Although the Beggar King was dressed simply, he was still quite eye-catching among a group of homeless people and real beggars, especially since he was wearing a signature gold seal ring. All the beggars and homeless people who passed by would bow to him.
He didn't notice it when he was with other respectable people, but now that the environment around him has changed, he stands out from the crowd and is extremely conspicuous.
Oaks waited patiently for the Beggar King to return to his "palace" and quietly disappeared into the shadows.
Seeing that all the thugs around the Beggar King had left the room, Oaks knew that his time had come.
The dagger is unsheathed and the poisonous snake spits out its venom.
But the wonderful world always makes things develop in unexpected ways.
"Since you're here, why not talk?"
The Beggar King's voice suddenly sounded, causing Oaks to pause.
The snake hunter looked doubtful. Could it be that the other party saw through his infiltration? Just based on this skinny guy who probably couldn't even swing a sword?
Oaks kept his dagger unsheathed and stood stiffly in his hiding place, not daring to move rashly.
However, after shouting that sentence, the Beggar King did not take any other action. He did not call for thugs to come in to protect himself, nor did he run away or hide. Instead, he continued to do his own thing.
Reading books, counting belongings, and organizing documents, he really looks like a little aristocrat.
I don’t know what documents he was looking at. Do beggars and homeless people also have things to give to the “king” for review?
In the silence filled only by the sound of shuffling papers, Oaks drew his dagger again.
"Since you're here, why not talk?"
The dagger was put back.
After shouting, the Beggar King did not take any follow-up actions as before. Oaks frowned and had a guess in his mind.
He held his breath and counted the time silently -
"Since you're here, why not talk?"
The third time, the voice sounded.
As an excellent assassin, Oaks was very sensitive to time intervals. The time between the Beggar King's third call and the second call was exactly the same as the time between the second and first calls.
In other words, the person in front of me would shout this every once in a while!
So that's what it is. Oaks showed a look of understanding. This guy didn't see through the disguise, but was deceiving him.
My infiltration was still seamless.
But there is still a serious question here: Did the Beggar King know that the Snake Sect had surrendered to Lan? Did he know that Lan had made a plan to assassinate the gang leader? Did he know that they had waited for five days and wanted to come to assassinate him tonight?
If it is true, then several of his companions may be in danger.
Oaks's snake pupils lit up slightly. Before killing his target, he needed to know the truth.
Inside the room, the Beggar King opened his mouth for the fourth time and was about to shout when he suddenly heard a strange noise coming from the roof.
His attention was immediately drawn there, and when he looked up, he saw a hand glowing white.
[Axil Seal]
The ether element, which represents the "spiritual" attribute, invaded the Beggar King's brain without hindrance.
Oaks does not have the power to hypnotize people like Lann. His seal can only make people enter a trance and resistance-free state.
Not long, but enough for a top assassin.
When the beggar king regained consciousness, he was already tied up. He looked around and found himself on the roof of his own house.
This is a place that no fighter can reach. For Oaks, it is enough to kill the target in an instant and leave the "Rotten Forest" like a snake within ten breaths.
"I ask, you answer; if you scream, you die. Do you understand?"
The beggar king, who had made his fortune from scratch, was flexible and nodded very generously.
"Do you know which side I'm on now?"
"I don't know, but I can guess it based on the information." The Beggar King said, "The information from the North converges on Novigrad, and the information from Novigrad converges on me."
"Nilfgaard is indeed far away, and many news have not yet reached there, so the warlock and the emperor of Nilfgaard do not know some key information, but I know it clearly: the Lannisters had a conflict with the lord of White Orchard and killed a goat-horned demon there, and all this started to save a witcher. A witcher wearing a venomous snake badge."
The Beggar King showed a disdainful expression, which was directed at Reigns: "From the moment you appeared, I knew that you would never become the enemy of Lannister. The warlock's plan could not go smoothly as planned."
Oaks was silent. It turned out that the identities of him and others had always been exposed in front of the Beggar King?
"You know I'm going to kill you today, right now?"
The second question is what AUX attaches the most importance to.
"I don't know." This time the Beggar King gave a different answer, "The tramps and beggars are my spies, but they only saw you leave the Lannister residence late at night, and then soon lost track of you.
