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Chapter 553 - Seeing the Beast King

Shun knew that what Shue said was right, but he still frowned and said, "Young Master, I think there is a much more suitable place to make the Space Level Up."

Zhao Hai nodded and said, "I know that you mean the Elven Forest. I also heard that there were a lot of stranger plants there. It certainly is the place most suitable to upgrade the Space. But you should know about the temperament of the Elves. They absolutely hate Humans. If we just rashly enter their forest, they might see it as aggression. Therefore, I'd rather see the Dwarves first. I heard that the Dwarves have some contact with the Elves sometimes. I want to see if we can learn something about the Elves from the Dwarves."

Shun nodded and said, "So that's the case. But is it true? I heard that the Dwarves are hot tempered, with attitudes no worse than the Beastmen. They like to play with iron, drinking liquor, and are generally rude Artisans. One the other hand, the Elves are elegant, seemingly looking like art, and has a huge affection towards music. Would such people have a friendly relationship with the Dwarven Race?"

Zhao Hai shook his head and said, "Who knows, I only read it in a passing note. I don't know if its true or not. But elves disliking the Humans is something everyone on the mainland knows. Therefore, it would be much better for is to head to Dwarf Iron Mountain first."

Shun nodded, then Shue looked at Zhao Hai and asked, "Young Master, what do you think the Beast King wants to talk to you about?"

Shun smiled and said, "It should be something good. The Young Master has helped them quite a lot. With the attitude of the Beastmen, they would definitely give benefits to the Young Master."

Shue actually shook his head and said, "Not necessarily. The Beast King is astute, him looking for Young Master might not be a good thing. Young Master, don't think that things would be like the Herculean Bulls where the conclusion came in smoothly. For a person of the Beast King's level, they will definitely think much deeper into this matter. He would surely not completely believe in you even if you helped them this time. Therefore, it would be a good thing if we get careful in interacting with them in the future."

Zhao Hai nodded, "What Shue said is reasonable. Although the Beast King is a Beastman, he is also a King, and had been for several years. His position being stable meant that he is strong both physically and mentally. We do indeed need to be more careful with him in the future."

Then the three people chatted for a while before Ah Tai came and offered Zhao Hai a meal. After eating their meal, Ah Tai started to get busy in preparing to trade goods with the Beastmen. But even so, Zhao Hai didn't actually make an appearance.

The next morning, after Zhao Hai ate his breakfast, he sat in a carriage and headed towards the Beast King's place. There might only be few structures in the city, but the most famous of them was definitely the Beast King's palace.

Although the Beast King Palace had palace in its name, its structure wasn't really that big. It couldn't even compare to a small Human castle. There was no way for the Beastmen to construct such a large building. If a Beastman wanted to build a house, they would have to kill some Magic Beasts. And one should know that Magic Beasts were extremely valuable assets for the Beastmen. They simply cannot bear to kill a lot of them.

Because of this, although the walls of the city wasn't bad, the buildings inside were mainly tents. The few buildings that were inside Beast God City were small buildings of about three stories at most that had their own fences surrounding them. The city's walls can be said to be the most extravagant structure that the Beastmen had made.

There was no fixed master of the Beast King Palace. When the Beastmen changes their King, the new Beast King would relocate to the Beast King Palace. When a King is replaced, then they would naturally need to move out.

It can be said that the Beast King Palace was a holy place in the hearts of all the Beastmen. Therefore, it was understandable for their guards to be very strict. When Zhao Hai arrived outside the Palace, he immediately got out of his carriage and examined the Beast King Palace. The palace walls weren't very high, only about ten meters in height. Above the main entrance, three characters were engraved that spelled Beast King Palace. And at the walls, the flag of the Tiger Race has been placed on a pole and then hoisted up.

Guarding the entrance were four Tiger Beastmen. On their hands were long steel spears. On their waists were leather whips. At the same time, they were also wearing great leather armor. When Zhao Hai stepped forward, he was met with cold looks from these Tiger Beastmen.

Zhao Hai reorganized his clothes and then arrived in front of a guard and gave a salute, "Beastman Brother, hello. I'll have to ask you to inform the Beast King that Zhao Hai has come to answer his summons."

Zhao Hai specifically picked his words, he told the guards that he only came here because he was ordered by the Beast King to do so. This way, the Beastmen guards wouldn't be suspicious of him and might even allow him to go in.

Sure enough, when the guard heard Zhao Hai say his name, his expression immediately lightened up by a few levels. But he still didn't make a move, he just gestured to a big tent beside the palace as he said, "You go to that tent over there. Someone would help you once you enter." After Zhao Hai expressed his gratitude, he immediately headed towards the tent.

The decorations inside the tent were quite simple. There were several small tables inside where a few people were sitting in. Some of these people were Tiger Beastmen while some are from the Fox Tribe.

Zhao Hai didn't dare to ignore them, so he immediately approached a table with a Tiger Beastman and said, "Brother, hello, I'm here in the orders of the Beast King. I'll have to ask brother to send word for me."

The Tiger wasn't as strong as the others. Although his figure was still very tall, he looked a little thin compared to the other people in his race. But if he were compared to Zhao Hai, he would look like a big man.

