Chapter 848: Glittergold Trade Union
Although the Glittergold Trade Union was just a commercial organization, it had 5,000 Warriors, all of whom had strength of level-10 or higher. They could all be considered elites in the Felan Kingdom. In addition, there was also a Magic Legion of more than 300 mages who were above level-15. They could be considered no different from the mages of the Alanna Magic Council.
The two powerful groups of guards were guarding the ma.s.sive wealth of the Glittergold Trade Union, as well as Lafalia City, maintaining the order of this commercial center. It was tantamount to providing some protection to the various trade unions that had gathered there. Hence, those trade unions needed not hire their own guards or worry about being robbed by bandits.
It had been two or three years since Lin Li arrived in the Breezy Plains, but it was his first time visiting the famous commercial center, Lafalia City. However, Gavin was a regular visitor here because he was in charge of the commercial affairs of the Tower of Dusk. This time, Lin Li was invited by Hoffman and brought along his two Undead servants as well as Gavin and Beckley because he considered the fact that he probably had to negotiate with the Glittergold Trade Union to forge closer business ties.
As the largest commercial center of the Breezy Plains, Lafalia City was completely different compared to the other cities. Firstly, there were no large fields or farms outside the city. Instead, there were makeshift warehouses and freight yards neatly arranged outside the city, where a large number of movers were busy loading and unloading goods. Caravans that were loaded with goods and unloading goods were proceeding in an orderly manner along the smooth roads that extended in all directions.
The feeling that they felt when they entered the city was even more different. The first impression that Lin Li got was that it was clean and organized, and had wide roads which could fit eight carriages arranged in a single row. Although there were many pedestrians, it did not seem too crowded. There were shops arranged neatly on both sides of the road, peddling common items like fruits and vegetables as well as expensive magical equipment and items. There was a plethora of items available. Of course, there were also hotels, taverns, and brothels in this city where more than half of the wealthy people of the Breezy Plains lived. Lin Li even managed to see a Church of Dawn which belonged to the Brilliance Shrine. However, it seemed rather empty, and Lin Li reckoned that it probably did not attract many believers.
Lin Li did not go straight to the headquarters of the Glittergold Trade Union, and instead went to the Tower of Dusk’s branch in Lafalia City first. He then sent some people to go to the Glittergold Trade Union and inform them of their arrival and the date of their intended visit. Lin Li was not putting on airs, but he simply felt that it would be disrespectful to visit them without informing in advance, for they might not have enough time to make preparations.
In the afternoon, Lin Li brought Gavin, Beckley, and his two Undead servants to the Glittergold Trade Union when it was almost time for the visit. To Lin Li’s surprise, Hoffman and his subordinates were already waiting for him even though he was early.
“Master Felic, when I found out that you’ve accepted the invitation, I was so elated that I couldn’t close my eyes and sleep for a few days,” Hoffman joked upon meeting Lin Li.
“You’re standing on ceremony with me. I’m very honored to have received your invitation too,” Lin Li said politely with a smile.
Although Hoffman had a reasonable explanation for the fact that he didn’t stand up firmly to support the Tower of Dusk during the gathering in Gran Town, he was somewhat embarra.s.sed when he was facing Lin Li. Seeing that Lin Li didn’t seem to hold it against him, Hoffman felt relieved, and proceeded to introduce Lin Li to the shareholders of the trade union, who were standing behind him.
“This is the second largest shareholder of our trade union, the patriarch of the Lakeman Family, Master Thomas,” said Hoffman. The first person who he introduced to Lin Li was an old man with white beard and hair, a flushed face, and a fit figure. He was dressed in a black Star Crescent robe, and was exuding powerful Legendary mana.
“h.e.l.lo, Master Thomas, it’s an honor to meet you,” Lin Li greeted politely. Although he had never met Thomas before, he had been in the Breezy Plains for two or three years, and thus had long heard about the Legendary figure of the Glittergold Trade Union.
Thomas Lakeman was the former President of the Glittergold Trade Union, and he had a great reputation not only in the Glittergold Trade Union, but in the entire Breezy Plains.
