The Herb King

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"Ah!" Julie was startled by Aethelwolf's actions and unconsciously yelped. She tried to escape from his grasp, but his strong arms didn't allow her to break free from his embrace so she could only rest her head in his chest. Suddenly, she saw Samira looking at her teasingly at the side which made her cheeks redden in embarrassment. Because of this, she looked the other way and closed her eyes. The constant beating of Aethelwolf's heart made her feel strangely calm. 

"I'm sorry. I was afraid to make a move back then and I thought that you will eventually forget me soon." Aethelwolf muttered.

Julie raised her head and stared at him as she replied. "No woman would be able to forget you..." 

Aethelwolf was stunned by her words. 

"Ahem! Although I agreed with your relationship, I didn't say you could openly flirt in front of me. At least wait for your wedding day, okay?" Samira muttered jokingly, but anyone with proper hearing could hear the jealousy in her tone.

Aethelwolf awkwardly smiled when he heard her words, while Julie didn't even dare to look at Samira. 

"By the way, how is everything for your Urgel Household? I haven't had the chance to check your progress because I had a lot of things to take care of." Aethelwolf changed the topic to prevent the atmosphere from becoming awkward. 

Julie was a smart woman so she immediately understood what he was thinking. She gently pushed his chest and replied in a calm voice. "We have been increasing our wealth at a steady pace with the help of your ingenious products and ideas. In particular, the clothing business has already greatly expanded and we have even reached our hands into the neighboring empires. It won't be long before we enter into the market of the big empires." 

Hearing this, Aethelwolf nodded his head. She was indeed a talented businesswoman. He only gave her the ideas and ingredients of the products, but she managed to make things happen in just a short period of time. Even in his past life, only a few business moguls could compare to her. "Not bad. If you want to grow the clothing business, I suggest that you hire some famous characters to become our models and let them wear everything from our brand. Then, you should make some Projection Runes and display them in key areas of the various empires. This way, the popularity of our brand will increase exponentially. You can also do it like this..." 

Aethelwolf had all sorts of business ideas that he learned from his previous life and he could make use of them here to get filthy rich. 

The more Julie and Samira heard his suggestions, the more their eyes brightened in excitement. They were both talented women so they understood what his suggestions would bring to their brand. They could already imagine the future trend of the clothing industry.

"Brilliant! We would have to burn a huge amount of money to invest in this plan, but once everything is in place, our profit would only increase! We might even become a global brand with total earnings equivalent to the earnings of multiple big empires combined!" Julie excitedly said. 

Samira nodded her head in agreement. "Furthermore, if we choose the right people to become our models, this would also ensure the safety and image of our brand. If we hire an expert in the Heavenly Might Rankings to become our model, no one will dare to make a move against us!" 

The two women discussed eagerly. Meanwhile, Aethelwolf became a backdrop and they had even momentarily forgotten that he was still there. 

"Ahem!" Aethelwolf faked a cough to get their attention. When he saw them looking at him, he said. "I think you guys shouldn't think about this for now." 

Samira and Julie furrowed their eyebrows when they heard this. "What do you mean?" They asked.

Aethelwolf sighed and stared at the boundless sky outside the window. "The Underworlders will soon attack the Regalist Continent. At this moment, they are gathering a large army in the Northern Region. It won't be long until they march towards the civilized regions." He muttered in a solemn tone. 

"No wonder your soldiers are acting weirdly lately. It seems like you've been preparing for this." Julie finally knew why Aethelwolf was crazily expanding his army. 

"I'm sorry, Julie. I didn't mean to hide anything from you. I also know about it from the start." Samira apologetically said. 

Hearing this, Julie shook her head and said. "I understand your difficulties. You don't have to apologize to me." She held Samira's hands and smiled gently at her.

"I want you two to stop our operations outside of the Leone Empire and the Barden Territory. It won't be safe in the next few months and continuing our business outside would only make us incur heavy losses. Recall our personnel and give them a huge bonus and a long break." Aethelwolf said.

"Alright. We'll follow your arrangement." Samira and Julie nodded their heads. 

"Don't worry. I won't let those Underworlders step into our lands!" Aethelwolf's eyes flashed with killing intent. 

***

Soon, the day of the group competition arrived. The stadium of West Ocean City was still filled with people and everyone was packed like sardines. Civilians and experts from all around the continent came to spectate the final day of the grand competition. The audience were screaming in excitement as they cheered for their favorite groups. 

At this moment, Omar hovered in the middle of the stadium as he announced the rules for the group competition. 

"There are some changes in this year's group competition and the contest has been shortened to only 24 hours. That means that you guys have to complete the given task in just one day! The mission is simple and it is to find as many keys as you can in one of the continent's most dangerous islands, the Savage Alberrior Island. I believe everyone knows about this island." Omar smiled when he heard the crowd's gasps. 

"What?! It's actually the Savage Alberrior Island!" 

"Isn't that the island discovered by the famous ancient navigator, Kane Alberrior? I heard that this island is the home of many ferocious creatures!" 

"It looks like some of the participants might die in this group competition..." 

"Nah! That won't happen. The Mystic Island wouldn't allow that." 

Omar raised his hand and the crowd immediately shut their mouths. "Ahem! There will be three kinds of keys that you can find within the island; Bronze Keys, Silvers Keys, and Golden Keys. One Bronze Key is worth 10 points, one Silver Key is worth 100 points, and one Golden Key is worth 1000 points! The more keys you can find, the more points your team will receive. Everyone is free to use any items they have, but you are forbidden to kill each other in this group competition and failure to comply will result in your disqualification..." the old man paused for a moment before he continued. "The Savage Alberrior Island is known for its danger so our Mystic Island has sent many Level 4 Espers to ensure everyone's safety. However, they will only make a move when you're in danger and once anyone from your group receives help from them, your team will automatically be unable to continue. After 24 hours, everyone will be expelled from the island and the number of keys you've gathered will be counted." 

The group competition this time was a lot harder than the previous ones. The current group competition requires solid teamwork and even luck. In this regard, the big empires have the advantage since they have more members in their group. If they used it to their advantage, they could gather more keys than the other teams. However, there are also dangers for bigger teams since their chances of encountering magical beasts were higher compared to the teams with lesser members. 

Soon, the teams were told to wear a rune in their arms. These were artifacts with Detection Runes and Teleportation Runes inscribed to them. Wherever the participants are located on the island, their locations and progress will be projected on the screens all over West Ocean City. Furthermore, if the participants will encounter a dangerous situation, they could activate the Teleportation Rune in the artifact and it will automatically send them out of the island. Even with more than a hundred Level 4 Espers scattered on the island, they might not be able to ensure everyone's safety so the Mystic Island added this feature to the artifacts. 

After all the participants have worn the artifacts on their arms, Omar announced the start of the group competition. "I announce the start of the competition!" 

Right after his voice fell, all the teams were transported to different parts of the island. 

Multiple Projection Runes were activated inside the stadium and all over West Ocean City. Everyone could see the progress of each team on the wide screens.