On the top floor of the small building, a man with black hair and brown eyes, dressed in dark clothes, who looked to be about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, looked down at the arms deal not far away for a while, and couldn't help but speak:
"He actually sought out Mesangyes? Oh, Storm on earth, Alfred, if I had known this, we would have done the job ourselves. Even after deducting all expenses, we could have earned at least twenty thousand pounds!"
Next to the man was a young man in a black trench coat, about twenty-three or twenty-four years old, with bright blond hair and Blue Eyes like a lake; he was quite good-looking.
Upon hearing this, the man known as Alfred shook his head and said:
"No, that would be too conspicuous. Mesangyes's stance has always been ambiguous. It would be extremely dangerous to approach him about arms deals before we understand his attitude Dawn Dantès was able to earn those twenty thousand pounds precisely because he was willing to take risks."
The black-haired, brown-eyed man immediately chuckled.
" Alfred Hall, who dared to attack an army of thousands with only a few dozen men, actually said he wouldn't dare take the risk!"
Alfred glanced at him and said:
" Pagny, it's not the same thing. That time it was because I was confident I could take down their command post. But once you're disorganized, a thousand scattered soldiers might not be as good as a thousand pigs."
"Furthermore, this transaction itself is a test, part of establishing connections and laying 'pipelines.' If we handle it, who will we turn to next time? And the time after that? If we keep doing this, our identities will eventually be exposed, which would put us in a passive diplomatic position. Moreover, as the transactions deepen and expand, they might attract the attention of certain powerful Demigod, which would be dangerous."
"Haha," Pagny laughed, " Demigod don't have that much free time to pay attention to such small-scale arms deals. Each faction only has a handful of Demigod; they have far too many other things to do!"
"I know, I was just giving an example," Alfred replied calmly.
Pagny didn't dwell on the matter and turned his attention back to Dawn Dantès.
"This gentleman is said to be very generous; not long after arriving in Backlund, he donated shares worth over ten thousand pounds to the Church of Evernight. Is this what you often refer to as early-stage investment?"
"Also, it seems he works at the same charity Foundation as your sister. Tsk, men like that are very popular with young girls. Good-looking, outstanding temperament, intelligent, experienced, shrewd, he's seen countless women, yet he's reached the age where he should settle down. Alfred, you must tell Audrey that a playboy is always a playboy, and that a lack of moral character is a flaw that can never be corrected. We can't let Backlund's most dazzling jewel be stolen by this kind of guy."
Alfred turned his head and glared at Pagny:
"I don't need to worry about such things. Audrey isn't a naive young girl; her understanding of the world is far more mature than you imagine. Besides, my father and mother are both in Backlund and have the ability to prevent anything bad from happening."
At this point, Alfred glanced at the armory not far away, paused, and said:
"It turns out that Mesangyes sent Haggis. I'll go and say hello to him."
This isn't a good time to meet... Pagny was about to speak when Alfred turned and walked down the stairs.
Klein, disguised as Dawn Dantès, stood alone outside the warehouse with his gold-inlaid cane and Mesangyes's representative, Haggis, watching as crates of munitions were carried out and loaded onto wagons.
Just then, as if sensing something, he turned halfway around and turned his gaze to the other side.
What came into his view was a young man without a hat, wearing a trench coat, with golden hair combed back to the side, and azure eyes like a lake under a clear sky. He was tall and well-proportioned, and every move he made exuded an indescribable sense of majesty. Even without the surrounding soldiers, he directly presented an air of Authority.
" Alfred!" Haggis, noticing the man, called out with a hint of surprise.
Alfred... Miss Justice's second brother... This feeling is very similar to the " Arbiter " pathway... Klein raised his right hand, took off his top hat, and pressed it to his chest as a sign of respect.
After greeting Haggis, Alfred Hall turned to Dawn Dantès:
"Your character is widely praised in Backlund, and even I, living in East Balam, have heard of it."
Character? The character of an arms dealer? Klein thought to himself, then chuckled.
"I just did what I thought I should do."
Alfred nodded:
"I don't think I need to introduce myself, right? Haggis should have told you about me."
"Yes, Hall," Klein replied with a smile. "I only learned here that Miss Audrey has an older brother serving in the military on the Southern Continent, where he has made many contributions."
Alfred's gaze swept across Dawn Dantès's face, then he changed the subject:
"I originally thought you would take the opportunity to work at the ' Loen Charity Bursary Foundation,' but I didn't expect you to choose to come to the Southern Continent."
Klein maintained his smile and said:
"For an outsider, it's very difficult to truly integrate into the original circle simply through donations, charity, banquets, and dancing."
