Chapter 310: Two Heads Are Better Than One (1)

It turned out that the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps had already taken precautions against the assassins' invasion.

Earlier, the dragonman youngster had accepted the city Lord's warm invitation and learned from him about the existence of Hua Tang and his secret connection to Teng Dong Lang, the leader of the Bayonet Gang.

The dragonman youngster immediately took note of this crucial information and began to gather information about Hua Tang.

After learning about Hua Tang, the survivors began to prepare for the worst.

Zong Ge looked up from the information in his hands and looked at Zi Di: "Obviously, Hua Tang is not an ordinary gold level thief. With such a track record, his bloodline must be extraordinary. Gold level is not his limit."

“It's difficult for a fighter like me to guard against him.”

“I think magic and alchemy are more useful.”

Zi Di smiled bitterly: "I'm just a bronze level magician. It's basically impossible to rely on magic traps to guard against a legendary figure like Hua Tang."

"As for other alchemy methods... we are currently struggling to even make silver level alchemy equipment. It was only after we obtained the magic medicine bath tub that our medicine-making abilities greatly improved. I can refine some specific potions as a prevention measure."

"But you need to understand that only gold level potions can be effective against such an opponent. Gold level... that exceeds our current pharmaceutical capabilities. We have no lack of formulas, but there will definitely be a shortage of alchemy materials. I can't estimate how long it will take to gather all the medicinal materials we need in such a short period of time."

At this point, Zi Di changed the subject.

"Compared to this Hua Tang, I'm more concerned about the attitude of the Snow Bird Harbor City Lord."

“According to our intelligence, this Lord has never had any conflicts with the Bayonet Gang since taking office.”

“Does he truly intend to confront the Bayonet Gang?”

"Is there a possibility that he has already established a secret alliance with the Bayonet Gang? Could he be the Bayonet Gang's greatest ally in Snow Bird Harbor?"

"According to the policies of the Ice Sculpture Kingdom, the position of Lord is rotated. Snow Bird Harbor is one of the eight major ports of the Ice Sculpture Kingdom and is a very important city. Calculating the time, the city Lord's tenure is already short. Would he really be willing to take the risk of targeting the Bayonet Gang, such a local powerhouse?" 

The dragonman youngster nodded solemnly: “If that's the case, then the city Lord's invitation to me is the prelude to the Bayonet Gang targeting us—it's a trap they've set.”

Zi Di continued, “If the Snow Bird Harbor City Lord truly intends to confront the Bayonet Gang, we must not grow complacent.”

“Since he has been able to endure for so many years, he is clearly a man of great schemes.”

“What are his plans for outsiders like us?”

“Will he strike us down ruthlessly after we have made great efforts and sacrifices to achieve ultimate victory?”

“Is his stance against the Bayonet Gang truly resolute?”

"If the situation changes, will he stab us in the back and abandon us? Will he use us to curry favor with the Bayonet Gang?"

Although Zi Di was young, she had a wealth of experience.

In particular, she had recently learned some secrets about her father and the difficult times the Wisteria Merchant Alliance had gone through.

She had a deeper understanding of and guarded against the deceitfulness of human nature.

The dragonman youngster agreed with Zi Di's analysis.

This was also his hidden concern.

Although the youngster was a believer in justice, that did not mean he would trust outsiders unconditionally. Especially since he had only just met the Snow Bird Harbor City Lord for the first time.

The dragonman youngster looked at the survivors around him and sought their opinions: “Let's hear what you all think.”

After everyone looked at each other for a moment, Tripleblade spoke first.

“As you all know, I used to be the leader of a Mercenary Corps.”

“From my previous position, this is a very rare opportunity.”

"It's difficult for a Mercenary Corps to establish itself in a city. Especially for outsiders like us arriving in such a city."

“Snow Bird Harbor has been developing for a long time, and every industry is already crowded with people.”

“Even if the commander and Teng Dong Lang's heroic duel was impressive, it only secured a foothold for the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps.” 

“If it were me, I'd take the risk!” 

“Such an opportunity might never come again for a normal Mercenary Corps.” 

“Besides, as we discussed earlier, we might have to stay in the Ice Sculpture Kingdom for a while.”

“Even if the ransom note has been sent, it will still take some time to negotiate and exchange hostages.”

"The Ice Sculpture Kingdom is a neutral nation. Even if our secret on Mystifying Monster Island is discovered, the imperial pursuit force would have to consider the Ice Sculpture Kingdom's stance before attempting to capture us here."

"Regardless of the final outcome of the Redemption Plan, we must act swiftly to convert our gains along the way into our strength. Only a place like the Ice Sculpture Kingdom has sufficient resources to help us achieve this transformation."

The dragonman youngster nodded in agreement with Tripleblade's words.

Giant islands like the Ice Sculpture Kingdom are rare.

It was not to say that giant islands were not rare. It's that the Ice Sculpture Kingdom had developed over thousands of years and had abundant resources.

It was an independent kingdom in the vast sea, capable of self-sufficiency, and many of the alchemy products it refined were widely sold all over the world.

After Tripleblade finished speaking, Lan Zao said, “Regardless of the attitude and intentions of the Snow Bird Harbor City Lord, providing us with a large amount of resources is a real benefit.”

"We can definitely drag it out. Through his channels, we can acquire a large amount of alchemy materials and gold level equipment."

Seeing that the conversation had reached this point, Zi Di interjected, "There is one thing I need to remind everyone. No matter what you buy, there are risks involved."

“Even gold equipment.”

“There are countless cases of gold level equipment being counterfeited on the market in order to sell at high prices and obtain illegal profits.”

"We need a way to detect this equipment. Unfortunately, we don't have that ability at the moment. We desperately need a qualified alchemist." 

"Buying counterfeit goods is still somewhat acceptable. But if the equipment we purchase has been tampered with or has surveillance devices installed, our situation will be very disadvantageous." 

Zi Di paused for a moment before continuing, “Currently, purchasing alchemy materials is relatively safe.” 

"This is because we purchase a very large quantity of alchemy materials. If someone with ulterior motives were to tamper with them, it would be difficult for them to choose the right target." 

“Inspecting alchemy materials has much lower requirements than inspecting equipment.” 

"The consequences of tampering with alchemy materials are also less severe.   Even if we fail to detect it, the worst that could happen is that we fail when refining potions or crafting equipment.   Because the other party doesn't know exactly what we're trying to refine, they can't target us specifically."

“But gold equipment is a different matter.” 

"If we purchase gold equipment, it is clearly targeting Teng Dong Lang. If the city Lord is colluding with them, they might tamper with these items." 

“If the gold equipment malfunctions during the captain's duel with Teng Dong Lang, the consequences are easy to imagine.”

“So even if we manage to purchase a large quantity of gold equipment, we must remain vigilant when using it.”

After Zi Di finished speaking, everyone fell silent for a moment.

Bai Ya gathered his courage and spoke up: “If that's the case, I... I have an idea.”

"We have the Anti-investigation and Prophecy spell and Deceptive Disguise spell; we can fully utilize them. We can add these two spells to those scout-type alchemy puppets." 

“We can also add them to those trigger-type spell traps.” 

"If someone tries to sneak in, they won't be able to detect the traps. On the contrary, we'll detect them, or they'll trigger the traps and set off an alarm."

“That way, we'll be able to detect intruders.”

Bai Ya was a hunter by trade, and setting traps was one of his habits of mind.

He kept his head down as he spoke, and when he finished, he looked up anxiously to observe the reactions of the others.

Then he saw the dragonman youngster and Zi Di smiling at him.

Their smiles were full of encouragement.