Chapter 87: Guild Masters
Somewhere in a highly classified location, 13 individuals sat in a room in a circular fashion, keeping a considerable distance between each other.
The room stood silent until the silence was interrupted by one of these individuals who quickly shot from his seat as he slammed his fist on the table.
"This is bullshit! This is not the way we do things!"
The one shouting was a young man no older than 30. He had flame-colored hair and a handsome face.
His muscles were well toned, even though he wasn’t particularly large.
Even though he was shouting and clearly enraged, none of the other 12 individuals showed any sign of caring.
In fact, most of them seemed rather indifferent, which further added to the young man’s anger.
"You’re telling me you murdered my brother in cold blood and I should just accept it!"
"Jeez, were your ears clogged during the entire explanation?" A woman wearing a low-cut tank top and military pants said as she took a puff of her cigar. The entire room stayed silent as she blew the smoke from her nose and mouth before finally continuing to speak.
"He said your idiot brother kidnapped his daughter."
Her words caused him to pinch the bridge of his nose in frustration.
"So he claimed, but I know my brother. He would never do anything that stupid."
"Remember when he tried to grab my ass."
"That’s, that’s besides the point. We have rules on how to operate whenever there are any disagreements between any of us guild masters. Killing each other isn’t part of the agreement. You and I both know this, Claire."
Claire shrugged her shoulders uncaringly. She didn’t particularly care about this disagreement; she just wanted the matter settled so they could move on to other interesting matters.
If anything, the only thing she slightly cared about was the young man Cassius carried with him like a sheltered baby bird.
’Not even his daughters get this kind of treatment. Who is this kid?’
Her first impression of him was that he looked average. There wasn’t anything particularly eye-catching about this young man.
If anything, he looked green. Her instincts told her that this brat was a new player. So why was he here?
’So why would he bring him here and then boldly claim that this kid is now a guild master. What is this snake plotting?’
For years, Claire had been highly suspicious of the secretive Cassius Veymont.
She always knew he was plotting something but could never figure out what exactly.
’Maybe this kid could give me some insight into what he’s hiding.’
"I, for one, am most interested in him." Suddenly, someone else spoke up, pointing at the same young man she was eying.
It seemed she wasn’t the only one curious about him.
But a scowl immediately appeared on her face the moment she saw who had spoken.
’Ugh, Cavendish.’
It was another young man with radiant golden hair , clear flawless skin and a face prettier than most women.
He carried himself with grace, as if he was a young prince.
Most women seeing this young man would immediately drop to their knees and fall in love at first glance, but for Claire, the sight of him made her want to puke.
"Putting aside what the Phoenix King’s brother did, you can’t just bring someone here and announce them as a new guild master. There are rules for this," Cavendish continued.
Cassius looked at him with indifferent eyes before speaking.
"It’s not my decision. He has met all the requirements for forming a guild, including having enough guild members as well as a contract with a kingdom from Vesperia."
"Tsk! You know very well that there is more to becoming a guild master than the official requirements," the Phoenix King snapped once again.
"I concur," Cavendish nodded in agreement, and so did most of the other guild masters in the room.
Cassius opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, he was interrupted.
"Why don’t you let the boy speak for himself, or is he just a puppet you decided to place among our ranks?"
At this statement, Cassius closed his mouth and turned to look at the boy seated beside him.
Liam’s eyes wandered around the room as he took in the faces of the different people resent.
’So these are the different guild masters.’
With just a glance, he could tell that their individual strength was far above what he could ever imagine.
Naturally, he felt anxious. He was like a toddler standing among gods.
And in their own right, they were gods. Everyone of them had the power to destroy a continent, while a third of them had the power to destroy the planet if they ever decided to go on a rampage.
Still, in the face of such powers, he tried his best not to show fear.
He had been warned beforehand that showing his fears to these powerful forces was akin to slitting his own gut and jumping into shark-infested waters.
He stood up, straightened his spine, and spoke in a tone that was neither too high nor too low.
"If by ’other requirements’ you mean a Terra-shard, I already have one. I’m also well-versed on what God’s Game is truly about. This is far more than what your former member, Blood, accomplished."
Hearing the name of his brother used so disrespectfully, the Phoenix King’s anger stirred.
In his final days, he and his brother didn’t get along well, but that was only because someone had stolen the shard he promised his brother.
In truth, he loved his brother and wished for a better relationship.
Everyone accepted Liam’s words without much thought. If he did manage to obtain a Terra-shard, then it must be by some strange luck, they thought.
Plus, he had Cassius’s approval. It wasn’t as if they were afraid to go against him, but it would be too much of a hassle, and none of them really cared, so they decided not to fight it.
"With this settled, it seems we have a new guild master among us," Cavendish announced to wrap things up since no one else cared enough to.
The Phoenix King didn’t speak another word. He had already made up his mind. He was going to get revenge for his brother’s death.
And the one that claimed to have killed him was Cassius Veymont.
Even if the world has to burn as a result of his actions, he was determined to see it through.
...
That same day, there were several breaking news reports about the new rising player that had managed to become a guild master!
Across several different cities and settlements, the name and face of this mysterious individual was plastered for the world to see.
