Chapter 127: Shaking Them Down
“You seem to have some doubts.” Mo Tan casually crumpled the note in his hand into A small ball and tossed it back to Cole, then closed his book, “Petty Theft Techniques,” with A ‘snap,’ and smiled, “Tell me about it.”
The apprentice Thief, who had been hesitant to speak since earlier, nodded. He uncomfortably adjusted his gear and whispered, “Are you planning to do something to the Thieves' Guild here?”
Although Cole was Mo Tan’s follower, attendant, subordinate, and henchman, he never felt he truly understood the man in front of him. But there were two things he knew: first, A certain item that should have been given to the Wanderer's Inn was taken by Mo Tan; second, that item seemed to be quite valuable to Black Tower City Thieves' Guild! At least fifty thousand gold coins.
Two Thieves reached into the same pocket. Mo Tan was the Thief who succeeded, the Thieves' Guild was the Thief who failed, and the Wanderer's Inn was the pocket.
Although the Wanderer's Inn, As the victim, was not particularly strong in terms of hard power, the other Thief was not to be trifled with!
Black Tower City was not like small cities such As Patto or Kalen. The local neutral organizations were also quite large. At least according to the intelligence Cole had gathered during this time, the Thieves' Guild here could definitely be described As A place full of strong individuals. There were hundreds of Mid-Tier and above resident Thieves, and dozens of High-Rank experts.
And his Mister’s strength… didn’t seem particularly strong.
After all, Cole had been following Mo Tan for quite some time, and with the latter making no effort to conceal his abilities, Cole was capable of making such A conjecture.
Of course, Mo Tan’s terrifying aspects never had anything to do with ‘hard power,’ but Cole was still A bit worried.
Worried about the omnipresent eyes and ears of the Thieves' Guild…
Worried about his savior getting hurt…
Worried that Luo Na would never have hope of survival again…
Worried that he, As A henchman, couldn’t fulfill his duty…
If the Thieves' Guild, who dared to offer fifty thousand gold coins As A reward, knew the item was in Mo Tan’s hands, they would absolutely not prioritize ‘negotiation’ As an option.
So…
“So you’re A bit worried…” Mo Tan raised an eyebrow and chuckled, “Perhaps I, who have become A thorn in the Thieves' Guild’s side, might meet with some unfortunate accident?”
Cole fell silent.
“Don’t worry~” Mo Tan yawned lazily and waved his hand, “I never intended to be an enemy of the Thieves' Guild.”
“Ah, is that so? Then, Mister, are you planning to sell them A person…?”
“Just planning to shake them down.”
“Huh?”
The young man was utterly bewildered.
“That’s right.” Mo Tan glanced at Cole and smiled, “Getting you this outfit cost me quite A bit of money. I can’t just not get any benefit, can I?”
Cole’s mouth twitched. To be honest, he still didn’t understand what the Mister in front of him was thinking. He had spent A lot of money to buy him A set of equipment, all of which were quite expensive, just for some inexplicable ‘swagger.’
“After all, your acting is too poor~” Mo Tan stretched lazily, not explaining too much to Cole.
Firstly, because he was too lazy to talk nonsense, and secondly, Mo Tan didn't want Cole to gradually stop thinking due to spending too much time by his side.
A was A very bad example…
But in reality, this problem wasn’t complicated. Whether it was training Cole to put on A zombie-like face, or spending almost all the gold coins on his person to buy him equipment, there was only one goal…
Nothing else, just to show off.
Mo Tan was not omniscient, but he could still deduce A lot from some clues, such As… the fact that the small box was very important to the Thieves' Guild.
The previous quest had already explained many issues. It was A quest to hand over an item to the Wanderer's Inn, but the failure penalty was 【Wanderer's Inn Reputation -300, Thieves' Guild Reputation -999】.
Simple and clear~
Compared to the former, the Thieves' Guild valued the item in his pocket more.
And the ordinary-looking fellow at the Wanderer's Inn in Black Tower City confirmed Mo Tan’s suspicion. Although the other party’s disguise was quite good, almost able to deceive most people, there were still some flaws.
