People in Terra, governing a bizarre little country

While that makes sense, Ernst has to say, Mr. Silver, aren't you exaggerating a bit too much?

The one held in Kazimierz is the Knights' Tournament, a grand tournament where a bunch of handsome, tough, or both "Knights" take to the stage to fight for the public's entertainment. It involves Originium Arts, close combat, various weapons and equipment, and may even include some off-field factors. The level of skill involved is far beyond what your impromptu "Seraphim Beast Racing Competition" can possibly compare to.

Ensiodis scoffed at this:

"In the competition, humans and pack animals are essentially no different; they are both commodities. If humans can sell something, why can't pack animals sell it?"

"Off-site prize quizzes and accumulating prize pools, on-site pack animal equipment including saddles, ropes, hoof tack, and decorative protective gear, as well as the opportunity to interact with star pack animals—these value-added services are essentially the same. Don't let your fixed mindset affect our earning speed."

"Besides, are spectators allowed to feed the knights in a knightly tournament? Hmph, obviously not! But we pack animals can! That's a victory!"

"We have everything they have, and we also have what they don't have. This is our double victory!"

"After retiring, the popularity of competitive knights will plummet. If they fail to earn enough for retirement in advance, they can easily fall into poverty and have nowhere to turn. But competitive pack animals will not be like that. Even after retiring, they can continue to shine as ordinary pack animals and dedicate their lives to their front-line positions! This is the third victory!"

"If a knight suffers an accident, becomes injured, or is killed, the Knights' Guild will be responsible for compensation, resulting in additional expenses. But if a beast of war suffers such a problem, it can simply be stewed and eaten. That's a four-win situation!"

"When you stew it and eat it, you can sell meal tickets and have people draw lots to buy the qualification. Let the fans of those competitive beasts eat their idols and savor their taste. This must be an incredibly happy thing! This is the fifth victory!"

"Knightly duels require a sense of proportion and generally follow the rule of stopping short of a certain point. However, beast-riding duels are different. They are a pure, untamed release of wildness, enough to make anyone's blood boil! This is the sixth victory!"

"........."

"Stop, I said stop!"

Seeing that Ensioudis was about to continue listing, seemingly about to come up with a magical theory that "knightly jousting has ten defeats, while beast-riding jousting has ten victories," Ernst quickly stopped his reverie.

He realized that Ensiodis's attack wasn't a sneak attack; he had come prepared!

Beast-riding competition? It certainly sounds plausible. As for its feasibility, Ernst is rather optimistic.

After all, humans are indeed quite bored, and finding amusement is almost an innate instinct in everyone.

Ernst once spent an entire afternoon watching kittens fight, and now that he thinks about it, it's a truly unpleasant memory. He was fishing, and two kittens were waiting for him to catch a fish, but in the end, he came up empty-handed for the whole afternoon. Ernst even suspected that if the kittens hadn't felt they couldn't beat him, they would have come up and given him a couple of punches.

You think you can fish? You might as well go down and bait the area!

Ahem, that’s too far off topic.

Under Enciodis' expectant gaze, Ernst picked up his pen and stamped his official seal on the approval column.

He could actually guess to some extent why Enciodes suddenly wanted to promote a new entertainment project.

Kazimierz has a knightly tournament, but it's not managed by Grand Knight Russell. The relationship between the Kazimierz Knights Association, the organizer, and the Kazimierz Business Federation, the investor, and Russell's Kazimierz Supervisory Council can't be described as being as close as family, but they are certainly in cahoots.

Russell's campaigning for the upcoming 23rd Knights' Tournament at the World's Fair was unexpected, but also somewhat reasonable. He realized that if things continued this way, the Overwatch Council would inevitably be unable to outlast the Business Federation and would eventually be swept into the dustbin of history. Therefore, he was forced to take this "change" measure in order to forcibly take a piece of the pie.

Enciodes, on the other hand, probably wanted to replicate the Business Federation.

Although Ernst didn't think he could succeed. The reason the Merchant Guild had developed to its current state was due to the unique circumstances of Kazimierz. The original feudal knightly aristocracy, at the very moment when it was most likely to undergo change and transform into a bourgeois aristocracy, suffered ten consecutive attacks from Ursus. External pressures abruptly halted the Kazimierz knights' path to reform, which gave the Merchant Guild's merchants—who were also the stewards and grooms of those knights back then—the opportunity to transform themselves and overtake others.

But Kerrigan doesn't have those conditions now. Even setting aside the potential changes in Terra's international environment after the World's Fair and the upcoming World Summit, domestically, Karan Trade has no allies.

Ensiodis's heart is known to all.

But Ernst wasn't one to be trifled with. Having lived for so many years in a country where government power absolutely superseded that of corporations, who could know better than him how to curb these petty schemes?