The Beastman looked at Zhao Hai and faintly smiled, "So it's Mister Zhao Hai. His Majesty did give the word for your visit. Please wait for a while, I'll have someone come and escort you."

After the person left, the five remaining people looked at Zhao Hai curiously. Zhao Hai gave a salute to these people and said, "Everyone, this is our first meeting. I really haven't prepared any good gifts. I hope these bottles of liquor would suffice." Then he gave each of them one bag of his Milk Wine.

The people inside the tent smiled. It was common courtesy to provide gifts when one meets a Beastman for the first time. Since Zhao Hai gave them something, these people immediately felt closer to him.

One of the Fox Beastman, who looked like young man, smiled at Zhao Hai and said, "We've already heard of Mister Zhao Hai's name. For mister to be the Foreign Prince of the Herculean Bull Tribe as well as obtain the friendship flags of the Dog-headed Race and the Black Bear Tribe, this meant that Mister is a true friend to the Beastman. I must invite Mister to visit our Fox Tribe in the future. We have some businesses to discuss with Mister."

The Fox-headed Race was generally considered to be the most wily among the Beastmen. They were notoriously shrewd, and many Merchants were very reluctant in doing business with them. This was because the Foxes were too smart, and there were times where the Merchant's tricks failed because of the shrewdness of these Foxes.

Zhao Hai didn't care about that as he smiled faintly and said, "I'd be happy to do business with the Fox Beastmen. Rest assured, I will certainly give you a visit."

The Fox Beastman smiled and said, "Alright, we shall certainly kill some Argali to welcome you."

At this time, sounds of footsteps could be heard. And before long, the previous Beastman came in from outside. He gave Zhao Hai a small bow and said, "I'm inviting Mister Zhao Hai. His Majesty is already waiting for you."

Zhao Hai smiled faintly and then placed a bag of Milk Wine on the Beastman's table and said, "Thank you, brother. Please receive this small gift from me."

The Tiger Beastman didn't decline. Based on Beastman tradition, if others gave you a gift and you didn't accept it, then it meant that you didn't regard the other party as a friend. This was very different from the Human race. Back in the Human lands, if one gives you a gift, it was proper practice to decline it for one or two times before receiving it.

Then the two went out of the tent and headed towards the Beast King palace. This time, the guards didn't stop them, the two were immediately allowed inside without any obstructions.

Once inside the Palace, Zhao Hai couldn't stop himself from staring. Inside, he actually cannot see a single Tiger Beastman guard. Most of the people inside were from the Fox Race and the rest were half-Beastmen slaves. All of the people inside were very busy carrying and shuffling Sheepskin scrolls.

The Beast King Palace wasn't a large place, but the entire place looks like a machine in high performance. People were processing documents, filing them, delivering them to another person and then repeat.

Seeing this scene Zhao Hai couldn't help but sigh. Compared to the Beast King Palace, the Rosen Empire's palace, although very stylish, was very short of this kind of vigorous vitaliy. It was certainly a pity.

Under the leadership of the Tiger Beastman, Zhao Hai quickly navigated through the Palace. And in the middle of it was a small building. In front of this building were a couple of Tiger Beastman guards. They wore leather armor while having two steel whips placed on the back.

Zhao Hai and the Tiger Beastman arrived in front of the guards and said, "This is Mister Zhao Hai, allow him to come in."

The guard nodded, then he waved his hand. The Tiger Beastman nodded and then left.

The guard looked at Zhao Hai and gave him a salute, "Mister, come with me. The Majesty is inside." Zhao Hai returned the courtesy and then followed the guard to enter the building.

Zhao Hai stared as he went in the building. He expected that there would be a living room and some other rooms inside. But in truth, this place was unexpectedly the Beast King's study. Inside, there were several large bookcases. Above the building was a sheepskin curtain, a thick wool carpet was spread on the floor. In the middle of the room was a huge brazier, with flames constantly flashing inside. Not far away behind the brazier was a large table. Behind that table was a chair, of which the Beast King was sitting at, with a lowered head as he wrote. There were several Fox Beastmen nearby as well, silently writing on some documents.

The guard bowed towards the Beast King and said, "Your Majesty, Mister Zhao Hai is here."

The Beast King looked up. Zhao Hai held a chest salute and said, "Zhao Hai has come under the Beast King's summons. I ask his Majesty's forgiveness for me being late."

The Beast King looked at Zhao Hai and laughed, "Good, good. Alright, come and have a seat." The he stood up and walked towards the brazier. Right beside the brazier was a circular table with stools on it side.

Zhao Hai sat alongside the Beast King near the Brazier. The guard immediately heated some Milk Wine on the brazier before serving it to both Zhao Hai and the Beast King before he retreated.

The Beast King held his glass up and hinted towards Zhao Hai before the two of them drank the wine.

Chapter 554 - Cooperation

When Zhao Hai saw the Beast King's gesture, he didn't dare to ignore it. Thus, he also drank from his cup.

These days, he has rarely drunk this kind of pure, undistilled Milk Wine. Although the smell of this wine is heavier, he has to recognize that its fragrance made the wine's flavor quite different.

The Beast King smiled when he saw Zhao Hai drink the Milk Wine without his brows wrinkling. He knew that only a few Humans can stomach Milk Wine. There were Human Merchants who had been trading in the Prairie for a long time but still couldn't drink Milk Wine. Zhao Hai wasn't like any of them, he even seems like he loved drinking it.

