Chapter 96: Chapter 92: Pointing the Way (Vote for us with your monthly ticket!)

“Dad!”

Byrne, who was concentrating on controlling the flames on the lawn, suddenly heard his son’s voice beside his ear.

The seven-year-old chubby Darren came running over, pitter-pattering, with his servant jogging behind him.

Chubby Darren chuckled and reached out his hand, eager to touch the flames that Byrne had created and that floated in the air, his plump face full of curiosity.

Byrne manipulated the flames away from his son’s hand and immediately warned, “Don’t touch them, fire can hurt you.”

Chubby Darren looked puzzled and, still looking displeased, lowered his hand, asking in wonderment, “Aren’t those flames controlled by you, Dad? Can they still hurt me?”

Byrne nodded and explained, “Of course, they are weapons.”

“And the purpose of weapons is to harm people; anyone who approaches them carelessly will get injured.”

Darren nodded, his young mind still unfettered; he suddenly asked another question.

“Dad, why did Mom go back to Fein City, and why won’t she take me and my sister with her?”

Byrne fell silent for a while, then carefully formulated his words:

“Because your mother was not happy here, there are no friends for her in Nasir Town.”

And there was another important reason, the education of both you and Lilian had been forcefully handed over to Irene instead of her.

Byrne could understand Margaret’s pain; she had hardly any friends here and the living environment was not as good as in Fein, and most importantly, she couldn’t educate the children herself.

Over the years, Margaret had argued with him several times about this, insisting that at least she should raise Lilian, hoping to share the faith in the Moon Lady with her daughter.

However, Byrne finally revealed an uncompromising and ungentle side.

“No.”

Thus, she finally felt like a complete outsider in this town, as if her sole purpose was to bear children for the Fischer family.

On countless nights, Margaret became increasingly aware that the man who was once so familiar to her was becoming a stranger, with too many things being kept secret within the family.

So, she hoped to have a frank and earnest talk with Byrne.

However, the communication between them was not smooth.

Many questions Byrne simply couldn’t answer, unable to be truly sincere with his family.

Therefore, when the Fischer family held a family lunch a year ago, Margaret publicly proposed to go back to Fein City to see the Hoffman family—Byrne was silent for a moment, still reluctantly agreeing with a forced smile.

Chris had quietly gone to Fein City to investigate Margaret and came back to inform him that she hadn’t had an affair and had not uncovered any secrets of the Fischer’s.

Of course, Byrne knew of his wife’s loyalty; she was just very tired and disappointed.

At only seven years old, Darren still couldn’t understand the situation with his parents at all.

He just thought it was strange that even though his mother loved him and Lilian very much, she still left this place.

Vanessa walked over with her hands behind her back, and calmly said beside Byrne:

“My lord, people from the Kesse family have come to negotiate, wanting to trade back those two Extraordinary Exponents from the knight clans.”

The two murderers from the knight families were tied up in the town center for days and nights, almost tortured beyond recognition by the enraged townsfolk, barely clinging to life.

If it weren’t for Irene, even their last breath wouldn’t have been preserved.

The Fischer family’s official statement was that they were illegal Extraordinary Exponents who suddenly invaded Nasir Town and attacked the Fischer family; they were arrested, and the town chief and the sheriff conducted the trial—everything was legal and compliant.

After hearing this, Byrne nodded calmly and waved his hand for the servants to take Darren away.

“Who has come to negotiate?”

Vanessa answered, “It’s someone from the Leander family, Baron Leander.”

“Oh?”

The identity of the visitor greatly surprised Byrne, and astonishment was clear in his eyes.

He had long known that the Kesse family had a history of conflict with the Leander family, and even members of the Leander family lost their lives in those clashes.

Why would Baron Leander be the one negotiating?

Byrne felt there must be a reason.

“Hmm, let me meet him.”

Byrne quickly arrived in the parlor and saw the slightly chubby and smiling Baron Leander sitting on the sofa.

He exuded a merchant’s aura from head to toe; if he stood next to sea merchant John, strangers guessing who the real merchant was would probably unanimously declare Baron Leander as such.

Baron Leander looked happy, as if seeing Byrne in the parlor was a joyous affair.

“Baron Byrne, we meet again at last—it’s a relief that we are not enemies!”

He continued with a frown and a touch of schadenfreude, shaking his head:

“Alas, but for you, the situation is not good, for being an enemy of the Kesse family indeed spells great misfortune.”

“In fact, you might not be fully aware that the Kesse family can be considered a vassal of Viscount Garcia.”

When Baron Leander mentioned this family name, Byrne immediately furrowed his brow, deep in thought.

The Garcia family is one of the seven viscount families on the East Coast, possessing two towns in a territory comprising four, and over a dozen villages in the vicinity, with a population counting tens of thousands and a private army of over a thousand men.

Their family head, Viscount Garcia, is a high-level Transmutant, possessing the Bloodline power “Crystal Scorpion Beast” with extremely high defensive power, capable of easily handling many low-level Transmutant Extraordinary Exponents.

