Chapter 138: Betrayal

In a caravan departing from the Grand Duchy of Gregor, Tony sat in a carriage, his eyes glued to the “Conquest” Forum, his hands trembling with excitement.

His father was a noble baron with three sons and a daughter.

After the collapse of the Carman Empire, the great nobles bickered over the “inheritance rights” of the empire, causing the current heirloom-based system of the Karman United Republic to crumble.

Now, to ensure family succession, noble titles are mostly given to the most competent.

As a young noble with inherently weak soul power, he was naturally destined not to inherit a title.

Noble children who can’t inherit a title usually choose to join the Church and become priests.

If one could rise to a high position later, it might be thirty years of prosperity.

Unfortunately, Tony couldn’t even walk this path.

His naturally weak soul power prevented him from achieving much in magic, and even the Church rejected him.

Had his birth been more noble, perhaps he could have joined the royal family as a court noble.

While lacking hereditary rights, if he did well, becoming a feudal noble wasn’t impossible.

Unfortunately, his birth was neither here nor there.

All of this made Tony the most humble existence among nobles— a merchant.

Under his father’s arrangement, he had to learn business and rely on family power.

This life seemed good at first, but only for his generation.

When the legitimate descendants matured, his distant relatives were destined for decline.

He had seen too many such cases!

He was not resigned!

Yet he was powerless.

Until he encountered the Internet, accessed the Internet Library, and took online courses; he found a glimmer of hope.

Though this hope was weak, wasn’t it still hope?

Now this flicker of hope had suddenly grown stronger!

— The Internet God actually allowed users to exchange Source Essence!

If he could use his wealth, secretly form a Player Guild, and enlist mercenaries to farm gold for Source Essence, could his magic talent change?

If he could change, he’d have a chance to turn the tables!

The more Tony thought about it, the more he trembled all over.

Father, I train diligently every day, study strategy, and even follow your advice to learn business, yet you never look at me directly;

You always give the best magical tools to my younger siblings, never sharing a bit with me. Don’t you know those tools could change my life?

Church, you pitiable and humble servant wishes to convert and serve the Goddess devoutly, but you disdain me as well!

Don’t you claim justice and kindness?

Why does your justice and kindness not reflect on me at all?

My ten thousand gold coin donation only bought a promise from my brother not to kill me?

Fine, fine, fine!

Fine!

You all look down on me!

But the Internet God sees me, gives me an opportunity, so then… don’t blame me for betraying you!

Tony took a deep breath and internally convinced himself.

“Sir, Vis Els is near!” came a report from a rider outside the carriage.

Tony calmed his mind, opened the window, and looked outside.

At this point, the convoy was at a high point overlooking the basin, where a vast city sprawled.

The Magic Tower standing in the city center loomed tall!

As the convoy approached, one could see guards patrolling all over the city walls and outside.

Unlike the peaceful, mysterious imagined scene, the gate to Vis Els was crowded with caravans.

Judging by their flags, some caravans came from Quever, others from Carman.

Tony, who had memorized the flags of major caravans from the Southeast Azaea Continent, even saw one from the Beyer Empire.

“So many people?”

Tony frowned… it seemed the rumors about the Quever Empire selling flintlocks were true.

After checks by the City Guard, Tony’s caravan was let through.

Upon entering the city, Tony was stunned.

The bustling noise hit him like stepping into a marketplace.

The streets he anticipated did not appear.

Upon entering through the city gates, there was a giant ring-shaped building complex that looked like half a coliseum.

The complex was densely packed with shops like a beehive.

Some had owners and were operating;

Some were still vacant.

Overall, it was about evenly divided.

Every open shop had virtual screens with signs saying “Bicycle Store,” “Axle Store,” “Chain Store,” “Metal Purchase”… and so on.

The anticipated scene of brokers coming to the door didn’t happen.

Despite the hustle and bustle of the large trading area, no one paid him any attention.

Tony frowned, ordered his caravan to rest, then took his bodyguards to investigate.

It was fine before he checked, but after checking, he couldn’t sit still.

The bicycle parts Quever had sent were almost sold out, leaving only a few samples.

To get parts, you had to order and wait several days.

Though there were some complete bicycles in stock, they were very expensive.

What stunned him most was that Quever merchants wouldn’t accept cash; they’d only take Internet Bank transfers!

As they put it, the value of currencies wasn’t consistent, making exchange too troublesome.

Besides, transporting the currency back was costly.

They’d rather carry iron ingots back than a chest of cash.

Tony was dumbfounded!

— A cashless transaction was unheard of for him, even though he knew about Internet Bank’s existence.

Oh well, if he couldn’t buy goods for now, why not sell some?

He had come to purchase bicycle parts and even magical tools.

However, he also brought many goods, including some mithril and a large amount of refined iron ingots.

The Quever merchants seemed honest, picky, but their prices were fair.

It was during payment that another frustrating scene occurred.

The Quever merchants didn’t accept nor give cash; again they said— bank transfer.

If you wanted cash, go to a branch!

Tony had no choice but to accept the transfer. He even dragged the dealmakers to the Internet Bank to withdraw.

When he arrived, the place was packed.

Some withdrawing money, some depositing money. It was bustling.

It appeared he wouldn’t get his turn until nightfall.

Fortunately, the Internet Bank seemed to know business time was precious and claimed to operate around the clock.

Tony let his servants queue up and took advantage of the gathering of Southeast Azaea caravans to gather information and expand connections.

“The Internet Bank only recognizes gold content, not gold coins. Damn, my ten thousand gold coins only exchanged into over nine thousand three hundred Quever Gold Coins; a huge loss!”

“What loss? After trading, just convert it back to our currency, right?”

“Ah, that’s true!”

“I say, just deposit the money with Internet Bank. It’s convenient and pays interest!”

“Indeed, mainly for convenience. Transporting tens of thousands of gold coins back makes bandits a real worry!”

“Exactly. If you deposit it in the bank, you’ll only lose a shipment at most and won’t have a wasted trip.”

“The key point is the interest. It’s much more stable than my own investments! I’ve heard that in the Quever Empire, everyone from nobles to common folk deposits with the bank. They don’t even use currency, just settle transactions on the Internet.”

“I wonder, how does Internet Bank make money if they pay interest?”

“You don’t know? They give loans to the Dragon Factory. Do you know the Dragon Factory? It’s the factory run by Ajef, the Internet God’s follower, which produces bicycle lines. Any line costs hundreds of thousands to millions of gold coins!”

“Impressive! But I’m more concerned with whether depositing money with Internet Bank is safe?”

“I think it’s safe. The Internet Bank was founded by the Internet God. Would he covet gold coins? I’ve heard he even exchanges Source Essence!”

“Yes, the Quever Empire can withstand even Saint Todd’s attacks. They defeated Sparta; they’ll stand for a while.”

“It’s a pity, though, that our country doesn’t have a branch, so if I deposit the money, what happens if we urgently need it?”

“True, it would be great if Internet Bank opened a branch in our kingdom.”

Merchants gathered, either discussing bicycles or chatting about the Internet Bank.

Unbeknownst to them, their discussions were subtly guided by someone.

A web of influence using Internet Bank as a spear and interests as a shield was about to unfold!