Forests Don't Support Idle Goblins

After meeting Charles, Uncle Musa felt that it would take a lot of effort to infiltrate the upper echelons of power in Golden Flower City. The difficulty was even greater than how to hide Charles's current situation from Vivian. However, while he was still secretly reviewing his story with Vivian, he successfully met with the official in charge of port affairs.

The other party's attitude was very perfunctory at first. After all, according to the other party, he could see many businessmen who wanted to apply for tax reductions and exemptions every day. The reason he met with him was only because Uncle Musa had given him enough money.

Uncle Musa had no choice but to force a smile and submit his application, but just as the other party was about to go through the formalities to kick him out, Beast Core entered the fray.

The three intermediate-level beast cores gave Uncle Musa a spectacular performance of changing expressions. From disdain at the box, to disgust at the prospect of opening the lid, to disbelief at the beast cores, and finally to shock at the sight of the box wide open for a long time, Uncle Musa savored the whole performance.

Things went very smoothly from then on. The application form was tossed aside, and the water on the table was replaced with chrysanthemum tea from the archipelago. When Uncle Musa tried to explain the types of goods he was selling, he was interrupted. They were going to give him the maximum tax reduction.

However, Uncle Musa's lips twitched, and he blurted out, almost as if possessed, "Can you process a full tax exemption? I can get some more beast cores."

Xia Er gave him the whole box of beast cores. Uncle Musa was also very pleased with the young master's trust in him. He had just handed over a dozen mid-level beast cores. You know, these could be exchanged for a lot of money on the black market.

Upon hearing the uncle's words, the official hesitated and put down his pen. He then said that to obtain tax exemption, the approval of the kingdom's high-ranking officials was required, mainly the consent of the royal family. However, if the uncle could provide more beast cores, as long as he could produce two more intermediate-level beast cores, he believed that someone would definitely push for the issuance of the tax exemption certificate.

Then, after Uncle Musa gave the official two basic beast cores, he immediately experienced the official administrative channels.

He traveled by the fastest and most comfortable means of transport. In just two days, he was taken to the outskirts of Goldenrod City. There was a group of guards watching over several carriages in the distance. The uncle inquired and found out that it was Valentine's entourage. Unfortunately, he had not camped in the wild. The city gate was opened directly with a note, and he checked into a high-end hotel overnight.

Uncle Musa knew before that intermediate-level beast cores were very precious among nobles, after all, they could be made into secret medicines that could greatly improve physical fitness and delay aging. And those nobles who lay on piles of money wanted nothing more than to turn back the clock. They lacked nothing but constantly missed their youthful selves. So the bribe of those two primary-level beast cores made the port officials treat Uncle Musa like royalty.

At this point, Uncle Musa's plan to conceal the truth from Vivian was still in its early stages and had not yet been refined.

Things progressed that quickly.

After resting for two days, he was led by a special person to meet the third prince, Theodore, in the morning. The prince's gentle and refined manner made him feel no discomfort at all.

This shows that the royal family's education is quite good. As for why the eldest prince killed the queen, that remains unknown.

Facing the high-ranking officials of this country, including the prince of the Kingdom of Fran, Uncle Musa was not captivated by the prince's gentlemanly manners. On the contrary, he noticed that the prince kept subtly inquiring about the origin of his beast cores. After all, it seemed strange for an archipelago merchant to possess beast cores. Uncle Musa's explanation was simple: he had a partnership with pirates, who would sometimes resell him their looted goods, and these beast cores were just one of them. After all, if they dared to sell beast cores, it would definitely attract the attention of the police department.

Uncle Musa sipped his golden flower tea and calmly complained about the pirates, while stating that he spent a lot of money to buy their beast cores only to ensure the safety of his ship at sea, not for smuggling.

Theodore immediately expressed his understanding, even feigning concern that their maritime business was too risky.

After expressing his concern, the third prince began to inquire about Uncle Musa's business projects. He did not make any promises regarding the tax exemption, nor did he explicitly state that it was impossible to process it. Instead, he evaded the question in a vague and ambiguous manner, as if he were "adjusting his approach based on the situation."

