"Don't kneel, don't kneel..." Leo called helplessly as he held his doll-like daughter, Zoya, in his arms and led Hancock by the hand, watching as the merchants recognized him and fell to their knees as though mountains of gold and jade pillars were collapsing.
They were merchants, but they were classical merchants. A small number of them had already caught a glimpse of industrial commerce, while others were still going in circles within the world of agrarian trade.
Their feudal way of thinking ran very deep.
Naturally, they would not prostrate themselves before the Celestial Dragons, who robbed them of their profits.
But if Leo guaranteed the safety of their money and reduced the risks of their transactions, taking taxes as protection fees, then they would worship him as the God of Commerce.
It was a very strange thing.
Among the merchants, there had long been a rumor: the most valuable business in the world was the world itself.
But naturally, they had neither the standing nor the qualifications to take part in the grandest gamble and transaction in the world.
But Leo had come, and he had succeeded. Naturally, he had become the merchants' idol.
Because the undertaking he had accomplished was far too great and the sums involved far too enormous, everyone could not help but feel that he had achieved the impossible, like the God of Commerce himself.
Some merchants had even begun worshipping statues of Leo in their homes.
To them, rather than worship gods they had never seen in thousands of years, it was better to worship the god walking upon the earth: Leo.
Besides, no amount of respect or flattery was excessive when directed at the people who fed and clothed them.
It was like giving gifts to your superiors. They might not remember