30 - Brawl

With this in mind, Lynn looked down at Rabel and asked, "In the Harbor Town, who do you have the most trouble with?"

"It's Blackhand's Bob..." Rabel didn't understand why Lynn was asking this, but he spilled the beans about their conflict.

"Very well, lend me your clothes." Lynn didn't hesitate and forcefully stripped Rabel of his attire.

The burly man instinctively thought the demon in front of him was about to use a cruel skin-stripping spell on him, so he desperately pressed his body to the ground, resembling a young girl being assaulted.

In the end, Lynn had no choice but to knock him out and, after changing into his clothes, stared at Rabel's face and used a transformation spell.

This was a shape-shifting spell he had learned from "Basic Magic Compendium," capable of altering a wizard's external appearance.

Buck, who had died at the hands of Archbishop Anluke, had once used this magic to transform into a giant bear, briefly delaying his opponent's actions.

However, this kind of magic wasn't foolproof. It required a deep understanding of the creature to be transformed into, and it had various risks associated with it. "Basic Magic Compendium" documented many cases of wizards failing to learn shape-shifting magic, making mistakes, being unable to return to their original form, or suffering fatal backlash from magic.

One could say that wizards daring to learn shape-shifting magic were a bold and fearless bunch.

Fortunately, Lynn's knowledge of biology was excellent, and 071's database contained complete three-dimensional models of the human body. Skin, muscles, blood, internal organs, and even the internal cells, were all crystal clear. This knowledge minimized the chances of unexpected situations.

Of course, compared to Lotte, who had a strikingly similar body type, age, and hair color, Lynn disguised as Rabel was only about ninety percent identical.

But it was enough to deal with unforeseen circumstances.

Lynn casually wiped some dirt on his face, tied up Rabel, who had fainted and stuffed him into a sack in the basement. Then, he headed outside.

"Damn it, Bob."

Lynn cursed as he stormed out the door. Several guards on duty saw Lynn's furious appearance and cautiously asked, "Did it not go well, Boss Rabel?"

"A whole shipload of goods, and they only want to pay 60 Sekas gold coins." Lynn raged. "It's all because of that scoundrel Bob. He had already contacted the Pedrol family before us. To snatch our business, Bob is willing to transport their goods at an extremely low price."

Upon hearing this, the workers present were all filled with righteous anger. After all, a single round trip of a large ship at sea costs at least 50 Sekas gold coins, not to mention the crew's expenses at sea. Wasn't this a waste of everyone's time for such a small amount of money?

Blackhand's Bob and his workers had always been at odds with the Ship Gang, but usually, it was limited to secret sabotage. However, this time, they had gone too far. They were willing to take a loss just to snatch their business.

It was downright nauseating.

"Let's go, gather the men, and find him." Lynn waved his hand and shouted loudly, rallying dozens of people to march towards the docks.

At the same time, on a massive sailboat, Blackhand's Bob was berating a few lazy workers with his long whip. When he saw Lynn storming in with anger, he frowned and grumbled, "Rabel, why did you bring so many people here?"

Lynn couldn't be bothered with small talk and punched him directly, knocking Bob to the ground.

The workers on the sailboat stood frozen in place, but Lynn's crew had already charged forward, followed by a series of blows with clubs.

The previously calm dock turned into chaos, with cries and smashing sounds echoing non-stop. Finally, a shrill cry rang out after a few minutes.

"The city guards, the city guards are here."

The hands of Lynn and the workers on the ship came to a halt simultaneously. About a dozen guards, armed with blades and clad in armor, had surrounded the large sailboat.

Lynn raised his hands, signaling everyone to cease resistance, his expression devoid of any worry.

Because Captain Teris of the Harbor Town guards was an old acquaintance of Rabel. The last time they had some missing cargo, Teris had profited handsomely.

"What's going on here?" Teris strode onto the sailboat, taking in the scattered cargo on the ground and the workers lying in disarray. He turned to Lynn with an impatient tone.

"Captain Teris, these people inexplicably barged in, overturned the stored cargo without any reason, and even resorted to violence against us..." Bob, who had lost a tooth in the scuffle, shouted angrily. He felt wronged and couldn't fathom why he had been attacked.

"It's just a minor disagreement, Captain Teris, and many present can testify that Bob was the one who struck first." Lynn took a few steps forward, his smile brimming with goodwill, and slipped a small bag of coins into Teris's hand.

Over a hundred ship workers on the dock joined in the uproar, drowning out any feeble protests from Bob and his companions.

In the Harbor Town, the Blackhand's influence was far inferior to that of the Ship Gang. If not for Bob having an imperial count as his backer, Lame Laut would have kicked him off the docks a long time ago.

"Arrest them all." When it came to the tensions and friction between the two major factions in the Harbor Town, Teris was well aware. After weighing Lynn's sincerity, he quickly categorized this conflict as a brawl.

According to the laws of the Sekas Empire, those causing a public disturbance received ten lashes.

***

"Ouch, that bastard really hit hard..."

Half an hour later, Lynn walked out of the dock, his brow furrowed in annoyance.

He had overestimated Rabel and Teris's "friendship." When Teris had taken action, he showed no mercy, applying full force to those ten lashes.

Lynn could only hope that he hadn't suffered those lashes in vain, as he had done everything he could.

Given Lame Laut's cautious and cunning nature, Lynn guessed that he wouldn't be hiding too far away. He would be keeping a close eye on the happenings in the Harbor Town.

What Lame Laut feared the most was drawing the Church's attention.

So, he had planned this conflict to attract the city guard's presence, and then controlled its intensity, keeping the cause of the conflict related to the faction's interests. If everything went according to plan, this matter would soon reach Lame Laut's ears.

As the top figure of the Ship Gang in the public eye, no one but Lame Laut himself could manage him. So, it was easy to anticipate what his next move might be.

It might be possible that one of Lame Laut's trusted subordinates would convey a reprimand. Still, the most likely scenario was...

"Boss Rabel, Mr. Laut has an important matter to discuss with you. Please follow me," a plain-looking ship worker suddenly whispered in his ear a few minutes later.

"Alright, I'll go right away." A sly smile curved on Lynn's lips.

As expected, it had arrived.