In the busy factory, Howard looked mysterious and whispered to his colleague at the next workstation:
"Have you heard? It seems that they are going to send a new administrator."

"Master Big Head, don't you want to do this anymore?"

"Of course not. Since the last expansion, there are now several hundred workers in Factory 4. It is impossible for Big Head, an ogre, to manage them all, so he applied for a few administrators to help manage us."

"Tsk tsk, I really envy these adults. They can sit in the office and eat and drink lavishly every day, and they can get more salary than all of us combined."

The worker named Chris couldn't help but sigh.

"You can't envy them. They are dragon-blood nobles. For people like us, it's good enough to have food to eat. If it were in the Rackman Principality at that time, I'm afraid we wouldn't even be able to survive in the winter."

"I don't know what kind of personality the new adult has. Can I be more lenient with him?"

Howard sealed the cans deftly and placed them on the assembly line skillfully, while speaking casually.

However, when he was busy, a familiar voice came from behind him, and it seemed that someone patted his shoulder.

"Howard, long time no see."

"George——"

Howard recognized it immediately, turned around in surprise, and blurted out the familiar name.

But he suddenly found that his familiar friend had become a little strange. The man was wearing a gorgeous gray suit, a wool scarf that only rich people could use, and even holding an exquisite gentleman's cane - this was completely different from the taciturn, honest George in his memory.

Although Howard had imagined countless times how wonderful the future would be if he was the lucky one, and even talked about "the enviable George" in casual conversation, using this good friend as a topic for bragging, the cold facts were right in front of him -

They are already people from two worlds.

Howard's expression froze, his lips trembled slightly, and even his head drooped involuntarily.

Soon, he added two words after the words that came out of his mouth: "Sir."

"Lord George, it's been a long time since I last saw you."

The workers around were also attracted by George's "returning home in glory" and cast their eyes on him with envy or jealousy.

George shuddered suddenly. He also realized the difference brought about by the change of identity, but he still straightened his collar and continued speaking along with what Howard said.

His voice was quite loud because he was not only speaking to Howard, but also to the more than 30 workers in the factory.

"But I'm not here just to visit old friends this time."

"The Kingdom is recruiting factory administrators. I happened to have experience working here, so I took the initiative to apply to be an administrator here."

“I am familiar with the work in the factory and can understand your feelings. I hope that you can make progress with me in the future, work more efficiently and actively, and work together for the glorious cause of the kingdom.”

He had been rehearsing this line for a long time, but he still stumbled a little at this moment. Fortunately, it was harmless and the workers' attention was focused on it.

George paused and coughed deliberately.

"Of course, as a former worker, I will not treat you unfairly. I will pay the performance bonuses stipulated in the regulations as usual."

"Clap clap clap!"

"Good!" Sporadic applause rang out. George turned around and saw that it was Howard who was clapping loudly.

Immediately afterwards, all the workers in the factory applauded, showing that they were very satisfied with the new supervisor - after all, this transformed "Lord George" could decide the payment of their wages.

Howard quickly got rid of the stiffness of that moment, adapted to the change in status, and even climbed up the thigh with secret delight.

George looked at the flattering smiles on the familiar faces and was suddenly overwhelmed with emotions. He didn't know what to say, so he could only smile and applaud.

"Snapped!"

Grand Duke Leo slammed his big hand on the table, and cracks appeared on the solid birch tabletop.

There was a piece of white paper on the table, which recorded in detail the recent trade data of the Principality of Bosk. The outflow of gold was almost immeasurable.

"These greedy businessmen should all be hanged on the gallows!"

"And those stupid civilians, do they know that they are aiding the enemy? Every copper coin they spend will eventually flow into the pocket of the red dragon and become the military expenses of the monster army! And become a tool to destroy their homeland!"

Count Telischka gave a helpless smile and said, "Your Excellency the Duke, there are some things I have to say."

"The quality of local cotton-padded clothes is average, but the price is more than seven times that of the cotton-padded clothes from the Burning Embers Kingdom. Faced with such huge profits, those merchants would take the risk of smuggling and selling even if it means going to the gallows. Moreover, we have already signed an agreement and cannot directly attack the caravans from the Burning Embers Kingdom."

"I have to remind you that the country ruled by the red dragon is no longer a typical monster nest. The influence of this behemoth has spread throughout Anzeta. Their products, tools and even culture have become an important part of the operation of the Northland."

He pointed to the white paper on the table.

"You see, even these papers are their creations, but you don't realize it."

"This is the terrifying influence of the Burning Kingdom. Without us noticing, they have silently invaded our lives and are changing everything in Anzeta."

Grand Duke Leo's expression suddenly became more solemn. He stroked his fluffy white beard, as if he was thinking about something.

Telischka took out a new document and spread it out.

"In April, we seized 1,245 pieces of smuggled goods from the Burning Emblem Kingdom. These smugglers tore off or covered up the emblem of the Burning Emblem Kingdom and replaced it with the emblem of the Bosque family. They also claimed that these were local products with a 'hundred-year heritage' and marked them with extremely low prices, which attracted a lot of snatching by the nobles."

Archduke Leo frowned and asked, "Then how did you find out?"

Trischka smiled bitterly and replied helplessly, "Because the quality of this batch of things is too high, there is no workshop in China that can produce this quantity and quality, so almost every purchase is accurate."

"There are still many such behaviors in the market, and we can no longer control them."

"Damn."

Grand Duke Leo gritted his teeth, his weathered face full of gloom.

The Grand Duke had not felt this sense of crisis for a long time since the "Lionheart Alliance" more than 30 years ago, but the appearance of Cassius changed everything. He had never encountered such an enemy before.

What's more, there is no direct war or conflict now. Just the simplest trade is enough to make him unable to cope and put his country into a dilemma.

The shadow of the red dragon covered the entire Anzeta, and the tentacles of the Burning Kingdom had already spread all over the North. He couldn't even imagine how terrifying it would be when this behemoth really started to operate and put all its efforts into the war. (End of this chapter)