Chapter 30: Conflict and the City Guard

Thinking of this, Lynn glanced down at Rabour and asked.

"In Harbor Town, who do you get along with the least?"

"It's 'Black Hand' Bob..." Rabour didn't understand why Lynn was asking this, but he explained their conflict in detail as if spilling beans from a bamboo tube.

"Great, let me borrow your clothes!" Lynn didn't hesitate to take action, stepping forward and forcibly stripping Rabour's clothes off.

The burly man instinctively thought the demon before him intended to use some cruel skinning technique on him, desperately pressing his body against the ground like a girl being ravished.

In the end, Lynn had no choice but to knock him out. After changing into his clothes, he stared at Rabour's face and initiated the transformation magic.

This was a Shaping Magic he had learned from "Basic Magic Principles," capable of altering a wizard's external appearance.

When Buck, who had died at Anluoke's hands, used this magic to transform into a giant bear, it briefly delayed the opponent's actions.

However, this magic was not all-powerful: it required an in-depth understanding of the creature being transformed into and faced various risks.

"Basic Magic Principles" recorded numerous instances of wizards failing in learning Shaping Magic. Some had transformed incorrectly, some couldn't revert back, and some died from a magic backlash.

It could be said that the wizards who dared to learn Shaping Magic were a bunch of fearless guys.

Fortunately, Lynn's biology knowledge was quite good, and the data in 071's database contained comprehensive 3D models of the human body, including skin, muscles, blood, internal organs, and even cells, greatly reducing unexpected situations.

Of course, compared to disguising as Loth, whose body type, age, and hair color were very similar to his, disguising as Rabour was only about 90% accurate.

It would be enough to deal with some unexpected situations!

Lynn casually wiped some dirt onto his face, tied up the unconscious Rabour, stuffed him into the basement's utility bag, and then walked outside.

"Damn Bob!"

Lynn cursed as he walked out the door. Several watchful stevedores saw Lynn's angry look and cautiously asked.

"Boss Rabour, did the negotiation fail?"

"A whole ship of goods, and the other party only offered 60 Sekas Gold Coins!" Lynn was extremely annoyed. "It's all because of that bastard Bob; he's already contacted the Pedro Family. To steal our business, Bob is willing to transport goods for a meager price."

Upon hearing this, the laborers present were filled with righteous indignation. They knew that a big ship's round trip would cost at least 50 Sekas Gold Coins, not to mention the expenses for the crew at sea. Such a low price was practically sending everyone out for nothing!

'Black Hand' Bob and his laborers had always been at odds with the 'Shipping Gang,' usually causing trouble in the shadows, but this time, he had gone too far, stealing their business at a loss just to spite them.

This was purely malicious...

"Let's go, bring the men and confront him!" Lynn waved his hand and loudly shouted, leading dozens of people as they marched grandly towards the dock.

Meanwhile, on a large sailing ship, 'Black Hand' Bob was waving a whip, scolding a few lazy laborers. When he saw Lynn storming in furiously, he frowned and said discontentedly, "Rabour, why did you bring so many people here?"

Lynn didn't bother with words and punched him directly, knocking the bewildered Bob to the ground.

The laborers on the ship were stunned, but Lynn's men had already charged up, immediately starting a brawl.

The once peaceful dock instantly turned chaotic, with the sounds of shouting and smashing incessantly. A few minutes later, a piercing shout rang out.

"The city guards! The city guards are here!!"

Lynn and the laborers stopped their actions simultaneously, as dozens of armed, armored guards surrounded the ship.

Lynn raised his hands, signaling everyone to cease resistance, his face showing no concern.

That's because the captain of Harbor Town's guard, Tiris, was a long-time acquaintance of Rabour. The last time they embezzled ship goods, he had taken a significant cut!

"What's going on here?" Tiris strode onto the sailing ship, glanced at the scattered goods and the laborers sprawled on the ground, and then turned to Lynn, questioning him impatiently.

"Master Tiris, these people barged in for no reason, smashed the goods stored here, and even attacked us," Bob, missing a tooth from the beating, shouted angrily, feeling deeply wronged and still puzzled about why he had been struck.

"It's just a minor conflict, Master Tiris, and many here can testify that Bob was the first to attack!" Lynn approached with a beaming smile, subtly slipping a small pouch of coins into Tiris's hand.

Over a hundred dockworkers chimed in, drowning out Bob's weak protests.

In Harbor Town, the 'Black Hand' faction was far weaker than the 'Shipping Gang.' If it weren't for an Imperial Earl backing Bob, making Loth wary, he would've been kicked out of the dock long ago.

"Arrest them all!" Tiris, well aware of the underlying conflicts between Harbor Town's two major gangs, assessed Lynn's sincerity and quickly deemed the incident a mutual brawl.

According to Sekas Empire law, those who incite trouble in groups are to be flogged ten times!

...

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

Half an hour later, Lynn walked out of the dock, frowning in annoyance.

He had overestimated Rabour's "relationship" with Tiris. When the latter struck, he held nothing back, delivering each of the ten lashes with full force.

Lynn could only hope this beating wasn't in vain; he had done everything he could.

Given Loth's cautious and cunning nature, he reasoned that the hideout wouldn't be far and that Loth was constantly monitoring the events in Harbor Town.

Loth's biggest concern was drawing the attention of the Church.

So he orchestrated this conflict to attract the city guards, keeping the intensity controlled while framing it as gang rivalry. If all went well, Loth would hear about this soon.

As the public leader of the 'Shipping Gang,' only a direct intervention from Loth could constrain Rabour. Thus, predicting the next move was straightforward.

One of Loth's trusted henchmen might come to deliver a rebuke, but the most likely outcome was...

"Master Rabour, Mr. Loth has urgent business and requests your presence. Please come with me." A few minutes later, a nondescript laborer whispered in his ear.

"Alright, I'm on my way!" Lynn's mouth curled into a smile.

Sure enough, it worked!