Firstly, almost no normal waiter or receptionist would be so dedicated As to evenly distribute their gaze across every guest throughout their shift, but that fellow did it. Moreover, every position he stood in the inn’s lobby allowed him to ‘coincidentally’ see everyone, especially near the entrance. If this happened with A manager or supervisor, it might be understandable, but appearing in A mere waiter was quite intriguing.
Mo Tan observed this in the ten minutes before entering the inn.
Secondly, his steps were very steady, each step almost the same distance, with an error of absolutely no more than two centimeters. Mo Tan also knew this technique, which sounds easy but is difficult to master. It has A wide range of uses, whether it’s calculating building area, measuring distance, judging position without visual cues, or finding one’s way. Mo Tan was an abnormal person, so it was normal for him to learn this skill, but if it were anyone else… let’s just say that anyone with the perseverance to learn this trick could definitely find A job more suitable than serving plates.
Mo Tan observed this up close with his peripheral vision while chatting with the front desk girl.
Thirdly, after Mo Tan deliberately took out the small box, the ‘waiter’ never looked at anyone else again. At the same time, he subtly moved his position and quickly appeared in A spot that, while not close, allowed the front desk girl to see him at A glance.
Mo Tan also observed this with his peripheral vision.
Then, he was naturally grabbed by the front desk to lead Mo Tan, and in this process, Mo Tan noticed more details that did not fit his identity.
Including but not limited to the cleanliness of his fingernails, breathing frequency, action details, tone of voice…
And his unusually incongruous potbelly and leg fat.
So the answer was already very clear.
This guy had ulterior motives, and was most likely sent by the Thieves' Guild~
Thus, after confirming his judgment and getting his hands on the item, Mo Tan immediately took Cole back to the Liuli Pavilion. The next day, he bought Cole A set of equipment that looked both low-key and luxurious, then, after teaching him some ‘facial expressions,’ sent him to the Thieves' Guild to play A supporting role.
The goal was only one: to obtain information As quickly As possible once the other party made A move.
After all, it was A matter of great importance, and an apprentice Thief’s identity would likely make it difficult to access such information. And the Black Tower City Thieves' Guild was not lacking in true experts, not to mention Cole didn’t even act the part…
If it was just for gathering information or clues, then having A large number of mediocre Thieves cast A wide net would be the wise move.
For example, through internal guild bounties…
In short, the carefully ‘dressed up’ Cole had A high chance of getting the news.
Of course, nothing is absolute, and the other party might use other methods, but even so, Mo Tan would not suffer any loss. As for that bit of money… trust me, someone’s ability to swindle money far exceeded his spending habits, and he also had several backup plans~
However, everything had gone smoothly so far, and the so-called ‘slot in A certain ruin exploration team’ was A wonderful unexpected gain.
An unexpected event so wonderful that it made Mo Tan unable to help but laugh out loud~
“Do you really think I can’t defeat those rabble?” Mo Tan quietly asked Cole, his eyes suddenly turning cold, “Just them?”
Cole immediately broke out in A cold sweat. The ‘Mister’ in front of him, who didn’t seem much older than himself, had instantly become incredibly unfamiliar to him. It wasn’t the usual hard-to-fathom mysteriousness, but A ‘strangeness’ like someone who had carved out over two hundred bloody paths from A mountain of corpses and A sea of blood.
It felt As if A sharp blade was pressed against his heart, and As if A large hand was tightly gripping his throat. Cole was trembling slightly, whether it was Mo Tan’s cold and sharp gaze, or the palpable killing intent and world-conquering arrogance in his words, all of it…
“You are too naive.” Mo Tan stood up, shaking his head with A sneer.
【Yes, I am too naive… I actually thought Mister’s strength wasn’t very strong. What terrifying aura! Even the High Paladin who appeared in Patto City that day was probably nothing more than this!】
“You haven’t made any progress…”
【Yes, I really haven’t made any progress…】
“You didn’t even realize I was faking it.”
【That’s right, I didn’t even realize Mister was faking… Huh?】
Cole looked up in astonishment.
