398 Alliance of Traitors

The whole tavern was quiet again.

"Dean? Big Dean? Bald Dean?" Ricky stroked his chin and asked in sudden realization, "Dean from 'Dante's Greatsword'? The man with the flexible mind, superb skill, and a promising future?"

Lasalle stayed quiet while Stake nodded his head.

"Your informant… kept himself really well-hidden." Ricky shook his head.

"What? Dante's Greatsword?" Boss Tampa frowned and scratched his chin.

Ricky raised his eyebrows. 'Wait a minute… does that mean…?'

At that moment, along with the tavern owner Tampa, many of the mercenaries' eyes followed Ricky's gaze and shifted to the other side. Their gazes were trained on the wide-eyed Thales and the stunned Quick Rope.

'What happened?' Thales thought dazedly as he became the focus again.

Marina turned to Shawn with a skeptical look. She whispered, "Hey, I remember these two are in Dante's Greatsword…"

The mercenaries began to whisper. Ricky looked at the two with great interest, and seemed to have come to some sort of understanding.

Thales could only put on a cryptic and embarrassed smile as he faced public scrutiny. His expression was calm as he endured their gazes and he did not move his lips, but managed to mumble his words to Quick Rope with great displeasure, "Really good idea you have there... look for a 'professional' to deal with the body?"

He desperately controlled his own gaze to avoid looking at the… human-shaped sack beside his feet.

"What should we do now?"

At Thales' side, the former Prince of Eckstedt also had his face twitch. He put on an awkward expression, making him look as if he was laughing and crying at the same time.

"Calm down, calm down." Quick Rope wiped away his sweat and showed an obsequious smile to the murderous mercenaries around him.

"There will always be a way."

The guests besides Blood Whistle noticed these minor changes, but they obviously did not have the strength to take care of these small matters happening to the internal structure of a mercenary group.

Lasalle coughed. "In short, that's our target. Although the initial clues are lost, we still have reliable information from our mole."

However, at this moment, Ricky shifted his attention away from both Thales and Quick Rope, and raised his hand.

"Wait a minute, Sir Lasalle Weider," the leader of Disaster Sword said faintly. As he spoke, the lights in the tavern swayed slightly, which made the shadows of the people in it move up and down. Ricky looked up and smiled.

"We haven't promised to work with you yet."

Lasalle was startled. This aristocratic-looking man looked at Stake with a cold and fierce expression.

"When you sent me the notice, I thought you had convinced them."

Stake spread his arms and revealed a helpless smile. "The road to happiness is strewn with setbacks."

Lasalle's eyebrows furrowed, then relaxed. He controlled his dissatisfaction perfectly.

"We haven't reached any agreement yet, Sir Weider." Ricky smiled. "In fact, your group suddenly dropped on our doorstep on the eve of our operation, wanting to 'cooperate' with us… Even now, we are still very 'surprised'."

Klein grunted as he agreed to Ricky's words. The mercenaries around them placed their hands on their weapons, and their expressions were not happy.

Stake raised his hand to Lasalle. "That is why you have to be here in person. I am far from adequate in dealing with them."

Lasalle was a bit stunned when he noticed the unpleasant expressions of the Disaster Swords. He understood what was going on.

"Alright."

He nodded and quickly sorted out his emotions. There was a look on his tense face that made him appear as a man of experience. It was an expression that was somewhat familiar to Thales.

"Blood Whistle, or rather, Disaster Swords"—Lasalle raised a finger—"I think we must reach a consensus."

Ricky showed a look of interest and gestured for him to begin.

"You intend to rob the Prison of Bones." Lasalle looked around with a serious expression and raised his second finger. "We are aiming to capture the Prince of Constellation. In Blade Fangs Camp, these two things can't be done separately."

Ricky narrowed his eyes a bit. Lasalle said solemnly, "If you invade the Prison of Bones tonight, in just a few hours, all of Blade Fangs Camp will awaken, and thousands of forces armed according to the kingdom's standards will flood this way to set up blockades, search teams, patrols, and all the troubles you can think of. After that, it would be impossible for my people to get the Prince of Constellation."

Lasalle gestured to Stake, who humbly nodded in acknowledgement of this fact. Thales was more puzzled about their relationship.

Lasalle turned around. "Similarly, if we took away the Prince of Constellation tonight, then before dawn, the camp's alarm will ring. Any suspicious forces, and gatherings including mercenary groups will become the Constellatiates' first targets. It'll be even harder for you to go to the Prison of Bones by then.

"The conclusion is quite clear. We are like two people tied at the ends of a rope; if we don't work together in one direction, if we do whatever we want without caring about anything else, then both of us will only end up doing our tasks in vain, and no one can get what they want." Lasalle turned around. His words were full of strength.

Ricky and Klein exchanged glances and saw each other's wary gazes.

