Date: Unspecified

Time: Unspecified

Location: Myriad Realms, Card World, Southern Region, Blossom District, Sky Blossom City, TSR Guild Headquarters

Hearing that I could create Celestial Empowerment cards for them, Tess and her entourage immediately brightened. Their eyes shone with even greater brilliance than before. A card was far easier to wield than a technique that required a certain level of mastery before it could be applied effectively.

As for the restriction of needing celestial force to activate the card, it posed little issue for them. Many veteran semi card demigods and card demigods had long reached the 'One with the World' state, allowing them to borrow celestial force from the Card World itself. None could do so to the extent I could, but it would be more than sufficient for them to help free their comrades who had fallen prey to the Emissary of Light's Divine Enlightenment.

They had come seeking a technique to free their comrades from the Emissary of Light's sinister grip, only to be offered something even better. Celestial Empowerment Cards. It would save them enormous time and simplify matters greatly.

Yet they barely had a moment to savor that relief before another concern set in. The cost of the cards.

From the way Celestial Empowerment was described, it was clearly more than a situational counter to Divine Enlightenment. It was an exceptional support card, one that would remain valuable long after the current crisis passed. How would one even begin to put a price on such a thing?

From what they had heard of the Southern Hope, they knew one thing for certain. His cards, and his card-crafting services, were anything but cheap.

They had already presented their prized Houndragon platoon as a joining gift, a symbol of their sincerity in standing beneath his banner. That platoon was their most recently trained batch, and there were still another one or two years for a new batch to be trained.

Now, they had nothing of comparable value left to offer in exchange for enough Celestial Empowerment cards. Maybe they should settle on one for now and focus on freeing their comrades from their nightmares.

"What's wrong?" Anna asked, noticing the restrained expressions on Tess's face and among her entourage. Earlier, she hadn't interfered, aware of the tension between their two families. But after Aurelia shattered the ice with her tea powder gift and goblinut seed advice, Anna reconsidered.

At the same time, Asong tugged lightly on Anna's sleeve, signaling her stand down. She and Jill both understood Tess's predicament. They had found the cure they were seeking, but they couldn't afford it. And given that Anna's Royal Family was one of the reasons Border City was in such dire financial state to begin with, Anna stepping in now would only seem like mockery rather than help.

Before the awkwardness could spiral into something ugly, I spoke.

"Can you guys stay the night?" I said simply. "I'll prepare a thousand Celestial Empowerment cards for you by tomorrow morning. Does that work?"

I waited for Tess to respond, but she and her entourage exchanged quick glances before she answered carefully, "Master Wyatt… one will be more than enough."

"Don't rush. Hear me out," I said, asking Tess not to jump to conclusions and to let me finish. When she and the others nodded, I continued, "Here's the deal. Out of the thousand Celestial Empowerment cards, use as many as you need. Consider those cards as my gift to you. Then help me sell the rest for a ten percent commission. I know the commission is small, but Border City will have exclusive sales rights to the Celestial Empowerment cards."

I looked at Tess directly. "I don't need to teach you how to leverage exclusive rights, do I? In return, I want to see Border City more prosperous than the Southern Capital. I want everyone who ever underestimated Border City to die of envy. Can I trust you to do that?"

At my words, Tess's eyes reddened, and members of her entourage clenched their fists, struggling to keep their emotions in check. Even so, a single tear slipped from Cecil's right eye. Then, as one, Tess and her entourage shouted, "Yes, Your Highness. We will not disappoint your trust in us."

"Good," I said with a nod. "Then I'll see you tomorrow morning."

With that, I turned to leave, already planning the array formation I would use to craft the Celestial Empowerment cards in bulk.

"Your High—Master Wyatt," Tess called out, drawing my attention. She spoke quickly, "We can't remain away from Border City for long. The Empire's card apprentices have been unusually active ever since the Emissary of Light broke through to the demigod realm. By now, they should already know I've left the city, and they may be preparing to make trouble. I was thinking of leaving Cecil behind. He can collect the cards tomorrow morning."

"Hmm," I murmured, sinking into thought.

Among Tess and her entourage, only Tess herself possessed the will and strength to resist Divine Enlightenment long enough to escape with her life. With a Celestial Empowerment card in hand, she could even give the Emissary of Light some trouble.

Without her by their side, I wasn't convinced that Cecil, or even the entirety of Tess's entourage, would be enough to safeguard the cards, let alone deliver them safely.

"Then let's do this," I said after a brief pause. "I'll arrange for a team of Platinum-grade array masters, led by a Diamond-grade array master, to accompany you back to Border City. Together, they'll be able to set up a teleportation hub in the city, just a single teleportation array overnight."

I continued, laying it out clearly. "Once that's done, Border City will be connected to my teleportation network. From then on, you can personally come every other day to collect a new batch of Celestial Empowerment cards, starting tomorrow morning. That should solve the problem, right?"

Tess and her entourage exchanged looks before nodding in agreement.

Turning to Anna, I instructed, "Anna, help them find Cindy and arrange the team of array masters, will you?"

"Yes," Anna replied with an eager nod, clearly seeing this as an opportunity to clear the lingering tension between her and Tess, now that they would be working together going forward.

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