CHAPTER 96: The Three Heavyweights Of The Dark Mantle Organisation

After traveling a short distance through the mansion, Han Shuo learned that the lanky man's name was Chester and that he was a bandit. From Chester, Han Shuo also learned something about the current situation of the Dark Mantle.

The members of Dark Mantle were divided into three divisions, Dark Star, Dark Moon and Dark Sun, according to their contributions to the organisation. The scattering of stars across the curtain of night represented the fact that Dark Star members could be found everywhere, in all corners of the Empire; the Dark Moon level was only one step higher, but they still couldn't see the light of day and could only live in the dark corners. However, the higher level Dark Sun members could appear in public like the sun, shining brightly during the day.

The three divisions of Sun, Moon and Star were further divided into five levels according to their contributions to the Empire. Han Shuo currently held the rank of Dark Star, and the minute star on the back of his iron medallion represented that Han Shuo was the lowest one-star member of the Dark Stars.

As a member's contributions to the Empire increased, the medallion would slowly accumulate two stars, three stars, four stars, and finally five stars. One would be promoted to a Dark Moon Member when they reached five stars, and then from a One Star Moon Member they would progress to a Fifth Star Moon Member, similar to the way they progressed from Dark Star, and so on and so forth until they were a Dark Star Member at the highest levels.

Once you advanced to a higher level, not only would your monthly stipend increase greatly, but you would also enjoy more of the special authority of the Dark Mantle Organisation. When one reached the highest levels, like Candide, he would report directly to the King. He would be below one person and above tens of thousands. All wealth and prosperity would be within reach.

"We have arrived!" Chester finally brought Han Shuo to a house in the centre and stopped in front of it after walking a long distance.

Han Shuo had released the three original demons along the way and discovered that there was no one else in the mansion except for Chester and himself. There were no defences at all set up around the sprawling manor. This puzzled Han Shuo.

This room was not large and Han Shuo still couldn't see anything out of the ordinary after looking around. He asked Chester with a surprised expression, "Is there anything out of the ordinary here?"

"Heh heh, of course there is something different here. The whole manor is just as you saw it, with no defences whatsoever. This manor is just a cover. The real 'Dark Mantle' isn't here at all." Chester explained with a faint smile and then fumbled with something. Somehow a crack appeared in the smooth floor, revealing a bright passage.

"So there was another hidden mechanism. Heh heh, where does this lead to?" Han Shuo couldn't help but ask as he saw the passage appear in front of him.

"Come, I'll take you to the true 'Dark Mantle' stronghold!" Chester smiled and jumped down into the bright passageway, calling for Han Shuo to come down as well.

Han Shuo felt that his landing place was quite soft after he'd jumped down as well. There were solid walls around him, and suddenly, strong magical impulses came from inside the passage.

The solid walls around them broke apart into a large door, accompanied by a soft sound. A very bright passageway appeared before them, like a maze. There were several intersecting passageways ahead, and strong magical impulses emanated from the walls at the sides. There were also many unnamed powerful crossbows locked and loaded, their cold, sharp gleam pointing at every corner of the passageway.

"Why do I feel like this place is similar to a cave?" Han Shuo asked involuntarily after looking around.

Chester stepped out from inside and motioned for Han Shuo to follow, explaining as he did so, "Your feeling is correct. This is Mount Ordas behind the Imperial Palace. This towering mountain is strictly forbidden to intruders. The stronghold of our 'Dark Mantle' is located in the heart of the mountain, where security is truly the tightest. The Empire's army is also stationed around it. As the King's secret hand in the shadows, it houses all sorts of the Empire's talents, as well as many confidential documents. There hasn't been an incident for many years, and its security level is on par with the emperor's own palace.

Han Shuo felt that the security here was extremely high, and some of the surrounding magical impulses palpably contained strong danger. He didn't dare release the lowest level demon general, the original demon, in a place like this. He could only use his perceptive senses to detect the various dangers lurking around him.

He followed Chester and traversed a few passages. Along the way, he met a few other members of the Dark Mantle and a few stone chambers appeared. Han Shuo could feel the breathing and heartbeats inside and knew that there were people inside these stone chambers.

"Master Candide is one of the three heavyweights of our Dark Mantle, so I don't have the qualifications to personally lead you to him. However, I can make a report for you. If you've truly been inducted by Master Candide, I think he'd be willing to see you!" Chester's look at Han Shuo contained a bit of envy, as if Han Shuo really was lucky to be under Candide's tutelage.

I've heard you mention the three heavyweights of the Dark Mantle a few times. Who are the other two besides Candide?" Han Shuo asked as he walked along.

