The story of the black silk female knight

The next morning, everyone, including Princess Yu and Gina, gathered together to look at Valensa with curiosity, and Tia asked the question on behalf of everyone.

"It's simple, just collect tolls."

This time, Valensa didn't try to be mysterious. She first took out a map of the Frenoia continent, and then drew a line on the western side of the Wasteland, near the sea, connecting the Kingdom of Fran in the south and America in the north.

“Your Highness and Tia, you have just returned from America. Her Highness the Saintess and Sister Friggia are even more knowledgeable about this planet. Lily of the Valley and Lefred should have also read about it in books... America and Fran have very different natural resources, and both sides urgently need more trade. This volume of trade is far beyond what the current maritime trade can meet.”

As Valensa spoke, she pointed to the line she had drawn on the map:

"So my money-making plan is very simple: use the power of the undead legion and nuclear contamination to establish a buffer zone from south to north in the Barrens. The eastern side of the buffer zone will still be the territory of the wild beasts, while the western side will be a safe land route along the sea, used to allow merchants to trade between the two countries. We will charge tolls based on the value of the merchants' goods."

"So you wanted to open the land trade route between Fran and America..."

Tia frowned slightly, stared intently at the map Valensa had drawn for a moment, then gently scratched her collarbone and nodded.

"This line of thinking should be correct. There is indeed a need for more trade between France and America. The current maritime trade is far from enough, and the sea is not safe either."

Only a small number of chambers of commerce have the strength to build fleets for large-scale maritime trade, and they will only prioritize transporting the most profitable goods for trade, leaving a large number of other markets to be developed.

If this land route can really be opened up, many merchants will definitely be willing to give it a try... At that time, trade between the two countries will flourish, and we, who control this route, can indeed sit back and count our money.

"Yes."

Valensa smiled and nodded:

"Moreover, with Her Highness the Princess involved, this business can be considered a royal business. We are just partners who receive a share of the profits proportionally, so there is no need to cause dissatisfaction among other nobles in the country."

"...You two are really trying to squeeze every last drop of value out of me, this royal princess...Do I really look like your shield?"

Princess Yu couldn't help but mutter a complaint, then thought for a moment and asked seriously:

"Although I'm willing to be this shield... after all, I also need you to make me valuable enough so I won't be married off to someone else... but is it really that simple?"

As a race of natural disasters, the Wild Beasts are incredibly powerful. Even though they suffered heavy losses last year after being dealt a severe blow by Valensa, they still have considerable strength.

Can I really build a safety belt with just my hundreds of thousands of undead legions and the giant fat guys developed by Suzuran?

"The northern border defense line that we, the Franco people, have built over nearly a thousand years with the efforts of millions of people, still cannot completely stop the wild beasts. Every now and then, some of them break through the border and steal our food... Can your isolation barrier really ensure the safety of trade routes?"

"Of course, 100% safety is impossible... Just like Your Highness said, the Wild Beast Clan still has quite a few Radiant-Rank experts. Those Radiant-Rank experts have the strength to easily break through the isolation zone... Even some Lighthouse-Level Wild Beast Elite Warriors may be able to break through."

Valensa was clearly prepared for this question, and answered with a light laugh:

"But I never thought that the isolation zone could stop these people... As long as the radiation-contaminated area can become an insurmountable barrier for ordinary beast warriors, and Your Highness's undead legion can issue warnings to the powerful beast warriors who try to break through the isolation zone, that will be fine."

"...What do you mean by that?" Princess Jing was even more puzzled.

"It's simple, because wild beasts aren't stupid either."

Valensa shrugged and pointed to the map again:

"First of all, the establishment of this isolation zone will at most take away less than 5% of the entire Wild Ridge Land from the wild beasts, which should not be unacceptable to the wild beasts."

Secondly, the primary purpose of each attack by wild beasts on humans is to steal food... Therefore, if the wild beasts believe that the potential gains from attacking merchants are extremely low, they will give up on their own.

Chapter 30 Insurance

"That's true in theory... but how exactly do we do it?"

Tia also raised her own objections:

“I admit that the giant robot developed by Linglan is very powerful, a veritable war machine without the worry of environmental pollution. But even with this giant robot and Her Highness the Princess’s undead army, we still can’t stop the powerful Rank 1 warriors of the Wild Beasts… What if the Wild Beasts use small elite forces to break through our isolation zone and raid our trade routes?

