"Thank you for your generous hospitality! But I must take my leave! I look forward to our next meeting!"
Enosit waved to Raylin and stepped through the light gate in front of the cabinet.
The multitude of rust receded, returning the room to its original arrangement. The sensation of spatial overlap gradually dissipated, leaving a hint of curiosity in Raylin's eyes.
"This kind of traversal ability? Is it an evolution of the Laws that the other party has mastered? It seems quite effective for inter-world passage and astral travel..."
……
"My Lord, may we come in?"
At that moment, Im's voice came from beyond the door. Their brief conversation had actually consumed an entire night.
Of course, for an existence like Raylin, this was hardly worth mentioning. Even decades without rest would not bring the slightest fatigue to his Law-form body.
"The sublimation and qualitative transformation of life essence? Or a leap in rank?"
Raylin gazed at his own pale, crystalline palm, a distant look flickering in his eyes. He could feel that he was increasingly transforming toward a more powerful form — but this was something he had always pursued.
"Come in!"
He shook his head, setting those thoughts aside, and settled onto the sofa. Im, Arthur, and the others filed in.
"I trust Lord Raylin rested well last night?" Im wore an obsequious smile on his face. For someone who had always been incomparably proud, putting on such an expression was genuinely forced — the muscles on his face twitched with an awkward lack of coordination.
But after learning from King Arthur that Raylin had surpassed the Radiance realm and entered the seventh level as a Law Warlock, Im no longer had a shred of pride left in his heart. His meager bloodline and strength meant absolutely nothing in the other party's eyes now.
And the entire Leias family could only tremble beneath his gaze. Their survival or destruction rested entirely on a single thought from him.
As the true power holder, bowing and scraping before the strong for the sake of the family's survival was simply inevitable.
"Quite well enough!" Raylin nodded, utterly nonchalant.
"If Lord Raylin would consent to our service, it would be the greatest honor for the entire Leias family!" Im continued with an apologetic smile.
The man had, after all, received noble training. Though many things had faded from memory over time, he slipped back into the role with remarkable ease.
"Very well! Now I will discuss the arrangements for the trade corridor!"
Raylin waved his hand. He had long grown tired of hearing such flattery and fawning words. Humiliating this clan head was far less important than what he actually needed to do.
"At your command!"
Arthur and Im immediately bowed in deference. The sight of it left Belinda and Agnes slightly dazed.
Regardless of how one looked at it, the fact that Raylin had single-handedly subdued a fifth-level bloodline Warlock and a peak sixth-level Throne spoke volumes about just how terrifying his power had become.
"Very well! I intend to open the planar passage immediately and establish trade between the two worlds. The agent on this side will be Im, with Arthur assisting. Any problems?"
"Your will is our honor, my lord!"
Im and Arthur both bowed their noble heads respectfully, appearing exceptionally submissive. In reality, they had no ability whatsoever to resist Raylin.
"Excellent! As payment, you will receive thirty percent of the total profits from the trade!"
Raylin did not bother with courtesy, sticking to their prior agreement. In truth, with his current strength, he could have demanded these two serve him entirely without compensation, and they would have been powerless to resist. Maintaining a thirty percent profit share was already a display of Raylin's goodwill.
No, it couldn't be called goodwill. After all, Raylin genuinely wished to maintain this trade here as a major source of revenue for his own power, so he needed to give these two agents some incentive to spark their ambition.
Otherwise, even if he forced them under strict control, things might be fine for a short while, but problems would inevitably arise later.
Though Raylin could simply suppress any issues, why bother?
When his own forces were feasting on meat and drinking soup, he needed to at least throw a bone to these peripheral assets. This was the way of long-term success.
"Understood!"
Im agreed immediately. Although his share was significantly smaller than before, he was already extremely satisfied.
After all, inequality of strength could never lead to an equal agreement.
While this meant the Liam family's interests immediately shrank considerably, and he even had to share with King Arthur—who would take the lion's share—there was at least still profit to be had. He wouldn't need to pour his own money in, and it could serve as a source of revenue for the Liam family.
And besides... Im covertly glanced at Arthur beside him.
Through this bond of shared interest, even just establishing a connection with this King Arthur would be excellent for the Liam family, not to mention the even more terrifying Raylin behind him.
"No problem!" Arthur naturally could not object either.