Black Gold Merchant Guild

This world was somewhat like the single-player Warcraft games from his previous life: treasure hunting, monster slaying, mining, and exploring ruins. Before all the fog had been explored, no one knew what secrets this continent held or how vast it truly was.

The fog was filled with endless unknowns.

Humans called the barren black land beneath their feet the Ice Ridge Wasteland.

The Ice Ridge Wasteland was vast. Its confirmed territory alone was larger than the total land area of Earth in his previous life.

Countless steam mechanical cities moved across the Ice Ridge Wasteland, exploring, hunting, seeking treasure, and competing for resources. The maps were constantly being updated as well.

Humanity was divided into two great empires: the Oma Empire in the north and the Xid Empire in the south.

The two empires occasionally had limited conflicts over large mineral deposits, but full-scale wars rarely broke out.

After all, the wasteland was vast, and the regions available for exploration were endless. Humanity's greatest enemies were the wasteland beasts within the fog, not civil war.

The Oma Empire was divided into seventy-two administrative provinces. The lord of each province was a high noble with a hereditary ducal title, possessing one Behemoth Lord-class main mechanical city and countless subordinate mechanical cities.

The hereditary noble system had concentrated most resources in the hands of the Established Nobles. The classes had long solidified, and over the past several centuries, the seventy-two grand ducal families had barely changed.

The nobles had lost their spirit of adventure. Simply guarding the foundations passed down by their ancestors allowed them to live comfortably.

Meanwhile, the path for commoners to enter high society had nearly been blocked off. From the moment they were born, the descendants of commoners were fated to be exploited and oppressed.

Their only hope was to become wasteland hunters, risking their lives in search of treasure. Like Baron Morin, if they found a world-shaking treasure, they could trade it to the high nobles for scraps of meat and obtain a tiny low-ranking noble title.

Social tensions grew ever greater, while the Oma Empire's progress in exploring the unknown fog zones grew ever slower. These Established Nobles had lost the striving spirit of their ancestors and were gradually becoming obstacles to the advancement of civilization.

And Spurglin XV was the current Emperor Oma.

This ambitious emperor intended to carry out a round of "reform."

For example, he intended to lower the price of potions monopolized by the Established Nobles, allowing everyone to advance to Transcendent. He also intended to open the Royal Academy to commoners and establish more basic academies, so that all commoners in the empire could receive basic education for free.

With lower potion prices, more commoners could advance to high-tier Extraordinary and explore more dangerous fog zones. Human civilization would take great strides forward.

And if everyone studied knowledge, vast numbers of talented commoners could be discovered. There would be more potion masters, scientists, and scholars, the bottlenecks restricting humanity's progress would be broken, and the empire would surely become ever stronger.

But the resistance was easy to imagine.

Gene Potions were the most valuable business in this world. They were a "necessity" for humanity's survival here. Without advancing to Transcendent, humans would struggle even to survive in this harsh climate.

Yet ninety-nine percent of the potion trade on the market was monopolized by the high nobles. This was also the finest means by which those at the top of the pyramid had exploited the lower classes for centuries.

Killing this hen that laid golden eggs was equivalent to cutting off the livelihood of most Established Nobles.

What did the empire's strength have to do with them? What did the progress of human civilization have to do with them?

What made nobles noble?

Without hundreds of thousands of impoverished wretches beneath their feet in their territories, what gave them the right to stand above others?

If every commoner could advance to Transcendent and study knowledge in academies, would that not infringe upon rights reserved solely for nobles?

If this continued, what difference would remain between nobles and commoners?

Compete in talent and hard work?

Heh. They had been born nobles, inheriting family wealth and status. Why should they compete from the same starting line as a bunch of wretches?

Thus, after the reforms, the Oma Empire's upper ranks split into two factions: the minority "Reformists," who supported the emperor's reforms, and the majority "Conservatives," who secretly obstructed them and sought to preserve the status quo.

Princess Ymir was the royal family member with the firmest attitude in supporting her brother Spurglin XV's reform plans!

The emperor's health was worsening by the day, and he was unlikely to live for more than a few years.

Princess Ymir was hailed as the most capable royal the Spurglin Family had produced in centuries. Her prestige within the nation was even greater than that of the princes!

If nothing unexpected happened, Spurglin XV would most likely pass the Imperial Throne to his sister Ymir rather than those mediocre princes!

And Ymir's assassination attempt was, in truth, a clash between the "Conservatives," represented by the Oma Empress and the interests of the Established Nobles, and the "Reformists."

Even Spurglin XV's premature physical decline bore traces of those people's schemes.

The steam train traveled steadily across the wasteland.

