"Strong?"
Lou Gao finally raised his head, a glint flashing in his cloudy old eyes.
"How strong?"
"Much... much stronger than Bishop Miles!"
Lou Gao's heart jolted. That greedy Miles might have been detestable, but he was still a Soul Emperor.
Much stronger than him?
Could it be a Soul Douluo?
Or even...
"Let them in!"
Lou Gao said in a low voice, rolling up the blueprints and putting them away.
A moment later.
Dugu Bo and Dugu Yan entered the office.
As the door slowly closed, Dugu Bo casually raised a Soul Power barrier, blocking all prying eyes from outside.
Then he slowly took off his hood, revealing an old face that looked somewhat sinister yet brimmed with authority.
"Poison Douluo?!
Dugu Bo?!"
Lou Gao's pupils contracted sharply, and he cried out in shock.
Although he was devoted to forging, he had heard of the Title Douluo whose mastery of poison was unrivaled in the world.
But why had this man suddenly come to this godforsaken place, Gengxin City?
"That's right. It's me."
Dugu Bo smiled faintly. Without wasting words, he pulled a blood-soaked bundle out of his Soul Tool and tossed it onto Lou Gao's desk.
Thud!
The bundle hit the floor, rolled a few times, and came partly undone.
A head stared out from within, its eyes wide open in death.
That fat face and terrified, despairing expression belonged to Bishop Miles, who had been throwing his weight around just moments ago!
"This... this is Miles?!"
Lou Gao leaped out of his chair in fright. Pointing at the severed head, he trembled from head to toe.
"You... you killed him?!"
"Not just him."
Dugu Bo pulled over a chair and sat down, as if he were talking about something trivial.
"I razed the entire Martial Soul Main Hall to the ground.
From this day forward, there will be no more Spirit Hall Branch in Gengxin City."
Lou Gao stared blankly at Dugu Bo, then looked at the severed head. A storm surged through his heart.
After the shock came a joy he could hardly put into words!
Miles the bloodsucker had squeezed the Blacksmith Association dry for years. He had long been a thorn in Lou Gao's side.
But Miles was a member of Spirit Hall. Though Lou Gao was a Divine Craftsman, he hadn't dared lay a hand on him.
Now, that scourge was finally dead!
"Good!
Well done!"
Lou Gao couldn't help laughing aloud, feeling as if a weight had lifted from his chest.
"Your Excellency, you certainly know how to get things done!
Miles deserved to die!
I've wanted to kill him for ages!"
"Since that's the case, President Lou Gao, are you satisfied with my gift?"
Dugu Bo looked at Lou Gao with a faintly amused smile.
"Satisfied!
More than satisfied!"
Lou Gao nodded repeatedly, and his gaze toward Dugu Bo grew much friendlier.
"May I ask why Your Excellency has honored us with your presence?
If it's within my power, I won't refuse!"
"Excellent."
A glint flashed in Dugu Bo's eyes as he got straight to the point.
"I came this time to invite President Lou Gao and the entire Blacksmith Association to join my... alliance."
"Alliance?"
The smile on Lou Gao's face slowly froze, and his brow furrowed.
"Your Excellency means..."
"It's simple."
Dugu Bo raised a finger.
"From now on, the Blacksmith Association will have my protection.
I guarantee that no one will dare bully you the way Miles did again."
"In exchange, the Blacksmith Association will provide weapons and equipment for me, and... follow my orders."
At those words, the atmosphere in the office instantly grew heavy.
Lou Gao fell silent.
Miles's death had been satisfying, but Lou Gao wasn't a fool.
Dugu Bo was trying to swallow up the Blacksmith Association!
Dugu Bo was a Title Douluo, but he was still a lone wolf, and his reputation wasn't exactly spotless.
If they boarded his pirate ship, they would be standing in direct opposition to Spirit Hall.
If the truth came out, Spirit Hall's retaliation would be utterly devastating!
The Blacksmith Association might have to put up with mistreatment, but at least it could still scrape by.
If they followed Dugu Bo, they'd be living with their heads on the line.
"Well..."
Lou Gao rubbed his hands together, an awkward look appearing on his face.
"Your Excellency, as you know, we in the Blacksmith Association are just a bunch of craftsmen. We don't want to get caught up in the Soul Master World's conflicts..."
"Besides, Gengxin City is part of the Star Luo Empire. If we join you, I'm afraid it won't go over well with the Empire..."
"And if Spirit Hall finds out that we killed Miles, the consequences..."
Lou Gao's voice grew quieter and quieter as he spoke, clearly trying to refuse as tactfully as possible.
"Hmph!"
Just then, a cold snort exploded through the office like a thunderclap.
Dugu Bo shot to his feet, and a terrifying Soul Power pressure erupted in an instant!
BOOM—!
The aura of a peak, ninety-third-rank Title Douluo crashed down on Lou Gao like Mount Tai bearing down on him!
The air seemed to have been sucked out of the entire office. The tables and chairs creaked under the unbearable pressure.
Lou Gao was a Soul Saint, but before pressure of this magnitude, he was like an ant facing a dragon. He had no power to resist!
Thud!
Lou Gao's legs gave way, and he dropped to his knees. His face turned deathly pale, and cold sweat instantly soaked his back.
"I'm informing you, not negotiating with you!"
Dugu Bo looked down at Lou Gao, his eyes glinting with a chilling intent to kill.
"Lou Gao, did you think that after killing Miles, I'd let your Blacksmith Association stay out of this?"
"Right now, you have only two choices."
"Either submit to me, and from now on you'll eat well and live well. No one will dare bully you."
"Or..."
Dugu Bo pointed at the blood-soaked head on the desk, his voice icy to the bone.
"I'll put your head beside his!"
"Choose!"
"I... I'll join."
Faced with absolute power and the threat of death, the little resolve Lou Gao had crumbled in an instant.
He gave a bitter smile, his voice dry, as if he had to force every word out of his throat.
He didn't want to be dragged into conflict, but he wanted even less to lose his head right now.
Besides, following a Title Douluo was better than being butchered like a pig by Spirit Hall's greedy bishops.
"That's more like it."
The aura around Dugu Bo instantly receded.
A smile returned to his sinister old face, as if the murderous fiend from a moment ago had never been him.
Dugu Bo stepped forward and personally helped Lou Gao to his feet. He even kindly brushed the dust off Lou Gao's knees.
"President Lou Gao, those who understand the times are wise.
From now on, we're one family. I guarantee that as long as you behave and do as you're told, the Blacksmith Association will flourish more than ever."
Lou Gao managed a smile that looked worse than crying, but his heart was bitter.
Once you'd boarded a pirate ship, getting off wasn't so easy.
"Since we're one family now, I won't beat around the bush."
Dugu Bo sat back down in his chair and tapped the tabletop lightly with his fingers.
"Don't worry. I don't have anything major for you to do right now.
Keep forging and keep making money. Just don't let my business slip out."