Chapter 35: The Pact Under the City Walls

The glorious Paladin was blocked from behind by a woman.

Her once-elegant snake tail now rose urgently, and the small snake heads on her snake hair, rarely seen, hissed in a threatening manner.

The Pearl of Radiant City, renowned for her elegance and charm, a noble lady famous for her scheming and effortless style of etiquette, in this moment, displayed a directness that was unbecoming of her status and quite undignified.

Simply put, she was desperate.

Li En could even feel the fine sweat on her arm; she must have rushed here in a hurry.

Very urgent, extremely urgent, so urgent she couldn't be bothered with the tedious social pleasantries of the nobility.

"You lot, can't you take a joke? You dare swallow the goods my fiancé entrusted to you for sale?"

Wait, did she just say a strange word? Fiancé?

Sister? What do you mean? He is the fiancé of your Wangshi Sect's new noble, Viscount Sudar? The future head of the household husband?

(Li En whispered: Uh, didn't we already break off the engagement?)

"Li En Sudar?! He is also Sudar." At this moment, these people finally remembered this outsider's surname.

This was also normal, because non-noble surnames held no meaning for them; who would think an outsider from the desert would truly share a surname with a local powerful noble.

The explosive news Shaliman revealed was like pressing the pause button on this battlefield.

The next moment, it was as if boiling oil had been poured into a hot oil pan, instantly erupting into a frenzy.

"No way, someone actually caught up to Viscountess Shaliman?"

"How is that possible?"

"Oh my god, her suitors must be going crazy."

"It must be a bloodline reunion again; the Sudar family indeed needs it, hardly anyone is left alive, they need to expand their population. But doesn't this mean all future Sudars will carry this man's bloodline?"

Countless gazes, whether jealous, hostile, or just watching the spectacle for fun, all focused on Li En at the center of attention.

Is he worthy? Can he withstand it?

Shaliman's intelligence work was done very well; the "scandal" had been covered up until now, unknown to anyone, and now that she personally exposed it, naturally it caused a huge uproar.

This was Shaliman Sudar, the most beautiful and wealthiest pearl of Radiant City, and she actually had a fiancé?!

At this moment, even the "Roar of the Volcano," who originally intended to be unreasonable, stopped.

Even he, whose muscles were trained into his brain, knew that in Radiant City, there were some people one could not offend.

Li En sighed, feeling a bit regretful, yet he still removed his hand from the grimoire.

It seemed the slaughter would end here, but considering his plans, perhaps ending it here was for the best.

With Shaliman Sudar standing here, the nature of the situation changed completely.

She was not only a core member of the local conservative faction but also a staunch member of the Wangshi Sect.

Previously, he was just a young upstart, a dragon crossing the river, but now he had become entangled with a super local tyrant.

Originally, an outsider was being besieged, but now, it seemed it would become an internal feud among the noble factions of Radiant City, or even possibly an internal struggle within the kingdom?

Could it be that the Royal Authority was dissatisfied with the slave market? Dissatisfied with Radiant City's excessive autonomy? But the royal tributes had not been lacking.

At this moment, let alone the bystanders' complex feelings, even Kverduf, the big boss, had a foggy mind.

At this moment, he incredibly missed Eugene, whom he had previously looked down upon; at least with him around, he wouldn't need to worry in such situations.

"How about... you two, go upstairs to talk."

When these words were spoken, the old face of the slave market's big boss felt shame.

Others come up, smash your door, kill your dogs, and you invite them upstairs to sit and talk in detail?

Perhaps there was a better way to handle this, perhaps one should achieve compromise while being firm, but he truly didn't know how.

He rose to power by relying on strength; the slave market needed a famous "enforcer" to hold the fort, and he was really not good at that... the person who was originally good at it was already dead and buried.

"No need, let's talk right here. My goods have already been traded with you, now how did you swallow them?" If they really went upstairs, who knew what tricks the other side would pull.

In front of the public, Li En could also conveniently spread the news.

Li En directly pulled out a transaction slip and threw it over; with just one glance, Kverduf's scalp went numb.

That handwriting, he was truly familiar with it!

"Eugene Fordi!! You big idiot!!"

The signature on that standard slave market commission auction slip (goods delivered) was none other than the already dead Eugene? And the signing time was before his death!

"Inside your organization, or in Eugene's office, there should be copies. Such documents are always made in triplicate or more."

Originally, under Demond's "persuasion," Eugene also knew the instability of this transaction, and the auctioneer seemed to be hesitating.

At that time, Eugene also worried Li En might change his mind, so he signed this commission auction transaction slip on the spot, finalizing the deal in advance.

For goods of this caliber, the price for private transactions was hard to estimate; listing them for auction was a good choice for the seller.

This was actually a transition to persuade Li En to continue the transaction; once terms were settled, they would privately confirm a new transaction and cancel the slip, a classic public-to-private operational tactic.

The copy of the transaction slip was indeed in Eugene's office; as long as it wasn't handed over to the market's specific department for execution, it could be intercepted at any time.

Furthermore, Eugene had even prepared to investigate Li En's background, planning to eat the black (rob the robber) if the opportunity was right.

Now the problem was, Eugene was dead and buried, yet the slip remained, and it was in triplicate... this became Li En commissioning the slave market to auction his own goods, and now the goods were gone.

