Chess Mage of Faerûn

Chapter 272 Voluntary Allies
The mage, who had just left the house, headed straight for the inn where the group was staying, followed by Arden, who was wearing a black robe that covered his armor and a hood that covered his face.

He had only taken two steps when a clear cry came from the sky. The mage casually looked up and followed the sound, and sure enough, he saw the somewhat obese figure. The corners of his mouth curled up slightly, but he looked away and continued on his way.

Along the way, they occasionally encountered a few clueless thugs. The mage didn't even need to lift a finger; Arden, who had just regained his healing, was eager to show off and used his full strength to beat the opponents until they were running away in a panic.

Arden, satisfied with his decision, felt a sense of relief. "If you can't afford to offend the Mighty Wizards, can't you at least be dealt with?"
As they reached the inn, the dark shadow in the sky swooped down. Startled, Arden tried to raise his shield to intercept it, but the mage pressed a hand on his shoulder.

Is that a mage?!
The shield warrior, who instinctively tried to break free, was trapped as if by an iron puppet, unable to budge an inch. Looking at his hand again, it was fair and delicate, befitting the style of a spellcaster.

That's the strength...

Just then, the black shadow that was swooping down from above spread its wings and stopped steadily on the mage's shoulder.

This is a bird that looks like a stork. It is currently affectionately grooming the monk's hair with its long beak. The bird looks rather plump, but its eyes have a cunning and human-like quality.

"What are you looking at? Haven't you ever seen such a magnificent bird before?"

Doflamingo's words stunned Arden: "There's such a jerk?"

He quickly understood that this thing was probably a magical pet of the mages, and that his whereabouts being exposed was also related to the other party.

It would be too easy for a bird circling in the sky to monitor an infantryman. The only question is, how did the other party know about his dirty secrets with the Bloodsail Gang?

There was naturally no answer to this question. Arden dared not ask, and Zhang Yuan would not kindly tell him about the tricks of the thief bird on his shoulder, much less tell him that the unfortunate dock manager, Mr. Oliver, was tracked down by the thief bird after discovering that a certain outsider had a mysterious connection with Neverwinter, and was ultimately ambushed and killed by several assassins.

"Oh, what brings you here again? Did the big boss bring you back? I told you not to wander off."

Arden trembled when he first heard the simple, honest voice. When he saw the tall, burly figure appear in front of him, it seemed that even the sunlight outside the door was blocked by the other person's imposing body, and the shadow cast by him inside the door was dark and gloomy.

Aside from the mage, this idiot is the guy Arden least wants to face.

There's nothing to say about the mage; he couldn't even muster the thought of provoking him. But this thing in front of him, this damned ferocious beast!

Yesterday's battle was fought when this half-ogre swung his spiked club and smashed my once-proud shield defense to pieces. And now, it's happened again.

"Rick, you can go down now. Mr. Arden has something to discuss with us."

Rick always obeyed his boss and zookeeper, patting his head and stepping aside.

The subsequent discussions took place in a small meeting between Zhang Yuan, Nancy, Lawrence, and Arden.

The meeting lasted about two hours, during which all the contents were to be kept confidential, and Arden, an outsider, was even asked to "voluntarily" sign a sworn oath of silence, which is a level higher than a secret covenant.

Having come this far, having heard too much he shouldn't have, and revealed too much he shouldn't have, Arden naturally understood that he probably had no other choice. Gritting his teeth, he signed the contract that almost meant a complete betrayal of the Bloodsail Gang. The Maginot Gang leader walked out the door with a slightly dazed and uneasy feeling. A gust of cold wind blew, and as he came to his senses, a wave of fear washed over him. After a few deep breaths, he even felt a faint sense of smugness and anticipation.

"Boss, can this guy really be trusted? Does he know too much?"

Despite being bound by the oath, Lawrence still had some worries.

“A spell contract cannot completely guarantee against leaks or even betrayal, especially when the recipient is determined to pay the price.”

The monk smiled and explained methodically:

"But what reason does he have? What he gains from betraying us might not even make up for the backlash we suffer. Besides, we're using the Blackfin Fish name to try and switch between the two companies?"

"If he had that kind of ability, would he still be holed up in this corner of the neighborhood, a mere local bully?"

Actually, Zhang Yuan wasn't entirely without worry, but the situation was still within his control.

What's truly frightening are the Bloodsail Gang's top-tier combat power, and even the group of spellcasters behind them. It's these guys' attention and gaze that Zhang Yuan is trying his best to avoid.

This is also why he sought refuge under Blackfish and acted under the guise of a gang. Even when communicating with Arden, he intentionally or unintentionally emphasized his and others' status as subordinates of Blackfish, deliberately leading the other party's thinking towards the infighting between the two parties.

To be honest, as a college student in my previous life and now a mage otaku, I don't have much experience with these kinds of gang infighting and factionalism. It's mainly the two old hands, Kegan and Lawrence, who are leading the charge and fooling people.

However, it wasn't all just empty talk. The minimum objective of this trip was to settle scores with Kurze. If the plan went smoothly, a rare power vacuum would inevitably appear in Luskan, this land of strife.

At that time, people's brains will probably be turned into dog brains. With their strength, they might be able to secretly play proxy wars, and the Canaan Squad will not have difficulty seizing more territory in this area.

Since we can't take it with us anyway, making a profit through a trade with Arden and his group wouldn't be a bad idea.

After Arden left, all the members of Canaan began their own squad's internal meeting to discuss how to manage and defend the newly conquered territories, and shared some information about the Bloodsail Gang with reservations.

It's not that I don't trust my teammates, it's just that the teammates who were left in the closed-door meeting were either muscle-bound idiots like Rick Morty or naive and innocent girls like Talinda, so there was no point in saying anything more.

However, the meeting was a good thing. With everyone's wisdom and efforts, a comprehensive plan, including site selection, patrols, payment, reception, complaints, and even intelligence gathering, was arranged in an orderly manner.

The so-called site selection was really just choosing one of the several properties owned by the Maginot Group. Having been local tyrants for a while, they certainly had some real estate to offer.

After all, with so many fights going on, it's not uncommon for a family to be reunited after someone's death. As the local tyrant, Arden had plenty of ways to legally transfer the property to his own name.

(End of this chapter)