I'm Trying To Go Broke, So Why Do I Keep Getting Richer?!-Chapter 186: With earth as hostage

Although it wasn’t visible properly, the entire planet was already under heavy surveillance. It was to prevent the Lionels from escaping.

If they stayed here, they were still safe. But if they escaped, they were going to be caught by the vultures waiting outside.

"I wonder if this is truly the end for the Lionel Family. I wonder which god of death we offended, to lose everything... First they targeted our banks, and now took the only man that could open the treasury..."

The young man walked around the throne, taking a seat. Unfortunately, the throne didn’t feel as satisfactory as he had always imagined.

"The god of death that we offended, huh..." Fiona mumbled, her eyes narrowing.

She had thought that Leo was actually dead, because of her grandfather’s actions. But now that her grandfather was also kidnapped, she could only think of one person.

Leo Vanderlen was still alive. The so-called god of death was none other than a mere mortal that she could’ve crushed at any time.

At this point, she really regretted not killing him when she had the opportunity. If she had done that, the Lionel Family wouldn’t have seen such a day.

Then again, she still felt a little amused. After all, if Leo had her grandfather, then she just had to save him. And everything was going to be solved.

The only reason she didn’t tell the investigators about Leo, was simply because she wanted all the family members to abandon this place, so that she could officially inherit the title.

Unfortunately, one man still stayed behind. It was her elder cousin. Even at the end times, there was heavy politics going on.

"Alright, I’m going to sleep. You should also rest when you have time." She eventually waved her hands and turned around. "After all, tomorrow won’t be any better."

She left the meeting room, but on the way back to her room, she walked past the dining room.

On the way out, she glanced at the servant who was arranging the food on the table.

The servant looked back at her, nodding slightly, her gaze flickering for a moment.

Fiona only smiled, nodding back as she left.

A few hours later, Fiona’s eldest cousin, and the closest to being the legal heir, arrived at the dining room, and sat on the table.

He silently started eating, his stomach growling as he hadn’t eaten anything all day.

The female servant remained in the back, filling his wine glass before it could be completely empty. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

The man also didn’t notice anything strange initially. It was only after a few minutes that he felt his throat starting to dry up, no matter how much he drank.

His pupils trembled as he looked at the wine glass, his expressions distorting.

....

The next day, a new headline took over the news cycle.

"Breaking News: The Interim Head of the Lionel Family, takes his own life! Is this really the end of the Lionel Family that once ruled the space frontier?!"

"Fiona Lionel, next in line to become the Interim Family Head, expresses deep sadness over her brother’s death!"

"Breaking: New Lionel Family Head to find a press conference! Is the Lionel Family finally going to declare bankruptcy? Can it really save them? Join us for legal explanations from our experts about why this won’t help!"

While the news media was overwhelmingly dominated by the Lionel Family, many people had joined in to hear what the last descendant of the Lionel Family, that had stayed behind in the troubled times, was going to say.

The press conversation started merely three hours after Fiona completed the funeral of her eldest cousin, and the biggest obstruction in her path.

And while many were wondering what she was going to say, she made a shocking revelation.

"I found out the person who kidnapped my grandfather! I promise everyone that the Lionel Family will not fall apart today, especially not under my reign! I will bring back my grandfather, and return everything that we owe!"

"And for that purpose, today, I am declaring... The Lionel Family, for the first time, will be using military might to capture the culprit! This time, we will not rely on anyone else!"

"This message is for the culprit! Don’t assume that we are weak! Don’t assume that you can escape! I know your name! I know what you hold dear! And I will take it all!"

It was not a declaration of bankruptcy that everyone had expected. Instead, it was a declaration of war.

As soon as Fiona finished, she looked above. The clouds dispersed, revealing the Lionel Family’s Military, that the old man had been gathering secretly.

In fact, the previous family head had actually sold most of the resources to strengthen this massive army of millions, filled with superhumans and advanced warships.

Even the money that came after people repaid their loans with the Alpha Bank’s help was poured into this military.

Initially, this military was to be used in the succession battle of an advanced middle tier planet that was on the verge of becoming high tier.

Many people had already heard that the Lionel Family had prepared a secret army. But they didn’t expect the family to display them openly.

If the family had called this army to protect them from the loan collectors, then this army would’ve been crushed under the collective might of all the Warlords.

However, Fiona had cleverly used the excuse to hunt for the culprit, which was different. It was a proper reason to use the army without ruffling any feathers at such a sensitive time.

"Lady Fiona, you claim that you know the kidnapper? Who is it? Can you let the people know?"

In another place, Leo was also watching the live feed. He almost choked on the water when he saw her summon that army.

"Is she a fool? As if this will ever work with the kind of sympathy wave I’m riding!"

"She knows that the Alpha Bank is her competitor, and holds a lot of wealth. If she takes my name, no one will believe her. They will only feel like she is trying to get me out so she can take my assets to repay the loan."

He knew that even if Fiona took his name, it wouldn’t matter. He was legally and morally untouchable.

Unfortunately, what he didn’t expect was that she didn’t take her name.

"The person who kidnapped my grandfather... It is not just one person! It’s a powerful group that has long been trying to dominate this space sector!"

"Even last time, they sent people to kill me, but fortunately I survived. I didn’t expect them to go so far as to kidnap my grandfather!"

"As for the group, it’s called the Hero Tower! The Earth’s Guardian! From this moment onwards, I’m declaring war on earth! Unless they return my grandfather, the righteous war shall not end!"

A war... A war between two middle tier planets, had officially been declared with a self proclaimed justification.

The declaration sent chills down the spine of earthlings. The Hero Tower was left stunned, and immediately came out with clarification that such accusations were a lie.

Even Leo stood up from his seat.

"Is she serious? She’s using them to blackmail me?"