The Strongest Businessman

Dylan and the others immediately stopped fighting when they saw the arrival of the Thundercloud Guards. They distanced themselves from each other and retracted their weapons.

The Thundercloud Guards were 55 in numbers as soon as they arrived they formed 5 columns with 10 guards comprising each column. They remained at ease and waited for further instructions as five other guards could be conspicuously moving forward and formed an independent column.

These five guards essentially wore a different type of armor compared to the Thundercloud Guards. They had red capes similar to a medieval knight's cape and a war helmet designed fundamentally different to the guards. This was the uniform of a Captain-Rank Guard. Clearly, all five of them were all captains.

"What is the reason for the brawl that is happening on this street at this hour?!" The captain in the middle interrogated. He had a stern gaze and a clear aura which implied his impartiality and uprightness in handling his matters.

"Sir, it was due to these hoodlums!" Ritz pointed at Dylan with a tragic expression. It was as though he experienced being wronged and was a victim of injustice. Ritz crawled all the way to the feet of the captain. He looked especially pitiful while he was trembling.

"Elaborate!" Another captain asked as he looked down.

"Who are you calling hoodlums?! You're the ones​ who started the entire conflict!" Jack protested.

"Silence​! I will ask you for your side later. For now, let Noble Ritz voice out his side." The second guard halted Jack's movements with a simple gesture. Jack could only hope that the captains Thundercloud Guards are as impartial​ as the rumors claim them to be.

"Sir Venerable Captains, it was like this. We were just trying to welcome them as a new establishment and prepare a feast for them. We came to them in hopes of making acquaintance and develop camaraderie with them. We wanted to have a good and peaceful business area wherein everyone would be able to work together and help each other at each brand's troubles in their businesses. Our only objective was to create a friendly bond with them but... but..." Ritz lifted his body by using his hands as support and appeared to struggle to kneel as he clenched his fist by the end of his statement while trembling.

"Continue." The guards spike.

"But who would have thought that they would repay our kind intentions with evil deeds as they arrogantly forced as away and repeatedly​ insulted our faces. They then ruthlessly attacked us and as we were caught by surprise despite being 2-3 levels stronger than them, we were unable to defend against them as they used devil arts to hurt us. It may seem farfetched saying that they used devil arts but they were able to injure my comrades and I by using strange skills. I tried to make them compromise by taking that woman as hostage. I knew it was shameful to do so but seeing how my comrades and I were being overpowered by the devil arts of these people that allowed them to fight levels higher than their actual levels! But... it was the only thing I could do due to the current circumstances."

"But I never thought that this woman would be so shameless as to kick my genitals mercilessly. The full force kick of a 9th level Spirit Veins Realm made me fall unconscious and I might have already died if it wasn't for Little Sister Neah coming to my aid. Adding insult to injury they repeatedly mocked us with baseless accusations regarding our business and acted haughtily while saying derogatory words. After this, I was then forced to call upon my Uncle Bardon to defend me against this vile man. Fortunately, my uncle arrived just on time, otherwise, this young noble wouldn't have been able to state what really happened."

"Who would have thought that he would have a heaven defying treasures that would enable him to guard and​ attack a Origin Transmutation Realm expert like my Uncle Bardon despite being a 10th level Spirit Veins Realm practitioner. If not for your arrival, oh great and righteous captains, then who knows what would have happened. Venerable Captains, I beseech that you carry over righteous judgement onto this villainous and devilish young man!"

Ritz was weeping as he said those words. His tears was overflowing as he cleched his trembling hands and asked for the Thundercloud Guards to carry out the punishment befitting for what Dylan's group has done to him and his comrades.

"You are a noble yet you don't know shame at all!"

"You big fat liar! Those were all lies!!"

"How despicable! Everything you said was the complete opposite of what truly happened!"

"There was not one shred of truth on every word that you have said!"

"You shameless bastard, you're not only wicked but you are also immeasurably deceptive!"

The employees of Dylan voiced out their anger and dissatisfaction regarding Ritz's shameless act. Their anger towards him turned to wrath. They could not stand someone who was as shameless and as evil as Ritz.

Dylan who​ was usually calm had a slight shock written on his face. He never would have thought that Ritz skills in turning black to white was this believable. If he was not present during the fight, then he would have immediately doubted his employees.

He knew that some of the soldiers were already siding with Ritz as soon as his pleading was done. If it was anybody else, they would have already been panicking and would excrete a bucket of cold sweat but Dylan appeared exceedingly calm while maintaining his faint smile.

Ritz's​ acting was surprisingly believable. His tears and the breaking of his voice was almost on point everytime they were needed. One could say that his act had successfully convinced around half of the soldiers as some of the soldier were already angrily glared at Jack and his group. This also included two captains who appeared to readily execute the employees.

The other half was still unsure as they were still waiting for the side of the opposite. They wanted to try to be as just as possible since it is their duty as the main force of security of the Thunder Clouds City. The other three captains were still neutral regarding this situation.

"Is what they said true?" The captain in the middle seriously looked at Ritz.

"Sir, there is no need for this! We will just have to apprehend this evil man and his employees and bring him back to headquarters to interrogate them. After doing so, we can publicly execute so as to prevent any future trouble from happening by instilling fear to the hearts of these scum criminals!" A tall and heroic looking captain stepped forward persuaded the man in the middle.

"Jamal, stand down. I don't recall you having been promoted to a rank that allows you to command me." The captain in the middle established his authority by just one glanve. His gaze was filled with dominance and strictness of a leader. From his actions, it could be seen that he was the leader of the group and also the captain with the highest rank.

"Pardon my hot-headedness, sir Ran." The heroic and tall captain named Jamal could only step back​ in the face of his superior.

