The nobles that joined the Snowdrifts in the trade war began to increase in number.

As more people observed how the three powerful families had been pushed back by Kairos, they begun to accept that the young Earl has a solid backer that enabled him to retaliate. And in their minds, they suspect that the ones pulling the strings for him to succeed is their Emperor, Galahad the twelve, himself.

However, the Snowdrifts' advantage did not last for long, when the Hope family announced that some supplies into Saint City will be stopped. Those resources had been urgently 'required' by the South and will thus be delayed for certain nobles.

Specifically, for all the nobles that have been found having a business relationship with the Snowdrifts.

The gentry quickly realise the motive behind this declaration, and the trade war began to escalate at a pace far beyond anyone's expectations. Just as the three families guessed, when the Emperor heard that the South was the ones that purchased resources, there were no reprisals which followed.

The resources and materials that the Snowdrifts and their allies has, quickly dwindled to pathetic amounts, and Hope family immediately attacked with low cost products to replace the Snowdrifts' businesses.

Those nobles that agreed to outsource their workshops to the Snowdrifts, immediately regretted. They had not expected a retaliation of this scale to occur, but before anyone could pull out of the deal, Kairos contacted them once again.

Those nobles, both minor and major, were invited to his manor to have a discussion on their plans. At this stage, Kairos believes it is time to gain the confidence of everyone for the coming 'battle'.

He expects the trade war to escalate even more, and at that time, he needs these nobles to stand resolutely with him.

In the meeting hall, by a long table, Fritzgen sat on his left and Grand Elder Feng on his right as he began, "You can continue to receive your supplies from me." Kairos said with confidence.

"What do you mean by that, boy?"

"Have you got a way to route materials into the city? Speak, boy!"

"Calm down everyone. You guys are being rude to our host here." Someone reminded.

Kairos nodded at the Grand Elder seated next to him and introduced to the nobles, "This is Grand Elder Feng from the Trade Federate."

Before he could continue his sentence, a wave of 'ohhh' interrupted him and a few enthusiastic nobles started exclaiming and asking questions. The appearance of the elder does not seem to be well-known among nobles, but his reputation precedes him.

"If it is the Trade Federate, then they would surely be able to assist our businesses!"

"I'm certain they have some control over the trade routes we need. It's ridiculous for the Hope enterprise to dictate everything."

"No, even if we have our supplies, those three families are not to be trifled with. I'm pulling out."

"And, I know the Trade Federate well enough, we will probably only be able to receive a minor route, it would be far from enough"

"Young Lord, just how much supplies exactly would we be able to receive?"

Kairos patiently waited for them to calm down before continuing. He knows that they are nobles, and not merchants, so in the end they will be unskilled in judging the fiscal benefits for themselves, and it all comes down to him to gain their confidence in his plans.

If Kairos does not convince them of the benefits of staying, he will lose access to their workshops and the Snowdrifts' business will be halted indefinitely.

And, if they abandoned Kairos, the Devilheart family has promised to restore their supplies and not disrupt their businesses.

In usual times, after the supply wagons arrive, it is the Trade Federate's job to redistribute the materials to their purchasers, but the Hope family halted all the resources to the Snowdrifts from using their routes. Even the Grand Elder cannot create a miracle, so for now, the main problem is the trade routes controlled by the Hope enterprise.

The trade routes are supply chains that take the produce from farms, mining grounds, hunting groups and foreign workshops, bringing them into Saint City, while taking what Saint City produced outside.

When Calculative ordered the trade routes under the Hope family's command to block the Snowdrifts' supplies from coming into Saint City, they started refusing certain supply wagons from entry. Such action is usually prohibited in Saint Empire, but the South's name there was no reprisals on them.

However, it is unthinkable for any primary industry would want to transport their produce to a place so far away, and thus when the Hope family wanted to reroute the supplies to the South, they actually had to purchase the supply wagons and transport the items themselves. In a way, they are harming their own businesses almost as much as the Snowdrifts that they targeted.

Of course, for those production farms to not send supplies, they are the risking a breach of contract, but there was safety in numbers. They could not return the goods without incurring a great loss, and dared not offend the Hope house.

Kairos however, smiled confidently to ease the nobles' concerns, and he said, "As you all know, the Trade Federate do not actually ship in supplies, nor own any of the trade routes. But all merchants, traders and business has to register with them. This alone allows the Elder some influence over the trade routes and you have no need to worry for supplies.

