Chapter 514 - A Standoff
Rudra was not at all intimidated by the three men trying to pressure him. He knew that in his prime he could whoop all three of their @sses without breaking a sweat. It was only because of the heavy debuff that he had to act civil infront of these unruly blood merchants.
Rudra said " Alright ,you give me the cure for my curse and then i will give you the pages ".
Suddenly Victor snapped as he stood up and smashed the chair he was sitting on to pieces as he said " DO YOU TAKE US FOR FOOLS ? , PAGES FIRST ! ".
Furball had it beyond her patience limit now as she leaped off Rudra's lap onto the table and bared her fangs at victor.
" Calm down Victor ".
" Calm down Furball ".
Rudra and Jack said at the same time as the two locked eyes.
Jack continued " You see Mr . Shakuni , you have a reputation of backstabbing the bloodmerchants once before as you accepted payment for several lucrative gold mines from our executives , yet backstabbed them right after the deal was done turning them to the Church.
We do not wish to suffer a simmilar fate hence why the caution on our end. I hope a man of your stature must understand. We need the pages first , the cure can only follow later ".
Jack had beautifully summed up the situation . Rudra was indeed hoping to take the cure and then deal with the blood merchants right here. Inside the centre of his guild with nowhere for them to run.
However it was an overly optimistic situation , as he knew that his opponents were not fools who would fall for such an obvious trap.
It would have been much easier for Rudra if they did , as the other plan that Rudra had was very risky .
Rudra said " Naturally i understand , however you see the same applies to your party as well . What gaurantee do i have that you will give me the antidote once i hand over the papers.
As your mad dog standing there pointed out , there is a deep rooted enmity between us , hence let's not pretend that you won't screw me over at the first opportunity u find ... I hope that a man of your stature must understand this fact.
So what would you propose we do , so that we can trust each other? "
Rudra counter proposed the same thing proposed to him , making the entire situation evolve into a stand-off.
Jack obviously knew that Rudra's words made sense , and that there was no way to logically coexist and develop mutual trust. Hence after discussing with xietian for a while he said " We do it simultaneously like the old fashioned way , you keep your object on this table , and i keep my object on the same table , then we both pick it up side by side.
After checking the authenticity of the goods we part ways".
It was a good solution , and one that Rudra would accept had he been in his prime . However now with him being no different than a weakling who could do nothing infront of these three men should they act against his interests , Rudra would never accept it as he said " You see gentlemen , there are three of you here and only one of me . Should you three gang-up on me , it will be a perilous situation for me don't you think so?
So how about me and the leader of the pack do buisness here , while one of you is held hostage by my guild.
Should the buisness transaction be over with no hitch , i will naturally release your man without a hitch i can swear by my honor , and if that does not suffice i will sign a binding contract with you that ensures that I keep my word ".
The face of the three men stiffened at Rudra's proposal as they were in a turmoil as to what to do. The rabid dog victor was giving Rudra dirty looks however Rudra only smiled at him or occasionally gave him the playful wink as the two brains of the group discussed on how to proceed.
Finally after a long talk Xietian said " Fine , draft a contract first , our pal victor will be with you till the end of buisness ".
Rudra knew something was off when the two of them agreed , but he only smirked internally , as he knew what games the other side could play even without his reincarnation knowledge as Rudra's genius was in the fact that he could think like the enemy and hence he was always a step ahead of them.
While drafting up the contract Rudra carefully added the condition of , the member stayed in Elite custody till the effect of the curse completely dissapeared , and one page of the demon's diary will be with that member while the rest will be handed over at the transaction.
These two conditions made it impossible for the enemy to betray him as their faces paled significantly when they read this clause in the contract , knowing that they were screwed.
It was exactly because the three had reacted soo violently to the death of their fourth mage member that Rudra knew that they were a tight unit. But he was not intimidated by the display of hatred instead he knew it was a weakness to exploit.
Now with this condition added not only did he have one up on the group with a member of them being at his mercy , but he also gave One page of the diary to this member , meaning that even if they betray him and leave , they would fail the mission given to them by the devil.
This was a masterstroke by Rudra , as apart from these conditions there was also a hidden scheme written within the words of the contract!
/// Today will also be a two chapter day guys , as i will try and update one more chapter for you all before reset.
Next target for bonus 1000 GT , hopefully we hit it soon.
Special shoutout to Domswisu for the 500 coin massage chair ! ///