Shirong had intentionally presented himself like this and wanted to make himself look vulnerable so that he could find out the people who were truly behind this all.

The increased security was not something that could be afforded by the clans of the Deer Wood city and there was no way the top 3 clans of the city would ever let someone else assist them as it would mean conceding a certain level of power to them.

Shirong had a guess that some of the smaller clans and minor powers of the city had disguised some of the men from the Kingdom's capital and had made it seem like they were providing the resources. This made them look selfless and also elevated their image in the eyes of the top three clans of the Deer Wood city.

They were also the ones that would suffer from the demise of the men that had died along with Shirong and would have to answer the ones that were secretly backing them. They were the ones that had to send out the more influential and stronger member of their clans so as to make it genuine, and they were the ones that had the biggest losses as well.

They initially wanted to demand compensation and put the blame on top of this Young master Shirong but now with his display, the clan head Lu was already in his favor and the other top three were also likely to follow with him, that meant the smaller powers and clans had no right to interfere… or rather they could not afford to.

Right now all they could do was grit their teeth and appear amicable or suffer the potential consequences. Such was the game of politics and if they wanted to continue playing, they had to follow the unspoken rules. Breaking them meant that while they could get some benefits in the short term, they would be out of the entire game after that and would lose the bigger opportunities.

Shirong saw that out of the twenty people in the hall, who represented the Powers of the city, about four of them were displeased with him. He identified them and realized that out of the four, two were the clan heads of the smaller clans, while the other two were the heads of a merchant company that operated out of the city and had multiple businesses.

'Hmm, so there are four of them in the open, but there should be more hidden. Just these four won't be able to convince the top three clans that the manpower and resources belonged to them, there's bound to be more that have hidden their true intentions better.

But even in these four, there are chances that they are not the pawns that I am thinking them to be. If I remember correctly, one of the clan heirs that died belonged to one of these smaller clans. But the two merchant heads, they are definitely involved. They are the only ones who would be able to easily provide the resources without much suspicion, as they could simply show as if they were being procured from somewhere else.' Shirong analyzed quickly.

Having spent so many years in a powerful clan and becoming its young master had enhanced his ability to assess politics to a great degree. If he were to claim that he was second in this hall, there was no one else that was qualified to be the first.

Even the experienced clan Head Lu was nothing in front of young master Shirong who had seen many complex and cruel schemes.

But it still came down to his current situation. While Shirong could depend on his clan's power to suppress all of these people here, it would also mean that he was showing his entire hand. One should not forget that a dragon that is not in his home turf is weaker than the snake that lives there.

Shirong was still unsure of the goal of the power backing these small clans here, thus he did not want to take the chance.

Shirong lightly lifted his head and cupped his hands again.

"Clan head Lu and all the people currently in this hall, I swear on my honor that I will find a way to properly give an answer and if you still do not find it adequate I shall compensate you." Shirong declared to everyone.

"Young Master Shirong this…" Clan Head Lu said, feeling shocked.

"Please clan head, this is the least I can do to satisfy them and let the souls of those that perished rest," Shirong said with a humble expression.

~Sigh~

Clan Head Lu let out a sigh and the other two top clan heads also shook their heads.

"ALRIGHT!" Clan head Lu shouted while clapping his hands. "You've heard young master Shirong, go ahead with your inquiries."

Shirong turned around and looked at all the people in the hall. The guards that had escorted him were now standing at the side of the entrances as they were not qualified to be in the middle while the rest of the people were looking at Shirong intently.

The ones that had shown their displeasure now had poker faces, while the others were clearly pleased with Shirong because of his words.

"I fully believe Young master Shirong's words and have nothing to say," Clan head Xiong spoke in a flattering tone.

Xiong clan was the number two in the top three clans and its head had long since been trying to bootlick Shirong ever since he got here. There was no way he could let go of this chance to get into his good books, besides the one man that he had sent with Shirong was an external elder of his clan that could be sacrificed.

"I agree with clan Head Xiong and believe Young Master Shirong's words as well," Said the Mu clan head.

The Mu clan was the number three of the top three clans and was the most neutral among the clans, yet he did not feel like there was much benefit in questioning Shirong. Either way, he had made no losses as he had never sent anyone from his clan.

"Nice! He got the top three in the bag already. This is fun, it is like I'm watching one of those old period dramas again…" Lin Wu said, clearly enjoining everything.