Chapter 9: The Chess Piece

“My Lord, My Lord!”

Jack whispered cautiously to Dean, who seemed to be lost in thought. Although Jack had been wanting to flee during Dean’s silence, the corpses of Basum and Hidley on the ground made him wisely choose to give up the idea; the former’s corpse once again revealed Dean’s tremendous Strength, which Jack could never hope to match; and the latter? It had pushed Jack into a desperate situation: apart from choosing to cooperate with the person in front of him, Jack could not think of any other way.

As for going back to beg for mercy from his former boss, the ‘Wild Fox’ Meeter?

Jack, having killed his own men and betrayed his side, was certain that what awaited him was only the cruel torture his boss loved so much.

Moreover, the poison in his body left Jack with no choice at all—he did not want to die yet!

Therefore, at this moment, Jack could only hope that the My Lord in front of him would keep his previous promise.

“Good work! This is the antidote for the next six months. Open your mouth!”

Dean, snapping back to reality from Jack’s calls, threw the prepared item into the other person’s open mouth—his antidote was just some casual item, and if he did not watch the other person swallow it, Dean could not rest easy; after all, although there were not many Wizards proficient in alchemy, there were still quite a few.

And the appearance of any of them might break his lie.

Before completely taking over the ‘Wild Fox’ Meeter’s faction, Dean did not plan to let this lie be exposed.

That was right; by now, Dean had already figured out the use for Jack, who was originally meant to be silenced—whether it was the smuggling route or some subordinates operating in the Shadow, Dean needed to take over the ‘Wild Fox’ Meeter’s faction; of course, relying on himself and Jack currently was still far from enough.

More careful planning was needed.

And because of this thought, Dean slowed his tone during the following conversation: “Jack, take out everything you brought!”

“Yes, My Lord!”

Jack, who had just escaped disaster, was completely unaware that he was only relieved to have temporarily shaken off the threat of poison; however, thinking it was only for half a year, Jack, coming from a bandit background, became increasingly submissive facing Dean’s orders.

Under Dean’s command, Jack quickly ran about twenty yards away, searched carefully for a while, and then began to dig with the Longsword in his hand—obviously, the bandits who came to Horn Town were quite careful and knew how to hide those unsightly things.

As for using a Longsword to dig, was it an insult to the meaning of the sword?

Jack, being a bandit, did not care about such things. He was not a Knight. He only knew that his hand was injured, and using the sword to dig saved him effort.

“My Lord, it’s all here!”

After five minutes of digging, Jack carried over a box slightly larger than the previous money box. Seeing Jack struggle, Dean estimated the weight of the box, which was much heavier than what he had seen before; of course, this also proved that its value was considerable.

“Search it carefully, then bury them. Remember to dig the hole deep!”

Dean lowered his voice and gave Jack another order. Although Jack really wanted to complain that his continuous digging had consumed a lot of Stamina and needed a rest, facing Dean’s dark and profound eyes hidden under the hood, Jack wisely chose to stay silent and began dragging the two corpses to the place where the box had been dug out earlier.

Undoubtedly, this bandit gentleman wanted to expand on this hole; at the very least, this could save him some effort and prevent him from collapsing from exhaustion because he had not completed the order of the Big Shot behind him who terrified him.

After all, he could not guarantee how the other party would treat him if he failed to complete the order.

Watching Jack use the Longsword to expand the hole again, Dean did not say anything—his reason for letting the other person leave his side was not just to bury the corpses; it was more for caution. After all, he had previously used this ‘distraction’ method to kill Basum, who was a notch stronger than him; Dean did not want to follow in Basum’s footsteps, even if the other person behaved very obediently and respectfully.

Slap!

The bronze lock quickly twisted and detached from the buckle under the strike of the Longsword’s pommel—obviously, the four bandits, including Basum, did not have the key. The existence of this lock was to show sincerity, the sincerity of the ‘Wild Fox’ Meeter.

Dean could easily guess that the key to open this lock was in the hands of the Big Shot whom the ‘Wild Fox’ Meeter was about to trade with and form an Alliance with.