"There is also Lord Amyes and Lady Cecilia. Lady Cecilia is in charge of all Dark Mantle affairs outside the realm. She is also said to be a charming lady. Heh heh, it's a pity that a little character like me will never see her in my life. Lord Amyes and Lord Candide deal with all matters within the Empire, but Lord Amyes is primarily in charge of monitoring and investigating all nobles and high-ranking officials within the Empire, and is a man who absolutely lives in the public eye of our organisation".

"If the results of his investigations show that these officials have done something against the interests of the Empire, he can arrest them directly and then report to the King. He can even directly execute some of the lower nobles without asking His Majesty's permission. For this reason, Lord Amyes is the nightmare of most of the Empire's nobles. Lord Candide is in charge of the internal affairs of the Empire, including the smoking out and killing of all the various spies of hostile kingdoms, the gathering of information useful to the Empire, and the extermination of all hidden threats to the Empire. Chester explained the details of the three Dark Mantle heavyweights as they walked.

The two stopped in front of a metal door as Chester continued to explain. Upon arrival, Chester motioned for Han Shuo to stop and spoke into a small hole in the metal door. "There is a Dark Star ranked member who has identified himself as Bryan here to see Lord Candide. He says he's under Lord Candide's direct supervision!"

"Wait a moment, I'll ask Lord Candide's opinion." A cold, unemotional voice came from the small hole. The metal door opened abruptly after about two minutes, revealing several round dials. Magic pulsed from one of the dials. The voice sounded again, "Bryan may enter. Stand on the round dial. Chester, you wait outside. When Bryan comes out later, lead him out the original way."

"Yes." Chester replied, explaining in a low voice, "When we came in, we took a short distance magical transport matrix. There's a similar transport matrix in the heart of the mountain, it will take you to where you need to go."

Nodding, Han Shuo indicated that he understood and rose to walk towards the dial carved with wondrous magical images. A short distance transport matrix wasn't difficult to set up, any space mage above the Adept class would be able to set one up as long as they had enough materials.

But a long-distance transport matrix, like the one Han Shuo had taken to the Cemetery of Death in the Dark Forest, one that spanned thousands of miles, wasn't one that ordinary mages could set up. Not only did it require someone of Archmage level or above, it also required a large amount of magical ingredients. Without the support of a great power, this level of transport matrix would be impossible to materialise.

Once again sighing inwardly in appreciation of the wonders of the Cemetery of Death

, Han Shuo stood directly on the magical Matrix and then reappeared, under the control of the Matrix, in a spacious stone chamber. This stone chamber was very bright and comfortable, even more luxurious than the Boozt Merchant's Guild. The surrounding walls were carved with exquisite magical drawings, and a few landscape paintings hung on them as well. The chandelier above his head sparkled with a soft and brilliant light, illuminating the entire stone chamber.

Candide sat at the table near the front of the stone chamber, his brow furrowed as he leafed through a scroll. As Han Shuo took in his surroundings and rested his gaze on Candide, Candide finally put down the scroll in his hand. His hooked face turned towards Han Shuo and he opened his mouth to ask darkly, "What is it, have you discovered something?"

Nodding, Han Shuo summarised the events of the past few days for Candide, including Duke's meeting with Camilla, the conversations about the 'Eye of Darkness' and the son of the head of the Gryphon Legion, Clark's meeting with Duke. He told them all in their entirety.

As Han Shuo's explanation continued, Candide's originally grim-looking face became uglier and more twisted. Candide remained silent without a word after Han Shuo finished speaking, his forehead knit tightly together as if pondering something.

After a while, just as Han Shuo was getting impatient with waiting, Candide broke into a smile and said to Han Shuo, "Bryan, you've done very well, so well that I'm amazed. It looks like you were born for this kind of profession. With your strength, I'm really surprised that you've managed to gain so much valuable information in such a short time. Duke is a Wind Archmage, and even Camilla is a Dark Adept. Clark is a great earth rider. You've gained so much valuable information under unsuspecting circumstances that I can only use magical as the only qualifier to describe your performance.

"You praise me too highly." Han Shuo said humbly.

"You don't need to be modest. You've handled this matter perfectly. Even though I'm very curious how you did it, you're one of mine and I wouldn't interfere and question you. Heh heh, don't worry about what comes after, I'll send someone to take care of it. Candide used the eyes of one who sees a monster as he looked at Han Shuo and complimented him.

Han Shuo heaved a sigh of relief. The thing he'd been most worried about before was that Candide would suspect the truth of his words. After all, it should have been logically impossible for him to hide from so many people and still gain so much information with his level of power. What made Han Shuo happy was that Candide didn't doubt the truth of this matter at all. He didn't even ask how Han Shuo had obtained this information, which made Han Shuo feel very surprised.

