It was the third week of Ren Yue's faction assaulting the influential merchants' caravans. At this time, nearly all the merchants in Dongchun City seemed to have understood that this organization would target the caravans of the top-ranked merchants in Dongchun City.
However, two days after this week began, Ren Yue's faction assaulted a mid-ranked caravan. Strangely enough, they didn't rob anything this time.
Instead, they left a proclamation.
"The Noble Shadow has been maintaining an unfair practice in this area by using their superior combat power to cheat honest merchants of their profits. We, the Benevolent Corps, will never tolerate such actions. Thus, we proclaim that all the merchants who are collaborating with the Noble Shadow shall become our enemy. You have till the end of the week to decide which side you wish to support."
The merchants were already displeased with the Noble Shadow. This announcement triggered their decision to sever relations with the Noble Shadow.
The Noble Shadow naturally knew that this was a rather vicious scheme of the Benevolent Corps.
A few merchants also saw through this scheme, but they decided to ride the momentum and fight against the Noble Shadow.
These merchants knew that if they didn't rise up now, they would forever remain submissive to the Noble Shadow. This was their only opportunity while they had the support of the Benevolent Corps.
They were hesitant to confront the Benevolent Corps in part due to its enigmatic nature.
It had to be known that the Benevolent Corps had targeted the wealthiest and most influential merchants. And it had successfully looted their heavily guarded caravans and convoys.
They also have a large force. Thus, opposing them is like courting death.
Even though the Noble Shadow knew that instigating a battle between them and the merchants was Benevolent Corp's scheme, they could do nothing but play along.
They had to suppress these merchants, or they would lose their hold over all the merchants in this area, and the Benevolent Corps would take over them.
"What a bastard?!" Elder Wen Shi cursed out aloud.
He was truly furious at the Benevolent Corps. He could never have expected this organization to execute such a brutal scheme.
"…What is the status of the merchants?" Elder Wen Shi inquired the other members with an ugly complexion on his face.
The other members knew that he was in a bad mood. They all retained serious expressions, and one of them answered him, "Except for the ninth-ranked merchant, all the other merchants are actively hiring mercenaries. They are preparing for a huge battle."
Another member added with a distressed tone, "The top three merchants have struck a deal with the top brass of the Law Enforcement Department in Dongchun City. I believe even our contacts in the Law Enforcement Department will be compromised soon."
Hearing those words, Elder Wen Shi's complexion darkened significantly. He honestly didn't like this news.
"…There is news that these merchants are also calling for a favor from their comrades in other cities. If we don't settle this soon, we will be under a long assault," A member commented. This was actually a rumor, but his words made it seem as if it was nearly confirmed.
"Elder Wen, we must kill the top three merchants in Dongchun City. The influence they hold is too terrifying. We managed to restrain them by convincing them that only by collaborating together can we earn the greatest benefit, but the presence of this Benevolent Corps has given them hope of swallowing us!" A female member named Xie Lian spoke out.
Many other members agreed with her analysis.
However, Zhu Hui suddenly spoke up, "Killing even a single one of these merchants would be a massive mistake. In fact, this is exactly what the Benevolent Corps wants us to do!"
All the members stared at Zhu Hui at this moment. They were rather startled that Zhu Hui actually dared to reject Xie Lian's idea like that. It was as if he thought her idea was utterly worthless and the worst feasible option.
"Explain yourself," Wen Shi spoke coldly.
Zhu Hui nods and explains his reasoning, "At this moment, both sides are still in the process of accumulating personal power. Whether it's by hiring mercenaries or through some other means, however, it's imperative to realize that we haven't fought yet."
"I see," Wen Shi realized what Zhu Hui was talking about.
The other members realized what Zhu Hui was talking about and spoke with vulgar expressions on their faces, "You are suggesting that we negotiate with these losers?!"
Zhu Hui immediately clarified, "Only temporarily. We will fight on the surface, but in reality, we will work together to find the true identity of the Benevolent Corps. I am fairly sure that the merchants who lost their goods to the Benevolent Corps would be very delighted to make them pay for their actions."
His idea convinced nearly all the members of the council.
"…There is one issue, though. I feel that the Benevolent Corps mastermind has also realized this issue and will deal with it appropriately," Wen Shi spoke with a frown.
Zhu Hui nodded sullenly, "Yes. That's why we must do our best to meet with these merchants as quickly as possible and protect them to the best of our ability."
He knew that many of these members were indignant about doing this job, so Zhu Hui added, "…If we don't do this, an unknown organization will take advantage of our internal strife. If you want that to happen, then ignore my remarks."
These final words managed to convince the council members of the Noble Shadow.
Unfortunately, what they feared came to pass. The next day they received terrible news.
The third-ranking merchant of Dongchun City was assassinated in his house.
This news utterly shook Dongchun City, and all the merchants immediately pointed their fingers at the Noble Shadow. Some intelligent minds managed to guess that this might not be their doing, but how could someone go against the flow at this point?!
The Noble Shadow also gave up upon hearing this news. They knew that the negotiations wouldn't be fruitful at this moment.
Thus, they could only fight!
Zhu Hui felt somewhat regretful. As he thought, 'I can anticipate the opponent's action, but a little too late. I am still a step behind him. I can't guess his motive. Does he want to destroy the Noble Shadow? Or does he have some other aim?'
He had no idea that Long Chen's appetite was a lot larger. He wanted to acquire all the treasures of the Noble Shadow and make it a worthless organization.
However, he knew that searching for the Noble Shadow's base in Dongchun City wouldn't be a good idea.
The Noble Shadow would find out that someone was searching for their base. They could slowly take action against Long Chen's force. They would be in the dark and Long Chen's forces in the light.
However, the situation was different now. These influential merchants would reveal the Noble Shadow's base for Long Chen.
Long Chen would be in the dark and the Noble Shadow would be in the light. Long Chen could take his time to analyze this base and steal those resources.
However, the most urgent task was to sell these stolen resources.
Thus, a large convoy departed from Dongchun City to Suqui Town. After resting in Suqui Town for a day, the large convoy started moving towards the west to sell these resources to a rich influential merchant in the city.
Nearly fifty warriors were set along this convoy as guards. A few of them were 3 Star Warriors, while a majority were 2 Star Warriors.
Long Chen was sure that this convoy would safely reach its destination.
At this point, he is focused on the battle occurring in Dongchun City.
There were many points where the battles occurred. Near the central park. In front of a pub. In a residential area. The market.
The Law Enforcement Department actually didn't send any officers to arrest them. They were letting this fight go on.
They appeared to be wary of interfering with these two sides' conflict.
After all, the higher ups of the Law Enforcement Department had secret dealings with the influential merchants and the council members of the Noble Shadow.
They planned to take action on the side that loses.