RISE OF EROS

Andrew and the others wasted no time and with word of the people they hired spreading everywhere, it wasn't long before they had a large number of workers willing to build the mall.

The propaganda was quite aggressive, the wages high and what they would build would help the city and its inhabitants, so everyone was happy to help, especially since the Pixoy family supported the initiative.

Although the rumors discrediting and attacking Andrew had spread and everyone knew that Andrew had connections with the Pixoy family, the inhabitants of Cannes still supported the Pixoy family.

The reason was simple, it was the Pixoy family that shed blood to protect them during the attack and the one that is currently at the forefront of the reconstruction and support of everyone.

Their popularity was at its highest and while that didn't stop Andrew from being attacked by rumors, they were two different cases. The differences that Candice had mentioned were already beginning to be noticed.

For ordinary people, the evidence was stronger than the rumors. All the accusations towards Andrew were based on ambiguous events that no one could confirm. However, everyone saw what they were experiencing at the moment. Obviously, the instigators were not happy and were not ordinary people.

In a room away from the hustle and bustle of the city, 4 men were gathered. These were the masterminds of the plan to discredit Andrew and if he saw them he would be surprised because he knew one of them.

It was none other than the noble seller of firebird eggs, Conrad. As a noble and ambitious merchant, he was not greatly affected by Purgatory's attack on Cannes, as he had a contingency plan that allowed him to escape before the battle broke out.

Still, he was a self-centered man, who still could not get over the fact that he had lost to Andrew a while back, so he joined these other three who also had their ambitions to attack him.

The other three had no grudge against Andrew, but they knew of his relationship with the Pixoy family and needed to separate them, in order to carry out their plans. Conrad, although he did have problems with Andrew, did not only move for that reason.

His goal has always been to expand and seek the support of the Pixoy family, but he knows that he needs an opportunity to achieve it. In addition, after his clash with Andrew who is close to them, his opportunity was getting further and further away.

That is why these four gathered together and thought of this plan to discredit Andrew and take advantage of the situation. Although they are responsible for the rumors, the truth is that they do not know the truth.

They only took what would affect the inhabitants of Cannes the most at this time and targeted Andrew, so that rumor was born that the attack of Purgatory was due to him.

Not even in their wildest dreams, could they imagine that the rumor they invented to condition the inhabitants of Cannes was true. Now that Andrew had taken action, they had to gather together.

They are experienced people and understood that as things were going, Andrew would not only be discriminated against and isolated but would be loved for everything he was doing, so they had to take action.

This meeting was for that purpose. They were discussing what course of action they should take now that Andrew started to fight back. "We must do something or everything will go down the drain," said one of them.

He is a robust-looking man, not to mention a fat man with swollen cheeks and a belly the size of a barrel. He is a very wealthy spice trader. Although he does not have a monopoly like Conrad, his assets are not insignificant and his products are considered luxurious and expensive. "Does anyone have any suggestions?" asked another of them.

This one, unlike the previous one, was thin, to the point of being skin and bones. His emaciated appearance made him look horrible, but compared to the previous fat man, his appearance was no different.

Both can be considered ugly, but due to their money and status, it has never been a problem for them to be liked. Money buys people and they were the best example of this. The last one in the room then spoke, "Mr. Conrad is the one who knows this young man best, do you have any idea?" This one, unlike the others, had a good appearance.

It is not that he was handsome, in fact, as far as appearance is concerned, he can be considered average. Among the four, Conrad is the most handsome and it is not that he is a heartthrob, but this only shows how ugly the fat man and the skinny one were.

The last one to speak was not only ordinary looking, but among the four he was the most intriguing. Everyone present knew that he was wealthy, as he is a merchant of sewing materials.

He sold fabrics, threads, fibers, paints, and other sewing supplies. Looking at his field of business, it did not seem like he could amass such a fortune, but, he did not sell ordinary things, only products of the best quality.

It was said that in some countries he had even sold products to kings and queens, so, he could not be taken lightly. The intriguing thing about him was that he was not very well known in Cannes, but he had too much money.

In fact, Conrad who was the most cautious, knew that this man's wealth was similar or even higher than his own and it must be understood that Conrad is not only a merchant, he is also a nobleman.

For these reasons, Conrad was on guard against him. The fat man and the skinny man were very self-centered people and had no ounce of caution among their associates, as they believed that since they were wealthy and fought for the same cause, there should be no problems.

Many would ask, how did they manage to be so wealthy with attitudes like that? And the answer is simple. They are not self-made merchants like Candice, they are heirs to their parents' wealth.

They always lived in luxury and with everything handed to them on a silver platter, so they did not have that malice or caution of merchants. In fact, their wealth had greatly diminished since they took control of the business.

Despite his suspicions, Conrad could not remain silent now that he had been called, so he said, "I think the best thing would be to eliminate him, but it is unlikely to succeed."

The other three furrowed their eyebrows upon hearing him. "Why?" asked the fat man and the skinny man followed his question by saying, "He is just a lucky bastard. One of my assassins could do the job."

Conrad looked at the pair of stupid rich men and almost cursed them, but the other man seemed more sensible and asked the right question, "Can you explain the reason?"

Conrad really didn't want to explain it, as he knew that by saying so, this partnership would end. When Conrad attacked Andrew in the past, he learned that a powerful being was protecting him and suspected that he was a demigod.

Now that he knew of Zaros' existence, he immediately thought that he was the one protecting Andrew, so if they found out about this, they wouldn't dare to attack Andrew. Still, Conrad couldn't hide this fact. If the fat man and the skinny man did what they shouldn't and were caught, they would surely expose him and that would be much more troublesome.

While those two were stupid and complacent, they would at least have knowledge about demigods. No one in this world doesn't know about how powerful demigods are. Letting out a sigh of resignation, Conrad told them how he suspected that a demigod was protecting Andrew and believed that he was Zaros, the ancestor of the Pixoy family.

Hearing this, not even the fat man and the skinny man dared to say anything. Just as Conrad had thought, these two are stupid, but even they know that messing with a demigod is suicide.

The other man was also surprised and letting out a sigh said, "From the beginning, there was no way to win." Conrad furrowed his eyebrows upon hearing this, as he did not believe that this was true.

Certainly, a demigod is dangerous, but in business, it is not the only force that is used. However, before he could say anything, this seemingly normal man noticed Conrad's discomfort.

Seeing that Conrad did not agree with his statement, he smiled contemptuously and said, "You don't think so? Then you are more stupid than you seem."

The man's words annoyed Conrad and he was about to explode into curses, when the man spoke again, "Don't you understand that, from the very beginning, he has the means to find and eliminate us?"

A chill ran down the spine of the three present. Conrad was blinded by greed and thirst for revenge and he missed the most basic point. Business may not be settled with strength, but that's for those without it.

Simply put, tricks work against weaker or equal enemies, but when your enemy has overwhelming strength, he has no need to play tricks, he can just crush you.

Andrew could do that with them. If Zaros was the one protecting him, it was obvious that finding the source of the rumors and destroying it was as easy as blowing out a candle and Conrad had ignored that.

The man after making his point, smiled wryly and said, "You should leave this city. Only calamity awaits you if you stay." After saying those words he looked at the other two and said, "Now, I think that, instead of making enemies with that young man, it is better to ally with him."

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I had announced that I would upload two chapters per day, but my new job has been more demanding than I thought and I have not been able to keep up, so I apologize. I will have to continue uploading only one chapter as usual, I hope you accept my apologies.