Child of Destiny

“We have already warned you, yet you people do not heed our words.”

These words alone made everyone within the room turn to Manager Hong almost at the same time, realizing that there was most likely something that the Black-Market Organization had been hiding from them.

They might be working under their banner, but that did not mean that they would offer their absolute loyalty to them, especially when their relationship was mostly tied to a business partnership.

Squinting their eyes, they could not help but stare at Manager Hong quite intently, seemingly demanding an explanation.

They were not afraid to wage war on anyone, especially when it came to an assault on their bases.

The Coralara Archipelago was their territory, which even the underworld organizations were unwilling to provoke, especially when they could constantly affect the sea routes connecting to multiple places.

These trade routes included the secret routes that these underworld organizations were using for their secret deals, which were mostly connected to their livelihoods as well.

They had also repelled quite a lot of attacks on multiple occasions, which also proved how strong their forces were.

Even right now, they were able to hold their ground right after recovering from the initial shock that they had gotten from the surprise attack of the Springfield Forces.

They had also raised their aerial defense system, along with the grand formation barriers, that locked the intense bombardment from the sky fighters and heavy artillery that the Springfield Forces had brought.

At this moment, their forces and the side of the Springfields were in a deadlock.

The Springfields did not continue their attacks right after the opposing side had recovered from their initial ‘ambush’, seemingly waiting for something.

The side of the forces based on the Coralara Archipelago had also calmed down after suffering quite seriously when the experts of the two sides clashed earlier.

Both sides were now waiting for the orders from the higher-ups before resuming this war.

…

Back in the meeting room, Manager Hong understood that he had to carefully choose his words if he wanted to alleviate the suspicions of these people.

He must admit that the Springfields had gotten them good this time.

Without much of a choice, he decided to skillfully avoid the topic for a moment and directly asked what the opposing side wanted. “What do you want?”

However, this action further disappointed these experts under his command.

Unfortunately, he could not do much about it and could just wait until everything had settled before dealing with it later.

What was important right now was to deal with the most urgent matter at hand.

If he did not handle this properly, then there was a high chance that their organization would be dragged into the ongoing war between multiple forces around the world.

What made the current situation worse was the fact that they did not have much of a choice at hand.

‘Those snakes from the Black Serpent Mafia are nothing but trouble! How can they expose themselves when visiting our territory!?’ he cursed silently while waiting for General Howard to reply.

Seemingly reading what was running inside Manager Hong’s mind, General Howard gave him a mocking look before replying. “You know what we want. Hand those guys over. We know that quite a few important figures are hiding there.”

“Hand them over to us, and we will leave, ending this peacefully. Or you can just protect them, and we will continue with this party.”

“I am sure that there are quite a few people who will be interested in joining our fun,” he added, seemingly urging the other party to choose the latter.

Hearing this, Manager Hong could not help but curse the other party and his ancestors inside, knowing that they had been cornered this time. ‘These guys must have planned this already!’

Manager Hong understood that they could not admit that they were working with the Black Serpent Mafia openly since anything related to that organization was too sensitive due to their involvement with the Voidwalker Tribes, who were widely recognized as the world’s enemy.

If the connection between the two organizations was proven, then no one could save them from the wrath of the multiple organizations around the world.

Knowing that the Springfields had most likely gathered enough evidence against them to be this bold, Manager Hong understood that he had to take a step back for the time being.

On the other hand, he could not just sell the members of the Black Serpent Mafia either, since they also had a business with them, which was highly concerned with an important legacy from the Ancient Cultivators Era.

It might not be the biggest legacy out there, but given their background in the business industry, they naturally knew where to and whom to sell it to gain the greatest profits.

There were those so-called descendants of the Ancient Tang Clan and the giant forces at the Silver Wing Continent, where families related to ancient eras were highly concentrated.

What they wanted from the Black Serpent Mafia was the crucial information that they had, which concerned the other secret that Lawrence had, other than the information about the legacy of the Dark King.

Manager Hong knew that they were literally stuck between a stone and a hard place.

He must admit that they had no choice but to choose between the ‘lesser evil’.

The captains and leaders of the pirates and mercenary groups within the meeting room were also waiting for his answer, seemingly depending on their next course of action based on his decision.

However, in their eyes, it was better to abandon the Black Serpent Mafia since it was the most obvious choice.

Gritting his teeth, Manager Hong had chosen to thread this negotiation carefully. “You want to just settle it like that? How about the damage that you have dealt to our bases? What about the shops and the goods that have been damaged?”

“You are not going to compensate us and just leave it like that?” he added with a heavy tone.

Hearing this, the captains and leaders within the conference room could not help but nod their heads repeatedly, agreeing with his words.

The damage has already been done, so they could not just let the other party leave like that.

Hearing this, General Howard smirked and answered. “Heh! Just take it as the price to pay for involving yourselves with those cunning snakes.”

Bang!

“You-…!”

This time, Manager Hong was truly enraged. He did not expect that these people would be this shameless. “Your tyranny sure knows no bounds!”

“Tyranny, you say?” scoffed General Howard before adding. “Call it whatever you want. We are only retaliating after they have provoked us. They have to pay the price for awakening this sleeping dragon!”

“Now, we are giving you a choice. Whatever you do in your business is not much of our concern. What we want to know is whether you are going to side with them or not,” he added while his tone suddenly turned cold and sharp.

It was clear that he was warning Manager Hong to decide this quickly since his patient was not that long.

Manager Hong could only grit his teeth, knowing that he did not have much authority to deal with this matter now. It concerned a much bigger board where those hegemons play their game.

Merchants loved war since that was where money and profit could flow continuously. However, if they were to directly get involved in it, then they would only get swept by the current and lose themselves in the process.

Losing sight of their goal was dangerous, so they had to abandon those that would lead to such losses.

He was about to respond when someone suddenly barged into the conference room.

Bang!

“Boss! We are in trouble!”

Frowning deeply, Manager Hong angrily glared at this person. “How dare you barge here!? Didn’t I say earlier that no one is to enter?”

‘What a lifesaver!’  he thought, almost wanting to stand up and give the other party a hug to thank them.

However, that was only until he heard the words of the newcomer.

It was Argus, the person who was in charge of guarding the prison dungeon.

Argus nervously swept his gaze at everyone within the room, understanding that these people were all the bigshots within the territory. He might be strong and confident about his strength, but it did not matter in front of these humanoid monsters.

He then swiftly walked toward Manager Hong and whispered a few words, which made the latter’s eyes turn wide. “Boss, the dungeon has been infiltrated. All the prisoners are either killed or disappeared.”

“What did you say!?” asked Manager Hong, trying to confirm if he had heard it right.

He then glared at Argus and asked. “How does it happen!?”

His first action was to turn toward the projected call coming from General Howard, suspecting that it might be related to them.

However, he immediately threw it away after a bit of thought. After all, there was no relationship between the Springfields and those prisoners that they held within the dungeon.

But it was also quite too coincidental, so he could not fully shake off that feeling.

However, this thought only lasted until he heard the next words from Argus.

“Everyone else within the dungeon is dead, but all the spies that we have suspected from the Black Serpent Mafia have disappeared.”

Hearing this, the expression on Manager Hong’s face suddenly turned cold before asking gravely. “Are you sure about it?”

……