There was no need to think about it, Xu Yi could already see the sparks in the air between Marquis Southgate and Russell.
“Yo, isn’t this the dear Marquis Southgate. I never thought that I would be fortunate enough to run into you today, it really is surprising.” The one to speak first was Russell, “I thought that you would hide in your mouse hole all day, but I never thought that you would have the courage to come out.”
Marquis Southgate gave a cold laugh that was filled with taunting.
“Dear Count Russell, if I remembered correctly, you were the one who didn’t dare come out. I think that it’s more suited to describe you as a mouse, isn’t that right?”
Hearing the cold laughter from them, Xu Yi gave a bitter laugh in his heart.
The Marlow Empire and Candra Empire’s were the two large empires, with millions of citizens, so there were quite a few important people among them. Why did Russell and Marquis Southgate have to know each other, moreover, why was there a giant ridge between them?
“This……Sir Russell, Lord Marquis, do you two…..know each other?” As the host, Xu Yi naturally knew that he couldn’t stand on the side. He could only brace himself as he took a step forward, coming in between them.
“Humph, far more than that.” Russell gave a cold snort, “If it wasn’t for this damn mouse, how could I have been sent to the royal fleet?”
“So you were sent to the royal fleet, that really is worth celebrating.”
Marquis Southgate could be calm in front of anyone else, but he would always be filled with taunting when he was faced with Russell, giving him a dirty look. It made Xu Yi very curious what had happened between them for them to be this angry whenever they saw each other.
“Even if I’m in the navy, at least I’m still serving in the military. What about you? I’ve heard that the one people used to call the Marlow War God, Dayolen Southgate has disappeared from the Marlow Empire’s army after the last battle. Speak, if you’re not afraid, why don’t you dare face the brave warriors of our Candra Empire again?”
Marquis Southgate gave a strong snort, but he didn’t refute Russell. He turned to ask Xu Yi, “Chairman Xu, may I ask why he is here? Could it be that your Frestech Chamber of Commerce has some cooperation with the Candra Empire?”
“I should be the one asking you this.” Russell spoke before Xu Yi could, “The Marlow Empire is at least three thousand kilometers from here, why would you come all this way?”
“Are you qualified to know?” Marquis Southgate replied without any courtesy, “But I can truthfully tell you that I accidentally found the Frestech Chamber of Commerce. I was deeply interested in their products, so I came to take a look. As for you…..Russell, it seems like you’re representing your Candra Empire’s navy? But based on the people at your Candra Empire’s army headquarters, can you really cooperate with the Frestech Chamber of Commerce?”
This question was aimed right at Russell’s sore spot, making him unable to say a thing for a while.
This cooperation with the Frestech Chamber of Commerce, finally only buying three ships was him using all his explanation power before finally convincing the higher ranked officers to support him. It was hard enough to find some space in the budget, which was finally approved.
But even if the arm headquarters gave authorization to the navy, they had a very tight budget. It made Russell give up the idea of buying tens of guard ships or even hundreds of guard ships.
To be honest, he didn’t think that three guard ships would bring any big changes to the royal fleet. His real goal was to bring those three guard ships back and let his colleagues experience their might, changing the idea in their hearts.
As long as they had a common goal, the navy would be able to receive a larger budget from headquarters and satisfy his desire for naval power.
However, even if it was like this, Russell wasn’t certain that it would end as smoothly as he expected it to.
In the end, it was a problem of money.
The Candra Empire’s finances had been rather normal during these past few years, so the overall budget of the army headquarters kept decreasing. Naturally the budget of the navy that wasn’t as important became much more tighter.
If this was before, there would be no problem taking out several million for guard ships, but now it was even hard for them to take out the money for three guard ships.
Thinking of this, Russell’s face couldn’t help revealing a trace of sadness.
When Marquis Southgate saw the change in Russell’s face, he broke out in laughter.
Russell angrily glared at Marquis Southgate. He gave a cold snort and turned to wave goodbye to Xu Yi before leaving.
The subordinates behind him quickly followed, sitting in the Magic Sedan that he bought before disappearing along the road.
