The Sean Merchant Group and the Blue Whale Merchant Group were the two largest agricultural distributors in the Duchy of Orentia.
As the saying goes, two of a trade seldom agree.
These two merchant groups were no exception.
A long-standing competitive relationship existed between them.
The president of the Sean Merchant Group was Sean White, nicknamed “Fatty.”
He was a merchant of ill repute.
It was no exaggeration to say that his infamy was known to everyone from the Rat Monster Snowfield in the far north of the continent to the Dragon Claw Highlands in the south.
Sean enjoyed using various despicable and underhanded tricks to achieve success in his business endeavors.
When it came to defeating his opponents, he never nitpicked his methods; he simply used whichever one worked best.
And right now…
He was repeating his old tricks, having spent a fortune to bribe the newspapers.
He was aggressively spreading news of the demon attacks occurring outside Marne City throughout the Duchy of Orentia.
This caused panic and a sense of peril among the people of Marne City, and other merchant caravans from outside the city did not dare to enter for trade.
He took this opportunity to raise the prices of the products he sold, profiting immensely from the disaster.
When faced with the Blue Whale Merchant Group, which had been attacked by demons and left with nothing, Sean did not offer a helping hand. Instead, he kicked them while they were down.
He was attempting to acquire the Blue Whale Merchant Group at a low price.
By doing so, he hoped to eliminate his greatest headache and monopolize the agricultural product channels in the Duchy of Orentia.
***
“Wait, don’t be in such a hurry to leave, President Cole — “
“Fatty” Sean stretched out his hand in front of the reception room door, blocking Cole as he was about to push it open.
“The tea hasn’t even been finished yet. Do you really dislike me that much?”
Sean spoke with a fake, mocking smile.
“This is my territory, you little tub of lard!”
“Get out of my way!” Cole pointed at Sean’s large, round face and roared.
Sean’s expression suddenly darkened; he hated that nickname more than anything else.
He abruptly raised his pudgy left hand and motioned behind him.
*Bang!*
The door to the reception room was kicked open from the outside.
Several burly guards wearing soft cloth armor and wielding long sabers burst in.
They stood in a row behind Sean with a sudden rustle of movement.
“Take another look and tell me who has the final say here.”
Sean retracted his playful grin. His expression was cold and his tone unfriendly.
Cole: “…”
The thin man clenched his fists so hard that his fingernails dug deep into the flesh of his palms.
Cole suppressed the anger surging in his heart with all his might.
The humiliation of being cornered in his own merchant group hit him instantly.
He looked around, eyeing Sean and the group of aggressive thugs behind him.
A cold glint flashed in his eyes.
But in the end, he did not have the courage to throw that punch.
It was because he had long since lost the sharp edge of his youth.
If it were in the past…
After a moment of silence, Cole lowered his voice and spoke slowly:
“Where is Wells?”
Wells was his guard captain, responsible for the security of the Blue Whale Merchant Group.
He was the first companion Cole had met after dropping out of the academy to make a name for himself.
If Wells were still here, it would be impossible for the fat man in front of him to be so arrogant.
Fatty Sean waved his hand again, and a guard behind him stepped forward.
The guard handed over a bloody, mangled head.
Sean took it casually and tossed it directly at Cole’s feet.
Cole’s face changed drastically as he looked at the rolling head in disbelief.
The eyes on the head were wide open, and the mouth was slightly agape, still frozen in a final expression of surprise.
The cut at the neck was clean, and dark red blood clots had formed a clump in the hair on top of the head.
“Master Wells was just as careless as you.”
“He accidentally left his head in the hallway while on patrol.”
“My men saw it and were kind enough to pick it up.”
Sean spoke with such emotion that it almost sounded true.
Finally, he actually bowed deeply toward Cole.
“I hope President Cole can help me return this head to Master Wells.”
“He is a ‘good friend’ of mine, after all.”
***
Cole fell into another silence.
“You son of a — “
Accompanied by a roar, a furious fist flew out, striking Sean directly on his hypocritical face.
In that instant, the crisp sound of Sean’s maxillary bone shattering echoed through the reception room.
His entire body flipped backward through the air.
Seeing their president being hit, the guards rushed forward in a swarm. They surrounded President Cole and drew their long sabers.
“You!”
Sean pointed at Cole in rage, momentarily unable to speak.
He grabbed a guard’s arm to stand up, using his other hand to cover the sunken side of his face.
“Seize him! I’m going to have some fun with him!”
Fatty Sean’s face was disfigured by that punch, making his speech slurred.
‘How dare he!’ Sean roared in his heart.
Cole was only a magic apprentice and possessed no great strength.
Surrounded by such a large group of burly men, he had no way to resist.
In an instant, he was pinned to the ground.
The circle of guards gradually parted, and Sean walked from the outside to stand before Cole.
Fatty Sean reached out and took a long saber from a guard beside him.
He pressed the blade against Cole’s right shoulder.
As the sharp blade pressed down firmly, a tear was sliced into the clothes on Cole’s shoulder.
Blood seeped out, staining Cole’s clothing red.
“This is the hand that just hit me, right?”
Sean’s face was dark, and a cold glint flashed in his eyes.
“Say goodbye to it!”
The long saber was raised high.
Just as Sean was about to swing the blade down…
*Boom!*
A massive sound echoed from downstairs.
It was like a clap of thunder exploding in Sean’s ear.
The arm holding the saber jerked violently.
Sean turned with a look of confusion and asked the guards:
“What’s the situation?”
At that moment, the reception room door burst open, and a guard rushed in, stumbling in a panic.
He was covered in dust and grime. As soon as he entered, he collapsed to his knees, as if he had used up all his strength.
The guard’s lips trembled as he spoke:
“Downstairs… three people came downstairs and knocked out all the brothers!”
“They said…”
Hearing this, Sean’s expression froze, and his heart suddenly skipped a beat.
He stepped quickly to the reporting guard.
Grabbing the guard’s collar, he hauled him off the ground and asked harshly:
“What did they say?”
“They said… they are from the Glimmering Church’s Demon Hunting Squad.”
“They suspect cultist activity here, so they’ve come to purge the evil!”
“Damn it!”
Sean released the guard’s collar and cursed under his breath.
The Demon Hunting Squad of the Glimmering Church.
As the name suggested, they were a department within the church specifically for investigating cultists within the kingdom and hunting demons hiding in the shadows.
They were the most difficult people to deal with in the Glimmering Church.
Even if they only suspected you were a cultist, you would face endless investigations and trouble.
They would be like a sticky piece of dog hide, appearing in every corner of your life.
There was no shaking them off.
No one liked dealing with those lunatics.
Sean put down the long saber and turned to glare fiercely at Cole, who was slumped on the ground.
“Consider yourself lucky today.”
He had no choice but to give up on his revenge.
Now, what was more important was how to deal with the grand masters downstairs…
Sean pulled out a small copper mirror he carried with him and combed his hair, which had been messed up by his sudden movements.
He straightened his collar and adjusted the twisted expression on his face.
Then, he forced out a friendly smile.
“You few, come downstairs with me.”
He pointed to several guards who were usually quick-witted.
Then, he turned, pushed open the reception room door, and headed downstairs.