Taking Root in the Countryside / "As Long As"

"... Impressive, right? I knew it all along..."

In the distance, Yan was showing off her "Romtopo Carrot," whose price had increased.

Suddenly, a red shadow appeared on the ceiling in front of the three of them.

"Doc Otter, the file, just stolen." Red wagged its tail and looked at Oute expectantly.

Chapter 297 Taking Root in the Countryside

March 19, 1097, 10:21:01 AM.

In March and April, Kazimierz may seem far from the harsh winter, but if you dare to walk on the road, you will inevitably feel a bone-chilling cold. Huge steel behemoths lie quietly by the roadside, which can at least block some of the fierce wind.

A car was parked on the side of the road, and the first thing to stick out of the door was a pair of beautiful legs encased in gray stockings. Next, a name tag on her chest danced with the movement of her breasts.

Dyster (but) first stretched her limbs, her whole body emitting very unhealthy "popping" sounds.

"I've been working way too much overtime lately..."

She sighed, took her briefcase and staff from the co-pilot's seat, and looked towards the Rhodes Island flagship not far away.

"Saying it's like a relaxing vacation... who are you kidding? If it's a vacation, why specifically choose a top lawyer like me!?"

Beside him, the young Kuranta, covered in sweat, was about to rush into the field with a new hoe when he suddenly stopped in front of Dyster.

"You're from Rhodes Island?" he asked, as if he had just remembered something.

Dyster was somewhat surprised. "That's right..."

"You've come back to get your things, just like me? Doctor. Oute and the others aren't on the ship. If you want to see him, come with me!"

With that, he continued charging forward without looking back.

"Wait a minute..." Dyster's words caught in her throat. "I'm wearing high heels..."

Wait, you drove here, didn't you?

Fortunately, it was a long business trip anyway, and in addition to her work attire, Dyster had also packed casual clothes. However, after being delayed on the train for a while... that little brat Kuranta had disappeared.

"Dangerous Shoal Village is so big... Right now, all I know is that I'm in the fields. Maybe I should just drive?" Dyster muttered to herself.

However, she glanced at the country roads where no vehicle chassis had ever been considered, and then at her own car.

"Ah... as relaxing as a vacation... you don't mean hiking, do you?"

After all, she was Kuranta. Even though Dyster's physical abilities had declined considerably due to long hours of desk work, she was still a natural track and field athlete.

After walking for a while across the boundless fields with a sense of despair, Dyster first heard the voice coming from the loudspeaker.

"... If we simply spread this fertilizer on the soil, it will simply evaporate into the air..."

Dyster was stunned.

She might not know the person, but she recognized the electronic voice.

Dyster followed the sound and saw a line of heads, like black dots. She realized that it was almost half of Dangerous Shoal Village.

The villagers surrounded some uniformed company employees. In the very center stood a silver-haired man named Liberi, a small cat named Cautus, and a grumpy-faced man Feline. In the distance were several SUVs, parked in the corners and tucked away among the fields.

Under Liberi's orders, company employees repeatedly demonstrated to the villagers how to use different packaged fertilizers.

Some villagers were already dozing off, while others were half-hearted, but surprisingly, some were actually listening attentively!

Not to mention that some people actually listened, the fact that almost half the village had gathered here... even the knight lord of Dangerous Shoal Village probably couldn't have done this without resorting to violence and coercion!?

Shocked, Dyster repeatedly checked the emblem on their bodies: a white castle on a triangular badge.

"... Do they have licenses to produce and sell fertilizers?" That was her first thought.

Three days have passed since Rhodes Island officially crossed the border. During these three days, Rhodes Island's medical and logistics operators have gradually spread throughout the countryside of Tsvonnek.

Through this standardized process, regardless of whether the villagers were grateful or viewed Rhodes Island as a "pushover," they established a fragile relationship of trust with Rhodes Island.

Some villagers have even set aside their prejudices and pride to see "how city people teach me to farm."

Dyster stood on tiptoe, trying to get a better look, but Liberi gave the main seat to Cautus and disappeared somewhere.

Just as she was tiptoeing, a cold breath suddenly came from the back of Dyster's neck. "Come, my lord desires to see you."

"Whoa!" Dyster nearly dropped her briefcase. "That was terrifying!"

She looked closer and saw a nun.

After that sentence, the nun remained silent, quietly leading Dyster to an SUV. There, Liberi, whom they had just met, was sitting in the back, fiddling with a tablet.

"Miss Dyster." Without looking up, he moved the banquet, which was still waiting for Dyster, elsewhere, and said, "I originally thought you would stay on this ship. Please sit down; it's warmer in the carriage."

At that moment, the nun opened the other rear door, and Dyster understood and got in.

A child told me you were here.

"Hmm... I hadn't considered this unexpected factor." Oute looked into the lawyer's eyes. "Since the prepared welcome is useless, let's get straight to the point."

"Long-Rein Law Firm, top lawyer Dyster, is dedicated to serving you!"

"Let's get straight to the point." Oute locked the tablet and tossed it to Dyster. "We at Rhodes Island Pharmaceuticals are seeking a place in the Commercial Union ... let's call it that."

"... Just providing medical services for the tournament, is there any need to join the Commercial Union?"

"Pay attention to my wording. We're not trying to join it, we just need to be able to have a say in it."

"Do you want to control some local companies? Or a new holding company? Or cross-shareholding with Kazimierz Enterprises?"

