DanMachi, My Members Are From Slice-of-Life Anime

This is highly suspicious.

Could someone be using the Phoenix Merchant Guild as a cover to conceal their identity and achieve their own goals?

"It's time to find an opportunity to talk to Old Mike alone."

……

The caravan quickly regrouped, changed its mode of transport, and set off in horse-drawn carriages.

Inside the luxurious carriage, a long table was placed in the middle, with cabinets filled with wine and drinks on both sides.

Old Mai pulled a bag of peanuts from under the table, tore open the packaging, and poured them onto a delicate plate.

He packed the snacks, raised his hand, and said with a gesture of respect: "Please, make yourselves at home."

Shajia sat opposite him, his gaze deep:

"Since we are going to continue to deepen our cooperation, I think we should be open and honest about some things."

Old Mai ate a peanut, then took a swig of liquor, let out a long sigh, and said in a helpless voice:

"Commander Xia, I won't lie to you, my troops have indeed run into some problems. Sigh..."

He shook his head, as if he didn't know how to explain.

“Take your time…” Xia Jia straightened her back and said clearly, “I have plenty of time.”

"Hey." Old Mai took another swig of liquor, and then another.

His face flushed quickly, and he said, fueled by the alcohol, "Take what I'm about to say as drunken ramblings; I didn't mean to tell you this."

"After all these days, you've noticed. Many of my men aren't under my control. They're all spies mixed in by other forces—they might be spies, they might be something else, but they all have their own agendas."

"Oh?"

Is this a case of exchanging sincerity for sincerity? I'll bring my knife! ...Shaga raised his eyebrows, listening intently.

Old Mai shook his head and continued:

"To be honest, I did start out by relying on some people of dubious origin. As you know, you can't run a business guild without some strength and influence when traveling between countries. So when people came to me, I didn't refuse them and used them to develop the business guild."

“I know they came from shady sources, but I couldn’t care less at the time. But, but, I didn’t do anything for them. At most, I just transported some goods, all of which were normal goods. I didn’t care what they were up to. I just wanted to make money. It was like we kept to ourselves.”

"But, Brother Xia, now that the Phoenix Merchant Guild has grown and expanded, and I have gained many trusted subordinates, I can no longer get rid of those people."

"Hey……"

Hearing this, Xia Jia took a wine glass, filled it with cola, and clinked glasses with Old Mai.

To put it simply, Old Mai is somewhat like a business tycoon from a few years ago. Back then, they were all made through violence and bloodshed. If you took a train, there would be a bunch of robberies at the station, unlike the peaceful times we have now.

As they gradually gained influence, the group of underlings they had recruited earlier had become quite powerful. Although they were still using Old Mike as cover, they no longer relied on him.

It can be said that Old Mike now has two possible outcomes: either he retires while he's still at the peak of his career and gets hacked to death by his underlings, or he's pushed into a higher and stronger position by his underlings and eventually has no choice but to become the gang leader.

Having learned the whole story, Xia Jia looked at Old Mai, who was already slightly drunk, and asked:

"Then why did you tell me this? According to you, making money shouldn't be your wish."

Old Mai chug down another bottle of liquor, then looked at Xia Jia with a complicated expression and slowly said:

"Because you are the leader of the Astrea Familia..."

Xia Jia was stunned.

Old Mike continued, "You're right. It doesn't matter what I make money from anymore. To be honest, I have several million in savings. That might not be much for an adventurer, but it's enough for an ordinary person to live on for a lifetime."

"I just want to get rid of those people... If it's the Astrea Familia, they should be able to help me."

Shaga didn't make any promises on the spot, and Old Mai's words were only one side of the story...

The convoy swayed and staggered as it headed toward Orario.

As the sun was about to set, golden-red rays filtered through the trees, illuminating the official road.

A figure draped in a black cloak, her face completely obscured by a red mask, stood in the middle of the road. Her shadow was lengthened by the setting sun, until the night swallowed the last rays of sunlight, at which point she suddenly opened her eyes.

The figure vanished in an instant.

