Er's Request

Chapter Twenty-Five: Er's Plea

It was after that Earth Dragon incident that Lorist's view of Er changed. In the subsequent few adventuring journeys, the two cooperated seamlessly. As their understanding deepened, Lorist and Er became close friends who could talk about anything.

Time really flies. I was only nineteen that year, and now I'm twenty-four. Five years is enough for Lorist to grow from a clumsy rookie who often made a fool of himself and caused trouble into an experienced, unflappable veteran mercenary.

What's wrong with me tonight? Why do I keep recalling the past? Perhaps it's the casual way Wenna left just now and the inevitable breakup tonight that's making me so sentimental. After all, it was four years of feelings. No matter how determined I am, the lingering attachment in my heart is hard to let go. Maybe only as time slowly passes will I gradually forget her. I hope that when the sun rises tomorrow, it will be a brand new beginning.

"Why are you here? Come to see my misery?" Lorist touched his face. Thankfully, he hadn't cried, or Er would have laughed at him again.

"Giro, who sells fruit, said you were back, so of course I had to come see. I originally thought it would be a difficult, heart-wrenching farewell, a reunion of old flames, a pouring out of hearts, and finally, a passionate night together. Who knew the man would be heartless, and the woman so decisive, just parting ways like that. So disappointing." Er was still the same, full of nonsense.

"Heh, I'm really sorry to have disappointed you," Lorist chuckled lightly.

"It's fine. Big brother knows you don't have the talent of a singer, so it's understandable you can't perform. By the way, what's with that duel notice posted everywhere these past two days? I was planning to go to the academy tomorrow to ask Fatty Shi about it," Er asked.

"It's nothing major. The dean, Levens, that old geezer, made a bet with all the other academies in the academy district. He bet whether I could defeat the Silver instructors from those academies. Then the old geezer wanted to make some extra money and boost the academy's reputation, so he had Fatty Shi post duel notices everywhere." Lorist briefly explained how Dean Levens had pushed him into this big pit.

Er didn't sympathize with his younger brother's predicament. Instead, he was a little excited. "So, this is a good opportunity to make money! Should we set up a betting pool? We can bet on how many matches you'll win. I believe we'll be rolling in dough."

Lorist gave a wry smile. What kind of scoundrel friends did he have? Not a single word of comfort, but only thinking about how to make a fortune from this. Really. So he poured cold water on Er. "Don't even think about the academy district. Dean Levens, that old fox, must have made arrangements long ago. He's more thoughtful than you. He wouldn't let such a good opportunity to make money slip by. Perhaps the entire Molent City is within his calculations. If you want to set up a betting pool, at most you can open a small one in a tavern. After the cut and the bribes, there won't be as much profit as you imagine."

"A tavern is fine too. Molent City has forty-eight districts, plus three newly established communities, and twenty-seven bosses. I just need a tavern in each district and community to set up a betting pool. If those bosses are easy to talk to, I'll give them ten percent. If they don't cooperate, I'll make them regret it. Big brother wants his subordinates to become independent, and I've been looking for positions to arrange for them. As for that old fox of a dean, no matter how clever he is, he has to follow the rules. Big brother will set the prize money for the betting pool high. How can his official bets compare to my underground ones? We'll see whose betting pool is more attractive then." Er became excited as he spoke, eager to get started.

Lorist sighed inwardly. Five years ago, Er was so nonchalant. Although he was a gang boss, he didn't manage anything, only wanting to go out adventuring and become a famous mercenary legend. Now, he had a commanding presence, was steady in his dealings, and had an excellent eye for seizing opportunities. He was becoming more and more like a true gang boss. It seemed that not only he, but also his friends, had changed to varying degrees over these five years.

"If you do it this way, you really can carve out a big piece of this pie. But haven't you considered my feelings? Brother is being forced to duel. If I'm in a bad mood and my hands slip, it's hard to say whether I'll win or lose."

"Heh, if others are unreliable, can't big brother still rely on his own brother? If you lose, that would be a huge joke. Big brother's Dark Attribute Battle Qi is a bit difficult to train. It's only reached Silver Two-star in these past few years, not as good as Fatty, who's already Silver Three-star. Not to mention anything else, in Molent City, there aren't many Silver Rank mercenaries and swordsmen we take seriously. But under your command, neither of us has ever won a match. And that time we fought you together, we only lasted about a hundred moves. Brother, I wouldn't believe you'd lose to a Silver Rank even if you killed me," Er said, more confident than Lorist himself.

Lorist rolled his eyes.

"Alright, brother. Big brother won't let you work for nothing. How about this, I'll give you ten percent of the betting pool. No? Fifteen percent, still shaking your head? At most twenty percent, no more, brother. Big brother still has to handle the bribes, and I have so many people to feed." Er said.

