--Scallion Street Underground--
"Your Majesty, our poison has indeed taken effect. Otherwise, 'Four Fingers ' wouldn't be causing so much trouble while he himself stays hidden. This is completely out of character for him."
In the dimly lit underground room, a figure with a thick bird's beak reported to Fire Pig sitting on a wide stone seat.
"Heh, it worked, but the guy isn't dead, otherwise his gang would have scattered long ago." The huge, fiery red wild boar, sitting on a stone chair, shuddered with its fat and thick tusks, emitting a deep, thunderous sound.
"I've long felt that these roundabout tricks are useless." He was in a bad mood. Although Four Fingers was poisoned and unable to move, the orders he gave had kept Fire Pig in a state of chaos for nearly a month.
It had been a long time since anyone had dared to reprimand him like that, but recently he had experienced that long-forgotten feeling again, just as unpleasant as he remembered.
"During this time, tell them to keep a close eye on things and prevent any further mishaps. Not only should we keep a close watch on them, but also on the Four Fingers. If they make any more moves, we should immediately take action and then shift the blame to the other side."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
After saying this, the Fire Pig leaned back in the stone chair, calmed down for a while, and then opened its eyes to continue asking questions.
"How's the situation with the Fox family going?"
"We've bribed some of the Fox family's servants, but these people are uneducated and know nothing about the Fox family's history; they only do menial tasks."
"If you really want to know some of the secrets of the Fox family, you might have to find their personal maids or butlers. But bribing these people would easily disturb them, and since they are mostly master and servants for generations, it would be very difficult for outsiders to infiltrate," the Bird-Beak Elder explained in a hoarse voice.
" The Fox family is quite a large family, with generations of servants protecting them, making it very difficult for outsiders to break in." The Fire Pig, unusually, didn't get angry this time.
"It's just a possibility; their family might not even still possess the Dragon Eye ' Aspect Power treasure."
"Unfortunately, I don't have any suitable allies within the circles of higher Academy, and none of the Orc races I'm familiar with are cut out to be Mage."
"Before you came, I sought out a down-on-his-luck Academy Mage. He looked down on Orc like me, but fortunately, he was indeed in dire straits at the time, which gave me the opportunity to sponsor and help him. That's how that Mage came up with some plans for me."
"The grand feast I've been looking forward to," he said, referring to the ceremony's procedures he helped organize. Finally, he told me that the Dragon Eye, "A treasure of Aspect Power, is extremely rare and hard to find. If you really want to search for it, the most likely candidates within the Mage Alliance are the Origin Hourglass and the Bionics School. They both have research projects on ancient creatures and have achieved remarkable results."
"But given my status, I certainly can't go to those prestigious Academy, and I don't have anything that would earn the respect of those noble Mage, so I can only wait for an opportunity."
"Over the past ten years, I have accumulated quite a few fourth-tier treasures, such as Blood Law and Beast Fang. These are my most valuable possessions. Unfortunately, even so, without Aspect Power of the same tier Dragon Eye, they can only be carefully locked in a cabinet." The Fire Pig said slowly. He would never have talked about these secrets before, but today his mindset seemed to have changed.
Sensing this unusual state, the Bird-Beak Elder beside him did not speak, but listened silently.
"Old man, you don't have much time left, do you? I see the edges of your beak are all worn away."
Upon hearing this, the Bird-Beak Elder nodded wistfully.
"Your Majesty is right, but my wisdom remains, and I can still serve you."
"Hehe." Fire Pig didn't comment on this and continued to express his thoughts.
"I wasn't in a hurry to begin with, and I've even become a bit lax in recent years. But recent events have made me realize once again that only by advancing in rank can I live to see the next decade." After saying this, the Fire Pig, with its large tusks, let out a mocking laugh.
"Pigs grow up to be slaughtered, and I could already see the impatience in those officials' eyes."
"Dislike? Hatred? None of that. They just ignore us as usual, like a rag in the toilet—they never think of us unless they need it."
"If we continue to be ignored by them like this, it's actually a good thing; both sides will be at peace."
"But now they're starting to get annoyed, they think I'm in their way. Although I know they haven't made any plans yet, once that thought takes hold, it'll spread like a small flame."
"First, they impatiently blocked all kinds of applications from my subordinates. Then, after some conflicts, they stopped showing us any favoritism. Next, they kept finding small problems and mistakes to reprimand us, keeping us running around like crazy. Finally, seeing me going crazy in my anxiety, they suddenly took action, eliminated me, and replaced me with a new leader they liked." Fire Pig looked at the dim firelight in the room and murmured about what would happen in the future.
"Even the most powerful chieftain is nothing more than a dirty rag in their eyes. But if it weren't for us doing the dirty work, they would have to get their hands dirty with grease and grime."
After saying this, the Fire Pig lifted the wooden board at its feet, grabbed a smoked pork leg from it with its thick fingers, put it in its mouth, Bite large chunks of light pink smoked meat and fat.
He chewed deeply, the sound echoing clearly throughout the room.
Two minutes later, he threw down the clean bone he had been gnawing on and tossed it aside.
"It's so delicious!" The tone of this sentence conveys both a sense of relief and a feeling of nostalgia.
"I like the feeling of having my stomach full." He leaned back in the stone seat, his eyes slightly closed.
"If you had witnessed your brothers starving to death in front of you when you were a child, you would have the same feelings and preferences as me."
"Your Majesty—" the old man bowed his head.
"At first, I came to the Asura District just to fill my stomach. I never imagined that more than ten years later, I would become a leader and have a large group of people who obey me."
"It tastes delicious, and I've been enjoying it."
"Until now, I've finally gotten a little tired of it. It's like children playing house; once you grow up, it's hard to get into that kind of thing anymore."
"Those who lack sufficient power deserve freedom. I've had my fill; it's time to think about other things."
"Old man, among my men, even though you're old and not very bright, you're still one of the few who can hold my tongue."
"The rest of the guys are like pigs, impossible to teach, they can only be trained."
"Let's think of another way to get the Dragon Eye ' treasure. Not only will I be able to get out alive, but you can also regain your powerful physique from your youth, allowing you to fly across the Cloud Sea once more and return home."
"Alas, Your Majesty," the Bird-Beak Elder sighed and kowtowed.
"I will go and find that rare 'Dragon Eye ' treasure."