Ch. 1041..1045: The Secretly Rich Man Chapter 1041-1045
Chapter 1041
Gerald Crawford:The Secretly Rich Man Novel (Invisible or Poorest) Chapter 1041 Upon saving Xavia after waking from his brief coma, Gerald had immediately ordered Welson and his men to rush over. Gerald also told him to utilize the Soul Palace’s skynet technique which was the fastest way for them to trap all the Moldells within their home once the fire started. Gerald wasn’t taking any chances of any of them leaving alive.
“While a few people have managed to slip through us, we can roughly estimate all of their current locations, young master,” reported Welson.
“Excellent. Be sure to hunt down every last one of them. I want them to experience what true despair feels like…” replied Gerald, his body drenched in fresh blood as he turned to look at the burning manor. Watching the flames, Gerald couldn’t help but curl his lips into a malicious smirk.
It was at that moment when Welson’s heart skipped a beat.
‘…Since the young master consumed the holy blood, he should, by right, be able to control his temperament with ease… So why do I still feel that something is off about the young master…? The aura he’s currently emitting feels… different from what he usually has… How terrifying!’
Welson’s train of thought was cut short by Xavia’s screams of fear that pierced the night sky as the inferno continued burning all night long…
Since winter had just ended in the Logan Province, the weather was freezing when morning finally came.
“Here, Mr. Yuvan… Have some water…” said Yash as he handed the severely injured Yuvan a bottle of water along with a sleeping bag.
The pale-faced Yuvan himself was now too weak to even argue.
Yuvan and his men had been on the run throughout the night. As if having all means of their communication being cut off wasn’t bad enough, there had been an incomprehensible lack of cars within the Logan Province that night as well. That was a problem for them since they had initially planned to hail a car in hopes of getting a ride away from this forsaken place.
Eventually, they finally came across an expensive-looking luxury car and the moment Yash saw it, he immediately attempted to stop it in its tracks.
They were in dire need of shelter, anyplace to take cover while awaiting the family head to return.
To everyone’s surprise, the person who stepped out of the car was Xavia!
“So it’s you, Miss Yorke! How wonderful! The second young master is severely injured so please hurry and take us someplace safe!” said Yash as he looked at the slightly pale woman.
“…I… I apologize, but that would be slightly inconvenient for me…” replied Xavia.
“…Come again?”
As Yash was left stupefied, the droning of several helicopters caught his attention. Looking up, over ten helicopters were hovering above them!
“There’s a restaurant not too far ahead… You may seek refuge there…” said Xavia as she secretly handed them some money before re-entering her car and immediately driving off to the restaurant without them.
“…So they’re just trying to torture us to death, huh? If I had earlier known about their plans, my dad and I would’ve definitely exterminated the Crawfords a long time ago…” growled Yuvan who was so pissed at this point that he ended up vomiting a bit of blood.
“Please refrain from talking too much, second young master… Let’s just head to the restaurant first… Your body is in dire need of nourishment… I’ll bandage your wounds as well once we’re there…” replied Yash.
Before long, all of them arrived at the restaurant Xavia had told them about.
Xavia herself—alongside several of her subordinates—were already inside by the time they entered. This time, however, she didn’t seem to even dare to speak with any of the Moldells anymore.
“Let’s have a quick meal while we can… Looking at the time, the family head should be reaching the Logan Province soon. After successfully enduring through all this pain, we’ll surely be saved!” said Yash as the other Moldells agreed and immediately began dining on whatever food they could get their hands on.
As they continued eating like their lives depended on it, the restaurant’s door swung open again sometime later.
When the Moldells saw the group of people who had just entered, several of them instantly began trembling. Some of them were so terrified that they didn’t even dare to swallow the food in their mouths.
“Please take a seat, young master…” said one of the subordinates from the group that had just entered.
After the subordinate pulled a chair out for him, Gerald took a seat as Xavia—who had been sitting close by—turned to look at him.
Though her eyes were teary, her lips remained sealed tight.
The Gerald sitting before her now was no longer the same person she used to know. After going through immense change, he now resembled a master. A filthy rich master who only knew how to do
things cruelly.
It truly was ironic since back when she was still Gerald’s lover, she had often fantasized about Gerald getting rich one day. She had yearned for the day when he would suddenly gain near-endless wealth, enabling him to do whatever he pleased.
‘He’s no longer a humble and inferior loser… But… Though he’s turned out exactly as I’ve always wanted him to be… Why am I feeling more afraid than anything…?’
