Chapter 388: The Return Of The Severed Fingers Gang’s Higher-ups

“Watson, can you repeat what you just said?”

Armand knelt on one knee. He decided to endure the humiliation, so he raised his head and asked Watson that question.

As one of the three archdukes, it was shameful to kneel before a teenager in front of so many people. He was not the only one who felt that way. Most of the Campbell family members also had the same thought. Everyone respected them wherever they went. That was the first time they had to kneel in front of ordinary people.

“Master Armand, it wasn’t a threat. That’s what counts. ”

“Not that sentence, but the one before that.”

“I said I want 40 holy relics.”

“Deal!”

Armand immediately agreed, which stunned Watson for a moment. Before he could say anything, Newman said, “Father, why did you agree to it? We only have about 20 holy relics in our family. Where do we get 40?”

“Shut up. If you don’t have them, then go out and buy them. If you really can’t do it, then you’ll have to borrow enough holy relics from others to give to Watson. Otherwise, do you have a better idea? Watson had only wanted ten holy relics. It’s all your fault for making Hoen interfere in this. If Watson wasn’t angered, would demand 40 holy relics from us?”

Armand roared at his second son like an angry lion.

Newman, who had been scolded, looked aggrieved. He looked at Hoen, who was also half-kneeling on the ground nearby, with blood dripping from the corner of his lips. How would he know that Hoen, the only platinum-tier elite in the kingdom and known for the kingdom’s iron walls, would not be able to defeat a teenager? He thought they could get the puppet for free when they defeated Watson. He had done it for the family. Who would have thought that things would turn out like that?

Newman could not vent his anger on Hoen because of the man’s special status. He could only turn his head to look at Augustus, who was not far away from him. Augustus, who had been lying on the ground since the start, did not say a word.

“Augustus, you idiot! Who told you to provoke Watson? Look at how angry you’ve made your grandfather? If you had not provoked Watson, would we be kneeling here now? You useless thing! Think of a way to appease your grandfather.”

“Father, I—”

“What? Quickly think of where to get 40 holy relics. If this matter is not resolved properly, your grandfather doesn’t even have to do anything. I’ll teach you a lesson personally!”

After being scolded by Newman, Augustus clenched his teeth. His face was full of grievance. Armand could vent his anger on Newman, and in turn, Newman vented on him. However, he had nowhere to vent his fury.

Watson had severely beaten him; he had already suffered physical pain. He thought that after informing his father and grandfather, they would punish Watson on his behalf. He had not expected that he would be the one to be punished in the end.

It would have been better if Watson did not go there. He would be the only person injured. However, it looked like he had implicated the whole family.

“Young Master Watson, on behalf of the Campbell family, I shall agree to your request. However, at the moment, we only have 24 holy relics. You will need to wait for the remaining holy relics. We will give them to you when we get them from the black market or through other channels. If you are worried, we can sign a contract!”

After reprimanding his son, Armand turned around and spoke politely to Watson.

“Of course, I don’t need to worry about Master Armand’s promise, so let’s not delay any further. Let’s sign the contract now.”

Watson raised his right hand. The Kingdom of Wars above his head dissipated. At the same time, a gentle breeze spread rapidly in all directions, with him as the center. Everyone in the courtyard stood up and heaved a sigh of relief.

“What are you standing there for? Newman, why aren’t you drawing up a contract?” Armand roared at Newman.

Newman did not move. Instead, he shouted at Augustus, who was still lying on the ground. “Didn’t you hear that, Augustus? Your grandfather wants you to draw up a contract. ”

“Father—”

Augustus laid paralyzed on the ground; his face was full of pain. Watson had broken all his limbs. He could not even stand up, let alone drawing up a contract. It was too difficult for him to do that.

When he saw his son like that, Newman could not bear it. He sighed and walked toward the manor. After a while, he walked out with a few thick parchments. It was a contract that stated Watson would give the puppet he fused to the Campbell family in exchange for 40 holy relics.

After checking that there were no problems with the contract, Watson and Armand wrote their names on them.

“Watson, the contract has been signed. The 24 holy relics are being prepared right now. They will be delivered to your current residence in a moment. If there is nothing else, you can go back,” Armand said tentatively as he put down the quill pen.

A few minutes ago, he thought he could not let Watson leave without completing His Majesty’s order. He had changed his mind; he could not wait for Watson to go away.

“Master Armand is right. I should leave! But I am a fair person. Since you can’t pay me all the remuneration in one go, then I can’t give you the complete King of Time puppet that I promised.”