However, that ‘Wild Fox’ Meeter probably did not expect that the greed of his subordinates would completely destroy his plans, and he himself would end up with his corpse hung on the city wall—yes, from beginning to end, Ruman Bola from the Capital of Emerald was just a fat sheep targeted by bandits for their greed.

As for the person the ‘Wild Fox’ Meeter wanted to trade with?

Dean certainly had some guesses—after all, in Yorkshire, there were absolutely not many people whom the ‘Wild Fox’ Meeter, far away in Vauban County, would look up to. And coincidentally, according to Dean’s memory, there was one in Horn Town; or rather… Horn Town was his Territory.

Deren York, the second son of the Marquis of York, who controlled two of the eight territories comprising two major and six minor ones in Yorkshire, and Horn Town was just one of the four towns in the other territory apart from Tijiao City.

For this second son of the Marquis of York, Dean remembered him vividly from his past life—during the first Blood Moon War, the cavalry of the Kingdom of City broke through Yorkshire, which the Emerald Kingdom considered the Northland barrier, in less than three days. This second son of Yorkshire contributed greatly.

Of course, it was not treason, but just a struggle between the eldest and second sons of nobility.

Unfortunately, the King of City seized the opportunity and attacked the Capital of Emerald, leading to the catastrophic defeat of the Emerald Kingdom in the first Blood Moon War.

Therefore, Dean felt no fondness for this second son of the Marquis of York; in fact, saying he felt disgust was not an exaggeration.

So, when he picked up the letter placed on the top layer inside the box and confirmed that his guess was correct, Dean snorted coldly.

The entire letter did not contain much content; most of it was the ‘Wild Fox’ Meeter’s enthusiastic flattery, with only the final part mentioning the ‘smuggling route’—although it was just a few brief words, anyone could see its importance, Dean included; moreover, Dean had come specifically for this.

The wealth generated by this smuggling route, which allowed the Bola Family, an average family in the Capital of Emerald, to become a top-tier Family within a year, was immeasurable, especially for Dean—wanting to participate in a war and change its course, the most basic requirement was Gold Pulton. Only with Gold Pulton could one have equipment, weapon s, and soldiers.

Of course, to truly ‘own’ this smuggling route, some arrangements were necessary; first, the knowing ‘Wild Fox’ Meeter had to die!

And regarding how to kill the ‘Wild Fox’ Meeter, Dean already had a very good idea and a ready-made candidate; therefore, the next moment, Dean’s gaze fell on Jack, who had just finished the task of burying the corpses.

“My Lord, please give your orders!”

When Ye Qi’s gaze fell upon him, such a greeting immediately rang out—although physical fatigue made Jack want to sit down and pant heavily, when he saw Dean’s gaze, Jack subconsciously straightened his body and asked respectfully.

“There is one thing you need to do… What do you think of Meeter?”

Dean weighed his words, speaking in a low tone.

“Boss Meeter is very powerful… Of course, My Lord, you are the most powerful!”

Jack did not understand the meaning of Dean’s question; he just answered instinctively. However, this bandit gentleman did not forget to add a sentence at the end—when it came to flattery and ass-kissing, almost everyone was self-taught, and this bandit gentleman was no exception.

“What if you were to replace him?”

Ignoring the other person’s clumsy flattery, Dean’s eyes hidden under the hood stared silently at him.

“What?! I, I… He, he…”

Jack subconsciously let out a shout of surprise, then stuttered and could not speak.

“Do you want to? You know… some opportunities only come once!”

Dean pressed him, continuously putting pressure on Jack.

Sweat oozed from the bandit gentleman’s forehead, forming a dense layer. His lips, already dried from fatigue, became increasingly cracked, causing Jack to involuntarily stick out his tongue to lick them. His breathing began to speed up, and the sudden heat in his heart made his voice tremble.

“I, I do!”

Jack said like this.

After that, Jack collapsed on the ground as if all his strength had left him—he looked up, watching Dean, who was wrapped in a cloak and standing by the campfire. Dean’s shadow danced twistedly under the flickering Flame, as if a Devil from Hell had broken through the ground and reached out its claws, slowly and powerfully enveloping him. But he could not resist or dodge at all, because those claws not only carried fatal sharpness but also a desire that he could not let go of, keeping him motionless.