The Beast King placed his glass down and had the guard serve him another glass. Then the Beast King looked at Zhao Hai and said, "I want to thank you for last time. If it weren't for your help, our Beastman Race would have experienced huge losses."

Zhao Hai also placed his glass down, allowing the guard to fill it back up. He smiled towards the Beast King and said, "Your Majesty is too polite. I treat the Beastmen as my friends, and the Radiant Church as my enemies. There is no reason for me to not help my friends and instead aid my foe."

The Beast King smiled, then he said, "I made someone inquire, and I  discovered that the grain that you sell to the Beastmen was priced much lower than other Human Merchants. Why is that?"

Zhao Hai replied, "This isn't something strange. The other Merchants needed to recoup their transportation expenses, but on the other hand, I have my Spatial Bags. Since I use Spatial Equipment in transporting grain to the Prairie, then naturally my prices would be much smaller."

The Beast King nodded, and then he laughed and said, "I'm afraid this method is very difficult for the others to learn. Nobody would use their Spatial Equipment just to transport grain. Hahaha."

Zhao Hai smiled faintly. He knew that what the Beast King said was right. But the actual reason why Zhao Hai's method cannot be copied by the other merchants was because they didn't have Zhao Hai's Space.

The Beast King looked at Zhao Hai and then said, "There aren't any Human Merchants that would dare come to the Prairie at this time. I estimate that this situation would go on for several months. Although we had managed to snatch a lot of things, I'm sure those would run out in a few short months. At the same time, small Merchants would refrain from doing business in the Prairie anymore because of the fair price agreement. In the future, I fear that the food shortage would be even bigger than this time. And when that time comes, we could only get grain at a high price. Do you have any solutions to this?"

Zhao Hai smiled to the Beast King and replied, "Your Majesty, you don't need to worry about this. As long as the Beastmen need food, I can sell it. This is not a problem."

The Beast King stared, then his two eyes turned bright as he looked straight into Zhao Hai's eyes and said, "You mean you have a lot of grain? Are they Bread Fruits?"

Zhao Hai smiled faintly and said, "I have plenty of Bread Fruits, plenty of Bamboo Rice as well. Therefore, Your Majesty don't need to worry about the Prairie's food in the future."

The Beast King looked at Zhao Hai, he seems to think that he had misunderstood what Zhao Hai just said. The reason why he invited Zhao Hai over was to gauge if Zhao Hai is truly a friend to the Beastmen. If Zhao Hai passes his evaluation, then he would give him satisfactory benefits. If he fails, then he even if he wouldn't chase Zhao Hai out, he would still be on guard against him.

But he didn't think that Zhao Hai's reply would be this. He was very clear about the amount of food that the entire Beastman Race needed. It was an astronomical amount.

When Zhao Hai saw the Beast King's expression, he knew what was on the Beast King's mind. Zhao Hai smiled faintly and said, "Your Majesty, you don't really have to worry. My territory doesn't only produce Bamboo Rice and Bread Fruit, I also have other things cultivated there. To be honest, if I don't sell my food over to the Beastmen and instead dump them to the Human markets, then I'm afraid the price of food would immediately plummet. And I don't want it to be like that. Therefore, I want to bring them over to the Prairie and sell it here. Not only is the purchase price high in the Prairie, the demand is also very large. And if I sell my products to the Beastmen, I won't be affecting the Human markets, and I won't be destabilizing the economy."

The Beast King nodded, although he was a Beastman, after all these years of being a Beast King he has managed to have some understanding about Human matters. He knew that among the merchants who came to the Prairie, only those big Merchants were able to make a fortune, small Merchants wouldn't be able to earn a lot.

He knew the price of grain on Human lands, but he also knew how much it costs for the humans to transport grain to the Prairie. Aside from artificial reasons, this overhead cost was the reason why prices of grain in the Prairie was very high.

Because of this, the fair price agreement between the Empires and the Beastmen didn't include having the same price as in the Human domain. This was because it would be an unrealistic scenario, and there would be no merchants that would sell food to the Beastmen anymore if that happens.

Moreover, the Beast King also knew that in the Human lands, the influence of each Great Noble Family was very formidable. And with how their grain business is closely tied with their military, these Great Nobles would do their best in order to keep the price constant. Any fluctuation to the market would have huge impact to these Great Nobles.

As for the Buda Clan, the Beast King was aware of it as well. The rise of this clan can only be described as absurd. In a very short year, forget about being a Middle-ranked clan, they immediately became one of the most powerful Clans in the Human continent. This kind of development can only be read in legends.

These information were acquired by the Beast King from the Nobles that they had fought. In truth, he had expected Zhao Hai to be someone who didn't have much reputation among the Humans. But after his inquiries, he managed to find out how big Zhao Hai's fame was.

With Zhao Hai's recent response, the Beast King finally believed that Zhao Hai did really have a huge hatred towards the Radiant Church. But if he adds the Great Nobles to his list of enemies, he wouldn't be able to thrive among his race. Affecting the grain market of the Human Race wasn't something that the Buda Clan can afford to handle.

