Chapter 153: Seventeenth Episode: Chapter 8 (1/2)

Chapter 153: Seventeenth Episode: Chapter 8

Translator: EndlessFantasy TranslationEditor: EndlessFantasy Translation

On this day, rain suddenly fell from the dark sky. Winter was almost here, and the icy rain droplets in the south were as huge as golden Ti. They splattered against the glass window one after another with constant tapping noises.

Oscar and his goddaughter were hiding in the bed in their bedroom, where they did many wonderful things and things finally calmed down. However, it was already in the afternoon. The rainwater that fell to the ground like golden Ti had suddenly become snowflakes, and Oscar registered the scene outside of the window with a surprised gaze.

The new round of purchase from the government needed golden Ti, and the new year financial budget that had to be completed before the Holy day of God needed golden Ti as well. Reinitiating the trading hall in Vielonna needed even more golden Ti! Oscar sighed; if only the snowflakes could turn into golden Ti! How wonderful that would be!

The snowflakes did not turn into golden Ti. It appeared that the God of Light did not allow such happenings.

Vielonna experienced the stronger version of a snowstorm. The temperature dropped drastically and the southwest wind was replaced by the bone-chilling northern wind. The rainwater accumulated on the ground quickly and formed a layer of ice after snowflakes piled on it, while ice formed on the streets, on people's houses and on the bridges. The Music City soon became a city of ice, but the looks of it definitely did not encourage sightseeing.

The muddy rainwater retained its dirty looks when it formed into thick ice; the dust and all sorts of rubbish on the ground were all frozen within the layers of ice. Standing on the street, the thick ice layer under one's feet was just like a layered cake with all sorts of weird fillings.

It seemed that we have not mentioned the bridge in Vielonna? Our apologies! Vielonna not only had bridges, but also a huge river that winded through the whole city. In reality, the river in Vielonna was nothing worth mentioning; it was just that the rain and snow had created a layer of thin fog over the river water that flowed from the west. The fog hovered above the river surface, thin yet not disappearing. Looking from afar, it was magnificent! White fog drifting above the Don River..... It was as magnificent as the sea itself.

Of course, this was all an illusion. An optical illusion.

The Don River from the west to the east divided the city into two parts. Looking from the south of the city towards the north, the huge roof of Serevan Palace was visible amidst the thick, white snow. If one looked down upon the city south from the highest point of Serevan Palace, one's gaze would go beyond the river and reach the busy port on the opposite riverbank. It was the home of the labor workers and was mostly comprised of dense, quaint streets.

Do you remember ”Blue Don River”? According to the sayings, it was a waltz, but for the current Vielonna, only those who lived in the city north would have heard of this music piece. They also once had a courteous palace dance with this piece. Those who lived in the city south than did not know what the ”Blue Don River” was at all. But some said that this very composer lived in the city south. As a result, everyone took up a disdainful attitude towards this composer.

It was natural, as the city north was the area where the upper society dwelt, while the city south was home to the poor and hardworking citizens. The nobles and the businessmen preferred to call the city north Vielonna while referring to the south as Old Street. After a long time, the people at the Old Street submitted to their fate. If they wanted to earn a living in the city north, they would say, ”Go and try your luck at Vielonna!” It was as if they were truly not citizens of Vielonna.

The icy storm completely blocked the view of the outside through the window. O'Neil Andrew Morisette shifted his gaze away instinctively. He only had a wool blanket wrapped around his body, so he quietly started a fire at the fireplace.

His Imperial Highness the Prince suddenly asked, ”How many more huge treasuries do you have in the south?”

His Elizabeth smiled, ”It's not something just anyone would have!”

Oscar thought about it. It was true that things like robbery could only be done once in a while, but..... It was a different matter for murder and stealing. If not, where should he go to get all this money?

Winter would be here soon... oh no, It was already here! The land of the nobles should have nothing left. Before this, Oscar had had an idea of acquiring actual contributions, but now it appeared that this rain and snow had become a natural disaster. The nobles also had excuses and reasons to not provide assistance to the Prince.

”God! How can I go out now?” Oscar pointed to the few people on the street. He could still somehow see through the window that the road had been completely closed off due to the ice layers. The people on the street kept falling all over.

Elizabeth yawned, ”What do you want to do out there?” she seemed to not care about it. After sleeping for half a day, she still looked exhausted.

Strangely, the Prince did not answer the question without reserve just as he did with other women this time. He simply shook his head lightly, then got dressed.

”You're really going out?”

Oscar shrugged. ”I have no choice! The woman will naturally stay at home in this weather, while the poor man has to go out and earn a living. If not, what are we supposed to eat and drink?”

”It's nothing like what you said!” Elizabeth laughed. She sat up while she clutched the wool blanket tightly. The wool wrapped around her huge breasts, and her slightly curly hair was draped over her shoulder while her face and lips were so red they appeared to be dripping blood.