I don't know your purpose. There are many possibilities for late night operations. But coming to assassinate me, the gang leader, is one of these possibilities. I can't take the risk. I just want to trick you every once in a while, and when you return and send back the information, I will be safe. "
As expected of a beggar king who had made his fortune from scratch, beneath this calm and composed demeanor, could it be that he was hiding such a doubtful and cautious heart?
Oaks felt relieved, at least his actions were not exposed, and the other two people in the school would not be in danger.
Next is the third question, which is also a question derived from the answer to the Beggar King’s second question.
"You seem very confident that I won't kill you?" Oaks said.
Oaks had seen too many life-saving methods used by big shots. The more advanced ones could exchange clothes and become a substitute, the less advanced ones could have their subordinates surround them for protection, or even find a place to hide.
The Beggar King did not choose any of the above methods. Instead, he used the very rash and dangerous method of "cheating every once in a while", which even meant using himself as bait to lure Oaks out.
"I didn't achieve what I have today by hiding from place to place," the Beggar King replied. "Novigrad is about to be embroiled in war, so I will naturally choose the side that wins."
"I know you might want to kill me and put an end to it all, and think that Novigrad without the gangs would be better. But that's not how it works. You can convey my sincerity to Lannister, and he will understand: Novigrad with only the Eternal Flame is definitely not the best Novigrad for him, even if the current Eternal Flame is his friend."
"I can also give you a piece of information for free: I am your friend, and Machete, the other two representatives of the underground, is not your enemy."
Oaks had his face covered so his expression couldn't be seen, but his expression beneath the mask was already distorted beyond belief.
The Beggar King gave a lot of information. Generally speaking, it is Leiso's job to think about these issues.
The Beggar King couldn't see Oaks's expression, but perhaps he was too familiar with that kind of doubtful atmosphere, so he took the initiative to explain: "Machete received a dwarf merchant named Zoltan some time ago. This Zoltan is a friend of Lannister. It is said that he met Lannister in White Orchard.
Logically speaking, Lannister is a friend of Zoltan and the dwarves, so Cleaver will not attack Lannister; in reality, Cleaver does not have any great ambitions or desires. The promises of the warlock and Caleb Manji do not attract him, so he is even less likely to attack a friend of a friend for an unattractive promise. "
The Beggar King sighed, "I just don't know if he has the same luck as I did today and escaped from your fangs."
Oaks' snake eyes flickered and he began to think.
Who was it that went to assassinate the dwarf, if I remember correctly - it was Kolgrim?
…
Lan poured a glass of water for the returning snake demon hunter and watched him gesture happily in front of him.
"So, the dwarf nicknamed 'Cleaving Blade', the leader of the non-human race in Novigrad, is not actually our enemy?"
Kolgrim nodded, confirming Lann's question: "Do you remember Zoltan?"
“I just climbed in through the window and saw Zoltan being beaten with a machete!”
"I drank with him several times in White Orchard, and I almost threw the dagger to him to help him. But then I keenly realized that something was wrong - the dwarves in Zoltan's team were also there, and they were cheering happily on the side!"
Kolgrim told Lan about his wonderful "assassination" experience tonight.
Among the three Snake Sect assassins who went out, Kolgrim was the first to come back. However, he did not kill the target of the mission, but brought back some other information, which also added a new possibility to Lann's plan.
"I looked carefully and found that they were wrestling, and after deciding the winner, they were drinking and laughing together. So I hesitated: if Machete was Zoltan's friend, even if I had to kill him, I had to find out the truth first. After all, our ultimate goal is to prevent citizens from being disturbed by riots, not just to kill anyone, right?"