Chapter 1042
Gerald Crawford:The Secretly Rich Man Novel (Invisible or Poorest) Chapter 1042 Xavia continued remaining silent as she lowered her head, not even daring to say a word.
“While I admit that the Moldells have definitely crossed the line for some time now, was there truly a need to go so far in your retaliation, Mr. Crawford? Did you truly have to torture and humiliate us like this? You’ve done enough to us so please just let us off already…” negotiated Yash as he stood up.
Gerald, however, gave no response, choosing instead to simply fiddle around with a teapot.
“That’s it! I’m killing you if it’s the last thing I do!” shouted one of the Moldell’s men as he rushed toward Gerald, unwilling to go through any more mental suffering.
However, the man was promptly taken care of by one of Gerald’s own subordinates upon receiving Welson’s order.
“You know, from what I’ve been told, Kort has just arrived in the Logan Province… I’m sure it won’t be long before he rushes over…” said Gerald with a smile.
Upon hearing that, both Yuvan and Yash couldn’t help but feel slightly moved. At long last, the moment of hope they had been looking forward to was finally coming.
The family head was going to be here soon, and if anyone was to even come close to having a fighting chance against Gerald, it was Kort.
“If that’s the case, then you’ll definitely have to face the Moldell family’s grand second master who is also the master of our family, KortMoldell! After slaughtering so many of our family members, I do wonder how you’ll explain yourself…” replied Yash.
Yuvan himself had already grabbed onto Yash’s hand in his excitement. His reaction was to be expected since he had sworn to himself that he would make the Crawfords pay the price a hundredfold of what Gerald had made the Moldells suffer through.
“Eventually. Unfortunately, the rest of you won’t be able to witness that fight. Have you heard of ‘last meals’ that death row prisoners receive before getting executed? Well, I hope you’ve eaten to your heart’s content… With that out of the way, go ahead and end yourselves now. None of you are leaving this restaurant alive,” sneered Gerald coldly.
Hearing that, Yash felt his eyelids twitching intensely as Yuvan fell into complete despair.
All Yuvan needed was a bit more time… If time was on his side, his father would definitely arrive sooner or later to save him… Yet here Gerald was, ordering them to kill themselves!
Regret enveloped Yash as well. If only he hadn’t led his subordinates into Everdare Forest that day… None of this would have happened.
Regardless, since Gerald had allowed them to take their own lives, they weren’t against the idea. After all, they were well aware that death was the only answer to their current situation. At least they would still be able to go with what little dignity they still had…
Once the deeds were done, Gerald and his men simply walked out of the restaurant.
Before they could get far, Xavia rushed out before calling out, “Gerald!”
“What is it?”
“You… Could… you be planning to deal with the Long family now…?” asked Xavia as she began sobbing slightly.
In response, Gerald simply grunted before nodding.
“Please… I’m begging you-”
Before Xavia was even able to complete her sentence, she was interrupted by Gerald as he raised his hand before saying, “I’ve already ordered one of my men to purchase a large property for you within the Salford Province. You and your family should be able to lead a peaceful life there without too many worries for the next few generations. There’s no need for you to bother about the subsequent affairs.”
Walking over to her, he then gently wiped her tears away before adding, “In exchange for all that, I only ask that you live a good life. I, for one, am no longer able to live the lifestyle I once did…”
“With that, I bid you farewell!”
Having said that, Gerald then turned to walk away with his men.
Xavia wanted to call out to him. To tell him that she wanted to stay by his side.
However, after hearing how resolute Gerald was, she could only cover her mouth as she burst into tears while watching Gerald’s back slowly disappear into the distance.
Meanwhile, an extremely capable-looking team of men had just arrived at the entrance of the Moldell Manor’s burnt remains.
“No… No!” roared an old man, his voice filled with agony after witnessing the state of the manor. Clenching his fists tightly, the veins in his arms were immediately revealed as extreme murderous intent coursed through them.
“…Who did this…? Who?!” howled the man as he grabbed one of the survivors in his rage.
“I-It was Gerald Crawford! He was the one who ruined the Moldells! I-I was only able to escape the crisis since I jumped into the well!” cried out the terrified youth.
“…Gerald? ….How… How is that even possible?!”
Chapter 1043
Gerald Crawford:The Secretly Rich Man Novel (Invisible or Poorest) Chapter 1043 “I-It’s true! Gerald’s become truly horrifying!” cried out the youth, evidently scared to death.
