Black Gold Merchant Guild

This world is a bit like the single-player Warcraft games from my previous life – treasure hunting, monster slaying, mining, and exploring ruins. Until all the fog is explored, no one knows what secrets this continent holds or how vast it truly is.

The fog is filled with endless unknowns.

Humans call the barren, dark land beneath their feet the [Ice Ridge Wasteland].

The Ice Ridge Wasteland is vast; its explored area is larger than the total landmass of Earth in my previous life.

Countless steam-powered Mechanical Cities move across the Ice Ridge Wasteland, exploring, preying, hunting for treasure, and vying for resources. The map is constantly being updated.

Humanity is divided into two major empires: the Oma Empire to the north and the Xid Empire to the south.

The two empires occasionally have localized skirmishes over large mineral deposits, but large-scale wars are rare.

After all, the wasteland is vast, and the explorable areas are endless. Humanity's greatest enemy is the wasteland monsters within the fog, not civil war.

The Oma Empire is divided into seventy-two administrative provinces, each ruled by a hereditary Duke, a high-ranking noble who commands a Behemoth Lord-class main Mechanical City and countless secondary Mechanical Cities.

The hereditary noble system has led to the vast majority of resources being concentrated in the hands of old noble families. The class structure has become rigid, with little significant change among the seventy-two ducal families over centuries.

The nobles have lost their spirit of adventure; they live comfortably by guarding the fortunes passed down from their ancestors.

The path for commoners to ascend to high society has been almost completely blocked. The descendants of commoners are destined from birth to be exploited and oppressed.

The only hope is to become a wasteland hunter and risk their lives searching for treasures in the wasteland. Like Baron Morin, if one can find an astonishing treasure, they can exchange it for scraps from the high nobles and obtain a small, low-ranking noble title.

Social contradictions are growing, and the Oma Empire's progress in exploring the unknown foggy regions is slowing down. These old nobles have lost the drive and ambition of their ancestors, gradually becoming stumbling blocks to civilization's progress.

And Spurglin XV is the current Emperor of Oma.

This ambitious emperor intends to carry out a "reform."

For example, he plans to lower the price of Potions, which are monopolized by the old nobles, so that everyone can advance to become extraordinary. He also plans to open the Royal Academy to commoners and establish more basic academies, allowing all commoners in the empire to receive free basic education.

With lower Potion prices, more commoners can advance to high-level extraordinary beings, allowing them to explore more dangerous foggy regions, and human civilization will advance by leaps and bounds.

And with universal education, a large number of commoner geniuses will emerge. Potion Masters, scientists, and scholars will become more numerous, breaking through the bottlenecks that hinder human progress, and the empire will undoubtedly become stronger and stronger.

But the resistance, as one can imagine, is immense.

Gene Potions are the most valuable commodity in this world, a "necessity" for human survival. Without advancing to become extraordinary, humans would struggle to survive in this harsh climate.

However, 99% of the Potion market is monopolized by the high nobles, which has been the best method for those at the top of the pyramid to exploit the lower classes for hundreds of years.

Killing this golden goose would be equivalent to cutting off the "milk supply" for most of the old noble families.

What does the empire's strength have to do with me? What does human civilization's progress have to do with me?

Why are nobles noble?

If they didn't have hundreds of thousands of starving peasants under their feet in their territories, on what basis would they be superior?

Allowing commoners to advance to become extraordinary and to study in academies – isn't that infringing upon the rights that only nobles possess?

If this continues, what will be the difference between nobles and commoners?

Will it be talent and effort?

Heh. Nobles are born noble; inheriting the family business guarantees wealth and status. Why should they compete on the same starting line as a bunch of peasants?

Therefore, after the reforms, the upper echelons of the Oma Empire split into two factions: the minority "reformists" who support the emperor's reforms, and the majority "conservatives" who secretly obstruct and wish to maintain the status quo.

The Grand Princess Ymir is the royal family member who holds the strongest stance in support of her brother Spurglin XV's reform plan!

The Emperor's health is deteriorating rapidly, and he likely won't live for many more years.

Grand Princess Ymir, on the other hand, is hailed as the most talented royal in the Spurglin family in centuries. Her prestige within the country even surpasses that of many princes!

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, Spurglin XV will most likely pass the throne to his sister Ymir, rather than to those mediocre princes!

And this assassination attempt on Ymir was actually a clash between the "conservatives," representing the interests of the old nobles led by the Empress, and the "reformists."

Even the premature aging of Spurglin XV's body is rumored to be the result of their machinations.

The steam train traveled smoothly across the wasteland.

