Lord: Starting with Biological Modification

Chapter 211: Chapter 206: The Breakthrough Method

"I have a way to deal with them."

Velin looked at the slightly weary young woman before him.

The journey from Tarry Port to the Royal Capital, even by the fastest ship and then the finest horse, takes several days.

’She must have set out the moment the news that I’d rented the Flower Hall got out.’

’This woman... she never believed in my plan from the start.’

"I’ve spent ten years in Tarry Port dealing with the guilds at the docks and markets."

"So, I knew you would hit a wall."

Velin admitted his misjudgment.

"I underestimated the control the guilds have over the lives of their rank-and-file members."

He didn’t hide his original intentions.

"This recruitment fair wasn’t meant for them in the first place. It was bait, meant to attract someone else—someone far more important."

Caroline paused in the act of swirling her wine glass. The deep red liquid traced an arc on the glass. She looked up, her expression curious.

"Oh? And who is important enough to warrant such an elaborate setup?"

Velin laid out his entire plan concerning Tristan Lorenzo.

After he finished, Caroline’s eyes first widened in surprise. Then, a genuine smile bloomed on her lips, carrying a hint of admiration.

"Tristan Lorenzo..." she repeated the name softly, as if savoring the ingenuity of the plan.

"This idea... it’s bold, and quite brilliant."

She drank the last of her wine, then set the glass down heavily on the table.

"But with how things stand now, this probably won’t earn you a good impression from him."

"The guilds in the Royal Capital have existed even longer than the Maritime Duchy itself!"

She walked to the center of the hall, looking around the magnificent yet empty space.

"Here, a craftsman’s identity is first and foremost ’a member of the Stonemason Association,’ and only then is he himself. His craft’s lineage, his social circle, even whether his son can become an apprentice in the future—it’s all tied to the guild’s ship."

"You think you can lure someone away from that great ship with just a few Gold Coins? Of course they won’t trust you."

The guilds were long past being simple commercial organizations.

They were a fusion of interests, legacy, local honor, and underground violence.

"However, the plan isn’t without its merits."

"At the very least, you’ve captured everyone’s attention. Right now, the entire upper circle of the Royal Capital is talking about the Baron from Grey Marsh Territory who held a failed recruitment fair."

"From now on, I’m taking over here."

Caroline turned and looked at Velin.

"If we want to crack this iron plate, we need to strike from a different angle."

Velin asked, "Where?"

"The Magic Academy."

Caroline uttered the three words.

Velin’s right index finger unconsciously rose to the bridge of his nose in a gesture of adjusting glasses.

’Right under my nose!’

In his previous life, he had spent most of his time in research institutes and universities. The resources, the academic cliques, the master-apprentice relationships, the complex dynamics between peers—he was all too familiar with it all.

’Unlike warriors, who can settle disputes with a clear winner, scholars will argue endlessly about who’s the best. It’s no wonder an academy is so hard to unite!’

"The guilds are a monolith because their interests are perfectly aligned. But an academy isn’t."

Caroline’s voice was tinged with a sneer.

"It’s filled with conflicts between academic schools. Those who research elemental shaping look down on those specializing in enchanting and alchemy. Tutors will use any means necessary to crush their rivals over a rare experimental material. And every year, you have talented commoner students who are ostracized by their noble peers, or who have their work stolen by their own mentors."

Velin looked at this master strategist before him, a little surprised.

"This is indeed a much better entry point," Velin said sincerely. "But how did you think of a way to break the deadlock so quickly?"

"Tarry Port once had the largest shipwrights’ guild in Gray Bay. They controlled all the docks and shipyards, and no one dared to cross them."

Caroline’s gaze suddenly sharpened.

"Later, I found an old shipwright who had been ostracized by the guild for most of his life, gave him his own shipyard, and ample funding..."

"In less than a year, that shipwrights’ guild was gone."

She gave a confident smile.

"What we need to do is replicate that story."

"First step, find a Mage in the academy who is genuinely talented but ostracized."

"Second step, in the name of the Golden Sail Commerce Association, give him an offer he can’t refuse. Money, resources, a laboratory of his own."

"Third step," Caroline’s smile held a trace of playful mockery, "use my publicity channels to package him as a hero who broke away from a rigid system in pursuit of his academic ideals. We’ll make sure everyone knows that you don’t have to be tied to the Royal Capital to achieve greatness."

A vivid story is far more compelling than a recruitment fair with nothing but Golden Suns to offer.

And this story would definitely reach Tristan’s ears.

Caroline was now completely in her element, pacing back and forth around the table.

"Ryo is a student at the Magic Academy now, right?"

Velin nodded.

"Good. He can be our critical wedge into the academy."

Caroline concluded.

Velin immediately understood her intention.

Having an insider like Ryo approach the target would be far more effective than outsiders like them trying to do it.

Without another moment of hesitation, he turned toward another long table piled with documents.

He had to prepare an "introductory gift" for Ryo immediately—one sufficient to sway any disgruntled genius.

...

「One day later. Mage Academy, student dormitories.」

Ryo received a magical dispatch from Count Leman’s Mansion.

When he broke the seal and opened the thick parchment envelope, he shuddered in shock.

The first document was a blueprint drawn in special ink, titled—*Theoretical Framework for Establishing the Ecosystem of the Mist Spring Valley Magic Potion Cultivation Base, Grey Marsh Territory - First Edition*.

Ryo was so stunned he nearly dropped the document.

’Mist Spring Valley!’

He and Valerius had participated in its construction, personally planting those Extraordinary plants with their own hands!

’Lord Velin just... gave away knowledge so precious it could be used to found an entire new school of thought? Just like that?’

’At the academy, this was the kind of secret any Great Mage would take to their grave!’

With trembling hands, he picked up the second document from the envelope.

It was a precisely worded contract on parchment.

*Specially Appointed Researcher Employment Agreement, Origin Association of Grey Marsh Territory.*

’Specially appointed... researcher?’

’And the terms inside... they were unbelievably generous!’

A private laboratory, an annual research grant of one thousand Golden Suns, the right to recruit two apprentices as assistants, and rights to thirty percent of all profits from any research...

At the very bottom of the envelope was a letter.

A letter from Lord Velin himself.

The letter dispensed with pleasantries and got straight to the point. The mission was clear: find a Mage with unique insights, one unrecognized by the academy’s current system, and give this invitation to him—preferably a Mage specializing in botany, ecology, or a related field.

’Lord Velin had entrusted him with such an important mission!’

A profound sense of responsibility and honor washed over Ryo, and his body grew warm with excitement.

He carefully gathered the documents and secured them close to his person.

’In his view, this mission wouldn’t be hard to accomplish.’

’There were more disgruntled and overlooked Mages in the academy than rats in the dining hall kitchen.’

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!