"..." Sir Ran merely redirected his gaze to Ritz as he asked the same question, "Is what they said true?"

"Yes, sir! You can ask my brother Igor and Uncle Bardon regarding this matter." Ritz spoke with a pitiable expression and glanced at sir Ran.who first berated Dylan's store. He gave him a meaningful glance because he knew that this man would immediately caught up in his act and would be a great help to persuading the guards to believe him.

Ritz knew that his acting was flawless and very few would be able to see through or feel unaffected by the stunt he just did. He just needed an accomplice who will be able to support him in his act even if it was just one person. Because with a person supporting him, it will be viewed as sufficient evidence to support his 'confession'.

He was already confident that his Uncle Bardon would agree to his matter as he has pledged allegiance to him and would fight for Ritz till his very last breath​. So when he glanced at Uncle Bardon, his Uncle Bardon nodded in compliance.

Igor seemingly understood Ritz intentions​ knew what he had to do in order to escape this ordeal. He knew that the wise choice would be to follow his lead and persuade the guards to believe them. Because if he didn't​, then the consequences would be unbearable and he may even be exiled from his clan.

Igor knew that by agreeing to what Ritz wanted would imply that he would bear full responsibility to the words he was about to say. It was a good thing that Ritz act was really believable or else he would not have confidence to say the next the words he was about say.

"Are you the Noble named Igor?" The Captain named Ran redirected his gaze to Igor.

"Yes, sir." Igor weakly replied.

"So, is what he said true?" Ran seriously asked.

"Indeed, sir. What Big Brother Ritz said was the truth. As for what those villains have just said, they were simply denying the demonic skills they possess! Also, the Venerable Captain should know that the more a person denies a certain subject, the more it would imply that this matter would be true! The Venerable Captain should have also observed that aside from a few damages from the store, they are completely unscathe while we, however, individually received injuries. It is completely clear who was the dominant and who was oppressed!" Indignant, Igor spoke.

"..." Sir Ran looked like he was in deep thought .

When Sir Ran asked the nobles, they all answered similarly. They knew that if they denied it, this would cause doubt and would bring disaster to every single one of them. The same reply was given by Ritz's butler.

*You shitty liars! Shame on all of you!"

"You guys are no nobles! You should be conferred as ignobles!"

"Bah! How despicable and low can you group of nobles be!"

The employees couldn't​ simply stand this hypocrisy as they simultaneously voiced out their displeasure against the group of nobles. They absolutely detested the shamelessness​ of these nobles. One could say that there was already an irreconcilable grudge between them as their anger soared everytime they looked at the nobles faces.

They knew that by now most of the guards have already picked the nobles' side. Although they did not want to admit, but based on appearance alone, it could be said that the one who underwent a thrashing was the nobles while the suspects were they.

They were not confident enough to defend themselves because if what they said was unconvincing, then the guards would just take it as nothing but denial and it would only give them more reason to believe the nobles. They really felt that they were in a truly difficult predicament.

But, just as they felt that all hope was lost, a man stepped forward with calmness. When they saw this man's​ back, they subconsciously felt that there was still hope and that hope rested on this man's shoulders. They believed that with Dylan's intelligence he could outwit the enemy.

"Is sir Captain done with interrogating the criminals?" Dylan smiled with confidence.

His words was a sudden thunderclap to the ears of the crowd as numerous gazes were focused on him. Done interrogating the side of the criminals? That meant he was confident that he could prove the nobles was the one who wronged them. This also meant that he was certain that his argument and reason would win over the defense of Ritz and his group.

The guards did not believe he was able to do so as well as the captain.

The nobles could only luagh in their hearts. They believed that the odds were against Dylan and his employees and there was absolutely no way for a reversal to happen no matter what reason he would come up with.

"A fool seeking his own death!" Ritz sneered as he laughed violently in his heart because he knew he already won.

"Yes. So are you the one who will defend your side?" Sir Ran still maintained a serious and impartial attitude up until this moment.

"Yes." Dylan calmly answered.

"Then, state your sides argument." Sir Ran stated.

"What we did was simple self-defense." Dylan simply smiled.

The crowd was a bit startled. Clearly, they did not expect him to start with that.

"You, villain! How could you say it was just simple self-defense?! You clearly caused harm to me and my comrades! Sir Captain, he is clearly just buying time. Who knows maybe he is waiting for similarly evil back-up!" Ritz shouted righteously but in the truth he was laughing in his heart.

'Hahaha, at your wit's end, Dylan Ford? Hahaha, now you know what happens when you mess with this devilishly handsome young lord!' Ritz laughed evilly in his heart.

"As a matter of fact, yes. But I'm am a hundred percent certain that me, my employees, and my backer aren't evil devils that you claim us to be. Isn't that right, Sir Allen?" Dylan merely smiled as a man descended from the skies and landed beside him.

"Hahaha, indeed, young Dylan." An old man wearing loose white robes who was astonishingly 2m tall laughed with Dylan.

"That's Premier Hall's Auction Co-coordinator, Allen Kindleheart. Wh-why is he here?!" A guard who knew the old man's identify​ said. Hearing this, they were flabbergasted as they asked themselves why was such an important personnel of the Premier Hall here. Not only that, he seemed to have a good relationship with this young man.

This especially shocked the nobles. For Allen Kindleheart to personally come, it shows how much the Premier Hall values Dylan. The appearance of this old man gave the nobles especially Ritz a terrible foreboding feeling.

"The evidence regarding this matter is in here." The old man presented a mirror the size of a book.

When Ritz saw this mirror, he involuntarily shuddered as his face was robbed of all its​ colors because he knew he was doomed.