CHAPTER 2343  JOINT CONFERENCE

Rui's eyes widened with surprise. "A joint meeting…?"

Guildmaster Bradt nodded. "I will have both of you make your offers to me in each other's presence and give each of you the opportunity to poke holes in the other's strategies."

Rui stared at him, stunned. "Our offer involves confidential intelligence."

The guildmaster shrugged. "Don't mention it."

Rui narrowed his eyes. "Then we will be at a disadvantage."

"That is not my problem." The guildmaster's tone was decisive. "I will make my decision based on this final joint meeting."

"What if we refuse to participate in it due to the disadvantage?" "Then you will lose, Your Highness," the guildmaster calmly replied. "I will sign the treaty with the East Panamic Treaty Alliance then and there."

Rui stared at him with a powerful gaze. Yet, the man was entirely unperturbed.

Unfortunately for Rui, he was too shrewd to forget the fact that he was highly desired by both nations at an extremely important moment. He could get away with acting out of line because both nations deeply needed him to win the war. The Kandrian Empire needed to stop the momentum that was leading to a loss, and the Britannian Empire wanted to ensure that it continued.

The Shionel Confederation was extremely necessary for that.

That was why the guildmaster knew that he could get away with stringing both sides to play by his rules.

However, that wasn't all. "You're trying to set up an auction to maximize your yield," Rui grumbled.

The guildmaster smirked uncharacteristically. "I am a merchant, Rui. It is what I do. If you do not wish to participate, then you may as well leave, for I will not hesitate to ally with your enemies in that event." Owned by .

Rui heaved a sigh. "I will participate."

The guildmaster nodded. "I appreciate that. I will have the meeting tomorrow. I do not wish to waste the time of either side as both dignitaries are highly important and powerful people."

And thus, Rui found himself dragged into an auction for the most powerful potential ally in the market against his enemies. He would need to buckle up because he would be facing Prime Minister Edward himself.

If he didn't play this right, he would make more concessions than he needed to. However, he had a pre-existing relationship, trust, and a history of partnership with Guildmaster Bradt. Thus he did have some advantage. It was the whole reason his father entrusted him with the mission.

Unfortunately, he didn't have much time either.

He just needed to hope that he was good enough to earn the Kandrian Empire a win in direct opposition to the Britannian Prime Minister.

"Well then," Guildmaster Bradt remarked, drawing his attention. "I suppose this meeting has come to an end, officially."

Rui smiled wryly. "I suppose it has."

Guildmaster Bradt leaned forward. "I heard two months ago that you're starting your own Martial Sect. The Water Sect."

Rui shrugged. "I am a Master. I have the right to start my own sect, and it was worth it in the long run for my progression."

He glanced at the merchant with some mirth. "Why, interested in becoming a disciple?"

The man stared at him dubiously for a second. "I am interested in getting the piece of the pie."

"What pie?" Rui snorted. "It's a non-profit organization. There's no money to be made by investing."

"I wasn't talking about revenue," Guildmaster Bradt insisted. "I was talking about the piece of the pie that is your Martial Art and Path. Considering all the revolutionary feats and possibilities that lie in your Martial Art, I have no doubt that you will change Martial Art forever once your techniques spread far and wide. Perhaps it will become even more important and significant to the Martial World than breathing techniques did when they were introduced by Her Transcendence the Breathless Beauty."

The Breathless Beauty had been the first Martial Artist to turn breathing from merely a process needed to sustain life to the basis of a technique that could be employed in Martial Artist Art in a variety of ways. It had gone from being a niche principle to becoming one of the most popular Martial principles in all of Martial Art. She was part of the first generation of Martial Artists and her Martial Path had gone on to become a universal path that almost all Martial Artists dabbled in to some extent.

"I appreciate that you hold me in such high regard, but she's a Martial Transcendent," Rui reminded him. "I am nothing compared to a Martial Transcendent. I don't think I can make as big an impact on Martial Art as she did."

"Maybe, maybe not," the guildmaster replied ambivalently. "However, even if you have one-tenth of an impact, it is still a massive accomplishment and feat. One that is worth becoming a part of."

Rui knitted his eyebrows. "What are you suggesting, Bradt? I'm not giving you a stake in my sect, if that's what you're wondering."

"Not at all." The guildmaster shook his head. "What I'm proposing is a partnership agreement that is similar to our previous partnership."

Rui raised an eyebrow in surprise. "You want to partner with me?"

"We dominated the market the last time we partnered more than twenty years ago," Guildmaster Bradt reminded him. "I don't see why we can't do it again."

Rui stared at him with a hint of amusement as he recalled their old partnership.

Rui had been able to dominate the dungeons thanks to an overpowered strategy, but he had had no means of selling it without getting caught. Hell, even without getting caught, conducting wide-scale commerce had been  extremely difficult and basically impossible in his circumstances.

Thus, Rui had proposed a partnership where the man handled logistics and commerce while he dug out the high-demand resources with ease, monopolizing the entire market.

He had to admit, it had been a rather exciting part of his life before he messed up and got caught by Chairman Deacon.

"What exactly," Rui asked, "do you have in mind?" -