Chapter 185: Tackle Hard

Chapter 185

Tackle Hard

"Y-You! How dare you not tell me this good news beforehand!!" After a moment of shock from what he had just heard, Steven nearly turned to hit his son over the head until it bled. If it weren’t for the fact that the person next to him was his eldest son, sitting there so nonchalantly...

"Haha, telling you beforehand wouldn’t have been as fun, right? Ellie?" Aman laughed heartily before passing the baton to Ellie. The girl rolled her eyes once. This troublesome man dared to use her name to stir up this chaos, and now he was trying to pin the blame on her!

Seeing Ellie pout, Aman laughed even harder, clearly enjoying himself. At the same time, the Setter family’s butler let out a big sigh of relief. It seemed he had been overly worried about this matter. From now on, he should trust the young lord of the family more.

"So, what’s next? The Setter family might be seen as the ones behind all this. You shouldn’t have let them get involved in this auction at all," Steven pondered. At first, he was thrilled that the Fernal family would be destroyed like this. However, he soon began to think about the problems that might follow, and they likely wouldn’t be small ones.

How could the Max family be willing to offer such valuable rewards to the Setter family just because they made the Setter family unhappy? Even a fool could see that something was off!

"What’s this? Just a moment ago, we were accused of taking advantage, and now we’re being accused of being the masterminds behind this? Why is it that whatever the Setter family does, it’s always wrong?" Aman shrugged. But this time, Steven couldn’t ignore it. This was a serious matter. If the Setter family was seen as the instigators, they could be criticized by others.

"But actually, Father, there’s no need to worry about this at all. Being seen as the mastermind isn’t a bad thing, is it? I also want to see how the Fernal family will react after this. After all, they were behind the scheme to frame our Setter family back then." Aman clenched his fist. If he let others bully him without retaliation, he might as well stop being called Aman!

"You!" Steven wanted to smack his troublesome son a few times. He looked at Owen, but his eldest son remained indifferent. Who knew if deep down he agreed with Aman? Otherwise, why would he allow his younger brother to stir up trouble at his own auction?

He glanced at the small girl again and sighed helplessly. Well...the Fernal family didn’t just want to deal with the Setter family; they even dared to use Ellie as a pawn. No wonder his eldest son agreed with the scheming Aman to do something like this.

"Open areas for potion sales on the 3rd, 4th, and 5th-floors of the city. Sell them at the same price as below," Owen, who had been silent the whole time, suddenly spoke up while everyone was lost in their own thoughts.

Steven’s eyes widened in shock. Why had his son suddenly decided this!? Until now, the Setter family had never opened the city for easy access to others. As a top hunting family, they didn’t need other independent adventurers to help with hunting. Moreover, they had never engaged in trade. And now, suddenly...

"Just 1 city per floor is enough. Open them to the public. The Setter family alone can’t gather resources fast enough anyway. In the next 2 months, I will expand the city areas to the 5th and 6th floors. Let others help manage the lower cities."

Owen explained his idea again, and Steven’s eyes sparkled with excitement. He felt happy every time he heard that his son was planning to seize cities for the Setter family because it meant the greatness of the Setter family would spread far and wide.

However, he also knew that Owen’s decision this time was just a way to nail the coffin shut for the Fernal family. Initially, he wanted to cover up and counter the rumors about the Setter family being behind the Max family. But Owen, aware of this, used the lure of greater resources to openly declare that they were directly fighting the Fernal family.

Supporting even to the extent of selling potions in the tower without extra charges, he wondered just how much his son hated the Fernal family!

"My brother is as respectable as ever," Aman laughed heartily upon hearing the pleasing news. The butler discreetly slapped his own forehead, realizing that his suspicions were correct. The eldest and second young lords had been in cahoots from the beginning!!

"If we open the cities in the 3rd, 4th, and 5th floors, we’ll need more people to ensure their safety, won’t we? The more people, the more management required," Steven pointed out. But it seemed Owen had already considered this.

"Let the royal families handle that. Both the Ares Kingdom and the Gaia Kingdom. Shut them up so they won’t complain," Owen said nonchalantly.

"What do you mean...?"

"Tell them to be the ones to handle registrations. If people want to pass through the cities, they must register with the royals first. So, the people of the Ares and Gaia Kingdoms will pay the royals if they want to enter. Meanwhile, we will charge the royals a flat monthly fee, regardless of how many people come and go. Other kingdoms will continue to pay the Setter family as usual."

"Doing this will cause people to flock here, won’t it? The royal families of Ares and Gaia will surely make it worth their while by hunting frequently," Steven disagreed, feeling that such an approach would waste a lot of resources.

However, Owen didn’t see the value in such trivial matters. For him, the resources in the 3rd to 5th floors were not worth clinging to. It would be better if those people could hunt and gather resources abundantly, driving the prices down. This meant they could purchase goods cheaply without the Setter family having to exert any effort.

Moreover...

"Just open the cities where we make the least profit and...don’t forget to sell as many potions as possible." Yes! Losing some minor resources was acceptable as long as it left the Fernal family without a foothold!

Anyway, they could specify the duration in the contract. Giving just 1 year for hunting would silence the various kingdoms on this matter. The people would benefit, and the Setter family would be worshipped even more. Who would care what happened to the Fernal family!?

This way, others would clearly understand that they could become enemies with anyone but should never mess with the Setter family. If it ever came to revenge, they would go all out!

