Ch. 946..950: The Secretly Rich Man Chapter 946-950
Chapter 946
Gerald Crawford:The Secretly Rich Man Novel (Invisible or Poorest) Chapter 946 Meanwhile, the gathering was already taking place in the largest hotel manor in Talgo Town.
Since the leaders of the five top influential groups in Talgo Town had brought along their subordinates, the manor was crowded with at least a thousand people.
As a result, it was no surprise that hubbub filled the entire venue.
At the same time, a high stage was also being set up in the manor. Once everything was in place, a few seats were placed upon the high stage. That was where the leaders were going to be seated.
“You’re a wise and resourceful man, Diego! To think that you’d use the civil and military meeting to also portray how powerful we are to that newly founded Royal Dragon Group! Haha! It’s like killing two birds with a stone!”
“I know, right? Still, now that the Royal Dragon Group has acquired the pharmaceutical factory that used to be our main source of income, I wonder if things will turn out the same with the factory’s previous owner. After all, I heard that the Royal Dragon Group’s boss is a rather young man. Does he really think he can gain power and status in Talgo Town that easily? It’s like he’s wishing for death!”
“Indeed. In all honesty, I thought that he wouldn’t attend this time, given his young age. Quite frankly, I’d have respected him a bit more if he had chosen not to. Seeing that he’s agreed to come, however, I guess he’s just another worthless piece of trash!”
In response to that, the few bosses who were talking about Gerald immediately burst out laughing.
The man they were praising, Diego Jey, was the most powerful and influential big shot in all of Talgo Town. He looked to be around the age of forty, and the two gold teeth in his mouth would glisten whenever he talked.
After hearing what the other bosses had to say, Diego then announced, “Ladies and Gentleman! While the issue of the Royal Dragon Group certainly needs to be addressed, I hope that all of you don’t forget that the main reason we’re all gathered here today is to discuss the rearranging and redistribution of influence among the five powerful groups in Talgo Town. Once we arrive at a consensus, I hope that what happened four years ago won’t repeat itself! ”
While the gathering—that was held once every four years—was officially known as a ‘civil and military meeting’, the event itself wasn’t as grand as its name suggested. In truth, it was simply a meeting for the five largest groups within Talgo town to divide their territories.
Their method of dividing the territories was somewhat straightforward. Essentially, whoever had more strength was entitled to have more territories.
‘Strength’, in this case, was measured through a competition where the five bosses would pit their best subordinates to fight against each other. The winner among the five would be crowned, king.
Once the meeting was over, the five groups would then reach an agreement, and once signed, none of them were allowed to break their promises.
The vowing process was taken particularly seriously since a few groups had beaten up others due to territory snatching attempts four years ago.
After all, while Talgo town was called a town, it was still much larger than Serene County. In fact, its size could easily be compared with a city in the north of Weston. Being so large, territorial control was crucial.
At that moment, the person standing guard over the door shouted, “Mr. Crawford from the Royal Dragon Group has arrived!”
Hearing that, the entire hall instantly fell silent. It was evident that everyone wanted to see what kind of person the big boss of the newly established Royal Dragon Group was.
Seconds later, Gerald and his bodyguards entered the place. Though he only had about sixty bodyguards with him, the pressuring atmosphere that they brought with them didn’t feel any less imposing.
Their solemn expressions alone made many of the other bosses’ subordinates feel chills run down their spines.
Heading directly for the high stage, Gerald smiled faintly as he greeted, “A pleasure to meet you, gentlemen.”
“Likewise, Chairman Crawford. Do take your seat,” replied the bosses as they took turns looking at each other.
All five of them knew that Gerald wasn’t a person with an ordinary background from the moment they saw how intimidating his bodyguards were.
Once they were done exchanging pleasantries, Diego narrowed his eyes slightly before saying, “I assume you’ve heard about the civil and military meeting that we’re hosting tonight, Chairman Crawford. Since the competition is about to start soon and your subordinates all look equally powerful, I was wondering if you’d like to partake in it? Maybe we could also broaden our horizons from that.”
Diego’s underlying meaning was clear as day. He was simply saying that the Royal Dragon Group was probably even weaker compared to the previous president of the pharmaceutical factory.
However, he was also taunting Gerald since he wanted to test the abilities of the Royal Dragon Group’s subordinates. After all, the way both Gerald and his men presented themselves was definitely extraordinary if anything.
“I’ll have to refrain… While my subordinates certainly look the part, they’re all honestly pretty useless. How on earth would they be able to compare with any of yours?” replied Gerald with a bitter smile as he shook his head.
“Now, now, Chairman Crawford! You’re being way too humble! Who’s to say they won’t end up on top if they don’t compete first?” said Diego before roaring with laughter.
“Well, since you insist, I guess I’ll have to agree. Whistler, get the subordinates of these bosses to teach you and the others about the rules of the competition later,” ordered Gerald with a smile.
“Very well, sir! We’d love to learn them!” replied Whistler as he smiled in return.
Chapter 947
Gerald Crawford:The Secretly Rich Man Novel (Invisible or Poorest) Chapter 947 It was honestly beyond Diego and the other bosses’ expectations that those from the Royal Dragon Group wouldn’t back down from the competition. Quite honestly, Gerald and his men looked rather confident about the whole thing.
Sensing that, Diego and the bosses knew that if they didn’t show how powerful they were right off the bat, it was only going to get more and more difficult for them to keep Gerald’s company in check in the future.
Soon after, the civil and military gathering began and the participants were led to a large area that had been set up within the center.
The five groups had each naturally chosen their most powerful subordinates to take part in the competition. Gerald himself had sent Whistler and a few of his other more capable men to participate.
Those whom Gerald had selected had all undergone personal special training with him. Due to that, their strength was much more reinforced compared to before.
As soon as the competition began, everyone was surprised to see Gerald’s men immediately go on the offense. With swift and precise attacks, Whistler’s men beat up the other group so vigorously that they never had the chance to even fight back before going down.
“…What?”
Diego and the other bosses could feel their eyelids twitching as they watched the defeated men laying on the ground.
Before the competition had started, the bosses had assured themselves that the subordinates Gerald had with him were simply putting up fronts, pretending to be Special Forces. After all, the way they had presented themselves was somewhat similar to how the previous pharmaceutical factory boss had first done.
Since both the previous boss and Gerald had put on airs before the actual competition, Diego and the other bosses simply assumed that Gerald’s men would be as weak as the old boss’s participants.
Little did they know that no fronts had ever been put up. Gerald’s men were genuinely strong.
“So it seems that Mr. Crawford enjoys keeping a low profile… To think that he would have such powerful subordinates… Claiming that he’ll be the one who will have the most say when it comes to dividing the territories once the meeting is over doesn’t even sound all that far-fetched now…” said Diego as he forced a smile.
With the territories being divided among six people now instead of five, things were definitely going to be a lot different compared to how the civil and military meetings usually went. As if things weren’t looking grim enough for the five bosses, it seemed that Gerald’s subordinates really were going to be crowned champion by the end of the night.
While Gerald said nothing throughout the civil and military meeting, Diego and the other bosses got more and more restless every time a battle commenced.
This was mainly because Whistler himself hadn’t made a single move throughout any of the battles. The other four of Gerald’s subordinates were more than enough to take down their opponents.
By the time all the battles had been fought, an awkward silence filled the room. The silence was so overbearing that one would be able to hear a pin drop.
“My men and I appreciate how modestly you’ve been treating us, Chairman Jey. Thank you very much,” said Whistler as he walked over, breaking the silence.
In response, Diego could only smile awkwardly as he said, “You’re welcome… Still, you and your men are incredibly powerful… My own men weren’t even able to show off that much tonight…”
“I’ll have to correct you there, Chairman Jay. After all, the most powerful person here isn’t any of us, but rather, our master. We learned everything we know from him,” replied Whistler as he looked at Gerald before shaking his head with a bitter smile on his face.
“Oh? You’re saying that Chairman Crawford here is much stronger than any of you are? Then it seems that we’ve truly made a terribly wrong judgment tonight!”
Though a smile was on Diego’s face as he said that, inside, he was getting increasingly flustered.
After all, Gerald’s men had completely defeated all five of Talgo Town’s most influential groups in front of everyone. Not only had they failed to acquire the Royal Dragon Group tonight, most of the territories were now going to fall under Gerald’s hand instead!
“Speaking of which, Chairman Jey… I wonder if what you said earlier was true… The part where the winner gets to divide the territories…?” asked Whistler.
Coughing before clearing his throat, Diego then replied with a smile, “…But of course that was true! With the competition results now out, we’ll be discussing how we’ll divide the territories once the party is over!”
Diego didn’t even dare to say much despite his clear dissatisfaction. After all, he couldn’t just break his promise.
“In the meantime, you there! Go remove the plaque bearing the names of all five of the influential groups involved in the Civil and Military Groups. From today onward, six names will be on it!” ordered Diego as he pointed at one of his subordinates.
While four other bosses barely said a word, they all had their own thoughts about the situation.
Though some of them resented the Royal Dragon Group for disrupting their affairs despite being outsiders, the others seemed to rather enjoy the misfortune of the displeased bosses.
The ones enjoying the current situation were the weaker groups who hoped that with Gerald’s involvement—which would definitely upset the original balance—they would be able to manipulate how things ended up once chaos eventually ensued.
As a few subordinates returned with ladders to remove the plaque, a voice shouted, “There’s no need to go through so much trouble!”
Chapter 948
Gerald Crawford:The Secretly Rich Man Novel (Invisible or Poorest) Chapter 948 The voice had come from Gerald, and after a loud sneer, he picked a fork up.
Looking at the plaque, Gerald squinted his eyes for a second before flicking his wrist extremely quickly. A split second later, the fork was no longer in Gerald’s hand and the sound of something cracking could be heard!
By the time the audience looked up, the fork—that had already been embedded within one of the many shattered plaque pieces—was already falling to the ground alongside whatever remained of the broken plaque.
A crash soon followed as the plaque pieces shattered even further on the ground, the fork still clearly visible to the five bosses as they gulped.
“…W-what…?”
Shock and fear swept through them, and the ones who had earlier been smoking each felt their grip loosen on their cigarettes.
“W-who exactly is that person….?”
“It’s… It’s near impossible isn’t it…? I mean, how could a person have that much force to break a plaque so high up?!”
It was evident that the five bosses had never seen such a maneuver before as they discussed what they had just witnessed, terror reflected in their eyes. Though nobody mentioned it, all of them were
thinking the same thing. If the plaque could shatter like that even though it was so high above the ground, what would happen if Gerald used the same technique on their heads?
Whistler and his men, on the other hand, only looked at each other with subtle smiles on their faces as they each thought, ‘Humph. Looks like sir took it upon himself and made a move. Of course they’d be dumbfounded.’
It was evident that the plaque-shattering incident was an indirect message from Gerald to the five bosses. Essentially, he had no interest in dividing territories with them, and if they didn’t behave, they’d probably end up the same as the plaque. Completely ruined in an instant.
With his silent message sent, Gerald then sat down with a subtle smile on his face as he said, “Chairman Jey and the rest of you, please, have a seat.”
“R-right away, M-Mr. Crawford!” stuttered Diego as he desperately tried to keep his cool. However, his calm façade was in shambles and the cold sweat flowing down his forehead only served to further exhibit how terrified he was.
His response was reasonable since he was, after all, in the presence of a man who could kill others with regular forks. And forks were everywhere in the room they were in.
Knowing that made everyone feel obligated to address him differently.
After a brief moment of silent contemplation, one of the five bosses said, “I go by the name of Tristen Jurden, Mr. Crawford, and I must say that I’m extremely impressed with your capabilities. If you allow it, I’m willing to hand over all my properties to you and become one of your subordinates!”
The moment the other bosses heard Tristen say that, another boss immediately agreed to do the same. One after another, the bosses agreed to the same terms, till all that was left was Diego.
As Gerald and Whistler looked at each other, Diego remained silent, thinking about the consequences if he didn’t agree. In the end, though he was unable to just accept the chain of events that had taken place tonight, Diego eventually caved in.
The worst part about all of this was the fact that all five of them had been the ones who had invited Gerald over that night. If they hadn’t invited him, none of this would’ve happened.
Then again, it was probably beyond any of their wildest imagination that the civil and military meeting could end in such a disastrous way, at least for them.
Soon after Gerald and his men returned to their mansion, Whistler excitedly told Gerald about how several of Talgo Town’s businessmen had already called, asking to seek refuge under Gerald.
Hearing that, Gerald recalled how the bosses had also fawned over Gerald once the meeting was over. In fact, before they left, several other people had already presented themselves before him, showing great interest in wanting to be a part of the Royal Dragon Group.
To top it all off, Gerald also received several gifts in terms of cash from those who wanted to please him.
Gerald, however, was in no mood to bother about any of that. Instead, he ordered Whistler to deal with everything carefully as he thought about his next move.
After tonight’s events, the Royal Dragon Group Gerald had established was finally going to gain a firm status within Talgo Town. What more, the Royal Dragon Group now had a lot of influence as well as control over multiple territories.
With all that in mind, Gerald knew it was high time for them to save Drake.
From what Tyson had told him, none of the many influential groups in Heavenly City could be looked down upon.
He was speaking from experience since both he and his brother had previously spent money to establish their power and influence in Heavenly City back when they were still looking for Gerald. Soon enough, however, they were defeated by Sven.
It didn’t help that Heavenly City was much larger than Talgo Town. The entire area was simply an all- inclusive place hosting numerous forces and groups.
In fact, the place was so huge that Tyson couldn’t even estimate how many groups—as powerful as Sven’s—existed.
Gerald, however, was way too concerned over Drake to be worried about that. He was well aware that the longer they stalled, the more dangerous it would be for Drake. They simply didn’t have the luxury to wait till everything was ready and in place.
Arriving at his conclusion, Gerald then ordered, “Whistler, pass on my order to the rest. We’ll be heading to Heavenly City tomorrow.”
“Very well, Mr. Crawford! I’ll begin the preparations immediately!”
Chapter 949
Gerald Crawford:The Secretly Rich Man Novel (Invisible or Poorest) Chapter 949 From what Tyson had said, Sven could often be found in the largest underground casino in Heavenly City.
With that in mind, Gerald then led his men straight to that casino. Once they were there, Gerald immediately began gambling randomly at a table to blend in. However, the next thing he knew, he had already won over ten rounds.
This caught the banker’s attention. After the banker secretly notified a subordinate about the incident, the subordinate stealthily headed for the office next.
Once inside, the subordinate stood before a person sitting at the boss’s chair before saying, “Boss Sven! A person out there won a lot of money and he’s even brought along several subordinates! He doesn’t look like someone who’s easy to deal with!”
At the time, the sturdy-looking man with a rather intimidating scar on his face was polishing his katana.
As soon as his subordinate’s sentence ended, he immediately slashed at a jade ornament that was on his table! Following the swift slice, the ornament split in two, sending its top half shattering as it fell to the ground!
Blowing the blade of the katana slightly, he then asked his terrified subordinate, “From your description of him, I’m assuming that he’s quite a capable person. Because of that, he should already know the rules of my place! How daring! Guess I’ll just have to head out there myself to have a look!” sneered Sven as he exited his office.
Though the casino had consistently been noisy before this, the moment Sven and his subordinates made their appearance, everyone fell silent.
Once he was close enough, everyone then shouted in unison, “Boss Sven!”
Barely even acknowledging his customers and subordinates, Sven and his men only stopped once they stood directly in front of Gerald.
“And here I was wondering who the rule-breaker was… So it turned out to just be some young man! Do you truly have no idea of how my place works? Or are you just pretending that you don’t know that you have to pay a certain fee after winning ten consecutive rounds?” said Sven.
“Forgive me, for I’m new to this place. I truly didn’t know such a rule existed.”
“Heh, it’s fine. After all, you’ll definitely be able to learn once I’m done with you. Since I’m already here, how about we have two rounds of games? Only if you’re daring enough to take up the challenge, of course,” proposed Sven with a wicked smile on his face.
“I’ll have to know what the stakes are first,” replied Gerald as he scanned Sven from head to toe. Aside from his sturdiness and fierce look, Gerald found it odd that he couldn’t discern the aura of a strong person from Sven at all.
Even Jett and the others he had previously met had warrior-like auras, but not Sven. If this man truly was as strong as Whistler and Tyson had said, then why couldn’t Gerald sense any of that from him?
“Hmm… Well how about… We put our lives at stake!” declared Sven after thinking for a while.
Hearing that, everyone present was instantaneously stunned. Whistler and Gerald men, on the other hand, could only look at each other helplessly.
“I accept your challenge!” replied Gerald with a nod.
Though Sven was a considerably slick and experienced person in terms of gambling, in the end, he wasn’t even close to defeating Gerald. In fact, all it took was a single round for Sven to be defeated!
“I truly appreciate your modesty, Mr. Westmore. Thank you for allowing me to win!” said Gerald with a smile as he shook his head.
In response, however, Sven simply touched his watch…
And all of a sudden, all his subordinates instantly entered formation and took aim at Gerald and his men!
“I have to agree that you truly are a great gambler! However, I’m afraid that you can’t take my life! However, since someone still needs to die, I guess we’ll just end yours instead!”
After saying that, Sven stood up before sneering, “Do it!”
Before his men could even fire their guns, Sven was momentarily able to see Gerald get up… The next thing he knew, however, Gerald was already holding him by the neck!
Realizing this a second later, his subordinates wanted to step in, though none of them dared to do so for fear that they would accidentally hurt Sven.
Slowly applying more and more pressure till he was practically choking Sven, he lifted the sore-loser of a man till his feet were above the ground.
“If you don’t want to die immediately, order your subordinates to back off!” ordered Gerald sternly.
“You heard the man! All of you, back off already! S-sir… Please refrain from acting rashly! You should be aware that this is my territory!” growled Sven, unable to completely mask his fear as he gestured for his subordinates to retreat.
“Oh? Are you saying that you lied to me then? After all, I defeated you fair and square so your life belongs to me!” replied Gerald.