Seeing the Beast King starting to believe him, Zhao Hai then said, "I really do see the Beastmen as friends. To tell you the truth, I really don't like to interact with other Humans, it's too tiring. Haha."

The Beast King stared at Zhao Hai before he chuckled and then it turned into a laugh. A laugh so thick that it penetrated deep into one's soul.

After some time, the Beast King stopped and then with a deep voice he said to Zhao Hai, "Good, good. Starting today, you're also going be my friend. As well as my Tiger Tribe's friend."

The Beast King wasn't only the alliance leader of the Beastman Race. At the same time, he was also the Patriarch of the the Giant Tiger Tribe. His influence in his tribe was so big that he can claim to say these words.

When Zhao Hai heard the Beast King, his heart couldn't help but beat in glee. He knew how heavy the words of the Beast King were. With those words, he would be able to walk in the Prairie much more freely. Even the famous Tribes of the Prairie would have to give him face.

Zhao Hai immediately stood up and gave a salute, "Zhao Hai is very thankful to His Majesty."

The Beast King waved his hand and had Zhao Hai sit down, then he said, "Our Beastman Race's food problem would be handed over to you. I don't know if you knew, but why do you think our Beastmen race is always fighting? It's to survive. If the Big Tribes wanted to survive, they would have to snatch from the small tribes. And in turn, those small tribes would snatch from the smaller tribes. In between these battles, a lot of lives would be lost. All because there is no food. As a Beastman myself, thinking about this is very painful!"

Zhao Hai couldn't think of any response as he listened to the Beast King. What the Beast King said was true. Do the Beastmen really want to fight? Of course not. No race was born to kill and die, all of them were only compelled to do so in order to survive.

The Beast King sighed and then turned his head to Zhao Hai and said, "These years, we had always wanted to establish a good relationship with the Humans. But the Human race simply didn't pay any attention to our Beastman Race. They regard us as barbarians, some even look at us as if we are Wild Beasts. The only thing they want from us is more profit. With such people, who in their right minds would want to cooperate with them? Zhao Hai, those few words you spoke back then outside Iron Wall Fortress moved me. You said that in your eyes, Beastmen and Humans are the same intelligent beings. That made me thing, if there was one Human that we Beastman can comfortably cooperate with, it would only be you."

Zhao Hai stared at the Beast King, he didn't say anything. He knew that these words of the Beast King were spoken with true sincerity, this was what was truly inside the Beast King's heart.

After a moment, Zhao Hai opened his mouth and said, "Your Majesty, I'll stand behind the words that I've said. I treat the Beastmen as my equal. Your Majesty doesn't need to worry about anything if you cooperate with me."

The Beast King nodded and then patted Zhao Hai's shoulder, "Alright, I'll believe you. I hope you can do it."

Zhao Hai smiled and said, "I won't disappoint you, Your Majesty. Right, I'll have to offer Your Majesty a cup." Then he turned his hand and took out a bottle of Milk Wine.

The Beast King looked the bottle that Zhao Hai just took out, he had seen this liquor before. The Herculean Bulls and the Black Bears have gifted him some of these. To be honest, he really loved this liquor. This liquor was obviously Milk Wine, but it was much different than what he had drank before.

The Beast King didn't decline and then finished his Milk Wine first before handing his cup over to Zhao Hai. After he took a sip of Zhao Hai's milk wine, he nodded. This was indeed the same wine that the Black Bear Tribe has sent.

After looking at the Beast King, Zhao Hai smiled faintly and said, "Your Majesty, perhaps we can cooperate and produce this liquor. What do you think?"

The Beast King couldn't help but stare at Zhao Hai in confusion. He knew what this liquor represented, it represented huge profits, incomparably huge profits.

When he went to the Human lands, he also inquired about this liquor. This Milk Wine was very popular among the Humans as well. Moreover, it's sold at a very high price. If Zhao Hai cooperates with the Beastmen, then it would absolutely bring them huge benefits.

Chapter 555 - Cooperation(2)

The Beast King stared at Zhao Hai, he really cannot believe what he just heard. He knew that Zhao Hai was the sole producer of this Milk WIne in the Human domain. But if Zhao Hai can tell the Beastmen the method, then the Beastmen would be gaining very good benefits.

Zhao Hai looked at the Beast King's expression and smiled, "I think that the Milk Wine the Beastmen produce actually tastes very good, but it cannot be stored for too long. I can process your Milk Wine and make them into this. What I'm thinking about was for the Beastmen to ferment the Wine and then sell them to me. After that I'll be selling the processed wine to the mainland. What do you think?"

The Beast King knitted his brows, to be honest, he didn't like this approach. This was because the Beastmen wouldn't gain a lot of benefits. But except for this method, Zhao Hai might not accept any other way.

However, after thinking about it, the Beast King still felt relief. This method of turning normal Milk Wine to high quality Milk Wine was something that only Zhao Hai possessed. If Zhao Hai taught them for no reason, then that would be very suspicious.

But even if Zhao Hai didn't teach them the method, it doesn't really matter. After all, Zhao Hai buying their Milk Wine would provide an income to a lot of Beastman households.

The Beastmen herd Argali. And like any other beast, the Argali would eventually give birth. And along with that, they would produce milk. However, all of these milk couldn't be entirely drank by the Beastmen. Therefore, they would transform the milk into other products such as Milk Wine, cheese, milk skin, and so on.

