Laura sighed and said, “I must say that the Buda clan really has had enough injustice. They knew they were only a small aristocrat, and then the King did that thing to them. Sadly, they hadn’t thought that it would actually push themselves to become the enemies of all the nobles.”

Quinn John replied, “It wasn’t that the Buda clan didn’t understand, it’s just that if they didn’t do it, they would die. However, it was the Old King of the Aksu Empire that had underestimated the strength of the old nobility.”

“The young master of the Buda clan really has bad luck,” said Laura. “I heard that the young master was called Adam. Although he was a dandy, he wasn’t wicked. Unfortunately, he was actually compelled to drink the Water of Nothingness. Although they has two Rank Eight experts, I fear that they cannot even guarantee their own lives. At that time, they were sent to the Black Waste while he still hadn’t regained consciousness. I really fear that they won’t escape unharmed from this disaster.”

Quinn John nodded and said, “A Rank Nine expert’s strength is not that simple. I heard that Green was injured with only one strike. To injure a Peak Rank Eight really shows the difference between Ranks Eight and Nine. ”

Laura replied, “Yes ah, from what Buffy said, Green was badly injured. Even if the injury was to be healed, his rank would definitely drop. Even though the Purcell clan hadn’t successfully killed off Green, it could be said that it caused the Buda clan the loss of an arm.”

Quinn John sighed. “This is strength. If the Buda clan had a Rank Nine expert, they could officially become a powerful aristocratic clan and no one would dare to do such a thing to them.”

The large aristocratic clans on the continent were typically ranked on two main aspects. One was that they should have a long history of inheritance. This would show that they were qualified to become a great aristocrat. The second was to look at their strength. As long as they had strength, even if they didn’t have a long history, they could still become a great aristocrat. Strength wasn’t measured by their wealth, but whether or not their clan had a Rank Nine expert.

It could be said that a Rank Nine expert didn’t only represent their strength, but also their influence. If it were to be compared to Earth, then they would be the nuclear weapons. They were the deterrent force, and the times they were used was very rarely.

Laura looked at Quinn John, saying, “Grandpa Quinn John, just how many Rank Nine experts does the Markey Dell1 clan have? We had allied with Mr. Zhao Hai, but he’s only a Rank Eight expert. Would he really be able to help us? ”

Quinn John was smiling when he replied, “Of course. Although the Markey Dell clan seems very powerful, in fact, the clan only has two Rank Nine experts. They should be in closed-door cultivation throughout the years, thus they wouldn’t be moved so easily. The clan has an abundant amount of Rank Eight experts, but Mr. Zhao Hai himself is a Rank Eight Black Magician which no one would want to mess with. Along with his two formidable followers, there would be three Rank Eight experts with us. If you add up this old man, then the clan won’t easily move against us. ”

Laura nodded after hearing what Quinn John said. She understood that their strength was not weak; four Rank Eight experts would be enough to maintain a small clan within the continent.

With this thought, Laura couldn’t help but be happy. Then she said, “Grandpa Quinn John, our business recently has been very good. I will wait till this storm passes and then immediately contact Mister with regards to the meat processing plant matter. I see that it looks as though Mister is in need of money. ”

Quinn John immediately nodded and said, “We should do this thing. Mister has been really helpful to us too. This time, if not for the words of Mister, we would have a difficult time surviving here in the Purcell Duchy.”

Laura also nodded her head. It may seem like the food crisis wouldn’t have much effect, but for Laura, relatively speaking it was very important. If, during this time, they weren’t able to get food from Zhao Hai, then they wouldn’t have any commodities to sell which would cause a rise in the prices of food. The commoners rarely ate meat, which in turn will reduce the demand for such commodities, further affecting the Higanbana shops.

They didn’t want to lobby to not increase the price as this somewhat offended those merchants. If they really let those businessmen succeed, then they would start to suppress Laura. Even if they didn’t directly handle Laura, they could suppress them through trade. This would make Laura think of whether or not to stay within the Purcell Duchy.

Laura wanted to add and borrow the strength of Zhao Hai, as she was grateful to Zhao Hai. But she also feared that Zhao Hai’s camp might be stronger than her’s. Furthermore, Zhao Hai had a large territory that supported him, so Laura needed to be careful.

Quinn John looked at Laura. “If I remember correctly, Mr. Zhao Hai said he wanted some magic plant seeds? Then we should begin to prepare them. By the way, we should also give Mr. Zhao Hai some common magic beasts. Although Mister needs the money now, if we send these things I’m sure Mister would accept them.”

“Alright,” Laura said, nodding. “We will begin the preparations now. If only we didn’t have such an issue, we would have already begun.” Then Laura called for someone, explaining the matters that needed to be handled.

Laura’s influence in the Purcell Duchy wasn’t small. Now that she was in cooperation with the Purcell clan, it could be said that her position inside the Purcell Duchy was very high. It was to the point where even the Purcell clan would give her face.

