Chapter 370: Cleaning Up The Underground Forces In Royal City
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
“Kid, did I mishear you? You want me to transfer that tavern to you for free? Are you crazy?”
After hearing Watson’s words, the tavern owner came in front of him. He bent down and stuck his greasy face in front of Watson. He threatened in a low voice. “This is not a place where you can behave atrociously. No matter who you are or what your purpose is, I’m going to count to three. Get out immediately, or I’ll kill you. Do you understand me?”
Boom!
Almost as soon as he finished his words, the tavern owner’s head came into close contact with the ceiling. Watson raised his right leg high and kicked the tavern owner’s chin, causing the fat boss to hit the ceiling. The older man fell back onto the ground like a ball beside Watson’s feet, spitting out a mouthful of blood.
“D*mn it! Someone is causing trouble here. Come, quickly!”
Following the boss’ voice, the tavern became even more lively. A group of burly men stood up one after another and pulled out knives, shields, and other things from under the table. Some people even picked up tables, chairs, and benches. “You dare to cause trouble in our tavern? Do you not want to live anymore?”
Watson only smiled and opened his palm. “Absolute Gravity!”
Whoosh!
In just an instant, the burly men who had just gotten up fell to the ground at an even faster speed. Their faces came into close contact with the ground. Whether it was the tables, chairs, benches, or knives in their hands, they all crashed into the ground and shattered.
“What’s going on? Why can’t we move? ”
A group of people had terrified expressions on their faces as they felt the tens of times greater gravity around their bodies. Not only could they not move, but they also could not even move their fingers.
As members of the Severed Fingers Gang, there were many silver-tier elites among them. However, in front of the gravitational force released by Watson, they behaved the same as the others. That scene made the members of the Severed Fingers Gang know that the young man in front of them was not simple; he was at least a mage above gold-tier.
“This tavern looks much quieter. Now, I’ll ask you a question.”
Watson walked to the boss and stepped on the boss’ back. He still had a tender smile on his face. “Where is Left Ring Finger?”
“So you’re here for our boss. Do you think I’ll tell you?”
The boss spat out a mouthful of blood and said disdainfully, “Let me tell you. Those who lost their fingers have been professionally trained. Even if we were to die here, we wouldn’t tell you anything.”
“That’s right; we won’t.”
It was not just the owner, but the rest of the Severed Fingers Gang members also responded one after another.
“Is that so? Then let me change the question. What kind of businesses do you manage here? Other than alcohol, how many similar taverns do you have under your name?”
“Don’t waste your energy, Kid. You won’t be able to get anything out of us! I advise you to let us go now. Otherwise, when our boss finds out what happened here, he will make you disappear even if you are a young master from a noble family. We have done that many times before.”
The tavern owner sneered and spat on the ground. The disdain on his face became even more intense.
Watson did not waste his breath. He extended his right hand and pointed at the two members shouting the loudest among the crowd. “System fusion, activate.”
[Congratulations, Master, for successfully fusing two bronze-tier humans.]
[You have obtained a silver-tier attendant.]
[Silver-tier attendant]
[Ability: grasps silver-tier water-elemental combat aura. There is nothing special about it.]
The two members who had been fused were a tall and thin youth and a short and fat middle-aged man with tanned skin. At that moment, the two figures seemed to have been neutralized and became well-proportioned.
“Greetings, Honorable Master. Please give me an order.”
“Tell me, what is the main business here and how many similar places are there?”
“This place is ruled by Left Ring Finger from the Severed Fingers Gang. We are responsible for wine sales, including high-tier red wine for the noblemen and some inferior wine mixed with special ingredients to pass as good wine! Left Ring Finger has more than 200 businesses similar to this tavern in the entire royal city. It is considered a relatively small place. There aren’t many customers, and only our own people drink wine here every day. In larger places, the money for a day’s worth of wine is no less than a million gold coins.”
The fused subordinate told Watson everything he knew.
Everyone there was stunned, including the boss.
“What kind of magic is that? No, that is sorcery. ”
What kind of magic could turn two people into one and make them so obedient? They had never even heard of such a thing, let alone seen it before. They all said that the unknown was the scariest. Not understanding Watson’s method made everyone present a little afraid. They were fearful that they would be the next to be turned into that. If they turned into that, they might as well die.
‘It seems like this person does not know much about Left Ring Finger as an ordinary member. I have to ask the boss.’
Watson did not get any helpful information. He muttered in his heart and looked at the boss in front of him.
The boss’ body trembled. Watson thought that the boss would not reveal a single word even if he died there and would still resist for a while. However, at that time, he did not open his mouth. The boss’ lips trembled as he said, “Young Master, I will tell you if you don’t attack me.”
“Then you have to tell me in detail. If you’re hiding something, you won’t be here later. I’ll fuse all of you to become my subordinates.”
