Reborn: Imperial Officer Promotion Guide

In response to Hull's answer, Bashiya remained silent.

The so-called magic orb is the core material for making magic wands.

These incredible minerals are worth far more than precious metals such as gold and silver.

It is also very scarce in nature.

Once a vein of magic orbs is discovered in a certain area, it will inevitably cause neighboring powerful countries to scramble for it, becoming the core of the outbreak of war.

Small tribes like the Kumins would be in danger of being destroyed because of their possession of the treasure, let alone intervening in the fight.

The young queen stared into Hull's sharp eyes for a long time before she slowly spoke.

"Why do you think there are treasures like that in our Kumin territory?"

"After I captured Zanum, I seized the wand from his hand, and then I analyzed the wand. The wand itself was made very roughly, or more appropriately, primitive. Please forgive my impoliteness. Zanum's ability as a magician is also mediocre. However, the magic orb on the wand is of top quality."

“That’s a really spicy comment.”

"Just the facts."

Hull identified the magic orb he analyzed as being of the seventh grade.

If a gem of this grade were placed in the Empire, it would be a high-priced treasure that only a major-level magician would be qualified to use.

And a treasure of this rank actually fell into the hands of a small tribe like the Kumin, and the person who used it was just a soldier leading a force of a hundred men.

There must be some hidden secret behind such a waste of natural resources.

From this, Hull deduced that the Kuming people must have found a vein of minerals containing many magic orbs in the mountains.

"At this stage, I am the only one who has noticed this fact. If we reach a truce agreement with the Empire now, it should not be difficult to continue hiding this information."

"...If there really is a vein of magic orbs in our territory, why don't you reveal this information to the Empire? If it is for the benefit of the Empire, you should do your best to encourage the Empire to launch a war of conquest against our clan and help the Empire take this treasure?"

"The answer to this question is simple. I don't want this treasure to fall into the hands of the empire. I would rather have it all to myself."

"What?!" Bashiya was stunned.

There was no hostility in the other person's eyes anymore, only pure surprise.

"You are such a lunatic. Do you mean that we, the Kuming people, should obediently give you all the magic orbs we have mined?"

"Magic orbs are essential materials for making magic wands. On the other hand, once the magic wand is lost as a carrier, it cannot be fully transformed into combat power, and the magic orb is nothing more than a prettier stone."

"And if you continue to guard this treasure, it will be discovered by a great power like the Empire sooner or later, and it will only be a matter of time before your nation is destroyed and your race is extinct."

Strategic resources will always attract the covetousness of other forces.

As the saying goes, an innocent man is guilty of possessing a treasure. The more precious the resource, the more likely it is to bring disaster upon oneself if one is unable to protect it.

Become a poison that kills yourself.

"..."

"Of course, I don't want you to hand it over directly. I hope to continue to maintain this secret. In exchange, you will give me exclusive trading rights, and we will buy it at a price higher than the imperial market price."

"...I don't understand what you are saying. You don't use this secret to force us to trade at a low price, but instead you raise our selling price. In that case, how can you make a profit? I really don't understand why you do this."

Basiya was obviously very concerned about the reason why Hull did this, and she looked at Hull with curiosity.

A smile appeared on Heer's face. The queen did not act blindly from the perspective of hatred and loathing. She was still able to calmly think about the logic behind it and desperately tried to explore a future way of survival for her tribe.

(What a competent patriarch.)

Heer did not answer immediately, but gently threw his magic wand [Tooth Shadow] to Queen Bashiya.

Bashiya took the wand in her hand, and then observed and appreciated it from various angles.

"...This wand is very good. This kind of workmanship should not be made by an ordinary craftsman, right?"

Bashiya raised her head and stared at Heer: "Could it be that this is your work?"

"This is the first wand I made a year ago."

"As far as I know, there are exclusive wand craftsmen in the empire. How come you, an officer, know the craft of making wands?"

The other party was right.

In the Empire, there is a guild of wand craftsmen, and legally, any wand must be made by a wand craftsman affiliated with the state. Therefore, magic orbs and wand craftsmen are basically bound together, forming a disguised monopoly of the Empire on magic orbs and wand production.