"I've certainly considered this issue... Darling, please wait until I finish speaking."

Valensa patted Tia to signal her not to rush, and instead of immediately answering her question, she continued according to her own train of thought:

"I think everyone should be very clear that the reason why wild beasts can become a race of natural disasters is not because the strong members of their race are so powerful, nor because they have particularly advanced technology, but simply because their reproductive capacity is too strong. They kill one batch and another is born, making it difficult to completely exterminate them."

In other words, the biggest threat to us from the wild beasts before was not actually those powerful Radiant-rank wild beast warriors, but the wild beast cannon fodder warriors who could kill millions every year and still come back every year.

While it's true that wild beasts have a strong reproductive capacity, the probability of a powerful individual emerging from among them is extremely low. If there's one Radiant-Rank powerhouse among every 10 humans, then it's possible that only one Radiant-Rank powerhouse might emerge from tens of millions of wild beasts.

This is not only a biological defect of the wild beast race, but also a result of their ignorant civilization... It was a society with a very rigid class system. Every Radiant-Rank Wild Beast Powerhouse had its own tribe. It was like one person, one position. Every time a new Wild Beast Powerhouse appeared, it would damage the interests of the old Powerhouses.

Even a powerful beast like the Great Prophet, who considers himself very intelligent, would send a talented young beast of the Lighthouse level to carry out a death mission in order to ensure his own interests... Other powerful beasts of the Radiant Rank would only go even further in order to protect their own status.

In other words, although millions of lower-ranking beast warriors die as cannon fodder on the border every year, their high-ranking members rarely suffer losses... and the rulers of most tribes have remained unchanged for hundreds of years.

No creature is more cowardly than a group of old people who have shamelessly occupied high-ranking positions for hundreds of years. If we can kill seven or eight of them, we can make an example of them.

I wasn't very confident about this initially, but now I'm a Radiant Rank cultivator, and I possess a domain ability particularly suited for the Barrens. With my plans in place, those targets I've set my sights on have little chance of escaping!

"I see, I think I understand what you mean."

Tia pondered for a moment and said:

"Using the undead army and nuclear radiation pollution to create an insurmountable barrier for ordinary wild beasts, and then you personally take action to snipe those powerful wild beasts capable of crossing the barrier... Hmm, this can indeed force the wild beasts to give up attacking the trade routes... However... it will take time to achieve a deterrent effect, right?"

"I know Valencia, you're very powerful now, but you shouldn't be so arrogant as to think you can stop all the powerful wild beasts, right? This brings us back to that problem... how will the safety of merchants be guaranteed in the early stages of the trade route? If this can't be achieved, I'm afraid it will be difficult for any merchants to be willing to travel this route, which is constantly under attack."

"This is where some psychological tactics come in."

Valensa chuckled confidently.

"Before I answer that question, my dear, you might want to consider another one... For the wild beasts, after our buffer zone is built, what's the difference between raiding villages and towns to the south and raiding merchants to the west? And why do the wild beasts raid southwards every autumn?"

"This……"

As the head of the command department at the War Academy and the heir to a family of military strategists, Tia is quite talented in this area.

She rested her chin on her hand and pondered for less than two minutes before her eyes lit up:

"I understand! It's about how the grain is stored!"

The fundamental purpose of the wild beasts invading Fran is to steal food for the winter. They only come in autumn because it's harvest season, and many ripe crops haven't yet been harvested and stored by farmers—making them the perfect targets for the wild beasts!

Because of the existence of spatial storage items, during the off-season, we can completely transfer and hide all the grain, making it difficult for wild beasts to have a large harvest even if they go south.

Autumn, when all things are harvested, is the best opportunity for wild beasts of the year... Even if they can't raid human villages and towns, as long as they can enter Fran territory, the harvest of wild vegetables and fruits is enough for them to survive the winter... Our Fran's food resources are simply too abundant.

When transporting ingredients, the merchants on the trade routes would certainly use extremely convenient spatial storage items to store them. As long as the merchants can escape with those spatial storage items using teleportation scrolls before being robbed, the powerful beastmen who went to great lengths to break through the isolation zone will have made a wasted trip!

