Chapter 1329
Meanwhile, with enough samples—especially brand new ones—Dick immediately ordered the Lincoln Trading Guild's alchemists to begin experiments.
When he received the results, Dick's hands were shaking...
"Lord Dick, we must acquire this Universal Core! With it, our guild's magical relics can be enhanced by forty-eight percent across the board! And especially with the Skyfruit as a catalyst, the results are off the charts."
Especially for Soulbound Relics, which bring in the highest overall profits—the improvement is most obvious. Damn, it can fit almost every Soulbound Relic. No, I should say, for all the popular relics nowadays, unless they're extremely specialized, the average boost for Soulbound Relics is sixty-two percent!
Sixty-two percent!
With this, those idiots in the Roosevelt Trading Consortium can eat our dust!
An alchemist delivered his impassioned speech in front of Dick, while Dick just stared blankly at the experiment report, his eyes vacant...
Soulbound Relics aren't the most expensive, nor do they sell the most, but overall, they bring the highest profit!
With the same relic, even a ten percent improvement would be enough to crush all competitors in the same category—let alone sixty-two percent!
In the fiercely competitive Stoneland Kingdom, that means total domination!
The strong get stronger, the weak starve—this is all too common in the Stoneland Kingdom...
And this is a completely new material—must be something the Gilded Rose discovered. Our alchemical experiments can't find anything like it. They must've found it on some other plane.
Without this material, even if we crack the technology, it's useless.
Lord Dick, we must reach a cooperation agreement with the Gilded Rose! Even if we use the Universal Core on Essence Relics, we still get a five to thirty percent increase.
We have to be the first to secure Universal Core supply! We absolutely can't let those idiots at the Roosevelt Trading Consortium get it first!
If they get it, our Lincoln Trading Guild might be pushed down—and we could even lose a seat in the Upper Parliament...
Dick's face was pale with terror. As an alchemist, he knew exactly what those numbers meant.
He leapt from his chair and rushed out, heading straight for the Gilded Rose.
When he arrived at the Gilded Rose and saw Leon's calm, unhurried demeanor, Dick finally managed to regain his composure.
Damn it, whatever—so what if the Gilded Rose takes a huge bite? If we feed the Gilded Rose, the Lincoln Trading Guild will get tenfold returns in the Stoneland Kingdom.
No matter what conditions the Gilded Rose asks for, just agree—as long as they agree to cooperate with the Lincoln Trading Guild...
"Archmage Leon Merlin, I've come this time with utmost sincerity—I want to reach an agreement with the Gilded Rose regarding the Universal Core."
Leon refused without hesitation.
"Lord Dick, you should know—the Universal Core's production is nowhere near enough..."
Dick's face was solemn, as if he hadn't heard a word.
"Archmage Leon Merlin, we won't ask for technical cooperation—just procurement. I know the Gilded Rose offers bulk deals to partners at fifty thousand Purple Gold Coins. The Lincoln Trading Guild can offer fifty-three thousand!
Six hundred thousand Universal Cores per year, and we can even let the Gilded Rose use our connections in the Odin Kingdom—share our sales network...
Dick listed a whole bunch of conditions, each one a major benefit for the Gilded Rose.
Beyond the price, letting the Gilded Rose leverage the Lincoln Trading Guild's connections in the Odin Kingdom is priceless. With those networks built over years, smear campaigns like the recent one wouldn't even get off the ground.
If someone targeted the Gilded Rose, they wouldn't be the last to know, nor would they have to investigate for ages just to identify the suspect...
Sharing the sales network would make the Gilded Rose's expansion much smoother—at least they'd be firmly established in the Odin Kingdom, no longer easy prey for anyone.
Such smear campaigns wouldn't blow up like this anymore, and thugs harassing their branch shops would be a thing of the past...
Dick said all this, but Leon just kept his head down, lost in thought.
Leon showed no reaction, but Dick was starting to panic.
Damn it, those idiots in the Roosevelt Trading Consortium tried to wreck the Gilded Rose with these tactics—I just watched the show. If not for them, I wouldn't even care about this stuff.
Who would've thought the Universal Core would be as good as the rumors—no, even better. If those idiots at the Roosevelt Trading Consortium succeed, the Lincoln Trading Guild is in real trouble.
If the Lincoln Trading Guild gets pushed down, losing a seat in the Upper Parliament would make passing future bills ten times harder...
The guild president would definitely come over and strangle me himself—my soul would be burned in a Soul Lamp for ten thousand years before it dissipated...
Dick was anxious inside, but outwardly he waited in silence, expressionless.