Chapter 580 - Tit For Tat (2) (1/2)
Chapter 580: Tit For Tat (2)
Rhode didn’t move an inch after he swept a glance at the potion bottle on the table. “What’s this?”
“This is the bottle that stored the poison, Mr. Rhode. I can guarantee you that this is the result that our Alchemist Association came to after thorough investigations.”
“Oh.”
Rhode’s short reply was as though a reaction of a civilian who didn’t strike the lottery; apathetic and completely indifferent. Rhode remained in silence as though he was waiting for the senior to continue his sentence. However, Dasos was feeling incomparably awkward at this moment. Because he had said all that he was supposed to and he imagined that the young man would at least have more reactions than this. He didn’t expect Rhode to remain this calm even with the evidence laid clearly before him. It seemed that this young man didn’t rely on luck to have such a massive backing and powerful strength… Rhode’s silence made Dasos increasingly worried. He didn’t know if Rhode was unconcerned because it had nothing to do with him or he was simply feigning innocence to get himself out of the situation. However, no matter which was the truth, neither was a good scenario for Dasos. He let out an awkward cough and forced himself to continue. “We found an Alchemist logo on the potion bottle and it’s the exact same logo as the one on the potion bottles that your Starlight Guild sells in Paphield. It is because of this that we have arrived at your Fortress. I hope to seek your cooperation with it.”
This time, the drawing room fell into complete silence. Rhode looked at the senior without batting an eye. If Rhode’s eyes weren’t opened, they would’ve thought that he had fallen asleep. Dasos didn’t feel frustrated over Rhode’s silence. No matter what Rhode wished to do, Dasos had to make his intentions clear. Although the Alchemist Association wasn’t as powerful as the Mercenary Association and the Church, they wouldn’t allow themselves to be bullied.
Of course, it was another matter about how much courage was behind Dasos’ determination.
Seconds passed and the atmosphere was strangely depressing. Apart from Dasos, the other Alchemists were beginning to feel restless and were about to stand to their feet. However, the mighty senior glared at them and they sat still obediently.
The sun had set and scarlet radiance spilled through the clear, french windows. After an unknown amount of time, Rhode twitched his brows, shook his finger, and shifted his position slightly as though waking up from his nap. But this time, he swept a glance at the crowd before him and said lazily, “No wonder there was a bunch of idiots who trespassed into my Guild’s alchemy workshop and demanded us to hand over the murderer. So it was for this matter?”
“…!” Dasos’ expression sulked slightly. He had long suspected if Rhode had some opinions about him. If not, why would they be stopped by the mercenaries when they first tried to enter the Fortress? Moreover, Rhode had even sent out a Grand Mage in the Legendary Stage to display his strength. And now, Dasos finally realized why the Guild Leader had paid no attention to this!
Dasos laid down the cup in his hand. Although he appeared calm, his heart was pounding. Initially, when this incident happened, there were two extreme attitudes toward this incident in the Alchemist Association internal department: radical and conservative. The extremists believed that Starlight Guild was nothing more than a tiny organization formed by crude mercenaries and didn’t require their permission to investigate them. If these mercenaries dared to reject, they would show the mercenaries the powers of the Alchemists!
Most of these extremists were the members of the headquarters. They lived far from the Munn Kingdom and didn’t understand the strength of Starlight. Judging from the information listed on paper, it was simple to be misled that this Guild was only lucky to have succeeded in the Midsummer Festival and there was nothing worthy of their concerns. The other conservative group led by Dasos mainly lived in the Munn Kingdom. Due to the advanced technologies in the Munn Kingdom, the Alchemists had occasional interactions with the higher-ups of the King’s Party and they were aware that Starlight wasn’t just lucky and acting rashly would surely bring them loads of trouble. Of course, this was only a problem between the two internal parties. While the Chairman was in a comma, there were also power struggles between the Alchemist Association. However, none of these had anything to do with Rhode.
Dasos heard that the headquarters formed an investigations team and they headed to Starlight for investigation. He also knew about their bossy and domineering attitudes, which was why he quickly formed an investigations team on his own and rushed to the Land of Atonement, with hopes to reach out to Rhode earlier. This way, he hoped that his reputation in the Munn Kingdom would allow a more efficient and peaceful discussion and stop the headquarters from taking over the case. However, he didn’t expect that he was too late. It had exceeded his expectations that those normally lazy fellows would take actions this quickly. If the Alchemist Association was this hardworking most of the time, perhaps they wouldn’t even be worse off than the Mercenary Association…
Dasos puckered his brows and let out an awkward cough. Then, he said. “Mr. Rhode, I think there may be some misunderstanding…”
“I don’t care if it’s a misunderstanding, Master Dasos. I respect your Alchemists, but this doesn’t mean that I can allow them to cause a ruckus in my turf. That bunch of idiots has been chased out by me and I don’t wish to see them again…” Rhode interrupted Dasos’ words harshly and stared into his eyes. “If they continue to stir trouble on my territory, I can’t promise that I will treat them nicely. I hope you can understand what I mean.”
“…” Dasos’ expression turned ashen.
However, Rhode gestured before he responded. “But those idiots have nothing to do with us. Master Dasos, I respect you a lot and that is why I have invited you into the Fortress. Can you tell me… How do you intend to carry out investigations with my Guild?”
“We…” Dasos felt relieved after hearing Rhode’s assurance.
It was apparent that this young man had seen through their internal problems. Besides, Dasos also understood what Rhode had meant. Dasos heaved a subtle sigh of relief after gaining Rhode’s support for them to carry out the investigations instead of chasing them away.
As for those guys from the headquarters… Dasos only hoped that they would be smart enough to not provoke this dangerous young man, who definitely wasn’t a compassionate person. Dasos was also present during the Midsummer Festival and he had personally witnessed how Rhode crippled the Sky Sword and Liberty Wings Guild. He didn’t want the Alchemist Association to end up in the same predicament as them.
“This… If it’s possible, I hope to speak to the Alchemist who concocts potions for your Guild.”
Rhode didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he pondered for a few moments and looked to the side slightly. Shortly after, he contacted Canary, who was sipping on tea in the workshop, using his spiritual communications. “Canary, bring Lapis to the drawing room. Tell her that the Alchemist Association wants to meet her. Ask her not to be nervous and she just needs to repeat everything that has happened.”
“Alright, Rhode,” said Canary.
Rhode faced the senior and nodded slightly. “No problem, Master Dasos. But I do have a request. I hope that I can be around with her during the interrogation in order to prevent any misunderstandings.”
“There’s… no problem with that.” Dasos was rather hesitant when he heard Rhode’s suggestion. However, the situation wasn’t advantageous enough for him to disagree. Although the senior seemed to be in a difficult position, he was actually somewhat proud. Even though it was disadvantageous for Rhode to stay behind during the interrogation, he could use this opportunity to sound out Starlight’s attitude. If Rhode pointed fingers of blame or secretly pressurized them using his authority, this matter would surely be related to Starlight without any doubts. If Rhode really made this suggestion only for the purpose of protecting his subordinate, then the possibility of this being just a coincidence would be much greater. As for Dasos, he would be glad to see it happen.