Chapter 136 Chapter 134 The Man Behind the Scenes
On the balcony, the two of them stared at each other for several minutes.
The kind-hearted Brancy silently prayed to the capricious sea god, hoping that this brother, with whom he shared life and death, would understand him as he had in the past.
Finally, Chamberlain spoke:
“A certain fat man boasted shamelessly in front of me yesterday about his gold necklace, his gilded armor, a tapestry with gold threads, and even a carriage. I think if those were converted into gold coins and used to equip the soldiers better and hire more doctors, the casualties would be reduced by at least half.”
The kind-hearted Brancy rubbed his aching forehead and said, “You know he comes from a humble background without education. I only granted him a tapestry; who knows where he got all those luxurious things from?”
“Perhaps his mansion fell from the sky.”
“Chamberlain, why do you sound like a nagging woman?”
“If my silence could save the wounded, I would never speak another word for the rest of my life.”
In front of his friend, the kind-hearted Brancy was more relaxed. He turned around in frustration and opened his arms toward Shalin City below. As the Rainbow Festival approached, Shalin City increasingly exuded a festive atmosphere, with colorful ribbons hanging over the waterways and rainbow flags stuck on rooftops. The spectacle was no less impressive than any previous Rainbow Festival.
“Look! This city is teetering on the edge of a cliff. Ahead lies a bottomless abyss of decay, while behind it is prosperity. The decision to move forward or backward depends on the Rainbow Festival seven days from now. You and I have watched this city grow from just four districts, which was as impoverished as a barren mountain floating on the sea, into eight districts with towering city walls. Are you still going to watch it decay back to how it used to be?”
“I have bled for its growth, lost an eye, and sold off my possessions. Now, have you told that fat rat any of this? Is he willing to share even a little of the wealth he has looted from honest workers with this city?”
“You know that’s impossible,” the kind-hearted Brancy said. “Surviving the necessary fire all those years ago, he harbors no resentment against this city, which is already commendable. He possesses an exceptional virtue of tolerance that transcends his origins.”
Chamberlain sneered, “The fat rat didn’t continue stealing grain but instead betrayed his own kind. Can that be considered a virtue? In any case, he will never part with a single copper coin to help Shalin City turn toward prosperity.”
“You can understand it that way.”
“Then you shouldn’t allow someone with no sense of contribution to Shalin City to become a noble.”
“I don’t want to argue anymore.” The kind-hearted Brancy lowered his hands and said weakly, “Money is tight right now. I will try to extend credit and send the best doctors in the city to tend to your soldiers, just as I did decades ago during the plague. As for compensation, I can only manage a hundred gold coins in the next few days. The celebratory banquet will have to wait until after the Rainbow Festival, and you can have priority over the proceeds from the sale of the gemstones. How does that sound?”
“I want to thank you on behalf of those loyal soldiers.”
“But I have a request.” The kind-hearted Brancy looked directly into Chamberlain’s eyes. The emotions in his green eyes were extremely complex, leaving Chamberlain somewhat confused.
The kind-hearted Brancy said, “Promise me, whatever happens, make sure not to mess up the auction. With the problem of the slave bandits resolved, we have no internal troubles, but I’ve heard that the brave George is colluding with the pirates from Deepwater City. Although they wouldn’t dare to attack the city directly, who knows what despicable means they will employ? If before the public eye, the brave George storms out alone, seizes the Flower of Shalin City, and manages to escape…”
He didn’t continue. Chamberlain’s face became serious as he waited for the kind-hearted Brancy to speak.
The kind-hearted Brancy’s throat moved several times, as if the words were stuck, and he finally said, “The consequences would be extremely severe, and you would never want to see them.”
“I fully understand that.”
Chamberlain gripped the hilt of his sword, “I will protect Shalin City with my loyal sword and my life.”
“Good.”
The kind-hearted Brancy smiled. He set down his teacup and embraced Chamberlain. Chamberlain’s serious black face also blossomed into a smile, like an iron tree blooming. After hugging, the kind-hearted Brancy patted his back firmly and said, “You absolutely, absolutely must not fail.”
As they parted, Chamberlain joked, “When did the lord of Shalin City become so chatty like an old woman?”
“It’s really not that serious,” the kind-hearted Brancy replied. “If you cannot fend off the brave George, you must survive. I don’t want to find nobody to take the blame afterward. Don’t be indignant; although the demon king Kima is not as strong as imagined, he is still a formidable figure who rose to power through slaughter, and he was still slain by a single sword.”
“I will do my best to survive and shoulder the blame.”
“With that awareness, I can rest easy.”
They reconciled and waved goodbye. Once Chamberlain’s figure disappeared behind the glass door, the kind-hearted Brancy’s kind smile gradually faded. He slumped ungracefully onto a lounge chair and closed his eyes slightly.
Ripples appeared in the shadow beneath the round table, as if a stone had fallen into a pond. The “obsidian artifact” on the round table also emitted a faint green glow.
The hoarse and heavily accented common tongue reached the kind-hearted Brancy’s ears.
“Have you made your decision? Willing to offer such a considerate agreement to frail humanity, you should thank our enlightened master.”
“I agree to sign the agreement.”
That sentence seemed to exhaust all of the kind-hearted Brancy’s strength. He looked at the “slave bandits” hanging dead in the harbor and murmured, “Don’t blame me; I did my best.”
