Chapter 2340: Incentives

Chapter 2340: Incentives



Guildmaster Bradt simply listened to Rui continue with his offer until he was done. He had fallen into thought at how far the Kandrian Empire was willing to go to assuage his concerns.

His only problem with Emperor Rael's previous offers was that they required him to surrender far too much power to the Kandrian Empire, leaving him beholden to the nation. It didn't matter how trustworthy the Kandrian Empire was; he simply couldn't offer such a high level of trust.

This new offer cleanly circumvented that problem by simply offering to sell their coastal territory and surrender it to his full control.

Of course, that didn't mean that it was absolutely safe from the Kandrian Empire after it would still be on their border, having once been inside the border. However, even he understood that the Kandrian Empire meddling with it after surrendering all rights to it was an extremely unlikely event.

It would essentially be an invasion of one nation to another, and the Kandrian Empire simply had no history of imperialism or colonialism in the past three centuries. It was absolutely unheard of, and no amount of paranoia could make him take its threat seriously.

This was all to make Bradt feel comfortable enough to take the offer and become an ally of the Kandrian Empire.

It was extremely extravagant treatment from a Sage-level powerhouse.

This was yet another strong point in favor of the Kandrian Empire.

If half the countries allying with the Kandrian Empire were destroyed by now, then they wouldn't have been even remotely trustworthy or reliable when it came to protecting potential allies from the wrath of the Kandrian Empire.

However, the guildmaster was a tough nut to crack.

"Protecting the Shionel Confederation is an entirely different beast compared to other nations, Prince Rui," he replied with a firm tone. "This nation is essentially a large consortium of merchants, a consortium that happens to own land that is the Shionel Confederation. We have businesses across all of East Panama. Centers, bases, branches, offices, headquarters, and other kinds of real estate assets that are even more important to us than Shionel territory. I alone have two hundred and seventy-six centers and bases across East Panama that are vital to my distribution and transportation business. There is no doubt that they will be targeted if I pronounce my alliance with the Kandrian Empire. Will you be able to protect me, us, and all our real estate resources?"

Rui stared at the man for a moment.

He could, of course, give a passionate speech about how they would be able to protect them at all costs no matter what and that they were willing to do anything to protect their allies. But Guildmaster Bradt was far too pragmatic a man to be moved by that.

"Well, firstly, the Shionel Confederation is not a united polity, nor is it a uniform polity, Rui began. "I am well aware of the fact that there are two factions when it comes to which side to support. The faction that has lobbied for support for the Kandrian Empire has already been targeted by the alliance, and they have already decided that it is worth the price of gaining the Kandrian Empire's favor and alliance. In other words, they are not relevant in this discussion. The only thing that is relevant to this discussion is the Shionel Confederation's territory and national security. Of which we are able to guarantee the security and protection of without any shadow of a doubt."

Guildmaster Bradt smiled uncharacteristically. "I suppose you are right. However, what if I don't want to ally with the Kandrian Empire and still want all those benefits you mentioned?"