"By the way, was it your Bloodthroat Clan that went over?"
Annan, always happy to stir the pot, had remembered something.
"No. It was the Brother Clan."
Annan nodded. That was good news.
As Free City's cooperation with the Ratfolk Elder's faction deepened, their relationship looked better and better on the surface. In reality, though, the Bloodthroat Clan had a stranglehold on Free City's dealings with the ratfolk and kept the other clans out.
It was like a lord with several mistresses, except his succubus mistress drained him dry every night, leaving him no energy for the others.
The upside was that anything was negotiable. The Ratfolk Elder would even tolerate things that went against the Stuen Ratfolk's interests. The downside was that Annan could forget about touching any other mist—any other clans.
That ran counter to his original aim of corrupting the Stuen Ratfolk.
He did not know how many clans the Stuen Ratfolk had, but there probably were not many fewer than McKennen. The Bloodthroat Clan was only one of thirty.
Annan's goal was the entire Stuen Clan.
Now a second clan had arrived. It was like the mistress's twin sister coming to visit: he already had a natural opening. A few sweet words might even get her into bed...
Damn it. What kind of analogy was that?
In any case, Stuen was no good in a head-on fight, but muddying the waters was its specialty.
Annan hoped they would tie up the demons' attention and make the Empire's offensive go more smoothly.
Seen that way, was his own work much different from the Stuen Ratfolk's?
Annan just wanted to watch them beat each other bloody!
"The food should be nearly ready. Shall we go to the restaurant?" Annan invited.
"I still need to report back to my