But these products were still hard to preserve, especially in the Prairie. The Prairie's environment can cause food to quickly spoil.

Sometimes, Beastmen would just drink the milk as though they were water, which was really a waste. If Zhao Hai bought the milk, then it would certainly be beneficial to ordinary Beastmen.

The Beast King nodded and said, "This is a good thing, but how do you plan to collect these Milk Wines? If they were left for a long time, then their taste would change. Once it changed flavor, do you still want to make them into your Milk Wine?"

Zhao Hai smiled, "This is something that I'd like to ask Your Majesty for help. I want to cooperate with some Beastmen, preferably the Big Tribes. I'll ask them to collect those Milk Wines and then I'll take them once every few days. What do you think about this?"

The Beast King thought for a moment and nodded, "This is not an issue, it helps the Beastmen as well. But the Beastman Prairie is too large. Even if the tribes are willing to cooperate with you, are you able to pick them all up?"

Zhao Hai smiled faintly and said, "Your Majesty, did you forget? I have my Blood Hawks. I can use them as transport, greatly reducing travel time. I'll take care of everything else as long as you can make those tribes work with me."

The Beast King nodded and said, "Alright, then it's settled. I'll help you and write an letter to those big tribes. When you have time, you can go to them and discuss your terms."

Zhao hai nodded, "Thanks a lot, Your Majesty. I'll go visit them them as soon as possible."

The Beast King smiled and said, "You don't need to be polite. This is also a good thing to us Beastmen. Moreover, I'm not afraid of you deceiving me. In fact even if you did, we wouldn't be losing a lot. These things would sometimes just turn to waste. With your business, we would be able to turn these excess things into money. It's definitely worth it."

When Zhao Hai heard the Beast King, he couldn't help but smile and said, "It would indeed be better if the Beastmen would gain some income, their lives would be a bit better. RIght, I can pay the Beastmen in three ways, first method is paying them with food and daily necessities. Another way is to pay them with gold and silver, they can use it to trade with other Human Merchants. The third is Magic Beasts, such as Argali. Naturally, I won't be buying them in high price. I also ask His Majesty to explain it to them, I'm afraid that they won't believe me."

The Beast King looked at ZHao Hai and forced a smile, "Not only them, even I might not believe it. If you tell me that you'd buy them in gold and silver, then I might believe you. But trading Milk Wine with Argali? I'm afraid that's too good to be true. You must know that compared to Humans, we Beastmen regard Argali as much more valuable than grain."

Zhao Hai smiled faintly and said, "I know, but Your Majesty can rest assured, I meant what I just said."

The Beast King nodded and then he smiled to Zhao Hai and said, "Alright, I'll believe you. I'll release word to the Prairie about this. You don't need to worry."

Zhao Hai nodded, "I'll work on this as soon as possible."

The Beast King gave a nod, then he turned to the Tiger Guard and said, "Little Tiger, inform everyone that I'll be having a meal with Mister Zhao Hai at noon. Make them prepare something delicious."

Zhao Hai didn't stop the Beast King. Having a meal with the Beast King can also give him some advantages. He looked at the Beast King and said, "Your Majesty, I'm planning to see the Dwarven Race after a period of time. Therefore, I'll leave the matters of the Prairie over to Ah Tai. If Your Majesty needs anything, you can just send word to Magic Lily store and inform him. He will then pass the message over to me."

The Beast King's eyes shined as he said, "You want to go to the Dwarves? That's fantastic. I heard that the Dwarves have a lot of similarities with the Beastmen. They also have contact with the Elves, so they shouldn't be worrying about food. Zhao Hai, I only ask you for one thing. Can you help us get some ironware when you return? Not just weapons, but anything made from Iron would be great. The Beastmen really lacks a lot of iron."

Zhao Hai nodded and smiled, "The Dwarves make a lot of metallic items. I think that wouldn't be a problem. Your Majesty can rest assured."

When the Beast King heard Zhao Hai, his expression immediately turned to happiness as he replied, "That's great. I must thank you in advance. Alright, let's leave and go to the dining room."

Zhao Hai didn't decline and went to the dining room with the Beast King. And when they arrived Zhao Hai stared, didn't expect the dining room to be another small building inside the Beast King Palace. This building has three stories, the first and second stories were places for the staff to eat while the topmost floor was dedicated for the Beast King.

This made Zhao Hai feel new and strange. The Beast King was really very different compared to the Human monarchs. For example, when the Rosen Emperor eats a meal, he would do it in special place, it was impossible for other people to eat there.  The only exception was when the Emperor allowed that person to dine there. But in the Beast King Palace, the Beast King actually dines in the same place as the others.

When they arrived at the dining room, some Fox Beastmen immediately served them several milk products. Naturally, all of these are just side dishes. The main dish was of course the meat.

While Zhao Hai and the Beast King were eating, they discussed the details of the Milk Wine transaction. The discussion was even carried over after their meal. It was evident that the Beast King was very enthusiastic about this cooperation.

After leaving the Beast King Palace, Zhao Hai immediately returned to Magic Lily Shop. But after arriving in front of the shop, Zhao Hai couldn't help but stare. The state of the shop was much more different compared to yesterday's desolate atmosphere. Currently, the shop was very lively, a lot of Beastmen were encircling the shop and being noisy.

