CHAPTER 224: CHAPTER 222: SUMMONING THE GRAIN MERCHANTS_1

Lady Karol reverted to her usual self once she was out of Yan Xing’s sight. A glass of potent liquor was strong, yet not enough to intoxicate her.

She was pretending, and she knew that Yan Xing knew she was pretending. They were all fully aware, simply seeking to end the confrontational nature of their conversation.

At this moment, Lady Karol could legitimately inspect Yan Xing’s entire Envoy Mansion, attempting to find some secrets.

As the person in charge of the Rose Court, the Assassin’s Guild in Nuta City naturally fell under Lady Karol’s jurisdiction.

Originally, she believed that even if the protection of Thunderous Swamp was real, he could not possibly escape the successive assassination attempts by so many assassins. She even looked forward to seeing Count Theodore’s reaction after Yan Xing’s death.

However, Lady Karol’s keen senses made her notice something amiss as soon as she arrived at the Envoy Mansion. She felt there were many eyes scrutinizing every move of the guests. Then she saw her subordinates, who were serving as assistants to the assassins, hurriedly evacuating one by one. Even Li Jiya left quickly after leaving a secret signal.

All the assassins were out of contact!

Lady Karol first felt a deep chill. If all eight assassins had failed their mission, she could have accepted it. But what did it mean for so many assassins to lose contact all at once? Could a serious lapse have occurred within the Assassin’s Guild?

Therefore, although Lady Karol’s desire to move into the Envoy Mansion was partly driven by pride, she also intended to investigate Yan Xing’s secrets.

First, there was the foiled assassination attempt on Yan Xing by an Elven assassin, and now eight assassins had lost contact before even taking action. The events surrounding Yan Xing were too bizarre. Everything about him was incredibly strange.

Lady Karol had her responsibilities; she had to thoroughly investigate Yan Xing and the Thunderous Swamp backing him.

Under the guise of a tour, she followed the maid around the Envoy Mansion. Lady Karol found that the craftsmanship of many items here far exceeded her understanding. As she looked on, her mindset gradually shifted from inspection to reverence.

Could such a grand civilization truly exist deep within Thunderous Swamp?

The more she saw, the more conflicted Lady Karol felt. The sudden arrival of Yan Xing brought more possibilities to Nuta City. It would surely affect the Wildwind Highlands, then the Silvermane Principality, the Barbaric Orcs, and the Snow Elves. This world would inevitably undergo changes no one could anticipate, all because of this swamp civilization.

What should I do? Lady Karol kept asking herself this as she selected a room. She chose a bedroom on the third floor with a balcony, offering a fine view of the entire front courtyard.

In the square before the mansion, a grand banquet was in full swing. Lights from above illuminated the entire banquet area, and music from an unknown source filled the air, stirring a lively atmosphere. Long tables around the square were laden with all sorts of food and pastries, the sweet scent of sugar wafting up even to those standing high above. Groups of elegantly dressed people gathered, their faces brimming with smiles; this banquet would undoubtedly become a significant bragging point for them in the future.

This place is truly beautiful and magnificent, Lady Karol marveled silently, her inner exclamations unceasing.

She stood on the balcony, gazing into the distance. To be surrounded by such brilliance while observing the night offered a unique perspective; the light here was so intense it outshone many of the stars in the sky. Intelligent beings instinctively associated darkness with backwardness. This scene made Lady Karol feel as if she were observing the mortal world from an entirely different vantage point.

Do angels in heaven, looking down upon mortals, feel as I do now?

For a moment, Lady Karol forgot her purpose in coming here to stay. All her thoughts were consumed by this sudden epiphany.

Meanwhile, in another room of the mansion, renovated into a conference room, Yan Xing had invited all the grain merchants of Nuta City to gather.

Barbarians? they thought. Sitting in this brightly lit conference room, with fresh flowers on the table that bloomed only in spring, and elegant, fragrant water in pristine, transparent glasses, they watched as the large magic screen on the conference platform displayed an image of a vast warehouse filled with grain.

Who would dare call the Swamp Tribe barbarians now?

At least in the minds of Nuta City’s elite, Thunderous Swamp had long since transcended the label of "barbaric."

Look at these Werewolf Warriors—their strength was certainly not merely First Order. They wore armor crafted from gold and lived in such luminous houses. They ate exquisite food, with desserts piled so high with white sugar that a mere tremble of the hand would send it scattering.

Within the ever-mysterious Thunderous Swamp, there must exist a highly advanced civilization.

The Yan Xing standing before them at the lectern was the spokesman for this mysterious civilization.

The grain merchants sat quietly, waiting with curiosity for Yan Xing to reveal the purpose of their summons.

Seeing that everyone had arrived, Yan Xing spoke into the microphone on the lectern. "Gentlemen," he began, "I know that most of you resent me. There may even be some among you who have placed bounties on my life with the Assassin’s Guild.

"Please do not panic; I have no ill intentions in inviting you here.

"I do not even intend to pursue the one who placed a bounty on me. As for why, perhaps the Assassin’s Guild will explain it to you tomorrow.

"I invited you here for only two reasons.

"First, to clear up misunderstandings.

"Second, to prosper together."

Yan Xing paused briefly after saying this, observing the grain merchants’ reactions.

When Yan Xing mentioned that some grain merchants had offered bounties for his assassination, the atmosphere in the conference room immediately tensed. Fortunately, Yan Xing’s timely explanation prevented further panic.

The grain merchants exchanged glances. They seemed to be trying to guess who among them had hired the Assassin’s Guild to kill Yan Xing, and also to see who would be the first to respond to him.

Naturally, the focus of their attention was Gale, the head of the Golden Oak Chamber of Commerce’s Nuta City branch. Everyone knew that the Golden Oak Chamber of Commerce had significant conflicts with Yan Xing’s Eternal Commerce Guild.

The Eternal Commerce Guild’s road construction crew had snatched the Nuta City-to-Storm City road repair project from Gale. As for the road construction from Nuta City to the Eternal Domain, the Eternal Commerce Guild hadn’t even given the Golden Oak Chamber of Commerce a second thought.

Now, Yan Xing was supplying large quantities of woven bags to the Wildwind Highlands Legion. These were used not only for emergency fortifications but also by logistics teams encountering damaged roads; they could fill the bags with earth for immediate, makeshift repairs.

The Eternal Commerce Guild was rapidly encroaching upon the Golden Oak Chamber of Commerce’s share in road construction and repair projects.

And as for grain...

Although the Eternal Commerce Guild did not directly sell grain in Nuta City, a vast number of people worked for them. These workers were paid in grain. This squeezed the grain merchants who aimed to profit from stockpiling, leaving them struggling.

The Golden Oak Chamber of Commerce, holding the largest grain stockpile in Nuta City, was suffering the most.