Chapter 139 Smoke And Mirrors

Jeffery took in a deep inhale of smoke. "The shareholders have already been determined after the final re-allocations when you left the last time. After those re-allocations of shares, everyone signed a commitment document not to sell shares to a third party, but finding investors is also fine. However, the buying and selling of shares among the shareholders is also a possibility."

"Since the minor forces of the three domains were embroiled in conflict for all this time, we didn't have the time to sit and discuss selling or buying shares among one another, our focus being whether we could or couldn't keep the region under the Human Domain's control, but the shattering of the heavens above caused massive losses and civil unrest across the three domains, and most of those that suffered are the lower brackets of society."

"Most of the minor lords from the Elven and Beastkin Domains retreated to take precautions and work on contingencies in the wake of this disaster, bringing this chaotic war to a stop. However, for some unknown reason, the shareholders are now in a race to find investors instead of committing to internal transactions. Worse yet, they're finding investors in the elves and feudal lords from across the realms, lords who are not under the jurisdictions of the ruling powers or seven vassals, but are incredibly wealthy…"

Leonardo joined his fists, interlocking his fingers as he rested his chin directly on the knuckles while leaning on the table. After thinking for a bit, he came to the conclusion that Lexus must have reached out to the feudal lords through the stationed Arcadian Churches across the realm, thereafter spreading propaganda that would easily brainwash the common people.

He might have even conned people into contributing gold and silver in the name of faith, recycling that fortune through the feudal lords and converting it into investment money.

Leonardo never expected that he'd counter the same old money laundering scheme, causing him to chuckle inadvertently. Although he didn't have much proof, he already instructed Ingrid to stealthily investigate.

Although the wealth of gold and silver when coming from the hands of pedestrians wouldn't amount to much, even an ocean is made up of countless drops of water. In these times of civil unrest, and with the fear from such an apocalyptic scene that transcended the realms of comprehension to most of Arcadia's populace, some might even offer up their closest of kin just to live, forget about a bit of gold and silver.

Leonardo suddenly thought about the fictional character Robin Hood, bringing an even wider smile to his face.

"Hey Leo, this is some serious business! Those investors are like bottomless pits, and if the margin of funds between the shareholders continues to expand, those who can't keep up will have to center around a stable shareholder, banding together…." Jeffery felt aggrieved that Leonardo could still smile at this point.

"Right now, the shareholders with the majority of the influence are some elven lord from House Lavender and a rich feudal lord with unknown origins, they're supporting Mason and some vassal who happens to be under House Exodia."

"Mhm?" Leonardo raised an eyebrow, "Why would two massive investors focus on House Exodia? I mean, it doesn't make sense to make this detour."

"Oh right, you didn't know but Mason was demoted after the blunder with the silent energy rifles incident. King Ivar thereafter appointed one of his vassals to directly oversee the development of the business, while Mason ended up as an assistant. You can say that the two of them are in their own civil war for the favor of King Ivar."

"So that's how it is…" Although Leonardo said this, he was even more confused inside. It seems that Lexus' plan to push House Sylvia down the rift is already succeeding, it could be considered as half complete. However, if the shareholders split into two circles, selling their shares to House Exodia's representatives… No, something is very much off here.

The thing is, Leonardo can't figure out what went wrong.

"Exactly," Jeffery nodded with a solemn expression, "Which is why I came here to sell you the shares of my House Sylvia. In exchange, all I'm asking for is a spot on the table when you make it to the top of this business warfare."

Leonardo blinked, "Is this your intention for coming here?" The moment Leonardo asked this question, his eyes widened, intention!

That's it!

"Jeff! You're saying that there are two circles that are growing at the moment, are you absolutely sure that everyone has joined these two circles? Did they sign anything legally binding, or did they simply express their intent to sell but are yet to do anything?"

Jeffery was confused for a moment, but then he seemingly came to realize something, mumbling in disbelief, "You mean to say… It's all smoke and mirrors? But why would they do that to House Exodia?…"

"Just answer me! No… "

Leonardo stood up, walking back and forth on the spot while holding his chin, mumbling, "Tell me everything about the shareholders and their interactions, interconnections, and if there's anyone who explicitly expressed their support, ambiguously expressed their support or even those who didn't express anything from start to end…"

To the side, Wendy watched the scene unfold in a daze, not understanding anything in front of her. As for Aria, she rolled her eyes, "Seems like his CEO's occupational disease is taking over."

"CEO? What's that?" Wendy asked, intrigued by the weird-sounding disease, "Is it serious?"

Aria looked up at this woman, mumbling silently to herself without responding, "You truly remind me of that brat Miko sometimes…"

Then, she stretched and left the lobby, not planning to give herself a headache by listening to this conversation.

…

Almost two hours later and during the twilight hours of the night, Leonardo finally returned to his bedroom, feeling quite refreshed with countless thoughts running through his head.

If it weren't for Jeffery's sudden visit, he might have made yet another grave miscalculation. If he guessed it right, Lexus isn't planning to use Mason to throw off House Sylvia but to overthrow the entire governance of the three ruling powers all together.

This might be a prelude to the biggest rebellion in Arcadian history.

The moment Leonardo closed the door behind him, a dense odor of sweat and feminine secretions assaulted him, followed by a tall, bonelessly soft body that was radiating intense heat.

Juvia directly threw herself into Leonardo's chest, hugging his waist tightly while trembling, her cunt leaking juices all over the floor even as she stood there, panting heavily.

"You're burning hot…" Leonardo was dumbfounded, his hands lightly landing on Juvia's quivering buttocks that were scarlet red and smeared in sweat.

Ah~

"I can't... Can't wait anymore..."

Juvia trembled to the touch, her eyes practically begging for affection, too weak to barely speak coherently. Thus, she jumped and wrapped her thick thighs over Leonardo's torso after slashing open his robes, throwing her head back in ecstasy the moment she felt her insides pierced through by Leonardo who tacitly coordinated with her initiative.

Then, the overly energetic couple began their entanglement of passion, scoring Leonardo another sleepless night that went to show the craziness of an elf in heat…