Weaving the Great Net

That evening.

Santos, a board member, chief marketing officer, and marketing manager at Dragon Defense, arrived riding a dragon.

Given his rank, he already deserves a private car service.

This high-ranking worker, who had gained the dragon's approval despite being human, met with Kang De off the coast of Distant Harbor.

Twenty minutes later, he said goodbye and left.

A biting sea breeze, a starry sky, a massive steel warship standing outside the Distant Harbor, the city ablaze with light, and a giant dragon silently disappearing into the depths of the sea, bypassing the Distant Harbor and flying north.

Golden Dragon Stiegel used Magic Power to create a shield, blocking the oncoming night wind and maintaining the temperature on his back to make the passenger on his back more comfortable, after all, he was just a human.

Moreover, he was also his superior and employer.

This giant dragon was specially assigned to Santos by the Dragon Emperor. It is perfectly capable of serving as his daily mode of transportation, his bodyguard in times of danger, and even his work assistant.

Given that the dragons who joined Dragon Defense had already been largely brainwashed by the Dragon Emperor's staff training, frequent team building activities, corporate culture indoctrination, and incentive programs, this secretary dragon was not ashamed of his current job; on the contrary, he found it quite enjoyable.

After all, even if you go to the security department to work as a mercenary, you'll still be taken advantage of, and you have no idea whether your master is a show-off, a playboy, a pervert, or all three. Moreover, being a mercenary is risky. You work hard to earn money, but the company takes a cut, and insurance is also a significant expense. All things considered, it's not worth it—especially compared to this kind of clerical work.

Since I'm going to be ridden anyway, I might as well choose someone who's capable.

Moreover, the secretary only accompanies Mr. Santos on his travels across the continent, serving as a bodyguard with extremely low risk. After all, most people wouldn't bother with the Dragon Defense market manager. His main purpose is simply to demonstrate intimidation. Furthermore, when accompanying Mr. Santos on official business trips, there are a series of reimbursement items from public funds, such as travel expenses, nutrition expenses, and overtime pay. The perks are enormous, and he enjoys it immensely.

Anyway, it's much easier than those idiots in the security department who go out on field duty.

This mentality is extremely prevalent in the civilian departments of Dragon Island Defense. The dragons in charge of logistics, finance, research and development, and other departments have a certain sense of superiority over their colleagues who go out to fight, because they feel it is extremely shameful for the dragons to be outside and fawning over lowly short-lived creatures for a pittance.

Conversely, the Dragon Operators on field missions also looked down on the idiots sitting in their office caves, thinking they were just parasites who earned little, not as much as they could earn by working hard for tomorrow.

The two groups disliked each other and harbored mutual contempt, which was undoubtedly due to the efforts of the company founders. In short, the clerical department paid less but had stable and elegant work, so their sense of superiority was cultivated; the field department worked hard but paid relatively more, so their sense of honor was stimulated.

As for Golden Dragon Stiegel being able to serve as the marketing manager's secretary, accompanying company executives on trips every day, with little work and high pay, and possessing the dual advantages of field work and clerical positions, it is because he is humble and honest, has excellent dragon affinity, is simple and hardworking, good at thinking, and works diligently. Moreover, his father is a judicial elder, a staunch supporter and steadfast ally of His Majesty the Dragon Emperor.

These strengths set it apart, allowing it to achieve far more than its peers at a young age through hard work.

The air was cold. After traveling for half a day, Santos shifted his back, lowered the chair, and lay back. The fixed half-egg-shell structure on the back of the chair blocked the cold air from behind, while the temperature-regulating array inside the eggshell blew in a warm breeze. He picked up his thermos, drank some refreshing tea, and slowly exhaled.

Secretary Jinlong's voice rang out.

"Mr. Santos," it said, "Kang De, the Cathayan, fills me with apprehension and fear."

"Isn't this normal?" Santos laughed. "Mr. Stiegel, he is the Dragon of Cathay, one of the strongest beings in the world in terms of destructive power, a human whom even His Majesty the Dragon Emperor treats as an equal."

"I know... sigh, Lily."

Jinlong thought of the meeting just now. His childhood playmate had carried Kang De across the sea. Even though he already knew about their past, seeing that scene still made him feel a pang of sadness.

Santos frowned and sat up. "Mr. Stiegel, I'm not in a position to emphasize anything to you. I'm just reminding you that His Majesty the Dragon Emperor's attitude regarding the Dragonfall, including Cuixisi, is not to pursue the matter, but rather to reach an agreement with Kang De —you must remember that."

