Chapter 943: The Spread of Black Flame
“All clear?”
Elena watched Zooey come down the steps from the deck, wiping the blood from her face with the back of her wrist — not urgently, the way you’d wipe sweat.
“Clear,” Zooey said. “Took a little longer than I expected. But it’s done.”
Betty leaned against the rail, tilting her head. “What do we do next? Write His Majesty a report?”
“Leave that to Elena.” Zooey flicked a glance toward the horizon. “Summarizing isn’t my strength. Besides, His Majesty didn’t put much emphasis on this particular matter — only to maintain stability by whatever means necessary. You could write Appen as a man full of malice who refused to accept change. Which is also just the truth.”
“If he’d had no evil intentions,” Betty said, as if arriving at a conclusion she’d been working toward, “why would he choose a border town of the Kingdom of Wolfheart as his first stop? The location speaks for itself.”
“I’ll write it properly,” Elena said, with a brief, deliberate clearing of her throat. “Cause and effect, reasoning, analysis — everything laid out. Like a City Hall meeting record.”
“You just want His Majesty to compliment your writing so you can earn extra visits to the Dream World,” Zooey said flatly.
“Wha—what did you say?”
“Oh.” Betty’s expression brightened with sudden interest. “I hadn’t thought of that. Elena, can you teach me how to write official reports?”
Elena coughed. “Let’s finish the work first.”
“Right.” Zooey let the sharpness drop from her voice. “Don’t include what I just said in your report.”
“Obviously.” Elena turned toward the far end of the deck and raised her hand. “You — come here.”
Three figures in dark robes approached. Two were supporting the third, an old man who moved with the slow deliberateness of someone accustomed to managing pain. He came to the witches and bowed.
“Lady Oracle. How may I serve you?”
“You followed me here willingly,” Elena said. “I assume you came prepared.”
The old man was Banach Lothar — founder of Black Money, the shadow merchant of the City of Glow, a name known in underground circles the way a deep-sea creature is known: by reputation and occasional catastrophe. The God’s Punishment Witches were beyond comparison in a direct fight, but intercepting Appen at sea without leaving any trail back to Graycastle required the kind of access only common people possessed. Banach had that access.
Regicide was another matter. Even vast wealth, it seemed, could not quite inoculate a man against the worship of bloodlines — Banach’s shoulders had not stopped trembling since they boarded, though he stood straight regardless. The ambition was there, visibly, in the line of his jaw.
“Yes.” His voice was steadier than his hands. “I am willing to serve.”
“At ease.” Elena set a hand on his shoulder briefly. “In the eyes of the deities, the names men give themselves are nothing. A king’s title is just a title. Now: which plan do you recommend?”
Banach composed himself. “Of the three, the first — disguise it as a shipwreck. Along this route, dozens of ships are lost every year: storms, groundings, rogue waves, shifting sandbars. There is a rainstorm forecast along the border sea lanes in two days. We need only sail the ship into open water and open the hull below the waterline. No one will know what happened.”
He paused. “The other two options — pirates, noble vengeance — aren’t unreasonable as misdirection, but false facts crack under sustained investigation. Even if the investigators find nothing, the interested parties can manufacture their own evidence.”
“And for the shipwreck,” Zooey said, “you can make everything disappear?”
“Yes, my Lady.” The certainty in his voice was precise and unhurried. “Even the sailors I brought with me will go down with the ship. They are Black Money’s silent warriors — trained for exactly this kind of removal. There is no path by which the information escapes.”
“Silent warriors,” Elena said, looking at the two men supporting him. “Are these two among them?”
“Yes. They cannot hear, nor speak. They operate on specific gestures alone — hence the name.” He glanced at them with something difficult to read. “Training one is difficult. The success rate is perhaps one in ten, even with subjects in good condition.”
