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墨書 Inktalez
“Hi, Sir Garen, nice to see you again!” Lacreto greeted enthusiastically.
In contrast, Oshuria was not so pretentious. Watching Garen walk out the door, he smiled and said, “Sir Garen, we’ve been waiting for you for quite a while.”
“Why were you waiting for me?” Garen asked.
“Well, asking that is a bit too formal. It’s quite a distance from here to the town, and my companions and I are heading back there as well. Since it’s on the way, why not go together?” Lacreto pointed to a luxurious carriage not far away.
Indeed, there was some distance from the Eastern Suburb Garden to the town, but Garen was not in a hurry to go home; he still planned to check out the Southern Suburbs.
“Thank you, but it’s no trouble.”
Garen smiled politely and turned to leave.
Watching Garen's retreating figure, Lacreto's smile gradually faded. Under normal circumstances, no one would dare ignore his invitation. Just as he raised his hand to give orders to the guards in front of the carriage, Oshuria shook his head.
Lacreto paused, realizing that Garen was a formidable Level 6 warrior; even Level 7 Volikov was no match for him, let alone the few guards accompanying him.
Just as Garen had taken a few steps, a voice came from behind.
“Sir Garen, I heard you recently purchased some land in the Southern Suburbs?”
Garen frowned and turned to look at Oshuria.
“No, no, no, don’t get me wrong. I didn’t mean anything by it!” Oshuria was startled by that gaze and quickly waved his hands. “I’ve heard from my subordinates that you seem to be starting some project but are having trouble acquiring Azure Sky Iron?”
The Golden Light Chamber of Oshuria was a large commercial guild in Blackstone Town, and now, in partnership with the Thunder Guild, it could easily grasp any changes happening in the town.
"Yes, is there a problem?" Garen admitted without hesitation.
"Here's the thing: Azure Sky Iron was originally an exclusive item sold by the Ekria Family, but due to certain reasons, their assets are temporarily under our management," Oshuria said apologetically. "I didn't expect this would cause you trouble; I truly apologize."
"What I mean is, I can give you the Azure Sky Iron. No, not sell it—give it to you."
Lacreto was somewhat surprised. Although Azure Sky Iron wasn't particularly valuable, a gift from someone like Oshuria, who didn't even inquire about the quantity, could potentially lead to significant losses.
"What are the conditions?" Garen asked after a moment of silence. To be honest, he did not believe that Oshuria, this old fox, would give him something for free, especially since the other party was a businessman.
"It seems Sir Garen is a wise man," Oshuria said, looking at Garen with appreciation. "The condition is that you join the Aurelia Alliance. Of course, we won't force you to do anything you're unwilling to do; it's just a formality. After all, a businessman can't make a losing deal; otherwise, it would sound too bad! You only need to meet us for drinks once a week. But you'll have to cover the tab!"
This statement might not mean much to others, but it was different in Lacreto's ears. His eyes brightened as he looked at Oshuria with newfound respect.
At least Oshuria's skill in winning people over far surpassed his own. After all, someone like Garen, even if he couldn't be won over, must not fall into enemy hands. Thus, even if it meant incurring losses, he had to be kept stable.
More importantly, Oshuria's words were seamless; no one could find a reason to refuse.
"I'm sorry; I'm not interested in your affairs," Garen shook his head and turned to leave.
Watching Garen's retreating figure, Lacreto was completely stunned. Not just him; even Oshuria found it hard to believe.
"Is he an idiot?" Lacreto exclaimed angrily.
"No, that just shows he is very clever," Oshuria said after a moment of silence.
The two of them were not fools; they understood Garen's intention to stay out of any power struggles.
"Are we really going to let him go like this?" Lacreto rubbed his chin. "I have some reservations."
"I'm worried too."
"Yeah, this person is too dangerous. We must find a way to control him; we cannot let anyone else get their hands on him."
Oshuria glanced at Lacreto and completed his thought.
"If we can't have him, then we should destroy him."
...
Under the command of Rookie Squad Leader, Garen didn't have to worry much about the academy side. It was said that even Dostodoro had truly blended into the atmosphere. The one to watch out for was Rody. Fortunately, after the last incident, there had been no more fainting spells, indicating that Dachi had talked with him a lot at home.
After classes ended that day, Yasthia rushed in with bad news—
There weren't enough workers!
By noon yesterday, the transportation of steel had been completely finished, and the project had finally begun in earnest. Although Azure Sky Iron was still a hassle, at least it wouldn't be needed in the short term.
