Chapter 173: Assassins and Alliances

"You actually let the assassin sneak in like this and let him stay for so long. Does my survival depend on the enemy's mercy in the future!"

"Are your brains filled with pig iron?!"

It is said that there are only wrong names, not wrong nicknames. Cleaver is famous for his hot temper.

The non-humans of Novigrad rarely acted in a flashy manner, but Cleaver was the flashiest among them. He liked to show off his tattoos and jewelry, sporting his mohawk hairstyle, being extremely eye-catching.

At this moment, in front of Cleaver was a group of trembling subordinates. Kolgrim could find almost all non-human races there, except for elves.

After scolding his guards, Cleaver turned to look at Kolgrim.

"My men are good fighters and being able to infiltrate so silently, you deserve the title of master. So, master witcher, what lesson do you have for me?"

Kolgrim stood at the edge of the room with cold eyes, moving his fingers from time to time, ready to draw his weapon or escape at any time.

Zoltan stood between the two with his arms folded, looking at Cleaver for a while, and then looking up at Kolgrim.

"I was tasked to kill you because Chappelle didn't want the riots to harm civilians."

"Ha! The plan was discovered. Fortunately, I didn't decide to follow the sorcerer, otherwise we would have turned into torches in the square in two days!"

"Go back and tell Chappelle that I'm a gangster, but not a fucking villain. We've been opponents for so many years, doesn't he know me? I hope to fight for the rights of my comrades so they can buy bread and wine at the same price as humans, but I have never threatened others with force to give us food!"

"As we are a minority living in Novigrad, we always have to unite. Even though sometimes sticks and knives are indispensable for people to talk to us on equal terms, we are honest people who lead a stable life."

Cleaver shook his head. "The city is more chaotic, won't our lives be worse? The peaceful life makes my thugs less and less, but I know that once there is danger, everyone around me will be Everyone is a warrior. The proposal of Caleb Menge and the sorcerer is shit to me, and I have no interest in dealing with a friend of a friend because of it. "

"Not only me, I guess Francis doesn't want to follow Caleb Menge. Although the nickname of 'King of the Beggars' is self-proclaimed, it is also recognized by his subordinates. You may not believe it, but that guy is a good person. He often shelters the homeless and occasionally helps others for no reason. Although this situation may only happen once every few years, it is understandable. This damn world..."

Speaking of this, Cleaver raised his chest proudly. "So we are both good people!"

...

"Afterwards, Zoltan swore on his mother that Cleaver could be trusted, and I believed him." Kolgrim said. "After all, the purpose of our assassination this time is to prevent citizens from being disturbed by riots, right? Then I don't think there is any need to kill him."

Lann nodded, which was considered to be an approval of Kolgrim's approach.

When Zoltan arrived in Novigrad, he temporarily separated from Lann, saying that he was preparing a caravan to go to Cintra. Now it seems that he plans to collaborate with Cleaver to operate the caravan together.

In this case, Cleaver can barely be considered a 'friend'.

As for whether keeping Cleaver and his gang in the city would benefit the citizens of Novigrad, that was not an issue Lann needed to consider. Did it have anything to do with him?

Ultimately, even if this gangster political force were to disappear, it was unclear whether the outcome would be good or bad for Novigrad or for Lann. Novigrad was not the Holy City of Eternal Fire, but the commercial center of the north, a free city.

Lann had been busy recently, with no time to pay attention to Zoltan. Perhaps he should look for an opportunity to talk to him…

While Lann was thinking, an impact sound was heard on the balcony.

Three assassins were sent out tonight, and by calculating the time, they should be returning. But the sound of this impact was too loud, as if it were a person the size of Letho.

Among the three witchers sent, no one could have made so much noise. The witchers in the room immediately went on alert.

However, a rhythmic knocking was heard at the door.

It was the agreed signal, which eased the tension a little, although with some confusion.

The balcony door opened, revealing Auckes' face.

And on his shoulders, he carried a tall and thin man, who seemed to have been knocked unconscious.

This was another unexpected development for Lann. "You... couldn't find a place to dispose of the body, so you brought it back?"

Auckes seemed to realize that his behavior was not very assassin-like, and explained: "This is more complicated... In short, he knew that I was going to assassinate him, so he tricked me out and said a lot of nonsense to me. I don't quite understand, but suddenly I felt that this person might be better alive than dead, so I just carried him back and let him tell you himself, and you make your own decision."

Lann raised his eyebrows. "He knew you were going to assassinate him? Tell me in detail."

After listening to Auckes' retelling, Lann couldn't help but sigh.

"To establish an underground force in a place where even kings have no influence, these crime bosses are really cunning… much more so than those inept nobles. I wonder how Serrit is doing…"

While they were waiting for the King of Beggars to awaken, they were also waiting for the last assassin to return.

After a while, the agreed knocking sound came from the balcony door again.

When Serrit opened the door, he saw that his companions were already sitting in the room and, surprised, he asked: "Did everyone come back so quickly? Am I the last one?" Then he saw the King of Beggars in the corner and was even more surprised. "Why did you carry the body back?"

The others did not give Serrit any explanations but looked at him expectantly. "Did you kill Whoreson?"

"Of course." Serrit looked confused. "Although his gangster family is in a state of war readiness, with guards everywhere at midnight, he is still just the leader of a criminal gang. It was quite easy."

His face immediately showed ridicule and contempt, looking at Kolgrim and Auckes and asked: "Don't tell me you failed and that's why you came back so soon. So what's up with this body?"

Suddenly, the King of Beggars let out a low moan. He had awakened.

...

"Father!"

Inside a casino, all the tables had been turned over. A group of thugs, with bruises on their faces, were kneeling on the floor. Their new leader had tied them there for failing to properly protect the previous leader. Clearly, they had suffered enough.

A young man with dark brown hair was lying on Whoreson's body and crying.

Whoreson's deputy sighed when he saw this. This young man had been in conflict with his father, even going so far as to fight on multiple occasions. He thought he was as ruthless as his father, but it turned out that he had a heart as well.

From his position, the deputy could not see the young man's face, who, hidden in his father's clothes, had a smile he could not contain.

The deputy, moved by what he believed to be deep filial love, felt a little more at ease. Perhaps, with this emotional young man in charge, the brothers' days might be a little better.

But for now, there was an urgent matter that needed to be resolved, and they needed someone with enough authority to silence the voices within the family for a while.

"Cyprian, I know you're in a lot of pain right now, but don't let sadness consume you." The deputy said. "You need to be strong right now."

The young man lowered his head and replied: "I know, it's all for business..."

He was crying, but there was no tear on his face.

The deputy nodded, very satisfied with the young man's answer. "Everything has been prepared, and all the manpower has been sent out. Now that your father is dead, we need to withdraw them quickly, otherwise our enemies may seize the opportunity..."

"Why withdraw?" The young man suddenly raised his head, and in his eyes shone a light that the deputy recognized well. It was the look of a true criminal leader, a ruthless look. "Weren't we supposed to riot? Weren't we supposed to collaborate with the Eternal Fire? Why stop?"

"Give the order that we will not only cause riots, but also organize massacres, and expand our territory as much as we can. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Such cautious and limited behavior is not worthy of the Wiley family."

"Convey my message to everyone, tell them that... this is an order from Whoreson Junior!"

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