如果是三侍从的话，在这种情况下肯定是不由分说地优先完成兰恩指派的任务。但是蛇派猎魔人有着很强的主观能动性，也幸好这回是他们出手，才有了意外的收获。
“结果我发现，砍刀的打手们根本不像是要去暴乱的样子，没有装备准备，也没有人员布置，一切都和平常一样。然后我又等了一会，等到他们解散之后单独去见了卓尔坦，然后卓尔坦就一脸庆幸地给我引荐了砍刀。”
兰恩起了兴致：“你和他面对面谈过了？”
寇格林姆点点头：“我相信卓尔坦，而且我也观察过那里的环境，逃跑不成问题。在保证自己安全的情况下我跟他进行了交流。”
雷索抱着胳膊也在一旁，对于寇格林姆的应对不置可否。
“你们都谈了什么？”
“他的原话是这样的。”寇格林姆回忆了一下，说道——
……
“你们居然就这么让刺客摸进来，还让他待了这么久，我以后能不能活下来难道都要看敌人的仁慈吗！”
“你们脑子里面装的都是生铁吗？不够用就拿锤子多打一打！”
都说只有起错的名字，没有起错的外号，砍刀的脾气火爆是出了名的。
诺维格瑞的小巷和阴暗酒馆中流传着一则笑话，说当地黑帮三巨头之一——绰号“砍刀”的卡罗·瓦雷泽是种族和谐的最佳代言人。不过，他的这个原则是选择性实践的。
据说他年轻的时候是一名屠夫，精通于杀猪之道。而不久之后他幡然醒悟，其实刀下是何物并没有什么区别。
诺维格瑞的非人种族行事很少高调，而砍刀又是里面行事高调的人里面最高的一个，他坦露胸膛，喜欢在众目睽睽下展示自己的纹身和珠宝，让打过油的莫霍克发型在油灯的照射下闪闪发光，显眼无比。
此刻，在他这比斗鸡还要骄傲的莫西干头发前面，是一群战战兢兢的小弟，寇格林姆几乎可以在里面找到除了精灵之外的所有非人种族。
在训斥完自己放哨不利的打手之后，砍刀转过身，审视着寇格林姆：
“我的人都是好手，能够这么悄无声息地潜进来，你当得上一句‘大师’的称呼。那么这位猎魔人大师，你有什么教训要给我吗？”
寇格林姆冷着眼睛，身体站在屋子的最边缘，不时地活动手指，随时可以抽出武器或者逃跑。
卓尔坦抱着胳膊在两人中间，一会看看砍刀，一会抬头往往寇格林姆。
“我是接到任务来杀你的，因为沙佩勒不希望暴乱伤害到平民。”
“哈！计划就这么被知道了，幸好我没决定跟着那个术士，不然估计过两天我们都要一起在广场上变成火炬了！”
“回去告诉沙佩特，我是黑帮，但不是什么该死的恶徒，我们一起做对手这么多年，他还不了解我吗？我希望给我的同胞争取到权利，让他们可以用和人类同样的价格买到面包和酒，但是却从来没有用棍子威胁别人给我们食物！”
“像我们这种少数人在诺维格瑞生活，总是要团结在一起。虽然有的时候为了让高个子的人和我们平等对话少不了棍子和刀，但我们确实是安安稳稳过日子的老实人。”
砍刀摇头晃脑，身上的纹身也一起在跳动：“城市更加混乱，我们的生活不也会更加糟糕吗？平静的生活让我的打手越来越少，但是我知道一旦有危险，我身边的每个人都是战士。迦勒·曼吉和那个术士的提议对我来说就是狗屁，我也没有兴趣因此去对付朋友的朋友。”
“不但是我，我估计法兰西斯也不想跟着迦勒·曼吉走。那个家伙的‘乞丐王’绰号虽然是自封的，但是也是受到他手下的人认可的。说出来你可能不信，那家伙算是个好人，经常会给无家可归的人庇护，偶尔还会大发善心无端地帮助别人。虽然这种情况可能好几年才会发生一次，但是也可以理解，这该死的世道……”
说到这里，这个诺维格瑞地下三巨头之一自豪地抬起胸膛：“所以我俩都是好人！”
……
“后来卓尔坦拿自己母亲的名义来给砍刀担保，我相信了。”寇格林姆说道，“毕竟我们这次刺杀的目的是不让市民受暴乱的侵扰，对吧？那我觉得没有必要去杀他。”
兰恩点头，算是认可了寇格林姆的处理方法。
卓尔坦在到达诺维格瑞的时候就和兰恩暂时分开了，说是准备筹措商队准备去辛特拉。现在看样子他是准备跟砍刀合作一起运作商队。
这样的话，砍刀也勉强算是“朋友”了。
至于砍刀这么一个黑帮团体留下来对诺维格瑞的市民有没有好处，那就不是兰恩该考虑的问题了，和他有关吗？
退一步讲，就算黑帮这股政治势力真的消失了，对于诺维格瑞、对于兰恩，结果是好是坏真的难说。诺维格瑞毕竟不是永恒之火的“圣城”，而是北境的商业中心、自由之城。
最近确实比较忙，一直没有关注卓尔坦那边，或许该找个机会跟他好好聊聊了……
兰恩正思考着，“嘭”得一声，阳台上突然响起一声落地的声音。
今晚派出去三名刺客，算算时间倒也该陆续回来了。但是这个落地的人发出的声响却很沉闷，起码得是雷索这个吨位的人。
安排出去的蛇派三人中，没有人能够发出这种级别的声响。
屋内的几名猎魔人顿时警觉了起来。
但是紧接着，有节奏的叩门声响起。
这是事先约定好的暗号，让众人微微放松警惕了，升起了疑惑。
