"Oh, over there."
Claude gestured with his chin to tell the man not to forget about the three tied up men and the corpse on the ground.
He then stuffed Fatbull Bowen's exquisite deerskin pouch into his robes before gathering all the money he found on the four gangsters into a single pouch and tossing it into his backpack.
The man hesitated a little, but under Claude's intense gaze, he still walked towards Gerrard and the other two.
Gerrard glared at the man, who explained with a teary face, "Boss, there's nothing I can do …"
It's not that I don't want to resist, but the mysterious magus behind me is too cruel.
Look at the five Blacksnake members in the room. Apart from Fatbull Bowen, which one of them isn't a famous expert? But in the blink of an eye, all of them have fallen to the ground. They're all done for.
This masked Mage is here to rob us, not to save us. He doesn't care if we're from Shark or Blacksnake. The Blacksnakes outside are even worse off … Boss, don't doubt me. You just didn't see it …
The man communicated with the tied up Gerrard with his eyes, but Gerrard couldn't understand what he was trying to convey. All he knew was to glare at him fiercely, as though he didn't want to see him betray them.
The man squatted down and rummaged through the pockets of his brother's corpse. He found a money pouch, then his pockets and pants. After making sure he didn't find anything, he stretched his hand towards Gerrard. It was also an exquisite sheepskin pouch. It was bulging and seemed to be filled with quite a bit of money.
Gerrard's eyes were about to spit out sparks, but it was useless. He was tied up tightly and couldn't struggle. All he could do was watch as the man's blood-stained hands rummaged and groped his body.
The man found a few more copper coins on Gerrard's body. After making sure he didn't miss anything, he turned to the sisters who were similarly tied up.
After a moment of hesitation, he extended his sinful hand towards Catherine's alluring body.
At that moment, Claude said, "It's fine if it's a woman."
The man heaved a sigh of relief.
He hurriedly turned around and handed over the two bags of money.
Claude noticed that there was a tinge of regret on his face, as though he was dissatisfied with something he wanted to do but was interrupted.
He took another look at Catherine's tightly bound body and protruding breasts and understood the reason.
But on account of how obedient the pig-faced man was, Claude decided to let it go.
Putting away the two bags of money, he said lightly, "Well done. I'll leave this place for you to clean up."
Claude patted the pig-faced man on the shoulder and waved his robe before leaving.
The people in the room were stunned for a long time. It ended just like that. They wondered if they were dreaming.
After a long time, Gerrard came to his senses and scolded the pig-headed man who was standing in the room stupidly, "Hurry up and untie me."
The pig-faced man hurried to untie Gerrard.
At that moment, Fatbull Bowen was still breathing. He had only fainted from the pain of taking a Magic Missile in his stomach. He had only just regained consciousness. "Help … Help …"
"Huh? He's not dead yet?"
The pig-faced man was a little astonished. When he searched the pockets of the Blacksnakes, it was obvious that the four were beyond saving. They were either on the brink of death or on the brink of death. Fatbull Bowen, on the other hand, wasn't showing any signs of life, so he thought he was dead.
Gerrard, who had just been untied, moved his limbs and picked up a dagger from the gang member's side to cut the ropes binding Catherine and her sister. He then went to Fatbull Bowen's side to check his wounds. "He can still be saved. There's only a hole in his stomach. With so much fat on his body, it's not too serious. He can be healed with a bottle of potion."
Fatbull Bowen's eyes shone with hope. He struggled to raise his hand to tug at Gerrard's clothes. "Save … save me … I'll definitely repay you …"
However, Gerrard laughed and stabbed his knife into Fatbull Bowen's heart. "Save my ass!
I don't need your repayment. "
The pig-faced man was shocked. "You … you killed him?
Butcher Bill will go crazy. They won't rest until we're dead … "
He pulled the dagger out of his heart and watched as blood spurted out. Fatbull Bowen stomped his feet twice before he breathed his last.
Gerrard's expression did not change. "Do you think we'll be fine if we didn't kill him?
If it wasn't for that masked wizard, do you think we'd still be alive to see the sun rise tomorrow?
They killed Ablonk right in front of me. I knew they wouldn't let us go, even if I gave them the shares of the taverns. "
Kicking Fatbull Bowen's corpse, Gerrard laughed. "I didn't expect that masked wizard to be the lucky star of Shark. He crippled our third brother, Squinted Kamadi, and now he's killed Fatbull Bowen. The boss of Blacksnake Gang, Bidlir Blanche, will definitely faint from anger.
Squinted Kamadi was only his thug, and it didn't matter if he was around or not. Fatbull Bowen, on the other hand, was his butler. His death was equivalent to breaking one of his arms.
Bidlir Blanche still has to undergo training in the camp and can't come out.
With Fatbull Bowen's death, Blacksnake won't have anyone to lead the gang in the short term. We'll use this opportunity to deal him a heavy blow. We'll first crush Blacksnake and get rid of the leaders.
Otherwise, we won't be able to contend against Bidlir Blanche's garrison when he comes out. It's best if we reap what we sow now. "
Gerrard was clear-headed. He understood that Blacksnake had fallen out with him tonight and had no intention of maintaining peace and friendship.
