Bilgewater's Red Hat Mage

Pero watched Bagana leave with his men, feeling deeply unsettled. If Red Hat attacked again now, their losses would be far greater than this. Pero had held back during this assault, keeping his elite troops out of it. Bagana had done the same, bringing only a few hundred men whose actual impact was minimal. Pero smiled. "This time wasn't a complete waste. I refuse to believe you can stay awake all day and night!"

Pero made up his mind to carry out an assassination that night. Red Hat didn't just excel at gathering intelligence; when necessary, they sent assassins to deal their enemies a fatal blow!

Although Bagana hadn't accomplished much, Pero's men had learned about the Dark Sea Throne's land requisition plans and its manpower.

Watching Red Hat's men retreat, Jiang Chuan smiled at Kendi. "Red Hat won't let this go. Tell everyone in the First Army to use the Shift System while sleeping tonight. Someone must be watching the front lines every minute. The same goes for the people in the bunkers. Also, go ask Sarah for some people to transport supplies. Her people have experience with that."

"Yes, President," Kendi said. "What should we do about the Slums? Those damned bastards come asking for food every day, as if we're supposed to keep them fed!"

Jiang Chuan smiled. "This was part of the plan. Once people get used to free food, their appetites will only grow. Tell them the food was bought with the Iron Anchor Gang's money after we defeated them. If they want to keep eating for free, they can help the Dark Sea Throne take down Red Hat. Otherwise, they can spend the rest of their lives as pathetic wretches in the Slums."

Kendi nodded. "Yes, President!"

After Kendi left, Jiang Chuan went alone to Novia's Tavern and ordered a drink. "Any news lately?"

Novia shook her head. "The only news lately is what you did at Red Hat Headquarters. You left dozens of heads scattered across Red Hat's streets. Now everyone in the Tavern calls the Dark Sea Throne the Undead Army of the Deep. You have no idea how wild the stories are."

Jiang Chuan smiled. "That's perfect. Help me spread the word in the Tavern. Tell people how terrifying the Dark Sea Throne is—monsters from the deep, man-eating devils, whatever you like. The more outlandish, the better. Things with Red Hat are already slipping beyond my control. The Dark Sea Throne can't fight other gangs on a large scale yet, so I can only make our enemies too afraid to oppose us."

Novia asked, puzzled, "Can't you mass-produce the weapons you have?"

"It's not that I can't," Jiang Chuan said. "I need too many things, and I need time to develop the Dark Sea Throne. But the storm is already gathering, and Gangplank won't give me that much time. Bloodfang Island hasn't been discovered yet, so the Dark Sea Throne can still hold out for a while. There's plenty of construction left to do on the island, and production of the new weapons has hit a bottleneck. All I can do is spread rumors and make our enemies stop in their tracks."

Novia frowned. "A lot of Bilgewater's gangs have stopped their activities lately and are holed up in their own territory, as if they're waiting for an opportunity."

Jiang Chuan nodded. "I know. The conflict between the Dark Sea Throne and Red Hat has already begun to spread. Gangplank might even come to Red Hat's aid. Those people are waiting for their chance to kill Gangplank and seize the title of Bilgewater's overlord!"

Novia said uneasily, "Then Black Rose will definitely back a faction to compete with the other gangs for that position. When that happens, they'll surely call on me."

Jiang Chuan smiled. "That's nothing to worry about. I'm just afraid Black Rose won't show up!"

Most of Black Rose's members were mages. Jiang Chuan's experiments had shown that Kayn could only build up energy to transform by absorbing it from mages. Mages were hard to come by in Bilgewater, and unless they chose to reveal themselves, no one could tell they were mages. But Jiang Chuan had heard that Red Hat had a mage named Red Demon, who was deeply concealed. No one had ever seen him. He only appeared to save Red Hat when they faced grave difficulties. Jiang Chuan had decided to use this mage to increase Kayn's energy, and hoped he would provide plenty.

Jiang Chuan said, "When riots break out in Bilgewater, you can stay on my island. You'll be safe there. I'm heading out. Red Hat is still keeping a close eye on me."

Novia smiled. "I'll be waiting for good news."

Jiang Chuan waved and left the Tavern. When he reached an alley, he said, "One of my enemies has a mage. If you kill him, you'll be able to master this scythe more skillfully. But he's very well hidden. Can you find him?"

Kayn emerged from Jiang Chuan's shadow. "Can you narrow down his location? One of the Shadow Order's training exercises is sensing magical energy. I can sense any mage nearby."

Jiang Chuan smiled. "Good. I'll take you to Red Hat Headquarters in a moment. Sneak inside and find that mage. With your Shadow Magic, infiltrating a gang's headquarters should be no problem, right?"

Kayn smiled. "You underestimate Shadow Magic."

Jiang Chuan smiled. "Then I have nothing to worry about. Let's go."

Kayn returned to Jiang Chuan's shadow. Jiang Chuan arrived at Red Hat Headquarters, which still hadn't recovered from the First Army's rampage. Workers were everywhere, repairing the walls and streets. Jiang Chuan smiled. "Looks like last time's results were pretty good."

Jiang Chuan walked to the entrance of Red Hat Headquarters. No one noticed the shadow slipping from beneath his feet and entering the building...

Seeing that Kayn had made it inside, Jiang Chuan smiled. "Pero, let's see how you handle this. I'm sure you'll love this surprise."

Pero was sitting in his office when a sudden chill ran down his spine. He looked at Tao Yang outside and frowned. "Why did I suddenly get the chills? Has the Dark Sea Throne made another move?"

Pero went down to the basement, where a white-bearded old man sat in the main room. Pero bowed. "Teacher, have you settled in comfortably?"

The Old Mage smiled. "Pero, you jest. I'm comfortable anywhere. Have you run into trouble?"

Pero smiled. "You really can't hide anything from me, Teacher. I have a powerful enemy, and I have no choice but to ask for your help."

The Old Mage stood up. "My child, I divined yesterday that great turmoil is coming to Bilgewater. No one will escape unscathed. A storm of blood and chaos will ravage the city, and countless bodies will sink to the seabed. I saw you sink into the deep as well. Pero, perhaps you should stop."

Pero said helplessly, "Teacher, you know how powerful the World Rune is. I can't even cast an ordinary fireball anymore. I need the power of the World Rune."

The Old Mage stroked Pero's head. "My child, no matter what you become, you'll always be my best student. I'll help you this once, but remember: when the storm comes, you must stop."

Pero bowed. "I'll follow your teachings, Teacher."