Chapter 185 – Evan’s Plan
Evan frowned and said, “We must control this matter involving Mister. We had been lucky to get help from Mister during the crisis, otherwise, the losses of the Purcell clan would have been very big. We absolutely cannot allow them to succeed.”
Laura sighed.“The problem here lies in the fact that my uncles do not back me up. They are wolves, and being eyed by them won’t be good. This time around, they had sent someone and aren’t planning to let Mister off. If Mister complies to them, then it would be fortunate for them, but if not then they will certainly haunt Mister.
“A couple days ago, I had spoken to Mister and he told me it was impossible for him to comply with their demands. I then asked him to give me some face. As long as they don’t do anything excessively, then Mister wouldn’t give much care. If they move excessively, however, then Mister wouldn’t comply with my concerns and instead deal with them. By that time, what I fear will happen is that there will be major conflict between the Markey Dell clan and Mister.”
Evan understood that Laura was testing him to see what his attitude towards Zhao Hai would be. In fact, Laura didn’t need to do so. Evan had his own plans already.
Evan was a person who noted graciousness and was a man of gratitude, otherwise, he wouldn’t have helped the Buda clan in the past. Due to that, he had lost authority within the clan, but he had never regretted his actions. It was also because of this that he saw what a violent temper the Purcell clan had. He endured, and finally, today, he held that power.
He came into power this time around with the help of Laura and Zhao Hai. Therefore, he was very grateful to them. He had long wanted to meet with Zhao Hai. With regards to Zhao Hai’s magic, he also knew that his battle efficiency wasn’t weak. Aside from Zhao Hai’s help, he required his battle prowess as well.
However, Zhao Hai didn’t want to receive any guests. He wouldn’t meet with even the Purcell clan. Only Laura was able to see him, therefore, Evan regarded Laura highly. This was what Quinn John had said—Evan’s regard for Laura was not only because of his gratitude, but more so because of her connection to Zhao Hai.
Evan was very clear. If he allowed the Markey Dell clan to do as they pleased, then Zhao Hai would be unlikely to continue living at Stony Mountain. Not having any contact with Zhao Hai right now wasn’t the main problem. Instead, he was afraid that Zhao Hai might become their enemy.
Therefore, he couldn’t let the Markey Dell clan be successful. He was willing to offend the Markey Dell clan, so long as Zhao Hai remained. If Zhao Hai remains, then later on, the Purcell Duchy wouldn’t have any problems in regards to food. If their relationship with Zhao Hai was good, then later, if the Purcell clan faced problems, Zhao Hai would help them. Zhao Hai’s strength wasn’t weak. If he were willing to help the Purcell clan, then the strength of the Purcell clan would increase, which was good for them.
To be honest, Evan didn’t have a favorable impression of those great merchant clans. If those great merchant clans hadn’t acted mischievously back during the food crisis, then the situation wouldn’t have developed to what it was today. Although he was the one who profited the most in the end, he wouldn’t thank these people. This was because Evan was of the Purcell clan, and those great merchant clans had dared to act against his clan.
The reputation of the Markey Dell clan on the continent wasn’t good. Besides Laura, the other members of the Markey Dell clan had been nicknamed members of the vampire[1] clan.
A vampire was a dark creature that sucked the blood of humans and magic beasts in order for them to live and could also transform itself into a bat. They were annoying creatures[2]. This was how people described the Markey Dell clan, and this was what their reputation looked like.
For a vampire clan, would you expel your own powerful and strong benefactor? Only idiots would do so! Obviously, Evan had the same thoughts as Quinn John. They both thought Zhao Hai had a deep background, otherwise, it would be impossible to supply such a large amount of food.
Although people hadn’t heard of such a person as Zhao Hai here in the Aksu Empire, there was no guarantee that Zhao Hai wasn’t some great lord from another country. If Zhao Hai was, then offending him would be a bad choice.
The continent was divided into several countries. In every country, however, an aristocrat would always be given respect. Even during times of war, when a defeated aristocrat was captured, they could use that person to request a ransom. Thus, that captive wouldn’t receive any injuries. With that, one could see the influence an aristocrat had.
In this case, how could Evan offend an unidentified aristocrat? Evan couldn’t say that Zhao Hai wasn’t an aristocrat of some other country. With regards to that, it was equal to making contacts with the aristocracy of another country. This way, even if the Purcell clan faced some tragedy within the Aksu Empire in the future, they could still seek exile to another country.
There was this unwritten rule among the aristocrats of the Ark Continent. For example, if you were an aristocrat from the Aksu Empire, and you commited treason or some other crime against your empire, then you wouldn’t be able to stay there. You could then seek protection with another country’s aristocrat, provided that the aristocrat from that country was of the count[3] rank or higher.
