Upon entering the " East Balam Veteran Officers Club," Klein had just handed his cane and hat to his personal valet, Enuni, when he saw Colonel Calvin, who worked for the Loen Ministry of Defense, dressed in an army uniform and holding a glass of red wine, waiting in the hall.
The officer with the donkey-like face smiled and raised his glass to Dawn Dantès:
"Haven't seen you for a long time."
"It has indeed been a while since we last met." Klein walked over with a smile.
Colonel Calvin then extended his right hand:
Congratulations! You did a fantastic job; everyone is very satisfied.
"I'm very satisfied too." Klein expressed the pleasant cooperation in a subtle Loen- like manner, and extended his right hand to shake hands with the other party.
Calvin withdrew his hand, glanced at Senator Macht next to Dawn Dantès, and sighed with a smile:
"When you the Original introduced Dawn, I didn't quite believe your judgment, but now I understand why you were able to become a Member of Parliament."
"Anyone who has spent time with Dawn can easily conclude that he is an expert in this field." Congressman Macht accepted the Colonel's praise with the same subtlety of Loen.
Calvin withdrew his gaze, took a sip of red wine, smiled at Dawn Dantès, and asked casually:
How much did you earn this time?
"Don't worry, I'm not trying to lower the price later; I'm just curious."
"Gold worth twenty thousand pounds," Klein replied, taking a middle ground.
In reality, he earned £25,000, but paid the messenger £10,000 as a reward, so he only made £15,000.
Colonel Calvin nodded:
"That's right. If you need those gold bars to be turned into gold coins, I can introduce you to someone at the Royal Mint."
"So, did you find anything unusual in Mesangyes ' territory this time?"
Without thinking, Klein said directly:
"Have!
"He had a place called Resurrection Square, which was Electric Shock."
"I know that," Colonel Calvin replied with a slightly serious expression.
"Then you probably don't know that it was this very person in front of you who created the lightning..." Klein chuckled, then continued:
"Furthermore, while Mesangyes appears to be maintaining a fragile balance among multiple factions, he has actually secretly sided with one side, though I don't know who it is."
He had no intention of betraying the Church of the God of Knowledge and Wisdom; he merely revealed a little bit to gain the trust of the Loen military.
"The only thing we can be sure of is that it's not us," Calvin said with a deep gaze.
"They're probably not Intis either," Klein said, eliminating a Error option for them.
Colonel Calvin grunted in agreement.
"That's good. Most of the forces around Mesangyes are supported by the Intis. If he wants to expand, he definitely can't avoid them. Maybe then we can sell weapons again."
At this point, he raised his glass:
"May the Storm rage on, and may we all prosper."
As followers of the Evernight Goddess, Klein and Senator Macht could only smile and offer no direct response.
After taking another sip of red wine, Calvin pointed to the second floor:
" Dawn, I've called you here today to have you play Texas Hold'em with a very important person."
"Who is this important person?" Klein asked with great interest.
Calvin's expression turned slightly serious, and he said with a barely perceptible smile:
" Amyrius has been reinstated and is currently in charge of the Department of Defense."
Amyrius... that admiral whose brother was dismissed from his post as governor, whose mistress was corrupted by the " Mother Tree of Desire," and who himself lost his position as the supreme commander of the Central Sonia Sea Navy? I worked with him before, and even impersonated him for a while... Indeed, for a Demigod, as long as he doesn't go too far and is willing to endure, he will eventually emerge from his slump... Klein recalled the various events that had occurred on Oravi Island, and for a moment, he felt quite sentimental.
He still felt somewhat guilty towards Admiral Amyrius Rieveldt. Although most of what happened at the time was actually unrelated to him, the change in the other party's mistress was ultimately caused by the " Mother Tree of Desire " trying to control him.
"So, in other words, our future cooperation will require the approval of this general?" Klein asked, feigning sudden realization.
"I see." Calvin nodded, pointing to the staircase leading to the second floor. "Let's go up."
Reaching the second floor, Calvin stopped before a pair of large, dark red double doors and glanced sideways at Dawn Dantès:
Your task today is to lose money.
Losing money? Klein looked Calvin up and down a few times, a slight smile playing on his lips.
"I will try my best."
Congressman Macht next to him then laughed:
"Actually, you don't need to try too hard. Amyrius is a very good player. Even if you want to win money, it's almost impossible. Haha, I always lose. Sigh, I just hope I don't lose too much today, otherwise, I won't dare to go home."
Klein nodded thoughtfully:
"I only brought £200 in cash, will that be enough?"
"Definitely not enough," Calvin chuckled. "I've already exchanged 1,000 pounds for chips for you; just remember to return them later."
