The Families' Banquet (Continued)

"This is the most authentic Siracusa flavor, Texas. Have you been away from Siracusa for too long? Has your sense of taste deteriorated?"

Right next to Salvadore, another elderly man with white hair glanced at him disdainfully and then retorted without any politeness.

For other families, the sight of the two patriarchs mocking each other was not a good omen.

But for the Texas Family and Saluzzo Family, such scenes were already commonplace.

"To be honest, your taste is really no match for your child's. At least that child knows what good food is," the head of the Saluzzo Family said slowly.

"Huh? Him?" Salvadore curled his lip in disdain at the mention of his child. "So, you've forgotten that he traded a soon-to-be-decommissioned winery for your three large warehouses?"

"He's a businessman, a thorough, pure businessman... I'm proud of that, but as for his taste... ha, I bet you could bring him a plate of raw foie gras and he'd say it's so fresh and then eat it all. That's his so-called business aesthetics."

Salvadore said, glancing at the other person again before shaking his head.

"Where's your little girl? I remember she was your apple of your eye, wasn't she?"

"You mean Lappland?"

The old man smiled.

Although the two elderly people had very different personalities and habits, they agreed on one thing.

Both elderly people adored their granddaughter.

Only...

"Ever since she was beaten to tears by your Celinina, she's been hiding in her room and hasn't come out for almost three days."

Saluzzo spoke, his gaze towards Salvadore carrying a hint of mockery.

But Salvadore into laughter.

"That's because Celinina is better; she lost the fight, so she can't blame anyone else..."

"Of course I know that."

Saluzzo shook his head; having come from the past of Siracusa, he naturally understood this.

It was a fair competition; in fact, considering the environment and other factors, my granddaughter had the advantage.

Even so, she still lost to Celinina.

There's really no one to blame for this.

"That's it... Let the younger generation handle the matters."

Salvadore smiled, his words light and easygoing.

But these words piqued Saluzzo's curiosity.

"Speaking of which... where's your granddaughter? Lappland's been looking forward to another fight with her..."

"Her..."

Salvadore was silent for a moment, then smiled.

"She found a good teacher."

"Um?"

"Let's talk about this properly another time... What about you? When do you plan to retire and hand over your position to your son?"

Salvadore raised an eyebrow, his expression somewhat expectant.

But Saluzzo suddenly jumped up.

"Bullshit! There's absolutely no way I'll retire before you!"

"Then you'll have to endure another ten years or so~"

Salvadore laughed, his voice still strong.

He genuinely intended to wait another ten years or so until Celinina matured before letting go.

After a moment of anxiety, Saluzzo's face couldn't help but fall into a gloomy expression.

"Sometimes, I really don't understand where you get so much energy... We're all almost seventy, but you look almost the same as when you were forty..."

"When I was forty, I could still eat a whole beef leg by myself." Salvadore noticed his old friend's change in mood and slowed his voice as well.

He lowered his eyes, reminiscing about the past.

However, they didn't have much time to reminisce and feel regret. Soon, everyone noticed the unusual black fog in their surroundings.

The heads of the families exchanged glances, then rose in perfect unison and headed toward a secluded room.

A moment later, another group of people surged up and sat in their original seats, dressed in similar clothing.

Everything seems... unchanged...

Inside the secluded room, twelve representatives of the families—either the patriarchs or trusted members of the patriarchs—took their seats in turn.

Eleven black wolves, symbols of their power, appeared in the surrounding area.

As always, Rob, who belongs to the Texas Family, has not yet appeared.

But clearly, the Wolf Lord had grown accustomed to this maverick companion, so they didn't say much, only exchanging glances before standing quietly to the side.

At this moment, the head of the Saluzzo Family, who was hosting the banquet, stood up.

"Now that everyone's here, let's not waste any more time on pleasantries."

There were no unnecessary pleasantries; everyone at this meeting had only one goal.

