When Chad heard this, his expression immediately turned ugly.
As a local, he knew very well that the noble who threatened him had a lot of power. Furthermore, due to the nature of nobles, they wouldn't start a conflict with other noble forces just because of a single caravan. After all, it would be too embarrassing. The value and benefits of a single caravan couldn't compare to the honor and dignity they had on the surface. It wouldn't be enough for them to attack each other.
That was why Chad had his eyes on Beta. A foreign noble who didn't know the situation would definitely fight with another noble. That way, his merchant group would be safe.
However, he didn't expect this noble to stop buying them.
He took a deep breath and suppressed the dissatisfaction and anger in his heart. He said softly, "Sir, my caravan is really at the edge of danger. For this, I can lower my conditions."
Beta raised his head and looked at Chad. If he told the truth and told Beta about his difficulties, Beta wouldn't mind helping him either. But the problem was that Chad clearly thought he was an idiot. He'd used such a clumsy plan to divert the trouble to him. If Beta took the bait, wouldn't he look stupid?
Sighing, Beta said, "Is it just that you don't have any money? Why did I hear that someone wants to buy your merchant group? "
Chad felt like he'd fallen into an icehouse when he saw Beta's emotionless eyes. He really didn't expect that his thoughts had been exposed.
"Let's go out the door." Beta said calmly, "I'm one of the more easy-going people. If it was any other noble, you'd probably be dead already."
Chad finally felt that his body was no longer as cold as before. He knew very well that if a Noble was enraged, he could easily kill a commoner like him.
What surprised him even more was that his plan had failed. Who had told this foreign noble about it? Was it Amanda?
Chad kept thinking about this question as he left. Soon, he became more and more certain that Amanda was the one who told him the news. He became a little angry. He felt that the girl was too much. How could she tell someone else about him?
However, it was useless even if he was angry. Although Amanda was just a little girl in his eyes, the Chamber of Commerce stood behind her. She was not someone a man who was about to go bankrupt like him could attack.
Chad knew very well that his biggest problem now was not finding trouble with Amanda, but how to get through this crisis.
The matter with the Black-Tailed Scorpion Caravan should have come to an end just like that, but unexpectedly, two days later, a person who looked like a butler came to visit. He handed over an invitation and then left.
"Esteemed Sir Beta, I will be holding a banquet tomorrow night, and I respectfully invite you and your wife to attend. "
Wife? Hee hee! Shirley smiled happily. "Master, let's go to the banquet."
Beta thought for a moment and nodded in agreement. It would take a lot of time for Amanda to help him find people for the caravan. He had to stay in this city for a few more days. Moreover, even if the caravan was built, he would have to buy a lot of building materials from this city. If he didn't have a good relationship with the nobles here, it would definitely affect his progress.
Since that was the case, he would use this opportunity to meet the nobles in this city.
Beta decided to show some kindness. If these nobles were willing to coexist peacefully, it wouldn't be a problem. If not … Beta naturally had a way to make them give in. After all, most of the time, two Master-level professionals represented the top level of combat power in the entire human world.
Most of the time, strength was more useful than money and influence.
Since he decided to go to the banquet tomorrow night, Beta brought Shirley and Jessica to buy clothes.
The two girls bought a few rather luxurious clothes and seemed very happy. The next night, Beta brought the two girls to the banquet.
Although it was a cloudy night, it didn't stop the nobles from enjoying the nightlife. When Beta and the other two arrived at the banquet, it had already been a while since the banquet started.
In the medium-sized manor in the south of the city, candles were widely used. One silver coin and one white candle were lit. At least a thousand candles were lit, illuminating every corner of the manor. Just the lighting alone cost more than 10 gold coins, and this didn't include the cost of drinks and the expenses of the bard, etc.
Beta estimated that the banquet would cost at least fifty gold coins.
This amount of money was nothing to Betta, but for many small nobles, it was an expenditure that could greatly damage their vitality.
Therefore, most of the time, small nobles didn't dare to hold banquets. They could only wait for the big families to hold banquets and invite them, so that they could have a chance to expand their social circle.
