Due to what he did to Roman, a few members of General Nebuchadnezzar's family were not happy to find that Richard was left unpunished.Throughout their lives, no one had ever dared to go against them for the mere fact that they were part of the family of the great General.That sufficed to ensure that whoever crossed paths with them had to do as they were told or risk getting crushed like a bug.However, since Richard's arrival, not only had he manhandled two of the general's kids, but he had done so without any consequences.Even those guests that had come for the First Flower's birthday, on hearing this couldn't help but gasp in awe.“What's going on?... Since when did the general get so soft?”“The last time someone tried something like that, he was mutilated and left to rot in jail, yet this man is still walking around like he owns the place. Just what's going on?”A few thought that they could do the same as Richard but fear of what could happen next stopped them from making the

Richard returned to stand with the girls once he'd handed his gift over, ignoring the stares of several in the hall with varying emotions mixed in, ranging from awe, to fear to much more.All in all, it meant one thing.No one considered Richard a joke any longer.A few had begun to accept that Richard was worthy of being taken seriously by the general.His statement that he was the owner of the only mine in the world that sold Sun Tears was enough to make several consider approaching him for business deals.The mine alone was purportedly worth more than a hundred billion and just selling a few would be enough to make a person wealthy for the next seven generations.Meanwhile, Marie was left unsure of how to proceed with her desire to make Richard pay the price for what he'd done.Not only had he managed to grab the attention and respect of everyone present, but he'd managed to ensure that both her father-in-law and mother in law whom she derived strength to bully others were now inad

“I won't lie, the reason I summoned you to my manor was on the insistence of my daughter-in-law.” General Nebuchadnezzar began. “she wished to see the face of the man that brought down her father despite knowing about his connections with the military and in honesty, I was curious as well.” Richard remained silent, waiting for Nebuchadnezzar to get to the point with the general obliging.“Now, with everything I've seen, I believe that you are nothing like what I expected.”“And what did you expect?”“A man that bullied the weak and feared the strong. Hearing your title to be the Reaper, I thought you only got that for preying on the weak. How wrong was I?”“So what now?”“Now you get to return, either to the Golden Band or back to Zion, whichever you wish, as long as it's out of my sight.”“I see…” “However, under one condition.”“And what could that be?” Richard inquired with a raised brow.“If you choose to return to the Golden Band, that means you won't be leaving Riverdale ever

No one could have ever expected such an ending.All those in the Baylon family and by extension, all of Riverdale had always known General Nebuchadnezzar to be undefeatable.Who he said he would beat, he would surely do so.It had reached a point where if the general said something along those lines, the affected party would immediately surrender for fear of getting sent to an early grave as it was well known that the general never held back in a fight.So imagine their surprise when Richard emerged from the general's final blow, relatively unscathed.Seeing him like that, it was obvious who had won the bet between the two men, and that made it even more difficult to accept.General Nebuchadnezzar, standing in the courtyard with Richard a few meters away, couldn't help but let out a guffaw as he slapped his thighs, clearly amused by the result.“You truly are a man worthy of respect!” He declared. “I would have never thought such a day would come. You are impressive, Richard Smith.”

Once he'd made sufficient preparations, Richard took the next available flight to Intercity.Of course, before that, he'd informed Mica, Lucia, and Anna of his return to Zion.Naturally, on hearing about the situation back there, Anna felt obligated to follow him and return but Richard managed to convince her to stay.As it was, the Lopez family was still in dire need of direction right now and Richard didn't trust Anna's father or grandfather to hold the fort in her absence which was why he decided it was best for her to stay.Ensuring that the Golden Band and the Ramirez family would support Anna's plans was enough for him so he could leave without worrying about her safety.It also helped that General Nebuchadnezzar had announced his alliance with the Golden Band, the Lopez family, and the Ramirez family.At least it was assured that no one would dare go after them in any form lest they incur the wrath of the military.So the flight back to Intercity was rather lonely with Richard