Oscar felt a tingling in his heart all of a sudden and he quickly tore his gaze away from his goddaughter.

”I am going to the bathroom, you little devil!”

”Don't mind the little devil. The little devil needs sleep!” Elizabeth said as she covered her head with the blanket. Then, she fell back onto the bed.

Oscar kissed the woman's arms which were draped outside the wool blanket, ”Whatever you say, you man-killing little devil!”

After that, the Prince left.

The development of Vielonna could not be separated from the Don River. In spring, the river brought in huge schools of fish and the people of Vielonna then made delicious and pricey caviar. In summer, there were all sorts of seafood from the river like prawns, fish, crabs, and oysters that were made into tasty delicacies. At the same time, summer was also the busiest time in the market. Trade ships darted in and out of the Don River like the swordfish that dwelt in the sea. The sails were kept in the morning light and flew high at night. These trade ships brought fresh fruit, noodles, wood, and ceramics and took away sausages, wine, women, and music.

By the time fall came, the salt business in the Westland dominated the whole route. With Vielonna as the center, these huge sail ships belonging to salt sellers came and went non-stop along the Don River. They would only stop when they reached the seaport at the far western reaches of the land.

In winter, only a small part of Don River would form ice. The trading would not halt because of this. The people by the beginning of the river – in the direction of the Alps – would bring dried nuts, cheese, and meat, while those from the western countries would bring silk, clothes, strong liquor and beautiful winter clothing.

Now it was the end of fall. It was still snowing and there were not many ships on the river. There were only a few small sampans that caught fish. After a while, a few long and distant sounds from the far end of the river came. It was the rhythm of ships that hinted 'To give way', so the small sampans quickly moved aside.

Soon, the huge ship that had blown its horn approached. This was a ship that transported salt named 'Red Socks'. It was probably the last ship that transported salt to arrive in Vielonna this fall. When the weather became colder, the area that produced salt would enter a sort of hibernation period because it was difficult to produce salt crystals under low temperature and pressure. The quality was not particularly good and there were too many impurities. Products like these could only be sold to the Persians in the desert. The people of Vielonna who were more particular with the taste would definitely not buy it.

Amidst the snow, 'Red Socks' quietly passed under a few bridges, then arrived at the port. When it came crashing out of the fog, the people could see its figure clearly.

It was a four-masted galleon with a length of 30 meters and a mast height of 21 meters. It was made of hardwood and painted with dark red oil paint. The paint had faded a little at the places that were underwater. The 'Red Socks' could be filled with more than ten tons of products at capacity. Those that dwelt at the port of Vielonna had all heard about it because it belonged to Jon Barburde. Jon Barburde owned the largest salt business in the south of Titan, but he loved to live in Belrius and normally did not return to the country.

The captain of 'Red Socks' carefully steered the ship. He waited until he heard the sound of the side of the ship touching the bridge before he ordered for the sailors to lower the anchor. The workers at the port had already come forward. They only walked for a short distance, but they had already become snowmen. The 'snowmen' snatched the rope trailing from the ship and tied it securely to the bridge pier.

”Good day, Red Socks!” the coordinator at the port greeted the captain.

”Good day, Vielonna!” the captain replied.

There were two benefits for businessmen to come to Vielonna at the end of the trading period of a year: Firstly, they could make arrangements for orders a whole year in advance before the Holy day of God; Secondly, they could meet their old friends and discuss the trading matters of the coming year. It was because of this that the 'Red Socks' was famous at the port. Not only that, it was known by many people in the whole trading industry and in the 'Underworld'.

But.... How did the 'Red Socks' relate to the Underworld? Let us go back to that Mr. Jon Barburde. Even though he owned the largest salt business in Titan Empire, his name had never appeared on the Empire's list of specialty stores because he only ever engaged in large trades of illegal salt.

Illegal salt trading took up a quarter of the underground trades in the whole Underworld, while the rest was opium, illegal trading, and gambling. In the current Titan, the trading of illegal salt had the smallest investment, largest produce and extremely low risk from the standpoint of risk and profit analysis. This made the people who did the other three businesses extremely envious. Therefore, during this time of the year, a trade meeting would be held on this huge galleon 'Red Socks'. The bosses in the Underworld amicably referred to it as the 'Red Socks Meeting'. The person-in-charge of the main gangs from all around the south and the leaders of the mafia families would plan for the trading quota for the following year during the meeting. This was to deal with the possible clash of interest.

Today was the 8th day of 11th month in the Church Calendar Year 798. The Red Socks Meeting was held as usual.

Several normal-looking carriages were parked on the bridge in the snow fog. The carriage drivers surrounded the fire while the bodyguards were dispersed around the bridge. They all had all sorts of weapons up their sleeves and they walked as if they had paraplegia.

