Demon God

The sun has already risen high enough for it to shine its light on the land beyond when the ruckus in the merchants' houses finally died down.

Well, it wasn't really ruckus as everything happened in deep silence as the men who attacked them told the merchants to be quiet or they'll be killed right away.

Right, it was obvious but the reason why there was a ruckus was because there was an attack.

And the reason why the ruckus finally died down is that all of the merchants that formed a contract with Desire gathered in one place.

They were gathered in the house of the merchant who is considered to be the most influential merchant out of all the merchants who formed a contract with Sir Baho.

In a way, these merchants are connected together through Sir Baho, so here they are now, planning to talk amongst themselves about their current situation.

There are approximately 36 merchants who are here, and that's how many merchants formed a contract with Sir Baho.

If one thinks about their sheer numbers, it is obvious that the fact that they have a contract and that the contract is advantageous to them would be a huge hit to the Lion Clan's economic power.

It was absolutely necessary for something to be done before it happens or else the Lion Clan would seriously need to churn up gold from somewhere else for, at the very least, a year just to recover from their losses in here.

If their focus were to be shifted to getting gold and gaining their economic power back, then...surely, vultures from all around would come and disturb them and prevent them from gaining their power back, which would prove to make the situation harder for the Lion Clan.

Whether Desire knows about it or not, his move to prevent that from happening was truly a life-saving grace for the Lion Clan.

And now, the merchant who is considered to be the most influential out of them finally broke the silence in this room.

"So we have all been offered the same thing - the favor of the Young Master of the Lion Clan," The merchant, Retsubi, said as he slowly caressed his lengthy beard with a serious look on his face.

Well, it was because this situation was serious.

Even though Retsubi and the other merchants have already agreed to it on the spot, that was only because they were threatened to do so and were pressured by the name of the 'Young Master.'

Now that they were gathered together, all of the merchants have begun thinking about this whole situation.

As such, one of the merchants gladly gave his thoughts away as he spoke, "Isn't this situation far better than the contracts that we have with that Baho guy?"

"Set aside the fact that we haven't seen nor heard of the existence of the Young Master of the Lion Clan, the promise of receiving the favor of such an influential figure would surely put us all above other merchants whether we form a group or not."

When that merchant said his thoughts, all the other merchants began to murmur amongst themselves.

Well, it was because of the controversial topic of them forming a group together.

Although merchants are, one way or another, allies to each other, that is only when they form a deal.

Most of the time, they are competitors. And you can rest assured that some of the merchants do not look kindly to the other merchants present here.

Seeing the sudden shift in the air, one of the other merchants spoke as he looked at the other merchant, who gave the idea of forming a group together.

"The fact that you are trying to set aside is the most important factor to take in this situation. It is precisely because we do not know if he truly exists which is why we have gathered here, have we not?"

The other merchants who were listening nodded their heads, and even Retsubi showed his agreement to that statement.

However, the other merchant had a counter for that, as he spoke, "However, he does exist. The fact that we have been threatened by the Lion King's Personal Soldiers means he exists."

"I'm sure all of us know how secretive and powerful those soldiers are, and only the Lion King can mobilize them."

"However...what if the Lion King had a disciple? Or even better yet, a son?"

"Either of the two is fine as the disciple or the son would definitely be able to make the Lion King's Personal Soldiers move out and threaten us personally."

"Threaten us personally?" Retsubi questioned this point as he turned his eyes to look at the merchant who was speaking, "Are you saying that those guys who entered our homes last night are the Lion King's Personal Soldiers?"

Hearing the question, the merchant boldly answers without hesitation, "Yes, that is absolutely correct."

"There are two factors why I say so. It is because no normal commanding officers nor officials of the Lion Clan would dare use the name and weight of the Lion King's Personal Soldiers just to get themselves out of a risky position."

"That is far too heavy of responsibility for any of them. And the second is...no sane soldiers would dare to use the name of the Young Master of the Lion Clan to threaten us, especially so if such a man does not exist in the first place. Therefore, this basically confirms the existence of such a man existing within the Lion Clan."

"And since the Young Master of the Lion Clan is the only one who can move the Personal Soldiers of the Lion King other than the Lion King himself, it is guaranteed that we were threatened by them."

The merchant explained his thoughts very carefully for all to hear.

And a reaction came out immediately from the most influential merchant present in here, "Hyohyoh, you are too smart for your own good."

"Nevertheless, what you say makes sense. Does anyone here have any objections to what this gentleman said?" Retsubi asked the merchants while specifically looking at the other merchant who provided a counterargument earlier.

However, even that merchant didn't have anything else to say.

Retsubi then clapped his two hands to attract the attention of the merchants and spoke, "Now then, as merchants, how shall we take advantage of this situation..."