After Russell left, Marquis Southgate stopped laughing. He looked in the direction Russell left in and after a bit of silence, he turned to Xu Yi, “Chairman Xu, I’m very grateful for the warm welcome this time. I’ve already seen everything I should see and many of my questions have been answered. Since I’ve bothered you for this long, I should bid farewell.”
Xu Yi’s brows slightly raised, “Lord Marquis, you’re leaving?”
“Yes, I wanted to stay here for some time, but now it seems like I can’t just leisurely stay here. Chairman Xu, I am bidding farewell to you now and I’ll be returning to the Marlow Empire with Seymour this afternoon.”
“You aren’t going with Princess Caroline?” Xu Yi asked.
Marquis Southgate revealed a faint smile, “Her highness already safely brought us here, so there’s no need to trouble her on the way back. Moreover, I feel that her highness wants to stay here for a bit longer.”
Xu Yi nodded, no longer trying to change his mind.
“Alright, Lord Marquis, I hope that we’ve left a good impression on you in your half a month here. I represent myself and the Frestech Chamber of Commerce to invite you as a guest again in the future.”
“Definitely.” Marquis Southgate nodded with a faint smile, “Chairman Xu, I think there are many places where we can cooperate. When I come to the Stantine Duchy again, I will visit more than Russell. If nothing unexpected happens, I will prepare for some time after going back to the Marlow Empire and then make an official cooperation request to you. I hope that you will prepare ahead of time.”
Xu Yi nodded, “No problem. Whenever you have the need, we can be ready.”
“Alright, since it’s like this, I will bid you farewell.”
Marquis Southgate waved goodbye to Xu Yi before bringing Seymour and the subordinates who came to lead him away to their Magic Sedans. Just like Russell, he didn’t hesitate at all before leaving.
Watching Marquis Southgate’s motorcade heading to the horizon, Xu Yi shook his head with a bitter smile.
Although the meeting of Russell and Marquis Southgate was an accident, he already had this idea, but he never had a chance to put it into action.
Now it seemed like Russell and Marquis Southgate were old acquaintances. Now that they had accidentally bumped into each other, they had unknowingly achieved Xu Yi’s goal.
There was no need for two similarly powerful empires on the continent, so the Marlow Empire and the Candra Empire were like fire and water. There was no chance of reconciliation at all.
But because of their relationship, it made it easier for the Frestech Chamber of Commerce to benefit.
Although the Frestech Chamber of Commerce was just starting their cooperation with the Candra Empire and there was only a shadow of the cooperation with the Marlow Empire, not even having anything concrete, Xu Yi believed that these two giant empires would be firmly linked to the Frestech Chamber of Commerce in the future.
Although wanting to balance these two empires was like playing with fire, with the large chips that he had in his hands, Xu YI wasn’t too worried.
After standing on the harbour in thought for a bit, Xu Yi’s figure disappeared before he appeared in the magic research facility that was five kilometers away.
Xu Yi’s sudden appearance surprised a few researchers who were discussing in the garden, but Xu Yi just greeted them before heading to Evita’s personal lab.
When he came in, there was a surprised cry as a petite body fell into Xu Yi’s embrace.
Smelling the fragrance that filled his nose, Xu Yi calmed himself and helped Teresa in his hands stand firm.
“Hey, Teresa, what are you in a rush for?”
Teresa looked at Xu Yi and a blush came over her face. She lowered her head and said in a soft voice, “I…..I was getting something.”
Without waiting for Xu Yi to react, she ran away like a little deer that had been scared.
Seeing Teresa disappear around a corner, Xu Yi had a strange smile before walking in.
“Sir chairman, weren’t you with Lord Marquis Southgate today?” Evita’s gentle voice came from inside the lab.
“He already left.” Xu Yi replied. He looked around the lab before asking, “What was Teresa doing here earlier?”
“She was asking me about the parameters of the Magic Cannon Magic Arrays.” Evita replied.
“Oh? How did you reply?”
Evita took a deep look at Xu Yi, “Relax, sir chairman, I’ve always been following your orders on how to answer.”
Xu Yi revealed a faint smile and gave a nod, “Un, I’m assured if it’s you. But Evita, what about the thing that I wanted you to handle before? How is it?”
“The opening has already been written, please take a look, sir chairman.” Evita replied as she took out a thick notebook for Xu Yi.
