“Your Majesty, Cedric is already in the castle,” Gerald reminded.
“Hmm,” Maximus nodded and stood up.
“Put on my clothes,” Maximus said, stretching his hands.
Emma and Jane looked speechless at Maximus.
Looking at the clothes scattered on the ground, they can tell they have automatic wearing capabilities.
“Faster,” he urged.
Since they were maids, he would treat them as such.
“Just wait a sec, Your Majesty,” Jane said sarcastically.
They were already familiar with Maximus, so Jane dared to be presumptuous.
“Good, follow me,” Maximus motioned for the two to follow him.
—
Castle’s Throne Room:
“You’re finally here, Your Majesty,” Cedric said excitedly.
Although he was already tier 6, he showed no arrogance towards Maximus.
Especially now, he felt the amalgamation of will protecting Maximus.
Without overwhelming power or the ability to disrupt the amalgamation of will.
Maximus is invincible as long as he is within the Moonlight Empire.
“At ease,”
“It seems that you have a lot to tell me.”
Looking at the haggard Cedric who seems to have lost everything, Maximus comforted him.
“Indeed it is,” Cedric can curse those top empires as he wants.
But their threat still lingered, making him unable to eat and sleep.
“Tell me what the problem is,” Maximus said, while Emma and Jane served him snacks.
“It’s the Westle family,” Cedric sighed.
“Westle family?” Maximus raised an eyebrow.
He had been hearing a lot about the Westle family since the beginning of his transmigration.
He bought slaves from the Westle family caravan.
He also got into conflict with them when he conquered the entire Sunburnt Plateau.
There is also an arranged marriage with Emma.
Now, Cedric is also facing them?
It seems that the Westle family is quite notorious in this part of the cursed continent.
“Continue…”
Soon, Cedric began to tell the problems he encountered with the Westle family, from threats to attacks.
Yes, attacks.
While Cedric was on his way here, the Westle family destroyed one of his bases to show that they were serious.
“I see, that’s really a problem,” Maximus sighed sympathizing with Cedric.
“This Westle family is really hateful!” Emma exclaimed, listening to the story.
“You should be careful with them,” Jane advised.
“These are?”
“Oh, these are my exclusive maids,” Maximus smiled, giving Cedric a knowing glance.
“I see,” Cedric understood.
These two beauties really had a different aura.
Their movements and temperament didn’t resemble those of maids.
Cedric thought that they were only playing some games.
“About your problem, have you thought about what to do?” Maximus asked.
“This, I’d like to officially work under the empire,” Cedric expressed his thoughts.
“Oh?” Maximus smiled.
He had been thinking of a way to persuade Cedric to join his empire.
After all, the navy and sea caravans of the Moonlight Empire were still lacking.
They could only rely on outsiders for external matters, which posed a risk in the long run.
“Are you sure? After working with me, there’s no turning back.”
Although Maximus needed Cedric, he’s not that desperate.
Maximus always prioritizes loyalty above all else.
Of course, loyalty here means signing a contract, not relying on feelings.
“Yes, I’m willing to follow His Majesty for a thousand years,” Cedric said, stating his term.
“It seems that you misunderstand.”
“What I mean by ‘no backing out’ is that once you follow me, it will be for a lifetime.”
“Impossible!” Cedric hurriedly said.
He thought that ‘no backing out’ meant he would work under Maximus regardless of life and death, not for a lifetime.
A lifetime was no joke.
He’d rather surrender to the Westle family than work for Maximus for a lifetime.
With his lifespan approaching a million years, a thousand years was just a blink of an eye.
If the Westle family didn’t covet his wealth, he was more than willing to work for them. 𝚘𝑣𝐞xt.𝑐𝓞𝗆
“What’s wrong?”
“Although working for a lifetime seems like a disadvantage, I’m quite generous.”
“What kind of generosity?” Cedric said with a stern tone.
“First, I will pay ten times the price for the people you brought here.”
“Pay?!”
“I can still be paid?!” Cedric was shocked.
He thought that after working with Maximus, there would be no profit.
At most, he would be given a salary.
“Otherwise, how can you work?”
Maximus understood that without sufficient rewards, enthusiasm for the work would be low.
He could certainly force his subordinates to accept minimum pay.
But that would only slow things down and might even cause chaos.
Besides, money meant little to him.
