Signing Trade

The warship of the Blackwater Raiders in Booty Bay was dispatched, and a large number of sailors dove into the sea with diving equipment to search for the disappeared giant statue of Trade Prince Revilgaz, but they could find no trace at all.

After the underwater salvage yielded nothing, Trade Prince Revilgaz went so far as to frantically blockade Booty Bay directly, not allowing any ships or personnel to leave.

Over the next few days, the Booty Bay Guard searched every ship and warship inside and outside Booty Bay, every single room, and even the sewers, leaving not a single corner unspanned.

While everyone in Booty Bay was living in fear, terrified of being interrogated and screened.

Galen Trollbane calmly continued to live in the cabin of Trade Prince Revilgaz's warship; clearly, Trade Prince Revilgaz did not suspect that Galen Trollbane had done this.

First of all, very few people knew what was hidden inside Trade Prince Revilgaz's giant statue, and Galen Trollbane, as the leader of the Kingdom of Stromgarde, naturally could not possibly know.

Secondly, Galen Trollbane had only brought along three warships and a very small number of guards on a whim; it was simply impossible for him to transport away Trade Prince Revilgaz's huge statue.

A week quickly passed, and even Trade Prince Revilgaz had to lift the blockade of Booty Bay. Although he was the founder and supervisor of Booty Bay, Booty Bay was, after all, also a subordinate port of the Steamwheedle Cartel. During the few days of the blockade, the detained merchant ships of various races protested to the Steamwheedle Cartel one after another.

On one hand, Trade Prince Revilgaz could not withstand the pressure from the Steamwheedle Cartel. On the other hand, continuing the search would tell everyone that there must be something crucial inside his statue, otherwise why go to such great lengths?

By the time Galen Trollbane saw Baron Revilgaz again, the Baron, who had originally worn a neat suit, no longer looked anything like his previous meticulous self. His suit was tattered and covered in dust, and his hair was greasy and shiny, clearly having gone unkempt for a while.

However, upon seeing Galen Trollbane, Trade Prince Revilgaz acted as if he had encountered a savior, and his previously ashen eyes burned once more.

"Prince Galen, oh no, it should be King Galen! Please forgive my negligence toward you these past few days. I am willing to offer compensation, and I think we should have a good talk about our 'big business'!"

Because of his excitement, Trade Prince Revilgaz's tone became hurried, yet Galen Trollbane keenly noticed the heavy emphasis the other placed on the words big business.

The other's actions made Galen Trollbane understand that Trade Prince Revilgaz was treating him as a straw to clutch at. One had to know that inside Trade Prince Revilgaz's giant statue was his treasury; once it became known to the outside world that Trade Prince Revilgaz's treasury was lost, his status would plummet drastically.

Whether it was the leader of the Blackwater Raiders or Booty Bay itself, Trade Prince Revilgaz relied on funds to maintain them. Once he lacked funds, he would be unable to provide wages for the guards of Booty Bay and the sailors of the Blackwater Raiders. By then, both the Booty Bay Guard and the Blackwater Raiders would betray him, and he would be finished.

What's more, other goblins of the Steamwheedle Cartel had long been eyeing his position with covetous glares; the lord of Booty Bay and the leader of the Blackwater Raiders were both lucrative posts. Now, Trade Prince Revilgaz's erratic actions would surely draw attention, so he had to use another matter to cover up these events and demonstrate that he had not been affected in any way.

Thus, conducting trade with Prince Galen Trollbane, the leader of the Kingdom of Stromgarde, was the best choice. Trade Prince Revilgaz could both earn gold coins through trade and use the trade between Booty Bay and the Kingdom of Stromgarde to deter those covetous goblins, showing them that he could still trade with the Kingdom of Stromgarde, thereby ensuring his position remained rock-solid.

This was precisely Trade Prince Revilgaz's tactic; otherwise, he could never have become the lord of Booty Bay and the head of the Blackwater Raiders.

Yet, when Galen Trollbane understood the hidden meaning behind it, he unhurriedly said, "Baron Revilgaz, I've thought about it over the past few days. My order is very large, and Booty Bay might not be able to fulfill it. I hear that behind Booty Bay stands the Steamwheedle Cartel, so why doesn't Baron Revilgaz help me arrange an introduction?"

Galen Trollbane said this on purpose: first stating that his order was massive to get Trade Prince Revilgaz to take the bait, and then clarifying his desire to trade directly with the Steamwheedle Cartel in order to make Trade Prince Revilgaz make concessions so as to secure the order for himself.

"King Galen, you must believe in Booty Bay's capability; we can definitely take your order! Besides, we're friends, aren't we? I will certainly offer you a satisfying price. If you trade directly with the Steamwheedle Cartel, I guarantee you they will secretly raise prices and mix in shoddy goods. But I, your friend, absolutely will not!" True to expectations, Trade Prince Revilgaz panicked, completely losing his composure and walking right into the trap Galen Trollbane had designed for him.

Afterward, Galen Trollbane signed a series of large-scale orders with Trade Prince Revilgaz, which included grain, building materials, timber, minerals, weapons... and also bought the freedom of Shax Aubrey and the others, who officially left the Blackwater Raiders to serve the Kingdom of Stromgarde.

Ahead of time, Galen Trollbane had already had his trusted Lieutenant Varokar investigate the prices of various commodities within Booty Bay. Sure enough, in order to secure Galen Trollbane's order, Trade Prince Revilgaz set the trade prices of the ordered goods well below the market price of Booty Bay.

Galen Trollbane was extremely satisfied with this outcome. Although he had intended to cooperate directly with the Steamwheedle Cartel, just as Trade Prince Revilgaz had said, the monopolistic Steamwheedle Cartel would never be more reliable than a Trade Prince Revilgaz facing a desperate plight.

Furthermore, the distance from Booty Bay to the Arathi Highlands was much shorter than to any other Steamwheedle Cartel trading port. Trade Prince Revilgaz also had the Blackwater Raiders and possessed sufficient ships, and no other pirates would dare to rob Trade Prince Revilgaz's vessels (as the Bloodsail Buccaneers had not yet risen).

Just like that, Trade Prince Revilgaz regarded Galen Trollbane as his second father and savior. Upon hearing that Galen Trollbane wanted to rebuild the navy of the Kingdom of Stromgarde, he went even further and directly expressed his willingness to let the human sailors of various Alliance nations under the banner of the Blackwater Raiders join the Kingdom of Stromgarde, and even subtly suggested that he could sell warships to Galen Trollbane.

Having lost his treasury, Trade Prince Revilgaz had grown so desperate that he dared to sell anything—even if Galen Trollbane wanted to buy the flagship of the Blackwater Raiders, as long as the price was right, Trade Prince Revilgaz would agree.

Little did Trade Prince Revilgaz know that Galen Trollbane was playing an empty-handed game, intending to use Trade Prince Revilgaz's own money to complete the trade with him.