Lord Vought turned to Michael and Yuna, giving them obeisance by kneeling on both of his knees. "Forgive . It seems that my connection to the Iron Maiden is still but a tenuous one. I should have known your holy presence from the very start."
Michael internally shook his head. He could never understand how Fudge could manipulate people like this so easily. Lord Vought wasn't just so guy, he was a Draconian! And not just any Draconian, but soone who had enough strength and confidence to declare war upon an Upper Echelon company without batting an eye!
Just that brief show of power was enough for Michael to know that Lord Vought was definitely high up in the Nascent Spirit realm. Maybe even beyond it! Fudge's tricks shouldn't have worked on a man with this caliber of power.
"I am honored to be in the presence of the Chosen One," said Lord Vought. "Looking at your holiness now, I can definitely see the power of the Iron Maiden resting on your stature."
"No, no—" Michael began to refute. But Fudge interrupted him.
"That's right!" the mischievous sli said. "He was the one who brought the Iron Maiden from the depths of hell and allowed her to recover to her state that she is today. And in the future, he will be the one to bring her into this world!"
Lord Vought bowed even deeper as he heard that. "I do not dare presu the kind of power and strength one needs to accomplish such a task. But if you are ever in need of my help, then I shall do my best to fulfill it.
I seem to recall the Reborn company wanting my invite onto the Feast. Consider it done. It's the very least that I could do."
Michael slapped his own forehead at this whole whimsical situation. Was this real? Did they really just gain an extrely powerful Draconian ally because of Fudge's antics?
And as much as he wanted to refute Fudge's words, it did hold so truth. He was going to resurrect the Iron Maiden. He seed to be intertwined with her even if he wanted to or not. She was the one who started his Maugnetic journey in the first place, and also helped him transcend to the Nascent Spirit stage just a few days ago.
He had a feeling that him continuing on his cultivation journey would eventually make him cross paths with the Iron Maiden.
"Isn't it against the rules? Is that really okay?" he asked Vought.
"As she said earlier, your argunts were all rooted in the rules. So people think that rules are things that are rigid and cannot be bent whatsoever. But the truth is that they are a pliable material. It can be molded into different shapes and it will still be considered as following the rules. As long as the essence of the rule is preserved, then one can do as one wishes."
Michael felt the confidence oozing out of Lord Vought. The Draconian in front of him was very assured of himself, which makes him a very charismatic person. No wonder those attendants of his went to war just through his one command.
"With such leeway," Lord Vought continued. "There are no excuses for those who break the rules. And the rules of the Iron Maiden stand above all. Anyone who opposes her will can be considered treasonous."
"And you're going to wage war because of that?" Michael asked.
"Yes. The rules propels to do so."
"Hehe, destroy all those naysayers who don't believe in the Iron Maiden!" Fudge said.
For so reason, all the cool, stylish, and charismatic points that Lord Vought had were quickly negated by the talking sli above his head. Michael simply couldn't take the guy seriously with Fudge making those mischievous smiles right in between Vought's curving horns.
"Prophet, does this an that the Reborn company is the secret organization helping the Iron Maiden religion prosper behind the scenes?"
Fudge nodded. "Yup! Now that you know this secret, you are held liable by a binding contract with the Iron Maiden. You must help the Reborn company whenever we are in need of help. Forever."
Lord Vought didn't bat an eye with that promise. "Very well. I shall take this secret to my grave and uphold this responsibility."
"Hear that, Master? We got a new pet!" whispered Fudge to Michael.
Michael ignored him, of course. It was nice to know that they could rely on an ultra powerful Draconian if it ca down to it, but he wouldn't be using his help for things that would upset the balance too much.
He'd basically be giving Fudge approval to influence more and more powerful people!
That can't happen. So, he would just ask for Vought's help if he really needed it. "I should have known that only the blessed of the Iron Maiden would create such a magnificent creature such as the automobile," Lord Vought said to Michael.
"I thought you thought of them as a nuisance."
The dark Draconian nodded. "Yes. I may find mosquitos as a pest, but I wouldn't want to wish them extinction. They are part of the natural world and were made by the goddess with its own purpose."
Fudge bounced up and down on Vought's head.
"Automobiles are the creatures of the Iron Maiden!" he said. "We've made a lot of progress in integrating the Iron Maiden into New Sparta thanks to those cars. The more they are dependent on it, the easier it will be to convince them that automobiles are the Iron Maiden's blessed creatures."
It seed that Michael had no one else to bla but himself. He was the one who pushed for the integration of automobiles into New Sparta.
It completely crossed his mind that the believers of the Iron Maiden treated automobiles as their sacred creatures. Therefore, empowering cars would only empower the Iron Maiden.
And as he saw from the mural in the entrance of the tower, Vought and the rest of the Draconians were only enlightened about the Iron Maiden because of the Starry Explosion phenonon that occurred because of him.
In short, he was the one who did this.
Sigh… "Blessed Michael," said Vought. "At first, I wondered why the Reborn company would try to enter into the Feast, thinking that your company is far too recent to be able to contend with the Conglorates.
But now that I know the truth, I understand that this is sothing that the Iron Maiden has entasked you.
Unfortunately, in this Feast, my help to you will only be extrely limited. I am not fad for my business acun. So unless you need soone to ride at dawn and overco a war, I will not be able to help you."
Michael fully understood that. This battle against the Conglorates won't be decided using strength. It would be decided through wits, skill, and business acun.
Those who conquer the market will beco the ultimate winner.
"I have but a few things to tell you. First, you should not underestimate your opponents. The Conglorates are powerful on their own accord. They are self-sustaining. They have everything and everyone at their disposal…"
Conglorates had the biggest pockets in this world. Their resources were nigh infinite. They were the only ones who could afford to lose billions of Sand Dollars without even batting a single eye.
Not only that, but their reputation was literally world-class. They wouldn't have beco a Conglorate if they hadn't conquered the market overseas.
And since part of the custors inside this Feast would be Beastfolks, the Conglorates already had a sizable advantage against all the others. They knew the products that would cater well to the rn, the Vampires, Werewolves, etc.
And the Upper Echelons weren't slouches either. They might not have as much of a wider range than the Conglorates, but they did have their own specialties.
These companies reached this level only because they had beco the very best in their specific niche of the market. If the Conglorates were a tsunami that destroyed everything and anything in its path, then the Upper Echelons were a spear of solidified water; they could pierce through the market with their depth.
These were the kinds of opponents he'd face against in the Feast.
Of course, Reborn had their own specialties. At this mont, the Upper Echelons and the Conglorates already consider Reborn's specialty to be transportation.
The automobiles would be enough for the Reborn company to enter into the Upper Echelon—given enough ti.
But his opponents were smart. They made sure to fight Reborn in a market that they weren't known for.
So, if they blindly entered into the Feast with their products, they'd get washed by all the other Upper Echelons.
"I hope you take these warnings into heart," Lord Vought said.
Michael nodded, thanking him for his insightful words.
"But worry not. As a Draconian, I still have so sway in the general public. Of course, it's not as large of a following as that woman, but it will give you a good start."
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