Holding the auction commission slip, Kverduf's hands trembled constantly.

Now, his side was completely in the wrong.

Kverduf looked left and right; more and more people were gathering, and it was too late to block the news.

The goods were already given to your auction house, the slip was signed, now the goods are lost, naturally it is the slave market's fault.

No wonder Kverduf cursed at Eugene; the dead man's greed directly forced the slave market to bear the loss caused by this "robbery" on moral grounds, because when the incident occurred, the goods were already under the legal control of your market (the slip as proof).

Li En? Li En did not participate in the transaction; at that time, only Eugene and the third party, Demond, were present.

"Compensation? How to compensate? Where would I get Hero's Blood to compensate him?"

Regression was already a low-probability event; for a regressing powerhouse to give birth to pure Hero's Blood, under normal circumstances, was an even smaller probability within a small probability.

"Could it be that you intend to swallow my fiancé's goods? To swallow the treasures of my Sudar family?"

At this moment, Miss Shaliman Sudar stepped forward directly.

The woman, radiant with beauty, in this moment acted like an angry general.

But Li En, standing right beside her, could feel her trembling.

Was she uneasy, nervous, hesitating? Because of the powerful figure before her?

No, Kverduf might strike anyone, but he would not strike a Viscount Sudar.

This is the unspoken rule of the noble circle; unless it is a life-or-death battle, one does not attack the heads of various factions, or assassinations would never end.

Then, what is she nervous about?

"Oh, she is nervous about me," Li En suddenly realized.

She was not only nervous about Li En himself, but also nervous about Li En's upcoming attitude and choice.

At this moment, her trembling was due to being unaccustomed to a man's warmth and intimate distance.

On the other hand, her unease also stemmed from guilt; this forced declaration was equivalent to actively dragging Li En into the whirlpool of the kingdom's noble struggles.

Fearfully, from today on, Li En would also be regarded as one of the Royal Faction or the Conservative Faction.

If Li En were truly a rigid and persistent Paladin, he would absolutely detest being drawn into power struggles.

"Thank you." The man's low voice of gratitude made the girl tremble violently.

The next moment, her back straightened a bit, and her snake-hair instantly became filled with fighting spirit.

Those beautiful eyes, finding fault and showing no mercy, glared fiercely at the bewildered Kverduf.

And from Li En's perspective, having reached this level of involvement, staying neutral was impossible; continuing to be truly neutral would mean making both sides view you as an enemy simultaneously.

His upcoming plans indeed required political backing and tacit approval.

At least for now, Miss Shaliman and the Dragon Hunters behind her could be considered allies.

Of course, on the other hand, even if knowing nothing, if forced to pledge allegiance to a faction, Li En would prioritize the Royal Faction.

It was not because he had any interest in the Princess or the Prince; rather, other factions would trample this kingdom without hesitation, while the Royal Faction at least viewed the kingdom as their own property, making their conduct slightly more decent.

"This, this, that..." Kverduf could no longer look directly at Miss Shaliman, whose attitude had become increasingly aggressive.

The gazes from the surroundings stung and depressed him; the integrity of the slave market's transactions had been questioned.

If it were someone else, or even a minor noble, they would naturally disappear, but now, it was one of the kingdom's great nobles, with the interference of royal family members possibly behind them.

Then, is this Li En also a talented youth cultivated by the royal family? Is he a chess piece thrown out by the royal family to settle us? Next, will there be some follow-up strikes?

These speculations were a bit excessive, but actually quite reasonable.

When Viscount Sudar stepped forward and announced his engagement, even the most absurd guesses had the possibility of coming true.

Look, Miss Shaliman Sudar even has a fiancé; she has pressed her private matters forward as a stake in this game, so what is impossible?

For a marriage of her caliber, the royal family should interfere as well; the royal family's layout is normal, right?

Facing the pressure, Kverduf was somewhat anxious.

Others auctioning the Blood of Heroes was not for gold coins, but for equivalent rare items, such as potions that allow rapid evolution, high-grade materials, and so on.

Those highest-grade rare items can basically only be traded via barter.

They cannot afford to pay; even if they found the Tail-Cutter, it would be impossible to retrieve all the Blood of Heroes; whoever obtained it would use it up!

Moreover, several big bosses behind them have already ordered the Blood of Heroes, caring not for price or cost.

Even if the slave market truly obtained it, Kverduf himself would not be qualified to use it; he would have to wait for the big bosses to fight internally and divide the spoils.

"I know, the item cannot be retrieved." Li En suddenly spoke.

At this moment, Li En took back the initiative.

This tone meant he intended not to pursue it to the end?

His sudden magnanimity made everyone breathe a sigh of relief.

"I can choose not to retrieve the Blood of Heroes, but I need compensation; I do not demand materials of the same grade..."

See, I am extorting them, yet they still have to thank me.

There was nothing more to say; when Li En began listing his compensation demands, with Viscount Sudar watching, Kverduf could only agree to Li En's requests.

However, under everyone's gaze, he forced the head of the slave market to only nod in response.

He humiliated the slave market, swept away its authority, made them bleed, collected interest, and forced them to investigate the Tail-Cutter.

It could be said that Li En easily achieved an Epic Achievement.

He smashed the home of the local largest evil force, killed their guard dog, extorted them, forced them to work for him, and was still politely escorted out the door!

(End of this chapter)