Chapter 185: A Mutually Beneficial Deal
Chapter 185: Chapter 185: A Mutually Beneficial Deal
Chapter 185: A Mutually Beneficial Deal
The words landed like a slap.
Lyra’s beautiful face, which had always been looked upon with nothing but adoration and reverence by the entire Inner Province, instantly stiffened.
A faint flush of crimson crept up her neck and onto her cheeks.
Her eyes widened a fraction, a flash of genuine shock passing through them before she forcefully suppressed it.
She had never — not once in her nineteen years of life — been spoken to with such blatant, cutting dismissal.
She had been pampered, praised, and begged by countless powerful figures her entire life.
Even the Crown Prince had sought her favor.
Her hands clenched into tight fists under her fiery-red robes.
An emotion of fury she hadn’t felt in years rose in her heart.
But she was Lyra Emberford. She did not lose her composure in public.
With a single breath, she extinguished the fire behind her eyes into something resembling calm.
She gave a stiff nod and turned on her heel, returning to her seat without another word.
Ashwin’s half-step Domain Master aura flared in momentary outrage at the insult to his family’s prodigy, but he forcefully choked it down, not daring to genuinely provoke a man who could easily be a supreme Grandmaster.
Gritting his teeth, Ashwin also sat down on his seat.
Two of the three great Noble Families had now been flatly rejected.
The room’s attention turned toward the single figure who had been sitting quietly throughout the entire exchange, observing everything with calm, analytical blue eyes.
Elara Thunderwood.
Rhain shifted his gaze to her.
In truth, his expectations were nearly nonexistent.
Valemere Family had tried to buy him.
Emberford Family had tried to absorb him.
Both had fundamentally treated him as a commodity to be acquired rather than an equal to be negotiated with.
He fully expected the Thunderwood representative to present some variation of the same setup — a slightly different arrangement of carrots and sticks, dressed up in prettier language but rotten with the same underlying arrogance.
If her offer proved equally useless, he would dismiss the entire meeting and find another solution to his supply chain problem independently.
Elara rose from her seat, and stepped forward before Rhain.
"Grandmaster Korryn," Elara spoke, her voice gentle but carrying clearly through the silent room, "I will not bore you with flattery, nor will I insult your intelligence with offers designed to chain you."
She looked at him with her deep blue eyes.
"I listened very carefully to why you rejected the previous two proposals. You refused the Valemere Family because they wanted to buy your independence. You refused the Emberford Family because they wanted to consume your identity and extract your secrets. In both cases, the fundamental error was the same — they treated you as a resource to be controlled, rather than a person whose autonomy must be preserved."
Rhain’s eyes narrowed slightly.
"Therefore," Elara said, "I propose an arrangement that honors your autonomy. Unlike the Valemere or the Emberford families, the Thunderwood Family does not demand exclusivity over your sales, nor do we want a single copper coin of your revenue."
Caelan and Ashwin exchanged baffled glances.
To offer the resources of a great Noble Family without asking for a revenue cut or exclusivity? It sounded like the naive rambling of a foolish child.
Elara ignored their subtle sneers and kept her eyes locked on Rhain.
"Thunderwood Family does not possess the Emberford’s alchemical heritage, nor the Valemere’s raw financial reserves. I will not pretend otherwise. But what we do possess is the largest independent network of herb plantations in the eastern territories — second only to the Emberfords in total volume, and superior in the diversity of rare species we cultivate."
"My proposal is simple, Grandmaster. The Thunderwood Family will provide you with an unlimited, unrestricted supply of Rare and Epic-Grade herbs at cost price. No caps. No bureaucratic approval processes. Whatever species you require, in whatever volume you demand, delivered directly to your workshop within days of your request."
Elara continued without pause.
"What we offer in addition to the herbs is relocation. Thunderwood Family controls the Stormveil Eastern Premium District — the most heavily secured commercial sector in the entire city. Our defensive formations there are maintained by three resident Core Formation Realm array masters. Not a single act of sabotage or robbery has ever succeeded within our territory in the last century."
She tilted her head slightly.
"If you agree to this partnership, we will grant Celestial Elixir Pavilion a permanent, rent-free storefront in the absolute center of our premium district. Your shop will enjoy the complete, unconditional protection of the Thunderwood Family’s military forces. No rival faction, no matter how powerful, will be able to touch you while you operate within our borders."
Rhain’s eyes flickered with a glint of sharp suspicion.
He had been fully expecting Elara to eventually reveal the hidden blade beneath her velvet words.
"I can see from your expression, Grandmaster, that you think that even our Thunderwood family has some hidden motive behind these offers. Rest assured, that you retain your name. You retain your brand. You retain your complete and utter independence. We will not interfere in your management, nor will we claim ownership of your achievements."
Now, Rhain was genuinely intrigued.
He stopped tapping his fingers. "Then where is your profit, Lady Elara? I do not believe in charity, especially not from a Noble Family."
A smile bloomed on Elara’s beautiful face.
"The profit, Grandmaster, is in the foot traffic."
