Chapter 471: The Emperor's Illegitimate Child?

"Your Highness, I have sent out the spatial coordinates of your location. Please remain here for three days. Shortly, a fleet of floating merchant ships will traverse space to trade with you."

"So advanced," Muria's mouth twitched. A cross-space transaction? He had previously thought that the merchants from the Rockman Kingdom, who used floating ships for overseas and sky trades, were quite impressive. But now, compared to the Empire's top merchants, the difference was clear—like heaven and earth.

"Your Highness, according to my intelligence, the top-tier merchant guilds of the Human Empire all follow the Empire's colonial fleets to conduct business. So you can rest assured of their strength. They can provide you with any resources you need."

"...I have no money." Muria fell silent for a moment, then spoke with a bitter edge in his voice.

"Unfortunately, Your Highness, although I would like to help you, according to regulations, Titans on their travels can only receive limited technical and intelligence support, not resource assistance. So, I'm very sorry, but everything you need must be obtained by your own hands."

"I understand." Muria scratched his head irritably. He had merely gained another stable trading channel; the fundamental issue of resource and talent scarcity remained unresolved.

"What will I use to trade with the Empire's merchant guilds?" Muria wandered around the cloud island, pondering what he didn't need but could use for trade.

"Weapons, potions, and..." Muria's eyes lit up as he stared at a steel golem over three meters tall standing in front of him, various ideas popping into his mind.

As someone who had inherited all the legacy of the legendary mage and element master Hainar, Muria had some understanding of metal golems. For example, with a sufficient number of skilled inscribers and enough metal resources, some mid- to low-level metal golems could be mass-produced.

The assembly line production of metal golems was a very important technology for a legendary figure or, more precisely, for a country. A nation with this technology could significantly reduce military casualties, as some suicidal missions could be carried out by golems. Even if a metal golem was destroyed, as long as the wreckage could be recovered and recycled, it could be turned into a brand-new cannon fodder.

"This could be considered as a core profit project for my subordinates. After all, becoming a skilled golem worker doesn't require very high talent; just a certain level of elemental sensitivity. Let me think, besides golems, what else can I sell?"

"Dragon scales used as raw materials, then forged into armor by dwarves, and finally processed with rune inscription and aesthetic enhancement by dark elves. The focus would be on visual appeal, with the armor's attributes as a secondary consideration, then sold at a high price.

After all, this is an empire with the ability to colonize different planes. There should be plenty of wealthy, brainless noble heirs. These are all fat sheep. I wonder how much the purchasing merchants can offer? Let's have the dwarves make a few sets to try."

...

"Everyone, pay attention. We are about to meet the esteemed His Highness. If any of you make a mistake, don't blame me, Andrew, for being ruthless."

In a meeting room of a luxuriously decorated floating ship over a thousand meters long, a slightly chubby young man sternly reprimanded, "This task was assigned by the royal family. As long as we complete this deal, the benefits I receive will also extend to you. But if we mess up and I get into trouble, none of you will escape."

"President, who exactly are we trading with this time? What is their status that even you have to come in person? Give us a hint so we have some idea."

"I don't know the exact identity of this VIP. But I can tell you, this order was personally signed and issued by Emperor Ironland. According to the Emperor's instructions, we should treat this VIP as an imperial prince with the right to inherit the throne.

Moreover, for this transaction, don't think about making a profit. We just need to give as many benefits as possible without the VIP noticing, ideally giving away all the supplies we brought."

"President, we brought goods on fifty-seven ships. If we give them all away, we'll be left with nothing but our underwear!"

"Isko, you've been with me for so long. How can you still not get it? When the Emperor orders us to take a loss, many people would jump at the chance." The chubby guild president spoke with some pride.

"A loss is only temporary. The rewards the Emperor will give us in the future will be tenfold, a hundredfold."

"Tenfold is enough." A guild executive wiped his mouth, feeling like he was drooling.

"President, you mean the more we give away this time, the more we will be rewarded in the future?"

"Of course. We are here to give away money, and we need to do it discreetly, without the VIP noticing."

"What a hassle. Can't we just dump all these ships and supplies on him? Would he refuse?"

"Stop talking nonsense. Understanding even a bit of what a VIP wants is enough. Just follow the instructions."

...

"What a waste! Some merchant ships used for transporting goods have the ability to traverse space." Muria's eyes reddened slightly as he stared at the floating ships descending from the sky. "If these guys weren't here to trade with me, but were my enemies, it would be great! Then I could just rob them directly."

The fleet of floating ships, having traversed space, landed on three cloud islands under the guidance of cloud giants because of their massive size. Compared to them, the batch of floating ships Muria brought from the Rockman Kingdom looked like cats next to tigers—vastly different in scale.

"Are you His Highness Muria? I am Andrew, the representative of the Deep Blue Merchant Guild from the Uranos Empire." The guild president Andrew introduced himself humbly after being led by storm giants to see Muria in person.

No one could fathom Andrew's shock and joy upon seeing Muria's black-haired, golden-eyed human appearance, even though he had his suspicions beforehand.

Black hair and golden eyes were symbols of the Uranos Empire's royal family, features possessed only by the purest royal bloodline. Andrew absolutely believed that the boy before him was related to the seemingly celibate Emperor Ironland.