"Okay, deal," Lorist lazily extended a hand. "Tomorrow, go find Fatty Shi yourself. Ask him for the duel schedule and information on the challengers. These can be used as hype to attract bets. Also, don't forget Fatty Shi needs a cut too."

"I know. At most ten percent for him, plus your twenty percent, one to two percent for bribes, ten percent for those bosses, and ten percent for tavern staff. That way, big brother will still have thirty to forty percent left. It's not a wasted effort." Er slapped Lorist's outstretched palm hard. Thinking of the large sum of gold coins about to fall into his pocket, his mood brightened.

"En, Locke, big brother forgot about two other things I needed to talk to you about. I got so carried away talking about the betting pool that I forgot. Right, I found you an apprentice." Er frowned, thinking hard before remembering.

"What? You found me an apprentice? Are you kidding me?" Lorist was startled by Er's words. Come on, look at how old I am. Being a master isn't a joke, is it?

"This..." Er hesitated for a moment, scratching his head in distress. "It's not really a master, just let him stay by your side and give him some pointers when you have time. Just think of him as an extra attendant or servant. Let him do all the hard and dirty work. Anyway, the kid is tall and strong, so it won't be difficult for him."

Hearing Er say this, Lorist became interested. "Tell me, what's going on?"

Er said, "Alright, brother Locke, you know the situation with our brothers. Here's what happened..."

Lorist had known how Er became a gang boss years ago. Over twenty years ago, Er's father and mother were both Gold Swordsmen, the leaders of a famous mercenary group. But twenty years ago, Er's parents led their mercenary group to the Battle of White Deer Town. That battle saw the Krissen Empire's only Sword Saint fall on the battlefield, but the Forde Commercial Alliance also paid a heavy price, suffering extremely heavy casualties. The mercenary group led by Er's parents was almost wiped out. Er's mother died on the battlefield, and his father, severely wounded, lingered for a few years before also passing away. The mercenary group was left with only Er's uncle, Garilando, the sole Gold Swordsman, and a few Silver Rank mercenaries. Garilando had also injured his thigh's blood vessels, becoming a cripple, unable to advance to Gold Two-star for the rest of his life.

With only these few remaining members, the mercenary group could no longer sustain itself and had to be disbanded. Fortunately, before the battle, Er's parents had considered the worst-case scenario and made thorough arrangements for the families of the mercenary group's members. All the relatives of the mercenary group lived in the same district. Although the mercenary group was gone, the families who had lost loved ones took care of each other. Moreover, Molent City provided generous compensation for these fallen mercenaries, relieving them of worries about food and clothing.

Garilando opened the Red Raven Tavern, also to facilitate the care and education of the children left behind by the mercenary group's brothers. He placed his hopes on these children, anticipating that they would grow up and re-establish the mercenary group's banner. Among these children, Er was the undisputed leader, firstly because he was the oldest, secondly because he had the highest combat power, and thirdly because he was good at leading these younger brothers and sisters, having grown up following him.

As the children grew older and Er was about to graduate from Dawnlight Academy, Garilando was filled with joy. The day to re-establish the mercenary group seemed not far off. However, man proposes, and fate disposes. An incident occurred that pushed Er into the position of gang boss.

The Forde Commercial Alliance handing over district management to underground organizations was a very peculiar policy. Although this policy gave most underground organizations' bosses a chance to go from black to white and reduced various criminal cases and conflicts between underground organizations, not all bosses abided by the agreements. The district where Er and his group lived happened to have such a boss.

The usual taxes and management fees were much higher than in other districts, but that's not the point. This gang boss also came up with creative new charges, such as laundry fees, land occupation fees, road depreciation fees, and so on. As a result, the entire district protested, nearly leading to a riot. The area where Er and his group lived was the most united. Not only did they refuse the gang boss's unreasonable levies, but they also beat up the organization members who came to collect the fees and sent them to the infirmary. They were all young people, impulsive, which was understandable.

But the gang boss didn't think so. He believed that the district where Er and his group lived was a model for the entire district, and it was Er and his group who led everyone to oppose him. This made the gang boss see Er and his group as a thorn in his side, wishing he could get rid of them quickly. At this time, a subordinate brought him news that further enraged the gang boss. It was rumored that the people of the entire district were preparing to launch a petition and protest at the year-end district review meeting to force the city hall to dismiss his organization's management of the district.

This was unbearable! The gang boss jumped up. How much public relations expenses had he paid to get management of this district? He hadn't even recouped his costs yet. How could this be allowed? The minds of gangsters aren't always sharp. After much thought, the gang boss came up with an idea: kill the chicken to scare the monkeys. As for the chicken, Er and his group were the obvious choice.

However, the strength of the gang boss's subordinates alone was no match for Er and his group, let alone the fact that they had a Gold Swordsman behind them. The gang boss was also reluctant to spend a lot of money hiring people, so he actually had his subordinates sneak into the residential area in the middle of the night with buckets of oil to set fires, planning to burn Er and his group to death and then blame it on the fire.

