128 Chapter 128: Gamble

"We..." The Thundercloud guards and the group of nobles could not say anything.

"Will you do it or not?" Dylan and Barry questioned at the same time.

"How can we be sure that we won't be decieved?" Fred gritted his teeth and asked.

"We will show it everyone present." Barry answered.

"That way, the public shall be our witness. We'll make "Honesty" as our main principle for this contract. If either side will lie, they won't only recieve mental retardation but also public condemnation." Dylan added.

"Sounds fair, no?" Barry said.

"..." Pedro, Fred and his group could not think of any more retorts. They have been pushed back to a corner. If they were to flee, they would be labeled as cowards and liars but if they were to take the risk, then they would be nincumpoops for the rest of their lives! Both choices would lead to a path of certain death and humilliation.

Suddenly, horse gallops could be heard from the back of the crowd. A white colored carriage that showed grandiose and nobility with matching handsome white steeds in front. This garnered attention from the bystanders. The door of the carriage opened and a man as beautiful as a woman emerged. He had striking eyes and a beautiful pale white skin. His cold demeanor only added to his charm. His clothes showed that he was rather fashion forward. He was publicly known as the Fashion Prince, Steph Raider, the owner of the Excellent Tailors franchise.

"Make way." A cool and deep voice that contained great charisma resounded from Steph Raider's mouth. The crowd automatically created a pathway for him. As he was passing by, some of the girls could be seen trying to snatch a glance from him.

"Kyaaaah! It's the Fashion Prince!" The girls in the crowd could not help but scream out.

"He is just as dreamy as the rumors say!" The ladies commented in adoration once more.

"L...lo... Lord Steph! This humble servant is in awe of your presence."The fatty was the first to step out and knelt on one knee.

"Your humble servant greets Lord Steph." The feminine young man and Fred also reacted and did the same thing. Their servants also followed their example and knelt.

"Greetings, Sir Steph." Pedro and his guards respectfully bowed. When they straightened their backs, they saw a figure that frightened them. It was Captain General Virtuouso!

"Pedro, you are now dismissed. I will handle this matter myself." Captain General who was loyally following Steph ordered.

"Yes, sir!"Since it was a direct command from a Captain General, a captain like himself could not disobey. Thus, with his guard, they quickly left the scene.

As these three were bowing their heads, they were sweating bullets and were pale-faced. They thought that Steph was out on a business trip outside the city and would still need one more day to arrive. They never thought that he would arrive today!

Since he was already here, his intel group must have already informed him of what happened. With him here, these three felt a foreboding feeling on what's going to happen next.

"So you are the boss. I believe you already know what has transpired during your absence. Since your underlings did not answer my question earlier, I will ask you instead. Will you sign or not?" Dylan stepped out and negotiated.

"That would be not necessarry." Steph said.

"Why is that?" Barry asked.

"Because these three are dispensable. I have many tailors in my command that are far more capable than these three fools who stains the reputation of my business. I could simply fire them and take the noble ranks I bestowed to them this instant." Steph nonchallantly said.

The three knew the gravity of Steph's words. They trembled where they stand because they knew how merciless he was to those who did not conform to his ideals.

"My lord, please forgive us. We mean no harm for the brand. We just wanted to chase off these slanderers to prove that the dignity of the Excellent Tailors are not to be taken lightly." Fred kowtowed in front of Steph without hesitation to appease his anger.

"Please forgive us." The other two also kowtowed without hesitation.

"I have no use for arrogant trash who could not deliver in work and does not even have the slightest dignity. You three should get out of my sight this instant." Steph looked at these three with a condescending gaze. To him, they were nothing but trash that were waiting to be disposed of.

The three felt horror. They knew that they would be scum without their status and their job. If Steph were to really do as he say, they were dead meat.

"But, I won't fire you..." Suprisingly, Steph said those words.

"Really?! Does that mean, sir? Has already forgiven us?" The three stood up wanting to come near Steph.

However, a beautiful woman wearing glasses abruptly appeared in front of them and held a bow with three arrows ready to shoot down the three if they were to come nearer. A terrifyingly dense amount of killing intent followed the cold gaze of the beautiful woman. "None shall came near Lord Steph without his permission. Take one more step or you shall all die."

"Caira Dowell..." The three were frozen in place. They knew who she was the famous Black Arrow, Caira Dowell, one of the top five beauties of Thunder Cloud City. She is not only known for her beauty but also for her attainments in cultivation and in archery! It is said that only few would survive her attacks within the same generation.

'Caira Dowell, what a fierce woman.' Dylan thought.

"You caused such a ruckus here which damaged the name of my business and now, you did not even let me finish what I was going to say. Tsk, your value in my eyes has decreased even more."Steph contemptuously said to the three.

He continued after a slight pause, "What I intended to say was 'I won't fire you yet because I still have one more use for you'."

"One more?" Dylan frowned because he felt there was something off about this guy.

"As long as we could be of service, no matter what it is, we are willing to do it!" The three pledged while kneeling on one knee and their right hand touching their left chest as they bowed their heads.

"I have a proposal for you and it is written on this scroll." Steph stepped forward and gave Dylan a paper.

"Let me." Barry was about to get the paper when Dylan told him.

"It's fine. I can deal with him." Dylan said.

Seeing that determined look in Dylan's eyes. Barry backed off with a nod and distanced himself.

"Okay. Let me see it." Dylan opened the scroll.

