Viscount Andrew

Blood Plum Blossom moved quickly. Two days later, Liewen heard that Helen, Leonard, and the steward had all died suddenly.

The deaths of the three caused a small stir among Fenlai City's nobles, but after a dozen or so days, no one paid attention to them anymore.

Helen and Leonard had both been minor nobles, while the steward had not even been a noble. Their deaths could not attract much attention.

After all, Fenlai City was the economic, artistic, and political center of the Holy Union. There were countless nobles and wealthy people, and struggles over money, power, and beautiful women played out every day. Unclaimed corpses often appeared in the foul ditches of the slums; who knew which noble family they might belong to?

Compared to the conflicts among great nobles and wealthy magnates, the Andrew Family's affairs were merely something people could gossip about for a few days.

The Fenlai Kingdom authorities did come to investigate Liewen.

With Helen and the others dead, Liewen was the one who benefited the most. Naturally, he became the prime suspect.

However, Blood Plum Blossom's assassins were indeed professional and left no evidence pointing to Liewen. In the end, the case simply faded away.

A few days later, King Clayde of the Fenlai Kingdom officially issued an order for Liewen to inherit the title of Viscount Andrew.

Liewen even made a trip to the royal palace to attend the investiture ceremony, where he received Clayde's investiture and officially became Viscount Andrew.

He sold his own residence and moved into the Andrew Family estate. He did not trust the Andrew Family's original servants, so he simply gave them money and dismissed them all, replacing them with new people.

That day, Liewen was reviewing the Andrew Family's asset inventory in his study. Aside from cash, the Andrew Family owned fixed assets such as hotels, estates, and shops. Their fixed assets and liquid funds combined amounted to more than thirty million gold coins in total.

The top noble families of the Fenlai Kingdom generally possessed assets worth around one hundred million gold coins. The Andrew Family could only be considered a middling noble family.

"Your Lordship, Mr. Walter from the Dawson Chamber of Commerce has arrived," Liewen's newly hired steward entered and reported.

"Let him in."

"Yes."

The steward slowly withdrew from the study. Not long afterward, he returned with a middle-aged man in black robes.

"Greetings, Lord Viscount Andrew." The middle-aged man in black bowed to Liewen.

"Mr. Walter, no need to stand on ceremony. Come, sit." Liewen gestured for Walter to sit opposite his desk.

"Robert, go make some tea," Liewen instructed the steward.

The steward withdrew as ordered. Soon, he returned with a pot of black tea. After pouring a cup each for Liewen and Walter, he left the study.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Walter went straight to the point. "Your Lordship invited me here. Is there something you need?"

"Mr. Walter is the Dawson Chamber of Commerce's temporary representative in the Holy Union. Naturally, I wish to do business with the Dawson Chamber of Commerce." Liewen took a sip of black tea and smiled.

In the original story, Linley's failed first love had quite a bit to do with Kalan of the Debs Family.

Linley's friend Yale was the young master of the Dawson Chamber of Commerce. To help Linley vent his anger, Yale had specifically instructed the Dawson Chamber of Commerce to target the Debs Family. Walter had been the one responsible for handling the matter.

"Oh? What sort of business does Your Lordship wish to conduct?"

Liewen turned the Andrew Family asset inventory on the desk around and pushed it in front of Walter.

"I wish to commission the Dawson Chamber of Commerce to sell the Andrew Family's assets."

"Certainly. Which assets does Your Lordship wish to sell?" Walter smiled. The Dawson Chamber of Commerce handled a wide range of businesses, including brokerage services. They especially enjoyed doing business with nobles.

Noble assets were often worth a great deal, allowing them to collect substantial brokerage fees. For some assets the Dawson Chamber of Commerce took a liking to, they would directly purchase them themselves.

Liewen pointed at the inventory. "All of them."

Walter froze. "All of them?"

Liewen confirmed, "Yes, all of them."

Walter could not help asking, "Has Your Lordship encountered some difficulty?"

He could not understand why Liewen wanted to liquidate the family assets.

Could he have incurred an enormous gambling debt? Walter secretly guessed.

"You need not ask further about that," Liewen said flatly.

"I was presumptuous. Please forgive me, Your Lordship." Walter also realized his earlier question had been inappropriate. "Rest assured, Your Lordship. The Dawson Chamber of Commerce will certainly find the best buyers for you."

Liewen nodded. "There is one more matter. I hope you can help me acquire some estates in Hess City, the capital of the Hess Kingdom."

"Acquire estates in Hess City?" Walter was shocked by Liewen's words once more.

The Hess Kingdom lay north of the Fenlai Kingdom. Both belonged to the Holy Union, with the Hanmu Kingdom and several duchies lying between them.

Selling off assets in the Fenlai Kingdom, then purchasing estates in Hess City... What is Viscount Andrew planning? Is he taking the money and running?

Several guesses flashed through Walter's mind, but this time he did not ask. He quickly concealed the shock on his face and displayed his professional composure.

"What kind of estates does Your Lordship wish to purchase? How many? Do you have any requirements regarding location, surroundings, price, and so on?"

Liewen said, "No particular requirements. As long as they are within Hess City, that is enough. As for how many? Use however many gold coins the Andrew Family's assets sell for to purchase them. Buy as many as possible. There is only one condition: it must all be completed within two years."

Walter felt that his professionalism was facing an immense challenge. He did his best to keep his expression calm. He no longer intended to guess at Liewen's intentions; he would not be able to figure them out anyway.

"Very well. The Dawson Chamber of Commerce will certainly satisfy Your Lordship."

After chatting briefly, Walter took his leave.

Liewen drank his warm black tea as he looked at the Andrew Family asset inventory.

The reason he wanted to sell off the assets was to avoid the Day of Destruction three years from now.

This year was Yulan Calendar 9997. According to his memories of the novel from his previous life, Fenlai City would suffer a devastating calamity on January 1st, Yulan Calendar 10000.

The magical beasts of the Magical Beast Mountain Range, led by a God Realm magical beast, would launch a beast tide and seize one-third of the Holy Union's territory.

By then, the Fenlai Kingdom, the Hanmu Kingdom, and several duchies would all be occupied by magical beasts. The Holy Union would ultimately halt the magical beasts' advance at Hess City.

The Fenlai Kingdom would perish on the Day of Destruction, and prosperous Fenlai City would become the territory of magical beasts.

Once people were gone, hotels, shops, and estates would naturally become worthless. Liewen had to quickly convert them into cash while he still could.

As for purchasing estates in Hess City, it was because under the magical beasts' assault, nobles from the Fenlai Kingdom, the Hanmu Kingdom, and several duchies would all flee to Hess City. By then, estate prices would soar severalfold.

By buying in advance now, Liewen could make a fortune when that time came.

After resolving the matter of the assets, Liewen trained peacefully in the estate, keeping a low profile and rarely going out each day.

He cultivated both battle-qi and his understanding of the Laws of Light.

He had already stopped taking medicinal baths and training his body. His current physical strength alone was comparable to that of a 6th-Level Warrior, the limit for ordinary people.

Ordinary people who trained only their bodies, without battle-qi to enhance them, could reach only the level of a 6th-Level Warrior. Only a very small number of exceptionally gifted individuals could reach the level of a 7th-Level Warrior. As for an Eight-ranked Warrior, only those with the bloodline of the Four Ultimate Warriors could attain it.