"So, do you understand why we come to your doorstep, late at night and uninvited?" Lasalle ignored the weapons around him and said out loud, "Do you now understand the need for us to cooperate with each other?"

No one answered him. Only Stake patted his left wrist with his right hand and smiled. Ricky stared at the new guests with a grave look and did not speak for a long time. Then, Lasalle coughed impatiently, urging him to hurry up and make his decision.

"You have a great way with words," Ricky replied plainly as he gestured with his chin at Lasalle. "You don't look like you're from Shadow Shield, either. Weider… who are you?"

Lasalle suddenly froze, but did not answer.

Masked Man spoke up next to Ricky, "I remember." He squinted at Lasalle as he said coldly, "Klein, you just said that this guy's last name seems to be the same as one of the small noble families in Dragon Clouds City?"

Klein hummed in response. Ricky turned to his companion.

Masked Man faintly said, "Six years ago, King Nuven commissioned a rather low-ranking noble to be a messenger of Eckstedt. He sent him out to Constellation, to go to Renaissance Palace to get justice for Prince Moriah who died in a foreign land.

"The name of the messenger is exactly the same as this man's."

Right then, Lasalle jolted slightly, but he was not the only one who was stupefied.

On the other side of the tavern, Thales hid his surprise with a low cough, and Quick Rope had the expression of someone who was wronged, as if he was asking the heavens why they decided to shift the focus onto him again.

Thales recalled the man; this was indeed not the first time Thales Jadestar and Lasalle Weider met.

'So…' Thales looked at Lasalle, and then at Stake. Eckstedt, and Shadow Shield.

All the people here today were 'old friends' from six years ago, and the only thing that brought them together were the two clues that were connected…

Masked Man said with contempt, "King Nuven and King Chapman both entrusted you with a great task at the same time, but you failed. Tell me, Baron Weider, as a Northlander, does the shame of failing completely once bother you a lot?"

Lasalle Weider's face suddenly turned livid with rage.

Stake coughed and spoke up to mediate the situation. "Can we—"

But Lasalle interrupted him. The former Eckstedtian envoy clenched his fists and said, "I don't deny my failure. That is indeed a stain on my life."

His voice quivered slightly, "And I paid the price—I am no longer a baron."

Masked Man shook his head and snorted gently. "Let me guess: Dragon Clouds City did not strip you of your status without reason, but Black Sand Region did not and could not give you any compensation."

Masked Man walked slowly to Lasalle and stared straight into his eyes. "After all, no one likes a traitor who is loyal to Dragon Clouds City on the surface, but is in cohoots with Black Sand Region," he said coldly.

As soon as this was said, Lasalle looked up!

The former envoy glared at Masked Man, but Masked Man seemed to have not noticed his glare and continued to say with a chuckle, "So you can only come to a foreign country and be in charge of shady matters that can't be brought to light."

Lasalle's fists clenched tighter and tighter. Ricky and Klein watched this scene with indifferent expressions, but Stake frowned.

Masked Man continued to speak sarcastically. "A Shadow Assassin who betrayed the Shadow Master, a Northland noble who betrayed the king. Traitor and traitor, a good combination."

Lasalle huffed out loud. "It's not up to you to judge me, mercenary."

He gritted his teeth and stared at the Blood Whistles in the tavern. Lasalle said angrily, "Based on your statement… all of us here tonight are shameful traitors, no matter which side we belong to.

"In the end, you are also just traitors to the Tower of Eradication—"

Before he could finish...

*Clang!*

*Sching!*

...the sounds of more than one weapon being drawn rose instantly into the air.

Marina already had her swords in her hands, while Shawn also had his teeth clenched as he pulled out his axe. More mercenaries stepped forward together, pressing on aggressively towards the envoy who spoke rudely to them, bearing malicious intent.

A murderous aura instantly filled the tavern.

Thales was filled with great unease. He forced down his desire to reach out to his own weapon.

"Be at ease, everyone!" Stake's voice rang out between the murderous mercenaries. "We are not here to fight."

Right before a fight was about to erupt, Ricky gently raised his right hand as if this was something he saw often, and then shook his hand gently.

The mercenaries of Blood Whistle then put away their weapons—though they did so in an infuriated manner—and returned to their original positions.

The gazes pointed at Lasalle became even more hostile.

"I understand. You are a noble who lost his power. You once lived in glory, but now it is gone, and you heart is filled with disgruntlement. You can only come to the border to perform unimportant and menial tasks," Ricky said plainly. "You want to win back your master's trust with a rare feat."

Lasalle exhaled gently as if he was reluctant to admit to this fact.

"So, Lasalle Weider, you represent Chapman the First, the Kinslaying King of Eckstedt." Ricky sounded a little grim.

The content of his words also caused a rather big commotion to break out among the mercenaries. They all whispered to each other, the shock and astonishment clear in their expressions and words.