* * * * *

It was tranquil now within Casa City, but underneath it all there were dark waves surging as everyone waited for Buffy’s news. The large clans were also secretly getting ready. If Buffy delivered good news, then they would give up. If Buffy delivered a bad news, then they wouldn’t be polite.

As long as the Purcell clan didn’t send their Rank Nine experts, these large firms weren’t afraid of the Purcell clan. Also, behind them was, after all, support from the other large clans. If the Purcell clan really dared to use their Rank Nine experts to deal with them, then the large clans that backed them up would definitely send their own Rank Nine experts. By that time, the Purcell clan would suffer further losses.

Kaiser ruled the Purcell clan for too long. Since the Purcell Duchy was their jurisdiction, he could do whatever he wanted. He began to grow proud and arrogant in his thoughts. He felt that as long as they could move their Rank Nine experts, then they could intimidate those large firms. What he had forgotten was that those large firms also had their own Rank Nine experts. If they really had to be dealt with by a Rank Nine expert, then those firms wouldn’t be polite.

The day passed calmly, which was the same for the next day. Since Buffy hadn’t returned, everyone continued to wait quietly. Then, Buffy finally came back on noon of the third day.

Zhao Hai had been paying attention to the situation with the Purcell clan while inside the space, especially when he saw Buffy. Buffy landed on the yard of the Purcell clan, in the area near where Green had previously disappeared from when he went back into the space. This allowed Zhao Hai to see him.

Buffy’s arrival alarmed everyone. One could say that the entire Casa City’s big influences had their nerves tightened at once.

After Kaiser had gotten the news, he arrived in the earliest possible time at the yard. He saw that Buffy stood quietly in the yard and was not moving.

Kaiser entered the courtyard to meet Buffy. He quickly gave his greetings and bowed. “This one has seen the Enshrined Deity. This old man would just want to ask Sir if they had found the Buda clan people?”

Kaiser knew Buffy’s temper. Being polite to him wouldn’t be of use, but directly asking him what you wanted to know would allow Buffy to naturally tell you the answer.

Buffy shook his head and said, “I didn’t find him. I searched the entire Black Waste, but there was not even a shadow of the Buda clan, not even at Fort Iron Mountain. I came back to tell you of this matter. You have to be ready as I’m going to explore the Carrion Swamp. If there’s a matter, don’t bother coming to look for me.” Having said that, his body disappeared from the area.

Buffy was gone and Kaiser’s face was now difficult to describe. He didn’t expected that Buffy wouldn’t be able to find the Buda clan. With regards to him, this was very bad news.

Almost at the same time, the other large clans also received the news. With regards to them, this news was good but they hadn’t immediately increased the food prices. Rather, they sent their representatives to the Second and Third Elders.

At the Purcell clan, the Second and the Third Elder were in a power struggle with the First Elder. Although the large clans knew about this, the matter wasn’t anything new to them. Most of the large clans had this kind of situation. They contacted the Second or the Third Elder in hopes that this time around, they could give their support to either the Second or Third Elders. With this, they could then propose to increase the food prices.

Although, this idea was contradictory. If they raised the prices, that in itself would put the Purcell clan in a bad position. So, how could they get the support of the Second and the Third Elders?

Laura also heard the news, but she only felt sad. She knew that the Purcell clan would usher forth a storm, and she would also be affected by this turmoil.

Large clans used any means that could be used in order to obtain their high position. This time around, the First Elder had made a huge mishap. The attack to his prestige due to this wasn’t small. Wanting to shake the foundation of the First Elder, however, wouldn’t be so easy. After all, the First Elder had ruled over the Purcell clan for so many years. Naturally, he would have his own methods to deal with this matter. However, it was undeniable that this was the First Elder’s weakest moment.

If the First Elder wasn’t able to solve this personal matter, then he could be considered to really be in trouble. This time, the issue that would be a problem would be the food crisis.

For those in a high position, the First Elder’s enemies could sacrifice some interests of the Purcell clan. They could cooperate with those merchants to increase the food prices. After the prices had risen, naturally, the First Elder wouldn’t be able to solve it. Then they would take this opportunity to make the First Elder step down. In their eyes, the increase in prices would just affect the life and death of the commoners. To them, the lives of these commoners wasn’t as important compared to power.

Notes:

- This chapter was MTL'ed. Please leave a comment for constructive criticisms and advice.

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- Please check out the Editor's footnotes, thanks.

1 I think I forgot to give an explanation for the clan’s name? 馬基德爾 - Mǎ jī dé'ěr. Basically Markey Dell or Macchi Del. I got Shif to choose one or the other and he decided on Markey Dell. Anyways, the previous Markey Clan basically removed Dell which is, again, lazy. So, Markey Dell.↩