Shortly after Rein and Ymir used the communication radio.

Knock, knock, knock!

A knock sounded at the door.

"Madam President."

"Enter."

In a carriage at the front of the train, a butler-like man knocked and entered.

This section of the train was exceptionally warm, and a magnificent crystal chandelier illuminated the spacious room.

The room's decor was incredibly luxurious, with classical wooden furniture, exquisite Niel-handwoven cashmere carpets, and oil painting decorations that were clearly the work of a master. Even the wine vessels on the table were made of pure silver, exuding an air of opulence everywhere.

It was as if this wasn't just a train carriage, but a mobile palace.

There was only one person in the room.

It was a beautiful woman in a high-slit lace qipao.

At this moment, she was reclining lazily in a chair, flipping through a thick stack of ledgers. Her legs were crossed on the edge of the table, and the qipao, split to the thigh, revealed her slender, beautiful legs.

"Vice President Canossa, someone just used the vehicle's communication radio to send ten encrypted messages."

Even though the endless spring scenery was visible upon looking up, the butler kept his head bowed the entire time after entering the room, as if a fear originating from the depths of his heart prevented him from meeting her gaze.

If any figure from the business world were present, they would surely recognize this alluring woman as Canossa J. Clofiler, the Vice President of the legendary Black Gold Merchant Guild.

This was the name of a formidable and vast empire of money.

Nearly all high-ranking nobles of the two great empires had dealings with this "Black Gold Merchant Guild."

And the "Thornbird Merchant Guild," to which this train belonged, one of the largest merchant guilds in several southern provinces of Oma, was merely an insignificant subsidiary guild under the "Black Gold Merchant Guild."

Upon hearing this, The beautiful woman in the qipao asked indifferently, without raising her eyebrows, "Have they cracked it?"

The butler shook his head and replied, "It's impossible in a short time. Judging by the skillful encryption method she used, it's somewhat like an informant from Oma's Royal Intelligence Group, the 'Blackwater Platform'."

"Oh."

The woman in the qipao continued, "Then there's no need to bother with it. There's a major upheaval within the Oma royal family right now, and the political situation is very sensitive. No matter which side the sender belongs to, we won't get involved."

"Yes, Vice President."

The butler nodded and then said, "Vice President, you mentioned that the secret message from headquarters wants to confirm whether the news of the First Princess's assassination is accurate so that subsequent plans can be made..."

Upon hearing this news, the alluring face of the woman in the qipao showed a hint of emotion.

"Just assume she's dead," she said.

She added, "Whether it's true or not, it doesn't matter anymore. Baron Askpa has now been branded a rebel, and the 'Reformist faction' has lost its greatest backing. Without military power, they have no say. No matter who comes, they won't be able to turn the tide."

The Black Gold Merchant Guild's information channels spanned the entire world, allowing her to know more inside details of the situation.

After a pause, she continued, "Forcing Baron General to rebel was a very ruthless move by the Empress of Oma. Even if the First Princess isn't dead, her situation upon returning to the capital won't be good."

With just a few words, a merchant revealed the entire situation of the upper echelons of the Oma royal family, and with incredible clarity.

Anyone versed in politics would have been astonished.

"Then..."

The butler asked again, "Vice President, General Baron took a portion of the empire's most elite Mechanist legions with him. What about the supply agreements we previously signed with them?"

The woman in the qipao looked unconcerned and said, "Business as usual, according to the contract. We have investments on both sides anyway, so it won't significantly impact our guild regardless of who ascends to the throne."

After a pause, as if she had lost interest in the matter, she changed the subject and asked, "By the way, what's the situation with the 'Ashen Forest'?"

The butler said seriously, "The outer mineral deposits there have been preliminarily surveyed. It's a top-tier rich mineral deposit, with a large reserve of 'High-Combustion Coal' even in the shallow layers. However, the native tribes there are very troublesome, and we haven't found a good solution yet."

The woman in the qipao then asked, "What about the shrine?"

The butler replied, "It's confirmed that deep within the forest, there is a shrine belonging to one of the seventy-two Divine General Knights of the 'Black Emperor' from back then. However, it's guarded by native priests, and it's impossible to get close unless a large army forcibly eradicates them."

A sharp glint flashed in the woman's beautiful eyes. "Then spread the news and attract more wasteland hunters to develop it. Our guild must obtain the inheritance of the ruins!"

"Understood, Vice President. I'll do it now..."

The butler bowed lower and lower before turning to leave.

Thanks to 'Starry Sky' for 500 coins, 'MR Moon' for 500 coins, '20200320080511133', and 'Gatekeeper' for their tips. Thank you.