Though the current situation seems unfavourable to us, but nevertheless I can guarantee you will profit handsomely from this."

He paused for a moment at this point, allowing what he said to sink in. With the Trade Federate's influence, there would be enough supplies coming in to sustain the nobles' businesses, but that is not enough to justify the increase in earnings that the young Earl said.

The nobles waited for Kairos to continue sharing his plans. Hearing that there is rich fortune involved, caused everyone to exercise their patience a little longer.

"I personally believe that before we talk about making profits, we need to be certain of our own survival, and I shall explain our plans to do so.

Now, as you gentlemen knows, the Hope enterprise holds the majority of the trade routes in the Empire. But they cannot block off all paths into the city.

By my estimations, 5% of all the supplies in the Empire is enough for your basic business needs, and the Grand Elder has pulled some strings to secure a path and find the suppliers for those that remains our business partner."

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Grand Elder Feng who is standing next to them nodded his head in confirmation.

To cater to the large supply needs of these nobles is already a considerable feat, but it is far from convincing for the nobles to stay.

Knowing this, Kairos, gestured at Fritzgen, before continuing, "Besides the Trade Federate's help, this is man is Fritzgen, the owner of the Treasures Pavilion from the Silent Lambs Empire. A trustworthy partner, and he will provide another 3% resources coming into Saint City at the lowest prices on the market, allowing you to maximise your productions."

Unlike the elder of the Trade Federate, Fritzgen is the one who is supplying the resources, and could offer an attractive price. Of course, not only will the nobles have a better deal, Fritzgen could also make a profit by selling in bulk.

But immediately, a few nobles noticed the problem and refuted Kairos' suggestions.

"Are you kidding us, boy? The Silent Lambs Empire are on the verge of declaring war and intruding our lands! Do you think that supplies will so easily cross borders?"

These nobles had no knowledge of how much damage Kairos and the group had done to the Silent Lambs Empire. Their nation are almost forced into a state of emergency, and are busy licking their wounds after the destruction Kairos' team had left them. It would be hilarious if they still attempt to expand their borders.

"Ridiculous! But this has only made me even more certain to break my trade agreements with the Snowdrifts."

"Exactly, the Devilheart family has promised they will cease their attacks on our businesses if we ignore your needs. So why should we continue helping you?"

The others nodded as well when they heard this. Compared to having just enough supplies to cover their basic business operations, it was much better before.

The expression of Kairos did not change when he heard them, and he says, "Bringing in supplies from Silent Lambs Empire is of no concern, because I happen to be on good terms with the King of Thieves, Rielon."

Every noble in the meeting room looked at Kairos with uncertainty in their eyes.

Even though Rielon is not a noble nor an Empire's Official, his status is not beneath any emperor's.

When Kairos brought up Rielon's name, many actually did not believe in his words. The young Earl might have the help Fritzgen from Vox Shalua, the capital of undercities, but it is still too hard to believe that he had met Rielon. After all, the boy is too young. What would a man in Rielon's position see in a 13 years old?

Kairos frowned when he noticed their expressions. When he first told Fritzgen about getting Rielon to help 'smuggle' the resources into Saint City, he was also stared at in this same manner.

With a sigh, Kairos used the same method he convinced Fritzgen with. He took out the token that Rielon gave him and flashed it to the nobles.

Some of the nobles did not recognize it and looked to the others for help, but eventually a few who are more knowledgeable among them pointed it out for the others.

"That's the Rogue Symbol on it. It is made with the King of Thieves' hair using a special technique, and impossible to counterfeit."

"What does it stand for?"

"It means that the owner of this token has the same respect among thieves as their King himself... as long as he pays the right sum."

"..."

"This..."

"He still needs to pay?"

In certain places, people in high positions, like clan leaders, family heads, kings or even emperors, hands out similar tokens like this to people they trust. The item represents the authority of the giver and could direct even soldiers or funds. However, the King of Thieves found another use for it.

"Yeah, Rielon is famous to never miss an opportunity.

It is in fact a precious token for the dwellers of the undercities. It allows one to gain access to the highest services from the thieves, and only those he considers his friend would receive one, but of course, he charges those friends an arm and a leg for every service they asked."