Evan had no such contacts with the aristocrats from other countries. The Buda clan, once a great clan, had degenerated to their current situation because their time as an aristocrat was too short. Furthermore, their own strength wasn’t that good and they also had no connections with the aristocrats of foreign countries. These were the reasons why they weren’t able to safely leave the Aksu Empire. They couldn’t move out of the empire as they had no connections, nor would other countries have accepted them as their own aristocrat in order to avoid needlessly offending the Aksu Empire. Since they couldn’t grow in another country, and they definitely wouldn’t find any security there, their situation had thus deteriorated to such a level.
Since Evan had seen what happened to the Buda clan, he gained a sense of crisis. Thus, he wanted to establish a connection with aristocrats from other countries.
With such an idea, it was impossible for Evan not to look into this situation of Zhao Hai’s, so he nodded and asked, “Mister will certainly not be facing any accidents, so I wonder what you mean to do?”
Laura snorted. “Yesterday, I told father about the situation, and father made his stance clear. Here in the Purcell Duchy, everything we have gained was due to our own hard work. Now, we cannot be regarded as a member of the Markey Dell clan. Since Mister Zhao Hai had helped us, how could I not help Mister?”
Evan nodded, saying, “That’s good. Since it isn’t good to deal with the Markey Dell clan alone, it may work with our tripartite strength. We must speak with Mister. Since I can’t talk to him, you must go to him instead and tell him about the Purcell clan and these matters. Also tell him that he can rest assured.”
Laura took a deep breath, smiled, and said, “After hearing what Uncle Evan has said, I feel relieved. I will certainly tell these words to Mister. In fact, I really want to say this; Mister doesn’t fear the Markey Dell clan. So long as the Markey Dell clan doesn’t send a Rank Nine expert, they cannot beat Mister. What I’m afraid will happen, however, is that the Markey Dell clan might become desperate. If they become completely desperate, then they might do anything.”
Evan calmly nodded. “This matter is really troublesome. Before, our Purcell clan had two deities, but Wind Saint Buffy had gone into the Carrion Swamp. After such a long time, he still hasn’t came back. I fear the unfortunate rather than the fortunate. With that, our clan’s overall power has decreased. Things are somewhat difficult, but let Mister know that if the Markey Dell clan really does send out a Rank Nine expert, then even if I have to give up my authority, I will ask the consecrated deity to move and get rid of them.”
Laura nodded. Sighing, she said, “This is only if the worst comes. I came here today to let Uncle Evan know, and to be prepared in advance in case something happens. ”
Evan nodded. Looked at Laura, he said, “You have to be prepared. If this time around the Markey Dell clan doesn’t dare to move against Mister Zhao Hai, then they’ll certainly move against you. Mister is a small target, and they wouldn’t dare to move against our Purcell clan. On the other hand, you are different as you have too many stores. Your stores are large, thus, they might come and get you.”
Laura nodded. “My people there are really nervous. When I spoke to Mister previously, however, he told me to tell him if there was a problem, and that he would help me. When Mister Zhao Hai sent some undead in the past, however, I was quite scared of them, so he didn’t push the idea. This time, I must have thicker skin.”
“There are no bad undead. Sometimes, they’re better than humans,” Evan replied with a smile. “I’m a little envious of Mister since I had no talent in learning magic. I really wanted to be a black magician. Laura, you and Mister have had a lot of contact, so please tell me—what kind of person is Mister?”
Laura smiled as he heard Evan’s question. “Mister is a good person, but a very traditional black magician. He wears a black robe, and has more undead than humans around him. He also doesn’t want to see other people that much. He has a good heart, however, and I feel that his age probably isn’t too old. I don’t think he’s as old as Uncle Evan.”
After hearing what Laura said, Evan paused for a moment, then asked, “Are you telling the truth? That Mister’s age is smaller than mine?”
Laura nodded and answered, “Yes. Although I haven’t seen his appearance, his voice tells me that he is young.”
Evan nodded. His heart was actually startled, but this strengthened his beliefs about Zhao Hai being a powerful magician, especially after his previous battle. A Rank Six magician would be a great master on the outside, and a lot of mercenaries would rush to invite him, even if he would be a bit expensive. This was because the battle prowess of a magician was just too lethal.
A young Rank Eight black magician, however, would be even more incredible. This simply meant that he had a great chance of becoming a Rank Nine expert, one of the continent’s pinnacle existences. Thus, becoming friends with such a person wouldn’t bring him any harm.