Inside the Jade River Exchange, all the elders wore pensive expressions on their faces. Frequently, they would look at the entrance door as if expecting someone.
And indeed, they were expecting someone.
Seated at the main seat, the Jade River Exchange master tapped the wooden table in rhythm, his expression was unreasonable.
"Is it possible something has gone wrong?" an elder asked, confusion marred his face.
"How could that be?" a woman shook her head. "With everything we found about the Thousand Wealth Chamber, it is impossible for anything to go wrong."
"I agree. Besides, this is a surprise attack. How could they prepare for it?" another elder added.
All the elders nodded. It is impossible for the Thousand Wealth Chamber to defend against their surprise attack.
Suddenly, the entrance door was pushed open and an elder rushed in with a flustered expression.
Seeing him, all the elders creased their brows. The Master raised his head and stared at him.
"What happened? What’s with that expression?" an elder shouted in annoyance.
They had been tense all day and seeing his expression did not make it any better.
Feeling their piercing gaze, the elder took a deep breath to calm his racing heart.
"Quick, tell us the result." a voice asked impatiently.
"How is it? Did they succeed?" another voice asked, his tone with expectation.
The elder opened his mouth but the words did not come out for a moment. This was the first time he found his job so hard.
Looking at him, all the elders could perceive something was not right. This was the first time he reacted like that.
"Tell us the outcome." the Master said, leaving no room for any delay.
"Yes, Master." the elder nodded, took a deep breath.
He had forgotten how many times he took a deep breath since he learned of the news.
"I-It... failed." his voice was low but everyone inside the room heard him.
"W-What did you just say?" a voice asked, belonging to a woman.
"The surprise attack failed miserably." he raised his head and looked at the elders before his eyes rested on the Master.
"It was as if they were waiting for us. Their men were veteran fighters. They killed our men like they were nothing but ants."
"Apart from that, among their men there were more than three Peak Core Refining Warriors. In addition, the lowest among their men were Intermediate Core Refining Warriors."
"H-How is that possible?"
All the elders widened their eyes in disbelief. They found it difficult to believe.
A team filled with Intermediate Core Refining Warriors and Peak Core Refining Warriors. Where did the Thousand Wealth Chamber find such warriors?
"How many escaped?" the Master asked, his expression still unreadable.
"One." the elder responded and shook his head. "But he was serious, his chance of survival is slim."
They were stupefied when they heard only a single person managed to escape the battle. These were powerful warriors in the Core Refining Realm and if they wanted to escape, it shouldn’t be difficult.
For a moment, the room was deadly silent. All the elders had various conflicted expressions on their faces.
They believed with their scheme to use morale attack and the surprise attack, they would destroy the Thousand Wealth Chamber branch in Wuyu City with ease.
The Thousand Wealth Chamber might be silent but they were ready, scheming the scene, setting their trap and they fell for it.
Just thinking of it made their backs drenched in cold sweats. Such patience, such endurance, how many forces could do it?
Inwardly, they knew their Jade River Exchange did not have such patience. Not if they had the means to retaliate.
All the elders exchanged subtle glances.
They realized they might have underestimated the force behind the Thousand Wealth Chamber and if they were going to destroy them, they needed to change their approach.
"M-Master, what should we do?" an elder asked with a trembling voice.
The Master did not respond immediately. His finger kept on tapping the wooden table.
’The more they resist, the more I wish to crush them. Their secret must be mine.’ His thought was filled with sinister greed.
"We continue as planned. They might have defended themselves this time, how about next time." he paused and his gaze wandered the room.
"Since they have branches throughout the Southern Region, let’s see how many times they can defend all their branches."
"For the next attack, we attack two cities at the same time."
All the elders nodded, their eyes blazing with fighting spirit fueled with greed. They won’t stop until they have their way.
Inside the Artifact Refining Hall, the hall elders were also in a meeting.
"How is it? Did the attack succeed?" the Hall Master asked, staring at a particular elder.
"No, Hall Master, they failed and all the men died." the elder in charge of the alliance responded.
The elders widened their eyes in shock. This was a joint attack by many powerful forces. How could it fail?
"What happened?" the Hall Master asked with a deep frown on his face.
"I don’t know but from what we learned, it seems the Thousand Wealth Chamber was already prepared for the battle."
Everyone creased their brows, and various thoughts flashed through their faces.
"Let’s wait for the decision from the Jade River Exchange." the Hall Master said after some thought. "Since we decided to attack the Thousand Wealth Chamber, we can’t retreat any longer."
The elders nodded. It’s either them or the Thousand Wealth Chamber.
Slowly, the news of the attack spread throughout the upper echelon of the capital. Many were shocked, filled with disbelief.
Since so many forces banded together to destroy the Thousand Wealth Chamber, everyone thought they were done for. But now, they discovered they were wrong.
Perhaps, there was truly a mighty force behind them.
Inside the Governor’s mansion, the Governor sat calmly under a pavilion enjoying his tea. "What a good tea?!" he muttered, shock evident in his voice.
Quickly, his butler rushed toward and revealed the news.
When the Governor learned of the news, he paused for a moment before a knowing smile appeared on his face.
"This is getting more interesting." he mused and sipped his tea.