When Rodhart the Retribution Knight led the Death Knights to carry out a ma.s.sacre across the Breezy Plains, many Legendary powerhouses retreated to protect themselves. In their opinion, the ones below the Legendary-level were like weeds that would grow back sooner or later, even if they were burnt by fire.
Thomas, who had just stepped into the Legendary-realm then, joined forces with several Legendary powerhouses and fought several intense battles with the Death Knights. Afterwards, he fought them in the Breezy Plains for a long time until Rodhart was purified by Prophet Willen. Although they could not prevent the disaster from happening, they did save countless lives, many of which were talents who joined the Glittergold Trade Union afterward. The Glittergold Trade Union then developed rapidly and reached the peak.
When Hoffman emerged, especially after showing his incredible talent in business management, Thomas ignored the opinions of the majority and graciously allowed Hoffman to take over after him as President. The reality had also proven Thomas’ decision to be a wise one. Under the leadership of Hoffman, the Glittergold Trade Union, which had almost stagnated in its development, once again developed beyond the limits of the Breezy Plains.
Thomas smiled, and said, “President Felic, you’re being too polite. President Hoffman has told me a lot about you, especially your impressive attainments in pharmaceutics. I’ve long wanted to get to know you.”
Next was the third largest shareholder, Jerany, a middle-aged Legendary Sword Sage who was the patriarch of the Bardon Family. Although he looked mild-mannered and was more like a mage on the surface, he had a domineering aura. It was said that the Sword Sage Jerany was not only powerful, but also a capable commander of the Felan Kingdom who was very talented in military affairs. He was the one who nurtured and trained the Skyfire Knights of the Glittergold Trade Union.
The Breezy Plains was known as the land of chaos. Although the Glittergold Trade Union had developed to their current scale because of the President and the leadership of the senior executives, the Skyfire Knights also deserved credit. Apart from the Glittergold Trade Union, no other trade union would make an elite group of knights the guards.
The annual expenditure required to maintain an elite group of 5,000 knights that were above level-10 was ma.s.sive enough to make a middle-cla.s.s force go bankrupt. The Glittergold Trade Union was the only one that could afford such a huge investment. Even the top forces of the Breezy Plains like the established Mithril Alliance and Blood Moon Clan were unwilling to raise such a ma.s.sive group of knights.
The Skyfire Knights’ performance and contributions to the development of the Glittergold Trade Union were indeed worthy of the huge investment. Once, a large band of bandits known as the Blood h.e.l.l appeared in the Breezy Plains, and unscrupulously robbed all the caravans that pa.s.sed through their territory. They had even invaded Zardin City in the south, robbed the castellan mansion there, and killed the city guards before fleeing. However, the greatest mistake that the Blood h.e.l.l Bandits had made was to covet the Glittergold Trade Union’s riches.
The Glittergold Trade Union had only mobilized 2,000 Skyfire Knights during that battle, and Jerany, the commander, divided them into two groups. Hence, only 1,000 Skyfire Knights were fighting the Blood h.e.l.l Bandits, while the other 1,000 were responsible for chasing down and killing the enemies outside. The 30,000 bandits were finally defeated and wiped out by the 1,000 Skyfire Knights’s charge. The area where they were killed was later named the Scarlet Swamp.
After that battle, all bandits would retreat whenever they saw the emblem of the Glittergold Trade Union on caravans. They would immediately flee as far as they could, and the Skyfire Knights had also gained fame in the Breezy Plains because of that. The forces that once laughed and mocked the Glittergold Trade Union for being nouveau riches were all mad with jealousy.
Legendary-mage Elvan was the fourth major shareholder of the Breezy Plains, and he was also an impressive figure. Not only had he reached the Legendary-realm, he was also a rare Master of Inscription. In the entire Breezy Plains, Elvan was one of the top masters in terms of Inscription. Most of the advanced mageweaths used for the products of the Glittergold Trade Union were drawn by him.
