Chapter 280: Success

“Damn that old bastard! I’ll remember this!” Sognar said fiercely after panting, his face filled with anger and resentment.
“By the way, do you think they’ll pay?” Suddenly seeming to remember something, Sognar asked anxiously.
One million Black Coins wasn’t a small amount. It was amazing Sognar dared to demand such a high price. Likely, the three men in the hall were furious by now—maybe no one had ever refused to meet their demands before.
Rod and the others were right. The hall was eerily silent. Merkel, Ziyang, and the eldest priest all sat there with dark expressions, saying not a word!
Mellon and Gary were at a loss, not knowing what to say. All they could do was wait.
“Well… what do you mean?” After a long while, still no words from the three, Gary finally spoke out, worried they might do something in anger. If they really attacked, he wouldn’t be able to stop them, and Sognar’s group would surely suffer. Others might not know Merkel’s strength, but Gary knew it all too well. If he intervened, Sognar’s three men would be in real danger.
“Is that your junior? The Dragon Clan? Since when have they produced such talent? Heh, this is the first time I’ve seen one!” Merkel said coldly after hearing Gary’s words.
“He’s just a junior, inexperienced. Don’t take it too seriously!” Gary tried to comfort them. Mellon, on the other hand, sat there as if nothing had happened, saying nothing.
“Not bad, the Dragon Clan really has many talents! One million? That’s quite bold!” Ziyang said angrily, his face red. The Dragon Clan was already their sworn enemies, and now their young clan leader was in their hands, forcing them to beg humbly—this filled him with uncontrollable rage.
“Young man, you must bear the consequences of your mistakes. You can’t avoid paying for every error!” Finally, Mellon spoke up, his simple words hitting the core issue.
The hall fell silent again. Ziyang knew exactly what had happened yesterday. With everyone else pointing it out, what more could he say? It was clearly their side that was at fault.

“Fine, one million it is—deliver it by noon. I don’t want to see anything happen to the Young Clan Leader or Pride Eagle; otherwise, don’t blame me for being ruthless!” After a long silence, Merkel slammed the table and stood up abruptly, speaking in a deep voice. As soon as he finished speaking, he turned and headed outside. At that moment, his face was filled with rage and murderous intent, his eyes slightly red. It had been so many years since he’d been this angry—so many years since anyone had dared speak to him like that! Today… this feud was completely settled at this moment. As Merkel left, Zi Yang and the eldest elder of the York family quickly followed him.

“This time, a feud has truly been formed!” Gary said with a bitter smile as the three of them disappeared from sight.

“Even if we don’t form this feud today, it will happen sooner or later. What’s there to worry about? Sognar performed well. Hehe, with one million at stake, the York family is likely to suffer heavy losses this time!” Melon said nonchalantly.

“You… forget it. We can’t do anything about this now. Just tell them to be careful these days. That old man is someone who will hold grudges forever! Don’t let him get a chance! I just hope nothing happens before the Netherworld opens!” Gary said helplessly with a sigh.

Merkel had always been a petty person. He knew what he had done over the years, and he had some idea of everything. Anyway, although he had paid the money this time, he definitely wouldn’t give it up so easily—he would find a chance to take revenge.

“They won’t dare come to the Dragon Clan’s residence again!” Melon said indifferently. In his view, as long as they stayed inside, nothing would happen.

Outside, after leaving the Dragon Clan’s residence, Merkel swung his hand fiercely and turned to look at Zi Yang. “Have this residence monitored. I want to know every move they make. If those three leave, inform me immediately!”

Revenge began right away. Truly, he was someone who couldn’t hold back. Perhaps Yoker inherited his personality—unlikely to achieve anything great.

At noon, the York family delivered one million black coins as promised, not a penny less. Seeing the gold card in their hands, Rod smiled, Sognar smiled, and Lilith smiled too. Pride Eagle and Yoker, who looked panicked and exhausted, handed over the money, and this matter came to an end.

Watching Yoker and the Proud Eagle leave with resentful looks, the three of them simply ignored it. Let them hate if they wanted to; it didn’t matter. Anyway, they wouldn’t stay in this place for many days. Even if they left Frost City, could the Yoker family still dominate everything? This place wasn’t their territory.

