Cloak Society! The Dark Goblin Borrowing the Tiger's Might

The Dark Goblin stared in terror at the "stupid registrar" gripping his throat, unable to fathom how this weak human possessed such immense strength. However, the combat power of Dark Goblins was at the very bottom of the Demon Realm, even worse than a Lesser Devil. Their specialties lay in craftsmanship and minor tricks; aside from a rare few with exceptional innate talents who managed to get ahead, they generally served only as handymen or laborers.

With Chen Rui's current true strength, he could have snapped the Dark Goblin's neck with a single squeeze, but he didn't do so, merely tossing the fellow aside.

The Dark Goblin tumbled to the ground, clutching his throat and coughing loudly, looking on in shock as the human with a cold sneer approached step by step.

"Trying to play these little tricks in front of me? Don't you know whose apprentice I am?" To cover up the existence of the Super System, Chen Rui skillfully used his comrade Aldas as a shield, which was, in a sense, a case of borrowing another's authority to intimidate.

Only then did the Dark Goblin realize what a ridiculous mistake he had made, blinded by greed, to use medicinal powder against the apprentice of a master alchemist! And a master who could poison a dragon to death with some kind of gas, no less!

"Let me think about how to deal with you. Should I poison you into a pile of ash, or a puddle of water?"

The Dark Goblin recalled the rumor that this apprentice had once made a guy scream for two whole days, and he shivered violently, his entire body beginning to tremble.

To Chen Rui's surprise, the goblin, known for his cowardice, didn't cower. Instead, he gritted his teeth and risked it all: "You... don't you dare! I am with the Cloak Society. If you dare to poison me, our leader will never let you off!"

The Cloak Society? Was this a gang in Darkmoon City? No wonder they wore small cloaks to act mysterious.

Chen Rui pondered for a moment and asked, "Who is your leader?"

At the mention of this, the Dark Goblin's confidence surged: "My leader is an incredible powerhouse! With just one hand, he almost sent the famous thug Gangke of Darkmoon City to his grave! Just yesterday, Gangke even came over while injured and very politely asked for the hammer that our leader had confiscated."

Gangke? A hammer? Why did this plot sound so familiar to Chen Rui? He listened as the Dark Goblin displayed a prideful, fox-borrowing-the-tiger's-might attitude: "The great name of our Cloak Society leader is Agulie!"

Hearing this famous name, Chen Rui instantly turned to stone.

Chen Rui recalled the scene when he had just obtained his initial evolution and saved that pair of goblin father and daughter in the alley, and the black lines on his forehead grew more numerous.

What was it called to pull a tiger's skin to make a banner? What was fox-borrowing-the-tiger's-might? This was the true pinnacle of the art!

Compared to this, his own use of Aldas's name was merely a drop in the ocean.

Seeing Chen Rui's stunned expression, the Dark Goblin assumed the human registrar was terrified by his leader's name and dropped another bombshell: "Let me tell you, my cousin Sasa is the beloved concubine of our leader!"

Chen Rui shook violently, as if struck by lightning. The image of Miss Sasa's beauty surfaced in his mind, and his heart began to twitch violently. That appearance... it was certainly unique in its own way!

He asked himself, since being reborn into the Demon Realm, he had indeed had normal male fantasies about some beauties: the iceberg-like eldest princess and female boss Shea was one, that bewitching and deadly enchantress Jia was another, and the heroic and enthusiastic Athena also counted.

As for Miss Sasa, perhaps she was considered a beauty among goblins, or perhaps guys with heavy tastes like Gangke liked her, but he, Chen Rui, absolutely, positively, definitely never had any such thoughts!

Not in the past! Not now! And certainly not in the future!

Yet, this very goblin lady had inexplicably declared herself his concubine. And, right, there was that damned adjective—"beloved"!

He had seen forced sales, but never a maid or concubine forcibly claiming a master! His reputation as a virgin for two lifetimes had been torn to shreds without his knowledge!

The Dark Goblin was about to continue his intimidation when he saw the human registrar charge over fiercely and grab his hand: "Take me to this so-called Cloak Society of yours, right now!"

Kaka's gaze fell on the package on the ground, and he saw the human frown slightly and wave his hand, causing the large package to vanish. No matter how Kaka looked, he couldn't find any spatial equipment on Chen Rui. Could it be legendary spatial magic? Wasn't it said this human had no power? How could he have such skills!

"Move!" Chen Rui urged impatiently. If this matter wasn't resolved, he would have a severe psychological shadow regarding women from now on!

Fearing the mysterious power, Kaka dared not say more and led Chen Rui toward the front of the alley.

While still in a fit of rage, Chen Rui simply spent 500 points of spiritual energy to activate the Storage Warehouse in the Super System. With a thought, he easily stowed away the magical materials. If he weren't about to go cause trouble for the Cloak Society, he would have liked to test the warehouse's functions more.

After Kaka turned several corners, he brought Chen Rui near a small courtyard. There were several short figures wearing similar cloaks nearby; judging by their stature and movements, they were either Lesser Devils or Dark Goblins.

A cloaked shorty let out a shrill laugh: "Kaka, look what you've brought back? A... human?"

Kaka quickly shook his head at him. Several of the cloaked figures recognized this as the only human in Darkmoon City, the new registrar. Thinking of the rumors that this human was covered in poison, the cloaked figures couldn't help but feel some fear, but they were more curious. Why was a human coming to the Cloak Society? Was he looking to join?

The two walked into the house, and Chen Rui saw sitting on a chair in the middle none other than the old goblin Didi, who had self-proclaimed himself his "father-in-law," and beside him was the very goblin-esque Miss Sasa.

