I Dominate Them All!

Chapter 0004 - The city's richest man bows to me

Orion was shoved out of the house afterward by Miriam.

“Orion, I’m sorry,” Chloe cried beside him. “I’m so useless, I don’t even have a say in my marriage.”

He took her hand gently. “Don’t cry. Grandpa gave us his word. If I secure the contract from Black Mercury, your family will recognize us as husband and wife.”

Chloe’s eyes were solemn. “But this is Black Mercury we’re talking about. And a half-a-billion-dollar contract? It’s impossible.”

Once a business major, Chloe understood the true weight of his task.

Black Mercury Group, the empire’s largest conglomerate, managed assets of hundreds of companies. In the city, the pillars monopolized all of Black Mercury’s contracts, making it nearly impossible for a mere servant like Orion to get even a fraction of that business deal.

Orion could only smile. “Nothing’s impossible, darling,” he said. “We’ve got to at least try.”

“Wait!” Chloe exclaimed as a memory surfaced. “I remember. An old classmate of mine works at Black Mercury Group. In fact, I heard she’s been promoted to head of her department. Let me reach out to her. She might be able to assist us with getting the contract.”

“I wish,” Miriam snorted harshly behind the couple. She believed that no matter who they met, a servant nobody like him would never succeed. When he inevitably failed, her daughter would be married off to someone better, and Miriam couldn’t wait.

“Alright.” Orion ignored Miriam, smiling reassuringly at Chloe.

At the door, the couple was about to say their goodbyes when Miriam clamped a hand over Chloe’s mouth and slammed the door in Orion’s face.

It was almost ironic. They had arrived at the Carmichaels’ home hand in hand, seeking the family’s blessing for their marriage. But now, a wall had been placed between them, and Orion was leaving without her.

On the other side of the door, Orion merely shrugged, unfazed, and strolled back to his waiting chauffeur.

“Sir, where’s Madam Chloe?” Jimmy asked, glancing over his shoulder.

“It’s a long story,” Orion sighed as he settled into the car.

“Is there anything I can do, sir?”

“Yes. Get me the chairman of Black Mercury Group.”

“Yes, sir,” Jimmy affirmed and drove away.

Orion, who had relinquished his power as the Supreme General and hadn’t planned on using the gift Admiral Flag had given him, now found himself in a desperate position. If he wanted to win back his wife, he needed that contract and needed to use his authority.

At the Silenzio d’Oro villa, Orion settled on the couch in the foyer. Taking a cigar from his pocket, he was about to light it when a bald, middle-aged man in an expensive suit came rushing down the hallway.

The man misstepped and fell head first but quickly scrambled to his feet.

He hurried to the General and kowtowed, his eyes fixed firmly on the floor as sweat dripped down his gleaming bald head.

This man was Marcus Voss, the chairman of Black Mercury Group.

Hailing from the Capital, Marcus knew all the stories about the Supreme Dragon General and his legendary feats in forging the empire. Chief among them was the Siege of Ashkeep, where Orion had single handedly wiped out 500,000 enemy soldiers, even after being weakened by an ambush.

“Marcus Voss?” Orion said, his voice calm but carrying a weight that seemed to shake the room.

The man flinched, his heart pounding against his ribcage. “Yes-yes, great Supreme General,” Marcus stammered, pressing his forehead harder against the floor.

Orion brought out the equity certificate and, looking at the terrified man, said, “Please, stand. And don’t call me ‘General.’”

Marcus rose; his eyes flickered briefly to the General’s face, but Orion caught his glance.

He quickly fixed his gaze back on the ground, trembling in his suit.

A line of sweat trickled down Marcus’s face as he asked, “Um, Supreme... sorry, I mean, sir. Might I ask why you wanted to see me?” His voice was eager yet shaky.

That question had been the first to cross the minds of the entire Voss family when the General’s summons came through. They wondered: had they somehow offended the Dragon General? The uncertainty gnawed at them, leaving them on edge.

“My sworn brother recently acquired the majority shares in Black Mercury Group and placed them under my name,” Orion said calmly.

Marcus nodded rapidly.

He was well aware of the staggering sixteen-trillion-dollar transaction but had not known the shares were held in the General’s name. After all, no civilian in the empire knew the Dragon General’s identity or what he looked like. That was one of the reasons he was so feared.

“First, I want the shares transferred entirely to my wife, Chloe Carmichael. Second, she and I will visit the company tomorrow to secure a half-a-billion contract for her family’s business. I want you to oversee the process personally,” Orion instructed.

Marcus’s head bobbed in agreement. “Yes—yes, sir. I’ll see to it immediately.”

Although Black Mercury Group had given such a contract exclusively to families like the Blackwoods’ Exodus Corp, Marcus would quietly terminate it and reassign it to the General’s wife. Upsetting a pillar was risky, but defying the Supreme Dragon General was unthinkable.

“That’s all. You may leave,” Orion waved his hand.

“Yes, sir.” Marcus took four steps backward, bowing vigorously before scurrying away like a soldier granted amnesty by his captor.

In the room’s silence, Orion picked up his cigar, the tip igniting on its own as he took a slow, deliberate puff. He exhaled, his thoughts dark and focused. It had been days since his return, and not a single one of the families responsible for his family’s massacre had faced his wrath. Heads needed to roll.

Just then, Jimmy walked into the foyer. Clearing his throat, he began, “General, there’s reports. Exodus Corp, owned by the Blackwood family will be hosting an anniversary banquet tonight to celebrate their ten-years ownership. Also, the patriarch of the family will be celebrating his 70th birthday. So it’s a double celebration.”

Heat coursed through Orion’s veins, and the cigar between his lips combusted with flames, disintegrating into ash.

Exodus Corp.

Orion scowled.

The name was all too familiar.

Of course, it was the company his family had painstakingly built from the ground up.

A decade ago, his family had hosted a banquet to celebrate the successful listing of their company, Exodus Corp, only to be massacred, their wealth and properties pillaged. It seemed Senior Richard Blackwood, his grandfather’s so-called friend, had claimed the company as his spoils.

Orion stood, a sinister mask covering his face. “Prepare a coffin filled with burning coal. I’m going to deliver a birthday gift—and collect on an old debt.”