阳台门打开，露出奥克斯的脸。
而他的肩膀上，扛着一个高而瘦的男人，看样子是被打晕了。
这又是一个出乎兰恩意料的事情发展：“你这……是找不到处理尸体的地方，给扛回来了？”
奥克斯似乎也有意识到自己的举止不太刺客，解释道：“这个说起来比较复杂……总之就是他知道我要去刺杀他了，然后把我诈出来，跟我说了一堆乱七八糟的话。我不太懂，但是突然觉得说不准这个人活着比死了好，就干脆扛回来让他自己跟你说，你自己拿主意。”
兰恩挑了挑眉头：“他知道你要去刺杀他？细说。”
在听了奥克斯的复述之后，兰恩不由地感叹起来。
“能在诺维格瑞这座连国王都伸不进手的地方建立起地下势力，这些黑帮头目真的各个都不简单……起码比那些乱七八糟的贵族爵士强太多了。不知道瑟瑞特那边又会是什么情况……”
兰恩一边等待乞丐王转醒，一边在等待最后一名此刻归来。
不一会，阳台的门上又响起了约定好的叩门声。
瑟瑞特一开门，就看到一起出发的蛇派同伴都已经坐在屋内，不可思议地问道：“你们怎么都回来得这么快，我是最后一个？”
随后他又看到了角落里的乞丐王，更惊讶了：“你们把尸体扛回来干嘛？”
众人没有跟瑟瑞特解释，而是面有期待地看着他：“你把霍桑杀了？”
“当然。”瑟瑞特一脸茫然，“虽然他们那个黑帮家族因为在备战状态，守备还算森严，大半夜也有很多岗哨。但终究也就是个黑帮家族的头目嘛，很容易啊。”
他的脸上紧接着出现了嘲笑和鄙夷，看着寇格林姆和奥克斯问道：“你俩不会是失手了才回来得这么早吧？那这具尸体是怎么回事？”
乞丐王突然发出一阵低沉的呻吟声，他醒了。
……
“父亲啊！”
这是在一件赌场内，视线可及的所有桌子都被打翻了，一队打手鼻青脸肿地跪在地上。他们因为护卫不利而被主人绑缚在此，显然已经吃了不少的苦头。
一个暗棕色头发的年轻人趴在霍桑的尸体上哭嚎。
霍桑的副手见此，心下也是感叹。这青年平时跟霍桑针锋相对，甚至多次大打出手，原以为他是个跟霍桑一样的无情之人，没想到终究还是肉长的心。
副手所处位置的视线却没能看到，在那个青年埋在霍桑衣服里的脸上，嘴角止不住地上扬。
心中感叹着父子情深，副手的心里安稳了一分。说不定让这“情感充沛”的青年继承家业，弟兄们的日子还能够好过一点。
甚至，更放肆一点……
不过现在，还是有一个迫在眉睫的事情摆在眼前，需要一个能够在身份上短时间压住家族内部其他声音的人出面。
“塞浦利安，我知道你现在很伤心，但是你先别伤心。”副手说道，“你需要成为一个男人了。”
青年低着头回答：“我知道，都是为了生意……”
他在哭，但是脸上却不见一滴眼泪。
The deputy nodded, very satisfied with the young man's answer: "Everything has been prepared, and all the manpower has been deployed. Now that your father is dead, we need to withdraw them quickly, otherwise our enemies may seize the opportunity..."
"Why do you want to retreat?" The young man suddenly looked up, with a light in his eyes that was familiar to his deputy.
That is the quality of a gang leader, that cruel look.
"Aren't you going to start a riot? Aren't you going to cooperate with the Eternal Flame? Why stop?"
"Give the order. Not only do we have to start a riot, we also have to organize a massacre and expand our territory as much as possible. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The restrained actions in the original plan are simply not what the Willy Family should do!"
"Pass my message to everyone and say - this is the order of Hawthorne II!"