At this moment, the merchants personally witnessed the occurrence of a ’miracle.’
Someone had already lost their leather shoes, the merchants, gasping for breath, approached the manor, and even though they were mentally prepared, everyone still had their mouths agape, eyes wide with shock.
Oh, ideals...
Treasures! Treasures! Everything buried in the ruins is damn treasures!!
"I am the Lord’s guest, let me in! Let me in!!"
The once arrogant Alliance merchants now had red eyes, clutching the glittering Bright Gold Coins, wishing they could grow wings to fly over the manor walls!
"Please leave, everyone."
Centurion Colin blocked the entrance of the manor, saying coldly, "The Lord has no intention of receiving guests today."
Under Ed’s devilish training, the young man’s face had completely lost its innocence and youthfulness, standing with his weapon at the ready, like a cold, hard rock.
"Then why can Charles and Old Dean stand inside?! They’re outsiders too!"
One sharp-eyed merchant began shouting.
He jumped up and down with urgency, completely abandoning decorum: "Listen, you country... young man, I represent the Alliance’s ideals! I have connections and resources, I can find ways to help your Lord get rid of poverty as quickly as possible!"
Charles and Old Dean definitely can’t consume so much resources, there is a great deal of benefits waiting for them inside!
"I don’t intend to repeat the Lord’s orders a second time."
Colin remained unmoved, even aiming his weapon at the crowd: "Continue to obstruct, and I will consider you as enemies!"
These outsiders with their ’country bumpkin’ insults, no matter how much goodwill the townspeople showed, were always met with ridicule and sneering, their eyes always carrying a haughty arrogance.
Colin doesn’t like them.
On the other side, Charles smiled as he withdrew his gaze, intentionally standing in a conspicuous place to enjoy those colleagues’ jealous and angry looks.
Charles couldn’t help but sigh, if he hadn’t encountered that accident, he wouldn’t have reached this step...
To him, those colleagues seemed like a pack of hyenas smelling meat.
Charles, of course, knew that his character wasn’t any nobler than those guys outside, but for a merchant, knowing to seize luck is the most important character trait!
Who made them come a step too late, and they underestimated the requests made by Lord Roland?
The last time they were received was an exceptional privilege; Lord Roland isn’t someone who can be seen by just anyone!
Charles almost greedily listened to the merchants’ noisy calls, his face filled with more joyful amusement.
Old Dean, on the other hand, was staring intently at the ’mountain’ before them.
Heaven knows what method Lord Roland used to move the Gray Realm onto land!
"Charles... what is Lord Roland truly hiding behind him..."
Old Dean’s voice trembled: "I have never seen so many treasures in my life; do we really have the right to access this wealth..."
"Calm down, old friend."
Charles patted the chubby merchant’s shoulder and glanced at those greedy faces in the distance, suddenly his amusement in his eyes ceased.
He turned his head and looked at Old Dean:
"I remember when you first arrived in Seagull Town, even without witnessing Lord Roland’s ’abilities,’ you were willing to help him develop this impoverished territory..."
Charles asked seriously: "Tell me, old friend, what was your original intention?"
Old Dean paused, gradually calming down.
"I was just upholding the principles of the Southern Alliance, extending a helping hand to others in the name of solidarity, which has always been the ideal I believed in."
He said softly: "And Lord Roland is also willing to give those Fes People a chance to turn their lives around, here I saw the shadow of ’ideal.’
Old Dean still remembers the hopeful scene of the Alliance in his youth.
But strangely, as the Southern Alliance grows more prosperous, Old Dean seemed to be left behind by the times.
"Ideal... Ideal..."
Charles smirked, savoring the word.
"See, this is why I am willing to associate with you. Alliance merchants earn full pots under the guise of ideals, but you, my friend,"
He laughed: "You’re a victim of ideals, you’d even use your hard-earned money to support those most underprivileged Fes People, even though they can hardly bring any returns."
Old Dean fell into silence.
