Chapter 297: The City Lord’s Intention
Due to the dragonman youngster challenging Teng Dong Lang, like the wind and the waves, his influence had already spread across all of Snow Bird Harbor.
As these winds and waves got bigger, it was faintly trending towards backfiring on the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps.
After the dragonman youngster made his decision, he dispatched a messenger to notify Snow Bird Harbor’s City Lord.
Night fell and starlight filled the sky.
The dragonman youngster publicly left the Love Triangle, then took a carriage to Snow Bird Harbor’s government prefecture.
He was led into the banquet hall.
The banquet hall had splendid lights, exquisite and luxurious decorations, and was full of gorgeous elven art.
Snow Bird Harbor’s City Lord was an unprepossessing snow elf.
All elves were generally beautiful.
This made Snow Bird Harbor’s City Lord somewhat unusual.
The city Lord enthusiastically entertained the dragonman youngster.
The banquet’s dishes were very fine; it was mostly made up of seafood, but there was some venison from the inland, dragon meat, and so on.
Ice Sculpture Island was very wide and had areas that could be counted as inland places.
The dragonman youngster had eaten dinner before coming, but he still couldn’t help himself from feasting in the banquet hall.
Because these dishes had come from a magic chef’s hands.
Not only was the taste exquisite, completely beyond any food the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps had, but to a fighter, these magic materials also helped with their cultivation.
As he dined, the dragonman youngster inquired about the city Lord’s intentions.
After all, the city Lord had an important matter he wanted to discuss with the dragonman youngster.
But the city Lord didn’t give a direct answer, using clever methods to shift the topic.
At the end of the dinner, after the servants provided desert, the city Lord waved his hand and had his two servants withdraw completely.
“Now we are only two here.” The city Lord smiled at the dragonman youngster.
The dragonman youngster couldn’t help but sit upright.
It seemed that the city Lord finally wanted to divulge his true intentions.
However, the city Lord’s next words stupefied the dragonman youngster.
“Commander Long Fu, did you know that during your duel with Xiong Ju, the Bayonet Gang secretly meddled to put you at a disadvantage?”
Seeing how the dragonman youngster reacted, Snow Bird Harbor’s City Lord laughed, “It was the Evil Eye.”
As he said that, a magic image appeared above the middle of the dining table.
The image showed the duel between the dragonman youngster and Xiong Ju.
A section of it was replaying itself over and over again.
It was when the Evil Eye in Xiong Ju’s chest attacked with its spiritual ray. After the dragonman youngster was struck, he sank into a fainting vertigo for a time.
Snow Bird Harbor’s City Lord pointed his finger at the Evil Eye in the magic image, “This equipment came from one of the Bayonet Gang’s ringleaders, it is alchemy item that contains the power of the Abyss.”
“But at the time, Xiong Ju wasn’t the one who activated it.”
“It was the Evil Eye’s real master, he secretly casted in the viewing room, controlling it to attack you Commander Long Fu.”
The image continued to be broadcast.
Next, Xiong Ju exposed a resentful expression, he pulled the Evil Eye out of his chest and crushed it between his fingers.
Snow Bird Harbor’s City Lord continued, “I know Xiong Ju well. He does not like anyone who desecrates a heroic duel.”
“Even though it is one of the Bayonet Gang’s six ringleaders who helped him.”
“Evidently, he was furious at the time, therefore, due to that anger, he destroyed the Evil Eye.”
“But when that happened, we lost our biggest piece of evidence.”
“After the Evil Eye attacked, Snow Bird Dueling Arena also detected it.”
“The dueling arena’s master immediately dispatched investigators to look into it.”
“But the investigation was thwarted by the Bayonet Gang’s leader Teng Dong Lang.”
“At the time, you and Xiong Ju were reaching the end of your duel. Teng Dong Lang and the dueling arena master reached a secret agreement. I don’t know what price he paid, but in the end, the dueling arena master abandoned the investigation.”
“And so, the truth was covered up.”
“Commander Long Fu, the recordings of your duel with Xiong Ju has been selling very well right now.”
“When the public saw it, they universally believed that the Evil Eye went berserk, and Xiong Ju was forced to destroy it.”
“The Bayonet Gang’s crime has been concealed.”
“But I believe that as one of people involved, the one who was in this duel, you surely sensed it some extent.”
The dragonman youngster’s brows deeply pursed, and for a moment, he silently muttered to himself.
He had extrapolated this topic already.
Through the Grand Arena Medal’s battle experience, he had confirmed his inference.
