After what happened, it was clear that the Viper's Venom organization and Eric's path would cross once again, and not in a pleasant way.
From that moment on, both sides would do whatever they could to face each other, and destroy the opponent.
More than a matter of feeling, anger, and rage, it had turned into a matter of face. No side would lower their head, otherwise their reputation, and face value would plummet.
In the high echelons of society, and especially for the people who were truly at the top, reputation, and face value was the biggest currency.
Since they couldn't stay alone at the top and look at everyone else with clear arrogance, they needed to depend on each other.
But they wouldn't depend on whoever crossed their path either, they would only select people who were worthy of their cooperation, and this was precisely why it was so important.
The fight between Viper's Venom, and Eric would certainly show which of the two were strongest, and which was worth siding with.
But there was one thing that both sides understood, this was in no way going to be a battle just between the two.
Both sides would get help, and support from the enemies of the other side, and they would be stupid to refuse it as long as the conditions were good.
This was a time of war, and suffering, but also a great time of opportunities and development. The clear water was going to get muddy, and the fish who swum the best would win the most.
For that reason, while the weaklings of the Viper's Venom organization were writhing in rage at the happening, the head of the organization was smiling at his deputies.
One of his two deputies was looking at him with a weird and complicated look, as he said,
"Boss, what should we do now!?"
"We will take advantage of this great opportunity in front of us, of course!"
The deputy seemed to be a bit confused, as his boss didn't seem angered at all, in fact, he was smiling calmly, so he asked with a confused look.
"What do you mean boss?"
The boss kept his smile on his face, as he explained,
"While what that guy did is certainly anger-inducing, even though we were the one who had the wrong approach, it doesn't matter anymore.
This is a great opportunity for us to grow and develop, and only time will tell if we will win or lose in this big opportunity."
The deputy heard those words, but got more confused so he said,
"I still don't understand what you mean boss!"
"Quite easy actually, with the strength that Master showed, the big guys will most probably use the two-sided approach.
They will either support him openly, and aid us in secret to keep him occupied, or will support us openly, and aid them in secret just in case.
No matter which path they will take, the important part is we both are the tigers in the cage. They will try their best to feed both of us in order to have a win-win situation.
The important part here will be that we will be both fed a lot during this time, and we can expand our power and reach."
Hearing that the deputy was finally hit with a realization, but there was still something on his mind,
"Boss that is true, but what if that Master tries to deal with us before that happens?"
"He won't!"
"He won't!?"
"Yup he won't, he said it himself in the message left behind, he will not deal with us himself, he is going to let his disciple do what he can.
Only when he has failed, he might have a run at us, but until then we will be facing his disciple, not us! He is trying to use us as a stepping stone for him after all.
Furthermore, the big guys would feel threatened if that happened, and would immediately unite against him.
There is nothing more powerful than a group of rats cornered to the wall! Not to mention, that he doesn't seem like he wants to have a clash with us anytime soon."
"Boss, you mean that he did this intentionally!?"
"I don't know about that, but it's certainly possible."
Hearing that, not only the deputy who was speaking until now but even the other guy were startled and fell into deep thought.
It was only after a few moments, that finally the deputy who hadn't spoken until now, said,
"Then what should we do Boss, I don't think that all our members will think the same about this. There are already some of our own's who are moving in that direction."
The Boss didn't seem to lose his smile, as he said,
"Wouldn't those vultures be worried if we didn't try at all? Let them act as they wish, just tell the core to not move without an order!"
"Understood Boss!"
"Understood Boss!"
Both deputies understood that those guys who had started moving would be used as pawns from the organization.
They wouldn't be thrown away, and would have some support, but if they died the organization wouldn't care much about them.
In fact, they might even be obstructed to finish the job, as it would mean that the organization would lose resources if they did.
Still, they couldn't afford to lower their guard in any way at the moment, and they would have to start working and training more.
Even though the place was well lit, the deputies still couldn't look at the face of their Boss. Their Boss had a mask in his face, that refracted light, and no one could look at it.
Only his most confidant guards were able to look at his face, and those guys were lunatics who would laugh if tortured, and not say a thing.
As for the two deputies, one of them looked like an Eastern European assassin style, with silver hair, grey-colored eyes, and that cold aura typical to assassins.
The other one was more of a naturalized American, one could easily detect some foreign culture looking at him, especially with his Irish accent, brown hair, and eyes, making him stand out a lot.
He wasn't as cold as the assassin and was the guy who made all those questions, but no one dared to question his strength or influence in the organization.
The moment that the two of them left the Boss's office, a shadow appeared from behind and asked,
"Master do you think they will stay quiet!?"
The boss seemed to sigh for a moment, but differently from the previous male voice, this time her voice seemed womanly.
The Boss was apparently a lady, and if one went by her voice, she was a true beauty nonetheless. But that didn't seem to surprise the shadow that appeared, as she continued,
"Sigh~! They have no other choice at the moment. They both want to grow stronger, and grow their forces, before striking. So, I guess we are okay for now!"
"Then what about that kid, and his Master!?"
"I truly don't know what to think about those two. Reading the message, he left behind for us, I have a weird feeling that he might know my identity, and wants to meet up with me!"
The shadow who seemed emotionless until now finally said with a surprised voice,
"How could that be!?"
"I don't know, and perhaps this is just me reading too much into this, but this is what my instincts are telling me!"
"Then what are you going to do Master!?"
"For now, let's just observe the situation. I need to think this through before making a decision, at least, until father returns from his secluded cultivation!"
The shadow just acknowledged her words, and then once again disappeared, as the lady just sit down on her chair and started thinking.
In this chaos, and muddle, a week passed by easily. All this time Eric didn't get out of his hideout, as he passed his time either cultivating, playing with his ladies, or trying to strike a conversation with his captives.
No one knew where he was hiding, and no one had found any trace of his Master. It was like they had completely disappeared from the scene.
But even though he was gone, the stakes for the bet were being collected, and validated, as the sum in-game had gone up to 43 billion dollars.
It wasn't only the big families that participated in the bet, but also a lot of second-rate, and third-rate families as well.
No one knew the origin of that money, but one thing was for certain a lot of foreign organizations had started moving in the shadows.
The greatest surprise of them all was that even the Motohara family was participating in the bet, with their Young Master Motohara.
But that didn't come as a great surprise when people learned that Viper's Venom was backing them from behind.
My enemy's enemy is my friend. It seemed like this idiom carried a lot of meaning in the real life. As they were both against Eric and his Master and were trying to destroy his support.
In the meantime, another rumor spread among the big families and the Council of Five, if they paid 1 billion dollars extra upfront, they could send 5 disciples under Eric's Master.
There was no promise included in the rumor, but there were people saying that there was a 40% chance of reaching the High Heaven Realm in 2 years.
Something that clearly shocked them all, and it left them in front of a big dilemma. Should they participate in it or not!?
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