System vs Rebirth

"Hehehe. He must be in flames right now."

"We don't know about it, but this should put him in trouble for the time being."

"But are we really going to do this? You should know that a lot of nobles have sided with him because of that rune technology."

"We just have to follow the royal family. By pressuring him like this, he is bound to make a rash decision sooner or later. And at that time, the royal family will take the opportunity to seize his rune technology."

The four nobles were sitting at the round table. They were the four nobles from the royal faction that controlled the northern part of the kingdom.

In fact, Earl Canmond's territory was directly linked to Lounstein. His territory was south of Lounstein, which became the wall that blocked travelers from reaching Lounstein.

That was why Dimitri had a bit of a hard time gathering people for migrations.

The other three nobles were also not losing in terms of influence and strength. They were just located a bit farther away and tried pressuring the other nobles around their area not to side with the Ardagan family.

Earl Canmond looked at them while saying, "You better remember that the first one that will be attacked is me. If I fall, the entire plan will be crushed."

"Don't worry, Earl Canmond. We know about this and will definitely send you our experts and soldiers in order to bolster your defense. We won't let him succeed even if he is planning a territorial war."

The other nobles assured him, but there was no telling what Noel could do, considering he was capable of arguing with the likes of Duke Raymond.

"You better believe that is the case. If I fall, he will definitely not let you three go."

"Don't worry, Earl Canmond. You should know that the ban itself is just a facade. The real weapon is not the ban, but the merchants."

"That's right. A few big merchants have joined hands with us, so we'll be able to get a piece of his technology."

Earl Canmond obviously knew about it. If they were going to impose the ban, they should also get the help of the merchants. This way, the merchants would either sell it at a very high price or not sell it at all.

And knowing how greedy the merchants were, they would definitely demand the rune technology either be given to them or sold cheaply to them if they wanted his cooperation.

…

Remane Company.

A middle-aged man was looking at the letter in his hand. "Cancel all the meetings I have."

"Is it from the Ardagan family, Master?"

"Yeah. This is going to be interesting."

"They must be panicking after that ban. They are currently in the middle of rapid development, so if the price suddenly increases tremendously, it will be bad for them no matter how much money they can potentially make."

"I'm not so sure about that." The man smirked.

…

Saltachid Company.

"It seems that our time has come. As expected, even if he is a strong contender, he is still new to politics. He is going to be devoured sooner or later." The president of the two biggest merchant groups in the kingdom couldn't help but smile after seeing this invitation.

"Get ready. We'll devour the Ardagan family alive."

…

River Flow Company.

"Miss. The Ardagan family seems to be inviting us to meet in Laivaen City."

A woman in her late twenties raised the letter on her hand. "I have read it."

"Are we going to strike at the Ardagan family like this?"

"I'm not very sure."

"Not very sure?"

"You always have to fear the rising star. If they don't have a single trump card hidden in their sleeve, they can't become a rising star. For now, gather all the information regarding the Ardagan family, including the nobles around him. There will be a few people trying to make their moves first, so we'll just wait and see."

…

Just like the three of them, the Ardagan family had issued another seven invitations to the biggest merchant groups in this kingdom.

All of them had a great interest in it, considering the Rune Technology had become popular. However, knowing that Noel's company would threaten their profits, they were thinking about seizing his technology to crush Noel before he prospered.

Noel, on the other hand, didn't do a lot of things before the meeting. He was just maintaining the inspection and working according to the original plan.

"We've gotten replies from all ten of them. Two of them have no intention of coming. Eight of them are planning to come, but I don't think all of them have good intentions." Rose reported.

Noel nodded. "There should be a few nobles who have tried to contact us, right?"

"Yes. These are all their letters." Rose put down fifteen letters on the desk. "They seem to be trying to do something for you so that the relationship between them and the Ardagan family becomes stronger."

"Mhmmmm…" Noel nodded and took a look at the letters, specifically the sender. As expected, the Stargaze family would definitely take part in this. However, he suddenly stopped when staring at one of the letters. "This is…"

His shock didn't stop there. He actually found more shocking letters than he originally expected.

"I might be able to use this." Noel muttered, his expression turned serious. Noel asked, "How is the progress of that place?"

"We have sent them to this new place. We're still building the road, but they're rapidly expanding."

Noel thought for a moment. "Where is Anna?"

"She is supervising the expansion of the road currently and should be going to the demon territory to check their situation."

"Recall her back. She might have to negotiate with a few nobles right now."

"Understood."

When Rose left the room, Noel couldn't help but stand up, looking at the map that was laid down on the table.

It was the map of the entire Muivell Kingdom, allowing him to see the nobles and their territories.

He couldn't help but imagine all the pieces that could affect the outcome. Seeing this map made him even more sure about his decision.

It didn't take too long for Anna to come back.

"What's wrong? Rose told me that I have to negotiate with a few nobles." Anna asked while looking at Noel, still putting a few chess pieces on the map as if he were actually playing chess with the entire Muivell Kingdom as the chessboard.

When Anna looked at the movement of those pieces, she suddenly fell silent. Interrupting him might cause a problem, but more importantly, she could see the profound planning behind each move.

However, there were a few places that she didn't expect would get involved in this chessboard.

'It seems that the situation is more serious than we expect.' Anna's expression turned grim, wondering if Noel could actually do this.

But after another fifteen minutes, Noel started taking down the piece that symbolized the four nobles that imposed the ban.

She couldn't help but smile as if realizing what they should do.

"Sorry for getting a bit too serious." Noel finally opened his mouth after the simulation was over.

"It's fine. It seems that you've found the solution."

"Yes. The ban on trade will definitely hurt us, but this can also become an opportunity."

"But I don't really like the idea of using merchants. They might take advantage of this situation to get a say in the family." Anna shook her head helplessly, knowing the true terror of a merchant when the Ardagan family was at its peak.

"No. The merchants might play significant roles, but don't misunderstand. Even without the merchants, I can still stop these four nobles." Noel pointed at the map. "I'm planning to have you negotiate with three lords. Speed is the essence of this plan."

"Alright. It seems that I have to use my full speed to actually complete this mission." Anna smirked.

"I'll ask Harley to send the letters to these nobles, and you'll show up a day later."

"That's easy. When do I leave?"

"Tomorrow." Noel paused for a moment. "I'll tell you the details about the negotiations. You can take care of the rest and inform me about the result later."

"Got it."

Noel then began to explain his entire plan to Anna telling her about how they should proceed.

It seemed that Noel was pretty pissed off by these four lords. After all, according to the plan, Noel didn't plan to let them off easily. If they weren't careful, they might even lose their lives.

The more she listened to his plan, the more she realized that Noel's strategy had changed slightly. However, looking at the map earlier, she knew that this had to be done since the impact would be massive.

After getting all the details, she hurriedly prepared for the departure, working as the shadow in the grand scheme of things.

…

Two weeks later.

A middle-aged man came out of his carriage while lifting his hat. "So, this is Laivaen City. Interesting."

The meeting between Noel and the great merchants was about to commence.