The meeting hall now suddenly had a pin drop silence as soon as the president made the declarations. All the rich business tycoons who sat around the round table had their eyes glued to Kahn, trying to see his expression.
"Young man.. Does your so-called Grandmaster Blacksmith of an owner understand how greatly your dirty-handed trick of selling the products at half the market price affected many other business enterprises and prices in the market altogether? How adversely it affects the economy and profits all these organizations make?" spoke the president as he waved his hand towards all the people sitting around the Round Table of Tycoons.
"Yes, sir. And we wish to make amends. If there is a form of reconciliation we can do.. we will pay for it." spoke Kahn in a polite tone, acting like a submissive person who didn't dare to raise his voice in front of these powerful people.
"Normally it doesn't cost much.. But in your case.. You shall become a bonafide member of the chamber of Commerce. Plus from now on, you will follow the rules set by the organization. And to reimburse & compensate for the nonsense your company pulled off.." stopped the Snakekin in his words and gave a sinister-ish smirk as he continued..
"You shall pay 50 million gold coins as a penalty."
Declared the president and demanded this unreasonable price just in the name of compensation.
Kahn's eyes were filled with shock. He was certain that the losses these people actually suffered collectively weren't even close to 10 million gold coins.
This wasn't a penalty.. But daylight extortion!
But the next second, unexpected to all the grinning faces of the members who were seated.. They were simply left shocked by Kahn's response as he spoke loudly..
"I accept!"
Gasp!
Many of the members gasped in surprise as soon as Kahn quickly replied and agreed to pay up this exorbitant price.
[Is this human an idiot? Or is he too scared?] thought a Mithrans businesswoman.
Because by no means this was a small amount. For the majority of them, it was half of their entire company's monthly earnings they got through a lot of hard work. But Kahn, who was only a representative of an enterprise that just started out, quickly agreed to pay up this large sum as if it was a chummy change for him.
"Mister President, may I ask what is your name?" asked Kahn politely, completely unfazed by their daylight robbery.
"Houdini.. Houdini Warsmeich." replied the old snakekin who was still taken aback by Kahn's quick response.
[Does that Blacksmith have a huge background or something?] he thought.
"Are there any other terms & conditions for us to get the.. 'membership'?" asked Kahn as he emphasized on the last part.
Houdini on the other hand was baffled.. He hoped for a refusal and then use it against the Bloodborne company. But this unexpected answer left him speechless for a few seconds.
"Ye.. Yes! There are still some of the rules you will have to follow." said the president of the arms & craftsmanship department.
"First one.. You will have to pay 1 Million gold coins for a monthly membership of the union.
Second, you will have to offer a 20% cut of the monthly earnings for management costs and development.
Third, you will have to raise the prices of all your products to market prices dictated by the chamber of commerce.
Fourth, you can not sell any product based on your own price ranges as they affect other businesses.
Fifth, you will only buy raw materials from the suppliers we decide upon.
Sixth, if your enterprise decides to launch a new product in the market, you will have to get an approval from this committee first and only then you can sell it in your stores.
And the last, you will have to offer 30% of your shops to the chamber of commerce as a form of showing goodwill." said Houdini as he listed out all these unreasonable rules and regulations one by one.
Even all the other members who heard these rules were flabbergasted as they looked at their president with eyes full of disbelief.
Were these the same rules they followed? Because these terms & conditions seemed beyond incorrigible.
Kahn on the other hand didn't even show a slight hint of surprise or irritation on his face.
These weren't some terms of membership.. They were the terms akin to slavery.
You couldn't do anything without their approval, had to pay an unreasonably high price for membership, then give your monthly profits to these folks, and even buy the raw materials from the dealers they were allowed to purchase from.. Which definitely won't be a reasonable deal either. And most obtuse of them all was that he had to give up 30% of the shops his company owned.
"Are.. Are.. these the same rules and restrictions the other members sitting here have to follow?" asked Kahn in a frightened voice.