A good emperor is one who can approve imperial edicts. Only by grasping the highest decision-making power and ensuring that your words carry weight can you gain the respect of others.

Of course, putting aside these trivial matters like "brother, you're so rebellious," Enciodis does indeed know how to make money. Some of the points he just mentioned were things Ernst had never even considered, things that could be done in this way.

Sure enough, the government is lacking someone like you, a mere streetlight ornament... cough cough, they're lacking someone like you, a business talent. Unfortunately, Mr. Yin is stubborn, and Ernst couldn't persuade him. After some deliberation, Ernst chose someone:

"Brother?"

Ensiodis took a step back, his face showing obvious discomfort, and he grinned:

"Don't suddenly use such a cloying tone. Just say what you want to say!"

"It's nothing, nothing. What could your dear brother possibly need his older brother for?" Ernst laughed. "I just wanted to say that we should leave this matter to Hinterlea, the government."

Hinterlea also comes from Kazimierz and has experience working as a competitive knight. Although she didn't make a name for herself in the end, she is at least a legitimate industry professional. Therefore, she is indeed the best choice to be in charge of coordinating and communicating this matter.

But Ensiodis frowned, realizing something:

"What do you mean, 'the government's side'? This is a commercial matter; shouldn't Karan Trade be responsible for it?"

Ernst didn't argue with him about grand theories like government doing business, state-owned enterprises, or regulation; he simply stated:

"Let's make money together."

“No,” Ensiodis refused.

Ernst shrugged: "Then I won't advertise for you."

Ensiodis chuckled dismissively: "Heh, do you think I can't fight myself?"

Ernst didn't speak, but stared at him, the meaning was clear—you can try.

You put up ads on the street, I'll tear them down for city sanitation. You post banners on the wall, I'll remove them without permission. Even if you hang big flags and erect display screens outside your Karan Trade headquarters, I can shut them down every few days for power maintenance.

You little punk, you think you can outdo me with dirty tricks?

You're just a little flexible on moral boundaries, but I'm morally bankrupt!

"Good brother, let's make money together."

Ernst said again,

"You don't want the beast-riding competition to fail to develop, do you?"

This time, Enciodes nodded through gritted teeth, looking like a pitiful young man who had been threatened with a weapon and had no choice but to comply.

"it is good!"

Chapter 289 At the end of the road, who stands at the peak? Upon seeing the demons, all else vanishes!

Hinterlea never imagined that she could be connected with her less-than-ideal hometown, especially in this way.

Previously, she fought in the arena of the Kazimierz Knights, but now, she has transformed and is going to fight in the Kazimierz Knights arena.

"Why would the boss assign this kind of task to me? Why not just give it to that Black Knight or something? He knows more about it than I do. He's a three-time champion."

Hinterlea muttered to herself, but her hands didn't stop tidying up her appearance.

"Phew, since it's a task assigned by the boss, there's nothing I can do. I'll just have to do it."

Looking at herself in the mirror, dressed in a fitted women's suit and trousers, with light makeup, exuding the air of a professional office lady, Cintraya patted her cheeks and muttered to herself,

"Keep it up, Cintrea, don't let the boss down!"

She walked out of the room, where Jian was already waiting at the door.

The three-time champion, a figure unparalleled in the history of the Kazimierz Knights, nodded slightly to the younger generation before him, turned around, gestured for her to follow, and began to explain the purpose of the consultation.

"Kalan Trade has signed an agreement with Grand Knight Russell. We will be interspersing three exhibition matches of pack animal competitions during the 23rd Special Championship. This negotiation is to discuss the specific details of the exhibition matches."

"Details? Do beast-riding competitions need details?" Hinterlea asked, somewhat puzzled.

He glanced at her and gave a cold, light laugh: "Heh, of course it's necessary. In Kazimierz, every competition has some unknown details that are determined before the competition even starts. I heard Ernst mention that you used to be a competitive knight, so you should understand this principle."

Hintelya nodded somewhat awkwardly.

Of course she understood, after all, she was one of the key figures in the success of those match-fixing segments.

Her ability to control her score is a major advantage, although it hasn't necessarily helped her achieve great success.

In Kasimir, you either need money or power; otherwise, you're nothing more than a toy for big corporations and regulatory bodies.

She simply didn't realize immediately that the "details" she was referring to were details of match-fixing.

Besides, does a pack animal competition really need to be fixed?

Seemingly noticing Hintel's confusion, Jian answered:

"Of course it is necessary."

"The beast-riding competition that Ensiodes and Ernst want to organize, which includes racing, fighting, and beauty pageants, is a huge undertaking. But it hasn't really taken off yet. Russell's willingness to arrange a beast-riding competition exhibition match is actually to allow us to take advantage of the situation."