Elena understood what good condition likely meant and what subjects implied and how a man built a private army of the deaf-mute. She didn’t comment on it. Even in the age of the Union, the strong had always found ways to use the weak — it was one of the facts she had stopped being surprised by, the way you stop being surprised by cold in winter.
“I brought fifty,” Banach said. “They answer only to me. They are more than sufficient.”
“Then proceed.” Elena met the eyes of Zooey and Betty in turn. “But there is one more task.”
Banach swallowed once, visibly. “If it is within my ability, I will spare nothing.”
This next order did not come from Roland. It came from Pasha.
“It’s simple. Black Money currently has dealings with the new King of Dawn — Horford Quinn. You will continue to present the appearance of supporting him. At the same time, you will insert as many informants as you can into his new regime and report on the Quinn family’s movements. Do you understand?”
Banach blinked. “But — isn’t he the lord that you placed on the throne?”
“Precaution,” Elena said. “Common people’s loyalties are short-lived. When the real test comes, who can say a puppet will hold?” A pause. “Besides, it isn’t reliable to entrust the stability of an entire kingdom to a single family. I want Black Money to be part of the structure.”
A man who had always wanted power should have been exhilarated at those words. Banach was not. He looked worried instead. “This is a long undertaking, and I can do it, but — as you know — my health—”
Elena reached behind her and produced two small bottles. She handed them to him without ceremony. “Take these. Drink one when your body begins to fail. Wait at least a month between doses. Six more bottles after these, and your body will meet the base criteria for modification.”
The anxiety in Banach’s eyes dissolved into something bright and shaking. He took the bottles carefully, tucked them into an inner pocket, then bowed low — deeper than the first time, a different kind of gratitude.
“I will not fail.”
“Work hard.” Elena’s voice was almost soft. “When it’s done, we’ll make you something that doesn’t age.”
Chapter 943: The Spread Blackflame
Translator: TransN Editor: TransN
“All clear?”
While looking at Zooey, who was walking down the deck, Elena asked.
“Yes, it took some time.” Zooey wiped the fresh blood on her face. “Luckily it’s all cleared now.”
“What are we going to do next?” Betty asked, shrugging, “Write a report to His Majesty, Roland?”
“Leave it to Elena. I’m not good at summarizing. After all, His Majesty didn’t take it very seriously. He only told us to maintain the stability of the situation with whatever necessary means. Just write Appen as a man who resisted change and was full of evil intentions. Such a person is better off dead.”
“That’s the truth,” Betty said as if she thought this over already. “If he had no evil intentions, why would he choose a border town nearest to the Kingdom of Dawn?”
“His Majesty may not take it seriously, but we can’t do the same.” Elena cleared her throat. “I’ll lay out all the details about the cause and effect, and the analysis basis, including what you just said—just like a record of a meeting in the City Hall.”
“I bet you just want to get His Majesty’s compliment to win a few more visits to his Dream World.” Zooey rolled her eyes and said.
“Wha-what did you say!”
“Really? Why didn’t I think of that…” Betty looked at Elena with excitement. “Can you teach me how to write an official report?”
“Um… let’s see.” Elena coughed drily. “Let’s get the work done first.”
“Right.” Zooey put away her mocking look. “But don’t put what we’ve just said in your report.”
“I know.” Elena looked at the other end of the deck and waved at a few men in black robes. “Come here.”
The lead man, supported by another two men by their hands, walked to the witches and bowed. “Lady Oracle, what can I do for you?”
“Since you were willing to follow me here, it means you’re fully prepared, right?” Elena asked seriously.
The old man was none other than the founder of “Black Money,” the legendary merchant of City of Glow, Banach Lothar. Although the God’s Punishment Witches were incomparable in terms of combat capacity, they still needed the assistance of common people in such a matter as intercepting Appen on the sea and making sure his death could not be traced back to Graycastle.
