Chapter 199: Infiltration

The guard who had walked to the back of the caravan suddenly shouted, instantly attracting the attention of many people outside the city gate.

"What's going on?"

There were many people coming in and out of the city gate. The mercenaries and the hunters on the other side seemed a bit tense, exchanging glances with each other once again.

Immediately after that, a tall, fat mercenary from the other group stood up. He was bare-chested like a mountain, covered in tattoos, with thick layers of fat on his belly and chest, and sturdy arms and legs, wielding a massive hammer in his hand.

He stood up and shouted loudly, seemingly agitated, and even had a scuffle with the city guard.

"Hey, kid!"

"Why won't you let us into the city?"

The other guards, seeing a bigger commotion here, were drawn over.

"What's going on?!"

"Put down your weapons!"

These days, Pentos had been strictly checking people entering the city with weapons and armor. However, with the massive daily influx of people into the gigantic city-state like Pentos, they couldn't identify everyone, especially those who were coming for the first time and had no employment in the city.

As a result, such disputes and conflicts occurred almost every day, and the guards had long grown used to it.

Although they might not necessarily be able to defeat these mercenaries on their own, the guards had the backing of the city-state and the Magisters, so they confidently surrounded the group.

"What's happening?"

The walls of Pentos were enormous, and its city gate was naturally very large.

The fat officer, on the other side of the gate, saw some kind of commotion happening and furrowed his brow.

Meanwhile, the hunters who were about to enter the city saw the conflict and decided to take advantage of the situation, trying to sneak into the city with their horses and game.

But just as they were about to slip in, a sharp-eyed guard spotted them and yelled.

"Hey! Stop!"

"You damned vermin, who said you could enter the city?"

Not only were there mercenaries and hunters outside the city gate of Pentos, but there were also merchant caravans.

The city-state had a large population, with people coming and going, and the city gate was often overcrowded.

With sudden commotions happening in several places, the city gate area became chaotic, and many others outside the city tried to sneak in without being inspected.

Seeing that they had been discovered, the hunters exchanged glances but did not stop. Instead, they hastened their pace, leading their horses into the crowd.

"Go!"

"Quickly!"

Under the tacit cooperation of mercenaries and hunters, as well as the instigation of others who may or may not have been connected to them, the area outside the city gate of Pentos quickly turned into chaos.

"Catch those people!" the fat officer roared, furious at the sight.

The gray-haired elder watched the farce unfold before him, then gave a cold, derisive laugh.

Then the shrewd man stealthily took out a heavy pouch from his clothes and handed it to the other party.

"Your effort is appreciated, my lord."

"We are all in this together to make a profit."

The gray-haired elder, who seemed to be the leader of the merchant caravan, made no attempt to conceal that there were indeed some prohibited items on his convoy, items forbidden by the laws of Pentos.

He brazenly bribed the other party with a heavy bag of gold coins, being straightforward rather than subtly evasive. He was used to dealing with such people, and sometimes a direct approach was more effective than beating around the bush.

The gatekeeper's face darkened, his mood terrible. While taking the money was one thing, he couldn't afford any chaos at the city gate.

At the moment, he had no time to thoroughly inspect the merchant convoy to see what they were carrying and then threaten them for more money.

Seeing the old man take out a purse so shrewdly, he didn't make things more difficult.

In truth, no merchant convoy could withstand close scrutiny. He could find problems with any of them, as long as they obediently paid up.

He would turn a blind eye as long as they weren't blatantly transporting carts full of armor and weapons.

"Very well."

"Let's all make a fortune together."

The plump officer took the purse, weighed it in his hand, and pocketed it.

He then waved for his comrades to stop the inspection and maintain order at the city gate. If a riot were to break out, his time as a gatekeeper would be over.

Some of the guards chased after those who had snuck into the city, including a few unruly mercenaries and the cunning hunters.

Gurgle...

Following this, the long convoy passed through the city gate without any trouble, entering Pentos.

...

"That was close but no harm done," said an ugly blonde woman in the convoy, speaking to someone next to her.

She was a tall and burly woman, standing at six feet tall, even taller than most men. Her long blonde hair, torn nose, missing ears, and cross-shaped scars on her cheeks were quite intimidating.

"Just now, a boy was staring at me non-stop. I suspect he has fallen in love with me, hehe—"

The woman's laughter was hoarse and low, her words even more chilling.

"I almost couldn't help but gouge his eyes out."

Beside her stood a man with blue eyes and flaxen white hair, his face bearing a forced smile. He was shorter than the blonde woman.

Hearing her words, he looked her up and down, then burst into laughter.

"'Beauty,' was it you who fell for him, or him who fell for you?"

'Beauty' was the blonde woman's nickname; her real name was Meris. But in their group, anyone's name could be changed at will.

Codenames might be real, but names were likely fake.

The young man was called 'Straw' Dick. His words were not solely meant to insult the woman.

When he first joined the group, he had been forced by 'Beauty' Meris to have several intimate encounters with her in a warehouse.

But later, it seemed he accepted her. Sometimes they would even arrange to meet, as a mercenary never knew when death might come, so they should enjoy life while they could.

At the front of the convoy, the gray-haired elder and a fierce-looking man riding beside him remained silent.

The man seemed to be a Dothraki, his face scarred from swords, his upper body bare and muscular, with tattoos covering his skin. A jet-black arakh curved blade hung from his waist.

His name was Kago, indeed a Dothraki who had left his tribe. He was once a slave but killed his master and joined the mercenary group.

Now, he had become the captain of this mercenary band, serving as the right-hand man to the gray-haired elder.

At present, Kago heard the idle chatter of his comrades, glanced at them, and then refocused his attention before speaking in a low voice.

"Boss."

"Has Denzo successfully infiltrated?"