Zeus, Tempo, and Gojo arrived at the Merchant Union and were allowed into a large council room as they waited for the representative of every merchant group to arrive.

The Union was made from the collective power of fourteen merchant groups that each held power over a large section of land, making them more akin to an empire with multiple kingdoms under it than a single nation. There was no single emperor or ruler, and all decisions were made by this council as every merchant group voted.

A few servants served them a few drinks and food while they waited, and a few minutes later, the exhausted representatives arrived out of breath. It seems that they rushed here as soon as they were notified that Gojo and his group arrived.

The room itself was massive, almost enough to be called a hall. The round meeting table was massive and made of steel and gold, filled with fruits, drinks, and, most importantly, a whole set of golden tableware to show the merchants’ wealth.

Trying to flex like this in front of a dragon and two titans was funny, but Gojo didn’t blame them since this show was massive for humans.

When all of the representatives gathered and took their seats, their oldest shifted his gaze toward Zeus. The elder speaks first, which seemed to be the general rule here. That would make Zeus talk first, then Tempo, and Gojo last.

"First, welcome to our Union, Eye of the Storm Zeus. Rumbling Lord Tempo, and... Sir Gojo of the Arctic." The elder of the merchants spoke and then cleared his throat. "What might’ve brought you all three here on such short notice?"

Zeus crossed his arms and sighed, causing his thick moustache and beard to flare up and crackle with lightning. "I would rather not have to come here. I’m old, as you can see, and my back is hurting. But when one’s granddaughter calls them, they gotta move. Don’t you think so?"

As he glared at them, a lightning bolt struck the peak of the nearest mountain, causing a blinding flash followed by a thunderous thunderclap that shook the entire place. "She wanted to bring the entire army down here... so I came to ask. Why did you send those fools to slander her sister-in-marriage?"

"THAT’S NOT ALL!" Tempo shouted, and the windows shattered as all of the merchants’ representatives closed their ears. He remained silent for a second, and then cleared his throat, trying his best to speak as quietly as he could.

"That was a clear attack. Trying to end the undead at the capital, to me, that’s a declaration of war." He glared at the merchants. "So, I brought my sword with me. Let’s go for it!" Seeing that massive smile on his face, his clear, wide-open eyes, and fire burning in them, he was dying for a fight.

The merchants’ representatives weren’t stupid; they knew the power of the titans. Even one titan could easily wipe an entire city down. They are people that reach hundreds of meters tall and hold so much magical power and influence over nature that they are nearly unstoppable for other races.

The only reason they didn’t invade and conquer the entire world is that, to them, most of it is a wasteland without enough food and water to sustain them. It is like humans and deserts, there is heat there, and sand, a bit more sand, and something rare called SAND! Granted, there might be some rare minerals underground, but building the infrastructure through the desert is nearly impossible due to the heat and lack of food and water.

So those two coming all the way here were a huge problem. It means that those necromancers had made a huge mistake and were discovered. Not that alone, it seems that they managed to antagonize the titans so much that two of their leads came here in person. If they don’t handle this well, this could cause the first-ever Titan-men war to break out.

But then... something looked off. Who is this beautiful, blue-eyed man sitting between them and trying to flirt with one of the servants? The news of Zeus becoming a demigod had spread across the entire world, so this man could be one of his retainers or an angel in disguise. No, an angel won’t be here flirting with a mere servant.

Noticing their worried gazes, Zeus decided to introduce Gojo. "This man is Gojo Orion, Arad Orion’s elder brother, and the current King of the Arctic lands. Since you’re all the way down south, I doubt you would’ve heard much about him."

They did, in fact, hear about Gojo, but they believed he looked like Arad. They expected to see a giant man who was even bigger, and rejected all news about him being small. And who could blame them?

While Arad was known as a three-tall giant, Gojo barely stood at less than two meters. While Arad’s hair was black, Gojo’s hair was white, and while Arad’s eyes were dark purple, his brother Gojo had radiant blue eyes. They looked like the polar opposite of each other.

Gojo looked at the merchants’ representatives and smiled. "I like this woman; would you mind if I take her with me?" He pointed at the servant he had been flirting with all this time, and one of the merchant representatives smiled.

"Well, of course. I’ll get her ready as soon as this meeting is over." As the old man looked at Gojo, his head was torn off and blasted back. Everyone else cried as they jumped back, and Gojo leaned on the table with a large frown on his face.

"Not even asking her? As I expected." He threw a smile at the woman and then kicked the table all the way to the ceiling. "I can understand having criminal slaves, but capturing random innocent people to enslave is something I can’t wrap my head around."

The merchants’ representatives were already crying, trying to crawl away. "If you think that is fine, then how about I enslave you? I’m a dragon, stronger than you all, so by your own logic, it should be fine, right?"

The entire hall started cracking, and a titanic dark shadow fell over the Merchants’ Union capital. The people could feel the air suddenly becoming as heavy as water, and the warmth of the sun had all but faded away.

Zeus sighed. "We came here in peace."

Tempo smiled, "CAN I FIGHT?!"

Gojo stood. "No, we’re not attacking the people. I’ll dismantle the slavery magic first and then figure out a way to deal with those fools." He then pointed at the woman who was still standing by his side, unable to flee since the last order she got was to try and seduce the guests.

"She is a cat beastwoman from Hati’s free Beastlands; they cut her ears and tail to make her look human." He reached toward her and grabbed something right in front of her next. A fraction of a second later, the magic shattered, and she fell to her knees, gasping for air as she puked. Seeing that man getting beheaded was probably a bit too much for her.

Gojo then flicked his fingers toward the door, and all of the merchants’ representatives were thrown out with a magical burst, shattering the door and flying into the palace’s courtyard, where they all landed on the flag poles, getting impaled in front of all of the guards.