get-shopping Chapter 145 Who's in favor? Who's opposed?
Chapter 145 Who's in favor? Who's opposed?
Chapter 146 Who's in favor? Who's against? (Please subscribe!)
"Jiu De, what do you mean by this?"
When the nobles from the south gathered together, they finally realized something was wrong. Jiude had no intention of organizing a hunt and had simply left them all standing there.
"Count Delphi, please be patient and wait for my instructions."
Jude remained calm, gesturing to Count Delph, who had come to question him, not to rush.
"Jiu De! Watch your place! What right do you have to put on airs here? Who do you think you are?"
Lord Delphi was very dissatisfied with Jude's attitude, so he directly and rudely pointed at Jude's nose and started cursing.
The other nobles around them were all watching the spectacle with amusement, and none of them thought that the Earl of Delphi's actions were inappropriate.
Or rather, the Earl of Delphi was the one they pushed forward to express their discontent, an attitude shared by all of them.
"In your eyes, I may indeed be nothing."
Jiude narrowed his eyes, his smile vanishing. Sure enough, these nobles had no intention of speaking to him as equals; they didn't take him seriously at all. These local tyrants were used to throwing their weight around.
"You know that, so don't try anything funny. If your crappy railway company wants to keep going, you'd better cooperate with us."
Count Delph then spoke, showing no restraint whatsoever, perhaps because he felt that Jude did not deserve their respect.
"Of course I'm willing to cooperate with you, but another major shareholder of our company may not be so willing."
Jiude spoke slowly, now certain that it was indeed impossible to open up the southern market on his own.
Moreover, the situation here might be worse than he thought. If he were to rush in alone, he might be devoured by these local tyrants from the south.
Unlike those in the central and northern regions, these southern nobles were significantly less reasonable and likely used far more shameless methods.
Without a foundation or strength, rushing in is like a lamb entering a tiger's den.
At this moment, Jiude felt extremely fortunate, grateful that he had embarked on the path of "Fairy Tail".
No matter how domineering these southern nobles are, can they be more domineering than Fairy Tail?
To put it bluntly, if these nobles were to destroy a city, the price they would have to pay would be far greater than that of the members of Fairy Tail. They might even be stripped of their titles. If things get too out of hand, the Kingdom of Fiore will have to take action.
No matter how independent these nobles are, they are still part of the Kingdom of Fiore, and they have to give the royal family an explanation.
Of course, this is just Judd's opinion. If Moen knew, he would definitely shout, "This is slander! He's slandering me!"
Comparing Fairy Tail to these domineering nobles is a gross underestimation of Fairy Tail!
No matter what, they would never bully ordinary people, and they would even help the poor. At least when it came to those families in difficulty, Moen himself generally wouldn't charge them.
Could these nobles do it? It's possible, but unlikely.
"Another major shareholder? Who is it? Is that what you're relying on?"
Count Delphi noticed something was amiss with Jude's attitude. Although Jude kept saying he would "cooperate," he clearly didn't seem convinced. What gave Jude his confidence was obviously this so-called "major shareholder."
"I told you, don't worry, Earl Delphi, he'll be here soon."
A smile returned to Jiude's face. Moen would soon appear and give these southern nobles a taste of their power.
"."
Lord Delphi was a little uneasy about Jude's attitude.
The main thing is that Jiude looks so calm and collected, as if he's confident that the people who are coming will be able to intimidate them.
Count Delph returned and went to Duke Savalou.
"What did he say?"
The Duke of Savalou asked calmly.
"He's waiting for someone, someone who can keep us in check as a major shareholder."
Delphi answered with a serious expression.
"Oh!"
Duke Savalu scoffed at the idea, wanting to see what kind of people this Jude could find to keep them in check. Did he just call in the royal family?
"Then wait a bit."
Duke Savalou signaled to Delphi that there was no need to urge him any further. Since Jude was so confident, they would wait for the "major shareholder."
