Chapter 294 - 294 Loan Sharks
"To think they would be this powerful... That"s at least Rank B Peak blessed," Noah said after a single second.
"They are not like those we fought. It wouldn"t surprise me if those two were nearing a promotion to A Rank. Those a.s.sholes," the bearded warrior clenched his fists.
"I can probably deal with them." Noah"s words surprised most of the people in the room, but somene had a grim expression. It was the healer.
"You don"t mean..." Her voice called him from the side, making him turn around and face her.
"Don"t worry about me, I don"t intend to put myself in danger," he said before turning back to Michael. "You can leave those two to me, but I"ll need cover against their ranged blessed." Noah was confident he could defeat them one-on-one but another thought also crossed his mind, "Fighting the two of them at the same time would be very risky. I don"t want to use Devil Form in front of so many people." The possibilities were many, and there was also his doubt about the whole leveling up the imps thing he was yet to figure out. But his team could also give him some support.
"We"ll need someone who"s able to get rid of that stupid poison blessed of theirs," the bearded warrior jested, with a face filled with disgust.
"I think I can hold her back," surprising even himself, the scout spoke up, making a lot of people look at him with incredulity. "I don"t think I can defeat her alone, but I can buy Noah enough time." He took a long pause, thinking about something, before proceding, "However, if noah can get a couple of his imps involved, I think I can do it," he said with the level of confidence that would make even the monst incredulous person trust him. This was only further enhanced by the fact that most people had never seen him take the front in any sort of situation. If the person who was always most wary and never put himself in danger was willing, who would disagree?
"Then this matter is settled," Michael said, without even waiting for Noah to agree about the Imps. It was clear from looking at his eyes that he agreed to everything said, so Michael did not waste any time. "Noah will take care of those two, the scout will a.s.sist his imps and take out the poison blessed. It"s up to us to disable their mages and get rid of the rest of them. Remember, no mercy!" Michael"s voice sounded like thunder, and the blessed stood like on springs.
As they talked, the battle progressed smoothly for the Hyu family. A lot of the other family"s warriors had already fell, and their mages were slowly running out of mana. What surprised Noah the most was that their leader hadn"t surrendered. Time was not on their side, nor was the battle. There were still 8 more minutes to the fight, and they would certainly be wiped out. But from what happened last fight, Noah could see why he refused to let go.
"Michael, things are going to get complicated in the future," the bearded warrior muttered on Michael"s ear. Noah barely caught their conversation, but the contents were very interesting.
"I know. We need to contact Marcel." Hearing a name he knew made Noah even more interested in what they were talking about, enough so that he turned his eyes away from the screen.
"If the internal conflicts are not resolved soon, I"m afraid the family will lose standing. This is a declaration of war against the nine families," the bearded warrior told him. Noah was confused as to why the people in this group would get involved in such issues. He knew Michael"s relationship to the higher-ups of the Khan Family, but things just didn"t add up.
"Why would these go on to talk to him? Marcel is the son of... Oh," realizing that things were about to change in the background, Noah just took his time to understand this could also be a large opportunity for him and another of his friends, "I should talk to Carlos later and let him know so we can arrange some Imps for the higher ups of the Khan family." Losing his focus and now thinking about the money he could get and how easy things would turn if it panned out well, Noah couldn"t avoid having a wry smile, as the prospect on winning the arena also became closer and closer. "Tonight, I"ll give Maggie all the Essence. Maybe I should stop by somewhere and bring some sweets," he thought, already planning the rest of his day with victory in mind. But a sudden gasp by his side made him turn his head.
As he looked, the healer"s eyes were opened wide, her hands covering her gaping mouth. He already knew what to expect, but as he turned around, his blood started to boil. He hadn"t done so thus far, only fighting together with his sidekick and lightly injuring the other side just a little bit beyond dropping out of the fight. What Noah was seeing now was but pure cruelty. The annoying person who always walked by the leader of the Hyu family was restraining the enemy leader from behind, forcing him to look. The hyu family"s team leader was standing in front of a female mage. It was clear her mana was already long up, and she had no way of fighting back. The rules were clear, only if unconscious or if the one responsible for the team declared their surrender would the battle stop.
The two of the Hyu family used this to toy with the people. Those sitting behind were watching while laughing, while the mages had also aready sat down to rest. Of the other side, only their leader and this very mage remained, the rest having been taken away already by the organization, as well as the poison blessed of the Hyu family. Noah couldn"t hear the narrator because of the muted screen, but the lack of noise from the venue made him realize that even the host himself had grown silent.
Everyone in the room held their breath, and their hatred towards those appearing on the screen increased even more. By this point, this was no longer just "a declaration of war against the nine families" like the bearded warrior had told Michael, but a clear declaration that the Hyu family thought of themselves as superiors to all of them. This greatly angered Michael and the bearded warrior, but neither of them said a single word, as Noah understood the group only barely knew how deeply involved with the family internal affairs the two really were.
"They are way more important to the Khan Family than just "higher-ups" kids," Noah thought about both this companion and his friend who invited him to the family. He knew that Marcel was the heir, but he had no idea he would"ve met one of his allies by using the family app. But this was also something that recently started giving Noah a strange sense of curiosity. Who exactly was Michael"s relative. The internal structure of the Khan family was to him still a large mystery. He had just joined, and was not up do par with all the information. The fact that this bearded warrior also held very deep understanding despite not even being in the inner circle was something Noah wanted to understand more. From what he"d heard from Marcel, this kind of knowledge about the interaction of the nine families was the most well guarded information of the inner circles. If this warrior knew it, he was someone important. More so considering he was actually acting like a counselor to Michael, who knew Marcel personally.
It was all very interesting, and every single piece of intel Noah was gathering made him more curious and eager to dig deeper. If he could grab enough information, he could learn more about the people who sent those people to target Carlos" parents, and maybe even increase their standing into becoming as powerful as the nine families. After all, now, Carlos was a blessed.
As he watched the leader of the Hyu family press the tip of his word through the leg of the defeated mage, her team leader silenced by a broken jaw, Noah asked Michael, "The Hyu Family, what do they do for their money?"
Noah watched the woman flinch expressionless, as he saw the blade get pulled from her limb and poked through another. He thought of his own sister, but instinctively pulled the healer close to him, as she looked to be about to cry.
Michael did not turn around to face him, responding while still staring at the screen while distilling his hatred before the next battle. He couldn"t understand why Noah of all people would become interested in the Hyu Family. Especially now that he"d seen how brutal and disgusting they were. Noah seemed to be a hard working blessed. Who had no ill intention towards others who didn"t cross him directly. But as he thought, he decided to answer him without any ceremony. After all, he"d asked something a lot of people already knew.
"Oh, the Huy? They are mostly loan sharks. There"s no underhanded loaning of money in Eyrin that happens without their knowledge," Michael said as if it were obvious. Everyone had heard about the Hyu Family and how they owned the banks, but a certain boy hadn"t.
"What did you just say?"