Mo Tan in front of him was staring with A pair of dead fish eyes; his previous air of A peerless expert had long vanished.
The young man instantly turned pale…
“I am indeed not particularly strong, and it’s absolutely impossible to contend with the Thieves' Guild alone.” Mo Tan walked up to Cole, patted his shoulder, then shrugged, “But this doesn’t conflict with my idea of shaking them down.”
Cole was A bit bewildered.
“You have to understand, violence is always the ultimate means to solve problems, but it is never the best means.” Mo Tan walked to the cabinet by the wall, took out A bottle of red wine, and while carefully examining the text on the label, he softly said, “To put it in terms you can understand, only an idiot would try to solve all problems with pure force…”
The young Thief, whose heart was not dirty enough, nodded.
“Of course, the law of the jungle is A basic rule; you must remember this firmly.” Casually uncorking the bottle, Mo Tan turned back to Cole with A wild smile, tilted his head back, and chugged more than half of the crimson wine in one go, then turned to his follower and raised the bottle in A toast: “Alright, chitchat time is over. Now let’s talk about what we should do next~”
…
One hour later
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…
Shavin Empire, King's Capital Troon, Tsar's Sword Knights Station
A middle-aged man in A crimson-gold robe appeared before the camp. He had A very standard square face, both hands adorned with several jeweled rings, A slightly slender build, and although his golden short hair was still quite thick, his hairline was not optimistic…
Of course, no one would pay attention to Konda Bohe’s hairline after seeing the dark gold emblem on his back. Although he was just A mascot-like Prince, A Prince is A Prince after all. As the younger brother of Emperor William Burke, let alone A mascot, even if he were an explosive, you would have to respectfully treat this gentleman As A master.
So the knights at the gate instantly knelt upon seeing the visitor: “Your Royal Highness, Prince!”
“Ah~ You all worked hard.” Konda Bohe slowly said, “Please inform Marshal Galahad. I have something to discuss with him.”
Something?
What could it be?
The knights exchanged glances. No one knew why this big shot, who could be said to be skilled in all vices, had come to their little patch of land, nor what he wanted to discuss with the Marshal.
Surely he wasn’t trying to drag Marshal to the ‘Pink Street,’ was he?!
Everyone knew this Prince, who had lost his wife early, was A regular there, and occasionally he would bring close friends along. But Marshal…
Could Marshal handle it?!
“Ahem…” Prince Konda cleared his throat, startling the knights with wandering gazes from their unmentionable imaginings, and kindly asked, “Is there A problem?”
One of the junior knight captains immediately shook his head: “No, no, I will go report to His Excellency Marshal right away. Please wait!”
“Mm, thank you for your trouble.” Prince Konda nodded, then turned to look at the still bustling street in the distance, silently sighing…
Five minutes later, Marshal’s Tent
“Your Royal Highness.” Galahad, standing in front of the wall-mounted map, turned and bowed to Konda with A knight’s salute, asking with slight confusion, “Is there something you need?”
The latter quickly returned A royal salute and waved his hand, “Grandpa Galahad, you don’t need to be so formal with me. Konda is just here to confirm something with you…”
“Oh?” Galahad blinked his seemingly cloudy eyes, quietly waiting for the other party to continue.
“What I want to know is…” Prince Konda gritted his teeth and asked, word by word, “Is it true about Sir Faraosis’s treason?”
“It is.” Galahad answered without hesitation, “This news has already been made known to all trustworthy nobles. Although it has not yet been publicly announced to the common people due to its potentially large impact, the content is indeed true.”
Prince Konda could hardly believe his ears. He stood frozen As if struck by lightning, and after A long while, he tremblingly shook his head, “This… this is impossible. How could Sir Fara commit treason? He absolutely could not commit treason!”
“I regret to say, little Konda… it is the truth.”
“How could this be! Grandpa Galahad, even you…?”
“I apologize.”
“There must be A hidden reason for this, I am certain! Can you not…?”
“I cannot. Please return, Your Royal Highness Prince.”
Chapter 124: The End