"Isn't there already enough workers hired?" Garen asked, frowning.
"That was the case... but since this morning, workers have been quitting one after another, even willing to pay penalties to leave," Yasthia explained.
"How could this happen?" Garen was surprised.
"I heard that a wealthy merchant has started a large project with an outrageous hiring fee... Compared to that, just a week's wages here would cover their penalties."
This was quite troublesome.
Building the Watchtower was already a massive undertaking. The heavy steel alone made it difficult for ordinary workers to manage. Earlier, Yasthia had been worried that the efficiency of these workers might be too low and slow down the progress. But now, it was worse; the workers had collectively quit, leaving no efficiency at all!
When Garen arrived at the Southern Suburbs and witnessed the scene for himself, he realized the situation was even worse than he had imagined—
Steel scattered everywhere, parts visible in every corner, and only a rudimentary Foundation Disc constructed...
"Are there any other workers available?" Garen asked.
"The entire labor market has been monopolized. Even if there are some, they must come from the city, which would create a significant price issue. With the current amount of gold we have, we won't last until the second phase."
"How long will that large project take to finish?" Garen continued to inquire.
Yasthia paused for a moment before asking inexplicably, "Are you thinking of waiting for it to finish?"
Garen fell silent.
It seemed that Yasthia had also noticed the issue.
When the Watchtower project was just starting, a large construction project emerged in town, even snatching away all the workers at an unimaginable high price. Wasn't that a bit too coincidental?
It was evident that someone was targeting Garen, or rather, forcing him.
Two names surfaced in Garen's mind—Oshuria and Lacreto.
Indeed, when it came to Blackstone Town, only they would pressure Garen at such a time, and only they could afford such exorbitant hiring fees.
At that moment, Yasthia suddenly asked, "Is that your friend?"
Garen turned to see Edward, still dressed in his black tailcoat, slowly approaching from not far away.
From any angle, Edward exuded enough gentlemanly charm and elegance, resembling a noble scion of high society.
His calm gaze swept across the entire construction site before finally resting on Garen.
"Care for a drink?"
"You came to find me for a drink?" Garen asked, somewhat puzzled.
"Yes, why not?"
"That might not be possible," Garen shook his head. "I still have some matters to attend to."
"Alright."
Edward nodded, showing no signs of regret or unwillingness on his face, and turned to leave the construction site.
Yasthia was taken aback and said, "So he just walked away like that?"
"Who knows," Garen replied. "Let's tidy this place up; I'll figure out what to do about the workers later."
By the time they finished organizing the equipment at the site, it was already deep into the night.
Upon returning to the Rental Apartment, Garen did not go to sleep. Instead, he practiced with the Venomfang Blade. Unfortunately, there was a significant bottleneck between levels seven and eight. Even though his Fighting Spirit was at a sufficient level, he still lacked a breakthrough opportunity.
According to Garen's original plan, he intended to visit the Beast Mountain Range soon, both to earn gold coins and to seek a chance to break through his Fighting Spirit. However, with the issues regarding the workers arising, he had temporarily set that thought aside.
In front of the Aurelia Alliance, using gold coins to attract workers was undoubtedly the worst approach.
The next day, Garen arrived at the academy as usual for his training sessions.
At noon, Yasthia came running over again, her eyes wide with shock as she looked at Garen.
"What happened?" Garen asked, puzzled.
"How did you do it?" Yasthia scrutinized him suspiciously.
"What do you mean?" Garen realized something and asked, "What did I do?"
"Worker issues, huh? How did you manage to gather that group?" Yasthia exclaimed. "And they are all warrior workers! My goodness, do you have a stash of gold coins hidden away?"
"Warrior workers?" Garen blinked in confusion.
"You... don't know?" Yasthia was taken aback.
Garen's mind was filled with questions until he saw the scene in the Southern Suburbs, and he couldn't help but be astonished.
Before him, what had been a chaotic construction site just yesterday was now bustling with over thirty tall and sturdy men moving about, each carrying or hauling heavy steel to the Foundation Disc, following Yasthia's instructions to build and connect.
More importantly, these individuals radiated a wave of Fighting Spirit; the weakest among them had a level 3 Fighting Spirit!
From another perspective, their efficiency was undoubtedly higher than that of regular workers—several times over! What once took four or five people to lift could now be handled by just one person, who could carry two large pieces at once!
At that moment, a dark figure slowly approached and stood beside Garen.
"It really is you..." Garen said with a mix of amusement and exasperation.
Edward blinked.
"Care for a drink?"
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