Okay, That's Capitalism for You

Kang De clearly didn't want to return the dragon's corpse.

Santos pondered to himself.

To be fair, the Dragon Blood Declaration, which Dragon Island informed all nations, has already made this matter very clear: dragons need to do business, so there must be rules and reason.

--The fact that the hired dragons went to your country to kill and set fires is an act of war. If you kill or maim them, that's your skill, and we won't pursue it. Of course, we have to get back the captured dragons and the corpses of the dragons we killed. We won't take them for free; we'll pay you, and the price will be very fair.

Given the dragon's pride, status, and pomp, not only did it declare it wouldn't pursue the matter, but it also obediently paid the ransom to retrieve the corpse. It's fair to say it was quite law-abiding, a businessman of its own caliber, giving the target country ample face. Since the dragon gave them so much face, what should be done if the country that killed it refuses to return the body?

Of course, it's time to start fighting!

Dragon Island has already done everything it could; you're the one who's not giving it face.

Even if your country is destroyed, the other countries won't say anything.

Clearly, the dragons' power is sufficient to deter others. Even the elven and Human Empire are willing to give Dragon Island face and not make things too ugly... let alone other countries.

But ultimately, an unexpected event occurred.

Kang De revealed his unwillingness to return the dragon's corpse.

Dragon Island was also unwilling to easily start a war with him.

Because the effort and the reward are simply disproportionate...

Santos's mind raced.

He could understand why Kang De was unwilling to repay it.

That's a dragon.

Born a legendary creature, died epic material.

Dragon blood can be used in medicine, dragon scales can be used to forge equipment, dragon bones can be used to craft weapons, dragon eyes can be used to forge staffs, dragon teeth can be used to make arrows... Every part of the dragon is a treasure, a strategic resource among strategic resources, the dream of alchemists, the favorite of spellcasters, and the ultimate biological product in the field of otherworldly materials science.

However, these dragon-related materials all come from dragons, making them extremely rare and priceless.

It's not surprising that Kang De, a powerful alchemist, was interested in these epic materials.

After all, although the ransom offered this time was substantial, it was still a pipe dream to buy three complete dragon corpses with that money. No one knew the true value of those three dragon corpses better than Santos.

Those are top-tier products that money can't buy.

Santos thought for a moment, considered his options, and then looked up and said, "Your Kang De, may I have a private talk with you? Just the two of us."

The Sword Saint Cascading Snow raised an eyebrow and said, "No."

Santos said sincerely, "The following topic is of utmost importance and cannot be known to a second person. The Sword Saint Cascading Snow and Crimson Queen can monitor us from outside the window. We will communicate using the Scroll of Tranquility. If I make any hostile move, you two can kill me immediately—how about that?"

Their gazes turned to Kang De, Kang De pondered for a moment, then nodded and said, "Alright."

Tina immediately arranged a private meeting room. In this world of swords and magic, there is a great need for such a room because some conversations and deals cannot be known to a third person. However, when two people are face to face, there are too many dangerous factors involved, such as curses, scrolls, spells, and martial arts. Great figures usually value their lives.

Therefore, private meeting rooms came into being.

At this moment, Kang De sat in a chair made of magic-patterned steel, magical power flowing around him. Three top-tier defensive spells were engraved on it, capable of blocking mental interference, curses, and other malevolent magic. Arrays that reduced elemental activity enveloped the entire room, and there was an escape mechanism beneath the chair...

It can be said to be foolproof.

You flatter me.

After Tina and the others left, Kang De looked at Santos opposite him and smiled helplessly, "I'm quite fragile myself, yet they're so concerned about my personal safety..."

--I don't believe you for a second. If you were really weak, would you have said so?

Santos remained calm and immediately got to the point.

He said sincerely, "If I may be frank, does Your Highness value the precious materials from the dragon's remains more than the ransom offered by our company, and therefore are not so willing to return them?"

Kang De thought for a moment, then nodded and said, "Yes, that's true to some extent; they are actually quite useful."

Santos nodded, pondered for a moment, and said, "In other words, if our company is willing to give you some dragon-related materials and provide a stable supply to Your Highness at 80% of the market price, would Your Highness be willing to return the dragon corpse?"

