Broad World

The second floor of the headquarters of the Shadow Thieves Guild.

Renault Bloodhead was frowning and checking the ledger. A large number of numbers written in red ink on it looked shocking, obviously representing a loss. Ever since the vampires came to Askatla, the entire Shadow Thieves Guild has been operating in debt. If it weren't for the strong family background, they might not even be able to pay their salaries.

Now that the vampires have been wiped out, even their secret bases have been uprooted, but their operations have not improved. Guilds that have lost more than half of their territory cannot guarantee a balance of income and expenditure, and even some places continue to invest a lot of gold coins , For example, training newcomers, or cultivating mages belonging to the guild, maybe it will really not last in a few months.

A few minutes later, a middle-aged accountant wearing unilateral glasses handed over a note and said, "Bloodhead, we lost another five thousand gold coins this month. You have to think of a way, or get some money back." The site, or find a few wealthy businessmen to start, or the guild will soon be dragged down by these debts..."

"Damn it! Tell me which area has a problem this month? Why has the business resumed, but the income has decreased instead." Renault interrupted his subordinate's suggestion roughly and asked.

It's not that he doesn't want to take back the territory, but that he can't. If the agreement signed at the beginning is leaked out, the other heads of the Shadow Council will immediately send killers to clean up the traitors without waiting a few months. As for robbing wealthy businessmen, it is not so easy. At the beginning, the noble goddess did not give anyone or family dominance in the country of Amn, so here it is completely adhering to the four words that money is omnipotent.

Basically, all merchants who are wealthy to a certain extent have the title of nobility, and they employ a large number of guards at home, and even invite masked mages. None of them are easy to mess with at all, and if they fail, they will cause the entire upper class to social backlash. At that time, no matter how close the relationship between Shadow Thief and the council is, it will inevitably be rectified, which is completely outweighed by the gain.

As a person who has been behind the scenes for many years, Renault Bloodhead neither wants to be killed, nor does he want to be warned by the Council of Six, so he can only grit his teeth and hold on, hoping that Askatla's economic situation will improve. Drive those underground casinos, brothels, and smuggling trade to make a lot of money.

But it's a pity, maybe he is a good hand in managing gangs, but he is far behind in terms of management. It was better when there was no competition before, but now Robert introduced a new service concept, which completely crushed the ancient gang economy in one fell swoop.

The red ones on the accounts show that in this bloodless competition, the Shadow Thief's set failed very thoroughly. If it weren't for Robert's strict subordinates to engage in "businesses" such as narcotics and kidnapping and extortion, every The monthly deficit could be even bigger.

The middle-aged accountant explained with a slight sigh: "I'm sorry, although our business has resumed, few people patronize the most profitable business places in the past. Most rich people are attracted by the special entertainment controlled by another guild. Their service is better than ours. They also have more tricks than ours. If we don’t apply some means, we will not be rivals in normal competition.”

"Okay. That's it for today, you can all go out." Seeing his boss's ugly face, Akanis immediately ended the topic, and waved everyone to leave.

He is very clear that although the guild controlled by Henry still obeys the orders of the Shadow Thief on the surface, it is actually self-contained. If they want to take back the territory, they have to prepare for another underground war. With the current situation of Shadow Thieves, let alone an underground war. Just a terrifying legendary mage can make this building disappear from the map in minutes.

After everyone left, Bloodhead took a deep breath, swept the ledger on the table to the ground, and cursed loudly: "Damn! Damn! Damn! If this goes on, the Shadow Council will definitely become suspicious! Go find Anisha, just say I need to talk to the people behind her."

Arcanis nodded helplessly: "No problem, I'll do it right away. But I don't think this kind of negotiation can achieve any results. After all, the other party has neither violated any agreement, nor is it grabbing business in our territory."

"No, they have already robbed them. Look at the way those entertainment venues operate. Even if we work hard for a few years, we may not be able to catch up." Bloody violently smashed the table, venting his dissatisfaction. He is very clear about the virtues of those bosses under him. Thank God they don't take the initiative to blackmail customers, let alone improve their service attitude.

"Perhaps... you should really consider looting a few wealthy businessmen. I can do it myself and guarantee that the target will disappear without a trace." Akanis suggested in a low voice. There was a sharp light in his eyes. There is no doubt that he is ready to kill and silence.

As a legendary thief, as long as he wants. You can visit anywhere except the mage tower at any time, even the major temples and council buildings can't stop it. But once such a terrible burglary happened, the council and the major temples would immediately target Arcanis himself, because he was the only suspect in this city.

