This in itself wasn’t bad news for the Schudenberg expedition. The two kingdoms decided to meet at Silrinad because it was a strategically important area. If the Bristania expedition occupied the area then they could attack behind Pabiun and destroy the Black Obelisk Forest. Then the Schudenberg expedition could enter Pabiun Fortress with minimal damage. But it wasn’t good to receive help from Bristania at such an early stage. When the war in the Sinius Principality was over, then Schudenberg kingdom would have to give a large amount of the compensation to Bristania. The biggest goal of the expedition was to repel the dark forces so they had poured huge amounts of money into it. Since Haverstein was the commander, he had to pay attention to that part. But Ark was worried about a different problem.
‘I assumed that Bread and Redian were in the expedition after they didn’t contact me for a while. Damn! They got in the way……’
Ark muttered inwardly as he bit his lip. Once again, Ark would continue to receive a huge benefit if this current state continued. But that balance was broken with the entry of the Bristania forces into the war. It was impossible for him to be happy about it. Ark was simply greedy. But after that his thoughts were the same as Haverstein’s.
‘We can’t stay at the border forever. I can only change the military currency to cash after the war ends. But if the war persisted then the Schudenberg Kingdom has to set the tone for the war.’
It was important that Haverstein and the expedition force takes leadership in the war. The two expeditions would eventually join together.
‘If the Bristania expedition takes leadership then the Schudenberg forces might not get the chance to come forward. In the worst case scenario, the Bristania might use their supply unit to spread goods!’
This was the part Ark was worried about. Both kingdoms were going to get significant gains from entering the Sinius Principality. The expedition force that had more achievements would be able to request more compensation. If the Bristania expedition took leadership then they wouldn’t give as much chances to gain achievements to the Schudenberg army. They would intentionally remove them from important battles.
‘If the Schudenberg forces don’t fight fiercely then how much supplies will they consume? If the chances to fight decreases…..’
It would mean less consumption of supplies. That meant his income would decrease. Ark had gone through all that trouble to secure supplies from the Underground World and Seutandal. He even set up 24 hour production lines to secure a significant amount of goods. So far the consumption had been perfectly balanced with the production. What would happen if the consumption suddenly plummeted? And the war ended before he disposed of all his stock? In the worst case scenario, Ark would have goods would thousands of gold to dispose of.
‘A-absolutely not! If all my funds are tied up in the goods when the war ends then it would take a long time to resume the triangular trade!’
But the problem didn’t end there.
“There…..and a command has also been sent.”
The messenger hesitated as he looked at Haverstein.
“What is it?”
“If the Bristania expedition arrives at Silrinad first and takes away the leadership then the nobles will have to appoint someone else to replace you as commander.”
Ark felt his heart drop at the words. Replacement commander? What kind of talk was that?
‘It must be Duke Sarkin who planted the idea. Marquis Halben and Daltin recommended Haverstein so it is impossible for them to mention replacing him. If Haverstein is replaced then it would be with Duke Sarkin’s candidate. Then……’
The reason Ark could receive the exclusive trading contract was because Haverstein was the commander. If Haverstein was replaced then Ark would also be replaced as well. Duke Sarkin was the one who tried to make Ark fail before the expedition departed. Wouldn’t Duke Sarkin have one of his subordinates replace Ark? Then it wouldn’t simply be the problem of selling his remaining stock. Currently Ark had goods worth hundreds of thousands of gold piled up and if he couldn’t sell them then Ark’s Corporation would become broke. That was Ark’s thoughts.
“Even this will be taken away.”
Haverstein muttered with a bitter smile. Then the leader of the 1st unit said with a dissatisfied look.
“It’s really frustrating. They don’t know about the battlefield conditions. The Bristania border is completely different from ours. Their mountains have a gentle slope so they can easily move a large army. The black obelisks are also easier to destroy then. They only see the results yet they still want to replace the commander……”
“It is ineffective even if we say that.”
Haverstein spoke in a calming voice.
“We can’t worry about the decision from the meeting mow. The biggest purpose of this fight is to repel the dark forces. But repelling the forces is only 50% of our work. Like His Majesty said, this battle doesn’t just involve the Schudenberg Kingdom but the continent as well. If Bristania grabs the early initiative then we have to cooperate with them.”