Elvan did not have a big family or a wealthy background, yet he could become the fourth major shareholder of the Glittergold Trade Union—it was all because of his superb Inscription skills. It was said that even the identification mageweath on the crystal card issued by the Glittergold Trade Union was written by Elvan after some research that he had conducted. Even until now, no one had been able to crack it.
Lin Li had a VIP card issued by the Glittergold Trade Union which was originally given to him by Hoffman. He had naturally studied the mageweath on the crystal card a long time ago. Of course, with Lin Li’s current attainments in Inscription, he would still be able to crack the mageweath on the crystal card. However, he could tell from the complexity of the mageweath that it was written by a Master of Inscription who was definitely more skilled and advanced than Master Moke.
Hoffman held half of the shares of the Glittergold Trade Union, while the other three major shareholders owned nearly all of the remaining half. However, in addition to the three major shareholders, there were also six other small shareholders, who occupied less than one-tenth of the shares of the Glittergold Trade Union altogether. However, the six of them were not to be belittled. Although they might not have invested much in the Glittergold Trade Union, each one of them had Legendary powers.
After getting to know every shareholder of the Glittergold Trade Union, Lin Li and his companions entered the headquarters of the Glittergold Trade Union under Hoffman’s lead. The pa.s.sersby and visitors who walked past the gate stood rooted to the ground in shock, unable to accept the scene before their eyes.
Hoffman, the President of the Glittergold Trade Union did not own the entire Glittergold Trade Union, but he held nearly half of the businesses of the trade union. At the same time, he was also a powerful Summoner and a Master of pharmaceutics. Regardless of his ident.i.ty, he was absolutely respected by everyone in the Breezy Plains.
However, the respected and esteemed Hoffman was actually so enthusiastic and pa.s.sionate towards a young mage. They could not help but wonder what Lin Li’s background was. Soon, Gavin and Beckley were recognized to be the senior executives of the Tower of Dusk. At the thought of the two of them following Lin Li respectfully, they began to guess his ident.i.ty.
“Is that the young President of the Tower of Dusk? He looks really young. He seems to be in his early twenties!” one of them exclaimed in disbelief.
“The Tower of Dusk is amazing now. Who had even heard of them two years ago? Yet, they’re now… ” The story of the Tower of Dusk had become a legend of the Breezy Plains. Lin Li, the young President who entered the Legendary-realm at the age of 20 and achieved miraculous progress, immediately sparked an intense discussion.
Not long ago, the Tower of Dusk faced the suppression and boycott of almost all the forces of the Breezy Plains, and almost everyone thought that that would be the end of the Tower of Dusk. However, no one thought that they would enjoy a twist of fate overnight. They had no idea how the Tower of Dusk got acquainted with the terrifying Ashen Warlock, and even gain his protection. As a result, the Tower of Dusk remained standing in Doland, and even the alliance formed to suppress the Tower of Dusk was disbanded silently.
Ignoring the discussion amongst the people outside, Lin Li was ushered into the guest hall by Hoffman where everyone took a seat. After some greetings and friendly small talk, they began to talk about the main topic of discussion, which was the strengthening of the future cooperation between the Glittergold Trade Union and the Tower of Dusk. Of course, they were just expressing their intentions for a closer cooperation, and the specific details of the partnership would be discussed in separate negotiations between the two parties.
In the evening, the Glittergold Trade Union threw a grand banquet to welcome Lin Li’s arrival, and invited the figures of status in Lafalia City. However, the so-called figures of status in this commercial capital were just the representatives of the large companies and business magnates. The banquet lasted until late at night. As the President of the Tower of Dusk, Lin Li didn’t think much of it, and he simply felt that he had heard a lifetime’s worth of compliments and formal greetings. He finally understood how glib the tongues of businessmen were.
After the banquet ended, Hoffman took out the potion formulas that left many pharmacists feeling helpless, and consulted Lin Li about the problems that had bothered him for a long time. In addition to Hoffman, the three other major shareholders, Thomas, Elvan, and Jerany, also joined in even though they were not interested in pharmaceutics—no one would want an expensive potion formula that had cost them a ton to end up being a useless piece of waste paper.