"I know..."

The dragon sighed and changed the subject, "Then may I know why the Cathayan invited you here?"

Santos breathed a sigh of relief. Dragons are not all the same, and the second generation of dragons are also different. The arsenal elder's grandson was arrogant and ambitious, which is why he ended up with no trace of his body. The law elder's son, on the other hand, was more sensible and cautious, which was due to his father's strict teaching.

He replied, "To do one white glove job, one short-term work."

Jinlong noticed the key point. "How much is the pay? I'm not working for free, am I?"

"Five percent," Santos chuckled. "Five percent of this profit."

"Not exactly generous, but certainly not stingy either," Jinlong commented. "It's just a bit unworthy of your abilities; Mr. Santos's business acumen is second to none."

"It's hard-earned money and a kickback. This matter arose suddenly, and His Highness Kang De was overwhelmed with other matters and lacked capable subordinates, which is why he entrusted me with this task. Taking only five percent means Dragon Island is at a loss, but business isn't about short-term gains; we need to consider the long-term consequences. This is also His Majesty the Dragon Emperor's instruction, so we'll do it."

Santos lay back down and shifted his body comfortably.

"So..." Jin Long asked in confusion, "What exactly is it doing?"

Looking at the beautiful starry sky, Santos replied, "The nobles of the Distant Harbor are dissatisfied with Prince Kang De's autocratic rule. They have joined forces with the powerful elites of the Azure Waves Province, attempting to demonstrate against Prince Kang De and undermine his prestige by manipulating grain prices. Grain prices have skyrocketed in recent days, and many shady forces are fueling the fire. Prince Kang De believes he has victory in his grasp, so he wants to take advantage of the situation to kill some of his enemies."

Having spent a long time with Santos, Jinlong thought for a moment and immediately realized, "He wants us to lend money at exorbitant interest rates to the Goth nobles who are speculating on grain, using real estate as collateral, and then, when grain prices reach their peak, he'll crash them, bankrupt the nobles, and seize their assets?"

Santos nodded and said, "Yes."

Stiegel exclaimed in shock, "Did His Majesty the Dragon Emperor teach him this?!"

"... I'm afraid not."

"... Could he be a dragon? A distant relative of His Majesty the Dragon Emperor?"

"I don't think so."

"He's really vicious... I thought only His Majesty the Dragon Emperor could do something like this."

"..."

Jinlong thought for a moment, then felt something was off. "Wait a minute, you said this is short-term work, like making white gloves... which means that Kang De is paying for it, and we're doing the work for him?"

I guess so.

What does "consider" mean?

"Because essentially, Dragon Island is still providing the money; it's like they're lending money to us."

"... What kind of collateral?"

"They said it was money and land deeds looted from the powerful families of Distant Harbor."

"Did I show it to you?"

"I didn't go."

"--Why?"

"Because the loan agreement is just his word, and the so-called collateral is actually his power and promise, there's no need to check or estimate the value of his collateral. This time, the amount is unlimited, meaning that whatever funds we can mobilize is equivalent to how much Kang De borrowed."

After Santos finished speaking, Jinlong remained silent for a long while.

For a dragon, Dio's human form is somewhat shocking to his worldview.

With just a word, he could get Dragon Defense to work for him, mobilize countless funds, and do so without needing to pledge assets or even sign a contract.

Is knowing Forbidden Spell really that impressive?

After the initial shock, the feeling that followed turned into displeasure.

"Wait a moment."

Jinlong seemed to have thought of something, "It seems that both His Majesty the Dragon Emperor and you believe that Kang De has a sure thing, so this loan to the Goth nobles is a sure-fire way to make money. So, could we also...?"

"--no."

The refusal was crisp, decisive, and extremely serious.

"Why?"

"Because His Highness Kang De promised us a commission of five percent."

Jinlong still didn't understand. "But besides that, we can also invest our own funds..."

"This five percent means we can only earn five percent."

Stiegel was stunned.

"It seems you've understood," Santos said. "His Kang De didn't say he was colluding with the dragons to set up a scheme, but instead proposed a five percent commission, using the treasure deeds as collateral. His attitude is very clear. His Majesty previously intended to offer this financial service for free, but the Cathayan refused, insisting on paying a fee. This speaks volumes."

"The reason is simple: this is Goth, the country of his fiancée. The assets of the nobles who opposed him flowed into his hands through financial means, becoming the spoils of victory. But for us to plunder them in the same way is an outflow of Goth's wealth; we are stealing money from his pocket."