While some top-tier ingredients cannot be stored using spatial storage items to ensure their flavor, those expensive ingredients are generally transported by sea, so land transport is basically not a concern... Is that right?"

"That's right, as expected of Tia, she figured it out right away~~"

Valensa smiled and nodded, then gave Tia a thumbs-up.

"Just like my darling said, the biggest difference between the traveling merchants on the trade routes and the villages and towns in the northern border of the kingdom is that they can use teleportation scrolls to run away at any time, leaving the wild beasts to work for nothing."

"While Her Highness's undead legion couldn't stop the powerful beast warriors from breaking through, it could still issue a warning to the merchants about to be attacked, urging them to flee."

"Indeed."

Most of Tia's doubts were resolved, but her brows remained furrowed.

"But there's still a problem... Teleportation scrolls are very expensive magical items, usually costing around 500 gold coins. Even if you can make them yourself, the cost is close to 300 gold coins."

In the early stages of the trade route's opening, attacks from powerful wild beasts are inevitable. Are those merchants truly willing to constantly consume teleportation scrolls and repeatedly attempt to traverse this route?

"If those merchants had to pay for the teleportation scrolls themselves every time, I think many of them would be deterred."

Valensa smiled, then changed the subject:

"But what if we paid for every teleportation scroll they used, and also received an extra compensation?"

"They'll definitely flock to it, and some opportunists might even deliberately use teleportation scrolls halfway through each trip to scam compensation!"

Tia gave her answer without hesitation, her brows furrowed:

"So, Valencia, you're thinking of using money to build reputation in the early stages? Isn't that a bit foolish? And do we even have that much money right now?"

"Of course we don't have that much money, but some people do."

Valensa continued easily:

"This idea didn't just pop into my head on a whim; it's based on a mature business model in another world called the insurance industry."

Before each merchant enters the trade route, we can have them purchase an insurance policy... The insurance premium can be calculated as one-tenth of the market price of the teleportation scroll.

If merchants who have purchased insurance are attacked by powerful wild beasts on the trade route, we will reimburse them for the cost of the teleportation scrolls and provide additional compensation. However, if they successfully traverse the trade route, we will not refund their insurance premiums.

In the early stages of opening the trade route, this business will definitely lose money, and a lot of money at that. But once the trade route stabilizes, this business will be a sure thing, and a sure thing with no initial investment.

Although many merchants may be unwilling to buy insurance after the trade routes are stabilized... that's okay. We opened the trade routes, so we can set a rule that everyone must buy insurance when using them!

Insurance at one-tenth the price of the teleportation scroll wasn't expensive for merchants, especially since they could reduce their losses by raising the price of their goods. They would definitely agree to it.

Even with tolls and insurance, for many small business owners, the cost of traveling by land is still much lower and more convenient than traveling by sea.

Yashiro is a business genius; he'll surely understand my thinking and know how bright the future of the insurance business is.

As long as we get her to cooperate, we won't have to worry about the initial cash burn, and those who want to take shortcuts and commit insurance fraud won't be a big problem either.

Given the capabilities of the Nora Chamber of Commerce, they will surely be able to devise insurance contracts that are difficult to exploit, and they will also quickly train a team of relevant personnel.

Cunning businessmen should be dealt with by even more cunning ones... As for us, we can just provide ideas and opportunities, and then wait to collect our share of the profits, just like before.

Putting everything else aside, the idea of ​​the insurance industry and the business opportunity alone are enough for me to earn a net return of 30% without investing a single penny with Yashilo, and possibly even more.”

"The insurance industry..."

Besides the well-informed Friggia and Velenkasa, Tia and Princess E are also very interested in this new business model.

They had a lively discussion, asked Valencia many questions, and even looked up information from several modern city-themed games on the game console. In the end, they all agreed on this method.

The overall strategy has been set; the next step is to develop specific implementation plans.

How wide should the trade routes along the coast be? How wide should the buffer zone be? When establishing the buffer zone, which wild beasts should be attacked first? How should they be attacked? After defeating them, how should Princess Yu's undead army and the fat men of Linglan be deployed? How should an early warning system be established to counter attacks from powerful wild beasts?

