CHAPTER 99: LOST CARGOS

Shortly after the crisp slap on the face, Mirelle plopped to the ground.

Her right cheek was bruised, and upon closer inspection, one could see blood dripping from the corner of her mouth.

Based on how loud the slap was, followed by the vivid aftermath scene, many merchants were petrified by Leonard’s means.

They couldn’t believe what their eyes had just witnessed!

He seriously slapped his own bodyguard without hesitation!

How ruthless and merciless!

Even Alger was rendered speechless. He was stoned and incapable of uttering a single sound.

Many dialogues and remarks were brewing in his mind, but none of them had prepared him for this kind of outcome.

’What the hell?’ Alger was dumbfounded. ’This youngster sure is ruthless enough to slap his own bodyguard in such a state!’

The most shocking factor was that he didn’t hesitate to slap a beautiful woman.

Maybe if it were a slave, then they wouldn’t have cared. But a bodyguard was an entirely different story, especially when they were hired with money to safeguard.

It was not some whores who got paid to pleasure the master.

While the crowd was still struck in a daze, Leonard didn’t pause his disciplinary action.

"I’ve hired you to protect me, and not as a busybody. Moreover, embarrassing me in front of the other merchants, you can forget about any bonuses." He coldly scolded and gave her another kick.

"Ungh!" Mirelle grunted from the pain. She didn’t dare to block or resist the punishment.

"I-I’m sorry, Boss." She uttered with quite a difficulty due to the bleeding in her gum.

"Scram! You’re not needed at this round table!" Leonard scoffed and pointed at the exit.

Nodding, Mirelle dared not disobey the command and slowly got up from the ground.

Throughout the duration, Caroline remained still and casually sipped some of the tea, completely detached from the scene.

As for Claudia, she could only keep her head low. She was disbarred from speaking or even expressing anything under the power of the slave collar.

Nevertheless, the slave collar couldn’t restrain her mind from speaking.

’What a disgusting play!’ She cursed at them silently.

What appeared to be a ruthless demeanor of punishment was merely a facade show—one that was put up to deceive everyone and give Mirelle a pretext to leave the scene to investigate.

With the Restoration Potion, any injuries sustained would be restored to their previous state within a certain interval.

Alas, none of the people present at the round table would figure out this trick.

Without the publication of the Restoration Potion, none of them could ever possibly guess that the slap was authentic but ineffective.

Sometime later, Leonard turned his attention to Alger.

He smiled lightly and asked. "Do you have any complaints regarding the disciplinary action I took?"

Alger could only shake his head in defeat. "No, it is adequate."

There was a bittersweet tone in it. He couldn’t possibly pursue the matter further, granted it would be a blatant provocation without a way to retreat.

Not to mention, he might be old, but his eyes still worked perfectly with the amount of potions he consumed. ’Lord Wesley was astonished, so I cannot be blamed for not being able to assist him.’

"Although the bodyguard was outspoken, I should still answer their question. Mr. Vincent is new to the city, so he might not know about the significance of this place." Wesley quickly took the center of attention.

He gave a meaningful glance at Leonard and explained. "The round table here is only meant for silver ranked and above merchants, with the exception of some figures who contributed greatly to the city of Velastra. Those who were lining up are only qualified to participate after we have finished our discussion here."

"And what is the discussion about?" Leonard asked.

In response to the question, Wesley no longer replied and signaled for Ethan to take over.

Ethan received the signal and began to relay the issues to all present merchants.

Overall, the beginning was similar to what Abel had stated. And speaking of Abel, the latter seemed to have turned into a complete mute.

They sat at the very back of the edge and constantly kept their head low to avoid being spotted by Leonard.

In a clash between two powerful parties, a silver ranked merchant with a mere Castellan noble status wasn’t enough to survive if they were to be entangled in the middle of the storm.

’Please don’t look at me. I promise I will not visit a pleasure house whenever you are here.’ Abel prayed silently. He vowed to never enter a pleasure house when there was a powerful newcomer in the city, lest a similar situation might arise.

While Abel was panicking internally, he failed to realize that neither Leonard nor Wesley had given him much thought at all.

This was especially true for Leonard when he listened to some critical information coming from Ethan.

"The previous cargo lost on the Sunfire Road can be neglected. But recently, some of the lost cargos carried slaves—potential slaves that would soon be delivered for the grand colosseum opening." Ethan revealed.

Instantly, the crowd went numb from disbelief.

"The lost cargo slaves?" A female silver ranked merchant exclaimed in shock. "I’ve placed a lot of money in advance to get a perfect seat and was prepared to bet a lot."

While the female merchant was worried about their investment going down the drain, some other wiser merchants recognized a more critical problem.

"The grand colosseum was planned for the Crown Prince to enjoy. Without those potential slaves, how are we supposed to satisfy his highness?"

"Indeed, those slaves were perfectly scoured from the regions where it’s known to have capable fighters. The other slaves we have here aren’t sufficient!"

"Tell me about it. We only have beautiful slaves, but how could they be enough to satisfy the Crown prince?"

As the discussion among them gradually intensified, Leonard’s mood had long turned sour.

He couldn’t believe what caused the emergency meeting to be held because the lost cargos now happened to be potential fighter slaves for their enjoyment.

’How unsightly!’ Leonard was not looking forward to the day when he assumed his identity.