"Want to know how other merchants have always seen you, Old Dean?"
Charles’ laughter inexplicably carried a hint of coldness: "They think you’re just a short-sighted, slow-witted fool from the old era."
"What exactly are you trying to say, Charles?"
Old Dean was somewhat at a loss, as his old friend suddenly shed his usual smooth disguise, completely exposing his gray heart.
"I just want to tell you that no matter how you insist on staying true to your original intentions, the Alliance’s ideals have long lost their essence."
Charles said coldly: "Look at the faces of those guys outside, as soon as Lord Roland loosens his grip a bit, they will immediately divide the present interests under the guise of ideals, just like hyenas!"
"But I won’t give them a single bite!"
Charles said decisively: "Even if Lord Roland plans to use these treasures to develop his territory, and even if our two families’ guilds can’t digest these treasures, I will absolutely start from the Ark’s interest and then peel a layer of skin off those merchants!"
From the moment he signed the Cooperation Letter, Charles abandoned the Alliance’s ’ideal’.
His eyes gleamed with an icy light: "Even if it means becoming their enemy, even if it means betraying the Alliance, I will go to any lengths to protect the interests the Ark brings me!"
Facing the ’Treasure Peak’ before him, he did not conceal his ambition and greed.
"The reason I’m revealing my inner thoughts to you is because you’ve always been a trustworthy ’fool’, Old Dean."
Charles paused, his expression unprecedentedly serious: "Lord Roland is an outstanding leader, so I have decided to go all the way down the path of the ’Apocalypse Ark’."
"But I’m afraid I’ll sink deeper into the swamp of interest, I’m worried I’ll get lost in greed."
At this moment, Charles’ words seemed to carry a hint of pleading: "When that time comes, I hope you can pull me back, old friend."
Old Dean was somewhat dazed.
Moments later, he nodded: "I promise you."
Abandoned by the times, the idealist solemnly said: "I will keep a close watch on you."
"That’s terrific, with a friend like you to back me up, I can do things confidently!"
The decisiveness in Charles’ eyes vanished instantly, and he returned to his usual smooth demeanor.
The future Commerce Minister of the Apocalypse Ark cleared his throat, looking at the merchants outside the door, a sly smile reappearing on his face:
"As the crucial link between the Ark and the Alliance, I can’t ignore the demands of future partners~"
He stepped forward: "I’ll go meet them then."
Leaving Old Dean standing in place, thoughtfully gazing at Charles’ back.
·
Black wings stirred up dust, Eleanor landed with the weakened young boy in front of everyone.
"Captain! Roland!"
Lucia immediately rushed over, the witch’s eyes shining brightly: "You really brought that big guy back!"
"Lord Roland, does the big guy refer to that big ship?" The little maid blinked her eyes.
"Yes."
Eleanor couldn’t help but ruffle little Lisa’s hair, she looked to her First Mate: "The only regret is, we may not be able to salvage the Plumbum White..."
"I was just about to tell you about this!"
Lucia’s exaggerated voice suddenly sounded: "I met the old Empire’s Princess Valentina!"
Lin Lan and Eleanor were both stunned.
Princess Valentina is still alive?
Before Lin Lan could ask aloud, he noticed another entirely transparent card appearing in the blank space of the collection!
[You have collected enough Celestial Principle Authority, constructing a new Dungeon Card for you!]
[Dungeon Card: The Divine Kingdom of Celestial Principle Fallen into ■■]
[Card Base: Dr. Tianli (Unique)]
[Card Keywords: Humanity Council, Utopia, ■■■■ (Data corrupted)]
[Description 1: Do not believe ■■■■! (Data corrupted)]
[Description 2: Once someone took over the path of Celestial Principle, his Intelligent Mechanized Legion was invincible, his steel torrent covered the sky, he forged the most splendid and powerful nation in human history with blood and fire]
[Until...he glimpsed the remnants of Celestial Principle in his later years...]