The people of the three major families of Victoria and Patrick stared blankly at Kevin's head in Kartana's hand. Even though he was already dead, one could still see the terror and disbelief in his pupils.
The same kind of disbelief also appeared on the faces of the four people present.
Ella's beautiful eyes, filled with adoration, gazed at Julian, her delicate and well-proportioned body pressing tightly against Julian's arm, while waves of fragrance drifted into his nostrils.
After snapping back to reality, Patrick let out a bitter laugh and said, "Champion Walker, by doing this, you have completely provoked the Dawson family."
In his view, Julian's actions were entirely driven by a fit of rage for the sake of a beauty. Of course, it also had to do with Kevin bringing it upon himself. However, Patrick still considered Julian's behavior too impulsive.
As the Chief Executive of Victoria, he was well aware of the Dawson family's status in the region. It could be said that if the Dawson family stamped their feet, all of Victoria would tremble.
The fact that the Dawson family had grown to such an extent, even surpassing the reputation of the Victoria government itself, and why neither Victoria nor Drakoria had restrained them, had certain historical reasons. Which won't be elaborated on here.
In Patrick's opinion, Julian did not truly understand the Dawson family's influence in Victoria, which was why he acted this way.
Indeed, Julian hadn't looked into it deeply. He only knew that the Dawson family was the top family in Victoria, but he had no real understanding of the extent of their power there—because he simply didn't care.
With the numerous trump cards Julian possessed, how could he possibly fear a mere Dawson family?
"Gentlemen, aren't you going to act? Kartana's arm is getting tired from holding it up."
Julian ignored Patrick and turned to the people from the other three major families.
The representatives from the three families looked at each other. They had only come to pick up Julian, as both Julian himself and the Walker family behind him were formidable forces.
Naturally, they wanted to build good relations, but they had never imagined offending the Dawson family.
They had just come to pick him up from the airport and ended up witnessing Julian kill the Dawson family's youngest son. This was an extremely serious matter.
They wanted to build a good relationship with Julian, but they certainly didn't want to offend the Dawson family in the process. After all, much of their business was in Victoria, and the consequences of offending the Dawsons would be far worse than offending Julian.
Thus, the people from the three major families hesitated, unable to make a move.
"Gentlemen, do you still think you have a choice? And it's just the Dawson family. With the Commander here, what are you afraid of? When the Dawson family falls, won't it be you who benefits?"
"This is the Commander giving you an opportunity."
Ella's eyes fixed on the three of them, her tone filled with righteousness.
Her words shook the three of them. Upon careful thought, it really seemed true—the Dawson family's youngest son had already died at Julian's hands.
If the Dawson family found out that the three of them had come to pick up Julian, they would definitely assume they had already boarded Julian's ship. Given the Dawson family's domineering style, they wouldn't even give them a chance to explain.
And by having them deliver Kevin's head to Eric, Julian was essentially forcing them to make a choice.
Choose him, a Champion, or choose the Dawson family.
But in reality, the three of them had no choice at all—it was practically a multiple-choice question with only one option.
If they chose the Dawson family, not only would the Dawsons not accept them, but they would also offend Julian, ending up pleasing neither side.
So they could only choose Julian.
"Champion Walker, from now on, if there's anything you need, just give the word," said the head of the Shaw family.
The four major families of Victoria were the Dawson, Shaw, Ward, and Joyce families.
However, the Dawson family essentially dominated Victoria, while the other three families could only band together to barely resist the Dawson family.
The heads of the Ward and Joyce families quickly followed, pledging their allegiance to Julian.
Then, the three families sent someone to deliver Kevin's head to the Dawson family.
Patrick watched as Julian effortlessly won over the three major families of Victoria and was utterly astonished. Such methods—truly worthy of an heir groomed by a top-tier clan.
Talent, strategy, and temperament—all were exceptional.
In truth, Patrick was overthinking it.
Julian had no love for scheming—he always used brute force to push through. Only those without power relied on cunning.
As for winning over these three families, it was entirely accidental—merely a side effect.
Several cars carried Julian and the others away from the airport.
Julian sat in the back seat with Ella, who was leaning toward him. At the passenger seat sat George, the head of the Victorian branch of Walker Group.
"Master Walker, based on my investigation these past days, the Dawson family's patriarch, Eric, is no ordinary man."
"Oh? You mean he has secretly broken through to the Champion-tier, right?"
George was slightly taken aback, then nodded. "Yes."
"The possibility is quite high. Eric is no fool. To become the head of a century-old family like the Dawson family, if he was truly the type to become complacent and arrogant just because he obtained some treasure, how could the Dawson family have become the top family in Victoria?"
"Eric reached the peak of Pseudo-Champion level over a decade ago. Perhaps he really did have a fortuitous encounter that allowed him to break through to the Champion-level. Then, after obtaining that item, it might have made him act somewhat recklessly."
Julian's hand rested on Ella's hand, his fingers unconsciously stroking her delicate hand—a gesture even he himself was unaware of.
For a family to endure for a century, aside from its own strength, another key factor was maintaining a low profile—or, in other words, staying under the radar.
Even if you were powerful, but were too ostentatious, one day you would inevitably provoke someone stronger than you.
If you were low-key but lacked strength—then life became stifling.
So, possessing both strength and having a low-profile approach was the optimal path for sustainable development.
Upon hearing that the Dawson family head might be a Champion, Ella worriedly said, "Commander, should we inform the Elder Council about this?"
Although there was only a fine line between a Pseudo-Champion and a Champion, the difference in strength was like sky and earth.
If the opponent was truly on the same level as Julian, Ella couldn't help but be concerned.
"Don't tell the Elder Council. If we do—would I still be able to kill Eric?" Julian quickly stopped her.
If Eric was indeed a Champion, the Elder Council would certainly consider the overall situation of the nation and handle Eric's case with restraint.
After all, he was a Champion and also a citizen of Drakoria, and he hadn't committed any unforgivable acts—so there would still be room for reconciliation.
But Julian wasn't willing to let it go. After all, he was the one who killed the other's youngest son, which counted as an irreconcilable feud. If the other party was truly a Champion, what if he secretly targeted Julian's family later?
So, regardless of whether the other party was a Champion or not, this person was as good as dead. Julian had declared it, and not even Arceus could stop him.
"Relax—even if Eric really is a Champion, crushing him will be as easy as crushing an ant. Right, Jirachi?"
By then Julian had already realized his left hand was stroking Ella's hand, so he pulled it back, and instead he patted the little head of Jirachi in his arms.
Jirachi patted its chest and said, "Don't worry. Although I can't use too much energy, I can still crush a Champion."
*****
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