"I learned the craft of making wands secretly. After getting started, I continued to hone my skills in imitation and production. Until today, with my current skills, I am confident that I have reached the threshold of a master craftsman."

While at the academy, Hull took every course related to wandmaking.

Of course, the core technology and specific production processes require a confidentiality agreement signed with the Wand Makers Guild in order to be learned.

Hull naturally did not sign such a contract.

Both his stealing of knowledge and his making of a wand without permission were illegal.

After listening to Hull's explanation with a look of surprise, Basiya fell into deep thought.

After a short silence, she continued.

"You mean, you buy magic orbs from us at a high price, make them into finished wands, and then sell them to us?"

Hull smiled and nodded.

I only mentioned it briefly, but she was able to deduce my intention. It was obvious that she was not stupid.

"You can sell all the magic orbs you have mined on a large scale to us, and you will be able to divert the source of the disaster. You can also get high-quality magic wands, and I can earn the labor fee for making them. We can each benefit from it, and it is a win-win situation."

"...Sure enough, I can't understand. According to what you said, we will stockpile magic orbs that can be transformed into finished magic wands, so that my tribal warriors can gain a leap in combat power. This is indeed an attractive proposal for us Kumin people. But what about you? This proposal should not allow you to gain benefits that are equal to the risks, right?"

"No, the benefits I can get from this far outweigh the risks I have to take. Don't forget, this proposal has a major premise - the Kumin tribe needs to sign a truce agreement with the empire. As long as the agreement can be successfully reached, I will definitely gain great military merit and my position will be promoted. This is my top priority now."

"...What if a super-level magic orb appears? Are you willing to sell us the wand that carries the super-level orb?"

The so-called super-level gems are extremely rare top-level treasures even in more than a dozen countries on the entire continent.

At most, one or two coins appear each year, but the value they contain is equivalent to that of a small country.

It seems that the other party made this proposal because he thought that his real purpose was to obtain that kind of top-level treasure.

And Hull nodded without hesitation.

"Even if that kind of treasure appears, I am willing to make it into a finished wand and give it to you."

"The reason is very simple. I am only a second lieutenant and I don't need a wand of super-standard quality right now."

"...It's just not necessary right now, right?"

"I haven't thought that far. What I value is the experience gained in wand making. I hope to have the opportunity to make a super-level wand more than a wand with a super-level magic orb."

"..."

Compared to risking execution and purchasing orbs at high prices on the black market, this method of determining the upstream and downstream transaction processes is cheaper and more efficient.

"I see. You are an interesting man, I understand that. However, your thoughts and way of thinking, as well as your values ​​and perspectives, are inconsistent with your identity as an imperial officer... So, who are you?"

"As you can see, he is nothing more than an Imperial lieutenant. Everything he does is just to get himself to the top of the ladder of power."

"But can what you think and do bring benefits to the empire?"

"Whether it can bring benefits to the empire, to be honest, is not my concern. I just regard the empire as a stepping stone."

From the beginning to the end, Hull was just using the empire to maximize his own interests.

Hull never had, does not have, and will not have the desire to devote his life to the empire.

"I understand."

When Basiya heard what Heer said, a satisfied smile appeared on her face.

Even the attitude towards Hull became more friendly.

The sentiment that the enemy of my enemy is my friend spread throughout the tent, and the tense atmosphere was long gone.

"So, are you willing to accept the truce with the Empire?"

"No. We Kumin are a warrior nation. We cannot trust the weak."

"Really? So you want to...?"

"A duel. The result of the duel will determine whether you are a true warrior or an incompetent who can only talk big."

"I understand. I am willing to accept your request for a duel. May I ask, besides the Queen, who is your strongest warrior?"

"...A mere lieutenant of the Empire actually proposed to fight against the second bravest warrior of our tribe? How conceited you are."

"No, no, no, I've been conservative enough. If I didn't have a suitable wand, I would actually like to challenge the legendary Blue Queen. I only choose the second strongest person of the Kumin tribe. I think... I'm already very humble."