Chapter Seventy-Three: Black-on-Black
"Just you alone?... You killed an orc general and dozens of elite orc warriors?" Lev's voice, which he had been holding back, finally erupted, carrying far into the quiet night. Figures were already moving on the stockade wall, clearly alerted by the commotion.
"Not one general... but two." Qin Mo raised another pair of fangs in his hand and said calmly.
Lev swallowed hard, turned to look at Ji Wu, and saw Ji Wu nod slightly. His body stiffened instantly. He had actually yelled at such a powerful figure, and even more miraculously, he hadn't been beaten to death.
"Do you really have a plan, or is it just a formality?" Qin Mo didn't ask the stunned Liao Lev anymore, but turned to ask Ji Wu instead.
“We do have a plan, we’ve been planning it for a long time, but we haven’t implemented it yet because the risks are too high. But now, if you can join us, it will be foolproof.” Ji Wu affirmed Lev’s words, it seemed that they really had this idea for a long time.
Qin Mo took three bottles of "half-jin" from the sled and threw them to a few people. Then, the group discussed the details on the snow.
“There is a warlord named Kavos in Ulanwood City. He is extremely cruel and greedy, but because he is a member of the glorious orc clan, the Twilight Hammer clan, no one is willing to provoke him easily. Even King Bernullis turns a blind eye to him.” Ji Wu began to explain the goals and objectives of this operation to Qin Mo.
“Cavos is extremely greedy. All smuggling caravans passing through the vicinity of Ulan-Ude must show their goods to him before they can trade. If he takes a liking to a particular caravan, no matter whose goods they are, they will be requisitioned under various pretexts.” Lev, having drunk Qin Mo’s strong liquor, grew bolder and more indignant.
"The goods he forcibly requisitioned are inconvenient to transport into Ulan-Ude. If that were the case, a share would have to be given to the city lord, King Bernullis. He has stored the goods in a citadel outside the city, where his people live. As long as we seize that citadel, Cavos will definitely come out of the city in person, but because he hoards the goods, other powerful figures will certainly not lend him any assistance."
Ji Wu's words finally made Qin Mo understand what these people were up to. They were all smugglers who had their eyes on the goods in Overseer Cabos's possession and were planning to double-cross him!
"This place is very far from the Great Xia Dynasty, how did you manage to get your hands on these goods?" Qin Mo asked with interest as she drank her wine.
"Our brothers are scattered throughout the entire Rakshasa Empire. We are the true masters of this land. Although these damned orcs have forced our emperor to submit, we are the local strongmen. Only we can safely transport goods to every corner of the empire." The official's wine was too strong, and Lev drank too quickly, already drunk as he began to give his speech.
"Alright, my brother Lev, calm down for a moment." Ji Wu calmed the agitated Lev down and then began to explain to Qin Mo in detail.
Within the Rakshasa Kingdom, the orcs were quite powerful, but because their population was far smaller than the Rakshasa people, their control at the grassroots level was relatively loose. They consistently used bloody and oppressive policies to intimidate the local Rakshasa forces. Meanwhile, the smugglers of the Great Xia Empire would never trade with the orcs. As a result, the Rakshasa obtained large quantities of smuggled goods from the Great Xia Empire and sold them throughout the Rakshasa kingdom.
In this trading process, the orcs naturally wouldn't stand idly by. They would usually buy a portion of the goods at a very low price, leaving the Rakshasa merchants with the remainder as capital and motivation to continue smuggling. A fragile balance was maintained between the orcs and the Rakshasa merchants, each seeking what they needed. If all the Rakshasa merchants were killed, they would no longer be able to obtain goods from the Great Xia.
Kavos, however, was an anomaly. His greed was notorious in the Rakshasa merchant circle, to the point of being universally resented. Kavos was a direct descendant of the Twilight Hammer clan, and any merchant who offended him would basically be unable to survive in the Far East, as he had far too many relatives. Orcs were the most prolific race besides humans.
"After you robbed Cavos's goods, won't his relatives come to retaliate?" Qin Mo asked.
“Ulan-Ude is King Bernullis’s territory. If anyone else comes here, they are overstepping their bounds. We will gather all the smugglers together to act together, so that King Bernullis will not retaliate against us excessively. Among the strong orcs, he is considered relatively benevolent towards the Rakshasa.”
Qin Mo carefully considered all the details but found no major flaws. Nodding, he said to Ji Wu, "In that case, you go and attack Weicheng. I will be responsible for intercepting and killing Cabos. If you think it's feasible, then do it as soon as possible. I won't stay here for long."
This time, Ji Wu did not agree directly, but looked at Lev. After all, this operation was a rebellion carried out by Russian smugglers for their own interests, so naturally the Russians should make the decision.
"My brother, can you really handle the two orc generals in the citadel?" Lev's eyes were already bloodshot, but he still cautiously asked Ji Wu.
"I can." Ji Wu answered very decisively and confidently, which made Qin Mo look at him with new respect. A Yellow Realm cultivator facing off against two orc generals was no fun.
“In that case, let’s agree on a time to act and meet near the city.” Qin Mo arranged the time and contact information with them, and the four of them split up to begin preparations.
Kavosburg didn't have a name before; it was just an acropolis west of Ulan-Ude. After Kavos took over, it became almost his private domain, and he renamed it Kavosburg.
There are two orc generals and three hundred orc warriors in Kavosburg, fifty of whom are elite orc warriors. These are all Kavos's confidants, extremely loyal to him, and are the main obstacle for Ji Wu and Lev in this attack. As for the Rakshasa servants, they are not taken seriously at all; they will surrender when the time comes.
Three days later, Lev and his men met up with Qin Mo outside Cabosburg. After briefly reaffirming their respective tasks, they began the siege.
Qin Mo hadn't expected Lev to gather nearly ten thousand men so quickly. Although some of them were clearly not soldiers but farmers wielding hoes, their fanaticism didn't diminish Qin Mo's assessment of their fighting capabilities. Lev and Ji Wu also trusted him implicitly, even to the point of being blind. They knew that if Qin Mo hadn't stopped Cavos, a warlord charging into the crowd would have been a massacre.
There were clearly sentries on the walls of Cabosburg, and Lev and his men were spotted at least three or four miles away. The clanging of bells pierced the winter night, and Cabosburg instantly erupted in excitement.
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