Never mind how terrible this idea was. The problem was that the gang boss's subordinate was discovered as soon as he reached Er's place. After a beating and some coercion, the subordinate told them everything. This caused a sensation throughout the entire district. The residents surrounded the gang boss's residence all night, leaving no room to move. The gang boss couldn't escape. After being captured by Er and his group, he was still defiant. As a result, the enraged residents swarmed him, and before Er and his group could react, the gang boss was finished.

With the gang boss's organization gone, what about the management of the district? The elders with prestige from dozens of districts discussed it, and decided that Er should take over. Thus, Er lived up to expectations and became the gang boss.

Having become a gang boss against his will, Er was naturally unwilling and didn't want to manage anything. But his unwillingness couldn't stop his brothers. Each of them was enthusiastic and capable, handling everything smoothly, even without Er's worry. By the end of the year, Er discovered that he was even responsible for managing the two neighboring districts. Thus, the foundation of the future mercenary group that Gold Swordsman Garilando had placed so much hope on became a district organization, and the most vibrant and promising one in Molent City.

When the mercenary group disbanded years ago, a Silver Swordsman was very close to Garilando. He was from the Roman Empire and planned to return home after surviving the battlefield. When they parted, Garilando told him his plan, hoping that the brothers' children could re-establish the mercenary group's banner in the future. Three months ago, a young beggar from the Roman Empire came to find Garilando. The old man asked, only to learn that it was the son of his old friend, that Silver Swordsman.

Garilando then learned that the Silver Swordsman had died last year. His old friend's hometown was a remote village. After returning home, the Silver Swordsman became the village's captain of the guard, got married two years later, and then had the young beggar before him. Two years ago, an epidemic broke out in the village, and the beggar's parents couldn't avoid it. First, the mother died. The Silver Swordsman held on for another six months. Before he died, he instructed his child to find Garilando and join the mercenary group.

It took this child half a year to travel from the Roman Empire to Molent City. In fact, it would only take less than half a month by long-distance public carriage. But the child didn't know, so he walked the entire way. When he ran out of money, he did odd jobs for food, and slept outside inns or in haystacks at night. It was truly not easy to travel for half a year without being captured by those wicked slave owners and sold into slavery. Upon arriving in Molent City, he asked where the district where the mercenary's relatives lived was. Once in the district, he asked for Garilando, and was then led to the old man.

Hearing the beggar's journey, the old man's eyes welled up with tears. He not only treated him to good food and drink but also instructed Er to treat the child as his own brother. However, when the child learned that Er and his group had not established a mercenary group but had become a social organization, he started to act up and adamantly refused to follow Er and his group. So, going to school would be fine, right? Well, he returned tonight, bringing back the notice of expulsion from the academy because he had beaten up all his classmates.

"This is already the third primary academy. We were hoping he'd enroll in Dawnlight Academy in a year. But now it seems impossible. The old man asked him what he wanted to learn, and he said he wanted to learn swordsmanship, become a great mercenary, and adventure all over the world. But the problem isn't whether he wants to learn, but whether he has the talent..."

Er kept complaining, "This kid grew up in a mountain village, playing in the forests all day. His parents were also very lenient with him, so he's too wild and very stubborn. Sometimes his mind is just set on one thing and he won't turn back. Take learning swordsmanship, for example. I think giving him a wooden stick would be more threatening than him holding a large iron sword. He's only sixteen this year, already Bronze Two-star in Battle Qi, and he's very tall, looking like he's in his early twenties. He's also very strong. He should be good material for martial arts, but you'd never guess that this kid is incredibly clumsy with a sword. You teach him one move, and within ten minutes, he'll forget all the newly learned sword moves. He holds a sword like he's wielding a wooden stick, just swinging it around randomly. It's enough to drive you mad."

"Even the old man can't do anything about him now, which is why I thought of you. If anyone can teach him swordsmanship, I think it's you," Er said.

Lorist chuckled twice. "Old Gar is a Gold Swordsman! He couldn't teach that kid swordsmanship, so what can I, a Black Iron, do?"

"You're different, brother Locke. Your swordsmanship is much better than my old uncle's. Just do this as a favor to big brother. If after he's with you for a while you find he's not material for swordsmanship, you can send him back," Er pleaded.

Lorist pondered for a moment, then nodded. "Alright, if he's not cut out for swordsmanship, I'll have him find you."

Note: In Molent City, large academies like Dawnlight Academy are not accessible just by signing up. One must pass some simple entrance exams to confirm that students have a certain cultural foundation before they can attend school. Therefore, many one-year primary academies have sprung up in Molent City, much like the college entrance examination cram schools in Lorist's previous life, specializing in strengthening and consolidating students' basic cultural knowledge so that they can successfully pass the entrance exams and enter larger academies.