The administrative district of Athkatla is located on the north bank of the river that runs through the city.
It's a bit like a peninsula extending from the mainland.
The western area near the sea is the temple area, where there are many magnificent statues built by mortals for gods, as well as countless temples and churches of all sizes.
The area close to the river in the east is the ruling core of the city, where almost all the mansions of nobles and wealthy businessmen are gathered.
The reason for this design is that there are many intelligent creatures living in the oceans of the continent of Faerun.
Extremely aggressive races like the shark-like murlocs would launch wars against coastal port cities every once in a while.
Especially in the Sword Bay and Sword Sea areas, there have been more than thirty recorded invasions in the last one or two hundred years alone.
Therefore, by placing the temple area outside in the coastal area, we can rely on the paladins of the Knights of the Burning Heart and the armed forces of the Church of the Gods to resist the first wave of unexpected attacks.
In this way, the upper class people living in the administrative district can get an early warning and decide whether to hold their ground or escape directly inland with their relatives and servants depending on the situation.
It has to be said that there is a reason why Amn has developed into the most commercially developed region in the entire continent of Faerun.
The ruling class here is so calculating that they even dare to blatantly take advantage of the gods and the churches they belong to.
After all, as the representatives of God in the mortal world, the priests and priests could not abandon the temple and run away, allowing those shark-like fishmen who crawled ashore from the sea to defile the sanctuary, right? Therefore, they would definitely defend the temple and lead the believers to fight to the death.
In any case, situations like this where one dies in battle to defend the glory of the gods will usually be praised and rewarded by the gods.
Perhaps, when one transforms into a petitioner after death, one may be granted the privilege of retaining one's memories during life.
In addition, the administrative district is the place where the largest number of guards are stationed, with a guard post every three steps and a sentry post every five steps.
Here, not to mention begging or trying to set up a stall to sell things, even being disheveled will lead to ruthless expulsion.
If they refuse to change their ways after repeated admonitions, they may be thrown into prison for a few days or even months.
no way.
Nobles and wealthy businessmen would not like to have too many ragged poor people hanging around their homes all day, so the guards could only drive them all away considerately.
To ensure that the administrative district is filled with gentlemen and ladies dressed in silk and satin, accompanied by a group of guards, servants and maids, and who speak politely.
Only around the administrative office building of the City Hall can you occasionally see ordinary people with sad or nervous expressions.
They either came to report a crime, to file a lawsuit, or to ask Athkatla for help because the villages and towns where they lived were attacked by monsters.
In short, civilians and poor people will never go near this area unless they have nothing to do.
Because both the surrounding environment and the stern eyes of the guards made him feel tremendous pressure, and he also understood that he was not welcome here.
However, if it were a rich person, the guards would put on a completely different face, even smiling throughout the whole process, and do their best to provide service to the other party.
The reason why this happens.
On the one hand, they can get good tips from rich people as a reward;
On the other hand, they are very clear that their duty is to protect the rich and prevent any beggars, vagrants, thieves and civilians from destroying the clean, beautiful and elegant environment here.
Moreover, the guards in the administrative district are obviously in better spirits. They are not like their counterparts stationed in the dock area, bridge area and slums, who are drunk all day long.
He might even accept bribes from the shadow thieves in private and turn a blind eye to many minor crimes in his jurisdiction.
As for the overall quality of the Amn Guards, Zuo Si has always evaluated it as being only slightly better than nothing.
Their main role is actually more often to provide a comforting effect, allowing the residents of Athkatla to believe that they are protected to a certain extent.
In fact, the ones who really maintain order in more than half of the city are not the dispensable guards, but the shadow thieves who control the underground world.
The remaining parts that may involve large-scale bloody conflicts and violent crimes will be handed over to the paladins of the Knights of the Burning Heart to resolve.
Moreover, Zuo Si had already made up his mind that after he took over the military power of Am, the first thing he would do was to dismantle the current guard organization, conduct a major purge from officers to soldiers, and then recruit new soldiers.
These guys are rotten to the core. Apart from wasting military funds and taking bribes, there is no value in keeping them at all.
With this thought in mind, he walked straight into the municipal office building, ignoring the many bureaucrats who wanted to approach him or say hello, and quickly came to the council's exclusive office on the top floor.