But to his surprise, the first thing written on it was "It is better to keep our conversation to ourselves. I will form a mental link with you. If you wish to hear me out, allow the mental link to be formed. If not, reject it."

'A mental link, huh? That makes things easier for me.' Dylan felt a foreign strand of Mental Strength outside his forehead. The moment he gave it permission to enter, the link was established.

Dylan was still at the Pinnacle of the Level 10 Spirit Vein and could still not use Spiritual Transmission but Steph created a mental link between them that allowed them to transmute their thoughts freely. As long as someone has basic control with his Mental Strength,by simply directing their thoughts to the link, both sides can communicate.

A mental link could only be formed if both parties agrees. Dylan knew that rejeceting would be showing weakness and a mental link would also be convemient for him so he agreed to form it.

Steph only created a mental link so that no one else would intercept their thoughts unless someone was 2 subrealms above them. Similar to Azelmek and Sheldon, he was unable to see what Dylan's cultivation realm is but like them, he could ascertain that he was in the Spirit Gathering Realm. He only hypothesized that he should at least be at the peak of the Awakened Spirit Realm considering the strength of his subordinates. Never would he have thought that he was only at the peak of the Spirit Veins Realm.

"I am going to use them as bargaining chips in our deal. I know that you have the desire to kill them right now in this very place but you are controlling yourself since killing them implies that you will be imprisoned and will directly implicate your business. That is why I'm presenting you an opportunity to kill them with your own hands. If you agree, that is. What do you say?" Steph used the mental link to communicate with Dylan also.

"Why are you telling me this?" Dylan found it strange why Steph was doing all of this so he decided to find out the reason.

"Because I am interested in you." Steph revealed.

"I'm sorry but I am only interested in women." Dylan did not expect that answer so he flatly said what was on his mind.

"It seems my prior statement has caused quite the misunderstanding. I did not mean it that way. I am also only interested in women. Allow me to rephrase my sentence. Let's just say that it is because you have caught my interest." Steph replied mysteriously.

"How so?" Dylan asked.

" You are this year's Noble Test topnotcher who unprecedentedly aced it, the successor of the Thundercloud Kings, and gained the backing of the third strongest sect within the Thunder Cloud City, the Premier Hall. Any one of this achievements will cause many to envy you. I wanted to know what kind of man you really are." Steph explained.

"I guess everyone has their own reasons. I'll cut straight to the point then. What is this deal about?" Dylan did not want to do anymore needless chatter and went straight to the point.

"The deal is simple. If you are able to beat this branch, in terms of weekly sales, I will surrender these three buffoons you and you are allowed to do any of them. However, if my store beats your store's weekly income next week, you will give me the inheritance willingly!" Steph proposed.

He wished for the inheritance so badly. It was the set of techniques that his ancestors made whose value is comparable to a Heaven Rank! If he could acquire it, he would be able to sweep through his peers and become the number one expert of his generation. With this oppurtunity presented to him, how could he not afford to take advantage of it?

"Hm, a nice proposal. But it is unfair. It should be fairer. If you allow me, I can think of something more interesting that would make things fairer for both sides." Dylan suggested.

"Ho ho. Then, let me hear what would be your suggestion for this?" Steph was intrigued hearing this. Naturally, he wanted to know what the deal was.

"The conditions to win are still the same but the week where will compare our businesses weekly income would be this week's. On the other hand, the stakes would be even more extreme! The one who loses will become the personal slave of the winner through Soul Lock Contract!" Dylan daringly said.

"If you are my slave, then I can get both the inheritance and your self created technique for myself! Not only that, I can also form a business partnership with the Premier Hall through your intercession! With the help of the Premier Hall, I can rise to the top 10 within 6 months! However, if I were to become the slave, you would be able to freely command me to hand over those three. Not only that, you would also be able to gain control of the all nine braches under me. This will allow your business to expand exponentially..." Steph contemplated the pros and cons of the deal. The more he thought about it, the fairer it seemed.

"What do you think? Fair, right? This deal would heavily rely on one's skill in business. A true test of one's skills." Dylan communicated hurriedly.

"..." Steph was still unresponsive.

"Why have you become so silent all of a sudden? Did you get cold feet?" Dylan taunted.

"Hahahaha, brilliant! What a marvelous suggestion! It's been a long time since I have gambled with my life on the line. The thrill of gambling one's life has always been this exciting!" Steph bursted with joy and telepathized.

"But there are only four days till the end of these week. From the rate of your sales, it would be impossible for you to catch up with us unless you could somehow get an average of 1300 persons for the next 4 days. Are you sure to use this week's income for comparison?" Steph inquired.

"Oh, are you worried about me now?" Dylan sarcatically asked.

"Laughable. I just don't want you to say that we did not fight fairly." Steph coldly replied.

"Don't worry. That is my problem to worry about not yours. Don't underestimate me too much or you might regret it later." Dylan calmly spoke.

"Really now? Hahaha since you are inviting disaster upon yourself, I will not show the slightest bit of mercy. I will win by a landslide and make you my slave. Once you are, you will face great humilliation in the future." Steph spoke as though he has already won.

"Ha ha ha, funny. I was thinking of the same thing when I overwhelm you with my win." Dylan did not back down and similarly trash-talked.

"Now, that's settled. Let's formally acknowledge this deal with a handshake." Dylan smiled.

At the same time, Steph cut off the mental link. The both returned to their senses. Both reached out for the hand of the other and shook them as they clasped each other.

"It's a deal." Both parties agreed.