Chapter 205 – Future inside the Beast Skin

“I’ll be out in a minute.”

Calron replied to the clan member standing outside his hut.

He felt something was unusual with the Patriarch calling him to his residence, as if the old man had wanted him to come there, he would have taken Calron there himself. However, sending a clan member to guide him there seemed a bit off from the Patriarch’s normal behavior.

Ellie had taken Rebran to the city to show him around the place, and the two would most likely go back to the inn once Roran picked them up later in the night. After donning a pair of shirt and trousers, Calron stepped out of the hut to greet the clan member.

“Sorry for making you wait.”

“Haha, no it’s fine.”

The youthful clan member responded nervously, fidgeting with his hands. Now that Calron inspected him, the youth was not much older than himself and around the age of Asra’s big brother.

“We should hurry up!”

The man collected himself and began heading eastwards.

He’s nervous.

Calron observed while following him.

“This is a new place…”

He commented, hoping the clan member would slow down and give him some hints as to where they were going.

“Most clan members are not allowed past this point as it’s the residence of the Elders and the Patriarch. Our clan’s treasures and important cultivation resources are all stored here as well.”

The young man answered without looking back and maintaining the same speed.

Glancing around, Calron saw several villas spread out in a line and lavishly decorated. More clan members wearing the guard’s uniform strolled nearby, staring curiously the moment Calron passed by them.

I never knew the clan’s property was this vast.

Calron wondered the deeper inside the area he went. If the numerous villas were any indication to how many Elders the clan had, the Raizel clan was much more powerful than the outsiders thought. Then again, Calron was not aware of the other Tower clans’ strengths.

“We’re here.”

The young man guiding Calron abruptly stopped in front of an enormous building that towered over all the other villas.

“Please go in.”

The guide pointed at the massive door to Calron and swiftly departed from there, leaving Calron no time to ask any questions.

Throughout the whole journey, Calron had skeptical about what the Patriarch wanted and his motives. The abrupt departure of the guide, the enigmatic atmosphere surrounding the building before him, all pertained to the old man planning something suspicious.

*knock-knock*

Before barging in, Calron tried to knock in case someone behind the door would open it. Hearing no response, he pushed the massive door.

It’s heavy.

Calron thought while putting in more strength and finally pushing the large door apart.

Darkness.

That was the first thing Calron thought of when he first saw the inside of the building. Stepping inside, he used his newfound soul power to search for anyone hiding but there was no living person present.

I’m here, where are you?

Calron sent the message to the Patriarch through the crystal, and after waiting for a while, no response was sent back.

Thinking maybe he’d come to the wrong place, Calron decided to exit the building and ask someone where the Patriarch’s quarters were. However, the moment he took a step back, a thick of bolt of lightning struck his back.

Roaring in pain, Calron quickly crouched to the ground and used partial shape-shift to transform his right arm into the golden-scaled arm in case the attack came again. He was caught completely unaware as his senses and instincts didn’t notice an intruder’s presence.

As expected, another bolt of lightning came at him and he barely managed to evade it. The lightning attack was the fastest Calron had ever experienced, it came close the real speed of natural lightning.

“Who is it?”

Based on the lightning attacks, he was sure that it was someone from the Raizel clan. Why would a clan member attack him?

Calron used his soul power to detect the intruder’s presence, but there were no souls within the building. Confused as to who was attacking, Calron remained on high-alert and focused on any changes in the environment to predict the next attack.

However, instead of a single attack, countless bolts of lightning came crashing down at him, the sound of explosive thunder reverberating inside his ears.

Calron knew he would not be able to dodge the attack.

“ARRGGGHHH!”

He roared in agony as the foreign lightning tore through his skin and paralyzed his entire body. The power of this lightning was several magnitudes greater any Calron had ever experienced in his life.

*crackle*

Realizing its host was in danger, the Azure Lightning emerged from Calron’s chest and created a layer of protective blue lightning around him. Calron sighed in relief as the foreign lightning left his body.

“Hahaha, he’s an interesting one, Quen!”

All of a sudden, the lights in the building were turned on, revealing two figures standing on the edge of the room. The lightning cage surrounding Calron soon vanished, leaving no trace of it at all.

“Huh?”

Calron stood there in an offensive stance, prepared to strike against the enemy, but instead found the Patriarch walking towards him along with another old man. If the Patriarch was an old man, then this stranger could be called ancient. With deep wrinkles and a bent back, the stranger arrived before Calron.

“I personally trained him, of course he’d be a genius!”

The Patriarch boasted while patting Calron on the head and ruffling his hair.

“Nonsense, he doesn’t have any of your techniques and besides, he doesn’t have your idiotic personality, Quen.”

The ancient man retorted, causing the Patriarch to sulk.