“…That… That bstard! It’s only been a dmn year! How could he have accumulated that much power in such a short amount of time?! Regardless, the Crawford family will definitely pay a heavy price for this! Where’s Yuvan?!” roared Kort as he trembled in his immense anger.
“S-second master!” shouted a subordinate as he staggered over.
“I… I found them… I found the second young master’s and butler Moldell’s corpses!” announced the subordinate in between pants.
“What?!” yelled the pained Kort in such a loud voice that his shout could probably be heard reverberating across the entire Logan Province.
Meanwhile, Dylan was in the main living room within the Crawford manor in Northbay.
Feeling the urge to frown all of a sudden, he muttered, “…Could something have happened…? I’ve been feeling flustered a lot for some time now… I just feel as though something is about to happen!”
“What on earth could happen? The way I see it, you’re just feeling that due to all the pressure you’ve accumulated ever since Gerald’s disappearance…” replied Yulia in a saddened tone as she walked over to him, feeling sorry for her husband.
Sighing, Dylan then said, “To think that a year has already passed since then… If things had gone according to plan, then Gerald would’ve gotten married to Lyra this year! Everything was going so smoothly too at the start! It’s all ruined now…”
As she looked at his grief-filled eyes, Yulia replied, “Speaking of Lyra… Hasn’t she been acting a bit strange ever since she returned from that event in the Salford Province about half a year ago? I remember Bea going with her back then, and she’s been acting equally as strange as Lyra has! From what I’ve seen, the two girls seem to enjoy being in each other’s company, frequently sharing secrets with each other and laughing from time to time. Whenever I enquire them about their topic of conversation, they simply say that it’s nothing!”
“Now that you’ve mentioned it… I remember that before attending that event, both of them had cried quite frequently… Especially Lyra. From what the servants told me, Lyra would hide in her room to cry whenever she didn’t have any other tasks to do. It explained why her eyes were always so red whenever I saw her back then…”
“Right? They changed slightly after returning from the auction, though! We’ve been with Lyra for the longest time and though she’s never really lived with Gerald, I’m sure you can agree that she loves him dearly. Bea loves him a lot as a cousin as well. Because of that, it doesn’t really make any sense for both of them to suddenly change—albeit, for the better—after attending some event!” added Yulia.
Clearing his throat, Dylan then said, “There’s no need to start theorizing… Let’s just ask them directly to get the entire picture!”
With that said, he ordered his servants to call both the girls over.
“Mom? Dad? You were looking for us?” asked Lyra with a smile once both of them stood before Gerald’s parents.
“Yes, it’s regarding the auction both of you attended in the Salford Province about half a year ago… Though it may feel strange that I’m asking now of all times, I’ve just been so busy with the investigation team that I haven’t had the time to properly ask you about it! Regardless, I remember that both of you
went there to buy the Ginseng King… Why did you return empty-handed? Also, while we’re at it, did anything else happen while you were there?” asked Dylan in return.
“…A-ah… About the Ginseng King…” replied Lyra as she instantly blushed.
Back then, Gerald had won against the other bidders. As a result, he was the rightful owner of the Ginseng King. However, Gerald had made Lyra and Bea promise not to tell anyone that they had met him there for fear that exposing his whereabouts would end up burdening his family.
Lyra had kept to her promise since she was well aware that what Gerald had told her to do made sense. She understood that Gerald’s parents would definitely be unable to resist the urge to double their search efforts for him once they found out that he was safe. Should any of the Moldells catch wind of that news, the Moldells would probably enter high gear as well, further endangering Gerald’s life.
“…While we did manage to purchase it, it ended up getting stolen!” replied Bea quickly, knowing full well that Lyra was a terrible liar.
“…I see. Did you happen to meet anyone else there?” asked Dylan with a frown.
“A-ah… Not at all!” replied Lyra as she shook her head.
At that moment, the butler approached the group before saying, “Pardon my intrusion, master, but Mr. Parker Moldell has just arrived with his investigation team. They’re currently waiting at the door.”
“…Oh? Well hurry and invite them in then,” replied Dylan as he immediately stood up.
Due to Parker’s secret assistance, the Crawfords hadn’t suffered too much suppression from Kort in the past year. Due to that, Dylan treated the man quite respectfully.