The top Lawyer in Loen only earn around £1,000 a year on the surface... You corrupt officials... Klein looked Calvin up and down a few more times.
The colonel, oblivious to everything, raised his hand and gently knocked on the door.
After waiting for a while, the double doors creaked open and slid back, revealing the scene inside.
It was a large hall with a thick, soft carpet, not much furniture, and it looked quite spacious.
In the center of the hall, there was a card table that could accommodate more than a dozen people, surrounded by luxurious high-backed chairs.
Along the edge of the hall are gold-inlaid furniture, marble sculptures, coffee tables laden with books and newspapers, and a set of leather sofas.
Klein glanced over and immediately saw Amyrius Rieveldt hadn't changed much from before; his black hair was neatly combed back, his blue eyes were dark and deep, his lips were slightly downturned, and he had no beard. He had a stern and serious demeanor, and he wore dark blue clothing with epaulettes. He was meticulous in every detail and extremely serious.
Turning his gaze, Klein spotted another "familiar face":
He had thick but neat black eyebrows, short and stiff hair of the same color, deep blue to almost black eyes, a high and straight nose like a mountain peak, and a large mustache extending around his mouth. He had a sharp profile, a long face, and a cold, masculine look.
This is Qonas Kilgor, the deputy director of Military Intelligence Section 9!
This is one of Klein's goals in returning to Backlund. He is an intermediary in the human trafficking between the Demoness Sect and a certain faction of the royal family, and an accomplice to the Great Smog of Backlund!
The major general deputy director had unusually broad shoulders, which stretched his white shirt and black vest taut as he intently played Texas Hold'em.
There are two, no, three Demigod at one card table. How can this be played? Interesting... Klein found a seat and began observing the others at the table.
During this process, the waiter brought over a large stack of chips, totaling £1,000.
In the Original few hands, Klein glanced at his cards and immediately folded them, behaving very cautiously, seemingly unwilling to raise or call unless he had a good hand.
Amyrius, on the other hand, had the exact opposite style. He was anything but conservative, calling almost every hand and constantly raising the stakes, displaying a highly aggressive approach.
In any game he was involved in, it rarely reached the showdown stage. Most people couldn't withstand the pressure and the general's inherent authority, and after one or two rounds, they would fold. Some tried to catch Amyrius Rieveldt's bluff, but they ran into the general's four nines, and their faces turned pale, as if they had been sentenced to death by Judge.
Qonas Kilgor has a different style. He might lose a hand occasionally, but the total number of chips is small and it doesn't have a big impact. In the next hand after losing, he often manages to clear out the chips of the person who won against him last time, forcing the opponent to spend money to buy new chips.
Why bother? Why cheat with your abilities when playing cards with mid-to -Low-Sequence Beyonder, or even ordinary people? Others might not be able to tell, but I know perfectly well. One is the imposing aura of the " Arbiter " pathway, and the other is the " Bribe " of the " Baron of Corruption "... Klein glanced at his hole cards, which only contained the 5 of Hearts and the 9 of Clubs, and shook his head almost imperceptibly.
He couldn't help but seriously consider what abilities the " Seer " pathway could provide to help him cheat:
"Turning all your opponents into Marionette? That way you can win as much as you want and be invincible, but it's not practical. It's not like we're planning a deathmatch poker tournament..."
"It's a pity there aren't many mosquitoes here, otherwise I could control their ' Spirit Body Threads ' to make them into Marionettization and help me see other people's trump cards..."
"The ' Faceless ' can only change himself, not the cards..."
"The ' Magician's' Illusion? They should work well against ordinary people and Low-Sequence Beyonder, but there are two Demigod here..."
"Using the ' Clown's' tricks to trade cards? No use, the waiters handle the dealing and shuffling..."
In a flash of inspiration, Klein realized that only the " Seer's " own abilities seemed to be useful.
He threw down two hole cards, indicating he wouldn't call, then picked up a metal chip and flipped it back and forth between his fingers.
At that moment, Amyrius Rieveldt suddenly looked up at him, then looked away and pushed out a stack of chips.
As expected... Klein nodded inwardly, unsurprised.
During their last collaboration, he knew that Amyrius could distinguish between ordinary people and Beyonder based on their "positions," and suspected that the other party could even determine the level of an Beyonder, that is, their "position."
However, Klein was not too worried about this, because the " Bizarro Sorcerer " had a certain " Concealment " ability, which was one of the special reasons why he was able to suppress the Gray Fog that he was empowered with after reaching Sequence 4. This made him sure that the other party could not find out his rank, but since he did not take any corresponding interference in advance, he suspected that Amyrius could see that he was an Beyonder.
Therefore, he deliberately revealed a problem, making himself appear easily seen through and easily controlled.
P. S.: Requesting monthly votes at the beginning of the month!