--Um?

--What did you say?

Even though Kang De was a man of deep cunning, he was still taken aback by these words.

I thought I was hallucinating.

He asked, somewhat uncertainly, "What... what were you just saying?"

Santos remained calm and slowly said, "I revere Your Highness's power and acknowledge Your Highness's character. Out of respect, I will only tell you this: the price fluctuations and supply market of dragon-related materials that are secretly circulating throughout the continent are all controlled and monopolized by my company."

"..."

"..."

--Hello!

I thought only Canada sold leaves!

Kang De was momentarily speechless.

In the past, when I read novels, dragons were either reserved as mounts, or as nighttime mounts, or as experience points, or as villains who got beaten up. In short, they had to be arrogant, always talk about lowly humans, and always be called lizards and reptiles by the protagonist. In novels set in ancient times, they also liked to eat roasted meat, usually slept in piles of treasure, or went around robbing people, or were tamed by humans, leading very boring lives.

I only realized today that those were all fake dragons.

A real dragon, running a company, working as a mercenary, and even selling dragon bones himself, monopolizing the market, controlling pricing, and standardizing industry practices—truly a first-rate enterprise and a capitalist of his own caliber.

This art style is off.

Moreover, running a company and being a mercenary is one thing, but how come you even sell the corpses of your own kind?

Logically speaking, it's normal for dragons in novels to attack bone dragons on sight, hunt down dragon slayers, and deeply abhor the dragon skeleton trade. Let alone dragons, which are naturally powerful and proud species, even humans hate the organ trade and would definitely call the police if they saw someone digging up a grave.

He pondered for a moment and said, "This is truly... something I never expected."

Santos was a shrewd man; seeing Kang De's expression, he knew what he was thinking.

You must be wondering why our company sells dragon remains.

Kang De nodded.

The chief marketing officer of Dragon Defense sighed, "This is a helpless measure taken to restrict and combat the illegal trade in dragon remains, thereby protecting the lives of our fellow dragons."

--I don't believe you for a second. You've monopolized the market and gained pricing power.

Santos slowly explained.

Dragons are treasures from head to toe, filled with epic materials; anyone who uses them knows how valuable they are.

Dragon scales, dragon bones, and dragon teeth can be used to forge top-tier weapons and equipment, while dragon blood and dragon hides can be used to create high-quality spell scrolls. These can significantly enhance the strength of individuals, families, organizations, and even small nations, making them extremely valuable and of great strategic significance.

Simply put, if a country could kill a dragon and dismantle it to make weapons, equipment, arrows, scrolls, and staves, it could immediately arm an invincible, heavily armed, and magical elite force, and even determine the course of a small war.

But after all, dragons are ancient species, naturally powerful, and with Dragon Island as a deterrent, few countries or organizations dare to hunt and kill them.

Not only is the success rate low, but even if you succeed, you'll face retaliation from Dragon Island.

But where there is demand, there will be a market. Scarcity often leads to exorbitant prices, which in turn tempt more people to take risks. This is an inevitable law of free trade.

Despite the dragons' severe crackdown and the scarcity of dragon-related materials, it did not stop nobles and spellcasters from pursuing them fiercely, driving prices sky-high. Smuggling, theft, and auctions were rampant despite repeated crackdowns, and prices continued to rise, allowing daring individuals to make a fortune.

This economic phenomenon gave the Dragon Clan much to ponder.

Subsequently, during a high-level closed-door meeting on Dragon Defense, His Majesty the Dragon Emperor posed a profound question.

--Did those dragon scales, dragon blood, dragon bones, dragon hearts, and dragon eyes originate from our people?

The directors nodded.

Those despicable bastards took our people's things and sold them. Don't they deserve to die?

Everyone nodded in unison, clearly sharing a common hatred for the enemy.

--These are clearly things from our dragon race, yet they're selling them for such high prices, with all the gleaming gold coins flowing into their pockets. Thinking about it that way, doesn't it make them even more deserving of death?

