Chapter 280: A War Without Magical Radiance
What is a calamity falling from the sky?
As a new noble merchant from the Jenkins family of the Misty Bay Harbor Trade Alliance, Wesley Jenkins had always sailed smoothly through life.
He inherited the shrewdness of the Visaji people and their keen sense for numbers, firmly believing that "reward" and "risk" were weights placed on either end of the scales of fate. If either side became too heavy, it would cause the scales to tilt, lose balance, and ultimately topple over.
He believed in an ancient Visaji proverb: "The fruit of high reward often grows within the thorny thicket of risk."
Where there is reward, one cannot avoid facing risk. This is the merchant's destiny and the rules of the game. He enjoyed maneuvering within these rules, calculating probabilities, weighing gains and losses, and savoring the sense of achievement that came from leveraging wealth with wisdom and courage.
Until... an urgent appointment letter stamped with the seals of the three major merchant associations from the Trade Alliance council was delivered to his luxurious mansion.
Citing "Councilor Jenkins' exceptional communication skills, loyalty to the Alliance, and familiarity with western border affairs," the appointment letter formally designated him as the "Envoy of the Misty Bay Harbor Trade Alliance." He was to depart immediately for the Gold Lionheart Fortress, now occupied by the Slime Kingdom, to make contact and negotiate with the other party, assess the situation, seek peaceful solutions, and protect the Alliance's interests.
The real reason was actually that his family's manor was the closest to the Gold Lionheart Fortress, which would save the maximum amount of time.
Wesley held that appointment letter, which still smelled of parchment and ink, and only then did he realize that on a merchant's path, besides calculable market risks and commercial rivals, there existed something completely immeasurable by calculation — the risk of force majeure.