Rising Reputation

( Five days later )

The news of an imminent war spread throughout the Empire like wildfire once the Emperor's official letters reached the nobles and while the commoners remained unaware about the situation, the information quickly reached influential merchants and high-ranking government officials, who began hoarding grain and weapons in anticipation of potential supply chain disruptions.

In just a week, grain prices soared by 50%, and the cost of weapons nearly doubled, marking the sharpest rise in inflation the Empire had ever seen.

Under these circumstances, Wade's foresight to invest in weapons proved to be highly profitable for his Trade firm, while it left the other merchant groups puzzled on what their next move should be, as the market became extremely overheated for no apparent reason, with every fast moving commodity becoming more expensive than the next.