"Now... let's move on to the next topic."

The time came on the night of March 1, 795 of the New Calendar. In the city lord's palace of the Free City, several dark figures with the same style as the city were sitting on their respective seats, quietly communicating with each other.

: "Regarding peace negotiations between two Western countries...should we do something?"

"What's wrong, old Joel, when did you become interested in this kind of struggle for power?"

A person in the black shadow said sharply, and the harsh voice continued to echo in the huge stone hall: "Did the disappearance of Little Aria irritate you? Or has the Blackwater Tribe suppressed you too hard recently?

?”

"Please shut your mouth, Eduin." On the stone bench like a throne, the dark figure who originally made the proposal said in a gloomy tone: "Even if your Chias Alliance already rules the north of Freedom Avenue

Three Streets, this does not mean that you can already dictate to us at will..."

"Fortunately, Huskar didn't come today, otherwise there would have been chaos here."

On the other end of the bright red carpet that was completely incompatible with the old walls here, a laughing voice from another black figure slowly flowed out like sticky mercury: "But... he must be busy right now.

You can't be open-minded, with all your dirty tricks..."

"Hey, don't slander me." The thin voice immediately retorted, pointing to the last empty seat among the stone thrones on both sides of the red carpet: "What does it have to do with me whether he comes or not?"

Maybe he was so hungry that he temporarily went to Rust’s tavern!”

"Don't mention that disgusting guy." A woman sitting opposite him said in a rough voice: "I bet, if I think of that guy who is neither male nor female again, I will forget about last night's speech.

Spit out the food! Let’s get back to the point...what did Joel just say?”

"Related to negotiations between the two countries."

The steady voice at the beginning rang out at the right time, and at the same time there were several pairs of glances directed at the top of the hall corridor: "Excuse me...do you have anything you want to say?"

"This is the first time we have put such an issue on the table."

The black figure closest to the top among the two rows of stone seats said in a deep voice, and the faint sound of armor clashing also shook slightly with the sound of the sound: "Since our city of freedom has stood on the free continent, we have

I have never interfered with the situation on the mainland on the surface. I was either dealing with the conflicts between gang bosses like you, or dealing with the pirates in the north..."

"Yes, who arranged today's agenda?" Another dark figure sitting behind him played with the iron hook in his hand: "When will it start... We already have leisure time to deal with those who like to kill each other.

The monkeys released their care? Don’t we have nothing else to talk about?”

"Of course there is. For example, the statement just made by the Kosk tribe... you will not be able to live in peace in the future, Edouin."

"Hmph...a bunch of idiots. If they think they can gain a place here through force, I will give them a good education."

"Come on, they might have sent someone to negotiate business with Haska, you idiot."

"...Perhaps I should also talk to the adventurers gathered at the dock and ask them not to cooperate with you, an old ghost..."

"Ha, you missed the best opportunity. They are no longer what they used to be. It is almost impossible to buy them with just a few dollars..."

"How do you know? Just based on the 'friendly' relationship between the devil's resurrection and you guys?"

"Hmph, do you think you are the only ones with the help of adventurers? Don't forget, we also have several large adventure groups..."

"alright."

A low and hoarse voice sounded at the end of the stone hall, on a stone bench at the top of the red carpet, interrupting the atmosphere of the hall that was about to become noisy again, and the black figure who made the sound was lying on

The center of the place glanced at the other people here with a condescending look: "If you still have a little bit of self-consciousness as the boss of the major gangs... just draw your attention back to the meeting, do you understand?

"

"...Yes, Lord City Lord."

After a period of silence, the first fully armored figure at the top responded in a low voice: "But...the issue of how to deal with the relationship between the two countries really has nothing to do with us..."

"In that case, let's change it to someone you care about more."

The lord-like shadow at the top waved his hand and interrupted the armored shadow's doubts with a low voice: "I heard that the Rondall family and the Tristan family have returned, and..."

"They brought news from Tania."

"What? The two of them are back?"

The shadows in the hall immediately exploded: "Why haven't you received any news? Could it be that the body was brought back?"

"Such a big change happened in the capital of the principality, but they were able to come back alive..."

"Could it be that he ran back secretly?"

