They all call me Great Master

A voice halted, "Wait," and the envoy from the Marquess of Ainhars ceased his advance.

"Is this a competition, or a duel?"

Arthur asked with a smile on his face.

"It's certainly a competition—we have no deadly feud, and a duel would only harm my nobility's honor."

Kalal replied as though it were obvious.

"Hmm, since it's a competition, what's your stake?

Just now, Jimte brought out the stake of 'letting my fleet pass through Seberlin Port tax-free.' Surely you can offer something similar?"

Arthur nodded slightly, speaking in a soft, gentle voice, but his words caused the envoy's face to change.

"Of course not!

However, this is a matter of great importance; I need to consider it carefully!"

Having said this, the envoy from the Marquess of Ainhars sheathed his sword and turned to mount his horse again.

Everyone saw the noble's embarrassment and inner timidity.

In everyone's eyes, a hint of mockery and scorn appeared.

But Jimte was different.

Maintaining a smile, Jimte's eyes flickered with surprise.

The scene before him was different from his plan.

In his plan, by this time, Kalal would have already been drawn into a duel with Arthur out of anger, and he would be able to start the next step of his plan—if Kalal won, he would protect the rest of the convoy and thus connect with the Earl of South Los; if Arthur won, he would continue displaying the 'Knight Image' he had shown earlier to uphold the Marquess of Ainhars' face.

Simply put, no matter who won, he would benefit appropriately.

Just...

Jimte, looking at Arthur's smiling face and then at Kalal who was mounting his horse to leave, pondered over Arthur's recent words and suddenly had a revelation.

The son of a baron, son-in-law to a marquess, had guessed what Arthur intended to do.

Suddenly, Jimte's face broke into a smile once more.

It was a smile even brighter than before.

The man walked up to Arthur.

"Arthur, I won't disturb you today.

Tomorrow afternoon, I will arrive on time for our appointment."

Having said this, Jimte gave a knightly salute and also turned to leave.

The two groups of noble cavalry departed as neatly and uniformly as they had arrived, but such orderliness won no praise from anyone in the convoy; many simply curled their lips in disdain.

Edwin spoke up directly—

"Heh, all for show."

This appraisal was immediately accepted by everyone in the convoy.

They had all watched the performance of the envoy from the Marquess of Ainhars.

It perfectly matched their consistent perception of nobility.

As for the envoy from Seberlin?

It seemed he had a good relationship with Arthur.

He was almost considered one of their own now.

Arthur scanned the convoy silently, inwardly sighing.

Without a doubt, Jimte and Kalal were successful.

One used his inferior status to disguise himself, making everyone think he was a fool.

The other utilized the world's stereotype to conceal his true self, using an arrogant facade to deceive the people.

But in reality?

Cunning as foxes!

Watching the two men leave one after another, Arthur felt as though he was seeing two foxes departing, especially as Kalal in front deliberately slowed down while Jimte behind sped up intentionally.

'A new round of mutual testing is starting!

Too bad, I can't witness it with my own eyes.'

Arthur squinted his eyes, sighing softly to himself.

As for the content of the young nobles' mutual testing?

It wasn't hard to guess.

For the sake of facilitating conversation, it would inevitably start with him as the subject, then delve deeper into the "Hilt Tower" inheritance hidden within "Yumir Manor," but they would definitely not waste too much time on this—they would come back to him again. It wasn't that Arthur was being self-important, but he believed that Jimte was smart enough to understand why he had been so "honest" just now.

Similarly, he also believed that Kalal would make the right choice.

For—

Benefit!

His existence was of greater benefit to both of them!

The "Hilt Tower" inheritance within "Yumir Manor," even if it existed, was not something Jimte or Kalal could touch.

Any gains they made, they would have to hand over to the Marquess of West Berlin and the Marquess of Ainhars standing behind them.

But his case was different!

With Jimte and Kalal's cover, the Marquess of West Berlin and the Marquess of Ainhars wouldn't really "notice" him, only chastising the two for their defeat. Although this would make the two lose some favor to some extent, they would obtain tangible benefits that belonged solely to them—

A tax-exempt fleet, who wouldn't want a share of that?

Especially under the premise that the trading route coast along from Xisis Port in South Los to Kilg Harbor of the Old Lion of Inner Bay were territories owned only by the Marquess of West Berlin, the Marquess of Ainhars, and Count Bert.

When two of the houses are tax-exempt—

Could the remaining one be far behind?

He believed that if the houses of the Marquess of West Berlin and the Marquess of Ainhars had guys like Jimte and Kalal, then the next stop on the route, Count Bert's family, would definitely have similar guys with succession rights but insufficiently high ranking—who, if unable to inherit their titles, would need to seek other paths.

Such people, upon learning about the tax-exempt fleet, would definitely join eagerly.

Even willing to pay a corresponding price.

And when the ports of the three territories they passed through were all tax-exempt for his fleet, he would have enough leverage to pull more people into the fray.

A tax exemption meant no inspections.

No inspections meant more room for maneuver.

Selling the arms from "Yumir Manor" "at a low price" to the Earl of South Los was something that, once in a lifetime, was enough.

Arthur swore, he certainly wasn't doing it just because he felt sorry.

He just...

Didn't want to be hindered by others.

He wanted to leave himself more options.

That was also the fundamental reason he didn't take direct action when he noticed something off about Jimte. For the current Arthur, he needed a few allies outside of South Los.

They couldn't be too powerful nor too weak.

They just needed to hold up appearances.

Otherwise, it would be aiming too high.

'With Jimte and Kalal's "sponsorship," what was originally one fleet could quickly become three, or even more—when fleets flying my flag appear every day in South Los, the first step of "Mr. Wu's Exchange" would be considered completed.'

What's now lacking is "Miss Qiu's Security Company"!

Malz, where is your friend?' asked Arthur, growing increasingly eager for that friend of Malz skilled in training the Daredevil Team—he needed him to train elites.

Similarly, he needed an "eye-catching" ordinary team.

Under the guise of "Merchant Ship Escort."

In the outskirts of South Los, a manor could be set up specifically to train this team.

Of course, it would be best to find two uninhabited islands to amass a large number of soldiers...no, long-range merchant ship escorts, as those would be harbors belonging solely to the Kledos Family.

As long as he acquired the "Knight" title, he would have enough space to manipulate all this.

'Is the wind blowing?

Am I afraid of the wind?

The greater the storm, the pricier the fish!' said Arthur as his eyes narrowed slightly, a gleam shining in his dark pupils, and his lips unconsciously curved into a smile.

However, the moment he turned around, everything returned to normal. Explore more stories with My Virtual Library Empire

The young "Spirit Medium" was very clear that was a matter for later.

Now?

He had a very crucial task to accomplish!