Chapter 621 Who Agrees, Who Opposes
The entire place fell silent!
Nearly two thousand people were present, and no one dared to make a sound.
Neil lost!
And he lost so completely!
There had been rumors that Neil lost to James before, but those were just rumors. Nobody had actually seen it happen.
This time was different. They'd all witnessed it with their own eyes. Neil, who'd just broken through to the peak of the fourth stage of martial arts, had been taken down by James. The shock was unreal!
Neil lay on the ground, looking up at James, his heart filled with unwillingness and sadness. He had worked so hard and was so excellent, why was he still no match for James?
At this moment, Neil truly felt that he was inferior to James in every way.
The last time he'd lost, it hadn't crushed him. He'd been fired up, convinced that with enough grit and grind, he could close the gap. That's what had driven him into the wild, training under the relentless pounding of a waterfall, pushing himself to break through his limits.
He succeeded. In just two weeks, he hit the peak of the fourth stage of martial arts—a speed no one had ever seen before. He was convinced he was unstoppable in his league. When he faced James again, he was sure it'd be a different story. He'd kill him and erase that humiliation once and for all. So, he rolled back into the City of Mysteries two days ago, but he didn't jump straight into a showdown with James. No, he waited. He picked this exact moment, when all eyes were on James as he took over as head of the family, to step in and take him down in front of everyone.
But Neil still lost—and it wasn't even a contest. It was a straight-up beatdown.
James was on another level, a level Neil couldn't even wrap his head around. How could someone be that good? Neil could tell during the fight that James wasn't even going all out. He was just studying Neil's moves, adapting, and getting better.
Neil was unconvinced, unwilling. He was the prodigy, born into privilege, never short on resources, trained by the legendary Sword God himself, and even polished his skills overseas. If this world were a story, he should've been the main character, not James!
As for the others, Neil's crushing defeat shifted the tide. They'd been leaning toward the Stewarts, ready to band together against the Smiths. But now, with Neil's loss and James stepping up as the powerhouse head of the family, their plans started to unravel.
"You're free to go. I won't kill you," James said to Neil. "You've worked hard to get this far. I won't take that away from you. Go back, train harder, and if you ever think you're ready, come find me for a rematch."
The crowd was floored. What was this? James wasn't finishing Neil off? He wasn't even crippling his skills? He was just letting him walk? Wasn't that just asking for trouble down the line?
Even the Smith family was on edge, thinking, How could James screw this up so badly?
Only a few people got what James was doing.
Alistair's eyebrows shot up, his gaze filled with relief and pride as he looked at James. He saw right through James's game.
First off, Neil was the Sword God's disciple. If James had killed him, even if Neil was in the wrong, the Sword God might have come gunning for revenge. And James wasn't ready to take on that kind of heat.
Second, by letting Neil walk, James was sending a message: he wasn't some ruthless tyrant. People could trust him, stand by him.
Third, keeping Neil around was a way to keep himself sharp. Complacency? Not on James's watch. With Neil out there, James would always stay on his toes, always pushing to get better.
As for whether Neil would cause trouble for the Smiths or come after James? Nah. Neil was too proud, too honorable for that kind of dirty play.
One move, three wins.
James? Yeah, he was Alistair's best grandson, no doubt about it.
Neil's face kept changing. He clenched his fists, his eyes almost popping out, feeling an unprecedented insult. James completely disregarded him.
Neil was very angry, but more than that, he was sad. He found that he no longer had the strong unwillingness and fighting spirit he had last time.
He had been convinced by James.
As for Tomas, he also breathed a sigh of relief. He was afraid that James would be violent and kill Neil regardless of everything. Now it seemed that James was still very magnanimous. Unconsciously, he even felt a bit grateful to James.
Others felt the same.
James pulled his eyes away from Neil and scanned the room full of family heads.
"I give you a chance—fair and square. Anyone who can take me down, the Smith family bows to you. But if you lose, you'll show the Smiths the respect we deserve."
His voice was steady, hands tucked behind his back, as his gaze swept over the crowd.
Among so many people, no one dared to respond. When James's gaze fell on them, they all lowered their heads.
At this moment, the pressure James displayed was too great, and they had to submit.
"No one?" James asked.
Still, silence. Their shoulders slumped, showing they were ready to fall in line.
James went on, "Alright, looks like you're all on board with the Smith family. Good. Here's the deal—stick with us, and we'll treat you right. Your families keep running as usual. We'll just take a cut of the profits, and…"
He laid out the terms on the spot. Everyone listened closely and realized James wasn't asking for much. Their bottom lines were safe—it was fair.
"If anyone messes with you down the road, come to the Smith family. We'll have your back. That's my word," James said with conviction.
"Now, who agrees and who opposes?" James's gaze was sharp.
After a while, someone raised their hand first, "I, I agree."
Once the first domino fell, the others followed—second, third, and so on. By the end, over 90% of the family heads had agreed, pledging their loyalty to the Smiths. Only a handful held out—the Stewarts, the Wards, the Percys, and the Savoys.
James's gaze swept over them, his aura released, his gaze unfriendly, "Do you oppose?"
"I, I also agree." The head of the Savoy family caved first under James's glare, quickly bowing his head. He was kicking himself—if he'd known James was this powerful, he would've married his daughter Lisa to him long ago!
Now it was too late to say anything.
Next up was Mason. Under James's pressure, he had no choice but to give in, though he was clearly pissed. He gritted his teeth and muttered, "I agree."
Then came the Ward family, and finally, the Stewarts.
Tomas's lips quivered, his face ghostly pale. After a long pause, he let out a heavy sigh and said, "I agree too. The Stewarts will respect the Smiths."
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