Now, Snow Bird Harbor’s City Lord wanted to help him look into this matter, but the dragonman youngster didn’t feel the slightest bit happy, nor did he feel understood or supported.
He couldn’t help but feel his heart chill.
During the duel with Xiong Ju, the dragonman youngster gained a deep understanding of the customs of heroic duels.
Heroic duels were a social custom that were deeply ingrained in the hearts of the Ice Sculpture Kingdom’s populace and could not be tarnished.
If the Evil Eye was successfully investigated, then it would deal a heavy blow to the Bayonet Gang.
It could even be said that it could destroy them.
Even if Teng Dong Lang lost to the dragonman youngster in their heroic duel, that outcome couldn’t match the impact of this.
If Teng Dong Lang lost his duel, the Bayonet Gang’s prestige and interests would take a massive dip.
While if the Evil Eye issue was verified, the Bayonet Gang’s foundational existence would be strongly rattled.
The people would be disgusted with the Bayonet Gang and despise any Bayonet Gang member from the depths of their hearts. The vast majority of its member, and even ringleaders like Xiong Ju and Spring Boxer, would also feel deep shame.
Those on the righteous path are well supported, while those who stray from the proper course have scant aid.
Everyone in the Bayonet Gang would be spurned and wouldn’t have a shred of reputation left.
Perhaps ordinary people would still be intimidated by the Bayonet Gang’s military forces and continue to pay protection money, but their mentality while doing so would be completely different.
Equal powers would believe that the Bayonet Gang didn’t have the qualifications to hold its current power, position, and benefits.
The masses were bound to rise up and attack it.
The Bayonet Gang was just a gang; it was difficult for them to withstand attacks from all sides.
The most likely outcome was its defeat and even elimination.
It was precisely his awareness of how serious this issue was that the dragonman youngster didn’t perform an in-depth investigation into the Evil Eye and instead decided to give up on it.
Because if he looked into it, he was bound to trigger a fierce response from the Bayonet Gang.
When it came to that, the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps’ and Bayonet Gang’s fight would escalate to irreconcilable adversaries.
This was extremely unfavorable for the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps.
The dragonman youngster didn’t want to investigate it, but Snow Bird Harbor’s City Lord wanted to grab hold of this weak point and verify it.
Snow Bird Harbor’s City Lord’s evil intentions for the Bayonet Gang was very clear.
The dragonman youngster contemplated for a good while, then with a deliberate tone, he carefully replied, “Perhaps it is just as you said City Lord, the Bayonet Gang secretly interfered in my heroic duel.”
“But as someone involved, I don’t have any deep feelings about it.”
“I also don’t have any proof that the Evil Eye was activated by someone else.”
“If I suspected it, I would have flared up at the time.”
“May I ask if you have any conclusive evidence in the Evil Eye matter City Lord?”
Snow Bird Harbor’s City Lord looked deeply at the dragonman youngster for a while, then broke the silence, “Conclusive evidence? Of course it exists. I believe that as long as I am willing to invest the time, energy, manpower, and resources, I will be able to obtain it.”
“After it happens, there are facts. These facts will have traces.”
“The crucial bit is that if I want to open an investigation, I need to have a justification. As one involved in this, you can raise your doubts, and when you do, I will organize an investigation team.”
When the dragonman youngster heard that, he shook his head in refusal, “I don’t have those doubts.”
Snow Bird Harbor’s City Lord became silent again.
He let out a long sigh, then used a melancholy and aggrieved tone to say, “Commander Long Fu, you are an outsider, you don’t know the aggregate crimes the Bayonet Gang has done. It is Snow Bird Harbor’s biggest malignant tumor, bar none!”
Snow Bird Harbor’s City Lord seemed to recall something, “In the beginning, the Bayonet Gang was just a young thief organization.”
“Those thieves roamed everywhere in the city committing crimes, and through pickpocketing, they accumulated their starting capital from the stolen property of others.”
“With this capital, these thieves dedicated themselves to strengthening themselves, improving their equipment and recruiting more criminals.”
“Gradually, they were no longer satisfied with being small pickpockets and began to start doing assassinations and robberies.”
“Many innocent victims were murdered and robbed because they walked down an alley alone, then had their bodies thrown into the sewer, drainage channels, and off the coast.
“The Bayonet Gang was too rampant and eventually drew in an extermination campaign.”
“They faded away from Snow Bird Harbor for a time, but then their ashes burned once more afterwards.”
“After reorganizing, the Bayonet Gang became more treacherous and cunning, they decided to reduce their brutal robbery and murders, and changed to extortion and blackmail.”