A dutiful knight wanted to go forward for a routine security check, but was stopped by a masked wizard nearby.
The latter placed his hand on his chest and bowed deeply, then opened the tightly closed door with his own hands and made a gesture of invitation.
At this moment, Fed, who remained invisible and followed behind, finally realized what kind of power Zuo Si now had in Askatla.
They can even enter and exit the highest power center such as the six-member council at will without any notification, body search or inspection.
What made the demon elf feel even more incredible was that the masked wizard had clearly seen him with some anti-invisibility magic device, but he did not show even the slightest bit of nervousness or surprise.
You have to know that she is an assassin! And she is one of the top five assassins in the Shadow Thieves Guild.
Many times, just a little rumor can scare many people and keep them awake at night.
The moment the two people entered the room one after another, the six people who were sitting around the table discussing something intensely were stunned for a moment.
But when they saw the visitor's appearance clearly, Vera, the leader, stood up and greeted with a smile: "Ah! Dear Lord Soth, you are finally back. We were just discussing how to deal with the situation of Zhentil Castle's army attacking cities in the north."
"Oh? Have you come to any conclusion?" Zuo Si pretended to be very interested and cooperated.
"No. Because so far, the opinions within the six-member council are very divided.
Oh, no, it should be the Council of Seven now.
And you happen to be the latest member appointed to take charge of the military."
While saying this, Vera glanced at the other people around her with a slightly playful look.
The representative of the Shadow Thieves Guild, as usual, stayed out of political struggles and was sitting in a corner in a very relaxed manner, grinding his nails with a file out of boredom.
The remaining four were obviously very nervous and kept trying to make themselves look calmer by adjusting their sitting posture.
It is not difficult to see from their age, which is generally no more than 45 years old, that they are the next generation of family leaders who were forcibly pushed up to take up positions after the older generation retired. They have not yet adapted to their new identities and lack political experience.
Maybe it's okay to sit together and argue and fight for interests.
But when facing Zuo Si, a legendary spellcaster and chosen one of the gods with great power, his true form was revealed almost instantly.
If it were the previous time when Selzer led the six-member council, he would definitely seize the initiative at this time instead of being led by others.
Of course, if Selzer and those old guys were still around, they would definitely not allow the Council to hand over the power of managing the army and watch themselves being sidelined step by step.
Thinking of this, Zuo Si's eyes flashed with a hint of amusement, and he walked to the seat prepared for him beside the table and sat down, saying with a smile: "First of all, I want to thank you for your trust in me and for letting me take charge of Am's army.
Please rest assured that I will never let you down.
Secondly, I want to make it clear here that the army of Askatla is now completely rotten and beyond redemption, and a drastic reform must be carried out.
In this regard, I need your unreserved support.
Otherwise, when the army of Zhentil Keep marches south, it would be a pipe dream for this bunch of trash to defend Amn.
The last and most important point.
We must change the outside world's impression that Amn is rich but not powerful enough!
You know, this world is very dangerous.
With the increasing trade with the Maztec continent and the rapid accumulation of wealth in the city beneath its feet, Azcatra has become a piece of fat meat that many people want to take a big bite of in the eyes of many people.
The Mind Flayer hidden person revealed not long ago is just one of the countless conspiracies to control and subvert this city. I believe there must be many more that have not been discovered.
Therefore, I suggest abolishing the ban on arcane magic and completely opening up the restrictions on arcane magic in Athkatra and even the entire Amn.
Although this may cause some minor problems and inconveniences, it will give us the protection of a powerful magical force."
"Wait a minute! When it comes to magic, don't we have the Masked Mage Guild?" a middle-aged man in his forties suddenly interrupted.
"Are you referring to the Masked Mage Guild that has failed to train even a single legendary wizard in all these years and has only been thinking about how to monopolize magic resources to gain benefits for themselves? I can kill them all by myself?" Zuo Si asked with a sneer.
When he said this, he did not give even the slightest bit of face to this second-rate or even third-rate spellcasting organization, and his tone was full of naked sarcasm.
moment!
The middle-aged man was speechless and fell silent, turning his gaze to Vera.
