Unas was heading back to the East District when he was stopped halfway by a group of Dark Iron Dwarves. "The Half-Face Boss requests your presence."
When the drunken Isaac returned, he naturally couldn't provide any useful information. Half-Face was still worried about Unas and Lincoln's meeting, so he sent someone to intercept them.
"Tieshan Boss?" Unas recognized a familiar face among the group of Dwarves. This Dark Iron Dwarves had been thrown down with him and had even taken him in as a subordinate. The brand on his forehead belonged to the same Blackbeard, so it made sense that he worked under Half-Face.
"You're the boss, Boss Unas," Moreby Ironmountain stepped out from the ranks. "I didn't expect you to be so powerful. I'm just an ordinary soldier under Boss Half-Face right now, I can't be your boss."
The former infantry lieutenant seemed quite dissatisfied with his current position, Unas seized the opportunity to wink at him and said, "Want to join the Charge? I'll protect you, the benefits will be huge."
Tieshan had initially intended to refuse, as the Charge team consistently had the highest casualty rate, but seeing Unas's expression, he somehow agreed, "Okay, I'll apply to join you right away."
Unas laughed, "I promise you won't be disappointed."
After all, they're friends, so saving one is better than nothing, and his identity might still be of some use to me.
The group escorted Unas to Half-Face's residence before leaving. Unas was then led by the guards into the cave they had visited before, where only Half-Face and Isaac were present.
The Ogre, soaking wet, finally regained his senses after being doused with several buckets of water, and sat dejectedly on the edge of the platform where Half-Face had been.
"Unas, you're not doing a very good job as the Charge team leader. You're always running around but never even glance at me. Is the South District that attractive?" Half-Face didn't mince words and directly expressed his dissatisfaction.
Unas smiled wryly, "Who told me to have such bad luck these past two days, running into nothing but misfortune?"
"I heard you stole a group of Gnolls from the Orcs, and even took in an Orcs, claiming they were originally your subordinates?"
"That's right. We suddenly acquired several Troll mines, and we're short-handed. I wanted to supplement our workforce. As for my subordinates, how could a Paladin like me have Gnolls as subordinates? That's just an excuse." Unas said, spouting a fabricated lie.
"This is different from what I've heard. Not only can you call them by their names, but they also call you master. Everyone present heard this with their own ears."
"Slander! This is an insult to me. How could Paladin allow a lowly Gnoll to be his servant? Absolutely not." Unas hadn't expected the information Half-Face had received to be so detailed, so Unas could only firmly deny it, since the Dwarf wasn't actually present.
Half-Face couldn't immediately tell whether the information was wrong or the human in front of him was lying, so he changed the subject. "Let's put that aside for now. What did you do in the South District yesterday? Why did Lincoln invite you today? Don't tell me it's because he's grateful for your destruction of the Smolderthorn Trolls; only a three-year-old would believe that reason."
"I went to the South District to see a female Orcs named Keira. She's Lincoln's lover, it's a little secret, so she didn't show up before Isaac got drunk," Unas said, half-truthfully. "We had a little disagreement, and Lincoln invited me to mediate."
What contradiction?
"It was nothing, I accidentally beat up a few of her Orcs, and she stole something from me," Unas paused, "But it's all over now."
After a moment of contemplation, Half-Face suddenly laughed and said, "I see. It seems I misunderstood you. Isaac, take your captain back."
Unas didn't believe he could be fooled so easily. Half-Face must still be suspicious, but he didn't care. Lincoln's power was in no way inferior to Half-Face's, and the Dwarves wouldn't dare to attack him before they found out the truth.
As soon as Isaac and Unas left, Half-Face's confidants emerged one after another from the secret chamber below the platform.
"Boss, Lincoln wouldn't take action over something so trivial. There must be more to the story!" someone immediately said.
"According to our intelligence, this kid isn't telling the truth at all. He's just giving the boss the runaround; he must have already betrayed us!"
"Boss, just give the order, and I'll immediately lead my men to arrest that kid and torture him severely. I'm not afraid we won't be able to get him to talk!"
His trusted advisors offered suggestions one after another, Half-Face waved his hand, "No matter what they do, as long as we keep an eye on that human kid, he won't escape my grasp!"
With the boss's order, the men acted immediately, and the number of people monitoring Unas quickly increased several times over.
The Paladin, unaware of what was happening, returned to his territory. Hart and Raymond, whom Luther had recommended, immediately came to report for duty, and he led them to his room.
"For the next few days, you will stay close to me at all times and be ready for battle at any moment," Unas, pulling out a pile of weapons from his bag. "Pick a few that you're comfortable with."
Hart joked, "Is this your bodyguard, sir?"
"Similarly, but much more difficult than bodyguarding. I heard from Luther that you are the most reliable people. You must help me complete this operation; if successful, the rewards will be astonishing."
Both were curious about the mission, but Unas remained tight-lipped. Only after Gelasi arrived did he instruct, "Let's first practice how to defend a small area with a diameter of two meters."
Unas had some stones brought over and arranged them on the ground to resemble the opening of a well. The four of them then began to practice. This method made the two young men have some vague suspicions, and they immediately threw themselves into the training with excitement.
Three days of calm passed in a flash, and the water in the central hot spring finally receded completely. Today is trading day.
Yesterday, the convoys of the various bosses traveled all over the Black Furnace to collect their respective ores. Unas also obediently handed over this week's production in four portions according to the number of people. Although he had decided to escape, he still had to pretend to be normal.
These past few days, aside from training with the three, Unas has spent the rest of his time reporting to Half-Face's territory to allay the Dwarves ' suspicions, but the effect doesn't seem to be very good. As soon as he leaves human territory, he always feels like someone is watching him from all sides.
On every trading day, the Central District is sealed off, and unauthorized personnel are not allowed to enter. The four bosses will personally be present to oversee the operation and prevent anyone from causing trouble and leaving everyone without food.
To check on the details of the deal, Unas skipped training today and headed straight for Half-Face's territory with his trio as soon as he got up. The Dwarves had already agreed to take him to the Central District to broaden his horizons.
The central hole of the Half-Face territory was filled with mine carts bearing the Blackbeard family crest, loaded with various minerals collected yesterday. Unas also contributed two carts of Dark Iron and more than thirty carts of ordinary iron ore.