"Don't find this strange, for our Dark Mantle organisation we only need to know the final results of the mission. We don't ask about the process. Every member has their own way, and we don't care what methods members use when we set a mission, only that it is completed properly. So there's nothing for you to worry about. We won't interfere with your life if there is no mission, you can go about your daily routine and enjoy yourself. Candide seemed to see through Han Shuo's thoughts and patiently explained.

"Alright, then there's nothing to do with me for now?" Han Shuo agreed with the Dark Mantle's principles and replied with a smile.

"Give me the medallion that represents your identity. I'll record this very important information in your medallion and in the organisation's files. I am obliged to add two stars for you. Some members are unable to receive even one star with ten pieces of information, but the value of your information is enough to qualify you for two stars." Candide looked at Han Shuo and smiled at him.

Candide then took Han Shuo's Medallion and did something to it so that when it landed back in Han Shuo's hand, two small stars had magically appeared on its back. This meant that Han Shuo had directly skipped two levels and entered the ranks of the Third Dark Star.

"I'll say goodbye now if there's nothing else." Han Shuo was also a bit pleased to see that one mission was enough to make him a Third Dark Star like Chester and smiled as he spoke.

Nodding, Candide said, "All right, you can go now, but you must report to the organisation every month. If you learn of any new information that would benefit or harm the Empire during that time, you can come directly and make a report. Your contributions will be calculated according to the accuracy of the information and recorded in your organisation's files".

"Heh heh, many Dark Star members rise through the ranks this way. You must report every month, even if you have no intelligence. This allows the organisation to know your status on the one hand, and to see if there are any missions suitable for you on the other. Of course, you have the right to choose some missions and the right to refuse others," Candide added.

Han Shuo nodded, indicating his understanding without saying much more and prepared to leave. But when he reached the door, Candide seemed to have an embarrassing subject to disclose and called out, "Wait a minute, Bryan.

Pausing, Han Shuo turned back to Candide and asked in confusion, "Is there something else, Lord Candide?"

"You need to handle your relationship with Lawrence appropriately, it may have a great impact on you in the future. Lawrence's identity is far more complex than you can imagine, and I can only tell you so much. You should keep your wits about you. Candide also seemed to be in a difficult position and paused after saying these words.

"I've heard that he's the son of a finance minister, is that what you wanted to tell me?" Han Shuo had heard Lisa mention a few things about Lawrence before, so he opened his mouth to ask Candide again.

After first nodding and then shaking his head, Candide opened his mouth again under Han Shuo's perplexed gaze, "Lawrence is the son of an eminent finance minister, many are aware of that, but apart from that, Lawrence has another identity. The implications of his identity are too great, and your current level doesn't have the right to know this information. I'm not at liberty to reveal too much, and I just wanted to remind you to be careful not to get involved in something you shouldn't.

Candide waved his hand and motioned for Han Shuo to leave. Han Shuo felt unsure, but now that he knew some of the rules of the Dark Mantle, he didn't ask much. He nodded to indicate that he'd pay attention and left Candide's room.

"Well, did you find out anything?" Chester asked Han Shuo excitedly as the two retraced their steps after the latter had rejoined Chester.

"Not much, just that Candide added two stars for me. I'm now a Third Dark Star just like you, heh heh!" Han Shuo didn't feel that there was anything to hide from Chester's interest and smiled as he spoke to Chester.

Chester was astonished and incredibly jealous to hear Han Shuo's words. He sighed and shook his head at Han Shuo after his surprise and said, "Your speed of advancement with Lord Candide is indeed incredible. I joined the Dark Mantle three years ago and reported some twenty pieces of information before becoming a Third Dark Star. You haven't even been in the organisation for a week and you've already risen to the rank of Third Dark Star. Ai, comparisons are disgusting, the treatment is indeed different when someone is looking after you from above.

Han Shuo shrugged and didn't say much about Chester's reflection. Even though he had received the information through his own strength, such things were inexplicable and he simply decided not to say anything.

"In the future, if there's a mission that needs two people, can you take me along? Just think of it as helping me?" Chester sighed with emotion and then scratched his head, broaching the uncomfortable subject with a bit of embarrassment.

"Sure." Han Shuo readily agreed.

"Thank you very much! I'll keep you in mind and do my best to follow your instructions." Chester was overjoyed and his attitude became even more enthusiastic than before. He continued to describe all sorts of Dark Mantle matters to Han Shuo and sent him back to the quiet mansion in the northern district. "