When Leo entered the Royal Gala, he captured the attention of many.
Uptil now, his fights had been witnessed by numerous scouts and countless analysts who had prepared a report for their faction leaders, as the second Leo walked into the Gala in his all black robes and his signature Virex mask, he was immediately marked for conversation by many.
As he took a look around the room. Everyone seemed to be dressed impeccably with there being countless extremely strong individuals present within the room whose levels he could not even read.
Some of them he recognised immediately such as 'The Wind Sword' Ethan, Master Magician Vivienne and Master Knight Gareth.
They were the masters who had taken part in the opening ceremony and left a lasting impression on Leo's mind.
Apart from them there were also the four Duke's that Leo recognised, however, everyone else seemed new to him.
As he scanned the room, Leo realized that the Emperor Julien D Evanus had not yet entered the Gala, as the Royal seat made for the King and Queen seemed empty.
The Butler had been insistent that all the candidates must enter the Royal Gala before 7:05 at the latest, as by the time Leo entered it seemed as if everyone else had already arrived.
Just like him, it seemed like Lin Mu had insisted on wearing an all black outfit as well, as she stood with a glass of wine in her hand, looking dangerous yet beautiful.
Apart from the nobles, Leo also wished to interact with Lin Mu in this gala, as he wanted to catch-up with his virtual sister.
"Would you prefer some wine? Gentleman?" a waiter asked Leo almost as soon as he entered, as Leo politely declined and moved a bit further into the room that reeked of tension and awkwardness.
Soon, he spotted Luke and Cervantez, who were wearing matching clothes sewn in the colors of their 'DarkSky' guild, with the guild emblem and name visible in their dresses.
Because of this look, there were many nobles who felt disappointed as with two of the six quarter-finalists having already committed to a faction, they had less talents to potentially recruit this time around.
The two of them seemed to be engaged in an intense discussion with the West Duke James, with the young Duke Jerome seemingly also being a part of the debate.
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"There is no question in my mind that the Guild you are building is going to be an excellent force in the future.
I know about the talents you have under your banner that have not made it to this gala, however, even if you have a handful of talented individuals, I cannot give you the Oakhill barony for administration" Duke James said shaking his head, as he felt taken aback by Cervantez and Luke's proposal.
Almost as soon as the Gala began, the two sought him out and began discussions on the prospect of him handing over the administration of Oakhill barony to them, however, James was not keen on doing this.
The Oakhill barony was the economic life blood of the West Duke ArchDuchy.
Located at the center of the Duchy, it was a trade hub through which all major merchant routes passed, however, apart from being well connected and well located, the Barony was also the only place in the entire Empire where the SpriceWood Oaks grew, whose sales contributed directly to 10% of the Duchy's annual budget.
It was the single most important strategic asset for the West Duchy and James was not willing to give it up under any circumstances.
Although, the offer that Luke and Cervantez gave him of the DarkSky guild becoming a sword subsidiary of the West Duke Family in return for the barony's administration rights was a tempting one, especially since accepting this deal would give the West Duchy access to all of DarkSky guild talents and the right to order them to march into war, James still did not think that the DarkSky guild was worth as much as the Oakhill barony.
"Father please reconsider, they are only asking for administrative rights for five years and have even agreed to even negotiate the tax rate.
I genuinely don't think we should let a talent such as SkyLion walk over when such an offer is on the table.
I do genuinely believe that he can become a master knight in the next five years" Jerome requested, as the connection that Luke made with Jerome via the academy finally began to pay off.
"Don't be ridiculous Jerome. For the price of OakHill barony, I can recruit two master knights today.
For about ten million gold coins a year, I can recruit Master Gareth to our cause, but it will still be 40 million cheaper than the 50 million gold coins profit that the Barony generates every year.
Even if I tax them at a ridiculous 70% tax rate, we will still make a huge loss.
I can negotiate with the DarkSky guild for the control of any other Barony, but Oakhill is out of the question" James said emphatically, as Cervantez frowned at this conclusion.
If both Tor and Jex also made it to the quarter-finals, maybe Cervantez would have had a shot to successfully conclude this deal, however, with only him and Luke present in this Gala, it seemed like they were not worth the price that Cervantez was hoping they were.
In the future war that was bound to happen, the Oakhill barony would become an extremely important strategic asset as the SpriceWood Oak wood was the number one choice to produce high quality arrows.
It was a territory that was not only easy to defend because of its strategic location, but also a goldmine to administer, as with the revenue that the territory generated, Cervantez would gain enough funds to transform his guild into a superpower.
However, unfortunately it seemed like Duke James was unwilling to part ways with it under present circumstances.
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/// A/N - Bonus chapter for hitting the PS target good job everyone!
Also- There will be a 5 chapters mass release for privileged readers tomorrow. ///