When Shirley came out to the banquet, she immediately became the focus of everyone's attention. She was wearing a purple, low-cut dress, and her long golden hair was tied up high. She looked holy and noble. Not only did the men turn their gazes to her, even the noble ladies' gazes fell on her face, filled with jealousy and jealousy. As the Goddess Woking's divine avatar, Shirley already had the most beautiful appearance a human could achieve. Only Emma and the butterfly woman Judy could barely compete with her.
In comparison, although Jessica was also very beautiful, she didn't have much of a presence next to Shirley.
Shirley held Beta's arm with a big smile.
Soon, the owner of the manor showed up. It was a young man. He glanced at Shirley with surprise, and then his eyes stopped on Beta's face. He said, "It's a pleasure to have you come to my banquet, Mr. Beta, Lord of the Wetlands."
He had investigated him! Beta smiled faintly and replied, "I'm also very happy that you invited me."
After a brief greeting, Gajeel nodded at Shirley. "It's a pleasure to meet you too, my beautiful lady. You're the most beautiful lady I've ever seen. I don't think even the elven queen can compare to you. "
Shirley nodded and expressed her gratitude. Then, she let go of Betta's hand and walked to the group of women not far away. She knew very well that according to the unwritten custom among the nobles, when a man was discussing business, a woman should not be around.
Although she believed that Beta wouldn't kick her out, she didn't want to put Beta in a difficult position, and she didn't want Beta to be criticized in secret.
Gajeel was a little lost as he watched Shirley leave. He then withdrew his gaze and smiled at Beta. "Actually, I invited you here mainly to thank you."
"Thank me?" Beta was a little surprised. "This is the first time we've met, right?"
Gajeel smiled. "I went to buy the Black-Tailed Scorpion Caravan a while ago, but he went to find you later. I'm very happy that you didn't fall for his trap. Otherwise, we'd be a laughing stock if we were to fight. "
"Oh, so it's you." Beta nodded. "What do you plan to do with the Black-Tailed Scorpion Caravan?"
"Chad can't stay with the caravan." Gajeel shrugged. "He's too ambitious. If he hadn't gone bankrupt, I wouldn't have done anything to him. But he's about to go bankrupt, and he still wants to hold on to his power. He even treats us as his partners. Who does he think he is? Does he think he's a noble? "
Gajeel's words were full of disdain. This was the norm for most nobles. They looked down on ordinary people and wealthy merchants.
Beta asked, "Then what do you plan to do with Chad?"
"I'm a good person." Gajeel revealed a condescending smile. "I'll keep suppressing the Black-Tailed Scorpion Caravan until Chad is willing to let go and leave the caravan."
A waiter walked by with a tray in his hand. Beta picked up a wine glass and clinked it with the waiter. "You really are a kind person, sir."
Beta's words were indeed somewhat sincere. Generally speaking, nobles had many ways to deal with commoners who had offended them. He had seen crueler methods in the game. Gajeel, on the other hand, was only suppressing the commoner without taking his life. This in itself was a sign that he had a bottom line.
Gajeel laughed and accepted Beta's compliment.
At this moment, Beta suddenly pointed at a young man sitting on a throne not far away and asked, "Who is that?"
"Oh, he's the city lord of this city."
Gajeel glanced in that direction and then turned back with a smile. However, his words were full of disdain, as if he looked down on the young man sitting on the throne.
Beta also noticed that although the young man was sitting on the highest seat, he didn't have any dignity at all. None of the nobles around him went up to talk to him. He just sat there and didn't even move his eyes, as if he were an oversized doll.
Something was wrong here.
Beta had a sip of fruit wine and thought of something.
At this moment, Gajeel said, "Sir, you've come to Harvey to establish a new caravan. You're probably planning to transport a large amount of stone materials back to build your territory, right?"
Beta nodded. It was impossible to hide the fact that he was building a city, and he had no intention of doing so.
Gajeel's expression changed. "But the wetlands are all swamps. How do you plan to build a city there, sir?"
"I'm a spellcaster." Beta smiled. "A spellcaster's greatest ability isn't to kill or destroy, but to create and change. I plan to turn the entire swamp into a fertile plain. Do you think it's difficult to build a city on a plain? "
Gejeel stared at Beta with wide eyes, as if he was looking at a madman.