Chapter 1044
Gerald Crawford:The Secretly Rich Man Novel (Invisible or Poorest) Chapter 1044 “Greetings, Mr. Moldell!”
“Chairman Crawford, it’s been a while!”
“It has indeed… Since you’ve come today, could it be that you’ve gained some clues about the shipwreck incident in Northbay, Mr. Moldell?” asked Dylan rather excitedly.
Taking a seat once they were inside, Parker then replied, “Nothing is impossible for a willing heart! After all that hard work in the previous year, I’m proud to say that our efforts haven’t been for naught! We’ve finally managed to gain some clues regarding the work of that enigmatic Sun League!”
Hearing that, Dylan and the others happily exchanged glances as Parker took a long map out of his bag.
Revealing its contents, the map was drawn so beautifully that it almost felt like the area that was mapped was one that had achieved utopia. Though the mountains and rivers painted across the long map were certainly eye-catching, everyone eventually had their eyes on the symbol at the top left corner of the map.
It was the symbol of the Sun League!
“What’s this then?” asked Dylan, bewildered.
“Haha! You see, the details of this map were found on a stone tablet that I managed to locate. Since it would be a hassle to bring such a large slab of stone around, I had an artist redraw the contents of the tablet onto this map. I’m sure all of you have noticed the symbol on the top left corner by now, and yes,
it really is the symbol of the Sun League. Thus, it’s almost certain that the tablet had been left behind by them!” explained Parker.
“I see… Pardon me, Mr. Moldell… but doesn’t the map feel slightly incomplete…? It feels sort of… deformed? If you get what I mean,” replied Yulia.
“Quite insightful you are, Madam! Unfortunately, the stone tablet was already in poor condition by the time I found it. While we were successful in recreating the utopian-looking part of the map, we weren’t quite able to finish it since we couldn’t locate the parts of the stone tablet that had chipped off,” explained Parker with a slight frown.
“Such a pity… Still, while I’ve visited several famous places—that have mountainous areas and rivers —all across the globe, I’ve never come across such a mystifying-looking place like the one on your map…”
As Dylan and Parker continued discussing the map, Lyra simply peered at it while listening to their conversation. While the places on the map certainly felt utopian, the dense forests surrounding the area felt rather mystifying to her.
After looking at it for some time, Lyra pointed at a spot on the map before saying, “…Um… Mom? Dad? And Mr. Moldell as well… Have any of you noticed the landmark atop this mountain…?”
“…Hmm?”
As everyone instantly focused their gazes on where she was pointing at, even after a brief moment, none of them seemed to be able to tell what she was hinting at.
“…Can’t you see it, dad? It appears to be a broken stone statue of a woman! It’s toppled over around the waist area…”
Hearing that, Dylan and Parker looked at each other. From what they could see, it was merely a white rock. Why was Lyra insisting that it was a statue?
As she watched the two men shake their heads, Lyra took in a deep breath. How odd… While the image was slightly blurry, Lyra was confident that the picture portrayed a statue of a woman. After all, she would definitely be able to tell what a woman’s silhouette looked like.
Even Bea and Yulia were unable to see the stone statue that Lyra was talking about. Both of them simply saw an object resembling a white rock.
“Haha! Perhaps Miss Lyra’s eyes are more unique than ours! Who’s to say that she can’t see things that we can’t?” joked Parker with a smile.
“Please don’t laugh at me, Mr. Moldell… I may have been mistaken…” replied Lyra as she shook her head, not wanting to say anything anymore.
“Ah, speaking of which, Chairman Crawford… There’s something I’d like to ask you about…” said Parker as he looked like he had just recalled something.
“Go on…”
“Well, aside from the Moldell family, have you asked for any external help? I’d like you to answer as frankly as possible!” asked Parker, his tone oddly cautious.
“Not at all! You’re the only one I’ve hired!” replied Dylan as he shook his head.
“…How curious… I wonder who that person could be then…” muttered Parker with a frown.
Chapter 1045
Gerald Crawford:The Secretly Rich Man Novel (Invisible or Poorest) Chapter 1045 “From what you’ve just asked, I’m assuming that something happened, Mr. Moldell?” replied Dylan after thinking about it for a while.
Hearing that, Parker nodded before saying, “You see, quite a mysterious incident happened to me and my team while we were looking for clues on the Sun League. It’s rather shameful to admit, but for the longest time, my team and I were unable to locate any relevant leads. The Sun League truly is extremely mysterious and powerful to be able to cover up most, if not all, of their tracks!”