Watson crouched as the corners of his mouth curled into a playful smile. It was a calm tone, but it made everyone present involuntarily shiver.
Not far from the Three-legged Cat tavern, in a manor located in the southwest corner of the capital.
Lush jungle trees could be seen everywhere in the manor. In the woods were beautiful lakes and fountains that had been artificially repaired. In that stunning scenery, a man dressed in a black gown sat on a round wooden table in the middle of the lawn, humming a song as he mixed bottles of wine placed on the table in front of him.
“Count Gray, please taste this wine and see what year it is from.”
The man in a black gown had his hair carefully groomed, but the few hairs on his forehead could not be suppressed. Under the messy hair was a pair of unruly eyes.
The count was sitting in front of a man with a big belly and a shiny face. A black cloth covered his eyes. After hearing that, he lifted the wine cup in his hand and tasted it. “This wine should be from the Raphael Winery. It should be five years old, no, eight years old.”
“Congratulations, Count Gray. Other than the place of origin, you are wrong about everything else.”
The man in formal clothes clapped his hands. The count immediately pulled the black cloth strip. When he saw the bottles and jars in front of him, he could not help but look surprised. “These wines are not from Raphael Winery. To mix and match the taste of eight-year-old red wine from the Raphael Winery with different vintages, you are indeed worthy of your title as the most famous bartender in the royal city. May I ask about the recipes for those wines? How much cheaper would it be to mix the wine in that way than the original wine?”
“Count Gray, You flatter me. There are more than 20 kinds of recipes used for that wine. Even though there are many types, the wine should be one to two years old! A normal bottle of ten-year-old Lafayette Winery’s red wine fluctuates between 100 to a few hundred gold coins, but the total value of those recipes I used doesn’t exceed one gold coin.”
“The price of one gold coin is still a little high. I hope you can reduce the cost to one silver coin. Can you do it?”
“I’ll try my best.”
As the unruly man spoke, he gently rubbed the ring finger of his left hand, revealing a meaningful smile.
“I’m afraid you won’t have the chance to try.”
At that moment, the manor’s door was pushed open, and a young man walked in from the outside. Behind the young man were people from the Three-legged Cat tavern. Each of them had a complicated expression on their faces, and their bodies were covered in injuries.
“Donder, shouldn’t you be at the Three-legged Cat tavern? Why are you here? And who is that young man? Donder, I remember telling you not to disturb me when I’m discussing business with others without my orders.”
As he spoke, a person stood up. That person was not the unruly bartender but a greasy-looking count. He was frowning and reprimanding those from the tavern in a reprimanding tone.
“Bartender, please leave for a moment. I’ll talk to you about the wine formula when I have time.”
“Yes, Count Gray.”
The bartender stood up, bowed respectfully, and left the courtyard without looking back.
“Count Gray, please save us. That young man went to the Three-legged Cat tavern to cause trouble and injured many of our people. He is powerful, and we are no match for him.” The owner of the tavern, Donder, looked aggrieved and explained helplessly.
“It seems that you are Left Ring Finger —Count Gray, that’s right.”
Watson compared it to the information he had obtained in the floating city.
Who would have thought that one of the Severed Fingers Gang members was a count? No wonder the gang’s network of connections could spread throughout the kingdom, and no one could manage it. With the noblemen’s protection, even if someone reported the Severed Fingers Gang, the information would be suppressed. At the same time, the noblemen would become the heads of any underground forces. One could see just how corrupt the kingdom was.
“I’m Count Gray. Who are you? This is the Severed Fingers Gang’s territory. If you’re here to cause trouble, I’d advise you to give up on that idea. There are at least 800 corpses buried under this manor. They were all sent here for various reasons, and in the end, they died here. I don’t want you to become the next corpse.”
Gray did not panic at all. He clapped his hands, and many guards immediately walked out from every corner of the manor. Among those guards, the lowest was a silver-tier elite, and the highest was a gold-tier warrior.
Hundreds of silver and gold-tier elites surrounded the manor, making it impossible for anyone to pass through. Each of them had a weapon in their hands and circulated their combat aura, aiming at Watson.
“Brat, I told you to look for our boss. You’re going to be in trouble soon! Even if you can fuse people with magic, how can you do it with so many people?”
The gang members looked at Watson with hatred in their eyes, cursing in their hearts. They were looking forward to seeing Watson’s miserable appearance. However, what surprised them was that Watson only smiled and lightly stomped his feet.
“Absolute Seal—kneel!”
The combat aura in all the elites immediately disappeared. They could not even stand where they were. They kneeled on the ground with difficulty, their faces filled with pain.
Count Gray, who was protected by those people in the center, had a calm expression on his face. At that moment, he changed his expression and cried out in surprise. “That ability is similar to the Strictly Enforced Words spell. You are a platinum-tier expert; who are you? ”
“My name is Watson. Please remember my name because we will be interacting with each other frequently in the future.”
