“Arthur? Now that I think about it, where is he? He didn’t leave the building with us.” Herculia said as he walked inside carrying Serko and closed the door. “Here, Emmy, help him. He needs health potions.”
Emmy nodded as she took Serko and laid him down on the mattress and started treating his injuries.
The group got so busy with the matter at hand that they didn’t even realize that Arthur was there. The only one who knew what happened was Isla. The girl looked to the corner of her eyes.
She hadn’t received any message from Arthur. However, she could see his status bars fluctuating horribly, indicating that he was in a brutal battle of sorts. Isla would be lying if she said she wasn’t worried. But, she knew that she couldn’t go back and save him, especially when he was still inside the building surrounded by enemies.
“He got stuck inside the building with the potential culprit who kidnapped the kids,” Isla replied with a serious tone.
“What?!” Herculia.
“The teleportation was indeed true…” Then, Isla told them everything that happened up until Arthur vanished. The entire place was submerged in silence as the members stared at one another.
“… I really hope he’s ok…”
“Can he even defeat someone like that?” Danny crossed his arms. “This man is possibly the leader or at least a very high-ranking man in this organization.”
The worry was naturally palpable as the group was aware of how dangerous their enemy was. But, at the same time, this was Arthur they were talking about. If it was anyone else, then they would immediately assume they have lost or died or got captured. However, just because it’s Arthur they were talking about, the chances were far higher.
“He will find a way out. He always does. I trust him.” Herculia said. “Arthur had done far more dangerous things and succeded.”
‘His health had stopped dropping a few minutes ago… Did he win?’ Isla thought to herself.
The tension inside the building was palpable and nobody could try to defuse it. The mission was a huge success and they have gotten what they wanted, but if Arthur died, then it would leave a sour taste in the mouth.
However, they were contemplating their next step and if they should go and see if Arthur could be saved or not, the door to the place suddenly opened. Immediately, everyone grabbed their swords as they got ready for any sudden attack.
However, the moment the person stepped inside, their eyes lit up.
“Arthur!!”
The boy moved through the door as he rested on the wall with a smile on his face. “Sorry for being late, guys.” He said with a difficult tone as he held his side. The blood seeping through his hand raised their eyebrows.
“Are you ok?” Isla was the first to move as she approached him and grabbed his arm as she put it around her neck to carry him inside.
“Wait…” The boy said.
“Hm?”
“I have… some guests… I brought along.” He said as he looked over his shoulder. “You can come in guys.”
Saying that, the group looked at the door, only to realize that outside, dozens of people could be seen waiting anxiously.
“…” Isla frowned. “Who are they, Arthur?”
“These… are the prisoners… I found inside the prison cells… I brought them along… Because they had nowhere to go… And they could be really useful.” He said slowly.
“…”
“Prisoners…”
“C-Can we really get inside, sir?” The group asked anxiously.
“Yeah… They won’t harm you. Just come in.” Arthur replied. “I will explain everything later, for now, let them in before anyone notices.”
“…” Isla blinked a few times before she nodded her head. She didn’t know what Arthur was planning but she could see that he had an idea in his head. There was no reason for her not to trust him at that moment.
“Get in,” Isla said. “And close the door behind you.”
“Yes, ma’am!”
Immediately, the group of prisoners rushed inside to protect themselves from extremely cold weather outside. Since the place was quite big, there was enough space for all of them and more.
“Now. Don’t make any noise.” Isla said. “We will deal with you in a moment.”
Then, Isla carried Arthur to the corner and made him sit down. “Do you need health potions?” She asked.
“Yes, if you don’t mind,” Arthur said as he exhaled a small breath.
Quickly, Isla conjured a potion and gave it to him. Arthur drank it quickly as he felt his body starting to recover quickly. All the pain he was feeling diminished with each passing second as Arthur finally breathed a sigh of relief.
“Thank you, Isla.” He smiled at his friend.