Within the Garcia family and through their allied Extraordinary Exponents, there are over a hundred, and even the number of Level 2 Extraordinary Exponents within the family itself amounts to five, ranking their overall strength firmly within the top four of the many viscount families, vieing for third place.

For the current Fischer family, their existence is like an enormous behemoth, capable of crushing the Fischer family without breaking a sweat.

Since the Kesse family is dependent on such a powerful viscount family, it would be impossible for the Fischer family to stand against them!

Baron Leander chuckled and continued:

“In fact, your crisis is considerable, because it’s not just the Kesse family that wants Ourde Village, but the real trigger for the conflict is Viscount Garcia behind them, hoping to acquire Nasir Town!”

“The Garcia family doesn’t want to intervene personally, with the Kesse family acting as their agent.”

Byrne felt a little dizzy; the Kesse family might be manageable, but the immensely powerful Garcia family was absolutely beyond their ability to confront.

The total military power of Viscount Garcia’s family alone was even capable of defeating the Rhea army they faced before, not to mention that in other respects they far exceeded them.

He looked at the smirking Baron Leander, seeing him as a shrewd old fox.

So, what was this man doing here? Was it really just to communicate this information?

Having dealt with many businessmen over the years, Byrne instinctively sensed that the other party was deliberately frightening him to achieve his next persuasive goal.

After some thought, Byrne asked directly, “Baron Leander, so why are you the one here to negotiate today?”

He posed a crucial question, “I heard that the Leander and Kesse families were enemies, so why have they now become allies?”

The smile on Baron Leander’s face disappeared, replaced by quite apparent irritation:

“Allies? There’s no such thing, I’m just temporarily pretending to yield, hey, but Baron Kesse truly believes that the Leander family has become their dog.”

“I came here today because I want to join forces with you, the Fischer family, to turn the tables on the Kesse family!”

So that was it.

Byrne immediately understood the meaning behind Baron Leander’s earlier words.

It was to thoroughly frighten him, making him eager to ally with the Leander family, and ultimately using the Fischer family to inflict mutual destruction with the Kesse family.

Byrne feigned hesitation, then asked further, “Even if you join forces with us, it won’t be possible to confront Viscount Garcia behind Baron Kesse, right?”

His face feigned sincerity, as if pleading, “Baron Leander, please show the Fischer family a way to survive.”

Baron Leander’s face broke into a smile as he said loudly:

“They can have a backer, but doesn’t your Fischer family also have a supporter on the East Coast? It’s just that this person isn’t truly your backer yet, but rather a business collaborator… You need to be more proactive.”

Byrne quickly realized who the other party was referring to.

In fact, he had just thought of it himself.

Indeed, as Assistant Priest Zayne had said, the Fischer family needs to focus on connections among Extraordinary overlords.

If they wish to survive in the East Coast Province, they must have a backer with real strength.

There are only a few reliable families and individuals in the East Coast Province they can rely on.

For themselves, the easiest to form a deep bond with is the Lion clan, the first viscount family of the East Coast who possess Fein City, including their head “The Fox Leading the pride” Viscount Bast.

Although they have been conducting business for Viscount Bast all this time, at best they are business partners and are far from a deeply bound dependent relationship.

Just like Leander said, at present, the situation between their two families is not sufficient for Viscount Bast to stand up for the Fischer family.

As for the Romann family, although they provided the Fischer family with knight clan credentials, that was merely the duke’s recognition of the father’s valiant deeds.

In truth, the Romann family has never considered the Fischer family a vassal, and their influence is not on the East Coast at all.

Waiting for a powerful figure to take initiative is not possible; they are the ones who need to be more proactive.

“Thank you, Baron Leander, I understand,” Byrne said.

Baron Leander smiled, nodding as he replied, “Good, when you find a way, let’s talk again about other matters of cooperation.”

Since the Leander family is currently feigning submission to the Kesse family, Baron Leander still had to redeem the two murderers to ensure the Kesse family wouldn’t be suspicious.

Byrne accompanied Baron Leander to the center of Nasir Town.

They saw the two wretched murderers, stripped of their clothes by the townspeople, covered in wounds, and even splashed with excrement.

Their pitiful state startled the old man, and Baron Leander couldn’t help saying:

“You’re too barbaric, to actually treat these two members of the knight clan like this?”

Byrne calmly responded, “They slaughtered the people of this town.”

After listening, Baron Leander still shook his head, a hint of noticeable dissatisfaction in his gaze towards Byrne.

“They only killed an ordinary person; your Fischer family’s reaction seems a bit excessive, and I fear that if this gets out, it could negatively impact your image.”

Byrne was silent for a long time, not immediately responding.

Having possessed extraordinary power for only about a decade, he could still easily empathize with ordinary people, and if someone committed crimes in Nasir Town, they had to pay the price.

“Our Fischer family is indeed such a barbaric lot.”