Another week passed, and James finally arrived on the outskirts of the Tower of Babylon. They were supposed to arrive a few days ago, but they got delayed because James decided to gather some information along the way.
Just as he expected, everyone now knew the name "William Von Ainsworth" and it made the old man very happy.
For James, having his family name recognized gave him bragging rights, which his old friends hated the most. Whenever James would start to brag at them, they would immediately ignore him like he didn't exist.
Naturally, the old coot knew this too, but he didn't care. The more he heard people praise William, the more he felt that his grandson inherited his awesome genes, which had led to the conquest of the Tower of Babylon.
After arriving at the City of Babylon, the first thing James did was to go to the main square where countless merchants gathered to sell their wares. He thought that this was the perfect place to put his plan into action, which would allow him to get a better understanding of the current situation.
Vlad who was walking beside him had a bad feeling because James was smiling. It was the smile that James usually wore when he was about to start scamming people of their hard earned money.
The moment the old coot stepped at the center of the Plaza, he immediately raised his head in arrogance and shouted like a madman.
"I am William Von Ainsworth's Grandfather!" James shouted. "Can someone tell me where I can find my grandson?"
The people in the plaza immediately locked their eyes on James. Some of them were wondering if he was just playing a prank, or was he telling the truth.
Right now, William was a hot commodity. Everyone wanted to gather information about him, but only the top dogs of the Central Continent know his true background.
James shouted four more times before sitting on the edge of the fountain at the center of the Plaza. He crossed his arms over his chest and had a smug expression on his face.
Vlad who saw this sighed internally. As James' close friend, he already understood what the old man was planning to do. Since that was the case, the Demigod of the Southern Continent just stood his ground and waited for the show to start.
—–
News spread fast in the City of Babylon, especially if the news was very important. An hour after James had made his announcement, the various Ex-Ruling Families of the Tower of Babylon immediately conducted a high-level meeting.
For them, this was a good chance to once again regain their former glory and use the current situation to their advantage.
"Are you sure that this news is confirmed?" Waltier, the Patriarch of the Agnis Family, inquired.
The patriarch of the Valkazar Family, Hexxat, nodded his head. "It is confirmed. The one who declared that he was William's grandfather is still at the Plaza as we speak. My men are keeping watch over him and will alert us right away if he makes a move."
The patriarch's glanced at each other and nodded their heads in agreement.
"Let's capture him first and ask questions later," Janos, Patriarch of the Moreau Family, proposed. "We should hurry before he escapes our grasp."
Damon, of the Amaral Family, smiled evilly as he eyed his compatriots. "I have already sent my people to invite the old man to our residence. I am planning to host a feast in his honor. You guys should come later."
"A feast is it? Sounds good. Count me in!"
"I'm going too. I would like to see just what kind of man this grandfather is."
"Yes. Perhaps we can talk some sense into him and use him as a middle-man to negotiate with his grandson, what do you guys think?"
"It will be better if we just use him as a hostage. With all of us banding together, I am sure that bastard William will have no choice but to listen to our demands."
"I agree with this plan."
"I, too, support this plan."
The Patriarch's voted unanimously and left the meeting with smiles on their faces. For them, as long as James' identity was true, William would have no choice but to cooperate with them. Of course, they were also willing to compromise with the Half-Elf. For them, as long as they could regain control of their respective floors, apologizing and paying compensation could be negotiated.
Back at the Plaza, James was approached by several men and women with friendly smiles on their faces.
"We are here to formally invite you, esteemed Sir, to the residence of my Master," the right hand man of one of the Patriarch's said. "We planned to host a feast to honor you and your grandson's accomplishment in the Tower of Babylon.
"My Master is looking forward to having a good relationship with you, and will cater to your every need while you stay here in the City of Babylon."
James laughed in a friendly manner and patted the man's shoulder.
"Since you have invited me on bended knees, it will be impolite of me to reject," James replied. "I will allow you to guide my esteemed self to your residence. Also, I am very picky with food. Do you have seafood? It has been a while since I've eaten any of it."
The corner of the subordinate's lips twitched when he heard James reply.
Invited on bended knees? Dafuk? Since when did I bend my knees to you? Are you getting senile old man?
The subordinate had no choice but to smile and allow the old man to say whatever he wanted to say. His duty was to bring James to his Master's residence, and he didn't care what method he used to do that.
James and Vlad followed behind the group of people in silence. They would glance here and there, with veiled excitement on their faces. This earned them the contempt of the people that were guiding them. All these people had labeled James and Vlad as country bumpkins who were seeing the big city for the first time.
They knew from experience that country bumpkins were gullible people. These were the people who would even help their sellers count the money that was used to buy them, due to their lack of common sense.
Deep inside, James was chuckling evilly. His plan was very simple. He would first weed out those who had bad intentions against his grandson before climbing the tower to find him.
The only thing on their minds was the method of coercing William to return what had belonged to them. This was the confidence of the ignorant, who had long been used to having their way, and bossing people around.
If the Ex-Ruling Families only knew that they were inviting a rascal into their den, all of them would definitely not approve of their plan to invite James to their residence.
They would rather keep what little wealth they had saved up in the tower than have it personally delivered to the old scammer's hands, who coveted any form of treasure.
Sadly they didn't know, which marked the complete and utter downfall of the once powerful families, who had conquered the floors of the tower of Babylon thousands of years ago.