"Gah!"
A series of hoarse cries echoed from the sky.
"They're here!"
Jiude looked up and saw that this was a specially arranged way of making an entrance. He could wait for these nobles here, but he couldn't let Moen wait with him. So Moen had a special entrance ceremony, which also served to intimidate these nobles.
The hoarse cawing of crows echoed across the sky, and a dark, thundercloud-like object appeared in the distance, approaching the mountaintop where the meeting place was located.
"Whoosh whoosh whoosh!"
As the thundercloud approached, a fierce wind arose, causing the nobles seated at the open-air banquet to turn pale. Around them, many mages stepped forward, each using their own methods to block the effects of the wind.
"Gah!"
Amidst the raging wind, the "thunderclouds" descended, and the nobles recognized them as a flock of crows—an unusually large flock of crows. The raging wind was caused by their flapping wings.
"It's a monster!"
"Protect the Duke!"
Upon seeing these crows, the mages employed by these nobles became tense. These nearly one hundred large crows looked formidable, mainly because they had never seen such magical beasts before.
"Jiu De! Is this the person you've been waiting for?! What are you going to do?!"
Delphi questioned Judd loudly, already somewhat nervous.
None of them expected that Jiude would be so ruthless, actually planning to wipe them all out in the very first meeting?!
This isn't even a question of whether their methods are outrageous or not; what kind of outlaws are these?! If they really wipe out all these nobles, even if the royal family is happy, they're not going to let Jude off the hook!
"Don't misunderstand, gentlemen, these are just the pets of our major shareholder."
Jude remained calm. He had already witnessed Moen's methods, and these large crows were nothing to him.
"Gah!"
A crow cawed.
Jiude looked at the wary mages.
"I advise you to behave yourselves. It wouldn't be good if you angered these crows. After all, their owner hasn't arrived yet, and it's not advisable to restrain them now, in case they sense a threat."
Looking at the nobles and mages, Jiude's tone held a hint of schadenfreude. These crows alone made the nobles nervous. Would they still be as arrogant as before when facing Moen? They'd better not be so arrogant!
"Jiu De! You've gone too far!"
Duke Savalou's face darkened with anger as he rebuked Jude, whose tone was filled with mockery. Anyone could hear the sarcasm in Jude's voice; he felt humiliated. How dare Jude, a nouveau riche, ridicule him like this?!
"I'm sorry, Duke Savalou, I was just offering a friendly reminder."
Jude bowed and apologized, but the smile on his face didn't look like an apology at all. This guy was just taking advantage of the situation, which made Duke Savalou feel annoyed.
"Shoot down these crows!"
The Duke of Savalou could no longer tolerate it and issued a direct order.
They're just a bunch of magical beasts. Does Jiude really think they can't handle them?! The mages they hire at such high prices aren't just for show!
"."
The scene fell silent. The mages protecting Duke Savalu looked at each other, some of them looking at him with difficulty.
"What's going on?! You guys don't even have this much skill?!"
Seeing this, the Duke of Savalou was so angry he almost blew smoke.
He's nurtured these mages for so long, and this is how they repay him when he finally needs them?!
"Your Grace, the crows themselves are not the problem; the problem lies with the people behind them. Even when beating a dog, one must consider its owner."
One of the older mages couldn't hold back and spoke up to warn them. Of course, they weren't really confident in dealing with these crows either, but the person behind these crows was obviously more frightening. This was a powerful figure who could control nearly a hundred crow monsters!
"Is this some kind of beast-taming magic?"
One mage remarked that he had never seen this kind of gameplay before.
Others receive magic by absorbing the power of beasts into their own bodies, but this beast-taming style directly controls magical beasts.
"Is it that impressive?"
The older mage's words calmed Duke Savalu down a bit. If it was a very powerful mage, then he really had to be cautious.
