Chapter 205: Chapter 205 - Death Sentence
Naomi Estelle had zero intention of letting me go from the start!
His scheme was simple: use me to heal Tristin Schroeder, then toss me right back behind bars!
"Well, Mason, you blew your shot. Can’t say I didn’t warn you," Naomi Estelle said with ice in his voice.
"I’ll file the paperwork real soon, and when that happens... you won’t get a second chance to feel sorry!" Naomi Estelle threatened darkly.
"That’s not your problem, Mr. Estelle," I replied flatly.
After dropping that line, I spun around and walked off.
Naomi Estelle was steaming mad, but there wasn’t jack he could do about it. He stormed off empty-handed.
——
He made his way back to his office, where Conrad Schroeder sat nursing a cup of tea.
"Mr. Estelle, how’d it play out? Did Mason Raymond cave?" Conrad Schroeder asked.
Naomi Estelle shook his head with a heavy sigh, "Mr. Schroeder, Mason Raymond’s sharper than we gave him credit for. He saw right through what we were planning."
Conrad Schroeder slammed his palm on the table and shot to his feet!
He roared furiously, "So we’re supposed to just watch my boy waste away in that bed forever!"
Facing Conrad’s rage, Naomi Estelle didn’t dare mouth off and just stood there shaking like a leaf.
"If we’re out of options... Maybe we should just let Mason Raymond walk. He could probably fix your son..." Naomi Estelle threw out.
Conrad Schroeder shot Naomi Estelle a look and said coldly, "No way. Mason Raymond has to die!"
Conrad Schroeder was clearly freaking out.
If Mason Raymond stayed alive, it’d spell disaster for the Schroeder family!
He’d never let anyone mess with the Schroeder family’s grip on Chuzzle!
Naomi Estelle let out a sigh and said, "Then we’re stuck."
Conrad Schroeder gave Naomi Estelle an icy stare and said, "File those papers right now, take out Mason Raymond. Everything else can wait."
For Conrad Schroeder, his family’s power mattered more than even his own son Tristin Schroeder’s life!
——
After I got back to my cell, Victor Green came rushing over.
"Mr. Raymond... Did you tick off the Schroeder family?" Victor Green stared at me with huge eyes, clearly having trouble believing it.
I was about to answer when those Grandmasters who’d been kneeling earlier hobbled over with their buddies helping them.
This time, their faces weren’t full of hate, but showed some kind of deep respect!
"Mr. Raymond!" They all bowed and yelled together.
That caught me off guard a bit.
Looking at the bunch of guys in front of me, I asked with a slight grin, "What’s all this about?"
The men quickly explained, "We caught wind that some young guy in Chuzzle not only messed with the Schroeder family, but actually beat Conrad Schroeder."
"We had no clue that young guy was you!"
"Yeah, word about what you did is everywhere, and we think you’re amazing!"
"We crossed you before. Please cut us some slack!"
That surprised me even more.
Even locked up in here, the story had gotten around?
Looked like the Schroeder family’s reach in Chuzzle was bigger than I’d imagined.
"Mr. Raymond, all these years, nobody’s ever had the guts to mess with the Schroeder family. You’re the first!"
"That’s right, if we could, we’d back you up!"
All these guys were Grandmasters. If they were on the outside, they could definitely pack some serious punch.
Too bad it didn’t look like I’d get the chance to break out.
The guys kept chatting in a friendly way, and I fixed up their legs for them too.
Even though these people were scared stiff of the Schroeder family, they also really wanted to fight back, they were just too chicken to do anything.
Looking at this group all fired up with righteous anger, I couldn’t help but stare toward the jail entrance.
"How about we team up, take on this Martial Arts Association, and bust out of this prison? What do you think?" I said seriously.
My words hit dead silence.
The fun vibe suddenly went cold, and nobody had the nerve to speak up.
"Mr. Raymond, it’s not that we don’t want to back you up, it’s just... that plan won’t work," someone said.
"Yeah, Mr. Raymond, we’re telling you to drop that idea."
I scrunched up my eyebrows, confused, "When I walked in here, I saw the Martial Arts Association only has a few Grandmasters watching the place. If we team up, we could bust out easy."
"Mr. Raymond, what you saw is just the Chuzzle Martial Arts Association," the big guy who spoke first disagreed.
"Chuzzle’s only got Grandmasters, but what about Central Province? What about Capital City?"
"The Martial Arts Association runs the show for martial artists, they definitely won’t put up with anyone challenging their power."
"If anybody rebels, Central Province and Capital City will probably send people to wipe us out."
Hearing that, I got the picture right away.
This Martial Arts Association was probably some massive organization.
After being around for so many years, they’d built up serious power.
Taking them on obviously wasn’t going to be simple.
"Mr. Raymond, we’re sorry." A few of them said they were sorry.
I smiled and said, "I was just messing around, I just hope you guys could watch Victor Green’s back down the road."
"Mr. Raymond, don’t worry about it," everyone said together.
They hadn’t been locked up long and obviously weren’t going to follow me into something that risky.
And I didn’t bring it up again.
Time flew by.
——
By evening, Naomi Estelle had gotten all the paperwork ready against Mason Raymond.
"This stuff is enough to get Mason Raymond killed," Naomi Estelle handed the papers to Conrad Schroeder.
After Conrad Schroeder looked over the materials, he smirked, "Perfect, no time to waste, things could go sideways. Naomi Estelle, carry out Mason Raymond’s death sentence tomorrow morning!"
Naomi Estelle replied, "Got it."
Conrad Schroeder didn’t hang around the Martial Arts Association long. As soon as he walked out, he had Uncle Armando spread the word everywhere.
He wanted to keep his spot in Chuzzle and make sure everyone in Chuzzle knew not to mess with the Schroeder Family, or they’d only end up dead!
What a way to make an example out of someone!
The news spread like wildfire around Chuzzle, and tons of people were talking about it!
"Mason Raymond... he came up short in the end," Turner Keira mumbled quietly, like an old man watching the sun go down.
Even River City heard about this news.
"Hahaha, I knew Mason Raymond was gonna bite it!" Caldwell cracked up laughing in his office.
He held a cigar and a mean look flashed in his eyes.
"Trying to take me out, you gotta be kidding!" Caldwell said coldly.
Then, Caldwell yelled toward the door, "Get Franklin Duarte in here."
Soon after, a young man walked in.
Behind him, he had a whole crew of people following!
And this young man, Franklin Duarte, was a real deal Eighth-rank Inner Strength powerhouse! His skills were even better than Victor Green’s!
"Manager Caldwell," Duarte said hello, bowing a little.
Caldwell sneered, "Mason Raymond’s stuck in prison and gets the axe tomorrow. Time to stir things up in River City!"
"Duarte, take your crew and get rid of Woods Walters tonight!"
"Yes, Manager Caldwell," Duarte replied, nodding slightly.
"Manager Caldwell, if Mason Raymond dies, then what happens to the Soul Nourishment Pill..." Caldwell’s secretary asked with worry written all over her face.
Caldwell sneered, "I’ve already got that covered. Once Mason Raymond’s dead, only one person’s gonna be able to make the Soul Nourishment Pill, and that’s Elder Drake! As long as I control Elder Drake, the Soul Nourishment Pill belongs to me!"