“Second, you can borrow an unlimited amount of money with no interest, as long as it’s used reasonably.”
“You can also borrow?” Cedric looked at Maximus intently.
Although he could borrow money from the Etherium Gold Chamber of Commerce, the interest rates were painful.
Furthermore, there was a limit, which was 100 billion low magic crystals.
“Third, that is protection…” Maximus urged one of the tier 8 puppets hidden in the castle.
“Huh, what the-” Cedric was dumbfounded looking at the puppet in front of him.
Just feeling the pressure made him almost kneel down.
Emma and Jane were also dumbfounded, too scared to speak.
“How is it?” Maximus smiled.
Each of these puppets cost him 10 billion low magic crystals in the system.
These puppets were scattered throughout the kingdom, costing him a few hundred billion magic crystals.
Of course, this was not something he could afford.
He borrowed money from the Origin Arcana Institute.
As of now, he was 1 trillion low magic crystals in debt.
Fortunately, it was interest-free, and he could pay it off anytime he wanted.
As for the protection of his wives and children, it was also a tier 8 protection amulet.
However, in the future, he planned to buy tier 9 protection amulets.
But that cost at least 10 trillion low magic crystals each.
To equip all his wives and children, he needed a few hundred trillion.
Unfortunately, the magnitude of a trillion and hundreds of trillions differed vastly.
He could still borrow a trillion with no effort.
But to borrow hundreds of trillions, he needed to pass some trials to prove his worth.
Also, the thing with borrowed money was that when you used it, there was no discount.
So his 99.9% discount was useless.
As for how it was implemented, it was done with just a simple contract.
It took a while for the others to calm down.
The tier 8 puppet had already returned to hiding, and they breathed a sigh of relief.
“Have you decided?” Maximus asked, seeing that they had calmed down.
“That, is Your Majesty serious about these benefits?” Cedric confirmed.
After all, it seemed that Maximus had just offered more benefits to himself, rather than Cedric becoming a subordinate.
“Of course, it’s 100% true,” Maximus assured.
“However, to receive these benefits, you will also have to give up something…”
“What is it?” Cedric gulped.
“Your freedom…”
“From now on, you will follow every word I say without question.”
“You will work as I say.”
“You will eat as I say.”
“Your very life will be mine,” Maximus exaggerated.
“Can I think this through?” Cedric asked nervously.
He still remembered the tier 8 puppet that could kill him at any time.
“What do you think?” Maximus gave a smile.
After Cedric saw the puppet, his fate was already sealed.
He had no choice but either to submit or die.
As for the betrayal of Emma and Jane, it wouldn’t happen with him watching them all the time.
“Cedric and the Star Sea Traders will gladly serve Your Majesty!” Cedric kneeled on one knee as he proclaimed.
Since Cedric had no choice, he would go all out.
Anyway, the benefits Maximus offered were very tempting.
He would still own the Star Sea Trading, all the profit and transaction was his.
The only difference was that his freedom was gone.
“Hmm, that’s good.”
“From now on, you and the Star Sea Traders will officially join the Moonlight Empire!” Maximus declared.
…
A few days later, in the Sun Sea Region:
A grand formation of ships was sailing through the currents.
“I didn’t think that I would come here,” Cedric sighed as he looked at the sea.
“From now on, I belong to the Moonlight Empire…”
Thinking of his first mission, he couldn’t help but smile.
Maximus asked him to conquer the entire Sun Sea region.
Cedric needed to transport all the people here into Moonlight Empire.
Maximus didn’t need these extra land.
The Sunburnt Plateau is more than enough to accommodate such a population.
“First, expand the caravan…”
Cedric estimated that there were at least a few trillion people living in the Sun Sea region.
With the current capacity of his fleet, he could only transport hundreds of millions of people per month.
Fortunately, Maximus gave him a 300 billion budget to expand his fleet.
Thus, his first destination was Elnor Island, which served as the junction between the Cursed Continent and the Arcane Continent.
Cedric needed to buy ships there.
Maximus had already ordered ships from the Arcane Continent, which would be delivered to Elnor Island.
As for transporting directly through the Moonlight Empire, it was troublesome.
Furthermore, Cedric also needed to hire sailors, so getting the ships in Elnor Island was more efficient.
After all, it was the biggest hub where adventurers from all over the world gathered.
“I hope everything will be all right…”