Thales felt Quick Rope shudder beside him.

'Wait a minute.' Thales instinctively found something wrong. 'Something doesn't add up: Lasalle is King Chapman's envoy, and his informant is Dean. Dean found out where I am, then he informed Lasalle. Lasalle became aware that something happened to Dean because he broke his promise, so he came to salvage the situation?

'Something's wrong. There's definitely something wrong!'

Ricky gauged Lasalle and asked, "Your king intends to draw us to his side?"

Lasalle raised his head. There was faint pride on his face. Lasalle whispered,

"If you can work with us, you can go back to Eckstedt with valuable loot, and prove yourself warriors. His Majesty will certainly be generous with his rewards."

Ricky quirked his eyebrows and seemed to be somewhat surprised.

But soon afterwards, he glanced at Klein and Masked Man, and laughed. The mercenaries also sneered. As they laughed, Lasalle's expression grew even more tense. Finally, the Disaster Swords had enough of laughing.

"Stake, no wonder you have the courage to do these petty tricks behind Teng's back. You and your Shadow Shield..." Ricky shook his head and sighed. "When did you start working together with the cold-blooded king who killed his brother?"

'When did they start working together?'

Thales suddenly remembered the day six years ago, when he and Saroma were in Lampard's carriage, and when the Archduke of Black Sand Region and Stake were talking to each other.

Lasalle's eyebrows were drawn tightly together, but Stake only smiled, looking as though he was completely unaware that someone just tried to offend him.

Stake raised his hands and turned to meet everyone's gazes in the tavern so that they could see his smile. "Allow me to say this: Not only will I be able to provide you a way for your prison break, you might even be able to rely on me when you need protection in the future so that you will no longer need to hide and flee. You don't need to fear and worry anymore."

The mercenaries began to whisper again. Ricky murmured and repeated, "Rely on you for protection?"

Stake nodded. By his side, Lasalle adjusted his clothes solemnly. Lasalle said sternly,

"Once we achieve our goals, I promise that His Majesty will arrange for you a place you can call your own in his territory. You will not have to fear Constellation's threats and retaliation no matter how much trouble it is."

Ricky pondered for a moment.

"The premise is that we must submit to him, be Chapman Lampard's watchdogs and shepherd dogs?"

He stared at Stake directly in the eye. His smile was still there on his face, but his gaze was cold, and he did not bother to hide it.

"Tell me, Stake. What sort of price did you get for yourself and Shadow Shield?"

His words were rude, and even a person as brazen as Stake could not help but freeze up. Nevertheless, Stake reacted quickly by coughing and rubbing his hands.

"This has nothing to do with the price, but is related to the market and demand."

Stake reacted like the most professional businessman and said with a smile, "Eighteen years ago, Teng claimed that he wanted to create a suitable place for Shadow Shield to survive. So he led the assassination that shocked the world."

Masked Man snorted in disdain.

Thales clenched his fists. Ever since he embarked on this road as a prince, many signs told him that there were plenty of strange things in the Jadestar Royal Family's assassination during the Bloody Year, and these matters were deeply connected to each other. They had even affected many people's fates.

And the one who performed the assassination… was right in front of him.

"But Teng was wrong. A chaotic world with corpses of the people who died from starvation strewn all over the fields is not the best period of time for us assassins to flourish, neither is a peaceful world ruled by a wise king." He raised his voice and said with a serious look on his face, "No. The best period of time for assassins to flourish is when targets and clients, opportunities and dangers as well as peace and conflict exist at the same time."

Ricky frowned.

"As we all know, we are assassins. We are warriors who do not fear death and take risks to achieve our goals. You are mercenaries, swordsmen who fight for others, or sellswords, whatever you want to call yourselves," Stake said calmly.

The mercenaries stared at each other, speechless.

"If we set aside everything else, assassins and mercenaries are existences who work for others with our skills to survive. This is how we can remain in the running in this business. But when it comes down to it, what do you think is the one thing that continues to support our existences?

"Money? Lust? Hatred? Enmity? Ideals? Future? Hope? Or love and justice?"

Stake's words made many of the mercenaries have strange looks appear on their faces, but more people began to think quietly. But he turned around and said resolutely, "None of them!"

He then continued coldly in a tone of voice that was rarely heard on him, "What really supports our continued existence is the demand that calls for our services."

Stake said in a harsh voice, "Power."

He stretched out his right hand and slowly clenched it in the air.

"Power. That's the foundation we rely on to survive, just like how heroes rely on wars to be born, and famous generals rely on stepping on white bones to appear."

Ricky's expression became more solemn. Stake turned around as though to convince everyone in the tavern.

"The powerless want to take and seize power, and those in power want to expand their power and gather more of it... so they come to us. They hire or buy us. They use unconventional methods to either fill up the vacuum of power, or to whittle down someone who has too much power in their hands.