While these nobles were indeed a privileged class, it was clear that mages were an even more special privileged class, especially powerful mages. In the mage profession, status was directly proportional to strength; the stronger one was, the more privileges they could enjoy.
"It's hard to say how strong they are, but someone who can control these magical beasts must be quite powerful. I'm just afraid they come from a major guild."
The older mage, who had served as a guest of the Julenoru family for many years and was well acquainted with Duke Savalu, explained earnestly.
"."
Duke Savalou remained silent, but he was still resentful. He felt humiliated that he had been trampled on by this nouveau riche, Jude.
"Here comes someone!"
Just as Duke Savalu was pondering how to regain his dignity, the mages around him gasped in surprise.
"That's... the Rose Star Goddess! Moen Dole!"
Duke Savalu heard gasps from the mages around him, clearly recognizing the mage's identity.
Looking at the mage sitting on the aerial throne being pulled along by crows, Duke Savalu couldn't help but swallow hard. He had certainly heard of the name "Rose Star Goddess" Moendolea, and the power behind that name...
"Is Fairy Tail getting involved in this?"
Duke Savalou found it hard to believe. In his memory, Fairy Tail had never been involved in such "worldly business"; they only did their own commissions.
"Gah!!!"
Amid the cawing of the crows, Moen's "throne" landed steadily. While the way the "throne" was pulled out by a dozen or so crows was quite pretentious, it was not as comfortable as sitting in a sheltered "airplane," where you had to constantly use magic to block the wind and foreign objects.
"Mr. Moen, please take a seat."
After Moen landed, Jude came over and immediately invited Moen to take a seat.
"Okay, thank you for your hard work."
Moen nodded, glancing at the nobles and noticing the shock and confusion in their eyes.
Clearly, his appearance here was unexpected for these people, after all, he represents "Fairy Tail".
Of course, even if Moen was only representing himself, these nobles still had to treat him with caution, given Moen's current reputation.
Moen defeated Joseph Pora by cooperating with Makarov and Laxus. You could say it was luck or an easy win once, but you can't say it was all luck or an easy win twice with different people, right?
"Gentlemen, what are you all doing standing here? Please sit down."
Moen walked into the banquet hall with a smile on his face, which was very pleasant. He waved to everyone, signaling them to sit down.
"."
Seeing this, the nobles were all a little at a loss and looked in unison at their leader, the Duke of Savalou.
"I never expected that Fairy Tail would be interested in this business as well."
Under everyone's watchful eyes, Duke Savalu spoke with a stern face. No matter how famous Moen was, he was still just a junior, only thirteen or fourteen years old, still a child. Duke Savalu felt that he couldn't afford to lose face by being frightened by a child.
For him, the most important thing now is to test whether Moen is representing him or Fairy Tail, which has completely different meanings for them.
"Mr. Kudo is a friend of Fairy Tail. What he's doing is strongly supported by the kingdom's policies and is beneficial to the country and its people. As the number one mage guild in the Kingdom of Fiore, Fairy Tail naturally has an unshirkable responsibility to contribute to this cause!"
Looking at the gloomy-faced Duke Savalou, Moen smiled and spoke, but his words revealed no politeness and clearly expressed his stance and purpose.
"I think everyone will cooperate on this matter, right? If you don't cooperate, then you're going against the kingdom, and you're going against Fairy Tail."
Moen continued, his words becoming increasingly impolite, firmly occupying the moral high ground and waving the banner of the kingdom's policies, displaying extreme arrogance and showing no respect whatsoever.
They immediately started defining whoever didn't cooperate, labeling anyone as resisting the kingdom's policies and becoming an enemy of "Fairy Tail."
"."
A moment of silence fell over the crowd. Many people were having second thoughts. Resisting the kingdom's policies was no big deal, but becoming an enemy of Fairy Tail was something they needed to think about carefully.
Just one point is enough to make them back down. What if the Fairy Tail members come to their territory and cause trouble? Can they be arrested and sentenced?
(End of this chapter)