CHAPTER 97: ROUND TABLE

Leonard and the rest began to follow Ethan’s footsteps under many gazes.

Some of the merchants had already begun to gossip among themselves, albeit in a very low tone.

After witnessing their fellow merchant being killed for speaking wrongly, they didn’t dare to commit the same mistake.

And normally, they wouldn’t even want to gossip to avoid implication.

However, the message said by Ethan made them unable to restrain their agitated emotion.

Just like how Leonard could deduce the true intent behind Ethan’s message, the majority of them were also able to discern the hidden meaning.

They might not be certified merchants or anything, but being able to make it here and survive showed that they weren’t foolish either.

Naturally, there could still be some lucky individuals who managed to survive for far longer than they should have. Even so, the grim reaper would still catch them sooner or later.

"Lord Wesley wishes to ostracize the gold ranked merchant. I wonder what kind of disputes the two have."

"What else could there be besides struggling for political power?"

"Right... Lord Wesley’s influence is number 1 here. If a new gold ranked merchant arrives, then the influence could be shifted."

"Shush, do you want to join that loud-mouthed merchant in the backyard?"

Many merchants soon isolated themselves from the fool who decided to speak of the obvious.

Why would you even talk about Lord Wesley’s influence being challenged?

Could such a thing be talked about without any consequences?

These merchants couldn’t believe there would seriously be another fool being so close to them.

Their wordings were no different than talking about another ruling party wanting to challenge the authority of their continent’s ruling party while being inside the palace.

And sure enough, Bryant had already arrived at their side, his eyes glinting in a cold light.

"Drag this buffoon to the backyard as well." He coldly commanded.

In the blink of an eye, the guards adhered to Bryant’s command and dragged the merchant away, much to their horror.

"No, I wasn’t trying to challenge the Lord’s influence." The merchant soiled their pants as they pleaded for mercy.

Unfortunately, not a single person stood out to defend him. Why would they implicate themselves with a foolish person?

Sometime later, a piercing scream echoed in the backyard. Another decoration was added in the scene as the guards promptly returned.

The dripping sound of blood could be heard in the silent atmosphere.

The silence was only broken when Bryant clicked his tongue and sneered. "A non-certified merchant who dares to talk about the Lord’s influence deserves to join the loud-mouthed fate."

The rest of the regular and bronze ranked merchants sweated profusely. They couldn’t believe the guards actually dared to kill not one, but two merchants in such a short span of time.

While the crowd was filled with anxiety, the interior of the Merchant Guild was filled with curiosity.

"So, what is the meeting about?" Caroline asked.

Ethan discerned that the voice came from Caroline.

"It’s about the frequently lost cargos on the Sunfire Road." He responded.

"More lost cargo?" Dumbfounded, Caroline furrowed her brows.

"Hadn’t the security increased there? After all, Sir Vincent here managed to travel on the Sunfire Road without encountering any incidents." She added.

As soon as she finished her statement, Ethan and Mirelle paused their steps briefly.

Only Leonard continued his pace and appeared to be smiling sheepishly.

"Are you hoping that I will encounter some incidents, Researcher Caroline?" He asked in a teasing manner.

"Of course, not. I was just curious how lucky you were."

"Lucky is an understatement. I might not have encountered any incident, but I sure as heck hired a fake carrier company and got booted out."

As their conversation continued, Mirelle soon came to an understanding that Caroline had overheard their words and used this opportunity to cleanse the flaws.

Meanwhile, Ethan was silently absorbing the information. ’Hmm, the surveillance on the road is indeed lacking to confirm the matter.’

Due to the numerous attacks, they lacked the necessary intel to verify the situation. It had gotten to the point where this emergency meeting was held after a recent discovery.

"We have arrived at the round table," Ethan calmly said and activated the door mechanism.

Soon, a creaking sound was created. Then the two large doors opened wide, almost like a curtain was being unfolded to signal the start of a theater.

Following the opening scene, Leonard and the others were blinded by the sunlight that shone through the windows.

’Is this a setup to try and purify a vampire with sunlight?’ He shut his eyes briefly while using his hand to block the sunlight.

Thankfully, the sunlight soon faded once some of the workers released the window curtain to block off the sun.

Their action made it clear that they were only told to act after he got blinded.

Looking at the scene up ahead, it appeared like he was a criminal being held on trial. There was a big round table, with many merchants already seated in their designated spots.

The gazes they used on him were piercing.

Seated at the main center was none other than Wesley Livingstone.

"Looks like we finally have everyone here." Wesley put on an amiable smile and gestured for Leonard to take his designated seat.

His designated seat was unsurprisingly close to the front, signifying influence and status.

Although it was only right for his rank to be at such a position, Leonard doubted it was for that reason.

"Haha..."

Leonard chuckled awkwardly before being guided to his designated seat by Ethan. He and Caroline both have their seats next to each other.

Mirelle and Claudia didn’t have a designated seat. Their status was too low to begin with. In fact, they wouldn’t even have a place in the meeting had it not been for Leonard’s presence.

However, it was pretty evident that being able to bring them along was a perk only for him.

Don’t think that was a good thing, though!

It was merely Wesley’s way of making others envious and jealous of him.

And when a human held such emotion toward another person. There was bound to be hostility in the making.

’Really want to give this lord a good slap in the face.’ Leonard could almost visualize himself slapping this old man.