CHAPTER 356: DEAL OR A THREAT?

Aiden’s eyes gleamed with amusement, the corners of his smile never faltering. "You’re sharp. Very sharp. You know how to keep your cards pressed close to your chest." His tone was almost admiring.

"Comes with experience. But tell me, are you here to buy or just to waste my time with useless chitchat and guild recruitment pitches? Do you have the money or not?" Damon acted arrogant and impatient, just like how the internet portrayed him.

The cloaked figures shifted almost imperceptibly at Damon’s words, the restrained wolves practically salivating for an excuse to pounce. But still, no one moved.

"Okay. Okay. Relax." Aiden laughed. "I will not beat around the bush anymore. I do have the necessary funds."

Damon’s crimson eyes narrowed. "Good. Because I don’t waste time with window-shoppers. If you’re here, then put the gold on the table and let’s get this over with. How much gold do you have and how many vials do you need?" He bluntly spoke without any niceties.

The cloaked figures twitched again, tension rippling through their still forms like a taut bowstring ready to snap.

Madman’s trembling had reached a fever pitch, his knuckles whitening beneath his robes as though the only thing holding him back from tearing Damon limb from limb was Aiden’s unspoken command. Even Aurex, usually colder than ice, leaned slightly forward, his concealed blade ready to go.

Aiden, however, simply chuckled. "Straightforward. I like that. But you should know something before I hand you anything, Blood God. I have some terms and conditions for buying your product, and helping you with your money problems."

"What conditions?"

"Simple. I need you to stay away from two players." Aiden smiled.

"Hmm?"

"I doubt you know their real names. I will just give you their nicknames. Meira and Aurora. From what I gather, you don’t seem to be particularly fond of the two either. So it should be fine, right?"

Damon paused for a moment, but then he simply shrugged. "Sure, I have no problem doing that. But to demand something like this from me, do you have the ability? How many gold coins are you willing to part with?"

Then came the answer which Damon had totally not expected. "I have the entire 2.5 billion that you need." Aiden smiled. "You are trying to put together money for your vampire recruits, aren’t you? My sources tell me this is the amount you need?"

The entire amount? This asshole was actually offering him the entire amount? Damon’s lips curled into a dangerous smirk. 2.5 billion? That wasn’t just money, it was a mountain of gold that could bankroll an empire.

And Aiden had spoken the exact number Damon needed for his Blood Hall’s victory as if it was no big deal. No guesses, no approximations. Just the big fat number on the blinking screen.

The fact that he knew this number did not come as a big surprise for him but to simply just offer up the whole thing? Just how deep were these guys’ pockets?

This only made Damon sure of the decision he had already made. He needed to more actively do some things to bankroll things like this. Begging and scavenging like this was not going to work for a second time.

Damon laughed. "You really are very well informed. Almost too well. Tell me, do you know how much I paid for breakfast this morning too?"

Aiden, however, only smiled wider, as if Damon’s sarcasm amused him. "Breakfast? No. But I do know what you want, Blood God. And I also know what you fear."

"And what is that?"

"You want to rule Niera city with your Blood Hall. You don’t want another rival growing into a threat before your Blood Hall stabilizes. And I’m giving you a way to that. Take my money, agree to my terms, and focus on what really matters. Or..."

Aiden’s voice softened, almost playful, "...walk away with nothing, and we’ll see if your Blood Hall can last long enough without the gold to fund them."

Damon chuckled darkly, refusing to let the bastard see through him. "You really like to pretend you’re in control, don’t you? But let me give you a piece of advice, TotallyNotAGod."

"Guess what. You are really not a God. If I walk away from here, I still have a million ways to save my Blood Hall. But you won’t get the poison you need. In fact, I might even supply your enemies with these poison vials. You should have guessed by now, right? I have a way to make more of them."

He then took a slow step forward, his crimson eyes glinting. "Now tell me... is this a deal or a threat? Because if it’s the latter, I’ll happily save us both the trouble and start killing your pets one by one until you stop smiling."

The six figures standing behind Aiden immediately moved. Powerful auras surged out of all of them and weapons appeared in their hands. Damon could instantly recognize two of them. Magicaa and Aurex was here.

If Damon had to guess, then among the other four, there should be the guy who had bonded with the mutated wyrm. He had a couple of guesses about the remaining three but he did not really care much about it.

He did not do this to find out what kind of backing Aiden had. He had to do this to make sure that the damned conniving bastard did not doubt him.

Aiden had thrown a shit load of money at him, solving all of his problems at once. Damon was never going to reject it.

As for Aurora went, if she was really in trouble, he wouldn’t ignore her. That woman had helped him many times and he was not an asshole to ditch her just like that. So him agreeing to that term was also pretty much a lie.

And if he simply agreed with everything that bastard said, it would look very suspicious. He needed to show that he was truly desperate for the money and at the same time use his arrogance to hide it under. This way he wouldn’t suspect that there was more to it.

Damon had calmly played the part. Now all that was left were the results.