While the leaders and key figures of the Setter family understood the ruthless plan of the eldest young lord, the other attendees were still in shock. The appraisers clearly announced that this was the Invincibility Potion, which would grant incredible strength and prevent immediate death from poisoning during its effect. Even if one were cut in half, they would not die immediately. This potion was immensely beneficial as its 40-second effect could change the course of a battle. Many would take this potion before charging into a fight, and even if they sustained fatal injuries, they would remain invincible for a while. During this period, they could consume other potions and wait for their effects. Many had survived using this method.

Even if their heart was pierced through, they could extend their life by 40 seconds and take a high-level healing potion. Their hearts would heal in time. This was why the Fernal family wielded so much power; they possessed such a miraculous potion.

Its usual price was 60 gold coins per bottle. However, the Fernal family did not sell them in large quantities, always aiming to increase their value. There were instances where people paid as much as 100 gold coins for a bottle. Nonetheless, the Setter family announced that they would sell it at 55 gold coins per bottle from now on, with no price increase. They would sell as many as the Max family could produce.

Despite this, the first 5 sets of 50 bottles were auctioned off at 800 gold coins per set, totaling 4,000 gold coins for all 5 sets. While not a massive auction reaching tens or hundreds of thousands of gold coins, it still stirred significant emotions among the attendees!

Bang!!

Chair fragments scattered across the room, with blood seeping from the hand of the Fernal family head, who had smashed the chair himself.

The deep-seated anger in his heart made it impossible for him to control his emotions. People around him sat in silence, not wanting to get involved in this conflict.

"Go! I will go see the Emperor. I will not allow these rebels to continue their vile actions against the kingdom!!" The head of the Fernal family stood up and looked around the room, where all the nobles sat quietly. Some even turned their heads away. No one wanted to step up for the Fernal family.

It was clear they chose the Setter family over the Fernal family. Though they initially joined the bandwagon with the Fernal family in laughing and looking down on the Setter family, they were merely secretive about their arrogance.

The Fernal family members left the room, intending to pressure the Emperor into taking action. Otherwise, the Fernal family was surely doomed. However, upon reaching the Emperor’s reception room, they found the Setter family’s butler happily conversing with the Emperor of the Ares Kingdom, with the Emperor of the Gaia Kingdom present, who showed no displeasure.

“Inform the Emperor that the Fernal family has come to seek justice,” he ordered the Setter family servant. The head of the Fernal family actually believed that the Setter family would not let them in. Nonetheless, they were prepared to fight and cause a commotion.

Unexpectedly, before they even drew their swords, the Setter family servant was already ready to welcome them.

“Please, come inside.” Seeing the demeanor of the Setter family, the members of the Fernal family felt deeply insulted. They stomped in, their expressions showing great displeasure.

“Haha, good, good. Then let’s go with what the Setter family has proposed. For the contributions you’ve made, as the Emperor of the Ares Kingdom, I thank you on behalf of all other hunters.”

“With the cooperation between the Gaia Kingdom and the Ares Kingdom, should we now consider ourselves brother kingdoms? Our hunters will likely become closer, and exchanges will improve,” added the Emperor of the Gaia Kingdom. His face showed no hint of regret over the potential loss of income for his kingdom.

The expressions of these two emperors were quite different from those of other emperors. While everyone smiled and rejoiced, their eyes were filled with envy. Yet, none of the emperors paid any attention to the arrival of the Fernal family.

“In that case, I shall take my leave. It seems the Fernal family wishes to speak with you as well. I cannot afford to waste your time, Your Majesty.” The elderly butler spoke briefly before stepping back. He walked past the Fernal family, their long-time rivals, with a grim smile.

Of course, only the members of the Fernal family noticed this smile!

“Oh, why have you come here? Do you have any good proposals to offer us, like those the Setter family has given?” The Emperor of the Ares Kingdom was not foolish. He knew why the Setter family had to present such valuable gifts, as well as the reason for the Fernal family’s visit.

However...his words were all a warning to the Fernal family. Instead of asking general questions and letting the Fernal family state their demands, he brought up the “good proposals from the Setter family” first. If the head of the Fernal family wasn’t too foolish, he would surely understand that they had already lost this game!

“Your Majesty...the thing is...” The elderly head of the Fernal family clenched his fists. He realized that the Emperor had already chosen to side with the Setter family. Their attempt to seek justice would be futile.

“Haha, it seems that the nobles in your kingdom are truly interesting. The Setter family has given a significant gift, and now there’s another family?” The Emperor of the Gaia Kingdom spoke cheerfully. He was benefiting from this situation, so he had no reason to be considerate of the second-ranked noble of the Ares Kingdom.

Even the top noble of the Gaia Kingdom was willing to be a pawn for the Setter family. So why should he help nobles from another kingdom oppose the Setter family?

“Ha Ha, Haha, Your Majesty, please don’t tease us. We came here just to offer our congratulations. Both to the Gaia Kingdom for having skilled nobles who discovered a way to cultivate special herbs, and to our own Ares Kingdom for forming a partnership with the Max family.”

“The Fernal family will certainly learn much from the Setter family. If we encounter good opportunities next time, we won’t disappoint anyone.”

With that, he turned and left immediately. The members of the Fernal family were left bewildered by their leader’s actions. The old man, feeling like his blood in his chest was about to explode, could no longer bear to stay in the Setter family’s territory. He left the auction in anger, unaware that this decision to leave would turn out to be another monumental mistake!!