Chapter 430: Tripleblade’s Dream
Tripleblade himself was the leader of a mercenary group. He now remained in Snow Bird Harbor, efficiently managing the branch operations behind the scenes.
Yet his experience also had significant limitations.
His original mercenary group had been of modest rank and size, never handling expenditures of such staggering magnitude.
In this regard, he fell far short of Fei She.
Though Fei She appeared ordinary, he was a veteran of the Wisteria Merchant Alliance, having handled and witnessed far more money than Tripleblade.
He too remained in Snow Bird Harbor, not accompanying Zi Di to the Ice Sculpture Capital.
His primary duty was overseeing Zi Di's commercial ventures. As the production hub for dragon rider potions, Snow Bird Harbor served as the engine of these ventures, requiring someone with business acumen to hold the fort.
However, Fei She faced a situation similar to Tripleblade's, both were held back by their combat limitations despite talents exceeding their transcendent level.
Tripleblade operated behind the scenes, with Chi Lai and Men Shi appearing as the public faces. Fei She's predicament was worse. As a mere mortal, advancing the business plans and executing commercial maneuvers required Tripleblade's intermediary role.
Seeing Tripleblade still frowning, Fei She sighed inwardly and pressed on with his persuasion.
If Fei She possessed sufficient strength, he wouldn't need Tripleblade to implement his strategies, he could push them through single-handedly. But reality dictated otherwise. He had to influence a more powerful figure to ensure the business plan remained unaffected.
Fei She stated, "You've seen how popular our dragon rider potion is in Snow Bird Harbor. Therefore, introducing this potion to other regions of the Ice Sculpture Kingdom will undoubtedly lead to massive sales."
“Thanks to Magician Bu Quan's refinement of the production process, our potion output has increased exponentially.”
“Our partnership with the Li Jian Clan has spared us the initial store setup work, providing immense assistance!”
“Now, we only need to await the first wave of returned capital to achieve positive cash flow.”
"As for the sudden expense of purchasing alchemy puppets, there's no need for concern. This falls entirely within our means. Based on my market observations and understanding of alchemy puppet pricing, the funds required represent less than one-tenth of our total capital."
This batch of alchemy puppets was for Zi Di’s exclusive use.
She already had numerous ghosts to manage, so she couldn’t handle too many puppets.
Despite Fei She’s reassurances, Tripleblade remained uneasy.
For a goblin like him, things that hadn't happened were merely considered plans, not reality.
Fei She read the room and sighed in resignation.
He had done his utmost to persuade Tripleblade, but the effect was limited.
With his wealth of life experience, Fei She understood that men like Tripleblade were pragmatic, seasoned by hands-on experience. Tripleblade himself had once been a successful leader of a mercenary group. These successful experiences had shaped Tripleblade, but they also bound him, narrowing his perspective and making him reluctant to trust outsiders' words.
Fei She ceased further persuasion. He understood that for someone like Tripleblade, no amount of persuasion could replace the power of reality speaking for itself!
Only when future developments proved Fei She's foresight correct would Tripleblade come to understand.
Fei She took his leave, while Tripleblade remained deeply troubled.
In stark contrast to his gloomy demeanor here, the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps thrived!
The branch left behind in Snow Bird Harbor had, in this short span, elevated their mercenary rank once more. Their mission success rate stood at 100%, and their customer satisfaction rating was equally perfect!
Such achievements were nothing short of astonishing.
But a closer look at the missions they'd completed revealed the reason.
The tasks taken on by the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps branch were all quite “small.” So “small” as to include helping with moving, repairing furniture, finding lost cats, slaughtering chickens and ducks, and so on.
Yet despite the “simplicity” of these tasks, the rewards were exceptionally generous, resulting in considerable income for the branch.
“All of this is thanks to the commander.” Tripleblade understood clearly that all this success stemmed from the dragonman youngster.
Ever since the dragonman youngster had publicly slain the gold level Teng Dong Lang in a heroic duel, the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps’ fortunes had completely turned around.
Following that battle, the Bayonet Gang was directly annihilated by the Snow Bird Harbor City Lord, prompting factions large and small to express goodwill toward the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps.
Numerous factions proactively issued mercenary contracts, specifically requesting the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps by name. These assignments were remarkably easy yet offered exceptionally generous rewards.
The Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps' detachment successfully completed these missions with only a handful of low level transcendent individuals.
Not only did they earn substantial rewards, but the corps' rank also rose significantly.
“Though we're still a minor force, our leader can slay a gold level, so external factions almost universally regard us with respect.”
Tripleblade understood this treatment was exceptionally rare.
Having served as a mercenary leader for years with unwavering dedication, he had never received such favorable treatment. Nor had he witnessed any other mercenary group enjoying comparable regard.
It wasn't that the Sheng Ming Empire lacked powerful mercenaries.
Rather, the dragonman youngster's feat of defeating a gold level opponent as a silver level fighter was exceptionally rare.