After listening for a while, Zhao Hai understood what was going on. Ah Tai must have already spread their intent to buy those things that were useless to the Beastmen. The Beastmen were now discussing with Ah Tai about the price of their trade.

These people weren't representing themselves, but instead their own tribes. Therefore, they didn't bring anything along with them, but it was certain that the volume wouldn't be very small.

Zhao Hai didn't mind it, Ah Tai can deal with this situation by himself. Therefore, he returned to his tent at the back along with Shue and Shun. After entering the tent, Zhao Hai immediately went to the Space and discussed his Milk Wine cooperation with the Beastmen to Laura and the others.

When Laura heard Zhao Hai, she couldn't help but knit her brows and said, "Brother Hai, this is indeed a great idea. But with this, our prices in the hotel would be lowered. Also, our wineries aren't fully built as well. I'm afraid we won't be able to get any profits in the short-term."

Zhao Hai smiled faintly and said, "I know. But in fact, it's very simple to process Milk Wine. As long as we have more apparatus for distillation, everything will be okay. We've been doing things wrong since the beginning. We have the Processing Machine, we can just produce some more efficient distillation equipment. Not only could it enhance the flavor, it's output was much higher as well. And don't forget, although the Beastmen can produce Milk Wine, a majority of them used Argali milk. Even if Argali milk tastes good, it couldn't compare to the cow milk that we use. Therefore, our own Milk Wine would still taste much better. When we sell the Beastmen's milk wine, we can just label it as a common liquor, while we advertise our Milk Wine as high end versions. With this contrast, we can still manage to get substantial income from this business."

As soon as Laura and the others heard Zhao Hai, their eyes couldn't help but light up. They had experienced how magical the Processing Machine was. As long as they know what they want, then the Processing Machine can certainly make it. They couldn't think of anything that the Processing Machine can't make. Therefore, Zhao Hai's idea was very reasonable.

At the same time, outsiders aren't able to observe what happens inside the Black Wasteland. So this method was indeed feasible.

Laura looked at Zhao Hai and said, "Alright, then there's no problem. Now that we got our  trade network, selling them out wouldn't be a problem. Brother Hai, we must carry this out as soon as possible. Not only would it make the Beastman comfortable, it can also bring a lot more benefits to our Buda Clan."

Lizzy nodded and said, "Big Brother Hai, i think that we should also inform Third Brother about this. After all, most of our sales involve wholesale, we need to rely on others with regards to retail business."

Zhao Hai smiled and said, "We don't need to worry about this for now. We need to first establish a receiving network inside the Prairie. After that, it wouldn't be too late to discuss things with Third Brother. Moreover, for the system of receiving goods, I already have someone in mind."

Lizzy stared in confusion as she asked, "Someone? Who is that? We already have our Blood Hawks, we don't need to cooperate with another person."

Zhao Hai smiled and said, "The Beastman Prairie is too big. Moreover, I don't want to bring attention to the amount of Blood Hawks that I have. Therefore, I wanted to cooperate with the Hawk Beastmen. Although they cannot fly as far, short distances wouldn't be a problem. They can help us concentrate the supply from some small tribes to the big tribes. It would be much more convenient for us to collect it with that method. And if we cooperate with the Hawk Beastmen, it would be equal to tying them with our business. For us, this is definitely a good choice."

Laura nodded and said, "I agree with Brother Hai's words. The Hawk Race is also a big Warring Race. The placement of the tribes is very broad, and their status among the Beastmen is high as well. We must ask for the Beast King's help in convincing the Hawk Race to help us. At the same time, this cooperation would bring benefits to them as well, so they definitely won't decline. The Markey Family has some relationship with the Golden Ringed Hawks from before, we can approach them for this matter."

Zhao Hai nodded, then he smiled faintly and said, "As long as this thing goes through, I think the friendship flags of the Tiger and Hawk Race would be in our hands soon. When that happens, our Buda Clan's reputation in the Prairie would be increased. This would be very good for our future plans in the Prairie."

Laura nodded, "Although we have a lot of business there, we don't have a lot of partnerships with the big Warring Tribes, we only have Dogs and Black Bears. If we want to dominate the entire grain market of the Prairie, gaining a lot of partnerships would be the most important thing for us to do."

Lizzy looked at Zhao Hai and said, "Big Brother Hai, when do you plan on visiting the Hawk Tribe?"

Zhao Hai smiled and said, "I'll go visit them two days after the Beast King spreads the word of our Milk Wine cooperation. When that time comes, it wouldn't be too late for me to visit them."

Megan looked at Zhao Hai and shifted the topic, "Elder Brother Hai, do you really want the Dwarves to make some weapons for the Beastmen? What if they attack the Humans?"

Zhao Hai sighed, then he replied, "It really depends. If the Beastmen are really willing to attack the Humans, they wouldn't even need weapons in order to do so. But if they don't want to attack, even if they have good weapons, they still wouldn't do so."

Laura nodded and said, "Things are still arbitrary. After all. we still don't know the situation with the Dwarves. But if the Beast King says that they have a relationship with the Elves, then it is possibly so. As long as we get in touch with the Elves as well, then the benefits to us would be very big."