To a common person, regicide was an unimaginable crime, especially when it was to terminate the whole royal bloodline. Ridiculous as it was, even wealth, no matter how enormous it was, was no match for such worship of descent, which was shown from Banach’s shivering shoulders. Nevertheless, he still managed to make a move, indicating his ambition abundantly clear.
“Yes… I’m willing to serve you.”
“Take it easy.” Elena patted his shoulder with satisfaction. “In the deities’ eyes, the identities of common people are meaningless. What’s the big deal about a king? It’s nothing but a title. Tell me, what do you plan to do next?”
Banach eased up a bit. “Among the three plans, I’m in favor of the first. I think to disguise it as a shipwreck is the safest method. Each year, along this
route, dozens of ships sink for various reasons like a rainstorm, tsunami, stranding, etc. What’s more, on the sea along the borderline, there’ll be a rainstorm two days later. We only need to drive the ship further into the sea and dig a hole in its bottom. Nobody will know what exactly happened.”
He gasped and added, “As for disguising it as a pirate robbery or noble’s revenge, I think they aren’t unreasonable. Although we could divert people’s suspicion to certain targets, false facts won’t hold under intense investigation after all. Even if people fail to find any trace, those nobles could just produce some flaws by themselves.”
“So for the shipwreck, you can make all the clues vanish?” Zooey asked coldly.
“Yes, my Lady,” Banach said with a determination. “Even the sailors I brought with me will disappear with the ship. They are the silent warriors raised by Black Money to clean things up. There is no way the information will leak out.”
“Silent warriors?” Elena looked at the two servants beside him. “Are those two among them?”
“Yes. They can’t hear, nor speak, and need to be given specific gestures to be commanded. That’s why they’re called silent warriors.”
“They must have paid a hell of a price…” Elena knew how troublesome it was to train a deaf-mute into a warrior. At best, the success rate was only one out of ten, given that the trainees were actually in fairly good conditions. But how did an underground Chamber of Commerce find so many wellconditioned deaf-mutes? They probably chose well-conditioned men then turned them into deaf-mutes with medicine.
Of course, she did not care how common people treated other common people. Even in the era of the Union, they had never stopped bullying people weaker than them.
“This time I took 50 silent warriors with me, who take orders from nobody but me. They’re more than enough to take care of those sailors. So this plan is
perfectly safe.” Banach said while bowing.
“Alright, just do it.” Elena looked at Zooey and Betty. “But I have one more thing for you to do.”
The old businessman swallowed his own saliva. “As long as it’s in my ability, I’ll spare no effort.”
If it were only to create an “accident”, she did not have to conceal it from His Majesty Roland, but the following order was not from Roland but Pasha.
“It’s simple. ‘Black Money’ has made contact with the new King of the Kingdom of Dawn, Horford Quinn. On the one hand, the Chamber of Commerce will continue to appear supporting him, on the other hand, you need to input as many as informants as you can into his new regime to observe the Quinn Family’s acts and moves. Do you understand?”
“But… isn’t he the puppet supported by you?” Banach asked confusedly.
“Just in case. After all, common people have a short and fragile determination. When the real challenge comes, who can guarantee the puppet will behave as loyal as he should?” Elena paused. “Besides, it’s not reliable to rely on one family to manage the Kingdom of Dawn. I hope your ‘Black Money’ can be a part of it.”
If a person had always yearned for power, he would be extremely exhilarated at such a hint, yet Banach did not show much of joy. He asked worriedly, “This is a long-term plan and I’m able to do this, but, as you know, my physical condition…”
Elena took out two bottles from behind her and handed them over to the old man. “Take them. Drink them when you don’t feel well. But remember, don’t drink them within the month of each other. With another six bottles of this, your body will meet the basic criteria for modification.”
Excitement filled with Banach’s eyes. He anxiously took over the bottles and put them into his pockets carefully. Deeply bowing, he said in excitement, “I guarantee the success of the mission!”
“Work hard. When it’s done, we’ll turn you into an immortal.” Elena said softly.