"And we are a group of ferocious animals who feed on power. We look for ways to survive among the rulers' ambitions, and look for vitality in the ambition and plans. Be it you or us, assassins or mercenaries, we are born in the crevice of power."

Thales silently listened to ​​this Shadow Assassin's ideals. Klein frowned, and Masked Man spat on the ground—an even more direct show of his disdain.

Stake was not swayed and continued to speak. "Teng may be a madman. His arrogance and the overestimation of his strength brought about his own end. But his original intentions were correct when he persuaded us of his cause. Shadow Shield needs an era suitable for us to survive, and if we want it, we must take the initiative to create it, rather than wait to be eliminated when the era changes.

"What we really need is for power to require our services, a person in power who still needs us. This is what guarantees us our survival."

Stake turned again and faced the three Disaster Swords. There was an unusual zeal burning in his eyes.

"So we need such a person of power, a ruler with a country, an army, land and people, to buy and hire our services and maintain our existence.

"But they cannot be too strong. If they are too strong, they will try to control us and swallow us whole, just as Constellation controls the Secret Intelligence Department. Nor can they be too weak, or else they won't be able to support us and protect us, just like Anlenzo Dukedom's poor Sparrowtail Guards."

Stake raised a finger, quirked his lips, and nodded. "This is the secret to how assassins and mercenaries can remain as everlasting existences in the world."

The assassin ended his speech, but the mercenaries looked at him suspiciously.

"So, this is the person in power you brought to us? The Kinslayer King?" Ricky cocked an eyebrow.

Stake exhaled in resignation. "Thanks to Teng, Constellation is already our destined enemy. And Constellation is still recovering and rising in power. This is really not good news for us. In this case, I guess there are not many options left for us."

Stake put on a mysterious smile as if he had thought of something. "And I must say, King Chapman the First is a very special king, and is in line with our standards. He is powerful and authoritative; he just finished his purge of Black Sand Region not long ago and has become the most authoritative suzerain in Eckstedt. Secondly, Eckstedt is fighting internally. He might seem to have the upperhand, but he still has his worries. The archdukes are eager to fight him, and the enemies of Eckstedt are watching. It's difficult for him to settle the arguments against him in the country and, unfortunately for him, his ambition does not allow him to be tolerant. King Chapman will need us."

Stake spoke and shared a look with Lasalle who nodded.

"Have your doubts been resolved?" Lasalle asked plainly. "By the way, the premise for all the above is that we can fulfil our missions and achieve our goals today."

However, it was obvious that Ricky had other opinions.

"Power is the foundation for us to survive?" He stroked his chin. "Interesting... But you left out the other half, Stake."

Stake raised his hand to indicate that he was listening. Lasalle frowned and seemed dissatisfied with this group's uncooperativeness.

Ricky leaned forward and pointed at Lasalle.

"The Kinslayer King, or any mighty power for that matter, will gradually seize our throats when they grow in strength step by step. And when he is truly powerful, he will not leave us with too many choices," he said. His gaze slowly sharpened.

"He will turn you into a Secret Room and Secret Intelligence Department that spreads gossip, and turn us into White Blade Guards and royal guards. If you don't want to…"

The Masked Man snorted and wrapped his arms around his chest.

"Furthermore, once Chapman Lampard is strong enough to ensure that his country is stable, prosperous, and peaceful"— Ricky sneered—"As you said, Stake, a peaceful and unsophisticated world ruled by a wise king is not suitable for assassins."

Stake laughed and did not say a thing, and Lasalle did not move.

"So what you want is not to be loyal to him or rely on him." Ricky abruptly changed the topic of conversation, his voice was cold. "You just want to latch onto him like a parasite."

Stake's smile froze on his face.

"What you want is not to rely on him or find a place where you belong, but to attach yourself onto King Chapman like a bloody leech. While serving him, you will use his power to strengthen yourself, and use him to protect yourselves."

Ricky went straight to the heart of the matter.

"And when he becomes so strong that he breaks free of your control, when he almost breaks the listless and lifeless air in the world, you will abandon him. You will attack him with the weapons and claws he made for you, you will secretly aid his opponents, join his enemies, find your new hosts, and always ensure that you reside in the cracks of power."

This time, even Lasalle's expression became unpleasant.

"Just like a parasite, you will grow, move, find a new host, grow, and repeat the cycle. You will live together with the powerful and stand side by side with conflict. Where there is power, there is Shadow Shield."

Masked Man snorted to show his approval.

"Be careful, Baron Weider," Ricky said coldly. "When leeches suck too much blood, they'll turn on you."

His tone made Stake and Lasalle's expressions turn grave. Ricky stared at Lasalle, who scowled with his hands behind his back.

After a few seconds, Ricky spoke again.

"However… Tonight, we can work together, regardless of whether our target is the Prison of Bones or that prince."