After the 'Red Socks' lowered its anchor, the bosses then came out of their carriages. They hugged and greeted each other on friendly terms. These mafia bosses that wore expensive leather coats were almost identical to one another. They had cigars in their mouth and kept spewing cuss words. They seemed extremely amiable to one another, but they had already greeted all ladies in the other person's household behind his back.

But... These people were, after all, the real deal in the Underworld. To be more specific, we only needed to take note of three amongst them; the one who spoke with a thick local accent and wore a leather hat was Pawalinco, while the one who loved to boast was from Fort Stanson and the head of the large gambling business within Titan. He was also the owner of a few wood trading businesses. Besides Pawalinco was a guy with nine diamond rings on his hands and gold teeth in his mouth. He was old Beck, an illegal trader that owned trades around the world. According to sayings, his private armed ships had even reached the Far East!

At last! Does anyone remember him? Leon Arsea Crelini! Once notorious as the super criminal of Damorga, he had taken over the opium family business in the Crelini family. Now he was the largest opium distributor in the Titan Empire. Two-thirds of the opium that entered Titan were trafficked by him.

As compared to the other two bosses, Leon Arsea Crelini was undoubtedly the youngest, but the people respected him because of his skills and credibility. From Leon's viewpoint, the future world would definitely be the world of opium. Therefore, he must manage this business just as he managed international trading. Leon did an excellent job because he only traded with credible people. His favorite quote was 'Humans were born to cause trouble. The fewer people you deal with, the less trouble you get yourself into. When you find that you're on the top of the cloud and no one is there, you'll forget what trouble even looks like.'

”Now the biggest troublemaker is here! I hate dealing with arrogant people the most!” Leon raised the cigar in his hands and pointed in the direction of the galleon.

Old Beck approached him and patted on the shoulder of the middle-aged man, ”Little guy, be patient. Jon is not unreasonable!”

”Reasonable?” Little Crelini mumbled. Did he come here to reason with these disgusting people? Moreover, how many bosses in the Underworld were actually reasonable?

The bosses boarded the 'Red Socks' respectively. Jon Barburde was waiting right beside of the ladder. He hugged every boss that arrived and greeted them with the warmest welcome.

”Hello! Hello! Everyone, good day! Just me having a bad day!” Leon puffed on his cigar. He was already loud as soon as he sat down.

Maybe it was due to his fear of this drug dealer. The bosses who wore all sorts of leather coats did not mind the representatives of the Crelini family.

The smoke of cigars filled the ship and strong liquor was passed around amongst the bosses. Maybe due to the fact that this room was too close to the kitchen, there was a strong smell of grilled beef steak lingering in the room.

The youngest son of the Crelini family pushed the window behind him open. The snowflakes and icy air immediately invaded the space and made its occupants more refreshed. Leon frowned as he looked at the seated people and at last mumbled, ”A bunch of foxes. The Underworld should just send all of them to hell.”

Leon admitted that the situation of the Crelini family was actually bad from the current point of view. This was because Jon Barburde, who controlled the trades of illegal salt, seemed to no longer acknowledge the status of Crelini in the area of opium trading.

Therefore.... There might be a bloody fight between the salt businesses and opium businesses at this trading meeting during this year's 'Red Socks Meeting'. Except for the two main characters, most of the people held the attitude of witnessing a show when they participated in this meeting.

”Leon, didn't I say this? Be patient. Patient!” Old Beck was still acting as if he wanted to calm things down. He opened his mouth and flashed his golden teeth as if he was showing off.

”Patient? My patience is limited!” Little Crelini pounded on the table. He stared at Jon who sat right in front of him.

Jon Barburde was already a little old. His hair had streaks of silvery grey and the skin on his fingers was dry. He frowned deeply. Just by looking at his face, he had the look of a person who took advantage of others without care.

Would the salt dealer and drug dealer fight? This was the question everyone wanted to know the answer to, but why would the salt dealer have arguments with the drug dealer in the first place? Illegal salt and opium were two totally different businesses. Just when Crelini was about to lose his patience, Jon explained slowly.

”Leon! You are very young, but I respect you and also your Crelini family!” Jon said as he poked the steel mouthpiece of his hookah. Then, he sucked on it in a nonchalant way. ”But did you know that? Business is getting harder, especially for next year!”

The bosses present all nodded. Jon then began the long talk.

”Prince O'Neil Andrew Morisette's strategy seems normal, but his actions behind everyone's back are deadly to us, just like how the land invalidation contract made me lost millions of golden Ti! Also... Not only that, the trading network that I built with immense effort in Vielonna was destroyed because of the stolen treasures. My old friends in the trade were all sent to the gallows. I even...”

”This is your own matter!” Little Crelini interrupted Jon's words.

