The Killing Begins

"Tonight? That soon!" Luo De knew what he had just suggested was unrealistic, so Zhang Yao's persuasion soon calmed him down. But when he heard that Zhang Yao intended to act that very night, he sprang up in surprise again.

"Ah, Luo De, time is exactly what we're short of!" Zhang Yao sighed and explained, "Did you think everything Fehr just said was true? That we were the first people he'd approached, and that he was giving this commission only to us? It's all bullshit. I guarantee he'll go looking for other people!"

"Think about it. Why did he tell us to kill ten members of the Ironblood Brotherhood, rather than assassinate its leader outright?"

"Does he want everyone he hires to fail?" Luo De blurted out, startled.

"Exactly! That's what Fehr is planning! Think about it: if he hires a dozen or more people for the same job, how many of them could finish it? My guess is that the most likely outcome is none! And if we don't complete Fehr's commission, we won't get those ten thousand gold coins he promised! He might even turn around and bite us, using our failure to fulfill the agreement against us!" Zhang Yao nodded grimly.

"Fuck! That Fehr is such a bastard! Zhang Yao, let's kill the son of a bitch!" Luo De was easygoing by nature; even if someone cursed at him a few times, he wouldn't mind. But he had been a pirate, after all, and his hands were certainly stained with blood. Now that Fehr had stoked his anger, that ruthless pirate streak immediately surfaced.

"And that's not all. Fehr has other schemes in mind! Look at the situation now. Both sides are watching each other closely, and neither will act rashly without thorough preparations! If we suddenly start assassinating members of the Ironblood Brotherhood, it'll be like tossing a spark into a warehouse packed with lamp oil. In an instant, the entire warehouse will be blown sky-high, along with us, the spark!" Zhang Yao patted Luo De and continued.

"Then wouldn't that leave us with no way out alive? Fehr really is a scheming bastard! We can't just sit here waiting to die. We have to think of something right away! Zhang Yao, I say we drop this assassination job. You and Amelia should leave with me now. Once this blows over, we'll come back and deal with Fehr! Don't worry. If you follow me, those people will never spot us!" Luo De had weathered his share of storms. By now, he had calmed down and immediately made the soundest judgment.

Although Zhang Yao knew Luo De's judgment was the soundest, it was too late now, no matter what anyone said! He had already accepted the chain assassination quest against the Ironblood Brotherhood. If Luo De had told him earlier that there was a way to leave, Zhang Yao would have considered whether to accept it! But after accepting the quest, there was no point in discussing it. Failure would cost him a whole level's worth of experience, after all! Giving up without even trying would be far too great a loss!

So Zhang Yao looked at Luo De and shook his head. "Luo De, take Amelia and hide somewhere first. I'm staying to have a little fun with these big shots. Let's see which is harder: their necks or my dagger!"

"Zhang Yao, don't be rash! As long as the green hills remain, there's no need to fear running out of firewood. This isn't the time to show off!" Hearing that Zhang Yao intended to stay, Luo De immediately grew anxious.

"Heh, Luo De, I'm not showing off! As long as you and Amelia aren't here, I can go all out against them. Besides, if I really want to run, catching me won't be that easy!" Zhang Yao said with a smile, his face full of confidence. There was nothing false about his words. Since entering Rodos, all the skills he had learned involved ambushes or slipping away. If he truly wanted to escape, ordinary people really wouldn't be able to catch him.

"Mm, all right, then!" Seeing Zhang Yao's confidence, Luo De knew further persuasion would be useless. He could only nod in agreement.

"Then sorry for the trouble, Luo De, but could you sort through these wanted posters for me? I'll get some rest first!" With that, Zhang Yao sat cross-legged and closed his eyes.

Luo De glanced at Zhang Yao, then lowered his head and began carefully sifting through the wanted posters for him.

The sun rose in the east, gradually climbed overhead, then slowly sank toward the west. When the glow of the setting sun spilled over all of Andal Harbor, the people who had spent the day working began putting down their tools and packing up to go home.

Under the foreman's direction, the dockworkers carried the last of the cargo into the warehouse. Then, with cheers, they ran over to him to collect their wages for the day.

"Line up! Stop crowding! You'll all get your share!" the foreman roared at the dockworkers around him. Under his shouting, they finally formed a reasonably orderly line.

"Foreman, this pay doesn't look right!" One dockworker counted the money he had received, suddenly noticed something wrong, and called out to the foreman, who was still handing out wages.

"Yeah! Why is it five copper coins less than yesterday?" another dockworker shouted.

"Foreman, this is the third pay cut this month!" another worker beside them said.

At their cries, the other dockworkers also began clamoring loudly.

"What are you yelling about? Hmph, you should be grateful you're getting even this much! Do you want this money or not? If you don't, give it all back!" The foreman's shrill voice rang out through the crowd, immediately drowning out the complaints around him. Looking at the wretched dockworkers, he wore a contemptuous expression. "You lot were born to be lowly scum. I only let you work under me out of pity. If you don't want to work, get the hell out! There are plenty of people looking to earn a living here. Losing a few of you makes no difference!"

The dockworkers exchanged looks, but no one said another word. With their heads bowed in silence, they obediently resumed collecting their pay. A few disgruntled men wanted to go up and argue with the foreman again, but their fellow workers held them back.

The foreman looked around once more at the dockworkers, some silently enduring it, others seething but not daring to speak. He grew even more smug and let out a burst of loud laughter.

"Ha ha ha-urk." Just as the foreman was basking in his triumph, a dagger suddenly appeared at his throat. Before he could react, the blade pierced it with a biting chill, abruptly cutting off his grating laughter.

"Aah!" Blood sprayed from the foreman's throat over the surrounding dockworkers. Terrified, they screamed and scattered in panic.

Meanwhile, the person holding the dagger used the chaos of the crowd to disappear into the shadows.