“Well said, Brother Hong! You recognized this fact before us. We respect you!”

A merchant who had a good relations with Hong Niu spoke, completely absolving him of the blame of betraying the Empire.

While the Merchants were engaging in flattery and trying to put themselves in Ikasa’s good graces, Zhang Chun snorted. He looked with contempt at the hypocritic bastards who were flattering him just a few minutes ago and promised to stand up for the Empire.

Zhang Chun sneered and coldly spoke the words that sent shivers down the backs of these merchants.

“Should I report all your words to Governor Hao? Would you like to see how he reacts to your claims when I tell him that you are colluding with a Holy Wood Empire Merchant to tarnish the image of Furnace Fire Empire?”

The ‘Governor Hao’ he mentioned was the Governor of the Forge County of the Furnace Fire Empire. All of the Merchants present here hailed from this county and had their base of business operations there.

A figure as powerful as the Governor Hao could make conducting business in the Forge County very difficult for them.

Merchants, who Ikasa had swayed with much difficulty, hesitated at this threat. They knew the threat was real as Zhang Chun had the same circle of friends as the Governor Hao.

The Businessmen looked between Ikasa and Zhang Chun with conflict in their eyes. On one side was profit, on the other, a potent threat.

Seeing their hesitant looks, an ugly smile of victory appeared on the fat face of the rotund man. Zhang Chun knew that his threat was much more effective against these spineless cowards and it had trumped the temptation of profits.

He was about to look at Ikasa and shoo him away when he heard Ikasa address him directly.

“Zhang Chun, are you saying that our Imperial Rulers are narrow minded?”

Ikasa asked in a loud voice. The merchants were also left gobsmacked by the question. They could not believe Ikasa had dragged the Imperial Court into their clash of egos!

But the man the question was directed at, became incredibly flustered.

“When did I say that? Don’t put words in my mouth!”

Zhang Chun refuted while nervously looking around. There was only one punishment for disrespecting the Emperor; Death. He wiped the sweat beads on his head when he did not find anything amiss.

The young businessman continued to hammer down on Zhang Chun, ignoring his actions.

“They possess much wider vision than a small toad like you! Why do you think  Trade Fairs are organized in Elm City, Tinder City and Juniper City every four months?”

Ikasa asked Zhang Chun, taking a step forward in his direction. He let his imposing aura flare and intimidate the fat merchant. Zhang Chun took a step back with fear, as the imposing manner of the man sent shivers down his spine.

“Is it only so that we merchants can meet and exchange our goods? No, this fair is organized so the citizens can broaden their horizons! This is so that we can see this World beyond the boundaries of our Cities, Counties and Empires!”

“Zhang Chun, you are going against the will of Emperor Yan and Emperor Mu by maliciously obstructing a fair trade between me, a merchant of Holy Wood Empire and the merchants of Furnace Fire Empire!”

Zhang Chun grew paler and paler as Ikasa continued to speak. This was not just because of his righteous words but also because of how Ikasa had also dragged the Royal Families of the two Empires into their petty squabble!

The problem was everything Ikasa said was close to the truth. The objective of the Trade Fair was indeed fostering good relations between the two neighboring empires. The boost in economic activity was an added bonus.

Thus, Ikasa could not be censured for speaking on behalf of the Imperial Court as he was merely saying what was announced officially!

This caused Zhang Chun to become tongue tied. Refuting Ikasa’s words meant he would be indirectly refuting the words of the Imperial Courts of both the Empires!

The fat man breathed heavily while trying to find ways to win this battle of influence.

On the other hand, the other merchants were delighted by Zhang Chun’s misery. The way Ikasa schooled Zhang Chun made them feel like they had let out the accumulated foul air in their body.

They now had a legitimate justification to trade with Ikasa despite whatever happened with Zhang Chun. One after another, these few merchants began to express their willingness.

“Brother Ikasa has opened the eyes of I, Shang Chen. I can only repent by offering the highest price for your goods.”

“Brother Ikasa, your vision has impressed this Tan Wei. Please sell me your ores and allow me to be a part of your grand vision.”

“I, Duan Du, also want to form a connection with you, Brother Ikasa.”

As the merchants flocked to Ikasa one after another the face of Zhang Chun grew redder and redder. Each merchant who offered to buy Ikasa’s ores had directly slapped him in his face!

Even the merchants closest to him had abandoned his side and rushed to Ikasa!

Zhang Chun realized that there was nothing more to be done here. He resigned, and collapsed into the expensive chair. His eyes were listless and gloomy.

“Why? Why are they bending over backward before a lowly man from a trash tier-3  city? Do they not have any pride as respected merchants of Tier-2 Blaze City?”

He muttered to himself as he glared hatefully at the merchants gathered around Ikasa, acting subserviently. Their fawning smiles and flattering words boiled his blood.

Yet, the young man disdained spending more time with the merchants. He let the girl who arrived with him handle them and he himself took a seat beside himself.

Then Ikasa said the words that caused Zhang Chun to feel as if someone had sprinkled salt on his wounds but at the same time they enlightened him.

“In business it does not matter where you are from or which tier of city you belong to. In the face of profits, the World is one!”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep