Chapter 2715: History Repeating

Date: Unspecified

Time: Unspecified

Location: Myriad Realms, Card World, Southern Region, Blossom District, Sky Blossom City, TSR Guild Headquarters

Listening to Pax mention that the New Age Merchant Guild had a base in the physical plane I wasn’t surprised. Of course they did. Where else would they store all their loot? The Devil Merchant Code? With how much it charged just to transport goods to the Inter-realm City, between the planes, they would lose more than they earned. No sane merchant would run a business like that.

It was impractical. They had to maintain a base in the physical plane, somewhere remote and confidential. Somewhere no other demon devil merchant would casually wander into. Perhaps it was even located on the native world of one of the guild’s founders, a world which they owned the rights to.

What truly surprised me was the fact that they were inviting Pax to a location critical to the guild’s survival. Given how strategic and confidential their physical plane’s headquarters had to be, I doubted they would reveal its location to just anyone who had joined them recently. Not unless that person was a legacy member or someone vital to their long-term plans.

Pax was clearly not a legacy. That left the other possibility: he was important. Somehow, he was a piece in their design.

But why? The dark faction ’Seven Prince of Hell’ had already secured the Card World’s rights. What else about Pax could possibly interest them? Unless the New Age Merchant Guild had not given up on acquiring the Card World yet. That was the most reasonable conclusion I could draw from the information available to me. And deep down, my toxic relationship with greed told me I was right.

Regardless of the species and race, greed works the same for all. It didn’t discriminate. That was something I could count on.

"Master Wyatt, I just checked with my liaison about why I was invited to the guild’s headquarters in the physical plane," Pax said, cutting through my thoughts. When he saw he had my full attention, he continued, "She told me the guild has found a way to help me save the Card World from the hands of the ’Seven Princes of Hell’ faction. They want to meet me in person to discuss it."

"What do you think?" I asked Pax, wanting his opinion. He had taken the initiative to contact his guild liaison and gather information for me, so his thoughts mattered.

"Me?" Pax hesitated. Then he fell silent, thinking it through. As he replayed the conversation in his mind, certain details began to stand out.

She had been the one who made him feel the worst about himself when Gideon Grim purchased the Card World’s rights from the Devil Merchant Code for the ’Seven Princes of Hell’ faction. But now she was acting as if none of that had ever happened. She spoke to him politely, even respectfully, just as she had when he first joined the guild.

Back then, when he approached her for help securing loans to hire mercenaries, she had berated him without restraint. She mocked him for having the nerve to seek the guild’s support after turning it down when they first offered it. She reminded him that other guild members needed assistance as well and told him he would have to wait his turn.

And now, suddenly, he was being invited to the guild’s headquarters to discuss how to save the Card World with the higher-ups. It was too good to be true.

They were clearly up to something. First, they let him drown in despair. Then, just when he was at the end of his rope, they reached down to pull him up. Not out of kindness, but to make sure he would fall in line when they approached him with their plans again.

"I think they’re full of shit," Pax replied. His eyes burned red, and his fists clenched tight. "They’re up to something again."

"Or maybe they truly want to help you save the Card World from the second demon invasion," I said, offering a counterpoint to what Pax just said. Ignoring the confused looks around us, I continued, "Tell me, what happens if the ’Seven Princes of Hell’ dark faction fails to invade the Card World?"

"If the dark faction fails, it will either be destroyed or go bankrupt. In either case, the Devil Merchant Code will repossess their assets to recover the debt, just like what happened to the Ten Commandments. After that, the rights to the Card World would be put up for grabs again." Pax answered without missing a beat. He had studied the detailed records of the first demon invasion in the New Age Merchant Guild’s library intensively.

"No wonder," Pax exclaimed, catching on to what I was implying. I quickly dampened his enthusiasm. "Don’t celebrate just yet. They’re not helping you out of kindness, are they? I think I finally understand why they invited you to their headquarters in the physical plane."

"Why?" Pax asked, confusion clouding his face.

"Isn’t it obvious? They want to make sure that this time you follow through and don’t get cold feet at the last minute. I wouldn’t be surprised if they tried to brainwash you or even possess your mind and body. Anything to secure their interests," I answered based on my assumption.

It wasn’t a baseless suspicion. They had done something similar with Demigod Godson, backing him in his war against the Ten Commandments Dark Faction. But their plan had failed when he refused to become a devil merchant. Later, when one of his descendants finally chose that path, he too managed to foil them again.

This would be the second time they were reaching for the same prize using the same method. I doubted they would risk repeating the same mistake. After all, they had already invested too much into this plan and were prepared to invest even more. There was far too much at stake. They could not afford to fail again.

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