the next day.
Jason, Delisha, and Naya flew directly out of the city eastward. All the bandits and guards along the way deliberately avoided them until they were almost out of the territory of Skyfall City, when a stranger stopped them.
"I am Evil Wind Fiend, a subordinate of the Lord of the Bone Dragon Prefecture." The sinister-looking man carefully examined the three of them, not missing a single detail.
Jason glanced at the two behind him, and as planned, raised his hand to swear. "I, Jason Rhein, swear to the Overgod that none of the three of us were involved in the internal strife of the Bone Dragon Prefecture."
The sinister-looking Evil Wind Fiend sneered, "Your internal strife is unrelated to my manor's troubles, but that doesn't mean you haven't exerted influence behind the scenes."
Jason replied calmly, "I admit that I spoke with the people of the City Lord of Skyfall City before and learned some inside information, but that's all. I did not agree to the City Lord of Skyfall City's request, and I don't have the ability to do so."
In fact, the city lord of Skyfall City had not made any demands on Jason.
The Evil Wind Fiend stared at the three for a while, then finally relented. "You can leave now."
Jason and his two companions set off again, flying towards the Northbone Prefecture.
Perhaps the previous bad luck had been mostly dissipated, because the rest of the trip went unexpectedly smoothly.
However, to be on the safe side, Jason and his two companions slowed down and flew towards Falling Rain City.
Most of the Northbone Prefecture remains peaceful, but the area around Falling Rain City is somewhat unsettled.
The incident began when the Seven Star Fiend attempted to challenge Lloyd, the lord of Falling Rain City.
Moreover, this is not a simple challenge from the city lord. According to some rumors, this time it is a joint effort by several city lords in the Northbone Prefecture to oust Lloyd.
The mission Jason and his group participated in to annihilate the Fiend of "White Stone Castle" was said to be a probing operation by Lord Lloyd's rival forces.
This is also why Delisha readily agreed to relocate her family.
The upper echelons of the Rhine Clan are generally pessimistic about Lloyd.
According to intelligence gathered in recent years, Lloyd's strength is only at a lower-middle level among the Seven Star Fiend. As the prefecture adjacent to the Undead Sacred Mountain, the Northbone Prefecture holds a more important position and is therefore guarded by Sovereign's Emissary. The city lords within the prefecture are generally at the peak of the Seven Star Fiend, and compared to them, Lloyd is the weakest among the twenty city lords.
He was able to occupy Falling Rain City purely because he could refine top-grade Deathgod Golem. Most of the city lords in the Northbone Prefecture would benefit from this, and Falling Rain City was indeed not a wealthy place due to its remote location. With the powerful figures in the Northbone Prefecture keeping each other in check, Lloyd became the city lord by playing both sides.
This made Lloyd's position as city lord somewhat awkward, but still relatively secure.
This time, the challenge to become the city lord was clearly well-prepared.
Some of the more specific news is difficult to verify.
Some say a family with the ability to craft top-grade Deathgod Golem recently moved to the Northbone Prefecture; others say that during the Northbone Prefecture's plunder of the Bone Dragon Prefecture's interests, Falling Rain City performed poorly, displeasing the Prefecture Lord; still others say that Lloyd's daughter, Johanna, defected to the Bone Dragon Prefecture with the technology to craft Deathgod Golem.
Jason can attest that the last theory is completely untrue.
However, Jason's opinion didn't matter; he was leaving regardless of whether Lloyd could retain his position as city lord.
If Lloyd fails, the Rhine Clan will certainly be purged; even if Lloyd manages to retain his position as city lord this time, the opposing forces will certainly not let it go easily, and they could easily send several bandit groups to plunder the area surrounding Falling Rain City.
The reason the Rhine Clan was able to take on the contract to cultivate the Violet Light Pearl Mussel was because the previous family that cultivated Violet Light Pearl Mussel had been wiped out.
Falling Rain City remained unchanged, but due to the city lord's challenge, many more people had gathered in the city, all eager to witness the duel between the Seven Star Fiend.
The challenge for the position of city lord has a time limit of one thousand years for the city lord's side to accept the challenge. If there are special reasons, an application for extension can be made to the prefectural lord. This is mainly to prevent anyone from taking advantage of the city lord's poor condition to challenge him.
The person who applied to challenge the Lord of Falling Rain City is named "Archmonde". He is said to be a well-known Seven Star Fiend from the Northbone Prefecture. He has already established a family and this time he wants to take the position of Lord of the City so that his family can rise to a higher level.
Jason had no interest in the power struggle for the city lordship; he just wanted to leave this troublesome place as soon as possible. Beirut's name was powerful, but there were bound to be a few fools who wouldn't know their place. Jason himself wasn't afraid, but the Rhine Clan couldn't withstand any more turmoil.
