Wizard Earl

Chapter 273 Conflicts of Interest Caused by Industrial Upgrading!

If Connor isn't mistaken, this young man named Holding is actually Holding Barella, the first in line to inherit the Barella Corporation! If Connor isn't wrong, Holding's provocation of George is understandable, given how badly George has been messing with him lately…

The Barrera Consortium primarily operates by refining various ores transported by the East Hoy Company to Rune and then selling them throughout the Empire, as well as to the Kingdom of Persis, the Odin Empire, and other places. They earn their profits from these processing fees. Decades ago, when shipping between the Empire and the Hoy Continent was restricted, the Barrera Consortium rapidly amassed enormous wealth through their processing industry. However, with the development of shipping and transportation, the connection between the Hoy Continent and the Empire has become increasingly rapid and close. A large number of talented individuals who struggled to make a living in the Empire chose to venture to the Hoy Continent to seek their fortune. Among them were a large number of skilled workers who could only receive meager wages from capitalists and factory owners in the Empire.

The arrival of skilled workers and the advanced machine tools brought from the Empire greatly improved the East Hoy Company's ability to process ore. Therefore, the East Hoy Company was naturally unwilling to just make money from selling ore as before. They also wanted to get a share of the high-profit area of ​​ore processing.

Although the products produced by the East Hoy Company had to bear the transportation costs from the Hoy continent to the Empire, the company quickly established itself in the ore processing industry after fierce competition for market share, thanks to the cheap and abundant labor force of the Hoy people. Moreover, after years of development, the East Hoy Company's products have rapidly captured 30% of the Empire's domestic ore processing market, and this share is still rising.

The market pie of the Kaman Empire is only so big. If you take so much, others will naturally take less or nothing at all. And since they can't compete with the East Hoy Company, many companies like the Barella Consortium, which originally operated in mineral processing, have begun to seek countermeasures. Some of them have started to conquer the markets of the Persis Empire and the Odin Empire, while others have chosen to transform and upgrade their family businesses.

The Barella Consortium chose the latter, targeting the banking industry, specifically the sector where Sanchez Bank operated. However, the banking industry in Luen was saturated, monopolized by Sanchez Bank and a few other banks. The Barella Consortium, a behemoth, wanted to enter the banking sector, which naturally angered Sanchez Bank and the other banks. They conspired to set several traps for the Barella Consortium, causing it to lose a significant amount of money.

As far as Connor knew, the mastermind behind the scheme against the Barrera Group was George, who wanted to make a name for himself and prove himself to the family. On the other hand, the Barrera Group's first in line to the throne was in cahoots with George. After being swindled out of a considerable sum of money by George, Holding Barrera was humiliated and disgraced. Even his previously undisputed position as heir to the family throne was now being questioned within the Barrera Group itself…

Given the current state of Holding and Sophia, it's highly likely that the two had a past relationship!

"What do I want to do...?" Just as Connor's mind was racing, recalling Holding's background, the heir to the Barella Corporation, Holding Barella, grinned even more wickedly upon hearing George's words. The next second, he abruptly pulled Sophia, whom he was holding, closer to him. Sophia, completely unprepared for Holding's action, gasped in surprise as her revealing clothing caused her ample bosom to slam against Holding's chest, squeezing into a flat, fleshy shape...

"Snapped!"

Not only that, Holding also glared heavily at Sophia's ample bosom behind her, and said to George with a provocative look, "George, I forgot to introduce you, this is my new lover, what do you think?"

Seeing this, George's eyes burned with rage, but just a second before he was about to explode, Connor sighed inwardly and stood up first, shielding George...

"Bang!"

With a muffled thud, Connor's palm slapped the guy named Holding hard across the face. Although Connor did not use his magic and held back most of his strength, even so, Connor's physical attributes were almost on par with a Great Knight. The slap stunned Holding, and the evil smile on his face froze.

"I'm going to kill you... kill you!!" It was clear that Holdin had some knightly training and was quite strong. Although he was caught off guard and stunned by Connor's slap, he quickly recovered. The wicked smile on his face disappeared, and his handsome features became ferocious as he lunged at Connor.

But before he could reach Connor, a cold-faced woman in gray suddenly blocked his way. "This is Mr. De Sciglio's welcome banquet. Gentlemen, please behave yourselves!"

It was clear that Holding, who had been slapped hard by Connor, was losing control of his anger. When he saw the woman in black who had suddenly appeared, he opened his mouth to curse, but as soon as he opened his mouth, his eyes fell on the East Hoy Company logo on the woman in gray. He seemed to realize something, and a touch of rationality appeared in his angry eyes. He could only awkwardly close his mouth, which was about to curse.

"Who are you?" Holding asked Connor with a ruthless expression, his voice chilling as he looked at the woman in black.

"My name is Connor Ferguson!" Glancing disdainfully at Holding, Connor straightened his suit and said calmly:

"This guy is a fallen nobleman. Because George gave him a loan, he became George's lapdog. He even insisted that his family and Mr. De Sciglio's Ranieri family were old friends and that he should give Mr. De Sciglio a gift. I really don't know how embarrassing the gift he gives to Mr. De Sciglio will be!" At this moment, Sophia suddenly got excited and took the initiative to "introduce" Connor with a venomous look on her face.

"Sophia..." George glared at Sophia with a fierce look in his eyes. Although he didn't say anything else, the threat in his words was extremely dangerous.

(End of this chapter)