Renault didn't want his most capable men to take risks at all, so he waved his hand without hesitation: "No, it's not yet here. First of all, we need to negotiate. I believe the other party needs one as a cover, otherwise they will be destroyed in the vampire's lair." They would have started eradicating us long ago.”

As soon as the words fell, there was a sudden fluctuation in the air, followed by a voice: "Yes, your analysis is very good. I never thought of killing you, at least not yet."

Speaking of Henry's figure slowly appeared. With a playful smile on his face, he squatted down and picked up a book of bad debts, flipped through a few pages and joked, "Wow, that's really shocking, it seems that you're a little tight these days. How about it, do you want me to give you a few pages?" Can you introduce some business that can make a lot of money?"

Arcanis tensed all his muscles instantly to block his boss behind him, and asked cautiously, "When did you come in! And how did you escape those traps and guards in the corridor?"

You must know that the headquarters of the Shadow Thieves Guild is not a shopping mall. Anyone can come and leave as they want. There are a lot of magic traps and anti-invisibility devices, not to mention there is an elf hound behind the stairs. .

This magical creature almost as big as a pony has thick green hair, brown spots on its back, terrifying claws that can tear apart a full-grown brown bear, and its hearing and vision are exceptionally developed. The dark night where you can't reach your fingers can still be seen clearly. In addition, it can also resist charm control, and its sprint speed is five times that of leopards. Almost no one can pass in front of them without making a sound.

But obviously, all this is nothing to the legendary mage, otherwise, even if any trap is triggered, the guild headquarters should be alarmed now.

Seeing that the two looked like they were facing a big enemy, Henry said with a playful smile: "Relax, we are allies, although we are not very close, but as long as this cooperative relationship is not terminated for a day, I will not treat you You start. In addition, the alarm system here should be upgraded, it is not strong enough to resist powerful spellcasters. Don't worry, that elf hound is very loyal, but it is not good enough in front of the children of nature."

"Damn it! When I bought it, the elf said that this kind of hound can resist most charm control spells. It seems that he lied to me." Bloodhead cursed through gritted teeth.

"No, he didn't lie to you. Pay attention to the wording, it is resistance rather than immunity. Elf hounds are indeed like their owners, they have natural resistance against controlling charm spells, but once the power of the spellcaster exceeds a certain limit, then this kind of resistance will become dispensable." After speaking, Henry sat down on the soft sofa unceremoniously, picked up the kettle and poured himself a cup of hot water and sipped.

To be honest, he was also taken aback when he saw the elven hound at the top of the stairs, but fortunately, the legendary Druid's unique closeness to animals made him hesitate for a second, and then he was completely defeated by the second-level magic "charm animal". control. It would be a shame if he escaped all kinds of dangerous traps and was exposed because of a dog in the end.

Of course, the elf hound is not strictly a dog, but a medium-sized magical beast, and its lifespan is longer than that of most humans, and it can usually live to be over a hundred years old. It is the best fighting partner of elves. It is said that the teeth of these guys can easily crush bones, and a few strong orc warriors can bite to death.

But Henry felt that a dog was a dog, and no matter how powerful it was, it was still a beast. If it was accidentally bitten, its reputation would be ruined. It is precisely because of this that he despises Mask, the God of Thieves who was hunted down by the Chaos Demon Dog Kezef, and Tyre, the God of Justice who also had a hand bitten off.

After a few minutes of silence, Xuetou finally regained his composure and left the protection of Arcanis. He stood up and asked tentatively, "What's the matter with you this time? Don't tell me you just passed by to say hello."

"Of course not, this time I came here specially to find you for further cooperation, and by the way, restore the bad financial situation to normal, otherwise the Shadow Council will find out the little secret between us in a few months." Henry said nothing. He did not hide his intentions. He still has a lot of work to do today, so he doesn't have time to play guessing games with this old fritter here.

"Conditions? Or what do I need to pay? You should know the creed of the shadow thief. There is nothing free in this world. The reason why there is no charge is because the interest is being calculated. I don't want to die because I can't pay the interest one day. It's not clear, so everything must be done according to the normal transaction process." The bloody head didn't talk nonsense, and directly clarified the words.

His top priority now is to stabilize the situation as soon as possible, otherwise once the members of the Shadow Council become suspicious, it will be a lot of fun at that time.

"No problem, according to the old rules, pay as much as you get, I promise you will not regret this transaction." After speaking, the corners of Henry's mouth slightly turned up, showing a meaningful smile all the way. He can already foresee that it won't be long before he can control the entire underground economy of Askatra and become the real king of the night in this city. (to be continued ~^~)