…
…
On the harbor, a temporary gallows stood with a row of corpses hanging from it. Their tattered clothes, beaten by whips, fluttered in the sea breeze.
On the rooftop, a short man was half-kneeling. He wore a gray-black hooded cloak, tight-fitting black and gray leather armor, a gaudy red gemstone necklace around his neck, and his silver hair was tied in a ponytail, revealing half an ear.
It was the Shadow King Arcanis. He clasped his hands together and said to the corpses, “Don’t blame me; you wouldn’t go with me to have fun; I couldn’t help it.”
The gray sky was covered in light gray clouds forming a vortex. A slender figure with open black and red bat wings dove down from the center of the cloudy vortex, landing steadily next to the Shadow King, who was about the same height as her. She said, “Your Excellency the Shadow King, this doesn’t align with your brutal, bloody assassin persona. I’m a bit surprised.”
This was indeed the Shadow King’s dream.
“Dreamweaver, I do as I please,” the Shadow King Arcanis stood up, casting a glance at the succubus Gima beside him. “Oh, you just politely called me ‘Your Excellency the Shadow King’ earlier. It seems that piece of trash, the kind-hearted Brancy, has educated you well. Let me congratulate you first on becoming the most beautiful flower of Shalin City. Your man will surely enjoy it.”
Gima knew well that the Shadow King was provoking her, but she couldn’t help but reiterate, “That dead virgin is not my man; he’s just a very useful tool, nothing more.”
The Shadow King Arcanis responded with malice, “Hehe, I get it. He’s your tool to test the skills you learned from the dark elves, right?”
Gima took a deep breath, the stench of decay from the harbor mixed with the smell of the sea, making her mood even more irritable. She tried to ignore the Shadow King and gazed at the “slave bandits” hanging on the gallows. Their eyes bulged, and their blood-stained clothes bore the marks left by rotten eggs and filth.
In a city where each resident had an average of one and a half slaves, the citizens of Shalin City detested those who dared to take their sacred and inviolable private property.
She imitated the Shadow King Arcanis and clasped her hands together, saying, “You can blame me for your deaths; I bear half the responsibility. Feel free to throw your blame at me. It was I who led the Shadow King to reveal your hiding place.”
“Very candid,” the Shadow King Arcanis looked at Gima’s profile. “I thought you would emphasize that those free men who were afraid of the kind-hearted Brancy like mice, after hearing my plan, were terrified, and some even discussed secretly surrendering to gain the kind-hearted Brancy’s forgiveness.”
Saying this, the Shadow King Arcanis mimicked the tone of one of the men hanging on the gallows: “We’re doomed! We’re doomed! The kind-hearted Brancy will kill us all! We only wanted to help some slaves wanting to escape and offer a way for those who wished to rescue them.”
At that time, this sentiment garnered unanimous approval from everyone. The Shadow King Arcanis was disappointed to find that under the iron fist of the kind-hearted Brancy, many passionate free men had perished. When it came to destroying slavery, nearly everyone immediately spoke up, “That’s impossible; the kind-hearted Brancy will kill us; we don’t benefit.”
“Is it necessary?” Gima said lightly, “Too much duality only obscures one’s original intentions. I detest hypocrisy, for hypocrisy requires us to bow to goodness in advance, acknowledging its dominant position in society.”
At this point, Gima felt a tinge of nostalgia for her life in demon society. There, she had sometimes even had to feign evil.
“You really dare to say that; no wonder you’re from the demon race.”
“I don’t see the need to disguise myself in front of you.”
The Shadow King Arcanis said with great interest, “I want to know what would happen if I conveyed your words to your man. Don’t worry; he can discern lies.”
Gima’s expression immediately changed, and she even felt a slight pain in her rear. She said, “Could you please stop mentioning George all the time?”
“Isn’t it entertaining?”
“Not at all!”
The Shadow King Arcanis spread his hands and said, “Not my concern, you’re the one in trouble. I get to watch from the shadows; what’s not to enjoy?”
The Shadow King knew too much!
Gima silently noted the Shadow King’s name in her list for silencing.
“The kind-hearted Brancy moved faster than I expected,” Gima said, “But it came at a great price, and he thinks that besides internal troubles, our plan has no risk of being leaked. Do you have confidence in causing trouble later?”
“I do, but you need to involve a few more people in dreams,” the Shadow King Arcanis said. “Right now, half of the fire oil has been seized, and it’s a huge loss for me. A lot of it has been confiscated and piled up in warehouses; I need secrets from a few key people.”
“Understood.”
“By the way, speaking of Chamberlain, why did you want me to pretend to be a rich man in front of him?”
“Chamberlain values his soldiers like his own children and is particularly proud of his noble status. He personally went to demand money from the soldiers and had a big argument with the kind-hearted Brancy, creating mutual distrust, which is a reasonable development.”
“Chamberlain seems very loyal and wouldn’t betray.”
“Perhaps, human nature is ever-changing; the kind-hearted Brancy could betray Chamberlain as well.”
“Impressive, it seems you’re plotting something significant.”
“No, I’m just annoyed with that damned broker of the kind-hearted Brancy. It’s just for fun; otherwise, I’ll be depressed by him sooner or later,” Gima said. “By the way, there’s something very important; you must help me.”
Gima recounted in detail the matter of the obsidian artifact.
The Shadow King Arcanis said, “I’ll see if I can resolve that issue.”
Gima felt much more at ease; she was quite confident in this guy’s capabilities.
