Chapter 203: The Art of Negotiation

Lord Barov was no longer young. Throughout his life, he had encountered countless individuals of all sorts - thieves, bandits, trolls, and nobles. But never had he met someone so domineering and imposing as this man.

What's more, he didn't come empty-handed; he brought wealth with him.

"Bestow wealth upon my friends, and death upon my enemies... huh?" Lord Barov squinted, looking at the long line of carriages behind Duke Marcus, and even though he didn't want to admit it, he had to say, 'this young fellow came well-prepared.'

As he recalled the information on Duke Marcus, the miraculous young man who had risen so quickly, Alexei Barov felt a headache coming.

He was too young, yet held so much power.

If Duke Marcus had inherited his title, Lord Barov could have treated him as a younger generation. But clearly, that was not the case.

Last summer, at the age of 14, he was selected as a magic apprentice at the Eastern Monastery for the Stormwind Royal Academy of Magic. The same year, he became an Earth Mage at the enrollment ceremony, demonstrating unparalleled talent. He even declined the request from Azeroth's Guardian Medivh to take him as a disciple on the spot.

Duke Marcus later proved to be right, as he had sensed the demonic presence in Medivh.

That alone would have been enough, but there was more.

In the following months, he single-handedly reclaimed a small Naga clan and took control of nearly ten thousand murlocs. He opened up the trade route between Stormwind and Westfall and established the lucrative 'Pearl Route.'

And that was just the beginning.

When Medivh was controlled by Sargeras and opened the Dark Portal, the 15-year-old Duke Marcus joined forces with the famous Anduin Lothar to infiltrate Karazhan, defeat Medivh, and kick Sargeras into the bottomless abyss.

What followed was a series of miraculous feats, from burning a hundred thousand orcs to luring the Horde's chieftain into a trap, and even rescuing 50,000 elite Stormwind soldiers in a single massive ice ship. Each of these acts was well-documented, leaving no room for doubt.

No, it should be said that Lord Barov had even witnessed the freezing of the sea with his own eyes.

This was indeed...

"Truly amazing, Archmage Marcus! How did you freeze the lake's surface? How did you balance the energy output from the Elemental Plane of Ice? What about magical coordination? Spells? Was it purely Frost magic or combined with Arcane magic?"

Hearing the familiar female voice beside him, Lord Barov felt another headache coming.

"Ah! My apologies, I got too excited. I haven't introduced myself yet. I am Illucia Barov, the mistress of the Barov family. Of course, before that, I was a Sky Mage and the junior sister of Archmage Antonidas of Dalaran." The elegant lady had already sold out her husband, Lord Barov, with her opening words.

Right!

Magic first or husband first?

Is that even a question?!

Magic, of course!

Ignoring her husband's unamused expression, Lady Illucia approached Duke Marcus with questions like a devoted fan.

Well then, before negotiations even began, the Barov family was already at a 20% disadvantage.

Lord Barov could only cough twice, "My dear, don't you think it's rude to leave our esteemed guest waiting at the entrance?"

"Right, right! We'll continue our discussion inside."

Illucia was so enthusiastic that she almost dragged Duke Markus inside by the hand.

As they stepped through the massive gates of the castle, Duke gazed at the castle, which was completely enveloped in lush greenery and vibrant life during the height of summer. He suddenly felt a wave of emotion.

So this was how beautiful the place had been before it became the Scholomance.

As a nobleman of high birth and with wealth, power, and influence, Barov naturally wouldn't live on a bare stone island. As the masters of the castle, the Barov family had evidently carefully chosen the types of trees on the island. They were neither too tall to hinder their own defenses, nor too short to maintain the verdant surroundings during most of the year.

If the castle had any impact on Duke, it was that it evoked a sense of nostalgia.

Once upon a time, as an ambitious college student, he had dreamed of one day striking it rich and buying a vacation villa.

With his current status as a duke and his vast fortune, he could easily achieve this.

Unfortunately, now that he had arrived in Azeroth, the concept of a "stable home" – a seemingly mundane idea during peacetime – seemed distant and unfamiliar to Duke, as if it had long ceased to be relevant.

If Azeroth had not been plagued by a long string of consecutive crises that had kept the world in a constant cycle of destruction and rebirth, perhaps a castle like this would have been Duke's ultimate goal.

Looking at the details of this prosperous and serene castle, Duke suddenly wondered whether he should consider renovating Karazhan at some point.

As they walked along the spacious, well-lit corridor adorned with lavish decorations, Lord Barov's stride alone outshone Duke's by a mile. His shoulders were straight with hardly any sway, his chin slightly raised in a way that didn't come across as arrogant but rather exuded confidence. His steady steps seemed measured as if with a ruler, neither too long nor too short.

In terms of noble etiquette, Lord Barov, the legitimate duke, was far superior to Duke, the newcomer from a different world.

Duke was well aware that if he didn't turn the tide before the negotiations began, there would be no point in sitting at the negotiating table.

This was not an exaggeration.

The key to successful negotiation lay in the preparation made before sitting at the table. One had to entice the other party with something they possessed and something the other party wanted.

If one conceded too much before sitting at the table, all their efforts would be met with disdain and contempt.

To pry open the Barov family's treasure chest and get the most valuable thing inside – the food – Duke had to first find the Barov family's weak spot. If he couldn't achieve this, any groveling or begging would be pointless. Unless he sent troops to plunder, not a single grain would come from the Barov family's granary.

Fortunately, Duke knew what to do next.

But before that...

Duke gently activated his magical circuits. Among mages, this was a perfectly ordinary thing to do. Many mages liked to constantly absorb elemental particles from the atmosphere, and some even condensed higher-purity magic power into better circuits to replace their old or damaged ones.

However, Duke's approach was a bit exaggerated.

Simply by opening his half-closed eyes for a second, he scanned all the magical traps within a 300-meter radius using his system sprite. Lady Illucia could clearly feel that, in that instant, all the magical traps and formations she controlled had deviated slightly.

It wasn't that she didn't want to regain absolute control over these magic circles, but rather that these magic circles seemed to be afraid, cowering away from her. She suddenly realized that as long as Duke wished it, his unstoppable power could dominate everything in an instant and take over everything.