Crucially, the dragonman youngster had vanquished the leader of the Bayonet Gang, a triumph of justice over evil! Such a righteous cause made public acceptance far easier.
The dragonman youngster's fame throughout the Ice Sculpture Capital stemmed not only from his astonishing achievements but also from the public goodwill earned through his righteous deeds.
Having become the true leader behind the scenes of the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps' branch, Tripleblade's motivation was fully ignited after such a smooth start.
Originally a mercenary leader himself, he had always harbored the ambition to lead his group to greater heights.
The Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps' current standing now matches that of the mercenary group he once commanded.
This string of successes fueled Tripleblade's work with boundless enthusiasm, filling each day with relentless drive. As he lay awake at night, his thoughts overflowed with both reflection and anticipation: Could it be that his long-held dream would finally be realized in this foreign land, through such an extraordinary path?
Thus, when Tripleblade witnessed such a massive expenditure, his heart skipped a beat, and intense worry gripped him.
He refused to let this promising situation crumble under his watch!
On one hand, it was his sense of responsibility. Appointed to secretly lead the mercenary company's branch, he certainly didn't want to botch it. On the other hand, this was his... one could say, his life's ambition. He deeply desired to see his mercenary company reach the pinnacle.
Of course, he knew the limits of his bloodline. Thus, in leading the Snow Bird Harbor detachment this time, he eagerly anticipated achieving his ambition indirectly through this unconventional approach.
Tripleblade was tense even though Fei She had offered extensive explanations during their conversation.
He was well aware of Fei She's background and had heard about his business acumen.
“But what if he miscalculated?”
“Better safe than sorry! Even if the odds are slim!”
“No, I have to do something. Even if it doesn't work, I have to act.”
Tripleblade knew he couldn't sit idle; he needed work to ease his anxiety.
But making money... had never been his forte.
He racked his brain: “To secure funds, it boils down to increasing income or cutting expenses.”
“For income, naturally, we'll take on more mercenary contracts.”
“As for cutting expenses...” Tripleblade's gaze fell on the ledger, which detailed nearly every financial transaction of the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps.
Currently, the largest expense was procurement.
The Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps constantly purchased alchemy materials externally, in significant quantities and through numerous channels. The main sources were the six merchant alliances and contacts connected to the Snow Bird Harbor City Lord.
Among these, the largest expenditure was buying the dragon beasts and wyverns.
Tripleblade was unaware this was specifically for the dragonman youngster to absorb bloodlines. His alchemy knowledge was non-existent; he couldn't discern the trickery and genuinely believed these were ingredients for potions.
“These obviously can't be touched.” Tripleblade turned his attention to the second largest expenditure.
This portion of funds was allocated for purchasing equipment and items.
The Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps now have money. Transcendent cultivation rarely involved sudden mutations; it required time to accumulate. Thus, acquiring a single high-quality piece of equipment could often lead to a dramatic surge in combat power.
Even before the duel with Teng Dong Lang, the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps had begun aggressively purchasing equipment.
After the duel, the procurement efforts didn't decrease. Instead, they increased further, fueled by the booming sales of the dragon rider potion.
The survivors genuinely craved high-end gear.
As the capital of alchemists, the Ice Sculpture Kingdom boasted a highly developed alchemy industry. Here, the survivors could more easily acquire equipment and items offering superior value for money.
“This is a bit excessive. We could scale it back a bit,” Tripleblade concluded after analysis, forming a different perspective.
In his view, the current focus on acquiring silver level gear was generally too high for most of the survivors.
After all, the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps didn't have many silver level members. Among the true core members, only the dragonman youngster and Zong Ge were silver level.
"Acquiring so many silver level items is unnecessary. Besides, there's also magician equipment. Among our own ranks, both magicians are necromancers—these items aren't suitable for them."
"Also, should we really be collecting gold level gear and items? We already have plenty of gold level equipment, and the defensive gold gear we truly need remains unavailable."
“Regarding this suggestion... I'll write to them shortly.”
Following this, the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps proceeded to procure alchemy arrows, bullets, and other supplies.
Tripleblade had no objections on this front.
He'd witnessed the high level escape battle against the Bayonet Gang. That conflict had cost the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps dearly, their flagship, the Love Triangle, had been in the repair shop for days.
Tripleblade continued reading.
The third critical expense category was daily operations.
The largest portion was food cost!
The Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps purchased vast quantities of transcendent ingredients and employed numerous magic chefs to prepare transcendent food.
The current branch boasted a large number of transcendent individuals, and many of the newly recruited snow elf members possessed spellcasting abilities. The two squads currently in training underwent grueling daily drills, and these nutrient-rich meals ensured they wouldn't be worn out by the training.
“Wait, what's going on here?”
“The big guy's food expenses alone rival those of the Quick Knife Squad?”
Tripleblade stared wide-eyed, utterly baffled.
“That big oaf sure has a huge appetite, doesn't he?”
"I remember his appetite wasn't this massive. Could someone be secretly embezzling funds?"
Tripleblade couldn't sit still. He immediately set out to investigate personally.