In the large building atop the mountain overlooking the aderite mines, Hanze and Xavier were in deep discussions regarding the aderite mining operations. Crant, the previous operator of the mines, stood by silently, providing information as needed.
He had seen his patriarch slain without much effort, and knew the situation had been changed. Only by cooperating with the new owner of the mines did he have a chance of surviving.
Bang!
The large two-sided door to the main hall of the building slammed open, and John strode in. His face was calm, revealing to the group that his goal had been accomplished.
"My Ashcort Clan...are they…" Crant couldn't help but ask John as he saw him enter.
John glanced towards Crant as he strode towards the large table in the middle of the great hall.
"Your clan is alive. Your new leader is quite sensible, so not a single person died," John replied casually before ignoring Crant.
Crant let out a sigh of relief, as that was the best news he could have heard. He had expected to hear of his clan's destruction. While John did not care for the Ashcort Clan, and wouldn't bat an eye at destroying them due to them, doing so would only cause more headaches than letting them live while agreeing to never interfere again.
"So, where are we in the discussions of the new operations?" John asked Hanze and Xavier as he reached the table.
"We've discussed most of what there is to discuss, other than labor and exports," Hanze replied.
John remained silent for a moment before speaking out once more.
"Labor will be acquired from any slaves that we can get our hands on. As for their labor in the mines, I want the work conditions to be reasonable, and each shall be provided reasonable accommodations as well," John explained.
He knew that he was unable to stop a titanic thing such as the slave trade, as there was too much money invovled in it for anyone to stop. If he didn't buy them, others would. All he could do was buy them and provide them with reasonable conditions, as this would be a fate infinitely better than what they would have otherwise.
At the same time, John would use their labor to further his wealth, allowing him to proceed further down the cultivation pathway. Only once he destroyed the Bloodfiend Sect and rid the continent of the Forbbidden Allinance powers would slavery become illegal.
While John was not a morally upstanding person, he detested the thought of slavery of the innocent nonetheless.
"These suggestions of yours…" Xavier spoke up and paused for a moment. "Providing such conditions to the laborers will not only cost us more money, but will also decrease our mining output."
John looked towards the Whitecrest City Leader, his face stern. "I do not care for such things. I'm sure the mining operations are incredibly profitable. A small hit to that is something I can stomach," John replied.
The Whitecrest City Leader frowned, but didn't argue against his new superior.
"You're thinking about it wrong," John said as he saw the man's reaction. "Working slaves to their limit does increase output, you're correct about that, but that output is only increased momentarily. Pushing a miner to their limits will result in them becoming crippled, and as a result, worthless.
When that happens, we not only have to buy a new slave, costing us money upfront, but also have to train the new slave to reach the mining speeds of the former. When you factor in these two things, overall output should not drop once the new system is fully established," John explained.
The Whitecrest Leader thought about it for a moment, before nodding his head. "I suppose that does make sense."
With slave labor in such overwhelming abundance, owners of operations such as mines did not really think about such things, as replacing slaves was not an issue. However, what John had explained truly did make sense, and so the City Leader hopped on board with the method.
"Now, regarding exports," John changed the subject to the second matter. "Exports will remain the same, with one change."
"What change?" Hanze asked.
"Twenty percent of all mining revenues will be sent to me, in the Bloodfiend Sect where I will return shortly," John instructed.
While carrying out his recent operations, John identified an opportunity to make even more money than he already had. While he did not currently lack money, cultivation was an expensive pathway. Sooner or later he would run out of money, and he wanted that to be as far down the road as possible.
"Twenty percent? That's quite reasonable," the Whitecrest City Leader replied.
The Ashcort Clan had been taking half of the revenue stream for themselves, and used the other half to pay workers, traders, and buy slaves for the mining operations. John was only one person, and so twenty percent was a massive sum.
Not only that, but John knew his new methods would make the operation more costly. If he took too much money, the entire system would collapse, leaving him with nothing instead. With this is mind, John settled on twenty percent.
"You and Hanze will each receive four percent from these operations, while the rest will be used to buy slaves, train and accommodate them, and pay traders for exports. Is that understood?"
Hanze and Xavier both smiled and nodded their heads in agreement. Although their share was much smaller than John's, four percent was still a large sum of money for a single person. Not only that, but John was not interfering with the Whitecrest City operations, and so the Whitecreast leaders' normal revenue streams were still untouched.
"Good." John replied, satisfied with the outcome.
After coming to an understanding, John explained to the two of them that he was returning to the Bloodfiend Sect for the foreseeable future. Hanze was to run Aderite City, while the Whitecrest City Leader ran his. On top of the mining operations, both cities were to offer another three percent of overall tax revenue to John, to be delivered to him at the start of each month.
The details were hammered out over the next several hours, before John was happy with their understanding of everything.
"I may return here in a week, or in a year. Either way, I will return, and when I do, I expect everything to be operating the way I desire it to. Is that understood?" John reiterated one more time.
"It will be as you have instructed," both men replied.
"Good."
John strode out of the main hall of the large building, leaving the two men behind to begin their mining operations. He was sure the operations were in good hands, as both men knew what would happen if they crossed him. Not only that, but John gave them a hefty sum of money from the operations as well, making them much more loyal as well.
John strode outside, and took in a deep breath of cold mountain air. He stared down the mountain to the mining pits far below, watching the slaves go about their work. A small, satisfied smile appeared on his face, before it slowly faded away.
He turned to face a certain direction, and his body suddenly shot up into the sky, flying deeper into the Forbidden Alliance lands.