Chapter 138: Betrayal

Chapter 138: Betrayal

In a merchant caravan departing from the Greg Duchy, Tony sat inside the carriage, his eyes gleaming as he stared at the Conquest forum, his hands trembling slightly from excitement.

His father was a noble baron with three sons and one daughter.

After the collapse of the Kaman Empire, the great nobles fought tooth and nail over the "succession rights" of the empire, causing the Primogeniture system of the current Kaman Union to crumble long ago.

Now, to ensure the continuation of their families, noble titles were almost always inherited based on merit.

As a noble scion born with inherently weak Soul Power, he was naturally destined to have no chance at inheriting the title.

Most noble offspring who couldn’t inherit titles would choose to join the church and become a Priest Cleric.

If they could climb to a high position in the future, their fortunes might reverse.

Unfortunately, even this path was closed to Tony.

His innate weakness in Soul Power not only made it difficult for him to achieve great success in magic but also caused the church to reject him outright.

Had his lineage been slightly more prestigious, he might have entered the royal court as a Court Noble.

Though without hereditary rights, if he performed well, he could still potentially transition into a Feudal Noble.

But alas, his birth was neither high nor low.

All of this had reduced Tony to the most humble existence among nobles—a Merchant.

Under his father’s arrangements, he was forced to learn commerce, forever dependent on the family’s power.

This life might seem decent, but it would only last for his generation.

Once the direct descendants grew up, distant relatives like him were destined to fade into obscurity.

He had seen too many such cases!

He refused to accept it!

Yet he was powerless to change it.

It wasn’t until he encountered the internet, its Library, and even online classes that he glimpsed a sliver of hope.

Though faint, it was still a ray of light, wasn’t it?

Now, that flicker of hope had suddenly grown stronger!

—The Internet God actually allowed users to exchange Source Essence!!!

If he used his wealth to secretly establish player guilds, rallying mercenaries to farm gold for him in exchange for Source Essence, could his magical talent be altered?

If he could change it, then he might have a chance to turn the tables!

The more he thought about it, the more Tony trembled.

Father, I practiced diligently every day, studied strategy, and even followed your advice to learn commerce, yet you never spared me a glance.

You always bestowed the best magic artifacts upon my younger siblings, never sharing even a scrap with me. Do you know those artifacts could have changed my life?

Church, your pitiful and humble Believer wished to devote himself to the Music Goddess, to serve with piety—yet even you looked down on me?

Didn’t you preach fairness and benevolence?

Why, when it came to me, did none of that fairness or benevolence apply?

Did my contribution of ten thousand gold coins only buy me a promise that my younger brother wouldn’t kill me once he took power?

Fine!

Fine!

You all look down on me!

But the Internet God sees my worth. He gives me a chance—so don’t blame me for betraying you!

Tony took a deep breath, completing his self-persuasion in the depths of his heart.

"Sir, Vias is just ahead!" came the report of a cavalryman outside the carriage.

Tony steadied his emotions and opened the window to look outside.

At this moment, the caravan happened to reach the high ground of the basin. Looking down from above, they saw a massive city sprawling across the basin.

Dominating the city center stood a towering Magic Tower, piercing the sky!

As the caravan drew closer, they could see patrolling guards everywhere, both inside and outside the city walls.

Contrary to the imagined quiet and mysterious atmosphere, the gates of Vias were packed with merchant caravans.

Judging by their banners, some came from the Keville Empire, while others hailed from Kaman.

Tony, who had memorized almost all the major merchant banners from the southeastern Azarea Continent, even spotted a caravan from the Bayer Empire.

"So many people?"

Tony frowned... It seemed the rumors about the Keville Empire offloading firearms were likely true.

After being inspected by the city guard station, Tony's caravan was allowed entry.

Upon stepping into the city, Tony froze.

A wave of noise assaulted him, as if he had walked into a bustling marketplace.

The streets he had envisioned were nowhere to be seen.

Entering through the city gate, he was immediately greeted by a massive ring-shaped complex that resembled half of a coliseum.

The complex was honeycombed with densely packed shops.

Some were already occupied and open for business;

Others remained vacant.

