"The Candel Empire... I really didn't see this coming..."
Xu Yi looked at the official imperial document in his hand, stamped with the seal of the Candel Empire's Elders' Parliament. An irrepressible flicker of surprise crossed his eyes.
The document had not reached him through the Candel Empire's formal official channels, but every mark on it genuinely represented the will of the Candel Empire's authorities. There was no possibility of forgery.
In other words, the document fully represented the Candel Empire's position. There was nothing false or fabricated about it.
Its contents, however, left Xu Yi rather astonished.
For the first time, the Candel Empire had made a series of requests to the Xinfei Merchant Guild in a very formal, official capacity that could clearly be regarded as proposals for cooperation.
Compared with the Candel Empire's previously ambiguous attitude toward the Xinfei Merchant Guild, this was an enormous change.
Although it had not openly declared its desire to cooperate with the Xinfei Merchant Guild as the Malo Empire had, the document conveyed ample sincerity.
When he dispatched the guild's Guards Corps to eliminate the bandits in Laroul Town in the Candel Empire, Xu Yi had mentally prepared for every possible imperial response and devised countermeasures. Yet the empire's actual response had completely defied his expectations.
Just a few days earlier, the Candel Empire's authorities had publicly announced that the quasi-military operation conducted by the Xinfei Merchant Guild Guard Corps in Laroul Town had been a joint undertaking with the imperial authorities.
During this operation, the Xinfei Merchant Guild Guard Corps had fully demonstrated to the Candel Empire the powerful role military magic machinery could play in combating bandits. The empire was highly satisfied and lavishly praised the Guard Corps' skillful use of military magic machinery and formidable military capabilities.
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