“N-no! Please don’t do it, friend! Please spare my life! I’ll give you anything you want!” begged Sven, realizing how much trouble he was in.
Chapter 950
Gerald Crawford:The Secretly Rich Man Novel (Invisible or Poorest) Chapter 950 “We can honestly resolve this situation quite easily, you know? The way I see it, a life should be traded with another life. Let me ask you something. Did you previously capture a person by the name of Drake Jay? If you have, where is he?” asked Gerald.
“S-so you came here to save him… Yes, he’s with me! I’ll release him now but you’ll have to promise to release me too once he’s free!” said Sven immediately.
“Do you think you’re in a position to be making demands? Quit spouting nonsense and release him now!” growled Gerald as he intensified the force of his palm on Sven’s neck.
“H-he’s locked up in the cellar in this underground casino! I’ll order a subordinate of mine to release him now if you want!”
Thankfully, Sven was a rather straightforward person and soon enough, Whistler—who had followed the subordinate down into the casino’s cellar—led Drake toward Gerald.
Drake himself was in terrible condition, barely conscious, and with severe scars covering his entire body.
The moment Gerald saw how miserable Drake’s condition was, he was so infuriated that he immediately kicked Sven in the stomach, sending him flying across the room. As soon as Sven landed, he instantly vomited blood, his utter fear reflected in his eyes.
Whistler and the others were stunned to see this. From what they had heard, Sven was an extremely strong person. To think that he would end up becoming a mere nobody before their master! Though
they knew that their master was strong, wasn’t Sven being too illogically weak now?
“Bring him along and let him escort us all the way out!” ordered Gerald as he personally supported Drake out.
Hearing that, Gerald’s men instantly held on to Sven’s arms and led him into one of Gerald’s cars. Once everything was settled, Gerald’s group of cars drove off.
Sometime later, Sven knelt before a riverside—that people hardly ever came to—before shouting, “M- my life is cheap! Please don’t kill me!”
“Humph! I never thought that the powerful Sven from Heavenly City would be this pathetic!”
“Yeah! To think that people would actually be terror-stricken to hear the name of such a coward!”
Whistler and the others were now smiling bitterly as they belittled the man they had once feared after realizing how much of a coward he truly was.
Gerald, on the other hand, stared coldly at Sven for quite a while before finally asking, “…Answer this honestly. Where’s the real Sven? And who are you to him?”
As soon as Gerald’s men heard his question, they were astonished beyond words.
“P-please spare my life, sir… My real name is Leif and I’m Sven’s younger brother… He’s been gone for about a week and I’m only here to help him look after the casino in his absence… Please spare my life, sir… It’s my brother you want to take revenge on, not me!” pleaded Leif in between tears.
“What?! So he really isn’t Sven?” exclaimed quite a few people, stupefied by the turn of events. Thankfully, Gerald had been able to see through Leif.
“You b*stard! So you’ve been fooling us this entire time! Where’s Sven now? Where is he!” growled Whistler as he grabbed Leif by the collar.
“I-I don’t know! He just brought his men along and told me that he would be returning in a few days! He said he was going to find something and that’s all I know!” cried out Leif.
After looking at Leif’s reaction, Gerald simply scolded coldly, “…We’ll be bringing Drake along with us. As for you, you’re too disgusting for us to even kill you. Get lost!”
“T-thank you! Thank you!” shouted Leif before immediately running off.
“What an absolute coward…” muttered Whistler as he followed Gerald and the rest back to their mansion.
As he continued running, Leif rubbed his sore throat as he scolded, “That dmned bstard… I’m the hero of the story! Still, to think that that young man was as ruthless as my brother… I’ll have to tell him to return soon to ruin that guy once and for all!”
Not paying attention as he thought about his revenge, Leif ended up bumping into somebody! Momentarily losing his balance, he ended up falling to the ground.
“F*cking hell! Are you blind or something?” growled Leif angrily. However, he stopped scowling the moment he saw who he had bumped into.
The man standing before him wore a black robe, and it covered most of his facial features aside from his eyes. His eyes alone were both murky and vicious-looking, suggesting that the person under the robe was an old man.
Staring into the robed man’s eyes, Leif felt that if he stared at them for too long, his soul would end up getting stolen.
Quivering slightly in fright, Leif then asked, “You… Who are you…?”
The moment Leif said that, however, the robed man began walking over to him. Frozen in fear, Leif felt the old man’s hands patting his head softly…
A split second later, a snapping sound could be heard.
Vomiting blood, Leif’s eyes widened momentarily before he fell flat to the ground.
The old man himself placed his arms behind his back as he turned to look at the direction Gerald and his men had used to leave, a frown slowly forming on his face.