Chapter 67 - Use Someone Elses Scheme as Ones Own (2/2)
“It was the city guards’ Captain Lucian.”
After the middle-aged beggar finished speaking, he immediately stood up and ran off. He looked back as he ran, and seeing that Hawk wasn’t chasing after him, he ran even faster.
Hawk’s expression was all the more gloomy as he watched the beggar escape.
Even on a scorching hot day, the alley’s atmosphere was slightly chilly. Lance sighed, stroking the long strands of hair on his forehead, and said indifferently, “What does he want to achieve by having the beggars join us… Troublesome matters one after another. Let’s change places for our development, Hawk. Now that we have a few gold coins anyway, we can hire a slightly better carriage to travel to another city.”
Lance’s voice became somewhat soft and expectant toward the end.
Hawk, however, shook his head. “I won’t let this slide. If we go now like this, we’re no different from stray dogs.”
“But it seems like we’ve been targeted by the n.o.bles.” Lance looked somewhat weary. “I just want to play the game happily and relaxedly. I don’t want to play this game like it’s just battles and endless slaughter.”
“Lance, you’re too naive.” Hawk shook his head. “Even if we go to the next city, our experience will be roughly the same as it is now.”
Lance pursed his lips, looking timid. “But when we arrive at a new city, we can think of ways to get on good terms with the n.o.bles—just like Roland.”
Hawk was at a loss for a moment, then he forced a smile.
At this moment, Roland turned the corner and walked into the alley. He said as he walked, “I’ll explain in advance, I didn’t get on good terms with the n.o.bles.”
Hawk and Lance were both a little surprised to see Roland.
Upon seeing their expressions, Roland said with a smile, “I have a favor to ask of you guys, I never expected to see this drama.”
Hawk regained his composure and said, “Don’t stand by the door, let’s talk inside.”
The three of them entered the house and sat down. Lance served up a cup of water.
Although they were in a game, Lance seemed to have brought his habits in reality with him.
After Roland took a sip, he said, “Continuing the topic earlier, I didn’t build a good relations.h.i.+p with the n.o.bles.”
Lance sat down on the side and said, “But you entered the magic tower.”
“Spellcasters have prerogatives. Although they aren’t n.o.bles, they have a high status,” Roland explained. “And more importantly, the n.o.bles aren’t just targeting you guys; I’m also within the scope of their attacks. They just haven’t done anything for the time being.”
Hawk and Lance immediately recalled the matter on the party invitation. The both of them sighed.
Hawk recalled the name the beggar revealed at the end. He asked, “Roland, what are your thoughts on the name the beggar gave?”
“It might be a strategy to kill two birds with one stone. If you took in those beggars, it would be a burden—you would have to take care of them, hear them complain, and you would have p.a.w.ns planted right next to you.” Roland contemplated for a while and said, “If you go look for trouble with that small captain, you might just be playing into the hands of the mastermind behind the scenes.”
Hawk nodded. “That’s what I thought as well… F**k, we have too little information. Regarding the division of this city’s influences, organizations, territories, and so on, we know nothing at all. It would be difficult even if we wanted to just deduce the basic layout of the situation.”
“It’s actually not that difficult.” Roland smiled. “Why not use their schemes as your own—how about you guys really organize a group of beggars? Of course, those beggars just now you can’t accept. The both of you have large guilds backing you anyway, you guys should have a degree of organization and mobilization skills. The beggars’ information gathering abilities shouldn’t be bad.”
“You’re saying… we should create a beggar’s union?”
Roland nodded. “That’s right. NPCs can create organizations, and we certainly can too—there’s a high degree of freedom in this game.”