Because from the moment the Guild of Masked Mages was founded, the organization has been under the control of Salem Quante.
What's more, in the eyes of these powerful people, creatures like mages and warlocks are too dangerous and must be restricted.
Otherwise, the safety of your life and property will not be guaranteed at all.
This was also the original motivation for the Six-member Council to issue and implement the Magic Ban.
Unfortunately, Vera did not object as fiercely as the man imagined, but nodded in agreement: "Sir Soth is right.
Those parasites and trash in the Masked Mage Guild really need to be cleaned up.
As for relaxing restrictions on arcane magic, I think it's a good idea.
At least when magic scrolls, potions and items flood the market, they will also bring in huge profits and taxes.
And don't you realize that Amn's previous crackdown on arcane spellcasters has left our city seriously defenseless against the invasion of supernatural forces?
Just imagine, if Athkatra was like Waterdeep, where you could meet several archmages or even legendary mages on the streets, how could these mind flayers dare to infiltrate so arrogantly on a large scale? They would probably be captured and taken to the Mage Tower to be disemboweled for experiments not long after they sneaked in.
It is precisely because of the powerful magic that Waterdeep can be located on the mad wizard's underground maze without any trouble. "
"But what about the people? Because of the terrible magic plague many years ago and the long-term negative propaganda against arcane magic, most people of Am hate arcane magic.
If the ban is lifted suddenly, will it trigger a series of social unrest? "
Another member of the six-member council raised a cautious objection.
There is no doubt that these guys who have just inherited power from the family elders do not want any major changes to happen. It is best to continue to maintain the status quo until they have firmly established their positions and are fully fledged before considering other things.
The tendency towards conservatism has always been a common problem among all vested interest groups.
After all, as long as they keep the current system running smoothly, they can gain wealth, power, status and everything they want from it.
If that's the case, why take the huge risk of reform? But Zuo Si obviously didn't intend to give these guys any chance to resist, and answered very straightforwardly: "Don't worry, I don't plan to abolish the ban immediately, but to relax the control first, and then let the people adapt little by little, and then officially announce the abolition of the ban when the time is right."
Hearing these words, the other four people present except Vera all looked extremely ugly and kept exchanging glances.
After about ten seconds, another middle-aged woman stepped forward and continued to test the waters: "How do you plan to reform the military?"
"It's simple! First, abolish all the garrisons in the area around Athkatla, and disband all the soldiers and officers on the spot. We need to form a new army.
My plan is to recruit adventurers and mercenaries with sufficient combat experience and professional levels as officers, and then recruit young and strong men from rural areas as soldiers for training.
From now on, the garrison at Askatla will be divided into two parts.
Some of them are specifically responsible for dealing with large-scale wars.
They will not be stationed inside the city, nor will they even enter the city, but will be stationed and set up military camps a few kilometers away near the misty mountains.
In my opinion, in order to maintain the combat effectiveness of an army, in addition to a fair reward and punishment system and sufficient logistical supplies, the most important thing is to ensure that the soldiers' hearts are not corrupted by the various desires in a bustling city.
The reason why Amn's previous army became such a rotten state was because they ignored this point.
The other part is responsible for maintaining law and order in the city.
I will use some special methods to ensure that they will not be infiltrated or bribed by any potential enemies, and can always enforce the law impartially.
I believe you all know that the guards enforcing the law in Athkatla are greedy and corrupt, and have become an obstacle to the development of this city.
We must establish an orderly market environment so that we can attract more merchants to do business.”
As he said this, a barely perceptible light flashed in Zuo Si's eyes.
There is no doubt that from this moment on, he will finally take action against the Amn family, which was previously completely unrestricted and possessed huge capital and wealth.
Because a strong law enforcement agency that will not accept bribes will become a sword of Damocles hanging over the heads of these families.
This makes it impossible for them to achieve their ulterior motives through bribery and buying off as they did in the past.
Once the noose is put around their heads, all that remains is to tighten it little by little by taking advantage of their inherent weakness and compromising nature.
As to whether to strangle it to death alive or tame it and keep it as a dog, it depends on whether the other party knows what's good for him.