The Patriarch’s name is Quen? Also, who is this old man that can talk to the Patriarch so casually?

Calron noticed the exchange between the two and could already see the respect and deference the patriarch gave the other old man.

“Hmm, so you are the newest Saint stage member of our clan.”

The ancient man smiled at Calron, his wrinkles deepening even further.

“Oh? I didn’t even notice! Damn, how did this brat breakthrough so quickly?”

The Patriarch mumbled while placing his finger on Calron’s chest and inspecting his body.

“If I may be so bold, who is the Elder before me?”

Calron gave a bow to the ancient man and asked the question burning inside his chest. It was clear that this wrinkled man was no ordinary figure in the clan, and might have a greater status than even the Patriarch.

“You can call me Grand Elder, boy. I’m little Quen’s uncle, so you can also call me great grandpa if you prefer.”

The Grand Elder waved his hands and gestured for them to sit down at the table next to the wall.

Only now did Calron notice the large hall they were inside. There were numerous rooms and stairs connecting several floors, so he could imagine just how big this building was.

Pulling a chair, Calron quietly sat down and waited for the two old men to start the discussion.

“I’ll get straight to the point, boy. This matter of the slaves has put a great strain on our clan and our relations with the other powers in the city. If you were a weakling, I would have punished you for bringing this problem to the entire clan, but after witnessing your abilities, your talents are a lot more valuable to the clan’s growth than the issue of slaves. So, I’ll ask you right now: what are your plans for the future?”

The Grand Elder folded his arms across his chest while the Patriarch took out his tea set and began to make the hot beverage.

It looked like he planned to stay out of this conversation.

“I’m sorry my actions brought this upon the clan, but I intend to fix this myself as well.”

Calron replied confidently.

“And how will you do that? Feeding several thousands of slaves is no easy matter, and even more challenging is to find them homes and jobs.”

The ancient man raised his eyebrows.

“I run a successful shop in the city called the Azure Pavilion, and I can use its profits to finance the slaves. We make hundreds of gold coins each day from our goods, and if I increase the stock then the profits will rise significantly as well.”

Calron answered calmly, taking the offered cup of tea from the Patriarch while the Grand Elder did the same.

“Hahaha, I heard about this shop of yours. Brilliant idea for a young lad, and it shows your intelligence in business affairs, however, that is still not enough. If you think thousands of gold coins is enough to sustain the number of that many slaves, you are mistaken. Leaving aside the money, do you really think the other Tower clan will let you have the slaves so easily? The Talok clan controls a large share of the market, and they can manipulate the prices of crops to force the Raizel clan to pay higher than the market value. If they want to be more openly aggressive about it, they could outright refuse to sell any crops to our clan. If the King got involved, the Talok clan might sell enough crops for our clan members but will not provide for the slaves. Remember, it’s not only the Talok clan you’ve offended by your move, but many other clans whose businesses relied on slavery.”

The Grand Elder explained for a few minutes.

Calron listened quietly, realizing just how many factors he had failed to consider.

“Our clan doesn’t have any farms?”

He asked if there was a backup plan.

“No, we are a clan of warriors and never saw the need to nurture farmers. Do you really think our proud clan members would resort to farming with the bloodline they have? Can you see this lout holding a shovel and digging some plants?”

The Grand Elder grinned while pointing at the Patriarch.

The Patriarch spat out tea in surprise when he heard the farming statement.

“How do you intend to solve this problem?”

The Grand Elder ignored the Patriarch, and stared at Calron intently.

Calron remained quiet, several thoughts racing inside his mind.

“A smart lad like you, I’m sure you had other plans in case things didn’t go as expected.”

The ancient man commented, seeing the change in Calron’s eyes.

What the Grand Elder had said was true. Calron had another plan he had thought of, but didn’t think he’d need to use it. It was his second plan

“You’re right, Grand Elder. I do have another plan, however, I’m not sure you’d like it.”

Calron started, taking out a beast skin from his spatial bracelet and spreading it on the table.

The Patriarch frowned, and leaned forward to look more closely at the images on the beast skin.

“This…”

The Grand Elder muttered while looking at the skin, beginning to realise what Calron was proposing.

“It’s a map. And if you look right here, this empty area of land is unoccupied as it’s between Beast City and Selior City. It’s surrounded by forests and mountains, so it’s not that fertile but with proper care and the expertise of a Heavenly stage expert, we might be able to toil the soil for crops. The land is vast enough to support hundreds of thousands of people, and it’s the perfect area to develop.”

Calron answered slowly, gauging the two old men’s expressions.

“You mean?”

The Patriarch asked in shock, understanding what Calron was implying.

“Yes. We build a new city here under the control of the Raizel clan.”

Calron answered with a slow smile.

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