Kaka stepped forward and whispered a few words to Didi, and the old goblin looked surprised as he stood up.

The old goblin bowed to Chen Rui, knowing that this human had Aldas and the princess behind him, someone he absolutely couldn't afford to offend, so he immediately brought out his master: "Lord Registrar, Kaka was blind and offended you. On behalf of the Cloak Society, I apologize. Please, for the sake of our leader, do not hold this against us. Our leader is..."

Leader your head! Chen Rui interrupted the old goblin's boasting without ceremony: "How about this, have them go out first. I have something very important to discuss with you alone."

The old goblin frowned and pointed at his daughter Sasa: "Your business may be highly confidential, but this is my daughter Sasa, the leader's concubine. She is absolutely qualified to listen..."

Hearing this, Chen Rui's anger flared up again. He almost wanted to grab this self-proclaimed father-in-law and beat him up, gritting his teeth: "Cut the crap! My patience has limits!"

The old goblin thought of the rumors about this human's poison arts and couldn't help but shiver. He signaled to Sasa and Kaka, and the two wisely walked out the door.

"Lord Chen Rui," the old goblin's attitude became much more respectful, "may I ask what your instructions are? Our Cloak Society was established not long ago, and the leader is often away..."

"Still bringing that up?" Chen Rui pointed fiercely at the old goblin, looking as if he had a deep-seated grudge but unable to speak, finally spitting out a few words: "You've lost all of Agulie's face!"

The old goblin, who had been respectfully nodding, suddenly froze: "So, you know our lead... that is, my master."

"I can say I saved your master's life. The depth of our friendship is something you couldn't possibly imagine!" This was naturally true, as the two identities were the same person.

The old goblin looked suspicious. How powerful was Master Agulie? He could easily defeat Gangke, so he must be at least a Mid-tier Demon. How could he have a deep friendship with this powerless human?

Chen Rui saw Didi's hesitation and snorted: "That night, after Agulie saved you, he gave you a Purple Crystal Coin. Later, you begged to be his servant, and he gave you two more, right?"

Only the old goblin, his daughter, and Agulie himself knew about this. The old goblin dared not have any more doubts and quickly said: "Lord Chen Rui, Didi was rude just now. May I ask where my master is?"

"He is cultivating even greater power," Chen Rui didn't give the old goblin a pleasant look: "You know in your heart that you are not a servant he has acknowledged! In fact, when he gave you those three Purple Crystal Coins that day, it was also a test. To think you would pass your daughter off as his concubine and start this Cloak Society to rob and swindle! If he finds out, he will surely kill you!"

"So the master was testing me!" Cold sweat broke out on the old goblin, and he secretly rejoiced that he hadn't been greedy enough to embezzle those three Purple Crystal Coins. "Lord Chen Rui, please tell Master Agulie that Didi has not failed the master's test. Didi has already established the Cloak Society for the master. Although it is just a beginning, it will grow stronger and stronger!"

As he spoke, the old goblin took out a handful of Purple Crystal Coins and offered them to Chen Rui with both hands: "The three Purple Crystal Coins the master gave me have already been multiplied several times over. Please give these to the master as the most sincere tribute from a servant."

The old goblin not only felt no remorse for starting a gang and engaging in robbery and fraud, but was instead proud of it, believing he had accomplished a great career for his master.

Chen Rui knew that the Demon Realm had its own rules, so he didn't say much, but the old goblin's methods surprised him. In just a few days, those three Purple Crystal Coins had turned into more than a dozen? All by relying on that group of little cloaked figures to swindle and deceive?

After some inquiries, I learned that ninety percent of this money was earned by the old goblin. The old goblin had a sharp mind and knew the shops and stalls of Darkmoon City like the back of his hand. For instance, animal hides in the north of the city sold for as little as ten White Crystal coins, but if taken to the south side, they could fetch at least thirteen. The old goblin made a living by flipping these goods for a profit. Previously, he only operated on a small scale just to put food on the table, and he was frequently exploited by bullies like Gangke, making life difficult.

Ever since Chen Rui taught Gangke a lesson that night, the old goblin later ran into Gob, one of Gangke's lackeys. When he mustered the courage to claim he was a servant of the powerhouse from that night, it actually scared Gob away. The old goblin's confidence soared instantly. He used three Purple Crystal coins as capital to expand his trading business and, borrowing the reputation of Agulie defeating Gangke, quickly gathered a group of people to establish the Cloak Society. Sometimes, he inevitably resorted to bullying others by flaunting his connection to power, using strong-arm tactics to make money, until today when Li Gui ran into Li Kui and his ruse was exposed.

Chen Rui didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but he was considering something else. The old goblin's ability to spot business opportunities to earn a price difference, and to establish an organization in such a short time, was truly remarkable. Although the Cloak Society was a farce, this was a critical moment where he needed money and spiritual materials. If he could make good use of it, including this old goblin with a keen business sense, they might just become a significant asset.

"Take this money and hand it over to Agulie yourself when the time comes!" Chen Rui's thoughts raced as he made his decision.

The old goblin had handed over the money with the intention of bribing the human; he had estimated that if these Purple Crystal coins reached the hands of Agulie's master, at most half would remain. He hadn't expected to be refused, which only made him more convinced that the relationship between the human scribe and Agulie's master was extraordinary. His attitude became even more respectful as he asked, "Lord Chen Rui, may I ask when the master might have some time? Gangke came here yesterday, took back the hammer from last time, and also expressed a desire to meet the master."

"What? Is he still looking for revenge?" If it were just a character like Gangke, Chen Rui no longer held him in any regard.