“That is true however……”
“Although the Bristania army crossed the border, it will take them 5 days to reach the Silrinad area. We’ll just have to capture Pabiun Fortress in a few days. So our problem is to think of a way to capture Pabiun.”
But it was impossible for that to happen. In the end, the leaders could only sigh as they left the meeting. The expedition army couldn’t enter the canyon until the effects of Earth Blast wore off the next morning.
‘Is there another way?’
“Hey, why does your face look so down?”
He suddenly heard a familiar voice from somewhere. When he raised his head, he saw with surprise that it was Shambala.
“Eh? Shambala? Why are you here?”
“Eh? What is with that ‘eh?’ Aren’t you the one that called me?”
“Me? Ah, that’s right!”
Ark made a stupid expression before belatedly nodding his head. He had forgotten that he summoned Shambala thanks to this incident. Ark had called Shambala not long ago. After becoming a supplier, Ark knew how much profit there was in supplying goods to soldiers on the battlefield. And he came up with an idea to maximize the profits.
Not everyone could become a supplier like Ark. They had to be able to evade thousands of monsters while running around the battlefield. So a certain level and capability was needed. The person who came to Ark’s head at the time was Shambala. Shambala was a user who had the same extraordinary skills as Ark. He could go around the battlefield and sell supplies like Ark. Ark immediately contacted Shambala after coming up with the idea. However Shambala’s personality wasn’t the type to willingly go along with Ark.
“You eat too much.”
Shambala had refused as expected. But Ark had one way to get Shambala to agree.
“Hmm, is that so? Then I will use the ‘1 time Shambala use’ coupon. Surely you won’t break your oath in front of Isabel?”
“…….You bastard!”
Shambala regretted it but it was already too late. Ark had received a ‘1 time Shambala use’ coupon. Shambala has issued this coupon to Ark because of Seutandal. While the black obelisks had appeared on the continent, they still hadn’t showed up in Seutandal. But it wasn’t completely free from the threat of the black obelisk. There were various black obelisks in the neighbouring waters so sea monsters had begun attacking Seutandal. That was a serious problem for Ark as well.
“We would like to produce the munitions and industrial material that Ark-nim requested. But the sea monsters are invading continuously so there is no time to make them.”
Isabel said when Ark visited with the contract for munitions. But the production capacity of the Baran clan was indispensable to Ark’s plan. Yet it wasn’t possible to produce the goods because of the sea monsters.
‘Is there a way to stop the sea monsters?’
Ark was busy contemplating when an item entered his head.
-Parasite’s Egg Sacs
The egg sacs of the Parasites living inside Leviathan. They will hatch once placed underwater.
He had been unsure about where to use such an item. Even if they were hatched, they were still monsters. Wouldn’t he also have to raise their levels after they hatched? But this item was unexpectedly useful when combined with the special ability of the Baran clan. The ‘monster taming’ ability of the Baran clan! That’s right. Couldn’t the hatched parasites by trained by the Baran clan to be used in the military? Plus, the Parasites were just hatched so they would be easy to train. Then the thousands of Parasites could join the Seutandal navy. No, one egg sac could hatch thousands of eggs so the navy could have tens of thousands of trained monsters.
‘The number of Parasites hatched could deal with the sea monsters. Then the Baran clan will be able to concentrate on their production.’
So Ark made a bargain with Isabel as soon he made the plan. As expected, there really were no useless items in the game. Ark would provide a method for Seutandal to deal with the sea monsters and the price for the war materials would be 65% of the market price. Shambala who had been watching Ark snorted and muttered.
“You really are an unpleasant fellow.”
But his words dug his own grave. Ark immediately added another condition.
“65 percent of market price for the military supplies…..and a ‘1 time Shambala use’ coupon in exchange for the Parasite eggs.”
“What? Am I a thing?”
Shambala jumped with surprise but he inevitably agreed once Isabel looked at him.
“Kikiki, be careful in the future.”
Ark laughed at Shambala who looked like he wanted to kill Ark.
He had carelessly forgotten about the coupon being used so Shambala frowned and shouted.
“Ah, that’s right? Are you playing with me now?”
“Shut up, I’ve been busy so I forgot for a moment. I can’t afford to quarrel