"Did they make an agreement with some shady people..."

"Excuse me for speaking frankly, Lord City Lord."

In the midst of the chaotic discussion, the man in armor saluted in the direction of the city lord: "Have they officially returned to the City of Freedom? Why haven't we gotten the news?"

"Actually...I didn't get it either."

The black shadow at the top played with his fingers with interest: "I learned about it from other channels."

"……What?"

"Along with them, there are several adventure groups belonging to the Principality." The city owner explained in a low voice: "Some of them claim to be representatives sent by the Principality, and they are now in the City of Freedom.

, but before they came here... they were left outside by Rondall and Tristan."

"They got help from someone in the city, so they were able to settle down in this place, and the purpose of their coming here is to test our attitude towards the principality." He said this and pointed with a smile.

Others present: "You might as well discuss this matter..."

"What should we do with these little guys?"

"Hey, we're just a few adventurers, and that guy Pamir doesn't take us seriously."

Before the fully armored black figure could reply, the shrill voice sitting behind him took the lead and said, "Is it possible that that guy has taken over the country and started to ignore us? Or maybe he has a sudden paranoia and wants to

Convince us with just a few adventurers?"

"During this period of time, the adventurers have indeed done some shocking deeds." A certain black figure sitting opposite immediately retorted: "Especially in Tania, I heard that the capital of the principality was preserved.

The corpses of adventurers piled up..."

"So what? This is the city of freedom! No matter how powerful they are, they cannot tolerate being arrogant and wild here!"

"Hey, hey, don't forget how you treated the adventurers who just arrived in our city. Now, haven't they become a force that cannot be ignored?"

"And before those 'representatives' have done anything, you treat them as enemies first? As expected of Eduin, who has a heart as big as a chicken breast..."

"...What did you say? Do you want to fight?"

"Ha, come on, come on, what name do you want to bet on this time?"

"Lord City Lord."

The second black figure holding the iron hook completely ignored the expressions of the following black figures who wanted to start fighting again, and just asked himself: "What is your attitude?"

"...I don't have any ideas yet."

The black figure at the top hesitated for a moment: "That's why I have to take it out and let everyone talk about it together."

"So, how did you know about this news?" The deep old voice at the beginning asked immediately: "We don't even know about the return of the two major families, let alone these adventurers.

There are those ridiculous purposes and the like..."

"Well..."

The Lord City Lord hesitated for a longer time, seeming to be thinking about how to answer another sharp question from Old Joel, but within a few seconds, the armored man in the first place was the first to understand the meaning of the other party's silence: "

Shh-"

"It seems... we have some uninvited guests."

The black shadow stroking the iron hook stood up with a smile, and his two sharp eyes followed the sensed direction and stared at the window sill at the foot of the hall: "It's a pity, little guys..."

"What you broke... was a solemn and great meeting of city owners!"

A murderous roar accompanied by the angry roar of the black figure roared towards the window sill, and then splashed into the sky outside the stone window sill with debris and dots of blood. Like madness

The black figure who was also dancing with the iron hook let out a burst of ear-splitting laughter, seeming to be crazily proud of his success. The armored man who had been sitting next to him without moving suddenly raised his hand and shot another shot back.

Xiang Fei's volley attack blocked the man with the iron hook: "This is..."

"Sword Qi?"

He said in a deep voice, and then stood up suddenly. The heavy and clanking armor seemed like nothing on his body, and he came to the front of the window sill in an instant: "Who is that person?"

"So I've emphasized this to you before."

What responded to him was a distant murmur, but it didn't sound like an answer to him: "The most important thing about sneaking is patience, not strength and agility. Just lie there and be honest."

, you have to move around..."

"……What should we do now?"

"What else can I do? Just run."

Duan Qing, who was in the shadow, protected the cloaked figure in front of him for a while. Seeing that there were no attacks coming from the window sill, he slowly put down the buckler in his hand: "Footsteps, breathing, body coordination, and the matching of movements and equipment.

...These things that sound like fantasy are the basis of stealth, rather than special equipment and skills. Fortunately, this is a world of strong people, and your physical condition is much better than in reality. As long as you

If you train hard for a while...it's not that difficult to become a qualified thief."
To be continued...