"You are... uh—ah!!" The caravan's followers didn't even have time to figure it out.

Blood splattered...

This was a massacre...

Chapter 83 Ryu: Ah, Alisha~

"Enemy attack, enemy attack!"

The urgent banging of gongs and drums, along with wailing, rang out at the front of the convoy.

The clanging of the gongs and drums stopped abruptly after only a couple of strikes.

The expressions of the two people inside the carriage changed drastically. Xia Jia was certain that the messenger had been killed.

Xia Jia immediately mobilized the monsters lying in ambush nearby, ordering them to surround the area, while he led Old Mai out of the carriage.

"What happened? What happened?" Old Mai asked anxiously, pulling at a guard whose face was covered in blood.

The guard was terrified, struggling and trying to escape with a look of panic on his face, while repeatedly saying:

"A demon! That's a demon! It kills everyone it sees, it kills everyone it sees!"

Xia Jia frowned slightly. He looked into the distance and saw chaos and confusion ahead, with figures fleeing in all directions. He also sensed that the monsters he had ordered to surround the area were being defeated at a visible speed!

"Trouble!"

Xia Jia pulled Old Mai aside and calmly said, "Now is the time for you to stick together with the people you can trust, and ignore the others."

"But."

"Leave the rest to me!"

Although Xia Jia had not yet determined Old Mai's background—perhaps he was a cunning wolf—not all the people in the caravan were bad. It was easy to see that many were ordinary people trying to make a living.

Under Old Mike's command, these people gradually gathered towards him, while the vast majority chose to scatter and flee.

Shaka also calmly observed the situation and tried to remain calm:

First of all, the enemy is very strong, not just ordinary strong, and their target is Old Mac's caravan, not me.

Secondly, those guys who didn't seem honest clearly didn't trust Old Mike's abilities, or they knew very well about the newcomers' identities and knew that Old Mike couldn't protect them.

So what I need to do is temporarily protect the ordinary employees behind Mike, even if some of them try to take advantage of the situation. That's something to investigate later; what I need to do now is save their lives.

I now possess the Flying Thunder God Kunai, the Immortal Blade, and spatial magic. I am absolutely confident that I can assassinate any adventurer by surprise, and if all else fails, I can always escape.

But the opponent is also very fast. In just a few fleeting glances, you can only see afterimages. It is difficult to seize an opportunity, and running away is the most foolish choice.

Those who scattered and fled are the best example; the screams coming from around the forest tell you that the outcome was definitely not good!

Then there's only one option: I need to stall him for a few seconds, try to have a conversation, and then try to extract information from him, or persuade him to give up.

When the attackers targeted the villains that Old Mack had mentioned, Shaka had a vague feeling that such a tactic could be implemented.

The plan has been decided.

Shaka gripped the Flying Thunder God kunai tightly, his eyes darting nervously around the forest.

Russian qing.

The screams and wails around them stopped in an instant, as if the giant hand of death was gradually devouring them.

Some people were already crying loudly, and some even broke down and knelt down begging for mercy.

"Help me! I don't want to die!"

“My wife said I’m pregnant, and I want to go back for her baby’s one-month celebration.”

"Ahhh—my wife said so too, but I haven't been home for two years."

"Uh, I haven't been home for a year either..."

The crying and fussing rose and fell, then abruptly and awkwardly ceased.

"Stop crying," Xia Jia snapped impatiently.

The crying affected his perception.

But the crying continued unabated, as if they felt that if they stopped crying now, they would never be able to cry again later.

"I told you not to cry! I will protect you!"

Upon hearing this, the crying subsided considerably, but some children still whimpered.

Da da da.

That was the sound of leather boots stepping on fallen leaves.

Shaga knew that it was because their opponents had taken care of the others, and now it was finally their turn.

The convoy was very long, stretching for a full 40 meters, but those 20 meters made each day feel like an eternity in Xiajia.

He saw the figure shrouded in darkness approaching step by step, the blood-stained wooden knife in her hand dripping blood drop by drop.

The only distinguishable feature was the pair of eyes deep within the cloak, radiating a murderous intent.