338 Fuck Off (1/2)

”The younger generation is truly getting more and more…” Joseph was repeating what he had just said, when he noticed that young and familiar face.

The room then became silent.

Joseph seemed frozen, his mouth wide open. His eyes were filled with shock and fear. It wasn't clear whether it was because he was too frightened, but he looked as if someone was grasping his neck. He opened and closed his mouth repeatedly but could only let out a meaningless sound.

”Please do continue, Joseph, more and more what?” Ross Merlin entered the room while looking rather irritable. Although he had a smile on his face, his gaze didn't look amused.

”More and more…” Joseph gulped as he looked at Ross, unable to finish his sentence.

”Say it!”

”More and more…” Joseph was scared to the point of getting teary-eyed. What could he say? The one standing before him was Ross Merlin, one of the three geniuses, a powerful competitor to become the next patriarch. He confronted a thousand Raging Flame Beastmen in the Crimson Fort. He had killed more people than Joseph had ever seen. Even if Joseph were a hundred times bolder, he wouldn't dare offend him.

When he saw Ross enter, Joseph wished he could slap himself. 'Why was I so stupid to insult the younger generation? Now, Ross, one of the geniuses of that generation, showed up. What should I do now, should I really repeat what I said?

'No way… I'm only fifty, I still have a lot of years ahead of me…'

”Ross… Young Master Ross, I was naturally not talking about you. I was only… I was only saying this to Mafa, my words were aimed at him…” Facing the pressure from Ross, Joseph was struck by inspiration. ”This Mafa Merlin is too impudent, he truly doesn't care about the Elders. I was referring to people like Mafa Merlin when I mentioned the younger generation, not you. Don't misunderstand…”

Joseph spoke while cautiously observing Ross' expression. In Joseph's eyes, his words were extremely fitting. He was shirking the blame while sucking up to Ross. And these words would definitely leave Ross with a bad impression of Mafa.

He could hardly protect himself, so how could he care about a new member of the Merlin Family?

Moreover...

If it hadn't been for Mafa Merlin, he surely wouldn't have offended Ross. Using him to avoid the blame was just taking cheap advantage of him.

”Young Master Ross, this really can't be blamed on me. People like Mafa Merlin only spend their time asking what the Family can give him, but they disregard the Family when they are asked something. Some people truly can't be compared with others. Young Master Ross already conquered the Crimson Fort in your twenties, comparing you to people like Mafa is like comparing heaven and earth…” Joseph became more and more energetic as he spluttered, while shaking his head with a lamenting expression.

He was shaking his head and gesturing so exaggeratedly that he didn't even notice that the more he talked, the worse Ross' expression became.

”Locusts like Mafa Merlin should be removed from the Family…”

”Enough!”

”Ah?” Joseph had been getting more and more excited as he talked. He'd planned on ruthlessly criticizing the thoughtless youngster, but he became confused when Ross interrupted him angrily. He stood there in a daze, looking nervously at Ross...

Joseph was scared silly.

'What's going on? What's going on? Did I say something wrong?

'I only spoke about Mafa Merlin, how could Young Master Ross be unhappy? How did I offend Young Master Ross… Are they acquainted already?'

”Do you know what you are talking about?” Ross almost jabbed his finger in Joseph's nose...

Joseph had always played an insignificant role in the Merlin Family. It couldn't be helped because he didn't have a backer and could only struggle for a decade before finally getting a position at the Elder Council... He was in charge of running errands. From that point on, that fatty relied on his position to use his powerful connections to intimidate and pressure people with the backing of the Elder Council.

Naturally, no matter how Joseph liked to bully people, he wouldn't dare try it on Ross. Thus, Ross would usually turn a blind eye to Joseph's actions.

But Ross hadn't expected this fatty to be so near-sighted...

'Really? He actually dared to try and intimidate Cousin Mafa…'