The next step was naturally to divide the loot. There were no disputes. Rod took the largest share of five hundred thousand by himself, followed by Sognar, who, without him, would never have been able to get such a large amount of money, so he was given three hundred thousand. No one objected. Then came Lilith, who received one hundred thousand. The remaining one hundred thousand was divided as thirty thousand to Gary, thirty thousand to Melon, and thirty thousand to Rubio. The last ten thousand was given to a few dragon clan members! This matter came to a satisfactory conclusion.

Gary, Melon, and Rubio naturally wouldn’t refuse getting money for themselves. Their surprised and joyful expressions made it clear—thirty thousand wasn’t a small amount. It was equivalent to three divine-level magical cores, and for someone poor like Rubio, it was a fortune. His wide smile showed exactly how he felt.

That day, Rubio also secretly vowed that next time Rod and the others had any activities, he would definitely join right away. This was the best way to make money. Maybe next time he could get several hundred thousand in assets. After a few such times, he could consider himself a small tycoon. Would he still need to worry in his next life?

That night, Ada and Eileen rushed to the dragon clan’s residence as soon as possible. After arriving in Frost City, they went straight to Rod to meet him. Upon learning that Rod had made another breakthrough, Ada was overjoyed. As for Eileen, only she knew what she was thinking.

Especially after learning that Rod had become enemies with Yoker as soon as he arrived in Frost City, Ada couldn’t help but worry a bit. But after hearing about today’s events, the two girls were laughing heartily, extremely happy.

Days passed by, and Rod and Sognar still didn’t step out of the dragon clan’s residence. This behavior angered some people behind the scenes, who had no chance to take advantage and could only sulk in secret. Of course, Rod and the others paid no attention to them, focusing instead on practicing and preparing inside the residence, leading a fulfilling life.

Aida and Eileen simply moved in here, and a few days passed in the blink of an eye. Tomorrow is the day the Netherworld opens, and Ice City is at its busiest ever, packed with people in an unprecedented level of excitement—far surpassing even previous openings of the Netherworld. Decades of failure have made many lose interest in these openings, but this year is different. With strong figures like Zi Yang, rising stars like Rod, and several major families, it is said that they have sent their strongest members in decades to participate in this opening. This might be the most powerful lineup in nearly a century, so entering the Netherworld should not be a problem—hence, it has attracted tremendous attention. Moreover, there are many other things to watch as well. The feuds between the Purple-Winged Thunder Eagles, Rod, the Black Phoenix Clan, and the Dragon Clan are also hot topics of discussion. Just three months have passed since the last Contest of Mistakes, during which the Purple-Winged Thunder Eagles and the Nash Family were destroyed. What attitude will these people have when they meet again? It is said that Rod has also made enemies of the Yoker Family this time. No one knows who leaked the news from a few days ago, but Ice City has once again descended into chaos. Rod was actually in Ice City, on Yoker Family territory, and extorted them heavily—one million Black Coins. It is said he kidnapped Yoker Family’s young leader, Yoker, and Purple-Winged Thunder Eagle’s proud eagle, demanding one million from them. This has become the hottest topic. Regarding this matter, Rod and Sognar exchanged glances, sensing something was wrong. They certainly wouldn’t go public about it; they were content to keep the benefits to themselves. Why create trouble by spreading the news? Wouldn’t that just bring more trouble to themselves? Don’t they already have enough hatred from the Yoker Family? As for the Yoker Family, they surely wouldn’t speak up either—losing such face would only make them a laughingstock. They’re not that stupid! So, there’s only one possibility: someone is manipulating the situation, trying to stir up conflict for their own gain! Who could it be? It’s hard to guess for now. Perhaps this whole thing was a setup from the start, a trap targeting Rod and the Yoker Family, and they’ve all fallen into it. At this thought, Rod’s expression darkened. However, all they could do was keep a close eye on things in secret, hoping the Yoker Family would see through the deception.

Another thing that disturbed Rod was the arrival of the Black Phoenix clan in Ice City today—they were the last faction to reach it. Surprisingly, only three of them came: Hei Yin, Hei Yao, and an elder; the rest were nowhere to be seen. So who exactly entered the Netherworld? What worried Rod even more was what had become of Lucy. Hadn’t Hei Yin said that, under normal circumstances, Lucy would be able to emerge from seclusion before the Netherworld opened and enter it? But why? Thinking about these things, Rod’s heart was in turmoil, unable to calm down.