"Richard, my brother, you still have that battlefield temperament, huh?"
Bob took a puff from his cigar, slowly exhaling the smoke, his gaze somewhat unfocused behind the haze.
Richard furrowed his brows again.
He waved his hand, and a gust of wind element gathered the smoke in the room into a clump.
"Bob, I think we should talk at another time. The Azure Heavenly Hemp Stem has already messed with your brain."
The cigar in Bob's hand was the same one he had given to Richard, and his was a special blend.
Richard caught a whiff of the smoke; Bob's cigar contained at least five times the amount of Azure Heavenly Hemp Stem compared to the original. Even a Wizard would experience intense hallucinogenic effects at that dosage.
Richard even began to doubt whether Nine Stars Commerce had actually held an auction.
After all, judging by Bob's current state, he must have been smoking this for quite a while.
"No, since you brought it up, let's just talk about it here."
Bob sat up straight, his eyes suddenly clear.
Richard noticed this change, and his frown deepened.
This was already a sign of drug tolerance.
Bob hadn't acted this way on the battlefield in the Crimson Sun World. What had he been through recently that made him resort to substances to relieve stress?
"Richard, my brother, you must have heard the news that our old president of Nine Stars Commerce is nearing his end, right?"
Richard nodded, his tightly furrowed brows relaxing slightly.
"I've heard."
Bob nodded and used a wind blade to cut off the tip of his cigar.
"Good to hear. In fact, the old president's condition is worse than what the outside world is saying. It won't be long before he falls into eternal sleep."
Richard nodded but didn't respond.
At this moment, he could roughly guess why Bob was acting this way.
Bob smiled at Richard: "Originally, matters like this wouldn't concern someone of my level.
After all, I had always been a mid-level member of the guild.
For a change in leadership, someone like me just needed to wait for the transition to be completed and then obey the new president."
As he spoke, a hint of regret flashed across Bob's face.
"But just at this time, I happened to acquire a small Red Sun Crystal Iron Mine.
Once the old president learned of this, he immediately promoted me from mid-level to high-level and put me in charge of the guild's resource development in other realms."
By the end of his statement, Bob's tone was filled with disbelief.
Resource development is a lucrative position; after all, there are always "losses" in resource development, and if these losses are managed well, they can yield a significant income.
"And this promotion also means one thing: I, my brother, am now considered one of the old president's potential heirs."
Richard stroked his chin, realizing he had guessed correctly. With the old president nearing his end, the selection of heirs had already begun to spark conflict, and as the least established heir, Bob would likely face the toughest challenges in this inheritance battle.
If nothing unexpected happened, he would probably be the first to be eliminated.
At this moment, Richard regretted coming here.
Although Bob's friendship was valuable, the struggle for control of the Wizard Chamber of Commerce was definitely beyond the price of that friendship.
The conflicts among Wizards are not limited to some underhanded schemes; a significant number of Wizards prefer the brutal inheritance methods of the martial arts sects.
As long as they eliminate their competitors, it doesn't matter what the will says; the inheritance rights will surely fall into their hands.
"My brother, I haven't even dared to meditate during this time. I'm on edge every day, fearing that one day I won't see the sun again.
This feeling is worse than being on the battlefield."
Bob seemed to be venting for the first time in a long while, his emotions growing more intense as if he wanted to expel all the suffering he had endured recently.
"So what do you want from me, big brother?" Richard asked, his tone somewhat stiff. "Our guild doesn't offer security services."
Bob's actions in dragging him into this struggle through the auction made Richard feel somewhat displeased.
"No, my brother." Bob said, his emotions rising, "Even though your guild doesn't provide security services, you can definitely save my life!"
"I can save your life?"
Richard pointed at himself, his face filled with confusion.
"How did I not know I had such great power?"
Bob suddenly stood up, waving his hand, and a light screen appeared in the air.
The screen displayed a long list of names, many of which Richard recognized.
"How did you get this list?"
Richard stood up, looking at Bob in shock.
This list contained the names of the upper echelons of the White Wizard Legion who had purchased Magic Support Vehicles.
"My brother, your guild is more prominent than you think!" Bob said in a low tone. "With this list, as long as you're willing to help me out, no one will come after me.
I'm just a smokescreen; the old president must have his own choice for successor, and promoting me was just to confuse the situation.
As long as you agree to protect me..."
As he spoke, Bob pulled the Magic Pocket from his waist and handed it to Richard.
"Everything in here is yours. If you think it's not enough, I can go get a loan from Magic Essence."
Richard looked at the pocket Bob handed him, constantly weighing whether he should help with this.
If what he said was indeed as effective as Bob claimed, then helping him could be beneficial. With this friendship, he and Nine Stars Commerce could definitely establish a good cooperative relationship.
But Richard worried that if he protected Bob, it might send the wrong signals to the outside world, leading to a chain reaction.