Snow Bird Harbor’s City Lord’s finger tapped the dinner table lightly, changing the magic imagine in the middle of it.
A middle aged snow elf appeared before the young man’s eyes.
The city Lord introduced them, “This is a rich snow elf merchant who was set up by them, they lost a lot of money gambling and owed a high interest loan. After he was extorted for thousands of gold coins, his property was annexed by the Bayonet Gang.”
The magic image changed again, this time it showed a bandaged fat human.
“This was the owner of the Soaring Ox Butchery.”
“His butcher shop didn’t just sell raw meat, but also processed and cooked meat.”
“The shop owner had a secret recipe passed down by his forefathers, and his processed cooked beef could be regarded as a magic dish. Every beef slice was as thin as a cicada’s wing, and if they were blown on, they could flutter in the wind. The cooked beef not only tasted great, but it also helped cultivation to an exemplary extent. Many transcendents were long time customers and his business was prosperous.”
“Soaring Ox Butchery provoked the Bayonet Gang’s greed. They moved directly and violently, sending a dozen people with machetes to cut the shop owner down.”
“The shop owner was an iron level fighter, but due to being heavily outnumbered, he was seriously wounded while protecting his secret recipe and didn’t relent.”
“But the Bayonet Gang had plenty of methods.”
“They kidnapped the shop owner’s only child, and with them, they blackmailed and extorted the shop owner.”
“The shop owner asked the government for help.”
“But Snow Bird Harbor’s government at the time had been infiltrated by the Bayonet Gang and had a serious problem with bribes. Many officials were in the Bayonet Gang’s hands and had to follow them obediently.”
“The Soaring Ox Butchery owner’s pleas were only met with the Bayonet Gang’s admonishments.”
“They explicitly repeated every word the Soaring Ox Butchery owner said to the government.”
“In his endless despair, the shop owner was forced to bow his head to those criminals and handed over his secret recipe.”
“The next day, the entire family was found rotting in a gutter.”
Snow Bird Harbor’s City Lord deeply sighed, “The Bayonet Gang profits immensely from forced deals, blackmail, high interest loans, among other things.”
“Now they are Snow Bird Harbor’s foremost gang under the guise of innumerable casinos, restaurants, dueling arenas, and other assets.”
“These were the people’s blood, sweat and tears!”
The dragonman youngster gazed at the magic image, his look as deep as water.
He was a believer of the Justice God and wanted to walk the path of righteousness.
He believed these crimes had happened.
Because Snow Bird Harbor’s City Lord had provided detailed information that was completely verifiable.
His feeling of justice compelled the dragonman youngster to eradicate the Bayonet Gang.
But he forcefully restrained himself.
Because as the survivors’ leader and the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps’ commander, he shouldered a heavy responsibility and couldn’t let emotions affect his decisions.
The Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps had come to Snow Bird Harbor to contact the empire’s higher-ups and redeem themselves, while also establishing a footing here at the same time so they could grow and do their best to strengthen themselves against an unknown future.
Since they wanted to achieve triumphant progress, they also had to go steady and strike hard.
Therefore, the dragonman youngster decided to challenge Teng Dong Lang, while simultaneously tightly controlling the intensity of this fight to prevent the conflict from escalating.
Escalating the fight with the Bayonet Gang to irreconcilable adversity was obviously not wise.
The Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps could not waste time like this.
After a moment of silence, the dragonman youngster tactfully refused the city Lord.
He stated that the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps was only a small power and was unwilling to fight to the death over mere suspicions.
Snow Bird Harbor’s City Lord sincerely replied, “Commander Long Fu, I understand your decision. I can see from that that you are an outstanding commander.”
“I hope you can reconsider it.”
“No need to rush to give me a reply.”
“Outside of that, we can also discuss some other business. Such as this…”
As he said that, Snow Bird Harbor’s City Lord took out a scroll, pushing it across the dining table to the dragonman youngster.
The dragonman youngster unfurled it and noticed it was a list of items.
“I am a city Lord and have many channels. I can provide you with many resources that are not commonly seen on the market.”
This gave the dragonman youngster a feeling of déjà vu.
The dragonman youngster looked at it, unable to take his eyes off it.
Snow Bird Harbor’s City Lord was worthy of being a senior noble, his strength was robust, his foundation was deep, and his network and relationships were vast.
The dragonman youngster saw there were many alchemy treasures on the list.
He wanted to buy three gold level weapons, a longbow, a harpoon, and a set of darts.
There was also gold level armor, a round shield.
Apart from those, the list was a cornucopia of delights with its myriad alchemy materials.