He was also well aware of the rumors going around in town. The merchant fleet had been in trouble, the bigshots supporting Shark had been arrested and dismissed, and the boss of Blacksnake, Butcher Bill, also known as Bidlir Blanche, had become the captain of the garrison.
All of this pointed to the impending doom of Shark.
If the rumors came true, what would happen to Shark's future?
This was something Gerrard had been thinking about.
It was obvious that Shark no longer had the ability to contend against Blacksnake. Being swallowed up by Blacksnake was already a relatively good outcome.
What he was afraid of was that Blacksnake would make an example out of Shark to warn the rest, and Shark was that chicken.
The two underground gangs had clashed frequently over the years and their hands were stained with each other's blood. Putting aside the deep hatred, it was publicly acknowledged that they were mortal enemies.
Gerrard didn't wish for Blacksnake to swallow Shark peacefully. He only wished for less blood to be spilled. He even wanted to have an open discussion with the boss of Blacksnake, Bidlir Blanche.
If something really happened to the merchant fleet, he was willing to disband Shark and transfer all his territory and shares to Blacksnake. He only hoped that they wouldn't disturb his and Catherine's happy life in the future.
It was a pity that his hopes were dashed tonight. Fatbull Bowen had led a large group of men to trap them in their home. They couldn't resist under the aim of the ballistae and hunting crossbows and could only wait helplessly as their bodyguards were killed. At that moment, he seemed to have seen the end of his and his lover's fates.
However, he didn't expect a masked mage to come and rob them and turn the situation around.
Since you want my life, I'll take a bite out of you before I die.
At this moment, Gerrard's bachelor temperament finally flared up. This was a golden opportunity that fell from the heavens. Fatbull Bowen was the chief butler of Blacksnake, and the men he had brought with him tonight were all experts of the gang. Without them and the core members recruited into the garrison platoon, the remaining capable men of Blacksnake were no more than two or three kittens. Once they were wiped out, Blacksnake would lose its backbone. Before the boss, Butcher Bill, left the camp, Blacksnake would be in a state of disunity.
Strike while you're down. Although the entire town was under the control of the garrison platoon from the prefecture capital and couldn't organize a large scale brawl, there were bound to be carelessness in such a large town.
However, given the size of the town, there were bound to be some carelessness. Sneak attacks and assassinations did not require a large number of people, and such a small-scale attack was perfect for Shark, which was outnumbered.
"How are Benny and Clive?" Gerrard asked.
"Benny is fine. He only suffered some superficial injuries and fainted after taking a blow to the back of his head.
Three of Clive's ribs were broken and his injuries are rather serious. He needs to be sent to the apothecary for treatment, "the pig-faced man replied.
When Claude asked him to search them in the yard, he checked on the injuries of his two companions.
"What about the Blacksnake men?"
"Six in the yard, four dead and two injured. The other six are in the alley up ahead.
The masked magus said he beat them down. We don't know if they're still alive. "
"Take a knife and check on them. If they're still alive, we'll …" Gerrard made a throat-slitting gesture.
"Understood." The pig-faced man picked up a shortsword and went out.
Gerrard turned to the two sisters and said, "Kathlyn, take out the healing potion I gave you last time. I'll go check on Benny and Clive.
Pack up your things. We can't stay here anymore. We'll go to Mermaid Tavern.
That's the only place where we can be protected. Blacksnake won't dare to look for us there. "
Kathlyn grabbed his arm and asked, "What about this place? This is our home. Are we just going to leave the corpses here?"
Gerrard fell silent for a moment and hugged her with a smile. "This is our home. We'll only be leaving for a while. We'll return in the future.
You should understand what happened tonight. It's not that we're causing trouble, but that Blacksnake won't let us off. Unless we wipe out the entire gang, we won't be able to live the peaceful life we like.
We'll move the corpses away. We'll be finished tomorrow if we leave them here. With so many dead, it'll become the biggest case in the three southwestern prefectures.
We'll use a cart to move the corpses to the lakeside and put them on a boat. We'll then tie them to the middle of the lake and sink them to the bottom.
That way, no one will know where they went. It'll make the Blacksnakes suspicious and it'll be easier for us to retaliate against them. "
Sinking the corpses to the bottom of the lake was the best way to deal with them. It was the best way to get rid of the corpses.
After a period of time, the corpses would be eaten by the fish until only bones were left. At that point, no one would know who the bones belonged to.
Occasionally, some fishermen would fish up the bones, but they'd just throw them back, cursing them for being unlucky. They wouldn't bring the bones back to town and tell everyone about it.
"Pfft, disgusting.
I'm not eating fish anymore, "Kathlyn said.
"J-Brother Gerrard, d-that masked magus stole your money pouch. D-Don't you hate him?" Kefnie asked with a pale face.
Gerrard smiled wryly. Sometimes, he really didn't understand whether women's brains were the same as men's. After such a huge incident, one of the sisters was considering whether to eat fish in the future, while the other was fussing about the robbery.
Shouldn't he be packing his things and preparing to go to the Mermaid Tavern to lie low? Where would he find the time to think about these unimportant things …?