Overall, it was about half and half.

Among the operating shops, nearly every one had a virtual screen erected outside, displaying messages like "Bicycle Specialists," "Axle Specialists," "Chain Specialists," "Metal Purchasing," and so on.

The expected scene of brokers approaching him never materialized.

Despite the lively and bustling trading grounds, no one paid him any attention.

Tony frowned. After ordering his caravan to rest and regroup, he took his personal guards and began investigating.

What he discovered left him unable to sit still.

Almost all the bicycle parts shipped from the Keville Empire had been sold out, with only a few samples remaining.

If he wanted goods, he’d have to place an order and wait several days.

As for complete bicycles, there were still some in stock, but the quoted prices were exorbitantly high.

What shocked him the most was that Keville merchants outright refused cash transactions—they only accepted transfers through the Interconnected Bank!

In their words, the value of currencies wasn’t uniform, making exchanges too troublesome.

Moreover, transporting currency back was costly.

Rather than filling a chest with coins, they’d prefer to carry more iron ingots.

Tony was dumbfounded!

—A commercial transaction that rejected cash? This was his first time encountering such a thing, even though he already knew about the Interconnected Bank.

Well, since he couldn’t buy goods for now, why not sell his own?

Though he had come to purchase bicycle parts and even magic artifacts, he had also brought plenty of goods, including a small amount of Mithril and a large quantity of refined iron ingots.

The Keville merchants were fairly honest—though they nitpicked, the prices they offered were reasonable.

But when it came to payment, another frustrating scene unfolded.

Not only did the Keville merchants refuse cash, they also wouldn’t pay in cash—same story: bank transfers.

"If you want cash, go withdraw it from a branch!"

Helpless, Tony had no choice but to accept the transfer. Even then, he dragged the trader to an Interconnected Bank branch to withdraw cash.

When he arrived, the place was packed with people.

Some were withdrawing money, others depositing—chaotic and lively.

Judging by the crowd, he probably wouldn’t get his turn before nightfall.

Fortunately, the Interconnected Bank branches seemed to understand that a Merchant's time was precious, claiming to operate around the clock.

Tony simply left his servant to queue while he took advantage of the bustling gathering of merchant caravans from the southeastern Azerai region, networking and gathering information.

"The Interconnected Bank only cares about gold content, not gold coins. Damn it, my ten thousand gold coins could only be exchanged for a little over nine thousand three hundred Keville gold coins—what a huge loss!"

"What loss? Just exchange it back to your own currency after the trade!"

"Ah, right!"

"Honestly, you might as well deposit the money in the Interconnected Bank. It’s convenient, and you even get interest!"

"Yeah, the convenience alone is worth it. Transporting tens of thousands of gold coins back is just asking for bandits to rob you!"

"Exactly. If you deposit it in the bank, at worst you lose a batch of goods, but at least you won’t return empty-handed."

"And don’t forget the interest! It’s way more stable than lending it out yourself. I’ve heard that in the Keville Empire, from nobles down to commoners, almost everyone deposits their money in the bank. They don’t even use physical currency—just open an Internet settlement directly."

"Sigh, the Interconnected Bank even pays interest. How do they make money?"

"You don’t know? They issue loans to the Dragon Factory. Ever heard of it? It’s the factory owned by Ajef, the bicycle pioneer and follower of the Internet God. They specialize in bicycle production lines—each one costs hundreds of thousands, even millions of gold coins!"

"What I care about is whether it’s safe to deposit money in the Interconnected Bank."

"I think it’s pretty safe. The Interconnected Bank was founded by the Internet God—why would he covet gold coins? I’ve heard he even exchanges Source Essence!"

"True. The Keville Empire even repelled Saint Todd’s invasion and crippled Sparda. It won’t collapse anytime soon."

"Too bad there aren’t any branches in our country. What if we need the money urgently?"

"Yeah, I wish the Interconnected Bank would open branches in our kingdom."

The Merchants gathered, some discussing bicycles, others debating the Interconnected Bank.

Unbeknownst to them, their conversations were being subtly steered.

A propagation chain, shielded by profit and spearheaded by the Interconnected Bank, was about to unfold!