"Wait! If law enforcement officers no longer accept bribes, how can our interests be protected?"
The representative of the Shadow Thieves Guild finally stopped remaining silent and raised the issue that concerned him most with a serious expression.
Compared with the major families that have legitimate businesses, this is directly touching their cake, and it is the biggest piece of cake.
Among them, pickpocketing, smuggling, assassination, collecting protection fees, burglary, kidnapping and extortion are all traditional businesses of shadow thieves.
Although occasionally some unlucky people get caught and put in jail.
But usually, you can get the person out in minutes by just bribing the prison guard and paying a high fine.
Anyway, when I get out, I can go back to my old ways and make up for the losses by stealing a few more times.
Not to mention that he could bribe the guards to turn a blind eye to his criminal behavior.
But if law enforcement officers can really be impartial, the first group to suffer a heavy blow will definitely be the Shadow Thieves Guild.
Zuo Si looked at the other person with a slightly contemptuous look, and responded without a trace of emotion: "Why don't you switch to a legal business? What era is it now? You still want to gain wealth through such a low-level means as crime?
Can't you grow up a little and invest your money in real estate, transportation, services and entertainment industries? Whether it's opening restaurants, hotels, or setting up some unique casinos and prostitution venues, with the current prosperous economy of Askatla, how can you not make a lot of money?
As for those traditional industries involving crimes, they will be banned in Athkatla from now on.
I need to establish a stable and orderly social environment where civilians can feel safe to go out at night.
Otherwise, I will catch one if there is one, or a pair if there are two, and send them all to do punitive labor.
Of course, you shadow thieves can try to resist or sabotage.
But remember, if you do this, you are declaring war on me.
You should know exactly how I deal with my enemies, right?"
As these words came out of his mouth, the atmosphere in the room suddenly became depressing.
The representatives of the Shadow Thieves Guild, in particular, felt their clothes instantly soaked with sweat, and even breathing became difficult.
As a senior executive, how could he not know the horror of the young man in front of him.
But the problem is that he does not have the authority to make such a promise on behalf of the Shadow Thieves Guild, and he cannot guarantee that those subordinate guilds and gangs will obey the orders issued by the headquarters 100%.
Because there are too many interests involved.
Coupled with the strange situation within the guild in recent times, who knows what will happen once this news is announced.
Click-click-click
In just a few seconds, sweat dripped down the guy's forehead and cheeks, quickly gathering into a small puddle on the floor.
Similarly, everyone else in the conference room felt the terrifying aura emanating from Zuo Si, and they all showed expressions of shock or disbelief.
You have to know that Zuo Si today can no longer be described as an ordinary human being.
Whether it is the dragon might of the ancient blue dragon or the halo effect bestowed by being the only form of the great devil, it is definitely not something that ordinary people can withstand.
Many times, simply releasing this kind of power is enough to make ordinary people collapse instantly or even be scared to death.
Not to mention ordinary people, even elite adventurers with a professional level below LV10 have a high probability of having their wills crushed instantly without the blessing of protective magic.
So even though this representative of the Shadow Thieves Guild has a LV14 thief and assassin level, he also feels a fear from the depths of his soul.
In the blink of an eye, the whole person seemed to be fished out of the water.
Of course, the other four weren't much better.
It's just that they were wearing a lot of magic items and their professional levels were no lower than LV15, so it wasn't that obvious.
In the land of Faerun, which is full of supernatural powers, the top leaders of any country or organization cannot be powerless wastes.
fortunately!
Zuo Si just wanted to give Shadow Thief a warning, and had no intention of driving him crazy. He quickly restrained the terrifying aura that could not be described in words, stretched out his hand and gently patted the other party's cheek with an almost insulting gesture, and said meaningfully: "If I were you, I would not waste time here to fight for that so-called benefit."
After all, only by ensuring your own survival can you be qualified to consider the future.
But I heard that the situation within the Shadow Thieves Guild isn't very good right now, and many of the subordinate guilds have stopped paying taxes to the headquarters.
Guess what would happen if someone gave them some help at this time? So please don't challenge my patience and bottom line, and don't try to fool around.
I am not Selzer, and I don't think there is any value in the existence of your social trash and parasites.
