Chapter 1434 - 1040: The Silent Majority (Part 2)

Chapter 1434: Chapter 1040: The Silent Majority (Part 2)

"Could it be a curse? I heard a couple of days ago that the City Lord and the Commerce Association had a falling out over an uneven split of profits. The Commerce Association has someone who is a Curse Master, claiming they’ll curse Yuyang City. And look, something happened today indeed!"

"It doesn’t make sense; the Commerce Association relies on the Demon Core to make money. Even if they were to curse, they wouldn’t curse away all the Demon Beasts. I rather think some terrifying creature might have come to the nearby deep mountains, scaring the Demon Beasts away."

"Aren’t there Lords responsible for controlling the big creatures? How could they come near the city and make trouble?"

"What’s the point of us just shouting here? Quickly find the City Lord and the Commerce Association! Figure out what happened and make them investigate and provide us with answers soon."

"Exactly! A city without Demon Beasts to hunt, staying here becomes pointless. Trees are uprooted, and humans move to live; there are plenty of cities in the world. Without news, it’s time to leave!"

"Those words make sense. One must aim high, as water flows low. If Yuyang City loses its Demon Beasts, then I’ll teleport to Jinwan City instead. I heard Jinwan City has a branch of the Hehuan Sect, those Little Demonesses... tsk tsk..."

...

Among the Demon Cultivators, some were gloating, some were just watching the commotion, and some were sighing and frowning.

Jinwan City, similar to Yuyang City, was in an even bigger uproar due to the annual hunting festival officially starting tonight.

Regardless of whether residing in the city or traveling from outside, Demon Cultivators were eligible to participate.

Participants were required to hunt solo within a stipulated time. Those obtaining more Demon Cores of better quality would win, and receive prizes prepared by the City Lord and Commerce Association.

The ensuing seven days were set to be a festive spectacle. To ensure fairness at this year’s hunting festival and to offer an enjoyable experience to visiting Demon Cultivators, the Commerce Association members, tasked with overseeing the event, had even confined the Demon Beasts for several days.

They weren’t processing urgent orders ahead of time, aiming to gather more Demon Beasts.

Having painstakingly prepared for ages, they were all set for the grand event tonight. But when the city gates opened, not a single Demon Beast was outside!

The jubilant hosts and the excited participants stared at each other, completely dumbfounded.

They had prohibited hunting for several days for the festival, with many shops waiting to begin slaughtering tonight to stock up. Realizing that they might not acquire a single Demon Core, Jinwan City erupted completely!

"The Teleportation Array is gone, the Demon Beasts in the nearby woodlands have vanished, and not a trace remains. We don’t have a clue who did it!" The City Lord of Jinwan City was pacing in panic, slamming his fist into his palm with banging sounds, "I asked the nearby cities, Yuyang City and Dahui City, and they reported the same situation.

You better come up with a solution quickly!

Even though the Demon Realm Alliance has collapsed, it’s widely known that Commerce Associations between cities still collaborate closely, right? At the very least, we must determine who we’ve offended and what happened to make amends!"

In the room, dozens of Demon Cultivators remained silent.

After a while, the eldest Commerce Association President spoke gently, "I’ve tapped various connections and dug up some news. Apparently, renowned Wanbao City also encountered a bizarre attack two days ago, with all thirty Teleportation Arrays disappearing and the Demon Beasts vanishing without a trace."

The City Lord gasped heavily upon hearing this, "Such a huge event, why hadn’t we heard of it? What’s going on? Did City Lord Kang figure it out?"

"No definite conclusion yet, but... it is rumored that it’s the doing of either the Vice Alliance Hierarch Du Li or Alliance Leader Lan Shanying." The President sighed heavily, "This is revenge! Speaking of which, the Demon Beast Teleportation Arrays in the city were all subsidized and planned by the Demon Realm Alliance and built under their auspices. Now they intend to take everything back."

"How dare they!" The City Lord shouted, voice breaking with anger, "We’ve never had any grievances with them recently or in the past; besides, what right do Du Li and Lan Shanying have to represent the entire alliance? This, this is pushing us to our doom!"

"I couldn’t agree more! Why should they reclaim things at will, disregarding the existence of thousands of Demon Cultivators?"

"Unbelievable! This is sheer negligence!"

"A damnable Alliance Leader to do this, no wonder the Demon Realm Alliance fell apart..."

...

The President watched the indignant crowd and suddenly retorted, "As the Demon Realm Alliance was falling apart, did any of you pledge your allegiance to the Alliance Leader or Vice Alliance Hierarch?"

