<h4>Chapter 149 Attacking First </h4>


    The group of thugs was sent by a powerful man. Trying to reason with them was a simple waste of time. Moreover, In didn''t wish to lose brain cells trying to hear whatever crap they had to say in order to take action against him.


    Hence, he simply attacked first. His Prana Hand flew around and punched all seven thugs squarely in the jaw, knocking them unconscious. He then tied them up, thinking of a n of action while waiting for them to get up.


    Of course, In had already investigated the dynamics of the ce before he bought it. Safara was a rather ambitious woman, keeping tabs on people in power. She used her smarts to manoeuvre her way through the political scene of the marketce and emerge sessful.


    She was his primary source of information. Whether he wanted funds, information, etc. In simply paid her a visit and got what he wanted. Through that, he knew Maharell, Establishment Lord of Ellora City''srgest warehouse had set his sights on this property.


    It bordered one of his establishments. And by annexing the area, he could expand the establishment and be even more prominent.


    The majority of the people living in the narrow alley were old, with no sessors. After the major merchants locked traffic to the alley, the lives of the people there took a turn for the worst. They made no money and simply lived the days watching dust umte on their wares.


    By cutting off their means to make a living, therge merchants were trying to force them to sell their properties. In had investigated it already, which was why he ced himself in the middle of this cold war.


    In Sumatra Chronicles, the Mammoth n operated alone, remaining on the backs of Empyrean Tusks. Despite the vast power they possessed, capable of overturning entire Kingdoms casually, they never used it.


    It was why once things turned bad due to the Boar King, they failed to recover.


    Simply having strength wasn''t enough. There were plenty of other factors involved. He was from Earth and had been an avid viewer of geopolitics, knowing how many countries yed their games to keep each other in check.


    The military was merely thest bastion to turn to. The greatest weapon they relied upon to exert dominance was economics, especially through trade.


    As a Mammoth nsman, even at the entry-level of the Body Stage, In was strong. Adding onto his three Natures, he could even fight a 2-Life Stage cultivator from the Human Kingdom. With his level of power, he could spread his influence.


    Setting up shops in Ganrimb Kingdom with Free Humans who had pledged loyalty to the Mammoth n was their surest way to exert influence. These shops would be able to operate without issues, since they were being backed by one of the strongest forces on Sumatra.


    When necessary, the Mammoth n will ask these shops for a portion of the revenue. This way, even if the Empyrean Tusks exhausted their resources by fighting the Boar King, they could recover faster.


    As long as such spheres of influence were set up in all Human Kingdoms and Empires, the Mammoth n would have a robust foundation of resources to rely upon.


    Of course, he could only use Free Humans for this. Human Kingdoms and Empires were strict in maintaining their purity.


    Moreover, Free Humans at the Life Stage were able to sense whether or not someone was a Free Human or not. And upon finding them, the Kingdoms and Empires would flush out the people that they considered ''infected.''


    Even In wasn''t an exception to this rule. The moment he unleashes his Prana, his identity as a Mammoth nsman will be revealed. Ganrimb Kingdom woulde for his throat.


    ''Well, there are things I can do in preparation for that. I still have plenty of time for it.'' In thought and focused on the task at hand, ''Let''s not get carried away and deal with this situation first.''


    He removed the bindings of a thug and kicked him out of the courtyard, "Tell your boss toe crawling here with his tail between his legs. Otherwise, I''ll being for his neck."


    "Y-Yes," The thug scurried away in fear.


    Since Maharell was keen on obtaining this property, he would continue to harass the ce. Instead of passively defending against the attacks, it was best to strike first. Freeing one of the thugs was only to alert the other party into investigating the ce.


    It would cause him to dy a retaliation, giving In more than enough time to act.


    "Can you move the rest of the wares inside?" In asked Asaeya who stared at him in worry.


    "I can do it, but aren''t you being too hasty about this?" Asaeya was hesitant, "We don''t know who is backing Maharell and how strong they are. Since the people here came from the Brimgan Empire, they would have plenty of powerhouses among them on the same level as our masters. You shouldn''t underestimate them."


    "Who said I''m underestimating anyone?" Inughed and stared at her, asking, "Do you know that the stronger one''s backing, the greater their arrogance and the more ballsy they be?"


    "Yes," Asaeya nodded after giving some thought, "You make sense, but how does that corrte to your recklessness here?"


    "Am I being arrogant enough?" In grinned.


    Asaeya''s eyes widened, "So, you want to fool your enemies into believing that your backer is above everyone else."


    "Pretty much," In nodded, "So, they''ll stop harassing me and instead focus all their energy on finding out who my backer is."


    "But if they do that, they''ll eventually figure out that no one''s backing you," Asaeya said.


    "I do have a backer though." Smiling as such, In calmly walked out of the courtyard and approached the establishment where Maharell stayed, "The strongest backer in fact."


    He was a Mammoth nsman. His backer was the infamous Mammoth n which had destroyed many Kingdoms simply when angered. All In was doing here was acting in such a way that his foes would assume his backer is someone from the Ganrimb Kingdon''s upper echelon.


    Whether or not they figured out the truth didn''t matter. After all, in either case, he''s not someone they could touch without suffering the consequences of annihtion.


    Maharell Wares and Services!


    It was a sprawling building on the main road of Ellora Trade City, selling everything from carpets to Elixirs. Two guards stood at the entrance, revealing their presence of Body Stage cultivators.


    Arge number of people entered and exited this twelve-storey building that upied at least a hundred thousand square metres in area, the size of a typical shopping mall on Earth.


    Behaving like the natives, In upied a lot of space as he walked and entered the establishment, looking through the wares as he enacted his scheme.