He glanced around at the other family members, each with their own hidden agendas, and narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Regarding the Losoloya Family's proposal last time, does anyone have any further comments?"

"..."

The meeting room was completely silent.

"It seems we've reached a rare consensus."

Saluzzo shrugged, not surprised at all.

But at that moment, the head of the Bellone Family suddenly raised his hand.

I'm quitting.

"Um?!"

These words immediately caused a huge uproar.

All the family members looked at each other in surprise, somewhat puzzled.

Everyone finally reached an agreement, so why is the other party going back on their word?

"The Losoloya Family has still not responded to the attack, so naturally we will not help those who want to kill us."

The representative of the Bellone Family is Bernardo, the head of the Bellone family.

He stared coldly at the Losoloya Family representative sitting opposite him, his gaze unfriendly.

And everyone understood after hearing his explanation.

Everyone has received some information about what happened yesterday.

I can understand the other party's indignation at this moment.

But...

"At this time, personal emotions should not be put above family matters Bellone."

An old man gently tapped his table, his words carrying a hint of sarcasm.

But Bernardo was determined to target the Losoloya Family at this time, and he gritted his teeth and persisted.

"Perhaps one day, I can put a gun to your child's head and make you obediently continue with us to finish building the Siracusa Commercial Street."

"I remember, you only have that one heir left now, right?"

Bernardo's attitude was very firm, and his words surprised everyone.

They had never seen Bernardo so relentlessly pressing forward.

Salvadore, on the other hand, glanced at the other man a few times, and couldn't help but grin as he recalled the intelligence he had seen before entering the banquet.

Clearly, the other party should know that he/she has returned.

For Bernardo, the relatively young head of the family, he may not yet understand what the name Maria means.

But...

Salvadore turned his head and looked at the silent Wolf Lord.

This wolf, known as Zaro, was extremely arrogant even among the Wolf Pack, but now he has actually become docile.

It's obvious.

It has made its own decision.

This is indeed a wise choice.

At the very least, he did not recommend anyone to be an enemy of Maria.

The matter they were about to discuss concerned the Gray Hall, whose owner was none other than Madam Sicily, who had a close personal relationship with Lady Maria.

If a fight were to break out, the family would definitely be the one to win.

Salvadore was certainly aware of this.

But he still insisted on attending the meeting to express his desire to confront the Gray Hall...

Of course, this is just a statement.

The purpose, of course, was to better divide up the resources left after the families were destroyed.

The argument started again during the meeting.

Seeing Bernardo's firm stance, the family representatives had no choice but to turn to the Losoloya Family.

Hopefully, the other party will back down.

It's important to understand that the operation against the Gray Hall is crucial to the fate of the entire Siracusa family.

They would naturally choose to unite all forces that can be united!

But...

"We have nothing to say about what happened back then; the Losoloya Family has its own plans."

The representative from Losoloya spoke, his words equally forceful.

This caused everyone a real headache.

Salvadore to the side, simply smiled.

After thinking for a moment, he gently tapped the table.

As soon as he made his move, everyone gradually quieted down.

Although everyone has different positions and represents different interests, no one doubts the patriarch who didn't even have his own Wolf Lord present.

"In that case... Bellone, your family should withdraw from this plan..."

Upon hearing this, the other families all frowned.

Fortunately, Salvadore hadn't finished speaking.

"But... even if you withdraw, you still need to contribute to this operation... You'll be fully responsible for the expenses related to the other families' operations. Is that alright?"

Salvadore's voice wasn't loud, but he offered a solution.

With a major battle imminent, it's certainly impossible for the Bellone Family to simply withdraw.

Even if they don't participate in the main battle, they still have to do logistics.

As for whether other families will overstate or exaggerate their expenses... that's something they need to consider.

Bernardo somewhat conflicted about this, but he gritted his teeth and agreed.

Meanwhile, the Losoloya Family smirked, revealing expressions of anticipation for a good show.

Unfortunately for them, Salvadore had no intention of letting them off the hook.