That one sentence extinguished all the curses immediately.

"Alas!" He sighed again, "We all wanted to play the silent majority, thinking that this way, no action would be taken against the group, and we wouldn’t face any punishment. Honestly, certain matters in the association indeed don’t weigh heavily until they’re laid on a scale, whereupon they become too heavy for anyone to voice out.

Now, we can only suffer silently! Otherwise, Du Li and Lan Shanying, each with realms higher than the other and willing to fight to the death, who dares to seek reason from them? Where can one even find them to seek reason?"

Everyone’s face looked grim, and the City Lord asked hoarsely, "Then, then we must think of a remedy. Without Demon Beasts to hunt, Jinwan City will sooner or later turn into a ghost town! Doesn’t the City Lord of Wanbao City have extensive connections and many solutions? Has he found a way through?"

A city based on the industry of hunting Demon Beasts would face a total collapse if the supply faced issues, affecting everything else.

Affecting whether they could continue wielding power in Jinwan City in the future, everyone focused on the President, hoping his information would bring hope.

"Originally, the Array Masters responsible for construction within the Demon Realm Alliance formed an agreement with the Mountain Master of Qihan Mountain by the Northern Boundary to create a new organization called ’Immortal Alliance’." The President said slowly, "After Wanbao City lost the Teleportation Arrays, they sent a post applying to join the Immortal Alliance.

They hoped to establish good relations with the Array Masters and invite them to rebuild the Teleportation Arrays. Of course, destroying the arrays is easy, building them is difficult, and inviting the original team requires adequate contributions."

"Contribution? Oh, sounding pleasant, isn’t it just another way to rake in wealth?"

"But this is the only way currently. We can’t just watch Demon Cultivators migrate away from Jinwan City, that would spell total ruin!"

"If I recall correctly, the forging department of the former Demon Realm Alliance consisted of Artifact Refiners and Array Masters, while those with strong Combat Power were with the Law Enforcement Hall and Martial Guards. Couldn’t we ’invite’ some Array Masters here?"

"What are you on about! Even the City Lord of Wanbao City had to dutifully send a post; do you think you’re stronger? Don’t end up unable to ’invite’ anyone, thus tripping over your own feet and losing hope of restoring the arrays!"

The City Lord’s expression shifted, cautiously asking, "President, should we also seek out a way and send a post? The hunting festival can’t be held, but blocking the public chatter with some excuse until the arrays are rebuilt would see the crisis over."

The counterpart glanced at him and pondered for a moment, saying, "Initially, I planned to announce my resignation as President after the hunting festival ended. Over the years, the ups and downs in business have hindered my cultivation, leaving me with limited lifespan and no progress in realm. I’ve found a suitable retreat; just awaiting stepping down to go into seclusion, success or death thereafter.

I hadn’t foreseen this incident; to avoid hindering Jinwan City’s future, I officially announce my resignation here. Henceforth, the Vice President will assume the role of President, fully responsible for the Commerce Association’s matters."

Saying that, he took off the ring denoting the President from his finger and placed it on the table, gazing at the Vice President’s shocked and puzzled expression, instructing, "You’ve been by my side for quite some time, well versed in the operation and management of the association. From now on, bear the burden of responsibility, and be sure to collaborate with the City Lord to further develop Jinwan City!"

The sudden resignation left the other members of the association bewildered.

Two old foxes sniffed out the oddity with a quick turn of thought. This old geezer had held control over the association for quite some time, never mentioning seclusion. Now after the destruction of the Teleportation Arrays tonight, he plans to slip away?

Haha, quitting is likely false, knowing the situation’s bleak and planning his escape seems true!

Inside the room, the dozen individuals exchanged several discreet glances, and the City Lord asked hastily, "At this critical juncture regarding the survival of Jinwan City, how could you pull this move? Even if you’re planning seclusion, it doesn’t need to be immediate. Considering your years of toil for Jinwan City, shouldn’t you at least wait until the crisis passes?"

"Rest assured, I do have connections to help send a post." The President waved with a smile, "Moreover, resignation doesn’t equate to indifference. It’s simply that... the rules of the Immortal Alliance require applying cities to have both the City Lord and Commerce Association President present.

Feeling inclined to step back and being aged and frail, I can’t handle long journeys, deeming this responsibility beyond my capacity hence resigning.

Bring pen, ink, and paper, I’ll write the post now. You two follow my directions with the post, naturally, you’ll meet the Immortal Leader."