Valensa could offer little help with these issues; she could only provide general ideas, while the specific strategies and tactics had to be devised by Tia, a true genius in command.

Tia was very confident about this... Anyway, with Princess Tia's Frostmourne, replenishing the undead army was too easy, and she hardly needed to consider her own casualties and morale when formulating tactics.

With these conditions in place, it wasn't difficult for Tia to devise a detailed plan. Once the plan was finalized, she immediately began working tirelessly, intending to complete it within three days.

Everyone else was also making their own preparations.

Princess Elseris continued to familiarize herself with the use of Frostmourne, while sending dozens of loli ghosts residing in her sword to scout out at night and gather information about the number and deployment of the wild beasts.

After gaining a certain level of proficiency with Frostmourne, Princess Ni unlocked another ability of this sword that wields the undead—to duplicate a certain type of undead by consuming a certain amount of materials used to create undead.

After many attempts, Princess Jing has now mastered this ability... Now she can use about 30 lonely souls of wild beasts that died near the underground ruins last year to create a clone of a ghost loli.

These cloned ghost lolis look almost identical to the original, except they are clearly not as intelligent and cannot speak other words, only calling Princess Ai "Mom." However, they can still carry out reconnaissance missions under the guidance of the original.

Valensa, on the other hand, was doing her final training in preparation for a fierce battle with the powerful beasts.

She learned many new techniques of the Sunfire Divine Art from Saintess Velenkasa and also learned a lot of strategies for countering high-level wind, fire, and earth magic from Friggia. At the same time, she replenished Friggia's mana without affecting her own condition, so that Friggia could help Suzuran create two more big fat babies in her spare time.

Two days later, Tia's first detailed plan was completed. After two more days of discussion and revision, it was finally finalized. The main reason for the revision was that the intelligence from the military last month was outdated. The deployment and location of many wild beast tribes had changed, and the plan had to be revised based on the new intelligence brought back by Princess Yu's Ghost Lolita Group.

Now that the detailed plan has been finalized, the next step is naturally to take action.

Last year, when Valensa and her group first occupied the underground ruins, the wild beasts repeatedly sent troops to try and seize it, with as many as four Star-level experts being dispatched at the same time.

However, special pheromones still existed in the air of this territory, and any wild beasts that entered would have their gene-level self-destruct commands activated. After leaving behind the lives of more than 100,000 wild beast cannon fodder, the wild beasts finally abandoned this place.

However, abandoning the issue does not mean ignoring it. Within a 50-kilometer radius of the underground ruins, there are still three teams of wild beasts stationed here, each with about 2 wild beasts. They are all wild beast soldiers, with no wild beast civilians or powerful wild beasts of the rank of Yao.

In addition to these three beast armies, there are also five complete beast tribes distributed within a hundred kilometers west of the underground ruins and the sea.

The smallest tribe has nearly 15 wild beasts, while the largest tribe has around 40. Each tribe's chieftain is a Radiant-rank powerhouse, and the number of Lighthouse-level elite warriors is unknown.

Those three beast armies monitoring the area must be completely annihilated. In order for the trade routes and isolation zones to be established smoothly, Tia plans to also wipe out those five beast tribes... If all the millions of beasts in the five tribes are killed and used as materials for black magic, it will be enough for Lily of the Valley and Princess Yu to use for a long time.

. . . . .

This evening.

As the sun gradually disappeared below the horizon, the beast soldiers monitoring the direction of the underground ruins couldn't wait to leave their posts and, despite their rumbling stomachs, headed towards the sheds in the camp.

For wild beasts that are constantly hungry, mealtime is their happiest time.

As soldiers, these wild beasts ate better than civilians. In addition to half a potato, each of them was also given a few soaked mushrooms, which tasted much better than eating potatoes dry.

"Just like the intelligence reports, these wild beasts are most relaxed around dinner time every day... According to Tia's calculations, as long as they can be killed within 4 minutes, they will be unable to send out messages."

Valensa, who had been lurking outside the camp for over an hour, muttered to herself before shooting towards the camp like lightning, throwing out two more golden cards.

Inside the underground ruins, Tia, having received Valensa's signal, immediately cast a spell, using the two golden cards as teleportation coordinates, to send the two 15-meter-tall fat men from the ruins' warehouse there.