164: Kingdom of Ria, Drus

"You have done an excellent job as the Admiral of the Navy. I just saw the results of your training, and it seems you have not only met my requirements but greatly exceeded them!

They no longer look like recruits who have only been training for a month.

They are practically veteran sailors who have operated ships for years—very well done!"

In fact, the main reason they learned so quickly is that their strength level is at least Bronze Knight. When their strength increases, their minds become sharper, and they naturally learn faster!

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for the praise. I will definitely work harder in the future, leading this navy to expand territory for Your Majesty!"

"Mm! I await that day!"

After praising Endri, Arthur turned his gaze to Eric, who was standing beside him.

"Eric!"

"Present!"

"A month ago, I promised that if you could help General Endri train the army, you would become his deputy.

I am now fulfilling that promise. You must continue to work hard and not slack off!"

"Yes, this subordinate will engrave Your Majesty's teachings in mind!"

Arthur's original intention for coming here was to inspect the results of the navy's training.

But upon arrival, he saw their maneuvers, and their performance was excellent, so he didn't bother making them demonstrate again.

Afterward, the group chatted for a while, and Arthur gained a detailed understanding of the current navy.

Finally, he instructed them to continue training, and Arthur returned to the Royal Capital.

He didn't stay at the Southern Dock for long.

Since the naval issue was resolved, Arthur had no more worries about the planned attack on the Beastmen.

It was time to truly unify the Doreen Peninsula!

While Arthur was mobilizing troops and generals,

in the five kingdoms located in the southeast of the Continent of Gods—north of the Doreen Peninsula and separated from it by the Desert of Death—Arthur's Lionheart Merchant Guild finally opened for business.

Lia Kingdom was one of the five kingdoms where the Lionheart Merchant Guild branch was established.

In the capital of the Lia Kingdom, a prominent high-rise building in the city now bore the plaque of the Lionheart Merchant Guild.

The sudden change of ownership of such a high-rise naturally attracted a lot of attention, and people had long been secretly investigating who was behind it.

Initially, everyone discovered that people from the Dawn Merchant Guild were inside the high-rise.

This confused some people; after all, the Dawn Merchant Guild already had a branch in the Lia Kingdom’s Royal Capital, so why buy another building?

It wasn't until the personnel sent by Arthur arrived, the Lionheart Merchant Guild plaque was hung on the building, and most of the Dawn Merchant Guild staff withdrew.

Only then did everyone realize that the Dawn Merchant Guild had helped someone else acquire the building.

When the Dawn Merchant Guild withdrew, they still left a few people behind to help Arthur's subordinates operate the guild.

After all, although Arthur's subordinates were all powerful experts, they were not proficient in business and needed to learn from the Dawn Merchant Guild staff first.

As the saying goes, competitors are rivals. To others, the fact that the Dawn Merchant Guild was actually helping the suddenly appearing Lionheart Merchant Guild was jaw-dropping.

In their view, this was a thankless task that involved training a competitor.

On the other side, after Arthur’s Lionheart Merchant Guild arrived in the Royal Capital of the Lia Kingdom,

they spent the first day getting familiar with the surroundings, and on the second day, they began their publicity campaign.

"The Lionheart Merchant Guild is selling a large quantity of various rare items, including Sky Knight armor, Sky Knight swords, Legendary Dragon blood, and high-grade magic crystals.

We solemnly promise that all the items listed above are real and exist. We open in three days.

As long as you need these items, you can come to the Lionheart Merchant Guild to purchase them.

Even if we are temporarily out of stock, you can pay a deposit first, and we guarantee the product will be available later!"

The news spread by the Lionheart Merchant Guild caused a huge sensation within the Lia Kingdom.

Because their goods were too astonishing!

Although there were only four items, every single one of them was typically only seen at auctions.

Some items, like dragon blood, were rarely even encountered at auctions.

Even for the least valuable item, high-grade magic crystals, ordinary people could usually only buy one or two, and buying them in large quantities required an auction.

Now, the Lionheart Merchant Guild was claiming they had large quantities of such goods, and even if they temporarily sold out,

they guaranteed they could obtain them for you after a delay if you paid a deposit. How could this not shock everyone!

Even the Dawn Merchant Guild, the most powerful transnational merchant guild in the Lia Kingdom, wouldn't dare guarantee they could procure and sell such a large quantity of rare items.

Not to mention the Legendary Dragon blood, which was rarely seen even once every century.

Therefore, most people didn't believe the Lionheart Merchant Guild's claims, thinking they were just trying to gain attention and create a spectacle.

Even if they did have those four items, it must only be a tiny amount.

For example, regarding the dragon blood, the Lionheart Merchant Guild would surely display a small genuine sample for everyone to see.

But when someone wanted to buy it, they would claim a shortage and require a wait—it was all a scheme.

Under the gaze of public skepticism, three days passed, and the opening day of the Lionheart Merchant Guild arrived.

Although people didn't quite believe the Lionheart Merchant Guild's advertisements, gathering for excitement is human nature.

On opening day, many people still flocked to the street next to the Lionheart Merchant Guild, filling it completely.

Drus Taylor was one of them. He came because he was extremely eager for one particular item sold by the Lionheart Merchant Guild.

The surname Taylor holds significant meaning in the Lia Kingdom, as it is the surname of the Taylor Family, one of the five Great Dukes of the Lia Kingdom.

And Drus Taylor was the current legitimate eldest son of the Taylor Family.

Despite this, Drus Taylor's Cultivation talent was unusually ordinary, unlike a direct descendant of a Sky Knight.

Even with the abundant resources of a Duke's Family, Drus, now thirty-five years old, had only just managed to become a Gold Knight.

This level of strength was considered good among commoners; becoming a Gold Knight at thirty-five could even be called a minor Genius among them.

But Drus was not an ordinary person; he was the legitimate eldest son of a Duke's Family, the Taylor Family.

Becoming a Gold Knight at thirty-five, this speed of Cultivation was too slow for him.

Breaking through to Earth Knight by thirty-five was considered acceptable.

Even his parents, who had always doted on him, gradually had to place their hopes for the next generation on his younger siblings when faced with this situation.

Five years ago, Drus realized that even if he continued to Cultivate, he wouldn't achieve much, so he simply dedicated more energy to business.

He knew that the Continent of Gods had many items that could change one's talent, and to obtain them, besides relying on strength, one could also acquire them with money from an auction house.

Therefore, he started doing business and earning money a long time ago.

With the added status of being the legitimate eldest son of a Duke, combined with his surprisingly good business talent, he now had a profit of nearly 100 million gold coins.