”No!” Jon shook his head. ”This is everyone's matter!”

”I can't really see that!”

”Of course, you can't!” Jon laughed coldly. ”We all know of your relationship with Prince O'Neil Andrew Morisette. You were already his friend when the Prince was still a child. The fact that you are here today is also thanks to this Prince. If not, you'd still be rotting in that prison!”

Crelini spread his hands. ”Alright, Jon. I don't want to talk bullshit with you. The trading hall in Vielonna is about to start anew. You are losing protection over your illegal salt business. Now you're thinking of entering the opium business? With what?”

”With my ships and network!” Jon said with confidence. ”I believed that if the Crelini can work together with me, the profit of the opium industry in Titan will be doubled! We....”

”You are dreaming!” Crelini stubbed his cigar on the long table. ”Are you crazy or nuts? How can you even say this? Why would I want to share my family business with you? Your ships are on the brink of bankruptcy! Ever since Titan's Ministry of Justice and the businessmen of the Specialized Trade Bureau demanded your head, I can completely buy off your shipping companies. As for your network, hehe. Prince O'Neil is indeed my friend. Do you think I have the need to request help from others?”

”Hmm...” Jon hmphed. ”Leon! It seems that you have not understood the true character of O'Neil Andrew Morisette. You still innocently think he's one of us? He even gave the Balance Heraldry to a criminal! His actions have betrayed the Underworld and put his friends who respected him at the edge of a cliff! He's no longer suited to be Brother Balance! He's more like a fighter of the Ministry of Justice now!”

All of a sudden, the head of the gambling business in Titan waved his hands. Pawalinco, who was just like a fat pig, scanned the seated bosses before clearing his throat.

”With all respect, gentlemen! Look around us, much fewer people have come here this year as compared to last year! Left Hand went to Dulin and disappeared ever since, the Horsaf brothers also went to Dulin, but in the end, they were sent back here by those bosses of the Lair. As soon as O'Neil Andrew Morisette arrived in Vielonna, hehe, our old friends, the Manzonola brothers were sent to the gallows! What does all this mean?”

”Stop the bullshit!” Crelini turned his head away in disdain. ”Left Hand betrayed the Prince's trust, so his death was justified; the Horsaf brothers caused immense trouble in the Lair and broke the rules there. Their deaths are also justified! As for you.....”

Leon glanced at Pavalinco coldly. ”Isn't your casino at the Lair rather successful? But you wanted too much! The influence of the Lair had been determined from the start. You shouldn't have started the conflict. As a result, you were even sent back! Why didn't you mention this? Is it too embarrassing for you to mention?”

Pavalinco shut up. He had nothing to say in response to this.

”No matter what! We need a new Brother Balance!” Jon finally revealed his trump card.

”Hahaha!” Leon Arsea Crelini suddenly laughed. ”Then there is nothing more to say! Since you wanted the fight, Crelini family will be there for it! Alright! Now, take your stand! Those who wish to remain neutral, raise your hands!”

The bosses present exchanged a few glances. At last, half of them raised their hands.

”Very well! Then..... Who takes the stand with Jon?” Leon looked at the bosses that had remained quiet with his coldest glare.

Even though Titan Empire's most able mafia family had already started a fight, but there were still a few bosses who raised their hands without much hesitation. They explained to Crelini, ”This is inevitable! If we let O'Neil Andrew Morisette do whatever he wants, we will all be finished!”

Pawalinco looked at the illegal trader skeptically. ”Old Beck! Raise your hand. Didn't we talk about this?”

Old Beck flashed a mouthful of gold teeth as he smiled. ”Sorry, mate. I'm sorry to tell you I've changed my mind!”

You support Crelini?” Jon's tone held a menacing note.

Old Beck did not care about that. He only patted Leon's shoulder. ”The future belongs to the younger generation. Leon emphasizes credibility and takes promises seriously. He is much more reliable than you lot. I think such youngsters are not too bad.”

The room quieted down as its occupants judged the current situation. Two on two! Even though the spheres of their influence were very similar, the bosses around Jon, with Pawalinco as the leader, were all guys that had bad reputations! Meanwhile, old Beck and Crelini were indeed in the Underworld due to their good reputation! This way, the decision-making was much easier!

”I support the Crelini family!” a boss from Middle Titan said. ”Jon! You shouldn't meddle with others' businesses just because you are going bankrupt! Pawalinco, let me tell you something directly. Someone should really teach you a lesson!”

”Yes yes!” another boss had spoken. ”The Crelini's business made it until today due to their efforts. Don't talk about sharing markets. This is no different from stealing others' businesses. We must not let this happen.”

Jon seemed as if he wanted to say something, but the drug dealer had already stood up!

”Apologies, everyone. I should go now!”

The bosses that supported Crelini family stood up respectively. At last, even those who remained neutral stood up as well.