"No. But your company has to pay in a way for offending all of us who have been in this field for decades. Do you think anyone can just come from nowhere and pull the carpet under our feet?" spoke the president, no longer hiding his malicious intentions.
"There's always a price to pay for messing with the people you shouldn't have provoked. So tell me.. Do you agree?" asked Houdini in his cunning voice.
He was thoroughly cornering Kahn and openly oppressing him under the name of these laws and regulations.
The very next second however, Kahn's scared countenance disappeared and he spoke with a smile on his face.
"Go fuck yourself."
"I see you agree.." suddenly, Houdini's mind was struck with a realization.
"What the hell did you say, you damn brat?!" he shouted in an enraged voice.
BOOM!!
Suddenly, all the guards which also included two intermediate grandmaster rank fighters released their murderous aura. All of their killing intent was targeted at Kahn as they started surrounding him from all four sides.
"Should we imprison him, sir?" asked the intermediate grandmaster assassin to the snakekin.
"No.. I want to see him tortured in front of me first. And then cut off his arms and legs. I want him to suffer for the rest of his life!" shouted Houdini, his eyes full of wrath as he stared at Kahn.
"You see this, you trash? This is what you call true power. One word from me and you will lose your life right this very moment." threatened the president.
Kahn was still sitting calmly in his chair spoke in response.
"What power? I don't feel any threat to my life."
"Don't you see.. You're surrounded by us." spoke the other intermediate grandmaster guard who was a swordsman.
In response, Kahn only gave a light smirk.
BOOM! BOOM! BANG! BANG!
"Argh!"
"Help!"
"We're under attack!"
Wails filled with agony and cries for help suddenly resounded as a fight broke out on this floor.
But it didn't come from the meeting hall where Kahn was, rather the passage whence he came from. This floor of the building had over 300 master rank fighters guarding it but suddenly an insurmountable aura full of unimaginable wrath was released on these guards.
One by one, hundreds of soldiers and their yelps filled the surroundings. The shrill cries for mercy and metals clanging against each other suddenly frightened every single person sitting in the room.
BOOM!!
Suddenly, the golden door from where Kahn previously entered this room was busted open as a tall man dressed in white coat kicked it from the outside.
This man's red eyes landed on the armored guards who were surrounding and pointing their weapons at Kahn.
SCHRILL!!
This mature looking man with ashen hair and glowing red iris in his eyes suddenly released all of his silver aura filled with murderous intent at all the guards and the business tycoons sitting in this room.
Thack! Thack! Tap! Tap!
One by one.. All the people including the snakekin dropped on the ground under this pressure as their bodies gave in against this immensely oppressive aura.
A Peak Grandmaster Rank warrior!
This aura was comparable to a Peak Grandmaster person. And to make it even worse.. The man who just entered in the meeting hall wasn't the only one.
A 4 meter tall man clad in black body armor and with a black giantsword in his hands followed the man. His red and domineering aura by no means any weaker than the former.
[Impossible! How are there two peak grandmaster warriors here? And why didn't anyone alert us?] thought the female foxkin businesswoman.
The man dressed in white had a Katana in his hand which had blood dripping from its blade.
Tap! Tap!
His heavy footsteps filled the room as this man walked towards the center. The figure was none other than Omega, who was currently using his Bloodlust skill that can put every enemy within 300 meters radius in a frightened mental state.
Stab!
Omega stabbed the Katana in the center of the round table and moved his gaze at everyone present in this room as if he wanted to kill these people on the spot.
Kahn finally stood up stretched out & flexed his arms and legs as he regained his calm and domineering posture. His face turned full of confidence & authority as he stood tall with his hands folded behind his back, standing in his usual Darkseid pose.
"Man.. Acting like a meek coward is so not my style." spoke Kahn as he looked at the people kneeling on the ground.
Kahn gave a light grin to Houdini as he spoke in his kingly and tyrannical voice..
"Now this... Is what you call true power."