Revive Rome: Wait! Why not make the empress fall in love with me first?
Chapter 359 - 157 - "Persuasion

Chapter 359: 157 Chapter "Persuasion

In the upper levels of the castle, when Friedrich learned of the purpose of these individuals’ visit, he momentarily found himself bewildered.

At his noble status, he, of course, knew what Transcendents were, even having heard of the most mysterious followers from the East—the Mind Ability Users.

However, when a living Mind Ability User stood before him, he still immediately felt a tremendous fear.

It was a kind of extreme fear of facing an unknown power, suddenly feeling utterly incapable of protecting oneself.

"Please do not worry, Count. Your thoughts have not been tampered with," Medea said with a smile. "The fact that you can still question whether your thoughts have been altered is the best proof that I haven’t exerted my power on you."

Friedrich fell silent for a moment, then chuckled, "I apologize, I lost my composure."

Indeed, if the other party planned to take action against him, logically, they wouldn’t tell him about it.

Despite still feeling fearful, the Count quickly suppressed the trembling in his heart and reverted to viewing the issue purely from a rational standpoint, and the result became quite clear:

"I do not know whether what you’re saying is true or false."

"Even if it is true, I will not agree to your requests."

"Ladies and gentlemen, please leave! Consider the words you just said as never spoken, as I have not heard them."

Friedrich spoke righteously, his tone decisive and his demeanor full of grandeur, leaving no room for rebuttal.

Nora and Medea, on the other hand, had looks of utter speechlessness on their faces.

For through their Mind Reading Ability, they heard the Count rapidly think to himself:

"Listen, the names I’m about to say are of the staunchest war opponents in the family... Please thoroughly ’brainwash’ these individuals, and for the following names—those who are fence-sitters—kindly remold their unstable wills. We can negotiate the payment."

"What price can you offer?" Medea’s voice echoed in his mind.

"Money," the Count directly thought, "The usual rate for a Transcendent, plus twenty percent, provided that your work is flawless, utterly undetectable."

"Deal," Medea silently agreed upon seeing the price he had stated.

Unfortunately, the Sorren Family was not a Great Noble family like the Weisbach Family, let alone Magic Potions; even sourcing enough Spiritual Material was problematic.

But striking a significant deal was still beneficial. The Count had the sense to understand that money wasn’t as good as Magic Potions, thus he voluntarily compensated the difference.

Thus, everyone promptly commenced their actions.

In Hexingen Town, nestled at the foot of the mountains, the Sorren Family owned several automobile assembly plants—even though the majority of the components still had to be imported from Solomon City and most of the profits were earned by Solomon Companies, that small leftover income was the financial foundation the Sorren Family needed to survive on.

"Therefore, rashly expanding outwards has absolutely no value!" the noble in charge of the factory declared resentfully, "Let me put it this way, our factory’s supply chain essentially comes from Italy, and the goods are transported via the southern route."

"Today, the family seizes the Duke’s domain in the Swabian Duchy; tomorrow upon the Duke’s order, southern Lords will immediately regulate our freight transport, and without supplies, our factory will have to cease production! Do you understand how much we lose with every hour of halted production?"

"Because your supply chain is so heavily dependent on the stability of the south, that’s why we need to conquer the south as quickly as possible," Medea said cheerfully, secretly exercising her Thought Implant ability, "Inside the Swabian Duchy, with the ruling Griffin’s absence, ambitious families aren’t limited to yours. If the southern Lords start warring with each other, would the transport routes remain unaffected?"

"This..." The noble instinctively felt something was off but couldn’t pinpoint what it was.

"At the end of the day, relying on the public order of another family’s territory for the security of your supply chain is quite an unreliable act," Medea continued, "I heard that the Count of Württemberg has already stationed his troops about 15 kilometers from here in Rutlingen, hasn’t he? Just a quick march over here, and your factory will be in jeopardy."

"Hmph! That squirrelly Count!" the old noble snorted coldly, obviously feeling a bit guilty, "Our Falcon Family is not afraid of his ludicrous ragtag private soldiers!"

"Even if you don’t wish to expand, blocking others from expanding puts you squarely in the path of war, doesn’t it?" Medea persuaded gently, "Since it’s inevitable, why not take the initiative into your own hands?"

Her voice, like that of a demon, implanted a seductive idea in the noble’s mind:

Indeed, if a battle is inevitable, why not strike first? After crushing the armies of that squirrelly Count, we could take over Stuttgart City where, incidentally, several rival factories are located...

Seeing that the noble old man was now mumbling incoherently as if possessed, Medea slightly nodded then left with Aske and the others to find their next target.

The next target was a certain Baron from the Sorren Family, a devout believer of God, whose greatest hobby was playing with microscopes in his study, researching the anatomy of single-celled organisms.

Upon learning about the intentions of the visitors at his door, he instructed his butler to invite them in and said:

"My reason for being anti-war is simple: it contradicts the will of God."

Medea was visibly confused for a moment, then smiled and said, "I would like to hear more."

"Isn’t the fact clear enough?" the middle-aged Baron said calmly, "The Holy See is God’s spokesperson on Earth, and the Holy See supports the Duke of Franconia to discipline His Majesty. If we create chaos in the rear at this time, we would be opposing the Holy See."

"Opposing the Holy See is defying God and will lead to terrible punishment in the future."

How seriously you spout nonsense is quite terrifying, Medea thought to herself, but maintained a smiling face:

"When did His Holiness the Pope say he supported the Duke of Franconia?"

"It is a well-known fact," the middle-aged Baron said, pulling out a stack of newspapers from a rack next to his bookshelf, specifically the Truth Newspaper published in Solomon City, "Look here, the Holy See has publicly declared their support for the Wolf Family."

"That’s the Wolf Family, not the Hohenstaufen Family," Medea pointed out.

"Everyone knows the Wolf and Griffin Families have formed an alliance in this civil war," the Baron replied.

"Really?" Medea feigned confusion, "But the Holy See’s support for the Wolf Family doesn’t automatically extend to the Hohenstaufen Family because of their alliance."

She once again wielded her persuasive powers, "As a noble, you should understand that ’the vassal of my vassal is not my vassal’, so ’how could the ally of my ally be my ally’?"

"If the Holy See also supported the Griffin Family, they should have issued a statement to endorse the alliance between the two families at the time of their union, yet I’m not aware of any such statements by His Holiness."

"This..." Under the influence of her mind power, the Baron showed signs of faltering, "But that doesn’t mean the Holy See doesn’t support the Griffin Family..."

"The Duke of Franconia is old and childless, with only one daughter, you must know that?" Medea said slowly, "With the Church Court’s capability, helping him with offspring should be easy, right? So why doesn’t the Griffin Family still have an heir?"

"I’ve heard that the Duke of Franconia chose to collaborate with the Wolf Family in exchange for the Church’s help in providing medical support for IVF to get an heir."

"That means the Church Court is just making a transaction, not providing support for free, which shows a stark difference in attitude," Medea spread her hands, "Think about it from another perspective, if your Falcon Family controlled the Swabian Duchy, would the Church consider making a deal with your family?"

"Hmm..." The Baron finally seemed tempted. If the Church and his family maintained a close supportive relationship...

Then wouldn’t he be able to frequently visit Solomon City, listen to the brilliant sermons of various bishops, and explore the wondrous charm of God’s creations?