Sure enough, coercion is followed by enticement; old tricks are usually the most effective.
But there's no such thing as a free lunch. Taking Half-Face of what he gave meant you had to do something for him, but not taking it wouldn't dispel his suspicions.
Unas searched carefully, but most of the armor here was only suitable for Dwarves, and the weapons and shields were usable but not essential. The guard of more than twenty men only had miner's pickaxes, and the others had no spare weapons, so the shortage was significant.
"What's wrong? I heard you have a storage device with a considerable capacity. What are you still hesitating about?" Half-Face urged, though it was unclear whether he meant it sincerely or not.
It's no secret that Unas has taken things out of his Spatial Bag in public on multiple occasions. Since you've said that, don't blame me for being impolite!
If you're going to take something, take the best. Unas first collected seventy spears and seventy round shields for the guards, while he himself picked out one good spare of various weapons.
In the blink of an eye, the once-full armory was half empty. Half-Face remained expressionless, though one could only wonder if he was bleeding inside.
Unas didn't dare to be too presumptuous. After taking the money, he quickly thanked them, saying, "Boss Half-Face is so generous! I'll follow you as my boss for life!"
"Hehe, I'm glad Knight Unas is satisfied," he said with Half-Face- smile, showing no sign of displeasure, and asked, "Do you know where these weapons came from?"
"Torbjorn's Arsenal; I've heard that all of Black Furnace's weapons are made there."
"That's right, so you must know that they were all obtained by trading minerals and food."
"I've also heard that newbies like me need to pay ten or even a hundred times more resources to exchange for weapons, while people of the boss's status can exchange them for equal value. I wonder if that's true."
"That was before," Half-Face sighed, Unas knew the real action was coming. "As Torbjorn's power grows stronger, he cares less and less about others. The price I, the leaders of Angerforge, and the Firerock have to pay to trade weapons with him is getting higher and higher. One day, Torbjorn will cut off our weapons supply and launch a full-scale attack on us, then dominate the entire Black Furnace."
"What does Half-Face mean... it's best to strike first?" Unas recalled the words of the Ogre Isaac.
"Yes! We absolutely cannot wait until Torbjorn's power accumulates to a point where even all of us combined cannot contend with him. We must strike first and eliminate him."
"Could it be that the Blackrock Orcs Plan to attack the Western District Dwarves was also orchestrated by several leaders?"
"That was just a smokescreen," Half-Face revealed his plan without any attempt to hide it. "In reality, it's Blackbeard-Angerforge-Firerock Joint Operation, with only one target— Torbjorn's Arsenal."
Unas immediately sensed something was wrong. The fact that he was being told such top-secret information meant he had to be involved in it.
Sure enough, Half-Face patted his arm forcefully and said, "I lack nothing, except a commander like you who can lead troops into battle. You must help me this time."
What kind of commander is this? He just wants a cannon fodder who can charge in and fight, right? But Unas knew he couldn't refuse. If he didn't agree, this guy would definitely turn on him immediately.
For Unas, war meant experience and advancement, and he was open to all challenges, only he didn't want to implicate others. "No problem, I'll definitely Charge for Half-Face Boss, but..."
"Don't hesitate to tell me if you have any problems, I promise I'll help you solve them."
"My human soldiers are too inexperienced, most of them are new recruits. They're not good at offense and they're useless at defense. They're just a hindrance. Boss, do you think we could bring fewer of them?"
"So it's such a small matter. It's all up to you, brother, haha!" Half-Face agreed. He didn't really care about the human forces anyway. The more Unas cared about these people, the less they could escape his grasp.
Unas thought to himself: I'll come alone then, let's see if you can still laugh then!
After the two left the armory, Half-Face summoned everyone else back, and the group enjoyed a pleasant lunch with wine and meat. The two Trolls who had been defeated by the Divine Storm even came over to apologize, Unas generously dismissed them.
Unas was appointed captain of the Charge by Half-Face, with Isaac Ogre, and the other half were Orcs, Trolls, and Dwarves, totaling about two hundred people. They all seemed to be muscular but not very bright.
Of course, Unas has no real command authority; the team obeys Isaac's orders, and Isaac only listens to Half-Face. Whether he will have real power in the future depends on his loyalty.
According to Half-Face, the operation will begin immediately after the trading day this week. Unas has no interest in staying here, so he made an excuse to return to human territory with Frank.
"Sir, you are indeed extraordinary. You took down those two Trolls in one go. They are both well-known henchmen in the East District," Frank said, seemingly unaware of the three-way plot to assassinate Torbjorn. He appeared to be having a good time, his face flushed and quite tipsy. "It's clear that Half-Face also wants to win you over, sir. Appointing you as captain is the best proof of that. Thanks to you, our good days are about to begin."
"Is there anything good about being in this Black Furnace?" Unas, Half-Face had been instructed to keep the joint operation a secret and had no intention of leaking it, asked Frank, "Don't you want to escape?"
"Hehe, I've been underground for three years and I've never heard of anyone successfully escaping. I do know one person who failed but survived."
"Really? What happened?"
"I heard she was a female Orcs. She was hiding in a minecart, but she was immediately exposed after being pulled up. Usually, in this situation, she would be cut in half at the waist and thrown down, but she was agile and quick-witted, dodging the capture and jumping back up unharmed."
"Then this female Orcs must have seen the defenses up there..."
"That's why she jumped back in despair."
"This female Orcs might be useful to me. Can you find her?"
"Sir, you're not really planning to run away, are you!" Frank sobered up a bit. "Hiding the ore carts is no longer a viable option. The Dark Iron Mages will set up detection barriers in the tunnels, and they'll sound an alarm if any living thing passes through. I've personally experienced several incidents where ore transport was halted because of rats."
"But I can fly, don't forget," Unas seized the opportunity to make his promise, "If I escape, I will definitely come back to rescue you."
This empty promise, however, gave Frank a glimmer of hope. "Then I'll try my best to find her for you, sir. The female Orcs seems to be in the South District; it might take a while."
"It's okay. My current abilities might be a bit lacking. Let me level up first."
"Upgrade? What's that?"
"Haha, it's nothing." Unas accidentally let it slip and had to laugh it off.
Back in his territory, Unas distributed the spears and round shields to the soldiers to continue training. He then returned to the White Cave to study the Western District Map given to him by Half-Face, which detailed the routes around the Torbjorn Arsenal. For him, who was about to Charge ahead, leading the way was also an important task.