Lifting the Ban

Jorba dismissed everyone, leaving only Darius, the three patriarchs, and me inside. He had already explained the reason for the meeting in the invitation, and now he recounted it in detail.

Stivan's expression didn't change after hearing this. He understood what was going on the moment he saw me; the head of the Gerral family didn't recognize me and didn't really trust my words.

"Yasuo, right?"

"Yes."

"My name is Korod Gerral. It's a pleasure to meet you. If I may be so bold, I don't believe you have the influence to persuade Bill's pirate gang."

"Gangplank and I are friends; he'll definitely listen to my advice, and everyone else will too..."

"Patriarch Kalin has already said these words once. I can't trust you. It would have been fine before, but now that our relationship is so tense, lifting the ban casually would be a very dangerous thing."

"What does Patriarch Korod intend to do? As far as I know, your naval battles are not going well."

"Adversity doesn't mean defeat. Our financial and human resources are fully capable of supporting us to fight to the end and achieve final victory."

Korod didn't seem to welcome me from the start, and his tone wasn't very pleasant. Moreover, as a member of the merchant family, the Gerral Family, he shouldn't have said something like "fight to the end."

Darius had been observing from the beginning without even saying hello, and only intervened now that he saw my conversation with Korod was a bit awkward:

"Ah..." He stretched and yawned, immediately easing the serious atmosphere.

Korod didn't recognize Darius either, but he knew we were in cahoots, and the disgust in his eyes was undisguised:

"Noxus?"

"Yes, my name is Darius, a friend of Yasuo, and also an old acquaintance of Jorba."

"Darius? Why does that sound so familiar?" Korod frowned, not thinking about it too far ahead.

Stivan had been smiling all along, suddenly became serious. I had talked to him quite a bit, and he knew that I knew many important people, so he guessed that Darius in front of him was the famous Noxus Great General.

"This is..." Jorba quickly began to introduce, but Darius stopped him.

"Many people initially wanted a piece of Zaun's prize, but most of the profits were swallowed up by the Gerral. Piltover's establishment relied heavily on the Gerral Family's strong support, but it actually has three owners."

Darius didn't continue the previous topic and suddenly started talking about the history of Zaun and Piltover. At first, I didn't understand what he meant, but then I realized what he meant when I thought about Korod's actions.

No wonder Korod, a businessman, would rather fight than have us help. He would certainly prefer to resolve the trade disputes here peacefully, but having us intervene would mean that we would interfere here.

If they take the opportunity to make some requests, it won't be easy to refuse, such as asking them to do some business here or to provide some conveniences for the three major families.

The Gerral family used to be the only powerful force here, but then Ferros and Kalin emerged, so Korod is wary of us becoming the fourth power here!

Stivan, being shrewd and calculating, certainly understood what Korod meant. Jorba and I, like everyone else, were just realizing what was happening. We all remained silent, listening to Darius continue speaking:

"Having fewer or more owners in a region won't affect development. Three or four are the most difficult to coordinate. The three major families of Piltover have been working together for over a hundred years to achieve their current balance. If another intruder enters, it will probably be difficult to control."

Darius was indeed an excellent manager, very skilled in management. After he finished speaking, he looked at Korod, saw that he was pretending to be stupid, and took out his pipe and started smoking.

Darius then bluntly stated, "The reason the head of the Korod family doesn't want our help isn't because he doubts our strength, but because he's worried we'll profit from it and take over Piltover, right?"

"Hahaha... You know a lot! Noxus are indeed cunning. In that case, you understand what I mean?"

"I understand, but this is very unwise. Gerral has gradually become prosperous and powerful over three generations. How come you can't do business at all?"

Korod's face darkened. "I know you're trying to provoke me, but isn't it a bit inappropriate to say that?"

"I'm not trying to provoke you, but you can't just look at profits in business. In other words, you need to consider the bigger picture, like the true nature of your enemy."

"Of course I know that Bill and his gang are ostensibly merchants, but in reality, they are pirates who will stop at nothing to achieve their goals!"

"You only know they are pirates, but you don't know what pirates are. Pirates can survive without relying on land. You think you have more manpower and resources, but have you ever considered that they don't consume anything at all?"

"Don't they miss their families? I don't believe it!"

"They've probably already brought their families aboard; drifting the world, the boat is their home."

How do you know so much about them? Are you a pirate too?

"I don't just know about pirates; I know about your three major families, Piltover, Zaun, Noxus, Demacia, and the entire Runeterra."

"Interesting, Darius, huh..." Upon hearing the name again, Korod's expression suddenly froze, recalling their earlier conversation. "Could you be...?"

"It could just be a coincidence of names, hahaha..." Darius laughed heartily.

Now Korod no longer hesitated, because he no longer needed to be wary of us. If Darius truly wanted to take over this place, wouldn't a million-strong army be enough?

"Okay, I agree to lift the ban!"

"Actually, it doesn't matter whether you agree or not, because Gangplank will be here soon. We will be visiting the Gray Lady, so please inform the Phiros Family Head in advance."

"I'm afraid I can't help you. My sister's affairs never need to be relayed by others. General Darius, you should go to her yourself."

"Alright then, it seems we'll have to give the Gray Lady a surprise!"

Stivan didn't ask why we were looking for Camille. He never asked a question about his sister, let alone interfered, as if he respected her, yet also seemed very distant.

The lifting of the ban by the three major families caused an uproar throughout Piltover.

People came here seeking peace, but now, facing pirate invasion, the arms rationing has been lifted. Isn't this just emboldening them?

Aubrey finally found a reason to oppose Jorba: he had been asked to run for head of the family again because of his mismanagement, and now that Jorba had made this decision, how could he not be angry?

He, along with many of his subordinates and people outside the Kalin Family, spread discontent everywhere, but Jorba saw all of this and did not take it to heart.

But then something happened that he could no longer tolerate: his opponents hurt Wei!