Watson extended his right hand toward Count Gray. “System fusion, activate.”
Following the fusion, the hundreds of guards that had fallen on the ground turned into streaks of light and fused into Gray’s body.
[Congratulations, Master, for fusing a large number of elites. You have obtained a platinum-tier attendant, Count Gray]
[Platinum-tier attendant: Count Gray]
[He is in charge of most of the wine business in the kingdom, and his territory is located in the southwest of the kingdom.]
[Abilities: Combat Aura Mastery (mastery of all platinum-tier combat aura), Wind-elemental Magic Mastery, Water-element Magic Mastery, Wine Pool Country (water-elemental platinum-tier spell that turns water into wine, causing large-scale damage, causing the person within the damage area to lose consciousness temporarily), Hurricane Barrier (wind-elemental platinum-tier magic, able to summon a barrier to block attacks of the same level), Sky-assaulting Water Dragon (platinum-tier combat skill, able to summon a water dragon when unleashed),]
[Additional abilities: Drunken Rampage (when drunk, combat power increases, but intelligence decreases), Enticement (can use money or other items to bribe others and force an agreement).]
Watson nodded in satisfaction and turned his head.
Plop!
Plop!
Donder and the others, who were behind him, knelt on the ground, their teeth chattering. Watson had fused hundreds of silver-gold elites with Count Gray right in front of them. That feeling was even more shocking than when Watson revealed his platinum-tier strength and used platinum-tier magic to kill those people.
“Young Master Watson, please don’t kill us. We joined the Severed Fingers Gang because we had no choice. We just want to make a living!” Donder spoke first as he kowtowed. In his opinion, Watson was targeting Severed Fingers because he had a grudge against it. He thought that it would be fine if he left the Severed Fingers Gang.
“Yes, Master Watson. I have an 80-year-old mother at home and a baby waiting to be fed. If you kill me, they will die too,” a subordinate next to him said, but his words were immediately questioned. “Jason, I remember that you are not married. Where did you get the child? Isn’t your mother only 60 this year? ”
“Shut up! Can’t I get married in secret? Also, who told you that is my real mother?”
The Severed Fingers member named Jason was furious and shouted to defend himself.
Such a scene was not rare in the crowd. That group of people from the Three-legged Cat tavern had been scared out of their wits. They were considered ordinary employees with the lowest status. Even Count Gray had been fused in front of them; they did not have much to say.
“Alright, everyone, be quiet. Don’t worry. I don’t intend to kill all of you!”
Watson waved his hand. His voice had a trace of combat aura. Everyone who heard his voice obediently shut their mouths and did not dare to say anything else.
“Gray, come here and tell me which other members are still in the royal city. Where are they?”
“Yes, Master! Other than me, there are other members in the capital, including Right Pinky, who is in charge of the slave and pornographic business, and Right Thumb, who is in charge of the sale of military weapons. The former should be in the black market, while the latter is an official of the capital’s City Defense Department. They should be working in the office at the moment.” Count Gray knelt on one knee and replied respectfully.
“Very well. I will be leaving for some time. I want you to gather all your subordinates. I have something to announce later.”
“Yes, Master.”
That day was destined to be a tragic day for the Severed Fingers Gang. Their years as an underground force in the kingdom had been burned to ashes because of a single youth.
“D*mn it, who are you? What are you doing?”
Snick was naked and covered in blood as he curled up in a corner. He was Right Pinky from the Severed Fingers Gang. He was a powerful leader with tens of thousands of people under him. However, he looked helpless as he faced the young man who was gradually approaching him.
Beside him was a large bed. On the large bed were two similarly naked beauties who had already died. The two beauties had iron chains wrapped around their necks, and their bodies were covered in bruises. It was apparent that they had been treated cruelly before they died.
The wicked man was enjoying the slaves he had just captured from other parts of the kingdom just a moment ago. That was before the youth kicked the door open and walked in without saying anything. He slapped Snick into a corner. After seeing him torture the two women to death, the youth’s expression turned cold as he said, “Are you even human to do such a thing?”
Human?
Snick did not know what that was. Could humanity be used as food in exchange for enjoyment? Obviously not, just like how humanity could not protect his life then. What could save his life was ruthlessness.
“Take down that hateful killer for me. I’m going to chop him up and feed him to the dogs later.”
As Snick shouted, the wall behind him broke. A group of guards armed with silver longswords and wearing the same type of armor rushed into the room, protecting him like an iron bucket.
Before Snick could smile, he saw the youth in front of him extend his fingers at him.
“System fusion, activate.”
Snick looked in surprise at the guards in front of him turning into light one by one. Even his own body began to melt.. That was the last thing he saw.