At this moment, Louis, who had arrived at the scene, quietly watched Knight Windwalker.

He wore an exceedingly warm smile and said:

"Gentlemen of the Supreme Forest, I have truly long admired your reputation."

"I apologize for not being able to visit earlier due to my busy work schedule."

Knight felt a significant reduction in his anxiety upon witnessing such a gentle demeanor in his speech.

Indeed!

No mistake.

He was a guest now.

The Ense Empire surely wouldn't let a visiting guest die in their home!

Thinking of this, Knight displayed a calm smile.

"Willing to negotiate is good."

"After all, I won't back down on the asking price."

Knight Windwalker also had his own pride.

As one of the upper echelons of the Wind Chaser Commerce Association, even when faced with an insurmountable adversary, his dignity didn't allow him to bow easily.

—Unless that person was the Emperor!

Louis said calmly:

"I have great respect for your side, but the conditions you proposed show no sincerity at all. It seems a bit opportunistic to me."

"Now, I present a price for you to discuss internally."

Knight was almost jubilant inside.

Here we go.

The reputation of the Supreme Forest truly works.

Even with the Emperor, the wisdom of the Empire, and the legendary dragon breed backing President Meyer, he still had to yield in front of him, right?!

So, you're voluntarily softening your base price, huh?

Slash! Absolutely must slash hard!

However, the words Mr. Mayer said next were like a bucket of cold water, even causing some embarrassment and anger.

"You want 400,000 Gold Coins; the technology transfer fee after the joint venture is as high as 120,000 Gold Coins."

"This price is simply too high—200,000, with a tech transfer fee of 50,000 after the joint venture, and no reservations allowed, you must fully cooperate with the Purple Association."

Knight's expression gradually turned calm, but there was a flash of anger in his eyes:

"Are you joking?"

He felt as if he heard the grinding of his own teeth.

200,000?

If this news got back to the Supreme Forest, would he still have any reputation there?

Hence, drawing courage from who knows where, he decisively rejected it and said firmly:

"No, 400,000 Gold Coins, paid half upfront, 120,000 Gold Coins for the transfer fee likewise, and our people need to control the core technology."

"Where do you humans get the expertise for such precise magical regulation?"

"These conditions—they cannot drop, not one less!"

Louis smiled: "Then you might as well prepare your carriage for the return journey."

Louis clapped his hands, and the few remaining clerks acting as messengers followed him away.

A trace of confusion flickered in Knight's eyes.

Was he not afraid of being blamed from above?

Yet, Knight waited an entire day and did not see Mayer turning back.

But he firmly believed this technology was incredibly important to the Ense Empire.

Tomorrow would be the last day.

They would surely come begging for negotiations tomorrow.

...

The next day.

Knight, with his negotiation personnel, dined spiritedly at the hotel.

Because today was the last day to sign the agreement with the Purple Association.

He consistently thought everything yesterday was a test by the Purple Association.

Suddenly, a messenger rushed over, eyes full of fear:

"Something, something bad has happened, Lord Knight."

"The Ministry of Environment has already unilaterally issued a message, terminating the negotiations with our association and has ruled us out."

Knight, who was drinking his cream mushroom soup leisurely, froze for a moment.

The spoon in his hand clattered into the bowl.

The spilled cream mushroom soup stained his luxurious clothes with other colors.

...

[Location: Ministry of Environment Conference Room]

Louis looked at the leaders of the Yu Association and the Purple Association and said calmly:

"The Supreme Forest is out."

"Now tell me, with this message, can the Yu Association connect with Furnace Castle, and the Purple Association connect with the Am Empire, do you have the confidence to strip them bare?"

The leaders of the Yu Association and the Purple Association looked at each other.

Someone carefully asked:

"Your Highness, isn't it said to 'kill the chicken to scare the monkey'?"

Louis said calmly:

"I've prepared a two-pronged approach, the first being 'kill the chicken to scare the monkey.'"

"Using the three associations of Furnace Castle, Am Empire, and Dragon Empire as the chickens, to frighten the Supreme Forest."

"But it's apparent the other side thinks they have us cornered, so we must move to the second plan…"

Louis wore a sinister smile and said:

"Gentlemen, don't forget, the chickens are watching!"

"If we really let the Supreme Forest succeed, do you believe they wouldn't dare to raise prices later on?"

Everyone exchanged glances.

The two leaders of Furnace Castle and the Land of Merchants were similarly tough nuts.

They were indeed capable of doing such a thing.

Louis slowly sipped his tea and said:

"If the 'kill the chicken to scare the monkey' strategy does not work, then we must directly deal with the monkey too."

"Otherwise, it will only affect our final plan."

"Spread the word about this, let it be concluded!"

"The final directives for you two are, the Yu Association must extract the bottom-line technology from the Steel United Commerce Association."

"The Purple Association should suppress the prices on the Wealth Can Reach God Commerce Association side as much as possible."

"As for the Supreme Forest... huh, gentlemen, let the bullets fly for a while."

Finally, the two leaders nodded firmly.

...

[Location: Steel United Commerce Association Headquarters]

The chairman continuously wiped the cold sweat off his forehead while sitting in the chair.

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