Alfred grunted in agreement.
"Very rational."
After exchanging a few more pleasantries, he asked Haggis:
What happened in Kukwa City recently? It seems quite serious.
Haggis smiled and said:
"I don't know. We all took shelter underground in the general's mansion at the time. I only heard later that there was a thunderstorm in the Resurrection Square area."
"Thunderstorm?" Alfred's gaze shifted back to Dawn Dantès.
Klein nodded and said:
"Indeed, my hotel isn't too far from Resurrection Square, and I saw continuous lightning strikes there, all during the day."
Alfred's gaze then shifted to Haggis:
What did the final scene look like?
"Most of the area has collapsed and broken, and there are lightning strike marks everywhere." Haggis made no attempt to hide anything.
Alfred nodded slightly, gestured to the side, and said to Haggis and Dawn Dantès:
"I have some things to take care of. We can talk about it when we meet again."
"See you next time," Klein replied in his top hat, as if he were at a social gathering rather than outside an armory.
As he was about to see Alfred Hall off, he shifted slightly, his head suddenly turning to the other side.
In the primeval jungles that are everywhere in West Balam, a figure, bent over, slowly emerged.
He had a fleshy face, brownish skin, loose clothing, a rapier at his waist, and a silver-white mask in his hand.
Looking around, the figure gradually straightened up, clearly the " Admiral of Hell " Ludwell who had entered the Underworld earlier.
However, at this moment, two blood-red flames burned in his eye sockets, completely different from before.
"So hungry..." Ludwell opened his mouth and let out a sigh that seemed to come from his chest.
He then turned his gaze in a certain direction and muttered to himself:
"The owner of this Marionette is there; Fate has brought them together again."
"He has a ' Hunter's ' item on him, which can provide a replenishment."
Before he could finish speaking, a bloody mouth suddenly split open on Ludwell's left cheek, opening and closing as it spoke:
" Medici, the first problem we need to solve is the existing one! After this Marionette completely lost contact with its master, it's essentially dead. The remaining spirit will soon return to the Underworld, unable to maintain its body. Without the support of the Underworld within it, we will inevitably begin to weaken until we dissipate!"
"Yes, the most important thing right now is to find another ' Gatekeeper '." A mouth also appeared on Ludwell's right cheek.
" Red Angel " Medici immediately scoffed:
" Sauron, Einhorn, were you two women in the past? You've thrown your Angel status down the toilet! That guy was able to defy '0-08's' arrangements several times, which means he's definitely not simple. Now that we have this opportunity to lock him down, how can we let it go? Once this Marionette is completely gone, it won't be this easy again!"
"Furthermore, the ' Hunter's ' items he carries can effectively extend our survival time. We can find a new ' Gatekeeper ' after we've dealt with him."
Ludwell, with a bloody gash on his left cheek, immediately scoffed:
" Medici, have you sacrificed your brain to the ' True Creator '? That guy has clearly advanced. In our current state, defeating a ' Bizarro Sorcerer ' wouldn't be difficult, but killing him is almost impossible!"
Medici wasn't annoyed; he chuckled in a low voice:
"This isn't unsolvable. As long as you let me recite the Lord's name, help will come immediately, and maybe even a ' Gatekeeper ' will be there."
Ludwell's right cheek immediately opened and closed his mouth, saying:
" Sauron, let's unite against him and find the ' Gatekeeper '."
"Okay," Ludwell's left mouth replied without hesitation.
Seeing this, " Red Angel " Medici laughed heartily:
"You two fell for it! My plan has succeeded. I'm certain you two were women before!"
Ludwell growled from both sides of his mouth:
"Shut up!"
"Hmph, we've been intertwined for two thousand years, don't you know your tricks? Don't bother struggling!"
As he spoke, the colors around " Admiral of Hell " Ludwell instantly intensified, layering together.
He had already entered the Spirit World and begun to travel through it.
Outside the arms depot, Klein finally looked away; the premonition of danger had vanished.
Just now, he felt a sudden, inexplicable chill, yet he couldn't quite picture it in his mind.
"What's going on?" Klein muttered to himself, then, without waiting any longer, tossed the suitcase to the officer handing it over and said to Haggis beside him, "Now it's your own business. You can give me the balance."
He was referring to a heavy chest filled with gold bars and coins.
Haggis had originally planned to have a drink with Dawn Dantès after the deal was completed to celebrate its success and discuss potential future transactions, but he didn't expect Dantes to leave so hastily.
"Okay, it's in that carriage," he pointed.
Alfred had already walked some distance away, turned back with slight surprise, not understanding why Dawn Dantès was suddenly deviating from the planned procedure.