Published: March 12, 2025
Chapter 161: A Storm Approaches
Zhao Hai was not in the mood to deal with other matters at the moment; his attention was fully focused on the Corpse Swamp. Laura had already informed him that Buffy was heading to the Corpse Swamp, and Zhao Zui and the others were currently there as well. They hadn't ventured too deeply, so as long as Buffy entered, they would definitely be discovered.
Just as Galen had said, their target this time was indeed Buffy. People across the continent knew that the Corpse Swamp was not an easy place to navigate. Even ninth-level experts would face dire consequences if they entered. Even if they barely managed to escape, they would still be severely injured. If Buffy was truly injured while coming out of the Corpse Swamp this time, Zhao Hai and his group could not allow him to return to the Versailles Family.
Although Zhao Hai and his group knew that Ivan was not plotting against them, the Versailles Family was indeed after them. They owed Ivan a favor and could repay him, but they could not overlook the enmity from the Versailles Family.
Moreover, Buffy had also injured Galen, pursuing them all the way to the Black Earth Wilderness and forcing them into their space. This enmity was significant; how could Zhao Hai not seek revenge?
Zhao Hai was not worried about what would happen to Zhao Zui and the others. Although they had now turned into zombies that resembled humans, a ninth-level expert could easily discern whether someone was human or a zombie with just a sweep of their divine sense. Thus, even if Buffy discovered Zhao Hai’s group, he would not dare to act recklessly. The Corpse Swamp was not an ordinary place, and even if Buffy was unaware of the dangers, he would have heard of it. Attacking casually in the Corpse Swamp was akin to seeking death; let’s not forget that there had been more than one or two ninth-level experts who had died there.
Because it was unclear whether Buffy had entered the Corpse Swamp, Zhao Hai did not dare to let those slaves go out; all they could do now was wait.
Zhao Hai was not anxious. His wealth was increasing, and even keeping over a hundred people was not a problem. For now, all he had to do was wait.
Fortunately, Zhao Hai was patient. Unbeknownst to them, Buffy had emerged from Casa City, searched Iron Mountain for a while, stayed at Iron Mountain Fortress for some time, and after confirming that there was indeed no one there, he finally entered the Corpse Swamp.
In contrast to Zhao Hai’s waiting, things were bustling in Casa City. The second elder and the third elder were actively moving about, and the large families that supported them were also on the move. Naturally, their first target was Laura.
This time, it was not just a single family that sought out Laura; rather, all the families had united to pressure her into submission.
These large families were well aware that Laura posed the biggest obstacle to their plans. If they wanted to force the grand elder to step down using grain, Laura had to be involved. If they could not persuade her, she would continue to supply grain without pause, making their plans impossible to execute.
Thus, regardless of how they intended to deal with the grand elder, they could not bypass Laura, leading these families to unite and approach her.
They initially thought persuading Laura would be difficult; however, to their surprise, she agreed quite easily. Of course, this ease was relative; Laura had her own conditions—specifically, a share of the sales of daily necessities in the Versailles Principality. No matter who took power in the future, they could not suppress her, and she wanted to increase her share in the sales of daily necessities in the Versailles Principality.
Such conditions were anticipated by those large merchant firms but were also unexpected. They believed that Laura was helping the Versailles Family this time in exchange for some benefit; otherwise, why would she act this way? Now, seeing that the grand elder of the Versailles Family was on the verge of being ousted, they figured that she must be preparing a backup plan, which was this very condition. They believed that her initial help for the Versailles Family was also for this reason.