Either transform into a legal business or disappear completely from Askatla, there is no third way.
All right, now go back and tell all the top leaders, including Renoir Bloodhead, what I said exactly, and tell them to give me an accurate answer within three days."
As the last word came out of his mouth, Zuo Si raised his foot and kicked the poor guy out of his seat, and his butt hit the closed door backwards.
The next second...
Bang! He slammed the door open, tumbling more than ten meters in the corridor before barely stopping, then quickly got up and ran away.
There is no doubt that this scene not only stunned the guards guarding the door, but also shocked everyone else in the conference room.
They simply couldn't believe that the representative of the Shadow Thieves Guild would be treated like this.
As a member of the Council of Six, the Shadow Thief has always been an important participant in Amn's politics, even a member of the ruling group.
But now, their representatives were kicked out in public like dogs.
Apart from a few people involved, no one knows what happened exactly inside.
But one thing is certain, that is, Shadow Thief's days will probably not be easy in the future.
After all, their methods of threats and intimidation might be useful against ordinary people, but they are a joke to the real strong ones.
In the continent of Faerun, who among any individuals or organizations with a little bit of power would take the Shadow Thief seriously?
The answer is none!
They are like the country of Amn, the Guild of Masked Mages, and the Council of Six. Although they are very famous on the surface, they always give ordinary people a feeling of being very powerful.
But in reality, due to the lack of experts, if a fight really starts, they will be pinned to the ground and beaten by the Harpists and Zhentarim in minutes.
The Guild of Masked Mages had suffered ambushes from the Red Mages of Sel more than once, and had suffered heavy losses. As a result, they could only swallow their anger and pretend that nothing had happened, not even daring to say a few harsh words in public.
Outside the borders of Amn, the Shadow Thief is suppressed by various forces and can only hide in the dark like a rat.
He has been calling for so many years to return to Waterdeep to take revenge on the lords who ordered his expulsion.
But what is the result?
They have only just gained a foothold in Baldur's Gate, and are often troubled by the Flaming Fist mercenaries.
Facts have proven that criminal organizations like theirs are basically useless without government protection.
After the representatives of the Shadow Thieves Guild had completely left, the guard at the door came to his senses and closed the door again.
Zuo Sishen, who had shown the demeanor of a tyrant, stopped pretending. He stared at the other four people in the conference room and said bluntly: "Next, I will make some relatively radical reforms to the existing system and laws. All you have to do is cooperate with me to accomplish all this, understand?"
"Sir Soth, I...we don't quite understand what you mean."
The middle-aged man, feeling under great pressure, took out a silk scarf and wiped the unstoppable beads of sweat from his forehead.
"Don't you understand, or are you pretending not to understand or not wanting to understand?" Zuo Si asked with narrowed eyes.
moment!
The entire meeting room fell silent.
But soon, Zuo Si couldn't help laughing, and he said jokingly, "You guys don't think that as long as you delay, you can continue to keep the privileges you and your family hold, right?
Stop dreaming as soon as possible!
Since you pretend not to understand, I might as well make it clearer.
From this day forward, the Council can only have one voice, and that is mine.
Amn can only have one supreme master, and that is me.
All laws and rules are made by me! All you can do is to execute and obey!
If he is willing to cooperate, I can allow him to retain all the wealth and some power he currently has.
If you are unwilling to cooperate, the fate of the entire Salem family will be repeated among you."
"Are you crazy?"
The man raised his head, his face full of horror.
"No!
I just suddenly wanted to do something.
Show the world an unprecedented possibility.
I am fed up with this world of worse than worse, and I am fed up with all the drawbacks brought about by the dispersion of power.
Now, let me teach you how to build and rule a large empire with highly centralized power, and the prosperity and stability it can bring.
In addition, there is no need to discuss the war with Zhentil Keep.
Amn must not only participate, but also win as the leader of the coalition, and then annex Baldur's Gate, the Western Heartland region and the Dragon Coast.
After this war is over, I will marry the crown princess appointed by His Majesty King Shane VII and establish an empire spanning half of the west coast of the Faerun continent.
Become the new noble of the empire, or become an enemy on my way forward, you can decide for yourselves. "
After saying this, Zuo Si stood up and walked towards the door, leaving four stunned people sitting in their seats motionless.