“Regardless, just when I felt that we had reached a dead end, a mysterious person made his presence known… I say that since we’ve never personally met before… Regardless, from that moment on, he’s provided us with necessary hints on where to go next whenever we got truly stumped. His assistance led us to find the exact clues we needed to proceed. He’s the only reason how we were able to make so much progress in the past half-year. Due to his assisting nature, I assumed that you were the one who had sent him over, Chairman Crawford, which is why I’m currently enquiring you about it, just to make sure.”
“If I truly had sent someone over to help you, then I would’ve definitely informed you about it first. Still, that person does indeed sound mysterious… Did he at least give you a name…?” replied Dylan, finding the situation peculiar as well.
“None to speak of. Nobody even knows what he looks like. However, call it a gut feeling from my experience over the years, but I believe that he’s an extremely powerful person. In fact, it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that even the most powerful members of the Moldell family wouldn’t be able to take him on!”
“Has he truly never shown himself before?”
“As I’ve said, none of us have seen him before. He simply places coordinates near the head of my bed whenever he feels that we need the extra help. While I’d like to call myself a vigilant person, never have I been able to catch him in the act. Haha! To be more specific, he’s only made his presence known twice up till this point.”
Thinking about it, Parker remembered how frightened he had been about half a year ago when the man left the first set of coordinates near the head of his bed. After all, the person who had left the hint there definitely could’ve killed him in his sleep if he wanted to. Should that have happened, Parker wouldn’t even have known that he had been murdered, and the thought of it alone was enough to send shivers down his spine.
Dylan himself was currently racking his brains, wondering who could be helping his family out in secret.
“…Either way, to summarize, since that person has been helping us in secret, then we can assume, at the very least, that he isn’t hostile toward the Crawford family. While we did manage to gather more clues on the Sun League, the more pressing issue now is where the area drawn on the map actually is. Since the mysterious person led us to it, I’m assuming that there’s a reason behind his actions. For all we know, the secret of the Sun League could very well lie within the dense forests as seen on the map!” said Parker.
Nodding in agreement, Dylan then replied, “Very well. I’ll immediately gather my family’s apprentices and subordinates after this. Since many of them are quite knowledgeable and our family has men all across the globe, some of them may recognize where the map points to!”
“That would certainly be for the best!”
With that, Dylan signaled one of his subordinates to spread the order around and in almost no time at all, people working under the Crawfords from all over the world assembled within the Crawford manor.
Once everyone relevant was present, Dylan led them to a large viewing hall where he projected the map onto a massive screen, enlarging it for all to see.
However, even with so many great minds who had seen so much of the world, the results were barely satisfactory for Dylan. As it turned out, nobody there seemed to have ever come across such beautiful mountains amidst sprawling forests.
It was exactly because of how mystifying the place seemed that everyone there knew, at a glance, that they didn’t know where the place was.
After realizing that, Dylan immediately commanded his subordinates and apprentices to look all over the world for a similar landscape.
Seconds after announcing his order, a servant rushed into the large hall before shouting, “M-master! Something’s wrong!”
“What is it?” asked Dylan with a frown.
“I-It’s Kort! He’s brought several of his men onto the island and he’s currently leading them here! He’s also already killed over ten of our bodyguards!”
“What? Could he have gone mad?!” exclaimed Dylan as he turned to look at Parker.
Parker himself was frowning as he said, “Unless that old man has gained some information that could be used against the Crawfords, he wouldn’t do such a drastic thing… That’s just not his style of doing things. I propose that you let him in, Chairman Crawford. Let’s see what he’s planning to do!” replied Parker.
Meanwhile, Winnie looked at Kort as she asked, “Second master, what are you doing? Why did you kill off so many of the Crawford family’s people?”
Instead of heading into the large hall with the others earlier, Winnie and her sister had been taking a stroll by the beach—at the side of the island—to relax themselves this entire time. That is, until they noticed Kort rushing toward the manor in a great fury, killing anyone who happened to be in his way!
“That’s none of your business! I’m massacring the entire Crawford family today if it’s the last thing I do!” growled Kort as he turned to look at the two girls with his bloodshot eyes, a hideous expression on his face.
With that, he continued leading his people over to the manor as Winnie began chasing after him while muttering to herself, “Oh god, has Kort gone insane?! Something big is going to happen soon… I can feel it… I need to see what he’s planning to do!”