"What do you mean, we mustn't?" Grand Artisan Meng asked, his face dark.
"Grand Artisan, Sword Slave Yu Ling is one of the three guardian Human Puppets under your command, a divine weapon honed for the attack, but... unleashing her would bode ill!"
"Indeed. Grand Artisan Li has come at us with tremendous force, but much of this is merely to vent his anger. Why not let him get it out of his system, then request peace talks? If you deploy this Sword Slave, she may destroy his Human Puppets, leaving no room to turn things around!"
"Grand Artisan, may we ask whether you intend to negotiate after a bout with Grand Artisan Li, or oppose him to the bitter end and forge a mortal feud? If we can put harmony first, our Chess Mountain will win even in defeat. If not, we may lose even in victory!"
"We are already at a disadvantage. If we rise up and strike back, we may alarm our allied peaks..."
The members of the Merchants' Association clearly did not want the two Grand Artisans to fight in earnest and damage their "harmony."
The best outcome would be to fight without an irreparable break, then sit down to discuss peace and resolve the matter by relatively mild means.
Li Chen's actions over the past days had dealt a tremendous blow to Chess Mountain's business. The merchants and allies taking advantage of the fire to loot them had left them even more terrified.
For a long time, the people of Chess Mountain had believed that their advantageous location and substantial foundations left them in no danger of being toppled. They had never imagined that the wrath of a single Grand Artisan would almost be more than they could bear.
Things had yet to reach their