"Giving you five percent means you're only allowed to earn this meager amount of hard-earned money."

The subtext is...

Santos said quietly, "Taking any more will get your claws chopped off."

The dragon fell silent once more.

"What we heard before was that the willingness of the Empire, the Elves, and the Council to provide food supplies was rejected, which means the same thing: they want to fight the war themselves and make their own money."

"So this is advice, Mr. Stiegel: His Majesty the Dragon Emperor says that a qualified businessman must not only be able to see where money can be made, but also know what money should absolutely not be made."

"Just you wait and see," the human manager of Dragon Island Defense shook his head. "This grain speculation in Azure Waves Province involves a huge amount of money. Regardless of which faction they belong to, and regardless of whether their purpose is to make money or a conspiracy, this time, they will all suffer a terrible fate."

"... I see."

"Then let's speed things up. I need to take a nap; wake me when we land in Creek Willow County." Santos raised his hand and activated the magic circle on the eggshell, a miniature dark veil enveloping the area, isolating it from wind and moonlight. In this tranquil darkness, he quickly fell asleep. "Hopefully, they're ready."

Tonight will be another sleepless night.

During the day, Kang De reached a preliminary agreement with the Dragon Emperor through Lily. Orders for Dragon Island were issued, intelligence gathering, personnel mobilization, and gold transportation were carried out. One after another, giant dragons took off from various dragon outposts around Goth, and the entire continent was filled with the Dragon Emperor's money.

After Santos landed, personnel and intelligence were already in place.

"Compile the list, check and compare it. Starting from Creek Willow County, I need to know the names of the most ruthless and greedy nobles and wealthy merchants who have been buying and hoarding grain."

Under the bright lights, Santos faced the team he had trained and nurtured, a confident smile on his face, "Now, I'll tell you what to say to them."

Preparations, planning, and coordination lasted for half a day and the entire night.

Early in the morning, the newly opened grain stores displayed brand-new prices, attracting long queues of shoppers amidst the curses of the citizens and the despair of the poor. The lower and middle classes only sought to fill their stomachs, while the upper classes saw a golden opportunity to make money. Most of the wealthy did not care about the power struggle between the nobility and Prince Kang De; they only saw that grain prices were rising day by day, and that buying today meant making money tomorrow, and the more they bought, the more they would earn.

The problem is... it's not profitable.

Since the day before yesterday, many wealthy out-of-towners or mysterious buyers have been spending lavishly to buy up grain, as if they have endless money. They are swift in their methods, offer aggressive prices, and make precise moves. Whether it is grain transported from the countryside or grain sold in the city, it is almost sold out in the blink of an eye.

The local powerful and wealthy individuals, eager to make a quick buck, saw this and coveted it.

After all, the price of grain has skyrocketed, and everyone else is making money off it, so I'm losing out!

Why not buy it too?

Because they don't have enough money.

Although these wealthy landowners with status did not understand the concept of cash flow, they were still aware of similar risks and did not want to sell their ancestral property and collections to buy grain.

Just then, an uninvited guest quietly arrived.

Each elegant smiling face, each gold-embossed business card, has a different name but the same origin. The dragon pattern on the business cards contains a hint of awe-inspiring Dragon Might, and such anti-counterfeiting features are extremely difficult to crack.

Hailing from Dragon Island, a 600-year-old establishment, trustworthy.

They came to offer loans.

Short-term targeted loans with reasonable interest rates, available only for investment in grain trading, with daily interest calculation, flexible repayment options, providing cash support to quality clients, helping our friends conquer the business world and win the future.

Just when I was dozing off, someone brought me a pillow.

The first reaction of the powerful and wealthy was to be wary and on guard.

If it's such a profitable business, and you have so much money, why don't you do it yourselves?

After repeated questioning, and even being threatened with being seen off, the salesmen finally looked embarrassed and begged to be dismissed. Only then did they reveal the truth: Kang De had a deep-seated grudge against the dragon race, but with the international situation still uncertain, he dared not rashly start a war, nor did he dare to directly intervene in this economic war, lest he provoke even greater resentment from Kang De.

But the dragons were quite happy to find ways to annoy this arrogant Dragon of Cathay.

This reason is perfectly reasonable.

Some of the powerful and wealthy were still hesitating, and the salesman didn't say much, just left his business card and drifted away, saying that the city's funds were limited and there were many others willing to borrow from the Dragon Clan.

