In the Southern Pyre District, in the estate of the Blackcrow Household, an important meeting was about to be held.
Inside the spacious meeting hall, ten elders dressed in black wolf pelt coats sat before the round table.
Sitting at the main seat was a middle-aged man with long curvy black hair. He had a dark look on his face as he looked at the strategic map on the table.
At this moment, one of the elders spoke with a grave look. "The Firecrown Household has captured Lord Raphael, we must bring him back at any cost!" This was the main agenda of the meeting.
Recently, they received a letter with the stamp of the Firecrown Household. It was also because of this letter that the elders of the family were convened.
"How could we agree with their ridiculous demands?!"
"With all due respect, everyone! Lord Raphael brought this upon himself! We sent him to the Silversword Treasure House to purchase the Limit Breaking Pills, but because of his greed, he got himself captured by our mortal enemy!" Spoke an elder with an eyepatch.
The moment he uttered those words, the man at the head seat glared at him. "Raphael is less talented compared to his brothers. He also lacks the astute mind of a leader. However, the blood of the Blackcrow Family runs in his veins! He is my son!" His voice carried unquestionable dignity.
This man was the patriarch of the Blackcrow Household, Reynard Blackcrow.
The elder with the eyepatch flinched when they locked eyes. The former gritted his teeth and looked away.
"What are the demands of the Firecrown Household?" Reynard asked as he scanned the faces of everyone inside the hall.
"My lord, they wanted us to give up on the energy stone mine. Other than that, they also want a hundred healthy battle horses and 1 million star coins." One of the elders responded with a face full of sweat.
One million star coins was nothing to them, but giving them one hundred battle horses would weaken their cavalry. As for giving up the energy stone mine, everyone pretended not to hear it.
"Preposterous! Asking for a hundred battle horses?! They must be crazy! At most, we can only give them twenty. Any more than that would significantly reduce the fighting power of our cavalry."
Some elders agreed with his words. Battle horses were important to the Blackcrow Household. This was because they were known for their strong cavalry.
Reynard raised his left eyebrow and pondered in silence. Their strongest force, the Black Armored Cavalry had five hundred martial practitioners at the Foundation Establishment stage. Each of them was equivalent to ten ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators, but without a battle horse, they would lose half of their strength.
'Damn those bastards!' Veins protruded on Reynard's face when he thought about this.
It took him some time to calm down.
"Send a messenger and tell them that we can give them one million star coins and fifty battle horses," Reynard muttered in a cold voice. His voice was shaking with anger.
Everyone could sense his rage so nobody dared to question his words. Even the elder with the eyepatch remained silent when he gave the order.
Reynard stood up after giving the order and left the hall with a gloomy aura.
***
"Miss Alice, follow me for a second. I want to discuss something with you in private." Fredrinn's expression suddenly turned serious.
Hearing this, Alice nodded her head.
She followed Fredrinn outside the VIP room. She had some idea as to what he wanted to tell her.
Soon, they arrived at the public canteen of the hospital.
Fredrinn ordered two cups of black coffee and asked the server to deliver it to their table.
After taking their seats, Fredrinn took out the documents given to him by Darius and handed them to Alice. Written in these articles were reports about the Snake Gang.
Alice furrowed her eyebrows as she grabbed the documents. She was so absorbed in the process of reading the reports that she failed to notice that their coffee had already been served.
After some time, she put down the documents and looked at Fredrinn. "Why did you show me this, my lord? I'm just a woman. I don't think I can provide you with any help."
Fredrinn didn't reply right away. He grabbed his cup of coffee and took a light sip. He also signaled to her to try her coffee.
Alice complied without saying a word.
After taking a small sip, Fredrinn put down the cup of coffee and wiped his mouth with a clean white cloth. He inherited this habit from the former Fredrinn Firecrown. "I will give you the chance to join me in destroying the Snake Gang…" He muttered in a calm voice.
Alice was stunned by his words. "I want to join, but what help can I provide, my lord?" She knew her own capabilities. Other than her above-average looks and decent body, she had nothing else to offer.
"You don't have the power at this moment so I will help you become a martial practitioner. Train hard and you will have the chance to join us in fighting the people who funded the Snake Gang." In the reports compiled by Darius, it was mentioned that a powerful group was secretly funding the Snake Gang. The group was very discreet so they have no leads about them yet.
"Me? Become a martial practitioner?" She was in disbelief. Did she have the talent to become a cultivator?
Fredrinn nodded. "You might not know it, but you have the talent to become a martial practitioner." He was certain of this. He knew that Alice would become the Winter Witch ten years from now. She was an expert with a cultivation nearing the next stage of the Nascent Soul realm! This means that it only took her ten years to reach the Nascent Soul realm!
He wasn't sure about the grade of her spirit root, but with the rate of her progress, it should be at least a superior-grade! There was also a high chance that she had an excellent-grade spirit root!