"Sure. We can make another contract. You can still use Vultex as your main base of operation and allow your merchants to operate here duty-free. However, this time, you will only hold 10% of the shares. Furthermore, even though you will still be in charge of the security of Venetia, the hired mercenary will have to answer to me instead of Vultex.""What? Are you crazy?" exclaimed one of the players. They calmed down upon hearing Endless speak. They were well aware of his aim to take full control of Venetia and for that, they would need at least 51% of the shares. However, not only did Iris not propose them a better contract for their protection, she even lowered their shares to a measly 10%.
Endless was equally displeased. "Iris. This is not rational. Do you realize that Vultex already has more than one million official and non-official members? We can provide you with so much traffic but why are we getting such a bad share percentage?"
His statement held a secret meaning. On one side, he was stating that he could open the gates to a large flow of cash into the town but at the same time, if she refused, a large army of players would put pressure on her.
"Since you refuse, please leave. We have nothing else to say," declared Iris with a calm expression.
"Iris? Are you seriously not going to consider our proposition?"
"Please leave at once. We are no longer business partners. Venus, please accompany the guests out." Iris was internally smiling. She never planned on signing another contract with Vultex. Let alone 10%, she would not even agree to give away 1%. Now that she already got what she wanted from the players, she could cut all ties with them.
The succubus immediately reacted. "Dear sirs, will you please follow me?" Her aura erupted.
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The players jumped in fright. They cursed and swore but could only walk out of the house under Venus" suppression. Venus unceremoniously closed the door behind them with a loud "Hmmp".
Endless was enraged; it was the first time he was ever kicked out of a meeting like that. He could already feel the judgemental stares of the players who stayed outside the house. "D*mn, that woman does not know what is good for her. Order everyone to pack up, we are leaving this town. It will not take very long before she begs us to come back. At the same time, tell the spies to properly investigate the matter about that woman: Vanity. It does not seem like Iris was lying when she said she had nothing to do with her parents."
"I will have to explain the situation to the other elders. Iris is not simple. She would not have kicked us out like this if she was not confident in her own strength. She has that wh.o.r.e to protect her but what is she planning to do for the rest of the town. The contract is already broken; we should not have tried to use the situation to get control of the town. We need to find a way to get Venetia back."
...
"They are finally gone, these noisy players. Will everything be alright now, Kimmy?" asked Venus as she strode back to the dining room where Iris was still seated.
"Yes. We got what we wanted. I feel bad for taking away their investments and giving them nothing but well, it is their mistake for taking out their copy of the contract like that. They were probably trying to get me to modify our contract and hand them more shares of the town."
"They might try to cause trouble. Do we need to inform your mentor of this?"
Iris shook her head. "Absolutely not. Lord Brann came here to enjoy himself away from the Magic Council. I cannot rely on him for everything. He already forced the Magic Council to make an announcement and thanks to that, even though the players might leave Venetia, the NPC would inevitably be attracted to it which will, in turn, lead more players here."
Venus gently smiled. "I see. You were already prepared for this."
"Of course. Mars, you can come out. I know you are here. There is no need to hide anymore." Iris spoke loudly, staring at the empty corridor where the secret tunnel was located.
A few seconds later, a door creaked as a tall silhouette emerged from the dark corridor. It was a muscular Lionman, Mars. He was Iris" most powerful monster.
"Mistress, did you call me?" innocently said Mars, displaying his huge teeth.
"No need to pretend, I know you have been listening to the conversation. From now on, there is no need to hide. Since Vultex decided to move on from Venetia, you shall now be in charge of the security. You and your Lionmen will be the new official guards of Venetia."
Mars" eyes lit up; he was excited. The Lionmen could finally contribute actively to Venetia. Since its creation, the Lionmen trained in an underground facility. There were more than two hundred Lionmen and they were all above level 40. Contrary to the other dungeons, Iris did not need to constantly summon new monsters. Furthermore, she focused on quality rather than quant.i.ty and did not bother to summon low-level monsters.