Before long, they heard the news that an acquaintance from the city had come to the grain market and was making a killing.

My heart fluttered.

The fourth day has passed.

On the fifth day, the funds injected by the Dragon Clan into Azure Waves Province were fully released and activated, and the booming grain market was in full swing, driving up grain prices. Like Flame, the price spread and swept across the entire territory of Azure Waves Province, and even began to affect the grain markets of surrounding provinces and cities, and even Goth.

After all, everyone knows that this godforsaken place, Azure Waves Province, is currently showered with money. Even with shipping costs and losses, transporting grain there yields several times the profit.

What are we waiting for?

Of course, we'd transport the grain there to sell!

What? Local people can't get enough food? Damn, what's that to me?

Caravans of convoys, truckloads of grain, were urgently loaded and transported overnight, escorted by hired guards, and set off at breakneck speed.

River transport and land transport, urged on by their financial backers and wealthy nobles and merchants eager to make a fortune, set off at top speed to earn money from those big idiots in Azure Waves Province.

They were eager to catch this feast.

The power struggle between the powerful figures in the Distant Harbor and the Dragon of Cathay may allow us to reap a huge benefit.

--However.

However, the key point is "however".

The greedy and expectant individuals overlooked one crucial point: they believed that now that the war was over and the bandits had disappeared, just like in peacetime, the grain could be transported smoothly to Azure Waves Province under full armed protection, and would soon be exchanged for a large sum of money.

However, they forgot for whom peace was truly brought about.

They also forgot who ultimately decides whether there is peace or not.

Every grain transport convoy heading towards the Azure Waves Province along the major national highways and rivers was intercepted by the nearby elven garrisons.

These Elf Expeditionary Force, who had been stranded in Goth's territory due to the lack of a peace treaty, usually stayed in their respective camps and did not interfere with Goth, so much so that they were forgotten. But now, for some unknown reason, they rushed out like wolves and tigers, and without saying a word, they kidnapped the supply convoy and its goods and took them back to their camp.

These heavily armed guards, though touted as highly trained, were no match for bandits and thieves. Against the regular elven army, they were utterly ineffective. Some caravans were completely wiped out without a word leaking out, while others managed to escape with one or two survivors who managed to send back the terrible news.

The Goth nobles, who were ready to make a fortune, were all dumbfounded.

Damn it, the elves are stealing our food! Is nobody going to do anything about it?

Hello, no.

They complained to the local garrison, but were all brushed off.

--Are you kidding me? I almost got killed by the elven army before, and now they haven't massacred civilians or attacked cities, they've just intercepted a few caravans. You want me to lead troops to kill them? Go to hell.

Even if a responsible Goth officer went to inquire, the reply was always polite, "We suspect that this caravan is carrying contraband that could harm the interests of Twilight Moon. Once the investigation is complete, we will return everything intact, people and goods alike."

When the news reached back, the nobles discussed it and thought it was utterly outrageous.

--It must be the Dusk Moon Dynasty secretly making things difficult for Kang De, preventing any grain from being transported into the Azure Waves Province, determined to make the Dragon of Cathay lose face in this struggle. They really hold grudges, elves.

This is delaying our ability to make money! What kind of situation is this?

But what can we do?

At this moment, Goth's nobles suddenly realized that even though they had nominally won the war, they still spoke very softly when facing the onslaught of Twilight Moon's army.

Unbeknownst to them, around the same time, at the border entrance of Azure Waves Province, groups that looked like guards from the Chamber of Commerce were escorting cartloads of grain, preparing to cross the border.

If there were any Valentan residents here, they would definitely find many of these faces familiar.

The powerful and influential people in Distant Harbor and even Azure Waves Province certainly wouldn't recognize him.

They knew neither what was happening outside nor what was happening inside.

They were still eager to buy up every grain that flowed in, make a fortune, force Kang De to concede, and push up grain prices to extremely high levels. Someone had to take over, and the benevolent and kind-hearted Dragon of Cathay was a perfect candidate, because he would definitely make a fortune in the upcoming negotiations, which he could then share with his friends in the Azure Waves Province. After all, he desperately needed grain to win back the hearts of the people, didn't he?

A large net is slowly being woven.

￥￥￥￥￥￥￥￥￥￥

PS1: Damn... I usually go to bed at 4 AM and wake up at 12 AM, feeling energetic and fine. Yesterday, I fell asleep at 11 PM and woke up at 7 AM, yawning all day... I'll keep trying to adjust.