After all, from the intelligence Bob had shown, every move of Richard Jolod's commerce guild was being watched.
Time ticked by, and sweat began to bead on Bob's forehead as he stared intently at Richard, hoping for a response.
"I've made my decision."
Richard suddenly clapped his hands.
"This favor of yours..."
Boom!
A loud rumble interrupted what Richard was about to say. The aircraft he was in jolted violently, and the transparent walls around them transformed back to their original state—cold metal.
Bob shouted down at the ground, "What's going on? Did we crash..."
Before Bob could finish his question, a second explosion rang out.
This time, the walls of the entire aircraft deformed and shattered, and the flying metal fragments shot through the cabin like bullets.
"What the hell is going on! Bob!" Richard shouted at Bob while bracing himself with a Magic Barrier.
The Ulysses on his shoulder had already scanned the surrounding environment.
According to Ulysses' description, at least five second-circle Wizards were casting spells around the aircraft.
And the attack they were facing was coming from them.
"Aren't you supposed to be a smokescreen? How could someone attack you!"
Bob looked just as bewildered; he really was a smokescreen.
It couldn't be that the old president suddenly promoted him just to pass the position to him.
He had never even met the old president; how could this be possible?
Boom!
The third explosion sounded.
The entire aircraft was instantly torn apart, and the Wizard apprentices in the cockpit were shredded by the debris.
"Damn it, Ulysses, take action! Bring down all these bastards!"
Richard was filled with rage; after all, he was a Black Wizard who had fought in the Plane Battlefield. Even if he wasn't particularly aggressive, the situation before him would provoke anyone.
"Got it, just waiting for your command!"
Ulysses, receiving the order, immediately flew off Richard's shoulder like a bolt of lightning, charging toward the attacking Wizards.
At this moment, Richard was positioned at the junction of the mortal and Wizard districts.
The structure of Paradise City was nested; the center was the Wizard district, the next layer was the transition zone, and then the largest was the mortal district.
The transition zone was a mixed bag, where both mortals and Wizards operated, so it wasn't surprising to see a few Wizards there.
When the attacking Wizards saw Ulysses flying toward them, a hint of disdain flashed across their faces.
They thought they could use a magic pet to delay them; such tactics only worked on the locals...
The dark crow claw instantly tore through the Magic Barrier and then lunged for his heart.
"Got the first one."
The Wizard looked on in disbelief at the black crow; how could a magic pet possess such strength?
Had he encountered a master of synthetic beasts? This wasn't mentioned in the intel!
Then, the Wizard watched as the black crow replicated the same move, grabbing the hearts of his four companions.
To be clear, the strongest Wizard among them was on the verge of advancing to the Third Circle!
"This is definitely a third-circle creature!" the attacking Wizard screamed in his mind.
But it was already too late.
Because a Wizard had now appeared before them, with glowing blue rune chains emerging from his body.
Sealing Art! The attacking Wizard wanted to resist, but at that moment, his heart had already been ripped out by Ulysses, and the magical energy circulation in his body had fallen into chaos.
Even as a Wizard, the heart is the starting and ending point for most of their magical energy flow; losing it would cause temporary magical instability.
As he watched the rune chains wrap around him, the attacking Wizard felt a bone-chilling cold.
This cold came not only from the impending grim fate he could already foresee but also from the Sealing Art itself.
The rune chains on their bodies were gradually turning into blue frost.
Soon, the sealing was complete. Richard stood in place, continuously drawing energy from the Magic Stone to replenish his magical power.
Sealing Art consumes a lot of energy; simultaneously releasing five Sealing Arts, all aimed at second-circle Wizards of similar strength, nearly drained Richard's magical energy along with his backup reserves.
Once he established the magical energy flow, Richard grabbed one of the Wizards and temporarily released his seal.
"Who sent you?" Richard asked, his face filled with murderous intent.
The unsealed Wizard glanced at Richard, his magical energy surging, unsure if he was reconstructing his magical flow or preparing to cast a spell.
Clearly, he had no intention of cooperating with Richard.
"Not talking? That's fine."
Richard's vertical pupils flashed with a hint of black-red light, and the Wizard he was looking at was instantly pulled into a nightmare.
At this moment, Bob had also come to Richard's side. Seeing the Wizard Richard was interrogating, he spoke up:
"My brother, there's no need to interrogate these guys anymore. They are a group of mercenaries doing dirty work, and they all signed a Soul Contract before taking on the mission.
You won't get anything out of them."
Richard turned to him: "Do you have any clues? A smokescreen shouldn't be attacked in broad daylight."
Bob took out a Crystal Ball and handed it to Richard, forcing a smile as he spoke:
"This is a message from one of my insiders; I just received it."
Inside the Crystal Ball was a message.
"Sir, the old president is about to fall into eternal sleep, and he has designated you as the successor of the commerce guild."