The dragons began to nod frantically, their jealousy and hatred twisting into ugly fruit.

Then, His Majesty the Dragon Emperor roared decisively, "Dragon-related materials are the wealth of us dragons! We cannot prohibit this kind of trade, but at the very least, we must earn this money ourselves!"

"..."

Fortunately, the executives of Dragon Defense Company were either confidants of His Majesty the Dragon Emperor or had experienced the baptism of capitalist economy, so they were quite receptive to new things and did not fly into a rage.

Instead, they listened carefully to His Majesty the Dragon Emperor's thoughts.

Furthermore, we pooled our wisdom and efforts to improve it.

"Most things in this world have an hurdle; once you overcome it, the world opens up before you."

Santos said, "Once His Majesty the Dragon Emperor and the board members have figured this out, the matter becomes much simpler. Ultimately, all the dragon-related materials circulating in the market come from dragons. This huge sum of money has been pocketed by thieves, robbers, and unscrupulous merchants. Is there any justice left? Is there any fairness left?"

"Therefore, the Dragon Defense are entering the fray."

"Dragon Island boasts the most stable supply and an exclusive franchise that even the gods cannot challenge. Those Shadow are no match for us. In this world, Dragon Defense is the only entity qualified to sell dragon remains. Only dragon remains sold by us are truly dragon remains. Anyone who secretly sells dragon remains not certified and permitted by us is an enemy of the Dragon Clan! Dragon Defense should be mobilized."

"Order the Brotherhood carry out the assassination, or we can directly send in Dragon Operators."

"If they are merchant guilds, attack their caravans; if they are nobles, destroy their castles. On the one hand, declare that anyone who dares to buy these illegal dragon remains is an enemy of the dragon race. On the other hand, provide better quality goods at better prices, so that those petty thieves and scoundrels won't be able to sell the dragon remains they have."

"--They are illegal!"

"After a while, these filthy thieves suffered greatly and realized one thing."

"That's it—they want to make money selling dragon remains, so they're coming here to get their goods."

Kang De listened in disbelief as Santos launched into a business spree. His marketing department had even brought in scholars to create a standard mathematical model that calculated how much merchandise needed to be shipped each month to maintain high prices and ensure substantial profits.

"We need to be careful with our calculations. If we set the price too high, the distributors will definitely add a little more. If the price is too high, no customers will be willing to buy, and the black market will start smuggling dragon remains again. But if we set the price too low, we won't make much money, and we'll lose money. Besides, it's not good if customers stock up too much at once..."

The chief marketing officer got carried away and gave another example of selling to both ends.

"The Vizier Family is wealthy, while the Lavis Family is slightly less so. The two families are mortal enemies. If we sell some to the Lavis Family at a lower price, their strength will increase, and the balance of power between them and the Vizier Family will soon be unbalanced. Then the Vizier Family will inevitably have a need to buy dragon remains. They are wealthy and eager to buy, so we can take the opportunity to raise the price..."

Kang De listened and nodded repeatedly, sighing with admiration. "Damn it," he thought, "If these dragons could figure out the tricks of finance, they would be unstoppable. It wouldn't be long before they were able to make something out of nothing."

He said in a subtle tone, "So, the corpses of the dragons that died in battle were all yours..."

"No, no, no, that's not it."

Santos hurriedly waved his hand and said, "Even if Dragon Defense is a company, it still bears the name of the Dragon Clan. His Majesty is the chairman, that's true, but before that, he was the Dragon Emperor. These agents fought for the company's cause, and after their deaths, they should be given a grand burial. They were the pillars of the company, and they were His Majesty the Dragon Emperor and my good brothers. How could we do something so outrageous?"

Thinking about it that way, it makes sense. If the dragon workers knew about this, they would go on a rampage. Although Dragon Defense is a company, its employees are all dragons, and they can't be exploited to this extent.

He asked, "And what about your source of goods...?"

Santos grinned and said, "Mortals don't know how many dragons there are in this world, but Your Majesty certainly does. From ancient times to the present, not all living dragons and dead dragons are good dragons. There must be evil dragons among them, those who oppose Your Majesty, those who betray the great cause of the dragon race. These dragons are guilty and must apologize to Dragon Island. Dead dragons, of course, must apologize with their remains, and living dragons..."