The three went straight to the Rhine Clan's residence.
The Rhine Clan's directors, Alpa and Maisiji, who often reside here, opened the door to greet them.
"Chieftain, Elder Jason, you've arrived."
Delisha asked, "Have all the Violet Light Pearl Mussel from recent years been collected?"
Alpa took out a Interspatial Ring: "It's all here."
Delisha took the ring, then took out a Interspatial Ring and said to Maisiji, "These Nether Stone are for you. Buy as many supplies as possible; we'll set off in about a year."
Over the years, Maisiji has been deliberately accumulating resources that are abundant in the Netherworld, and has even purchased a considerable amount from surrounding cities.
Jason instructed Naya, "You stay here for a while; I need to take care of some things."
"Um."
After doing all this, Jason and Delisha exchanged a glance.
"The last hurdle, hopefully Lloyd will be more sensible."
The Rhine Clan still has a contract with Lord Lloyd of Falling Rain City. If they want to leave Falling Rain City now, they must first terminate the contract.
The city lord's mansion remained peaceful. Delisha and Jason announced their arrival and met Lloyd, who had a kind smile on his face.
Lloyd spoke first, "Over the past few decades, wave after wave of families have come to say goodbye to me. Do you all have so little faith in me?"
He had clearly anticipated that the Rhine Clan would try to leave, given that the Rhine Clan had made no attempt to conceal its actions of gathering its members and purchasing supplies over the years.
Delisha spoke up, "Due to certain reasons, our Rhine Clan has to leave. We apologize to Lord Lloyd."
"Forgive me? I forgive you, but who forgives me? Back when your family was in dire straits, I gave you the opportunity, and you've developed so quickly over the years. Now that I'm in trouble, is this how you repay me?" Lloyd's tone remained gentle, but he was clearly angry.
The Rhine Clan was established relatively recently. Other families with deep-rooted histories would find it difficult to retain Lloyd even if they wanted to leave; but in Lloyd's eyes, the Rhine Clan was still a small family with few members, except for the patriarch who was somewhat powerful.
Delisha turned to look at Jason.
Jason communicated with Lloyd using his divine sense. "Lord Lloyd, leaving our family this time was truly a last resort. Even without the recent events, we would have left anyway. Thank you for your previous kindness; I think we can make a deal."
Lloyd dismissed the servants beside him. "You'd better offer me something that will win my heart."
Jason calmly took out a drop of Sovereign’s Might from his Interspatial Ring.
Lloyd's expression changed, but before he could react, Jason withdrew the Sovereign’s Might.
"I can let you leave," Lloyd said first.
Jason shook his head. "I want the method for creating the Deathgod Golem."
Lloyd was silent for a moment, then said, "I can give you the method for crafting a superior Deathgod Golem."
We need the crafting method for the ultimate Deathgod Golem.
In the long run, it's a bit of a stretch to use a drop of Sovereign’s Might to buy the crafting method of a top-grade Deathgod Golem, but that's only for those who have access to Sovereign’s Might. Right now, Lloyd desperately needs this drop of Sovereign’s Might, but he doesn't have the means to commission those top experts to refine it, so Jason's terms for this deal are reasonable.
"One drop of the Sovereign’s Might is not enough!" Lloyd said firmly.
He wanted to bluff Jason to see if he had any additional Sovereign’s Might.
Jason pulled out Beirut's token and said, "To be honest, Lord Lloyd, for some reason, I have gained the favor of Lord Beirut, the Lord of the Indigo Prefecture of the Infernal Realm, and now I am going to take the Rhine Clan to the Infernal Realm. I would like to offer the method of refining the supreme Deathgod Golem as a token of my loyalty to Lord Beirut. I would appreciate your assistance."
Lloyd frowned, yet seemed unconcerned. "The lord of the Infernal Realm has no say in the affairs of the lord of the Netherworld."
Jason smiled and said, "I admit I have two drops of Sovereign’s Might, but the other drop is to prevent Lloyd from killing me to cover it up. So, this is the highest price I can offer right now; if the deal falls through, I can wait until Lloyd loses his position as city lord and is forced to leave the city, then I can come back with the Sovereign’s Might to talk to you again."
Lloyd let out a sigh of relief, "Alright, deal. Our previous contract is void."
Lloyd pulled out the contract he had signed years ago and voluntarily admitted that the contract was null and void. The contract, which was inscribed with mysterious runes, quickly turned to ashes and disappeared.
"We will sign a new contract. The clan chief and I will stay here until we have fully mastered the method of crafting the supreme Deathgod Golem. Only then can I hand over the Sovereign’s Might to you," Jason said resolutely.
"Make a deal."