Undercurrent

Renard was filled with emotion. "System! System! You're practically a cheat code!"

"What did you say, young master?" Though he had spoken softly, the two lackeys had heard him clearly. They just had no idea what he meant.

Renard quickly laughed it off. "Nothing. Get ready. We'll go adventuring together in a while."

"What? You're really going adventuring?" The two lackeys immediately deflated, losing all their energy.

In a villa not far from the castle, Gilbert sat at his desk, his face dark as he listened closely to a guard's report. "Old Walker handed the medal to Young Master Renard. I'm afraid this plan..."

"Bang!" Before the guard could finish, Gilbert slammed his hand on the desk and snarled in a low voice, "That damned bastard! He ruined my plan. I'll kill him with my own hands."

At the sight of his furious expression, the guard reporting the news couldn't help shivering. He cowered in a corner, waiting nervously for orders.

Half an hour later, Wilson arrived at the villa without a sound. He looked around warily. "What did you call me here for, young master?"

Although he called the other man "young master," there wasn't the slightest hint of respect on Wilson's face. His attitude was completely different from the one he'd shown on the training grounds.

"Don't worry. Everyone nearby is one of my men." Gilbert waved a hand with a gloomy expression, and the guard in the corner ran out of the office as if he'd been granted a reprieve.

He took a deep breath and spoke as calmly as he could. "The plan failed."

"The plan? What plan?" Wilson furrowed his brow slightly, as if he had no idea what the other man was talking about.

Gilbert felt as if something had caught in his throat. After a long silence, he said helplessly, "The plan involving Old Walker."

"Old Walker?" Wilson thought for a long moment before finally understanding. "You mean that lowly adventurer?"

Then his expression suddenly turned sharp. "What did you say? The plan failed? Then my medal..."

"Don't worry. It hasn't been lost." Gilbert took another deep breath, his eyes burning with frustration. "It's in Renard's hands now."

"What?" Wilson cried out in shock. His expression turned cold. "I don't know why you went to such lengths to set up Old Walker, but if anything happens to my family medal, I swear..."

"Spare me your meaningless threats." Gilbert gritted his teeth. "It's just a Medal of Merit. It's no big deal."

Before Wilson could object, he added, "You should be worried about whether I can inherit the title and the territory. If I can't, do you think you'll get anything out of it?"

Wilson's expression froze. Then, like a defeated rooster, he lowered his proud head. "I really don't understand why you're targeting Old Walker. What use is he to us?"

"Plenty." Gilbert rubbed his forehead. The pleasure he'd felt at defeating Renard had already been wiped out by this unexpected turn of events.

He got up and walked to the window, looking toward the slums, his gaze shifting restlessly. "Old Walker may be a pawn we can manipulate at will, but he can play a crucial role in certain matters."

"Such as?" Wilson asked.

Gilbert gave him a meaningful look, then sighed. "Things we can't handle directly ourselves. We can leave all of them to him."

Wilson furrowed his brow slightly. "If that's all, I know plenty of capable adventurers who could do things for us too."

"What do you know?" Gilbert's expression twisted slightly. "Old Walker isn't an ordinary adventurer. He's a core member of the Blood Knight Mercenary Group, responsible for managing the underground black market in Saint Brieuc Fortress."

The Blood Knight Mercenary Group was the strongest mercenary group in the Southern Great Wilderness, with over a thousand members. But to the Duncan Family, they were still ants that could be crushed at any moment.

Gilbert's words surprised Wilson, but only slightly. "So what?"

He was the captain of the guard in Saint Brieuc Fortress, and his family had enjoyed the Duncan Family's patronage for generations. Why would he fear a bunch of commoners?

Gilbert was taken aback by the question. Only after a long moment did he recover. In an exasperated tone, he asked, "Have you ever heard the name Regina Dawang?"

Wilson thought for a moment, then shook his head. "Never heard of her. I haven't left Saint Brieuc Fortress in a long time."

"Fine!" Gilbert felt his patience was about to run out. "If you've never heard of Regina Dawang, surely you've heard of Ray Dawang?"

Ray Dawang? Wilson's expression finally changed, growing serious. "You mean the man known as the toughest fighter in the Southern Great Wilderness?"

"Exactly!" Gilbert's eyes glinted with an inscrutable light. "Regina Dawang is his daughter."

"What does that have to do with setting a trap for Old Walker?" Wilson asked again.

Gilbert clenched his fists. He thought he'd made himself perfectly clear. Why wouldn't the other man use his pig's brain and put two and two together?

He glanced coldly at Wilson, a veiled sneer in his eyes. Sure enough, he's all brawn and no brains.

When dealing with an idiot, you had to be as blunt as possible. Gilbert stopped beating around the bush and explained, "Regina Dawang manages the underground black market in the City of Abundance, and Old Walker is her direct subordinate. The two of them are in close contact."

Gilbert sat back down and tapped his fingers lightly on the desk. "And the reason I set Old Walker up was ultimately to get close to Regina Dawang."

As he said Regina Dawang's name, an inscrutable gleam appeared in his eyes. He then took out a pocket mirror and carefully adjusted his hair.

After a while, he put the mirror away, a confident smile on his lips. "If we want to fight for the title and territory, our own strength won't be enough. I need people, and I need money. Only she can give me those."

Wilson finally understood some of it. A strange look crossed his face. The man was selling himself, yet he dressed it up in such grandiose terms. His shamelessness had to be off the charts.

A rough fellow like him had no interest in associating with someone like that. But whenever he thought of Miss Florence's alluring body, he couldn't stay true to his principles.

Wilson wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth and asked, "Now that the plan has failed, what do we do next?"

"What do we do?" Gilbert considered it briefly, then leaned close to Wilson's ear. "We..."