“I want to know what happened later. For now, tell me who they are and what you have in mind.” Isla asked.
So, Arthur nudged her to get closer to him. At the same time, he signaled for Herculia, Emmy, and Danny to get closer too. After that, he told them everything he discovered from these prisoners and the information they provided him with.
The shocking discovery he made had changed his entire plan completely. In fact, Arthur was certain after that moment that it was going to be nothing but chaos. The entire city will be submerged in a huge mess for a long time.
When he conveyed the truth to his friends, their reactions weren’t that different from his. Just pure shock.
“… Are you being serious, Arthur?” Emmy asked. “These are really dangerous allegations.”
She didn’t need to think that far ahead to realize that this was going to have massive consequences in the near future. Read exclusive content at empire
“Yeah. I am certain. It all makes sense and fits together perfectly. I doubt these prisoners are lying.” Arthur said. “After what they have been through, there is no reason for them to lie about this.”
Arthur was certain of one thing and that is these prisoners were eager to see the Red Pearl fall and for their oppressors to be punished heavily for all the pain they made them go through all these years.
So, they were going to do everything within their power to inflict damage on the Red Pearl. However, the question remains, to what degree are they ready to go in order to inflict that damage?
“I have an idea guys. An idea that perhaps could get us a huge fortune and the best way to kickstart our work in the capital.” Arthur grinned widely.
Seeing that mischievous look, the others could only shudder. They knew that whenever Arthur had that smile, he was thinking of something completely ridiculous. Something even the devil would struggle to come up with.
“What is it?” Isla asked.
“Very simple. We are going to blackmail the Red Pearl into giving us their fortune.” He said.
“… Blackmail?” Danny frowned. “Are you being serious? You do realize that’s illegal here, right?”
“Of course, I’m not stupid. But, what’s more illegal here, blackmailing or this business they’re doing?” Arthur asked.
“…” Danny went completely silent, unable to retort. The answer was very obvious.
“We are at no risk if we blackmail them into giving us more money. They cannot risk to let the truth surface outside and they will do anything to keep their name intact. Their reputation was probably damaged enough with this disaster, they cannot let that happen again.”
“But, they will still try and take us down so that we don’t hold this truth against them for long,” Emmy replied.
“Exactly, and that is why I came up with this idea.” Arthur grinned. “We have dozens of witnesses right in our hands.”
Immediately, the group stared over their shoulders at the prisoners.
“So that’s why…” Finally, it became clear to them what Arthur wanted to do.
“Exactly, these people are more than ready to testify for this atrocity. Even if the Red Pearl tries to take them down, they can’t take down this many people quickly enough for the truth not to surface. If they do that, we will spread the news and watch how they will burn down in record time.”
The boy had taken into consideration every possibility, it was his most genius plan so far and he was proud of it.
“…”
The group looked at one another for a few seconds, sharing their own thoughts through their eyes. Then, they heard one of them speak.
“What should we do?” Isla asked as she crouched down. “I will leave it in your hands.”
Arthur’s eyes flickered with excitement and happiness as he smiled at her. “Thank you for trusting me with this, Isla.”
“Sigh, well this plan sounds really crazy but equally genius. Good on you, Arthur.” Herculia nodded.
“Yeah, we won’t ever find ourselves in need of money in this city.”
“… Tsk, I suppose we can give it a try.” Danny rolled his eyes.
Arthur eyed every single one of them as they all accepted his suggestion. He felt immense warmth in his heart at that moment.
“Thank you all… For believing in me. I won’t let you down.” He said as he touched his heart.
Then, Arthur slowly stood up and looked around him at the masses.
“Everyone, listen to me for a second.” He clapped his hands, grabbing their attention. “I have one single question for all of you…”
“… Question?”
“Yes, a question.” Arthur lifted his hand in the air. “Do you want to exact your revenge on the Red Pearl?”
A//N: Don’t forget to give the book some golden tickets for good luck! :3