"He's Julien—our head strategist."
Patting Julien's shoulder, I turned to face Arthur.
Without waiting for either of them to speak, I continued.
"Now that the core members are secured, we need to expand our operations. Firstly, what's the strength of your forces?"
It was essential for me to know about it.
All the plans depended on what combat strength could be used at the moment.
"Currently, I have about a thousand men working for me. Four hundred of them are at Iron rank, who are mainly involved in administrative and other management tasks."
He made himself comfortable on the sofa, crossing his legs in an elegant way.
And I had to admit, he looked devilishly charming.
Cough… cough…
If he knew what I was thinking, would he be creeped out?
Definitely not!
I mean, it's normal to compliment fellow men.
It is, right?!
Not knowing the thoughts in my head, Arthur continued.
"Three hundred are at Bronze rank, while somewhere around two hundred and fifty are at Silver. The remaining forty are at Gold, with about ten of them being at Gold 4. There are seven fighters with early Platinum cores, and the remaining three are at… maybe between Platinum 3 and 5."
That was a lot.
And a strong force for someone who wasn't related to any major powerhouse.
Arthur exhaled deeply while closing his eyes, as if remembering something.
"Now that I think about it, David was at Platinum 5 for a long time. He would surely evolve his core to Diamond in the coming days. So for the time being, consider there being one Diamond ranker too."
"David?"
Arthur nodded.
"Ah… yes, David Bruth. You could call him my second-in-command, in a way. The guy is a beast of a man."
Arthur's forces couldn't be called the strongest, but they were pretty decent considering his area of operations.
Having forty Gold rankers could be considered top-tier in many areas around the world.
Ranking up wasn't easy.
So the higher one climbed on the path to power, the lower the chances of evolving their core to the next rank.
People with Bronze and Silver cores made up the majority of the forces in any army around the world.
Those at Iron rank weren't weak, but they had their own uses other than direct combat.
As for Platinum rank, these individuals were even rarer.
For better understanding, consider it like this: for every thousand Bronze fighters, around a hundred Silver warriors are produced.
And for every thousand Silver fighters, there are around ten people with Gold cores.
Meanwhile, for every thousand Gold ranks, a single Platinum expert is produced.
That too, only if the right resources are available.
This shows the rarity of these individuals.
And if you take the ranks above Platinum, then only a handful of individuals are able to rank up.
Aside from the tremendous amounts of resources required for evolving one's core to higher ranks, having enough talent is also a necessity.
Most elites are satisfied when they reach the Platinum rank and don't think it necessary to risk their lives for more power.
From the ones that do take that lethal step in their hunger for power, not all of them survive.
If not for such massive difficulty in cultivation, people would have gone crazy, killing each other just to increase their ranks.
Arthur kept looking at me, waiting for me to speak.
"You have amassed quite a sizable force. They must surely be draining your wealth to maintain. But I am glad you have all these loyal men. It will make the formation of D.X. much easier."
I smiled.
"For someone who manages such vast personnel, you would surely know what's the most important thing for the continued existence of any organization."
I gave Arthur an amused look.
"Money?"
He remarked.
"Yes. To build something that will operate across the world, we would need a lot of people working for us. And for such a massive scale, an equally stable source of money will be required."
I paused, letting my words sink in.
"We would earn a lot from illegal business activities, but we still need a legal source of income. Something that will provide us with the required wealth without a drop in consistency, while also expanding our social strength simultaneously."
"But would it be wise to open something like that in our name?"
Julien interrupted.
But before I could reply, realization dawned on him.
"You are planning to create an entirely different business with no relation to us in any possible way."
"No. They will surely not be associated with us in the public's eyes, but they would still have a relation to us, as every member of that business would belong to D.X."
The answer didn't seem to satisfy the frown that marred Julien's face.
"But to make the business capable of supporting us financially, it would have to be involved in the premium segment of the market. So do you want to expand these casinos… or anything else?"
Heeh.
This guy still needs some training.
His train of thought is a lot slower than mine.
Well, it's expected.
He can't be as smart as me.
Still…
Haa.
Why am I so blessed?
"What makes you think the casinos will be able to fulfill our monetary demands? And do you seriously think the various empires would allow some random people to open casinos in their territories?"
I let him process my words.
"This isn't a legal business. It's just that the authorities tolerate it because it brings them a good amount of tax."
"Hahaha! That's right. Why didn't I think of it before?"
Julien gave an awkward chuckle.
'Because you are dumb,' that's what I wanted to say, but I held back my tongue.
Can't demotivate the poor guy.
He may quit early under pressure.
That would be a hassle.
Julien held his chin in the palm of his hand, thinking about possible solutions.
I would have liked to let him come up with something practical, but there was no need to waste any time.
So…
"Do you know the Mad Alchemist?"