Uncle Musa knew that now was the time for the real protagonist to step in, so he simply announced the types of goods he had: honey, salt, tea, healing potions, and Red Bull powder.

Just then, a guard knocked on the door and entered to announce the arrival of Count Valentine. Just when Uncle Musa thought the meeting was about to end, the Third Prince unexpectedly persuaded him to stay and even offered to take him to meet Count Valentine.

This action immediately put Uncle Musa on alert. He didn't know why the other party would make such a move. Could it be that they saw through the magical item he was carrying that could change his appearance?

However, he knew that many nobles were not magicians, or rather, they were unwilling for their children to learn magic. On the one hand, learning magic required talent, which had little to do with noble blood. If their children rashly learned magic but did not achieve much, it would make the common people think that the noble bloodline was nothing more than that. On the other hand, once they embarked on the path of magic, they would suffer from the pain of magical plague for one or two days every month. This could become a "weak point" for them. The nobles, sitting on the throne of power, would not allow themselves to fall into such a state.

Of course, some noble children are very talented and willing to learn magic. They may choose to stay away from their families, but they do not completely sever ties with them.

As for the sons of lower-ranking nobles, knights, or barons, they didn't have many special choices.

Upon meeting Earl Valentine, the latter was visibly surprised. He couldn't understand what Theodore was thinking, given that such a high-level meeting, which carried a hint of "politics," had an outsider present, and an "unrelated" island merchant at that.

"Take a look at the beast cores?" Valentine was taken aback. He glanced at Uncle Musa sitting on the opposite sofa and saw that the other man was sitting calmly without any wavering expression. So he opened the wooden box on the coffee table and carefully examined the three intermediate-level beast cores.

A few seconds later, he closed the lid. "Very good, all of them are top-quality, complete mid-level beast cores."

"This old man Salmu can provide some more of these in the future," Theodore said with a smile, extending his hand to Uncle Musa. "It seems that these things have been smuggled out through quite a few channels."

"Hmm." Earl Valentine pondered for a moment, "There are indeed adventurers smuggling it. After all, the area bordering the Nightmare Forest and the Kingdom is not small, and quite a few adventurers will have the opportunity to obtain this thing."

"Really?" Theodore smiled and glanced at Valentine. "These adventurers are really something, managing to get their hands on a mid-level beast core."

Uncle Musa watched the two "clashing" without showing any emotion. He could tell that they seemed to be subtly discussing the "production" of beast cores, or perhaps exploring the "future development prospects" of this resource. However, his attention was more focused on the guard who had followed Valentine into the reception room and was standing quietly to one side.

Obodo's appearance shocked Uncle Musa. Although he was wearing a full set of Black Lion City armor, his appearance and demeanor were completely unchanged. He only failed to recognize him because his appearance had been altered by the magic necklace. He looked like he was standing guard dutifully.

"The young master's personal bodyguard has actually become Earl Valentine's personal bodyguard?" Uncle Musa reached out and picked up the tea on the coffee table, took a sip, and deliberately used the islanders' drinking habits, making a few slurping sounds while drinking the tea, which successfully attracted the attention of the third prince and Earl Valentine.

"I haven't introduced him yet. This is Earl Valentine from the northern border," Theodore said with a smile. "And this is Mr. Salmu, who brought the beast core. He wants to apply to the royal family for tax exemption at the Torch City port."

"Tax exemption?" Valentine said in a deep voice. "I asked the Melo family for tax exemption before, but they were too arrogant."

"Is this Earl Valentine of Black Lion City?" Uncle Musa greeted him neither humbly nor arrogantly. "I just shipped a ship full of healing potions last month, and they were all bought up by the Earl's mansion."

"Healing potions?" Count Valentine frowned. He wouldn't usually concern himself with such trivial matters, so he looked up at Oberdo, who nodded vigorously several times. "It seems so. The quality of those potions is quite good."

Uncle Musa smiled and glanced at the calm Obodo. The other man was no ordinary guard in Valentine's service; he seemed to be highly valued.