"This is the same principle as her leveraging the expo to expand her influence."

"Since it's a loan, it must be returned."

Since the three exhibition matches are being held in Kavaleriaki, the capital of Kazimir, it's impossible for all of them to feature only Sherag's pack animals. Even a small part is still part of the fun, and Kazimir will definitely have some to offer.

They're playing at home, so they should at least win one game, right?

The goal is to leverage someone else's popularity, and the best outcome is for everyone to be happy. If either party feels awkward, then the original purpose has not been achieved.

This is the most basic principle.

What Hinterland wants to discuss is essentially the question of "who wins which game".

Don't let the seemingly petty nature of this negotiation fool you; it's precisely these kinds of details that truly test a negotiator's skills. Whether Sherag wins one or two, and which one or which two, are all questions.

Racing and fighting are definitely more prestigious than beauty pageants, because beauty pageant standards change with the times; who knows, they might like thick tails now but thin tails later.

But in a race, the one who finishes first is the winner, and in a fight, the one who fights to the end is the victor. This is the simplest rule.

Ideally, Sherag would win both events, specifically the racing and combat events, while Kazimierz would win the beauty pageant. This would maximize Sherag's benefits.

Of course, this is the ideal scenario. Ernst's goal for Hinterlea was simple: just don't do the opposite.

Shelag is a nation that has interacted with pack animals for thousands of years; it's somewhat shameful to only win beauty pageants. Perhaps for the development of the pack animal racing industry, a small win or loss is not a big deal. But national affairs are made up of countless trivialities, and so is international reputation.

Whether a player plays football well or not doesn't have a significant impact on the strength of a country. But that doesn't stop us from criticizing the national football team and certain players for taking money but not doing their job.

Because there is a term called "national soft power".

Fifty or sixty years have passed since the fall of Gaul, but the culture of the Gallo-Gallic Empire continues to exist in various parts of the land. Today's mobile cities are still mostly built based on the Gallo-Gallic capital, Lingons.

Can a nation truly last for thousands of years without perishing? Only the poetry and prose of the past remain unchanged for millennia!

The promotion of any tradition, culture, or unique element can serve as a symbol and proof of the continuation of a civilization.

It was rare for Jian to say so much; these were things that Enshiodis would normally be responsible for explaining. Unfortunately, today the snow leopard seemed to be quite angry with his good younger brother, and returned to his office without saying a word, kicking her out.

Jian was perfectly capable of rushing back into the office and kicking Enciodes back (physically), but she didn't.

Let's just consider it a short break for him. He's always racking his brains to outwit his younger brother, and he can't even win. He's like a child. I don't know what he's trying to achieve.

If I had a younger brother like that, I would have gone off to do whatever I wanted without worry.

.........

Thinking of this, Jian suddenly paused for a moment.

Could it be, Ensiodis, that what you're thinking of doing is whipping your little brother's butt with your big tail?

Hmm, probably not, otherwise having a brother like you would be really unlucky.

and many more!

Suddenly, Jian stopped in his tracks, and Hinterlea, caught off guard, bumped into him, feeling a sensation on Jian's back that was as strong as her own heart.

"what happened?"

Touching her nose, Hinterlea followed Jian's suddenly sharp gaze into the distance with some surprise.

She didn't activate her Pegasus Vision; at such a short distance, she didn't need to use that bloodline power. Besides, to be honest, the three people gathered together were indeed too conspicuous.

"He Dalei? And who are those two?"

Hinterlea frowned.

She was, of course, aware that Ernst had hired a new intern teacher. She was, after all, a government receptionist... no, a government official receptionist, a prominent figure! With an excellent memory, she rarely forgot anyone who had entered Ernst's office, and Herdley was no exception.

The name "He Dalei" was likely an alias. Hinterlea had never seen a Sarkaz with that name before, as these people were generally uneducated and didn't pay much attention to naming themselves; their names were often either kitchen utensils or the seventy-two weapons of ancient China, such as swords, spears, halberds, axes, hooks, and forks. Although Hinterlea had harbored suspicions about Hedley, considering that Ernst had offered him a position, she didn't investigate further.

Unexpectedly, I stumbled upon him meeting with outsiders here.

A burly, blond Sarkaz, and another... and another...

"Woo~"

She let out some incredulous whimpers and covered her mouth.

Me, you, her... how could that be?

How could this be? Is this reasonable? Does this conform to the laws of biology?

Hinterlea once thought that the oldest person was Lola, but after seeing Vina take off her black coat, she realized that it might be Vina. Later, when she saw the three-time champion, Jian, without his armor, she thought that it might be Jian.

But now...

At the end of the road, who stands atop the peak? A single glimpse of the demon race, and all hope vanishes!