Chapter 33: Treasure Hunting

After arriving at his room, Zaos got onto the large king-size bed and contemplated.

[As long as my meeting with the leader of the Venom Order goes well; I might be able to form an alliance with him and suppress the other gangs.] Zaos stared blankly at the ceiling.

[However, if he is stupid enough to challenge me, I don't mind making an example out of him to scare the other gangs… ]

Zao's situation was rather delicate. As a new individual in the crime circle formed by the existing crime lords, Zaos' strength would be doubted. Even though he had managed to dispatch Marvid, as his fight wasn't made public, others would not be able to gauge his strength.

This was especially the case as one's rank was not easily recognizable until they got into battle and utilized their elemental weaves.

[Once I gain a solid standing in the crime world of the mercenary city, the Qildor clan would avoid taking any drastic decisions. After all, I'm still a member of the clan.] Zaos closed his eyes. He planned to rest until Rendov returned.

After roughly a few hours of rest, Zaos was awoken by the soft sounds of knocking at his door.

[Rendov, maybe?] He sat up and addressed the individual behind the door.

"Who is it?" He asked in an audible tone.

"My lord, Rendov has returned… " The enchanting voice of the wind elf maid reached Zaos' ears.

"Alright, I'll be with him in a minute. Also, have him bring the wind elf out of the dungeon." Zaos instructed.

"Yes, my lord." The maid responded as she took her leave.

Zaos arose from the bed, straightened out his attire, and went out of the room. He washed his face in the bathroom before heading downstairs to the living room.

By the time he got there, Rendov had already arrived with the late Marvid's wife.

"Leader," Rendov bowed at Zaos' presence. He felt even more intimidated by Zaos than Marvid.

Zaos casually nodded, he went to the cushioned chair and took a seat. He gazed at Rendov and spoke in a neutral tone.

"Report," Zaos ordered.

"Y-yes, boss. I and some others scouted the forest thoroughly, we found no traps or hidden groups in the area." Rendov reported.

Zaos nodded as he shifted his attention to the female wind elf in chains.

"It seems you aren't stupid, Syvis." He said with a smile.

Syvis trembled slightly at his remark. Yet, she didn't dare retort and kept her head down the entire time.

"We will head there immediately. You will lead the way and if all goes well, I might spare your pitiful life." Zaos relaxed on the elevated cushioned chair as he gazed at Syvis.

Syvis raised her head, her eyes sparking with hope. She said nothing but simply nodded.

"Good. Rendov, gather some people, and we leave immediately." Zaos arose from his chair.

"Yes, boss," Rendov bowed and quickly exited with Syvis.

Zaos made his way to his room. After entering the room, he changed into his leather assassin outfit and checked his weapons before heading downstairs.

[I should probably change my weapons soon,] Zaos looked at his slightly damaged daggers. His weapons were low-grade once and after all the battles he had been through, the weapons were slowly degrading.

[Maybe I can find something in the Marvid's treasure stash, if not, then I'll have to get myself another pair.] Zaos arrived at the living room where Rendov and some other elves had gathered. They all wore leather armor, except for Syvis who was in a casual dress. Her chains hadn't been removed.

"Boss," The gangster greeted. It didn't matter if they liked Zaos or not.

"Let's get going," Zaos instructed the group.

"Yes, boss," Rendov stepped forward. He had Syvis' chains in his hands as he led the way.

The other elves surrounded Zaos in a triangular formation. The heavy hitters like the earth elves were in front while the ranged fighters like dark elves, fire elves, and wind elves took the sides.

[A formation like this would be hard to break for most normal elves and savage beasts.] Zaos scrutinized.

He had full confidence in breaking the formation if he acted stealthy.

Zaos and the group soon left the mansion, they traversed for a while through the relatively large forest before exiting it.

The environment outside the forest was a remote landscape with a few trees, bushes, and grass dotted around. The mercenary city was nowhere in sight.

[I guess the forest isn't close to the settlement,] Zaos observed his surroundings.

"This way boss," Rendov said as he headed in the western direction.

The group of ten elves including Zaos followed behind him. They traveled fast and before the first star in the sky could appear, they had arrived at a small settlement.

The settlement was about the size of the settlement Zaos visited when he returned from his trip in the forsaken woods.

"Is this the Kikimill settlement?" Zaos asked Rendov who was a few meters ahead of him.

"Yes boss," Rendov acknowledged.

Zaos nodded. He gazed at the group, many of them were panting and sweating, but forced themselves to move forward. Syvis was also panting heavily, and if not for Rendov who was carrying her at the moment, she wouldn't be able to continue.

[Tsk, seems we will have to rest for a while.] Zaos scoffed at the elves' lack of stamina.

"Are there any inns here, Rendov?" Zaos asked the muscular earth elf.

"Yes boss, Kikimill has a large inn located in the middle of the settlement. They serve good food too," Rendov responded in a respectful tone.

"We head there then. After a short rest, we will continue on our journey." Zaos spoke to the entire group.

Many secretly released a sigh of relief and sincerely thanked Zaos.

The group soon arrived at the open settlement. Their arrival naturally gathered the attention of the locals. Many locals peaked their heads out from their windows and watched as the heavily armored group moved through their streets.

Yet, none of the locals dared approach the group. Those on the streets moved away from them in fear. This made the group's journey through the streets quicker even though they moved leisurely.

The gangsters had proud expressions on their faces as if they weren't panting from exhaustion a few minutes ago.

[What a bunch of fools.] Zaos snorted in disdain as he observed the reactions of the individuals around him.

After a few minutes, the group arrived at the large two-story inn located in the middle of the settlement. They made their way inside, finding almost no one present except for the innkeeper at the counter.

[It seems they all fled when they realized we were coming here.] Zaos observed the plates of untouched food and open bottles of liquor left on the tables.

He and the group made their way to the horrified innkeeper. Zaos stepped out of the formation and said to the innkeeper when they were right in front of the counter.

"I need 3 rooms. One for myself, and the rest for them." He said in a neutral tone.

"Y-yes, sir," the male dark elf innkeeper stuttered as he left the counter and gestured to the group.

"T-this way, sirs." He led the group up the flight of stairs.