The Martial Unity

"I am honored that the Emperor of Harmony has taken the time to personally negotiate with me," Guildmaster Bradt spoke with calm candor. "I will take the time to review and thoroughly consider the offers that you have made to me today with my advisors and formulate a decision in due time after taking into account the interests of our stakeholders."

Emperor Rael stared at him with a piercing gaze, heaving a soft sigh. "Let us dispense with meaningless fluff. What about this alliance is insufficient for you?"

The guildmaster paused for a moment as Emperor Rael tossed all the niceties aside with a question that got straight to the heart of the matter.

"…The stick hurts more than the carrot nourishes, Emperor Rael." Guildmaster Bradt closed his eyes. "While I would rather this war didn't happen at all, now that it has, I must act in my interests. Resources of the Beast Domain and the mass breakthroughs are indeed very attractive; however, I do not strictly require them to succeed in my sector. What I need are the foundations of my business, which would be deeply undermined if I made an enemy of the greatest power blocs of East Panama."

He stared at Emperor Rael with an ambivalent expression. "…It is a huge risk for great but ultimately unnecessary rewards."

Emperor Rael had anticipated this. "The Kandrian Empire's maritime and seafare industry has quadrupled in size in the nearly four years since I returned to the throne. We are able to accommodate your high flux of transport and delivery through our naval industry. I recall that this proposition was the reason that you supported my daughter Ranea during the Kandrian Throne War, was it not?"

"It indeed was," Guildmaster Bradt replied. "However, the risks were quite low for me during the Kandrian Throne War. It was only a matter of money being lost. Of course, a lot of money was painfully lost. But money can be earned back. What cannot be easily gotten back is the foundation of my business. The decades' worth of connections with polities all over East Panama sustains my transport and distribution service. I cannot let it go."

Emperor Rael narrowed his eyes. "…You are unable to part with what you have built over a lifetime. But there's more. You object to relinquishing control and ownership of your channels of distribution to a singular third party like the Kandrian Empire."

Guildmaster Bradt directed a careful glance at the Emperor of Harmony. He had boldly chosen to broach a sensitive subject that wasn't the most pleasant to bring attention to.

"…Since you have chosen to speak the unspoken, then yes," Guildmaster Bradt confirmed. "The maritime and seafaring industries of the Kandrian Empire are indeed quite impressive and desirable. However, the biggest issue with having them serve as my primary means of distribution after I make an enemy of the alliance is that I have surrendered all control of my only means of distribution to you. You would be able to cripple my business with ease at any point if you truly wanted to."

In fact, the only reason that he was even considering allying with the Kandrian Empire at all was that the Emperor of Harmony had created an impeccable and spotless reputation for being reliable and trustworthy.

Emperor Rael had already cleverly leveraged this with powerful rewards in the future when the Kandrian Empire successfully broke past the Great Limit and reached unprecedented power and prosperity. This had earned him decent progress in the war for allies and even the serious considerations of the guildmaster.

Had it been anybody else, the guildmaster would have snorted and sided with the alliance in a heartbeat.

Yet, trust alone wasn't enough.

"…We have spoken a lot today. Why don't we consider this another time?" Emperor Rael heaved a soft sigh. "Then, I look forward to it." The Guildmaster nodded.

Emperor Rael fell into deep thought as he considered the conversation that had ensued.

A small smile cracked at the edge of his mouth.

"This is going better than I thought."

He reclined back on his chair as his smile widened. He had always known that getting the guildmaster on board was going to be a hard sell. However, the fact that the guildmaster had yet to join the alliance and was still willing to speak candidly with him was a good sign. It meant that while he had yet to accept the Kandrian Empire's offers, he wasn't inclined to join the alliance, either.

All Emperor Rael needed was a push either way, and the guildmaster would make up his mind once and for all. As long as Emperor Rael could bag the Shionel Confederation, he was fairly confident that he would have prevented the alliance from being able to gain the power they needed to annihilate the Kandrian Empire without devastating losses themselves.

There were only so many Sage-level nations, after all. A quarter of them had already made up their mind due to their close proximity to either side, giving them no real choice in the matter. It was the nations that were closer to the center that mattered the most and would be most impactful.

As long as everything went according to plan.

CLACK

Emperor Rael's gaze shifted to the immensely powerful presence that had just entered the room.

"…Mothe—"

"Don't call me that." Matriarch Nephi scowled at him. He smiled. "Well, to what do I owe the pleasure?"

"I have been scrying the Britannian Prime Minister's future since the war began, as you have requested," she answered. "I don't foresee any trouble."

Emperor Rael's eyes narrowed.

That wasn't right.

Something was off.

"You don't foresee anything that he is planning for or has in mind? No strategy, tactic, gambit, or anything of significance?"

"None at all," she remarked. "You have had me divining this man's future more than any other enemy Sage. However, I do not see the point of that. Is this man truly worth all this caution compared to the enemy Sages?"

Emperor Rael's eyes narrowed. "I can assure you that this man is the most dangerous enemy that the Kandrian Empire has."

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