He chuckled softly, "According to Dragon Clan law, the sentence is imprisonment. You'll be offered a seat of honor in Dragon-Locking Abyss. Dragon Island is very concerned about the rights of its members; even prisoners are guaranteed their dragon rights. They won't be beaten or scolded, they'll be well-fed and watered, have doctors on standby, can watch theatrical performances, and have access to a library—they have everything. Their way of apologizing to Dragon Island is by constantly providing their blood, scales, and even their skin..."

Grass.

Dragon farming.

Live harvesting.

Have you guys managed to automate anything yet?

Santos laughed, "Everyone says that the elves have established the most just and advanced judicial system. I think that's just the pointy-eared ones boasting. My dragon race's judicial system is the best in the world, extremely advanced, and values the rights of prisoners. For example, a dragon with heinous sins is supposed to atone with death, but every dragon is a favorite of the gods, so we usually only sentence them to death with a reprieve, a suspension of ten to several decades before execution..."

"... I think I understood."

Damn, that's terrible.

Kang De was truly enlightened; the alienating effect of capital is indeed terrifying.

The dragon race, which was once so powerful, has become like this.

He knew why Santos said that.

You don't want to return the dragon corpses, right? Because you're greedy for their bodies, right?

We'll send you a batch directly at a low price; you can take it and sell it or use it yourself.

Is that enough?

... But I really can't pay it back.

But this is still good news.

The dragon race, at least the Dragon Emperor and the one in front of them, Santos, have developed a capitalist mindset. Making money is their top priority, and the only reason they resort to force is because you are interfering with their free trade.

Then this knot can be untied.

He sighed deeply, "I understand now. In Cathay, your words can be summed up in four words."

Santos asked, "What word?"

They used the Zhendan Language, which was a bit difficult to pronounce, but it was definitely understandable.

Kang De smiled and said, "Harmony brings wealth."

The chief marketing officer clapped his hands and exclaimed, "Yes! That's exactly right! His Highness Kang De is absolutely right!"

Kang De added, "Look at the mess this has made. The elves have really gone too far. In the heat of the moment, I couldn't hold back and hurt our dragon friends. I'm truly sorry."

Santos waved his hand and said, "This is all fate ordained by the Father God, and it's also an uncontrollable professional risk."

Kang De sighed, "In the end, it's not just that I've harmed a few of my friends from the Dragon Clan, but I've also caused considerable trouble for your company. I'm quite uneasy about it. Your Excellency's arrival in Goth Kang De been met with neither hostility nor accusation, but rather with a warm welcome and utmost respect. I am truly grateful and ashamed."

Santos smiled and said, "Not at all. In the words of the Cathay, this is called 'no fight, no friendship'."

After exchanging perfunctory pleasantries, Kang De leaned forward and said, "Let me be frank. His Dragon Emperor and Santos must be having a headache over this matter, right? I was young and impetuous, and I didn't know when to stop. I've harmed several of my dragon friends and caused your company's reputation and business capabilities to be questioned, which must have resulted in considerable financial losses. If I'm not mistaken, your envoy's visit to Goth to retrieve the remains of your people was just a pretext. The most important thing is how to resolve this issue."

Santos's expression turned solemn, and he cupped his hands in greeting, saying, "That's right, Your Highness Kang De, how can you teach me?"

--This guy's Zhendan Language is really good; he can even speak in a refined and literary way.

Kang De smiled and said, "Your Excellency has come from afar; surely you have a proposal in mind?"

Santos blinked and said, "It's just a preliminary idea. I'd like to hear your opinion first."

"No problem."

Kang De thought for a moment, then smiled and said, "I killed three dragons, which offended the dragon race and damaged your company's professional reputation. Is that right?"

"That's right."

"Since that's the case..."

Kang De rested his arms on the table, his smile widening, and slowly said, "How about I lose to you all once too?"

￥￥￥￥￥￥￥￥

PS1: Five thousand words... I'm feeling a bit better today, time for bed.