The people present knew what Laura meant. They needed a lot of things to upgrade the Space, and they didn't have the means to do so right now. Therefore, they can only get the materials from the Elven Forests in order to progress.

The Elven Forest was recognized as the most mystical place that was inhabited by an intelligent race. It's mysteriousness wasn't any worse than the Carrion Swamp. And from the previous contacts with the Elves, it was said that the forest contained a lot of strange flowers and plants. And it was precisely those things that managed to get Zhao Hai's attention.

Chapter 556 - Karen Goes Insane

Several days passed as Zhao Hai stayed inside Magic Lily Shop. However, he wasn't idling inside. Although he has mapped most of the Prairie, there was still quite a large chunk of it that he has not yet saved. If he wanted to do business in the entire Beastman Prairie, then it would be better for him to save the Prairie's map into the Space's monitor.

At the same time, Ah Tai has been busy as well. He was working hard at making the transactions with the Beastmen. From being an unknown store, the Magic Lily Shop had already managed to make a reputation among the Beastmen. And it was not only because it was the first shop that had Beastmen Friendship flags in it, but it was also because of the recent matter.

Being reluctant in throwing useless things away was another trait of the Beastmen. Because of this, they would have piles of rotting things in their hands. They couldn't sell it off as well since it was also useless to the other tribes.

But now that Magic Lily Shop was willing to take those off of their hands, it wasn't a mystery as to why the Beastmen were ecstatic. It didn't take long before word spread to the entire Beastman Prairie, giving the Beastmen a favorable impression towards Magic Lily Shop.

Five days after Zhao Hai met with the Beast King, a reaction was finally seen in Beast God City. The Beast King sent forth various scrolls out, these scrolls were like those used in Ancient China. those scrolls were sent to various Patriarchs of the Beastman Race, informing them about Zhao Hai's Milk Wine partnership.

The excitement that this caused was much greater than the purchasing of useless goods. Many Patriarchs had gone to Beast God City to confirm whether this was true or not. In turn, this made Ah Tai much more busy, he now has to deal with the inquiries of the Patriarchs every day.

Zhao Hai looked at the situation and knew that it was the time to visit the Golden Ringed Hawks. Through the Golden Ringed Hawks, he can reach the Hawk Race's Royal Tribe. Then he would talk to their Hawk King with regards to his plan of cooperation with the entire Hawk Race.

Three days after the Beast King sent word out, Zhao Hai rode his carriage as it left Beast God City and headed to the Golden Ringed Hawk's territory.

The Golden Ringed Hawks were also a major force inside the Hawk Race. They were one of the formidable Beastmen in the Prairie. Their builds weren't tall and big, however their flying mounts were fast. Among the Beastman race, the Golden Ringed Hawks were among the most well known aerial scouts.

In the past, when the Golden Ringed Hawks and the Markey Family were in a partnership, they way that the Markey Family conducted themselves were very overbearing. Therefore, their cooperation with the Golden RInged Hawks wasn't very big. If one were to describe it, their transactions might be in the low to medium sized.

Zhao Hai's carriage travelled quickly, he wanted to reach the Hawk Race at the shortest possible time and discuss the cooperation with the other races. This way, the logistics of the Milk Wine business would get established as early as possible.

In the past few days, Zhao Hai had spent a lot of gold coins in the Space to make a lot of advanced level distillation equipment. Once these equipment were installed in Iron Mountain Fort, their Milk Wine output would definitely increase by a large amount.

Naturally these equipment needed power, but Zhao Hai had already thought about it. So he also had the Processing Machine make a set of generators in the Space. This generators were hydropower generators. Although their electric output wasn't high, it was enough to satiate for the power consumption of the distillation equipment.

And since the process involved electricity, Zhao Hai made sure to have the workers educated in safety and reminded them to work carefully. He didn't want someone to have an accident.

But while Zhao Hai installed these things, a person immediately came with eyes as bright and shiny as the sun. This person was none other than his father-in-law, Karen.

Karen was infatuated in inventions and novel ideas, and the things that he invented were mostly dealing with Magic Formations that increase comfort of life. So now that he saw the new  things that Zhao Hai brought, he immediately felt very curious.

Therefore, it didn't take a long time before he planned to allocate all of his time and energy to research this new thing. When Zhao Hai saw his expression, he immediately invited Karen into the Space, letting Karen see the blueprints of these new equipment.

And since Karen was an expert in this field, he immediately discovered how useful these things would be in the Ark Continent. Because of the existence of Magic Crystals, most of the equipment in the continent were exclusively using Magic Crystals as sources of power. The blueprints that Zhao Hai showed Karen made him see another side of the world. It seems like there was a power system that can replace the Magic Crystals.

Zhao Hai didn't plan to stop Karen upon seeing his excited expression. He allowed Karen to inspect the equipment but he also told Laura to pay attention to Karen and make sure that he gets proper food and rest. Zhao Hai knew that Karen was a research freak. Once Karen discovers something interesting, it wasn't unlikely for him to study without end.

Five days passed by and Zhao Hai finally arrived at the Golden Ringed Hawk's domain. In Zhao Hai's mind, he expected the Golden Ringed Hawks to live in a mountain or maybe in a forest. However, he didn't think that the Golden Ringed Hawks' camp would actually be just like the camp of any other Beastman in the Prairie.