Not long after Rein and Ymir used the communications radio.

Knock, knock, knock!

Someone knocked on the door.

"President."

"Come in."

In one of the carriages near the front of the train, a butler-like man knocked, then entered.

This carriage was unusually warm. An exquisite crystal chandelier illuminated the spacious room brightly.

The room was extravagantly furnished, with classical wooden furniture, exquisite Niel handmade cashmere carpets, oil paintings and ornaments clearly created by master artists, and even the wineware on the table crafted from pure silver. Luxury permeated every corner.

It seemed less like a train carriage and more like a palace on wheels.

There was only one person in the room.

She was a beautiful mature woman wearing a high-slit lace cheongsam.

At that moment, she lounged half-reclined in her chair, flipping through a thick stack of account books. Her legs were crossed over the edge of the table, and the slit in her cheongsam reached the roots of her thighs, putting her slender, beautiful legs fully on display.

"President Canossa, someone just used the train's communications radio to send ten encrypted messages."

Though he could see the boundless alluring sight simply by raising his head, the butler kept his gaze lowered throughout, as though a fear rising from deep within prevented him from looking directly at her.

If anyone from the business world had been present, they would have recognized this seductive woman as Canossa J. Clofiler, the legendary vice president of the Black Gold Merchant Guild.

It was the name of a vast and terrifying financial empire.

Nearly all the businesses of the high nobles in both great empires had dealings with this "Black Gold Merchant Guild."

Even the Thornbird Merchant Guild, to which this train belonged and which was one of the largest merchant guilds across several southern provinces of the Oma Empire, was merely an inconspicuous minor guild under the Black Gold Merchant Guild.

Hearing this,

the woman in the cheongsam did not even raise her brows as she asked lightly, "Has it been cracked?"

The butler shook his head. "Not in the short term. Judging from the proficient encryption method used, it resembles the intelligence contacts of Blackwater Platform, the Oma Royal intelligence division."

"Oh."

The woman in the cheongsam said, "Then leave it alone. The Oma Royal Family is undergoing major internal turmoil right now, and the political situation is sensitive. No matter which side the sender belongs to, we will not get involved."

"Yes, President."

The butler nodded, then added, "President, the encrypted message from headquarters asked us to confirm whether the news of Her Highness the Eldest Princess being assassinated was accurate, so they can formulate their follow-up plans."

Only upon hearing this did some emotion appear on the seductive woman's face.

"Treat her as dead."

She added, "Whether it is true or not no longer matters. Baron Askpa has now been branded a rebel, and the Reformists' greatest support is gone. Without military power, there is no voice. No matter who comes, no one can turn things around now."

The Black Gold Merchant Guild's intelligence channels spread across the world, allowing her to know far more of the inside story.

After a pause, she added, "Forcing General Baron into rebellion was a ruthless move by the Oma Empress. Even if that Princess is not dead, her situation will not be pleasant once she returns to the imperial capital."

With only a few words, a merchant had laid bare the entire situation among the upper ranks of the Oma Royal Family, and with remarkable clarity.

If someone who understood politics had been here, their jaw would surely have dropped.

"Then..."

The butler continued, "President, General Baron took away part of the empire's most elite Mechanist Legion this time. What should we do about the supply agreement we previously signed with them?"

The woman in the cheongsam looked utterly unconcerned. "Business continues as usual. Follow the contract. We have investments on both sides anyway. No matter who sits on the Imperial Throne, it will not make much difference to our merchant guild."

After a pause, seemingly no longer interested in the matter, she asked instead, "By the way, how is the situation in the Ashen Forest?"

The butler answered solemnly, "The mineral deposits around its perimeter have been preliminarily surveyed. It is a top-tier rich mine. The reserves of High-Combustion Coal in the shallow layers alone are enormous. However, the barbarian tribes there are troublesome, and we have yet to find a good solution."

The woman in the cheongsam asked again, "What about the temple?"

The butler said, "Deep in the forest, we have confirmed the existence of a temple that likely belonged to one of the knights among the Black Emperor's Seventy-Two Divine Generals. However, Barbarian Priests guard the place. Unless a large force wipes them out by force, it will be impossible to approach."

A sharp gleam flickered in the woman's beautiful eyes. "Then spread the news and draw more wasteland hunters there to open up the land. Our merchant guild must obtain the inheritance of that ruin!"

"Understood, President. I will handle it immediately."

The butler bowed lower and lower, then turned and left the room.

Thanks to 'Starlight Passing By' for 500 coins, 'MR Moon' for 500 coins, '20200320080511133,' and 'Gatekeeper' for the donations. Thank you all for your support.