Jacob Blake was the man behind the Divine Ursine Alliance. He led thousands of high-class awakeners under the bear banner, and he and his men protected California from monstrous threats.
If Morning Star was made up of fighters, then Divine Ursine Alliance had many awakeners. They focused on buying high-grade awakeners on the transfer market to strengthen their battle squads.
They were law-abiding and tended to cooperate with the Awakener Association, making them the golden child. The San Francisco-based guild was dominant and influential throughout California, except for the southern region.
Despite their favor, many awakeners disliked them, especially the lesser guilds. They had exclusive rights to raid dungeons in 48 out of 58 counties for all color levels except red dungeons.
With that privilege, Jacob suppressed the small guilds and monopolized the resources from the dungeons for his guild's benefit. In fact, the Divine Ursine Alliance was the second-largest supplier of materials and item drops in America.
That was the basic information Klaus knew about Jacob Blake and his guild.
Silence enveloped people in the elevator. But Klaus could feel the tension between Jacob and Vincent even though they were still holding back.
"You never came for the Golden Hammer Expo for the past five years. You can call me first if you need anything in New York," Vincent told Jacob.
"Ah, yeah. I actually need new weapons and equipment for my guild. But I want to take a look at this expo. There may be some guilds or companies that I can do business with.
Vincent smirked. "Morning Star is ready to do business anytime if that's what you need. We have the best weapons and equipment in New York City."
"Hmm, I'll consider it. If the House of Blacksmith products are not good enough, I will contact you," Jacob replied with a smile.
Vincent squeezed his hand. His face was red, and his pulse was throbbing, pumping blood to his head. He was not stupid enough to translate Jacob's words. The man in sunglasses chose the House of Blacksmith as the first option over the Morning Star.
For a big guild like Morning Star, this was an insult. Nevertheless, Vincent could still restrain himself even though Jacob smiled mockingly in front of his face.
While the two people were arguing, Klaus was secretly smiling.
After the elevator reached the 4th floor, Vincent and his men quickly exited. There were no pleasantries as the blond man left Klaus and Jacob.
"I don't think you need to take it that far," Klaus said.
Jacob opened his eyes wide from behind his sunglasses. "You eavesdropped on our conversation. Well, well. That's not a good trait," the man joked.
Jacob and Klaus laughed simultaneously. They both made small talk before they parted ways.
"I'm looking forward to your presentation. Good luck!" Jacob left while waving goodbye.
Klaus and Sylvia left for the auditorium. As they walked down the corridor, it seemed spacious and quiet. The crowd was just visible when they both arrived at a big hall. Dozens of people in neat suits gathered and formed their own groups there.
They were representatives of companies or guilds who wanted to participate in the product launch presentation. Besides bringing vendors together with prospective customers, the Golden Hammer Expo also helped them to promote their products.
The vendors would present their products to dozens of journalists and bloggers, who were there to observe and evaluate them.
"Klaus, we're here!" A man's voice called him.
Jonathan waved from a distance, along with Alexa and the Research Team, in the corner of the hall. As Klaus and his secretary approached them, Alexa made a sullen face.
"Did we keep you waiting too long?" Klaus asked.
"No, really. I've only been standing here for 45 minutes, and my knees are aching," Alexa replied.
Klaus sighed as a sarcastic reply came out of the bespectacled woman. Not wanting to prolong the problem, Klaus immediately changed the subject.
"What number do we get? 20? 25?"
"47. The presentation starts in five minutes. But the event organizer hasn't shown up yet."
Klaus nodded.
As they waited for the presentation to begin, Klaus looked around. The vendors from other groups were preparing themselves. Some chatted with each other, some talked to repeat the material, and some were alone.
Based on last year's event, each company sent one representative to present their product. Usually, it was the developer or CEO.
Long before, Klaus had a long discussion with Alexa about who would run as Mors Industries' representative. Klaus proposed Jonathan run, but Alexa was against it. He wanted to give his subordinate a chance, but she saw Jonathan as not having the talent to take on the role.
Alexa said it was an important event and was the best person to do it.
While they were waiting for the event to start, a masculine voice called Klaus. A man and an entourage of well-dressed people drew close to them. It was Benjamin Preston.
The last time they met was during the price negotiation for the loan of the awakener.
"I didn't expect to see you here, Klaus! I guess Rays of Hope isn't the artisan guild type."
"I'm not here representing the guild but my company, Mors Industries," Klaus replied.
Benjamin nodded as he opened his mouth wide. The man did not know that Klaus also owned a company.
"Wow. The young son of the Lee Family always brings surprises. By the way, this is our Guild Master. Richard Dickson." Benjamin introduced a man to Klaus.
Like everyone else in this hall, the man wore a neat suit and a long brown coat. His face was full of strokes, black-ash hair with a hint of white, and his eyes exuded a friendly aura.
Smiling, Richard extended a hand to Klaus. "I heard a lot about you from Benjamin. I heard that you also housed two of our former men. Is that true? I hope you can be patient with them."
Klaus laughed as he shook the man's hand. "Honestly, they gave me a hard time the first day they worked in my guild. Especially Olivia. That woman is really wild."
"Yeah, Olivia is hard to control but has a strong will. Unfortunately, she has no self-control. We had to let her go."
Seeing how gentle and friendly the man before him was, Klaus smelled something wrong. He might understand if Richard fired Olivia after what she did. Still, he didn't understand why Richard had to fire Akio.
Something was not right with that man.
Klaus then introduced Alexa to Richard, and then they both shook hands. After making small talk for a while, they finally said goodbye.
"It's been a pleasure chatting with you. But we must go; get together with our employees," Richard said.
"Yeah. Next time we'll have a longer chat." Klaus replied with a smile.
"Sure. Bye, Klaus, Alexa."
Little did Klaus know about Richard Dickson. The man had a shallow profile, with no significant achievements in his portfolio. Even after Klaus asked Sheila to dig up information about him, he got nothing.
If Klaus hadn't been with Alexa, he might have introduced Sheila as the CEO and absorbed all the information in the man's head.
"Hey, look at that!"
A female staff member walked to the center of the hall and called for the guests' attention. The woman informed them that the product launch presentation event was about to begin. She asked them to enter the auditorium immediately.
"Finally," Klaus muttered.
The auditorium looked enormous and spacious. The elegant brown color filled the entire room. Dozens of chairs were arranged crosswise, facing a stage with black curtains. Round lights attached to the ceiling illuminated the audience's seats.
The vendors quickly searched for their seating spots. Klaus and the others chose to sit in the middle row, not far from the stage, so they could see the presentation clearly.
"I will go backstage. Make sure you ask critical questions about the other competitors' representations." Alexa told Klaus.
"Of course. You focus on the presentation. Good Luck."
The bespectacled woman headed backstage with the black suitcase containing their final product. Meanwhile, Jonathan was seen biting his lip.
"Take it easy. Everything will be fine. Our product is perfect," Klaus consoled.
Jonathan shook his head. "Actually, we can still make more improvements."
Klaus sighed. He could see the nervousness of his subordinate.
Suddenly, the lights in the auditorium went out.
There were only lights shining on the stage. When the curtain opened, a man clad in fancy clothes stood on the scene. He smiled broadly and showed his gold teeth. Some journalists quickly took pictures of the man without using camera flashes.
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the 5th Golden Hammer Expo! You already know me, but let me introduce myself again. I'm Terry Owen, Guild Master of the Golden Hammer Company. I am the one who will guide you through this event from start to finish! Let's get started!