"That's your problem to worry about," Oute said. "Rhodes Island Pharmaceuticals won't go public, and we don't have any shares. What I need is a result, a simple and clear result: things we disagree on, the Commercial Union can't collectively push through."

"...That's quite a bold statement." Dyster seemed eager to try it out. "Doctor. Oute, you should know what you're asking for, shouldn't you?"

She leaned forward unconsciously, her already loose clothing swaying with the fruit. "You need to have more than 33 percent of the weight in the Commercial Union when you want to oppose any bill. If it's just through bribery and deals, Rhodes Island can probably only achieve this on specific bills."

"You're exaggerating a bit," Oute glanced at her. "The Grand Knight Council may be a pile of sand, but under Russell's personal leadership, it's a pile of wet sand that can be used to build sandcastles."

But the Commercial Union?

To be frank, the entourage surpassed even their masters in their ability to hinder each other.

Chapter 298 "As Long As"

Dyster sat back down, engrossed in browsing the documents Oute had shown her, completely ignoring the issue he pointed out. "Caught red-handed! Hearing such a 'bold' statement, I thought I was going to make a few more lawyer fees!"

If the employer doesn't know much about this, they could easily be led by the nose by Dyster...

"They won't pull the knives pointed at each other's kidneys and unite against 'outsiders' until the actions of the Grand Knight Council provoke a stress response from the Commercial Union," Oute said.

In fact, there are loose business associations like "Commercial Union" in various places.

However, due to the unique nature of Kazimierz, when the term "Commercial Union" is used internationally without a prefix, it specifically refers to Kazimierz.

About 120 years ago, a knight of Kazimierz died without an heir. After his death, his estate was auctioned off by an allergy court. The astonishing price paid for his castle on a small mobile platform... was paid by the knight's squire.

Starting from this point, the squires who managed the knight's property grew increasingly wealthy in the days that followed. They also gained control of more and more social resources and even began to participate in and lead the construction of mobile city-states. The cramped territory of Kazimierz, the loose state structure, and the bloody and blatant "deception" among the nobles all made it impossible for anyone to stop the rise of the squires.

Ultimately, the vassals economically defeated their former masters within the country, seizing considerable dominance and becoming the oligarchs of Kazimierz. They gathered, portly and bloated, at the lavish tables of Kavaleria under the name of the "Commercial Union," controlling the entire Kazimierz.

But therein lies the problem: this group itself is a collection of contradictions, divisions, and mutual attacks.

Aside from when facing knights, there are few things that can put them on the same side.

"Your information might deal a heavy blow to Gail Industries, but it probably won't be enough to take its place... Oh dear!"

The vehicle suddenly started.

The nun had already quietly taken her seat in the driver's seat.

After moving forward a short distance, Kal'tsit and Amiya opened the front and rear doors respectively and got in.

Dyster fastened her seatbelt. "That nun was really scary."

"Miss Dyster, I have a small question: When you are absolutely certain you will win a bet, would you bet your entire fortune?"

Dyster replied, "The odds of a sure win are very low; even if you bet your entire fortune, you won't make much. And if the odds are huge and a sure win is guaranteed... it's most likely that someone is manipulating the betting."

"More than just your entire fortune! You'd have to mortgage it to banks big and small, leverage it thirty or fifty times, and gamble seventy or eighty times your 'entire fortune'!" Dyster looked out the window at the lush alfalfa and said sarcastically.

Suddenly, she became serious again. "However, 'certain victory' is itself a false proposition. The existence of a betting game inherently involves winning and losing, and there are banker and player players."

"That's exactly the case with Gail Industries," Oute said.

It got caught up in an "international gamble," tying up a large amount of working capital. Although it wasn't exactly a "sure-win" mentality, nor did it use too much leverage, Gail Industries has now become a giant with feet of clay.

"As long as" Gail Industries' main business is destroyed; its military forces that it has cultivated and influenced are defeated; and the political problems of Kawalerielki are properly handled, "it" can be used as an excuse to replace Gail Industries.

Clearly, the initial "as long as" statements are the source of their confidence, while the subsequent excuses can be replaced...

Dyster handed the tablet back to Oute: "Wait, aren't I a legal advisor?"

"We're talking about how to legally and legitimately replace Gail Industries," said the silver-haired Liberi, in a tone as if discussing what he had for breakfast. "For that, the very question of how Gail Industries will die needs to be discussed beforehand."

Dyster stated bluntly, "If you can do it, then Kazimierz Business is nothing more than a footscratcher in this process. If you can't, no amount of manipulating legal clauses will make a difference—those big corporations wield deadly force."

The top lawyer hinted, "In ancient times, farmers and merchants were not without means in the face of the knights' extortion... Now the Grand Knight Council controls the army, but the Commercial Union nominally has no directly subordinate armed forces."

She was implying to these outsiders from Rhodes Island that the Commercial Union might have control of the "Knight Killer" Armorless Union —though she herself had never seen it, as a top lawyer, she had indeed sensed this fact from subtle clues.

This is not something you need to worry about.

"Don't take it personally, Doctor. Oute," Dyster shrugged. "With such a strong opinion, where do we begin?"

"A class-action lawsuit," Kal'tsit said.

Dyster looked out the window in surprise. "Wait? Aren't we going back to the ship?"

The lush green fields stretched along both sides of the road, leaving the tiny villages far behind.

"Miss Dyster, we're going to Lichuan Village!" Amiya turned around and handed over some snacks.

"Thank you... but what is this?"