The corner of Watson’s lips rose. He raised his right hand at the puppet that had been pulled back from the void. His palm was wrapped in a layer of sharp sword aura as he swung it down.

“Platinum-tier fighting technique, Infinite Sword Slash.”

With a swoosh, dense sword energy emerged from Watson’s palm. Like a tidal wave, it rushed toward the puppet’s chest. The whole puppet was split into two, and half of it was used by Watson’s magic. Then, it was placed in front of the ashen-faced Armand.

“The 40 holy relics are for a complete puppet, so 20 will get you half of it. Master Armand, am I fair? “When you gather the remaining holy relics, I’ll give you the other half of the puppet as well.”

“Yes, that’s fair!”

Armand looked at half of the puppet’s body in front of him; his nose almost went crooked from anger.

He had thought of giving Watson a portion of the holy relics for the puppet, while the remaining holy relics would be delayed. In any case, the contract he had signed with Watson only said that he had to give Watson 40 holy relics; it did not say when he would give them to Watson.

However, Watson had made such a move, so he had no other choice. Half of the King of Time’s puppet could not even display half of its peak diamond-tier strength. On the contrary, the puppet would be equivalent to scrap metal after it was cut open. He would have traded more than 20 holy relics for a pile of trash. Armand’s heart was bleeding.

However, after looking at Watson’s Celestial Feather Robe that was emitting divine light and the red and black longsword in his right hand that was also emitting a terrifying divine aura, he gave up the thought of resisting. If he did not agree, Watson would force him to agree. The young man might even ask for a higher price. It seemed like he had no other choice but to listen to Watson.

“Looks like Master Armand doesn’t have any objections to that. That is great. I’ll take that half of the puppet back with me. Goodbye!”

Watson smiled politely at Armand. Then, he looked around and bowed to every single nobleman from the Campbell family. Then, he beckoned with his finger. He threw the remaining half of the diamond-tier puppet into a black hole that had suddenly appeared. No one knew where he teleported the puppet.

Then, Watson clapped his hands and left in satisfaction.

After he left, the entire Campbell Manor was still silent. Everyone looked at the mess in the manor and the half puppet in front of Armand. No one knew what to say.

The first person who broke the silence was Hoen. After he stood up from the ground, he swept the dust off his armor and wiped the blood from the corner of his lips. “Master Armand, please allow me to apologize for this matter. I did not expect Watson to be so strong that he could even break free from the anti-magic shackles. It seems like I’ll have to put more powerful shackles on him next time! I have to report to His Majesty about what happened here, so I’ll take my leave first.”

“Wait, General Hoen. If you want to meet His Majesty, please bring me with you,” Armand said in a hoarse voice.

The half puppet was like a clown’s smiling face, mercilessly laughing at his stupidity. He had to listen to Watson when the young man was there. When Watson was gone, he thought of another way to cut his losses—King Landhar III. It was the King who ordered him to capture Watson and kill him. Since the matter had developed to that extent, the King must take responsibility for it.

“Wait a moment, Master Armand. I don’t think there’s a need to see His Majesty. It is just a fight between children. It shouldn’t be played up at all. What do you think?”

A magnetic voice sounded, interrupting Armand’s thoughts. Three figures appeared in the sky. The leader was a platinum-haired youth holding a magic staff, and a man with long yellow hair was next to him. He was wearing a training suit.

Those two men were Antonio and Reid, and behind them was Reid’s daughter, Christina.

The three of them landed in the courtyard leisurely. When they saw the miserable noblemen and the devastated land, Antonio behaved as if he was used to it. His expression was calm while Reid and Christina secretly clicked their tongues.

‘Watson fought against the whole family by himself? And he left unscathed? Is he still human?’ Christina laughed in her heart.

They had arrived for a while. Christina had found Antonio and Reid shortly after she left Watson’s side. The two older men immediately went to Campbell Manor with her. They saw thousands of soldiers in gold-tier armor and wielding gold-tier weapons surrounded Watson. Even Hoen and Newman, who was holding a holy relic, were there.

Faced with those people’s encirclement and Watson wearing anti-magic materials,

Christina was anxious and wanted to rush out to save Watson when she realized that he was in anti-magic shackles and those people had surrounded him. However, Antonio stopped her and said, “Calm down, it’s not time to do that yet.” At that time, Christina did not understand what Antonio meant, but she understood then.

Watson did not need their help at all. They could only wait for Watson to leave and help him to appease the Campbell family.

‘That little monster had only learned the Kingdom of the Swords during the day. But he managed to create two starlight-tier weapons and armor just now. He had a skill that was similar to the Kingdom of the Swords. I must get my hands on them and take a good look. Perhaps I can get him to make one for me as well.’

