Half an hour prior.
Micheal was drinking a precious tea blend inside his study, overlooking the territory he created in a complex mood. He had done his best, but the world outside was too dangerous not to worry.
Sip. Ah, good tea.
He bought this tea from Althea for a very high price and, as he savored the warm drink, he could feel his stress and worry diminishing at a palpable rate.
As expected of the woman who could handle that man with ease.
In any case, he was perusing the population list in this better mood when a group of people appeared and shot up the top of the list, which made it stagnate again.
He was curious and a little apprehensive at first, but then he saw the name at the very top. Immediately, he stiffened and his jaw tensed, his eyes turning darker at the sight of it.
Garan Witt.
The man that caused them huge amounts of losses just because of his 'intervention'.
One could imagine how his blood boiled when he saw him finally landing in his territory.
Micheal's eyes blue eyes narrowed, a dark smirk gracing his lips. He would finally be able to deal with this guy.
As for why he didn't deal with either Ansel or Althea, it was against his principles to drag innocents into battles.
Also, he'd lose a lot if he went against them, especially for something they didn't even have a hand in.
Anyway, this bastard cost him a lot of money, and he was determined to get it back. Maybe even get interest…
He stood up and walked outside, attempting to see the bastard for himself. Although he knew the man had gotten much stronger for reasons unknown, he still hoped to see him bloodied and desperate.
However, as he went on the streets, he saw another batch of his own guards bloodied by the strong monsters outside.
He sighed. The protection period was indeed the newbie period. The current challenges of the monsters were incomparable.
If he had more resources, he'd have bought more of the premium weapons from Altera.
Sadly, he was also very poor.
He also had to buy the custom houses because he found out that it would disappear if unclaimed after 32 days.
He had seen the advantages and had already purchased the blueprint from Oslo, and he couldn't bear to put that all to waste. And so, he jumped in despite the huge costs—which were, truly, beyond his means.
He should've known each module cost a lot more than the standard buildings!
Furthermore, after that warning from Althea, he naturally had to go above and beyond his capabilities to protect the territory.
That handful of customized houses, upgraded fences, and sentries (though very sparsely placed every few hundred meters—they really cost too much) had siphoned out all his funds.
He even had to borrow from his subordinates, as well as solicit from citizens in exchange for some added 'status'. That was, these people would have priority in his new amenities, et cetera.
Fortunately, everyone was cooperative. Anyway, they easily saw where the money went.
Not to mention, he knew that the investments on custom houses would return to him in a short while and he'd have some funds again.
He still needed more, however, and it was a worrying thought.
…then he remembered he'd have another source of income, one that was coming to his own doorstep very soon.
With a smile, he sent an announcement to all his residents, walking to the meeting hall to wait for his next pot of gold.
…
Garan found his location several minutes later, with two of his men.
Micheal also had Dig and the only fighter aborigine he had, Juno. Juno was a level E soldier at level 15. Not bad compared to his people, but not impressive compared to Altera's aborigine, who was also an elemental.
Sigh. He really ought to stop comparing to Altera. That place was in its own league.
Speaking of Aborigines, he had a vague inkling: that Altera really took most of the good hires available at their level.
After all, Altera upgraded much earlier than they did—primarily because of its ample funds and foresight. It was very likely that it had managed to get most of the decent options.
Pity, but it could've been worse. At the very least, Altera was an ally and wasn't a territory he had to worry about.
A couple of minutes later, three soldiers including Garan entered the meeting hall looking all intimidating, as always, but Micheal's aura when negotiating wasn't much less.
"Lord of Bright." Garan started, that apathetic low voice of his bland as always. "My name is Garan Witt, and these are my men Gill and Eagle." They greeted him politely and he stood up with a smile. He walked over and extended his hand.
"My name is Micheal Berti."
Garan imperceptibly flinched, and his azure eyes sharpened as he looked at the blonde.
This man…
Berti was an infamous mafia family spanning five generations. It was just that the current generation cleaned up the family, no longer selling drugs. They sold only weapons to security companies and some other private non-terrorist groups.
This itself was not too illegal so when he caught up with them they got out by paying an (ample) amount of money.
This amount of money happened to be a good bulk of the liquid funds he had.
"You seem to recognize me," Micheal said, donning a mysterious smile, extending his hand to meet his handshake.
Garan's face showed no change when he answered. "Your surname is quite well-known."
"Of course." He said, his grip tightening a bit. "Too bad we still lost to a twenty-plus-year-old soldier…"
Garan sighed, finally knowing for sure what the announcement was about.
With their history, it would be questionable if this lord didn't make it hard on him. In fact, the ban on the information was definitely on purpose just to annoy him.
"There is news that I want."
"Yes, I know. I definitely have the information you want," he said enticingly, smirking. "It's not cheap."
"It depends on the information."
Micheal smiled handsomely, but it only brought creeps down their spines. "I can tell you exactly how to get to Altera…" he said and watched as Garan's back straightened in anticipation. "As well as information about your wife and brother."
Garan's eyes widened and he raised his head. The two men beside Micheal immediately went on defensive under his strong aura, but Micheal only flinched a bit, not showing any weaknesses.
Instead, he leaned over with his chin on the back of his hands, smiling.
"The price… will definitely not be low."