Elara’s blue eyes gleamed brightly. "Celestial Elixir Pavilion is a magnet. In just a few days, you have drawn the wealthiest elites, the most powerful rogue cultivators, and the most extravagant minor nobles from across the entire Stormveil City. They camp outside your doors. They wait for hours."
She spread her hands gracefully.
"If your shop is located in the heart of Thunderwood territory, those elites will not simply stand in the street. While they wait, they will dine at our high-end restaurants. They will stay in our luxury inns. They will browse our auction houses and spend millions of Aetherium Crystals at our secondary establishments. The economic boom your mere presence will bring to our surrounding businesses is worth billions. We can even help you market your business to the whole dynasty."
Rhain sat perfectly still for a long moment.
It was a brilliantly conceived symbiotic model.
She was placing her family’s businesses in the orbit of his star, and profiting from the reflected light without ever claiming ownership of the sun itself.
But then Elara raised a finger.
"My only direct request," she said, "is a reserved monthly quota of one hundred flawless pills, set aside exclusively for the Thunderwood Family. We will pay the full market price for every single one — no discounts, no favors. Simply the guarantee that one hundred pills per month will be available for our family’s use before they hit the open market."
One hundred pills per month at market price.
It was a remarkably modest ask.
For a family supplying unlimited herbs at cost and providing military-grade protection for free, requesting a guaranteed allocation of a hundred pills — at full price, no less — was almost embarrassingly restrained.
It was the kind of deal that Rhain could not find a single legitimate reason to refuse.
The herb supply was unlimited.
The protection was unconditional.
His independence was completely preserved.
His brand remained his own.
And the only cost was selling one hundred pills per month to a loyal customer.
Rhain looked at the stunningly beautiful young woman standing before him.
Her business acumen was truly dangerous, but it was exactly the kind of rational intellect Rhain appreciated.
"Lady Elara," Rhain finally spoke, "your Thunderwood Family has sent the only person in this room capable of signing a deal with me."
He gave a nod.
"I accept your proposal."
Elara’s composed face broke into a smile.
It was genuine, and unguarded, different from her previous obligatory one.
"Grandmaster Korryn," Elara bowed gracefully, "you will not regret this decision. I will have the contracts prepared by tomorrow morning, and our first herb shipment can be delivered within three days."
Rhain gave another measured nod of acknowledgment.
But across the room, the atmosphere had turned poisonous.
"Preposterous!"
Lord Caelan suddenly shot to his feet, his face twisted into a mask of ugly fury.
To be rejected so casually in favor of a Level 1 Spirit Manifestation girl was a humiliation his pride simply could not digest.
Beside him, Ashwin’s face was equally dark, and Lyra Emberford’s crimson eyes burned with intense rage.
The prospect of losing the greatest alchemical phenomenon in Stormveil City to the Thunderwood Family was unacceptable.
"Grandmaster, you are making a grave mistake," Caelan barked, his half-step Domain Master aura flickering dangerously, filling the VIP room with a suffocating pressure.
He glared at Rhain, dropping all pretenses of polite negotiation.
"Stormveil City is a vast and incredibly treacherous place. Accidents happen frequently to independent shops that refuse the proper backing. Supply caravans mysteriously vanish in the night. Unexplained fires break out in storefronts. It would be a terrible shame if such misforutantela... befall a newly established shop!"
The threat was not even veiled. It was a blatant promise of sabotage and violence.
Elara’s expression turned frosty, but before she could intervene to defend her new partner, the temperature in the room plummeted.
It came from a killing intent so absolute and terrifying that it felt as if a blade had been pressed directly against the throats of everyone present.
Rhain did not raise his voice.
He simply leaned forward, his dark grey eyes turning chillingly cold.
"Are you threatening me, Lord Caelan?"
Caelan instinctively took a half-step back as that freezing gaze locked onto him, but his stubborn arrogance kept his chin raised. "I am merely stating the harsh realities of the Inner Province, Grandmaster."
Rhain let out a low, humorless chuckle.
"Harsh realities."
He slowly stood up from his seat, an imposing aura radiating from him as released his vast spritual power, coupled with his Overlord’s Tyranny to the extreme.
Lord Caelan, whose chin had been raised in arrogant defiance, suddenly felt an invisible, primordial mountain slam directly onto his shoulders.
His Half-Step Domain Master aura, which had been flickering dangerously just a second prior, was forcefully snuffed out like a fragile candle caught in a raging hurricane.
"Ugh—!"
A groan escaped Caelan’s throat, and he was forced to instinctively circulate his essence to resist that pressure.
Beside him, Lord Ashwin wasn’t doing better.
His face had also paled.
While the physical suppression was not quite enough to suppress Half-Step Domain Master Realm experts, the psychological terror embedded within the Overlord’s Tyranny was devastating.
When they looked at the middle-aged Grandmaster standing at the head of the table, they did not see an alchemist.
They felt as though an ancient god of death had just opened its eyes from the abyss, staring directly into the deepest depths of their souls.
"Lord Caelan, allow me to ask you a question!"
In this suffocating atmosphere, Rhain’s chilling words echoed.
"Do you truly dare to bet..."
He took a step forward.
"...that I cannot summon a group of Domain Master Realm experts to stand guard outside my shop within the hour?"