, a special product imported from the Ryan Empire. It was refreshing and breathable. Because it was produced in very small quantities, it was very expensive. After being carefully sewn by artisans, this set of clothes was probably worth tens of thousands of gold coins.
Frank picked up the teacup and took a sip. He looked at the lake and said, "Baron Tang En, it is said that Ellington has been developing very well recently, and the Datang Chamber of Commerce is full of vigor and is making a lot of money every day. Why are you wasting your time here?"
Tang En raised his eyebrows. "Wasting my time? If you still have this attitude, I don't think there is any need for us to talk anymore. "
He obviously knew what was going on, but he still wanted to play dumb. What was the point?
Frank tapped the table gently. He was suppressing a burst of anger in his heart. No matter how good his self-restraint was, he had not met someone like Tang En who did not play by the rules for many years. Last time, it was fine, but this time, it was still the same …
However, he was a rogue Grand Master Mage.
Frank also wanted to win him over.
"Baron Tang En, I think there may be some misunderstanding between us."
"There is no misunderstanding, only a deal."
Tang En ignored Frank's attempt to get close to him. "I don't have time to talk nonsense with you. Let's get to the point. You sent someone to assassinate me. How do you want to solve this matter?"
Frank frowned. Did he just say it out loud? Did he want to negotiate or not?
Tang En patted the table and said casually, "Actually, if I didn't want to play by the rules of the game with you, I would have solved this problem by now."
Frank did not quite understand what Tang En meant.
However, he did not ask. Instead, he deliberated for a moment and said, "This is a misunderstanding. However, Baron Tang En, the Cadier family is happy to resolve this misunderstanding with you …"
"I'll say it again. This is not a misunderstanding. Your son wanted to assassinate me. This is the truth."
Frank's expression stiffened. Was this guy an idiot? Can't you tell that I'm trying to dilute my hatred!?
"You want me to let this matter go? Sure, show me your sincerity. You know what I'm talking about."
It seemed like there was no way to beat around the bush.
Frank took a deep breath. "Alright, what do you want?"
In a negotiation, whoever exposed their trump card first would lose. Frank wanted to know what exactly Tang En wanted.
"Awesome!"
Tang En finally smiled. "I want Winchester."
Frank was so angry that he laughed. "Baron Tang En, this joke is not funny at all!"
The Winchester Mine Fortress, or more precisely, the Winchester adamantine mine, was a vein of adamantine that belonged to the Cadier family. The Cadier family had only discovered a portion of its reserves after excavating for almost a century. It was estimated that this vein would be the largest vein of adamantine discovered in the history of the Irus Empire. Its value was immeasurable!
It could be said that the adamantine produced from the Winchester adamantine mine alone accounted for 30% of the Cadier family's total profits!
Tang En opened his mouth and wanted to dig out the Cadier family's flesh and blood. Wasn't this asking for their lives?
Tang En grinned. "Duke Frank, which do you think is more important, Winchester or the Cadier family?"
"After leaving the Cadier family, Winchester is still Winchester, but after leaving Winchester, the Cadier family might not be the Cadier family anymore."
Frank narrowed his eyes and said very coldly, "So, Baron Tang En, you better not ask for too much. Be careful of being too greedy and not being able to get what you want."
He almost blurted out the code to call for the guards several times. If it weren't for the fact that Tang En might be a Grandmaster Magician, Frank would have fallen out with him at this moment.
"Whether or not I can get what I want is my business. You don't have to worry about it."
Seeing Tang En's casual expression, Frank was in a very bad mood. As expected, he really wanted to kill him …
"That's impossible, Baron Tang En. Change your conditions. You should know that just those assassins alone can't prove anything. The value of this information is not worth the price."
"I see …"
Tang En smacked his lips. "Then I'll reluctantly accept the magic iron mine west of Preston."
Preston was located in the southeast of the Ladya Hills. It was about the same distance from Ellington as Bein. To the west of Preston, there was a medium-sized magic iron mine controlled by the Cadier family. Although it could not be compared to the Winchester adamantine mine, it was still very valuable.
"Bang!"
Frank put the teacup on the round table heavily. He stared at Tang En and said calmly, "Baron Tang En, it seems that you've been eyeing the magic metal mine of the Cadier family for a long time …"
"Ha, who in the Irus Empire doesn't know that the Cadier family and the Spade family jointly occupy 90% of the magic metal mines in the empire? The Spade family is even more exaggerated. They own more than 60% of the mines."
Tang En grinned and said, "But I've never had any dealings with the Spade family, and they didn't assassinate me. I also want the magic metal mine, so I can only come to you."
Frank said coldly, "Do you think the Cadier family is easy to bully?"
"No."
Frank's expression softened slightly.
"It is quite easy to bully."
Frank's face stiffened. He slammed the table and stood up in anger. "Tang En! Do you believe that I'll leave you here today?! "
"Oh."
Tang En said casually, "Remember to tell the cook that I don't like Alinx -flavored rice."
"What do you mean?!"
"Didn't you want me to stay for dinner? Since you're so enthusiastic, I won't refuse. "
Frank almost vomited blood. "What I mean is — I want you to leave your life here!"
"Oh, oh! I see! "
Tang En clapped his hands. "So you want to fight? You should've said so earlier! Don't be in such a hurry. Let me call Aubrey and Adrian. They must be bored out of their minds. "
Frank froze. Is this idiot's brain filled with sh * t?
He felt that his and Tang En's thoughts were two completely parallel lines. There was no possibility of them intersecting at all!
"Wait!"
Frank stopped Tang En and took a deep breath. "Change the condition. Don't even think about the magic metal mine! That's impossible! "
The Spade family occupied 60% of the magic metal mines. The Cadier family didn't have many magic metal mines to begin with. How could they give it to Tang En because of this?
The value of magic metal mines was very high. On one hand, it was because of the superior properties of magic metal, which made it an expensive war material. On the other hand, it was because the total reserves of magic metal mines that had been explored in Prandal were very small, so their value was naturally high.
Tang En tightly knit his brows. "Why is your Cadier family so stingy …"
Was this a problem of being stingy or not?
Frank almost roared out.
Could he not see the strategic significance of magic metal?
Or was he playing dumb?
"Alright, since it's like this, then just give me a few Magic Crystal mines."
Tang En revealed a very dissatisfied appearance, "Your Cadier family doesn't have many magic metal mines, but you have quite a few Magic Crystal mines, right? If you keep talking nonsense with me, I'll doubt your sincerity in this negotiation. "
Tang En didn't have any ideas about magic metal mines at all. Because of the appearance of the universal alloy, Ellington's desire for magic metal wasn't that strong. Rather, the current supply of Magic Crystals was very important for the future energy distribution.
From the beginning, Tang En's goal was the Magic Crystal mines monopolized by the Cadier family.
The consumption of Magic Crystals was very small. The main consumption on the market was the Magic Crystal Lamps, the Magic Devices used by rich people, and the consumption of various Magic Arrays. The consumption each year wasn't even a tenth of the Magic Crystal mines' output.
The remaining 90% of Prandal's Magic Crystals were all poured into the City of Silver for the magicians to use, but there was a large problem here.
The number of magicians in the City of Silver was very stable and the consumption of Magic Crystals was also very stable, so the price of Magic Crystals was also very stable. However, the City of Silver's consumption of Magic Crystals was much lower than the production of the various countries, so the supply far exceeded the demand.
Once the City of Silver stopped importing Magic Crystals, the large amount of Magic Crystals would be hard to sell. It was no use even if the price was lowered.
So, even if the potential value of the Magic Crystal mines was very high, the Cadier family still had a headache over the problem of Magic Crystal mines. The profit of all these Magic Crystal mines couldn't compare to the profit of a single magic metal mine. Every time he saw the annual report, Frank would be jealous of Mandel Spade. He must have earned a lot.
But there was no use being jealous because this was the result of the distribution of benefits between the large families after the war in the past.
The head of the Cadier family in the past, how could he have thought that fellow Jean would use his prestige to gather all the magicians to create the City of Silver? It was also because of this that the development of magic in the outside world had stagnated and the value of Magic Crystals had been greatly reduced.
Due to the disparity in vision and information, Frank did not know that his family was sitting on a huge treasure trove. After hearing Tang En's request, he did not reject it immediately. Instead, he seriously considered it and weighed the pros and cons.
"Alright."
In the end, Frank still nodded, "But the mine can't be given away for free. Although the Magic Crystal mines aren't as valuable as the magic metal mines, it is still a mine. So, give me money to buy it!"
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