"So you two have crossed paths before," Theodore continued the meeting. "Now we just have to wait for the results of the Red Bull experiment."

Uncle Musa sat silently on the sofa. When he first explained his business scope, the Third Prince had asked what Red Bull was and what it was used for. After Uncle Musa answered his questions carefully, the Third Prince became noticeably more excited, which surprised Uncle Musa. Did this young prince need to take aphrodisiacs to maintain his virility? Or were all the nobles of Golden Flower City unable to have sex?

However, Theodore didn't bother to explain anything. Instead, he simply had his men take the small bag of Red Bull powder that Uncle Musa had brought and use it for experiments.

Just as everyone was chatting in the reception room, the door was knocked open by a guard, and the third prince, Theodore, got the answer he wanted: "Completely effective, safe and non-toxic."

"Mr. Salmu, how much of this Red Bull powder can you provide?"

The third prince asked with a smile. His smile was noticeably more sincere than when Musa had just entered, but upon closer inspection, one could not sense any sincerity on his face.

"We can provide some, enough for many people to drink for a while, but the next shipment will depend on the yield. This stuff is still in the promotion and cultivation period, and as you know, things are very chaotic in the archipelago." Uncle Musa leaned back slightly and gave his explanation based on what Charles had previously provided.

"I've looked at your list. I'm prepared to buy it all, and I can offer two gold coins," Theodore said, holding up three fingers.

Two gold coins—this price shocked Uncle Musa. He knew that the other party was talking about two gold coins per unit, and that unit was the amount of one tablespoon that Charles had mentioned earlier.

What a joke! This powder can sell for two gold coins? He saw the Red Bull plantation in the underground fortress and saw how those goblins made this powder. This stuff can actually sell for two gold coins a spoonful.

This isn't doing business; it's robbing people.

"Okay, no problem. I'll arrange it as soon as possible to increase planting in the archipelago. However," he paused for a few seconds, "there's a lot of fighting in the archipelago. Different tribes are constantly vying for honey plantations. To cultivate Red Bull peacefully, we need considerable strength, and our tribe is lacking in weaponry..."

"No problem," the third prince patted his thigh lightly. "I know there are some old weapons and armor in the kingdom's armory. Those things can be sold at a discount, or you can take them back with you as 'scrap'."

He held up one finger, saying, "I have only one request: provide more Red Bull as soon as possible."

"Okay, no problem." Uncle Musa nodded emphatically, while out of the corner of his eye he noticed that Earl Valentine sitting opposite him seemed somewhat uneasy, as if he wanted to say something but hesitated. However, what the other man wanted to say was completely irrelevant to him. "Then, my tax exemption certificate?"

"I will arrange for someone to take care of it soon. You can stay in Golden Flower City for a few days and take a look around. I think you will linger on the Fragrant Lily Street." The Third Prince nodded and said.

After receiving a reply, Uncle Musa quickly stood up. He deliberately walked to Obodo's side, then turned around and bowed slightly to the third prince, Theodore, to thank him for his help.

Just after Uncle Musa left "satisfied," Count Valentine frowned and asked, "Your Highness is so approachable, treating even a merchant like this."

"Does Your Excellency think I'm doing this on purpose for you?" Theodore leaned back, then called to a guard, "Pour out that cup of tea, and throw the cup away too."

He pointed to the tools Uncle Musa had used before and instructed his men, "Send a few more men to keep an eye on him and see what that old man will do."

After the guards saluted and left, Theodore had the wine replaced with red wine, then clinked glasses with Count Valentine and said, "Your Excellency, what do you think Red Bull is?"

"An aphrodisiac?" Count Valentine curled his lip in disdain.

"No, Your Excellency does not reside in Golden Flower City and is unaware of the market prices here. A small blue star of this size has already risen to four gold coins per piece," the Third Prince said, gesturing. "And it's in short supply. I don't know who's making money behind this, but if I had Red Bull powder, I could sell it for three gold coins directly."

"This stuff isn't an aphrodisiac for me; it's military funding."