Emperors of the Underworld

With a single sentence, he left Du Feld speechless.

Du Feld opened his mouth, but it felt as though a burning coal had lodged in his throat. He could not force out a single word.

That was indeed what he thought, but he absolutely did not dare say it aloud. He was utterly certain that if those words left his mouth, he would be separated from his corpse the very next second, his body sprawled across this reception room.

In the end, he could only turn his face away resentfully, pull another cigar from his case, and clamp it between his teeth. Yet he could not light it for a long while.

Shipping King Umit, seated beside Du Feld, watched the scene expressionlessly. Without wasting a word, he directly revealed his trump card.

"Mr. Lafitte, I control over eighty percent of the deep-sea shipping routes in the New World. Whether it is the World Government transporting supplies to build bases, the Underworld moving arms and contraband across the seas, or even delivering special provisions to the Celestial Dragons of Mary Geoise, it all passes through my hands."

"My backers are not limited to the Charlotte Family. The recently famous Red Hair Pirates also have deep ties with me."

He raised his eyes to Lafitte, his tone yielding nothing.

"I'll be blunt. I only accept equal cooperation. I will not become a vassal, and I will never hand over my shipping routes."

Umit understood clearly that his shipping routes were his lifeline. As long as he held them, whoever controlled the Underworld would be unable to do without him.

Lafitte nodded gently, that mild gentlemanly smile still on his face.

"Certainly. That is a perfectly reasonable request."

Seeing that Lafitte was not pressing him step by step as he had Du