Besides paying Rielon for smuggling the resources across borders, the cost that Fritzgen will incur to transport resources over to Saint City has all been covered by Kairos. Both are necessary investments for his plans.

With the token, the nobles are convinced of the additional 3% Kairos has promised, and it would ensure their profitability.

However, even with this, Kairos knows that these men are still fearful of going against his opponents.

One of them is from the three Great Nobles, the Steel Rose family, and the other, a powerful 100 Nobles, the Devilheart family. With their funds and background, even if all the nobles present in this meeting join their strength together, they will be unable to match the size, strength, or wealth, of either high noble house.

What's more, the family that is managing the two high nobles' business operations is the gigantic Hope enterprise. A titan within the business world.

To defeat his opponents, Kairos must defeat them in all the areas of business and take over the markets completely.

Each family has their own forte, and to target them, he needs to beat them where they are rooted in. The Steel Rose family's foundation is the strongest. Having many Officials and receivers of the Red and Black Imperial Robes, they profit greatly from working in the Courts.

Though Kairos is unable to touch them in this area for the short term, their family also owns three medical gorges which produces almost 30% of all the spiritual herbs used by Saint Empire.

Kairos would require scores of Pill Halls, and placing those shops all around the Empire to suppress the Steel Rose.

With the staff trained by Fritzgen, and the pills recipes given by Helena, Kairos is confident of his victory in this area.

The Devilheart family, however, owns an entire mountain covered by forests called the Steel Wood Mountain. The woods are unique throughout the empire, filled with trees which bark are as hard as steel yet still as light as other wood.

Weapons created from this special material would easily become Beast ranked, which cannot be compared to what Siegfried could make. However, their strength lies in the quantity they own, and the entire mountain of forest provides the Devilheart house with abundant of wealth.

The last one is the Hope family, the toughest opponent of the three, specialising in three types of businesses.

Firstly, they own majority of the production workshops within the Empire, with top level craftsman that allows them to create items with both quality and quantity that is unmatched by any other.

Of course, after the Snowdrifts' businesses opened, they have lost total control over Saint City, but elsewhere they still hold the majority of the markets.

Additionally, no matter how hard they tried, they were unable to match with the quality of Kairos' Star Runes Weapons.

Secondly, they have the largest number of shops in the Empire, compared to any other businesses, dubbing into every market, from restaurants to slave auctions.

And lastly, they have control of most of the major trade routes within the Empire. Any family that controls a trade route maintain the safety of the roads from bandits, but also allows the family to exact a toll when anyone uses the path.

With his targets in mind, Kairos' eyes blazed with determination and he declared intrepidly, "I have chosen to partner with you because of the type of workshops you owned. The pill makers, the blacksmiths and the small-trades craftsmen are all my competition.

Therefore, during this period, the Snowdrifts will purchase all your produces at 50% higher than market price."

When the nobles heard that, they quickly calculated the revenue they could earn in their heads and were astonished by the returns.

With 8% supplies coming into the city guaranteed at low cost by Kairos, they could cut their capital down to the minimum. Along with a 50% raise in selling price, and an invoice that covers all they could produce, it is a business deal that they would jump to even if they have to take some risks.

The group paused for a while to assess the situation once again, but when they calmed down they realised that there are minimal risks involved. It is tradition that those who take sides in a business war comes out unharmed, after the victor is concluded. Of course, the outcome of the one that lost is often destroyed, but this very culture is what drives Saint Empire to prosperity in the past.

A healthy competition in the trade market, but a form of protection for the traders.

Even if the Snowdrifts failed in the end, those three family would not go through the trouble to halt their supplies or target their businesses. The markets' retaliation for such an action could badly cripple even top ranking nobles.

However, if the Snowdrifts succeeded, then as allies, these nobles would be able to enjoy a longer period of profits. There is even an opportunity for them to monopolise the markets, though the royal family would never allow them to overcharge the prices.

Thinking about this, smiles appeared on all the nobles' faces without fail. In the end, their relationship with Kairos is purely business, as long as there are profits involved, everything is discussable.

As the meeting ends, and Kairos invited his guests to some refreshments.

When they followed their host out, one of the nobles could not help himself from whispering, "I would never have guessed that the young Earl have both our Emperor and the King of Thieves as his backers... my goodness..."

*- In other words, the Trade Federate works like a modern bank. Which are called: merchant guilds in the middle ages