On Zhao Hai's carriage, the friendship flags of the Dog Race and the Black Bear Tribe as well as the Herculean Bull King's flag was erected. Therefore, one could say that his road was always left unblocked. Every tribe that Zhao Hai met treated him with politeness. And when it was time to rest in the evening, these tribes would be very enthusiastic to have Zhao Hai stay with them.

Naturally, Zhao Hai wouldn't decline their offers, he also gave these tribes some of his Milk Wine as a gift. The tribes near Beast God City were almost all Big Warring tribes. When they went to war, a lot of their loot came up to be useless. So when Magic Lily shop started to buy these items, these tribes were extremely glad. And since Zhao Hai was the shop's owner, it was no wonder that they treated Zhao Hai as a valuable guest.

At the same time, the reason why Zhao Hai gave them some Milk Wine was because these Beastmen weren't lacking in both grain and daily necessities. He also decided to give them his Milk Wine in order to show them the Milk Wine that he'd make from the Milk Wines that these tribes would produce. This way, the doubts in these Beastmen's minds would eventually fade away.

When Zhao Hai finally arrived at the Golden Ringed Hawk's Domain, he didn't even need to head towards their main camp before the tribe sent a party to welcome him.

A team of a thousand Golden Ringed Hawk Knights descended next to Zhao Hai's carriage. When Zhao Hai gave his name, they immediately flew back up into the sky and lead the way towards their main camp.

Upon arriving at the camp of the Golden Ringed Hawks, Zhao Hai was immediately led to the camp's golden tent. This golden tent was very similar to other golden tents of the Beastmen. But from what Zhao Hai can see, the living standards of this tribe was very good. Their golden tent looked much better compared to the Black Bears.

When Zhao Hai entered the tent, he saw several Golden Ringed Hawks present inside. On the most honored seat, an old Golden Ringed Hawk can be seen. This old Beastman had a huge Hawk Head, and the feathers on his neck were gold, it looked very beautiful.

Zhao Hai quickly noticed an issue, although the Golden Ringed Hawks had Hawk heads, the shape of their faces were more like a Human. At the very least, their eyes weren't on the sides of their heads, but were instead at the front like how Humans were. They looked more like a Human with crazy hair compared to a Hawk-headed beastman.

Zhao Hai quickly took a step forward and made a bow and said, "Zhao Hai has seen the Golden Ringed Hawk tribe's Hawk King. I thank the Hawk King for sparing time to see me."

The Golden Ringed Hawk King laughed and stood up to help Zhao Hai up, then he said, "Mister Zhao Hai is too polite. Even the Beast King treats you as an honored guest, so how could I dare neglect your presence?" His voice was somewhat hoarse, but his imposing tone was very strong, worthy of someone who held the title of Hawk King.

Zhao Hai hastily straightened his body and then smiled and said, "The Hawk King is also too polite. I only became the Beast King's guest because of his summons. And then we discussed about a partnership. Therefore, I won't dare to receive the Hawk King's favor."

The Hawk King laughed, "Mister shouldn't be too polite, for the Beast King to accept Mister's Milk Wine business meant that the Beast King also held you in high regard. Right, Mister, what's the reason for you to specially come to my Golden Ringed Hawk tribe?"

Zhao Hai quickly replied and said, "The Hawk King might not know, but the Markey Family who had business with you in the past is somewhat related to me. Therefore, I went here to see you first."

The Hawk King asked Zhao Hai to sit down first then he offered him Milk Tea and then said, "Oh? I didn't know about that. What relationship did Mister and the Markey Family have? But I heard that Mister is part of the Buda Clan?"

Zhao Hai smiled and said, "My Buda Clan was once a medium-sized family in the Aksu Empire. But were were later framed and was exiled to the Black Wasteland. Since we can't develop the land there, I had no choice but do business. And then while doing so, I fell in love with a young lady from the Markey Family named Laura. But the Markey Family didn't like me, and were very adamant in breaking our relationship so they sent some assassins to deal with me many times. In the end, I had enough of it and decided to eliminated them, making my wife the family's Patriarch. And after my wife took over, we noticed that the family had some business with the Golden Ringed Hawk Tribe in the past. But when we were about to visit, we didn't expect that the Radiant Church would cause a food shortage in the Prairie. I only have so much food in my hand that it would only be like throwing a cup of water in a burning carriage if I decided to help. And now that my wife is handling the affairs of the Markey Family after the family's recent conflict, we had no other choice but to let other business go. It's truly regrettable."

Zhao Hai said these to the Hawk King because he wanted to tell the Hawk King that the Markey Family who interacted with you before was not the same as the Markey Family right now.

Zhao Hai knew that they Markey Family didn't have any good reputation in the Prairie. So he was afraid that the Hawks would misunderstand him. If he doesn't say those words, then the cooperation with the Hawks might go through a bumpy road.

At the same time, from the Hawk King's words, Zhao Hai understood that the Golden Ringed Hawks were somewhat aware of the situation on the Human domain. Therefore, Zhao Hai told his matters to the Hawk King straightly, avoiding any misunderstandings in the future.

*note - removed the '-headed' from the race names. It makes me feel giddy and is awkward to type in the keyboard xD*

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