About seven or eight minutes later, an old man in his fifties stood up tremblingly and asked with courage: "Miss Vera Salem Quante! Did you already know everything?"
"I know this word is not quite accurate. I am one of the important participants. To be precise, I killed all the members of my family and volunteered to become Lord Soth's servant, paving the way for him to become the King of Amn."
Vera grinned into a chilling smile.
It was not difficult to tell from her eyes sparkling with excitement and anticipation that she couldn't wait to see the rise of this new empire and occupy an important position in it.
If possible, she hopes to become the prime minister of the empire, second only to the emperor and above everyone else, and prove her ability to the world.
"Why? Why did you do this? Those who died were your blood relatives!"
Another middle-aged woman in the council stared at Vera as if she were a monster.
"Haha, there aren't so many whys.
Blood relatives? Don't make me laugh! They just treat me as a tool, a tool to gain benefits for the family, ignoring all my talents and efforts.
People like you who are short-sighted and only know how to quarrel over petty gains will never be able to understand my thoughts, let alone keep up with Lord Soth's thinking.
But it doesn't matter.
Anyway, I never had any expectations of you.
If you are not afraid of death, you can try to resist.
I would be very happy to lead my men to kill all of you without leaving a single one alive.
By the way, the Masked Mages Guild is now owned by Lord Soth.
That is to say, those masked wizards who provided you with magical protection in the past may now become deadly killers at any time."
Vera raised her chin with an extremely arrogant attitude, and her pupils flashed with an evil and bloodthirsty light.
As a ruthless person who dared to join forces with external forces to massacre her entire family, she never minded using blood and death to achieve her goals.
"So that's it! I understand! Ever since the entire Salem family was brutally exterminated, you have been planning to seize the supreme power in Amn." The middle-aged man exclaimed in sudden enlightenment.
Vera stretched out a finger and shook it gently: “No, no, no, you are wrong.
He had been preparing for these things since His Majesty Shane VII joined the Guild of Masked Mages as the Moon Elf Zelanora.
So you didn't lose unfairly.
Okay, enough of the small talk, let's discuss how to allocate funds to the new army and resettle those soldiers and officers who are about to be demobilized.
After all, Lord Soth is very busy, and we should take the initiative to help him share some of the trivial work.
I believe that none of you would be stupid enough to want to become his enemy, right?"
"What? Zelanora is Shane VII!!!"
"How could the Emperor of the Dead have lived in Athkatra for so long and we knew nothing about it?"
"Oh my God! I...I once had improper thoughts about him."
"This world is so scary and crazy!"
In an instant, everyone present felt the biting chill and quickly extinguished the last bit of resistance in their hearts.
Rebellion?
What can we use to resist?
Are they the ridiculous family soldiers that even Vera couldn't stop? After realizing the situation of themselves and their family, these guys quickly put themselves in the right position and passed a motion to disband the existing army and recruit new ones.
At the same time, far away in the dark corridor of the Shadow Thieves Guild headquarters, the representative who had crawled back was reporting to the actual controller of the guild, Renoir Bloodhead.
Different from the image of a sinister, cunning, evil and ruthless thief in most people's impression, this man is not only very handsome, but also always has a kind smile on his face, and even his speech is full of humor.
But anyone who knows him knows that Renoir Bloodhead's smile and humor are all disguises to lower the other party's vigilance.
In fact, the number of people who died at his hands was probably no less than 100 or 200, most of whom were members of the Shadow Thieves Guild with evil intentions.
It's just that Reinol Bloodhead doesn't like to dirty his hands, so he lets his subordinates or hires adventurers to do it for him.
But now, this guy who was called "Boss" by many thieves had a very rare solemn expression on his face. He took a deep breath and asked, "Are you sure these are the original words and there is no exaggeration?"
"Boss, you know I never joke about such important matters. And I can feel that Lord Soth is full of malice and disgust towards us." The guild representative smiled bitterly and spread his hands.
"Damn it! Why is this happening? I remember we have done deals and cooperated with him more than once before, right?"
Renoir Bloodhead frowned and cursed under his breath.