Level 40 was the bare minimum for them to act as guards. The mercenaries previously hired by Vultex were all level 40. They cost a fortune but they acted as a strong deterrent and no one dared to cause trouble.
"Also, Venus, send a message through the succubi. Tell Neptune to come back. There is no need for her to stay at Ormskirk Town anymore, we already know what Count Desmonds had been up to."
Neptune was a Naiad. Out of Iris" monsters, she was the one who attracted the least attention. She traveled to Ormskirk Town to gather some information about their enemies by acting as a citizen.
"No problem, should I ask my girls to come back too?"
"Sure. We will need all the help we can to deal with what is coming next. The third trial has started."
"The third trial? What are we fighting against this time?" excitedly asked Venus.
"No. This time, we are the ones attacking." She explained the system prompts she received. "We have to be the ones to take the initiative. And coincidentally, it seems like we have trouble coming our way."
Venus laughed lightly. "Do you want us to attack Vultex once they leave our territory? It would still count toward your Destruction Points."
"Sure, we can take them down if they look for trouble but for now, I would rather have you deal with Blue Lagoon. I don"t want anything to do with my parents, especially my mother. That woman still thinks she lives in the last century and dared to use her own daughter as a marriage p.a.w.n to gain status. Hmmp. I don"t know how they found my location but they are certainly thinking that they are ent.i.tled to get part of this town. I am certainly not giving them anything."
"Hmmp. You don"t need to worry. I will deal with them personally," confidently exclaimed Venus.
"The situation is only going to get more complicated from here. I think it is time for us to summon a new monster."
"A new monster? Great, another sister!" mused Venus. "Who will it be? It has been so long since we welcomed another race."
"This time, I am thinking of an Elphame..."
"Elphame? Will that be alright? I believe it is one of the species related to Karyn. You will have to speak to that proud elf to avoid causing misunderstanding."
Karyn had been doing fairly well since she arrived at Venetia. She dominated the arena and was very popular among the players. Many players liked to come to the arena to spectate her matches against other NPCs. She was a dark elf. Elves existed in the game but they were rare. They rarely left their territories and even though the players could already explore those territories, the elves did not welcome them.
"I don"t think so. The Elphame leans more toward the light elves while Karyn is a dark elf. But I"ll ask her anyway just to clarify the situation."
"Good."
With the situation diffused, Venus returned to her usual clueless and playful att.i.tude. She walked behind Iris and ma.s.saged her neck.
"These idiots interrupted my fun. Kimmy, how about we spend the rest of the night together?" She gently blew behind Iris" ears.
The latter reacted and hardened her gaze. "Venus, I already told you about it. Furthermore, you are dirty right now. I won"t even let you in my room."
The succubus chuckled. "Oh, come on. I am already dry and clean down there. I am a succubus. Did you not promise to help me evolve in a Mistress of Pleasure? How am I supposed to do so if I only get to please men? I still need to practice on women."
"You need to remember your promise too. The day you manage to seduce Mars is the day we"ll sleep together," answered Iris with an amused expression. She knew Venus was just playing with her.
"That block of wood? No matter what I do, he does not react. He would have made a perfect eunuch in ancient times." Mars had long left Iris" house. He returned to the underground dungeon to announce the news to his fellow Lionmen.
Venus continued to mess around while Iris opened up her interface to look at the details of the update she missed due to the interruption of the players. Eventually, Venus decided to give her some s.p.a.ce for her to read properly. In front of Iris" tired eyes, Venus" appearance started to change. Her long black hair gradually turned bright yellow. Her facial feature changed to a more innocent one. Her new appearance was very similar to that of an angel.
It was one of her skills as a succubus. She could change her appearance at will to please the different tastes of her s.e.xual partners.
"Fine if you don"t want to play with me. I"ll go find a few toys. I"ll play with those players from Vultex while they are still here. Since they are leaving anyway, it should not cause much harm for me to suck them completely dry."