Reid pondered that.

As a Sword Saint, he had already reached the level where he could unleash destructive power even if he did not have a weapon. He announced to the public that he had reached the highest tier by showing them that he did not need a sword in his hand. His every move was a sword. However, he knew that an elite of his level was not suited for a platinum-tier weapon. That was why he did not use one. He knew that his strength would increase if he had a diamond-tier weapon that he could use.

“Master Antonio, Master Sword Saint, and Lady Swordmistress, do you intend to stand up for Watson and make our family admit our bad luck?”

Armand no longer acted arrogantly in front of the two kingdoms’ important figures, and his expression became much more polite.

“Don’t worry, Armand. Reid and I are not unreasonable. However, it was Augustus who provoked my disciple. Of course, it was not right for Watson to destroy more than half of the Campbell Manor, so I’m willing to take on the restoration work for the building. With Reid and I here, it will only take a few hours to repair that place. Or do you really have to tell His Majesty about this matter?”

“Fix the manor then. Also, please tell Watson that we can give him the 40 holy relics that he asked for! However, he must give us the remaining half of the puppet. If he can do that, then I’ll let this go.”

“Sure.” Antonio nodded.

That group of people was the kingdom’s elites. They had settled the matter with just a few simple words. Then they chatted in detail about the manor’s restoration work and the exchange of the puppets for the holy relics. Antonio and the other two spent a few hours repairing the damaged manor and courtyard. They took the 24 holy relics that Armand had prepared before leaving Campbell Manor.

Armand’s eyes flickered when they left, and his expression was uncertain. His eldest son, McGee, took the opportunity to come to his side. He asked softly, “Father, are we going to let them leave just like that? Our family has always claimed that we have 24 holy relics. Of course, we have more than that, but the loss will greatly reduce our strength and even make us stagnate on the road of researching magical tools.”

“What can we do if we don’t let them go? One is the astrologer, Antonio, responsible for the kingdom’s transportation, and the other is the strongest Sword Saint in the Holy Dragon Kingdom. You can try to stop them if you want! I didn’t expect Antonio and Reid to make a move simultaneously for the sake of Watson. That was an incredible thing. Both of them have many disciples, and I’ve never heard of them being tough on any of them. They even dared to offend me, one of the three archdukes. It seems that Watson is very important in their hearts.”

Armand looked at Augustus, who was still lying on the ground like a pile of mud.

Watson and Augustus were both geniuses of the younger generation. He thought that his grandson was very outstanding and was a talent who could inherit the family business. However, Augustus was nothing compared to Watson. The latter could already fight against their family at his age, but Augustus could not even defeat Hoen.

It was really infuriating to compare them.

“Don’t spread what happened here today. If I notice anyone mentioning this outside, I will strangle him to death and turn his body into a puppet. Do you understand me?”

“Yes, Master. We understand.”

Armand’s gaze contained a terrifying thought; everyone trembled and lowered their heads.

Armand was delighted with everyone’s reaction. He looked at half a puppet on the ground. Even though Antonio and Reid had taken almost all of their holy relics, Armand was not too upset. That was because half a puppet had a higher level of mystery. It was clearly the product of a fusion of a gold-tier puppet, but it had the quality of a diamond-tier item. Furthermore, the Clock of Life was also fused with the puppet. At that moment, he could not even find a fragment of the Clock of Life in the remains.

If only he could dissect that puppet and create a peak diamond-tier puppet that was similar to it. Armand’s thoughts drifted far away. He could not help but breathe heavily. If he could really do that, the Campbell family would stand at the peak of the kingdom. There was no doubt about that.

….

On the other side…

After Watson left Campbell Manor, he had wanted to return to the Sword Saint’s courtyard. However, he received a call from a member of the Severed Fingers Gang, asking him to head to the Triangle Cat Tavern. The man told him that the other remaining higher-ups had already returned to the royal city.

“Alright, I got it. I’ll head there now.”

Watson began to head to the Three-legged Cat Tavern.

At that moment, there were many people outside the tavern.

A group of muscular men with missing fingers and fierce faces formed a sharp contrast to the people in front of them. The former were the subordinates of the higher-ups who had just arrived in the capital, and the latter were Count Gray, Snake, and Marcus’ subordinates.

The scene inside the tavern was completely different from the outside. All the tables and chairs in the tavern were pushed aside, leaving only a huge round wooden table in the middle. Ten people sat around the table—five people on the left and five on the right.

Those ten people were the Severed Fingers Gang’s founders. At that moment, those ten people were having an intense discussion.