The guild representative thought for a moment, then whispered, "Although it may not be polite to say so.
But I still have to say that in Soth's eyes, the little profit gained from cooperating with the guild is probably too insignificant.
In addition, many people have said that he has strong lawful tendencies and has recently been working closely with the Church of Waukeen, the goddess of wealth.
So it is inevitable that he hates thieves like us who disrupt order and the business environment.”
"So what do you think the guild should do now? Should it start transforming immediately?"
Renoir Bloodhead licked his chapped lips from not drinking water for a long time.
The guild representative hurriedly shook his head and said, "No! If we transform immediately, many leaders of subordinate guilds and gangs will be upset.
It will also allow those guys like Maiwa to unite more people to launch a rebellion.
Since the current situation is not optimistic, my suggestion is to first find out the supporters behind people like Maiwa.
As for the transformation, let's make a decision after resolving this internal crisis."
"Alas - this is all we can do for now."
Renoir Bloodhead held his forehead and sighed.
As a devout believer of Mask, the God of Thieves, he had no idea why the Shadow Thieves Guild was suddenly on the verge of collapse? Was it because of the infiltration of the Mad God Xirik's faith? Or was it because of the black hand hiding behind the scenes and manipulating everything? Unfortunately, Renoir Bloodhead was not a priest, and had never received a response from the gods.
He had no idea that Zuo Si had already reached a secret deal with Musk and could now do anything to the Shadow Thieves Guild.
In fact, just over half a month ago, the Shadow Thieves Guild's ace assassin, Arcanis, had left Askatla with a group of backbone members and headed for the Falling Star Sea in the far east to develop.
Judging from this action, Am's Shadow Thief has been completely abandoned by Musk.
Unfortunately, Reinol Bloodhead did not realize this very obvious sign and thought it was just to quickly gain a foothold and expand influence.
On the other side, far away in the underground tombs of the cemetery, the vampire queen Badi was meeting with several leaders of subordinate guilds who had come to her for surrender.
Looking at these guys who were pale, whose hands and feet were shaking slightly uncontrollably and who were almost incontinent because of her fright, she pursed her lips and let out a playful laugh.
"Hahahaha! You guys seem very nervous? If you don't mind, can you tell me why?"
"Your Excellency... Your Excellency, your presence alone is enough to make any living person nervous."
A thief who looked to be around thirty years old responded cautiously.
"Don't be afraid. I have no intention of biting you, let alone sucking your blood. After all, we are allies now, right?"
Badi stretched out his fingers and gently stroked the other's chin in a slightly teasing manner.
Under normal circumstances, this thief would most likely show an expression of great enjoyment when faced with the teasing of such a beautiful elf.
But now, let alone enjoy it, he didn't even have the slightest physiological reaction.
It's not that Badi isn't pretty or sexy enough, but the terrifying negative energy emanating from the vampire queen's body and the dark red pool of blood around her are enough to instantly wake people up from their burning state of lust.
Some newly transformed vampire offspring who could not yet control their bloodthirsty desires were staring at the living people present with hungry eyes through the cracks in the doors and walls.
If he can still get hard in this state, he is definitely not an ordinary pervert.
"That's right! We are allies! No, we are your subordinates."
Another slightly fat subordinate, the leader of the Thieves Guild, hurriedly bent down and bowed deeply, his greasy face filled with a flattering and ingratiating smile.
Badi glanced at the guy with interest, raised his other hand and gently patted his smooth round head, teasing: "I like your cleverness. But it's useless to just flatter me. You have to make some achievements. I believe that Maiwa introduced you to me because he thinks you are all promising people."
"Of course! If you need anything, just tell me! Even if you launch a rebellion and storm into the Shadow Thieves Guild headquarters, I will never frown." The fat man promised solemnly.
"Hahaha! You're really funny, and very suitable to be a jester by my side.
Maybe I can consider rewarding you with becoming my descendant in the near future, so that you can tell me jokes and entertain me every day.
Okay, enough of the nonsense.
I have a plan here, and all you have to do is follow it instead of trying to be smart on your own."
After saying that, Badi threw the parchment he had prepared in advance over, then waved his hand to signal the people to leave.
(End of this chapter)
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