Conspiracy and Strategy

In the Tindes domain, there was an estate situated atop the Barren Cliff.

The protective walls of the estate consisted of simple earthen walls, barely a meter high, easily accessible without any gates.

There were four single-story wooden buildings, each about five meters tall, facing the walls. The movable French windows served as the entrances to these buildings.

Four enclosed corridors connected the buildings, with a height of six meters and two floors.

The outer side of the corridors facing the walls was fortified with arrow slits and reinforced wooden boards, while the inner side housed various rooms for storing weapons, food, and accommodation.

At the center of these diamond-shaped buildings was a complex formed by four three-story structures, reaching over nine meters in height.

Within the third-floor space of this complex, there was an open-air platform adorned with a large round table depicting the topography of mountains, rivers, and landforms.

Although an inanimate object, it resembled a magical map, and Sean would recognize that the depicted terrain was that of the entire Grison region.

This complex, comprising the four buildings, served as the main mansion of the entire estate—the Royce Manor, renowned throughout the entire Tindes domain alongside Tindes Fortress.

The Royce family was established only after obtaining a noble title through military achievements.

Initially, their fiefdom was a small knightly domain that no one desired due to its remote and desolate location.

Even building a manor in this area would not be visually appealing. It was evident to anyone that the Royce family had earned the enmity of others.

However, the ancestors of the Royce family did not lose heart but instead constructed this fortress-style manor.

They didn't require the walls of the estate to remind them of their shame but to serve as a reminder to their descendants not to forget the disgrace and passion of the past.

Over the generations, through the efforts of the Royce family, their territory expanded to its current size, and their noble rank rose from knight to the current Marquis.

The enemies of the Royce family had long been forgotten in the history of the Kingdom of Portoroa.

Moonlight poured down, casting a silver veil over the entire estate, as if concealing the ever-present scent of blood emanating from within.

On the open-air platform of the main mansion, the gaze of a middle-aged man, approximately forty years old, fixated on the fortress depicted on the topography map.

His face was clouded with anger, as if water could drip from his complexion at any moment. His fists clenched tightly, and his breath grew somewhat labored, not from excitement, but from furious exasperation.

His elegant attire trembled in sync with his rage, indicating that he was on the verge of losing control.

"You mean to say!" The middle-aged man's voice was filled with suppressed anger. "Durun has returned to Tindes Fortress?"

This middle-aged man was Count Mario.

"Yes, my lord," a young knight standing behind Count Mario nodded, finding it somewhat unbelievable himself. "According to the intelligence from Anrola, Durun entered the city tonight and headed straight for Tindes Fortress without making any stops."

"Straight to Tindes Fortress?" Count Mario furrowed his brow, his expression growing even more unpleasant. He turned to a man standing beside him, dressed in black mage robes. "Could he have actually found the Iceheart Herb?"

This man had brown hair and a slightly gaunt face. His thin fingers appeared dirty and unkempt.

Although his mage robes seemed somewhat oversized, they didn't give him a comical appearance, but rather an eerie aura.

He lacked a staff or any such item and instead tightly gripped a black-covered spellbook in his left hand.

The book wasn't as large or thick as the one Cecilia held, but the aura emanating from it didn't necessarily indicate any less power than the tome in Cecilia's possession.

The black obsidian ring worn on his ring finger exuded a chilling presence.

Clearly, he was a mage, and not an apprentice like Cecilia, but a full-fledged mage.

"It doesn't matter if he finds the Iceheart Herb," the man's voice was raspy, unpleasant like the scraping of metal.

"If he had retrieved it a month ago, perhaps it could have saved that old man's life, but now it's useless... The Fire Dragon Poison is no ordinary toxin. Initially, it only poisons the blood, and at this stage, it could indeed be cured with the Iceheart Herb. But after three months, the toxin will penetrate the organs, and the Iceheart Herb can only delay the inevitable for a short while."

As he spoke, the mage's lips curved into a sinister smile. "Fire Dragon Poison, death after three months of poisoning! There is no one in this world who can save him now!"

Hearing the mage's words, Count Mario finally eased his worries slightly. His gaze returned to the round table before him, his expression somewhat calmer, although the darkness in his eyes remained unattractive.

Perhaps because Count Mario's expression still remained grim, the knight standing behind him didn't dare leave on his own but instead stood there silently, awaiting further instructions.

"I had Martin and his men intercept him, but they found no trace of Durun, only ambushed the merchant convoy of someone named Harvey..."

Count Mario's expression grew unpleasant once again.

"Go and investigate how Durun managed to enter our territory without anyone noticing!"

"Yes!" The knight immediately nodded and set off to carry out the order, relieved inwardly.

After the knight left, Count Mario finally shifted his gaze away from the topographic map and looked south.

In the distance, beyond the horizon, lay Anrola City, the most prosperous city in the Tindes Dominion.

Just about twenty minutes away from the city was Tindes Fortress, a pride of the Royce family, the same family that owned this estate.

After a moment of silence, Count Mario spoke again, this time with a gentle and benevolent expression.

"Let's set off as well... My dear nephew has finally found the antidote for the Fire Dragon Poison that afflicts my brother. I must return and celebrate the miracle of him saving my brother."

"Of course, my lord," the black-robed mage bowed and said. "I will have the carriage prepared."

"Oh, by the way..." Mario took a step forward but then turned back to face the mage. "How did the matter with the Black Cat Consortium turn out?"

"Everything went smoothly."

"Good." Count Mario nodded.

"Although Durun's return alive was unexpected, thankfully everything else is proceeding according to plan. Once I deal with that little brat Durun, the rest won't be a problem... But we must ensure the strict control of that batch of gemstones. Many people within the country are eyeing their release to the market."

"Please rest assured, my lord. There is absolutely no fourth person in this world who knows where those materials are hidden."

"With your words, I am reassured." Count Mario nodded again and strode towards the door.

...

Several tens of kilometers away from the Royce Estate, in the city of Arthur, another secret meeting was taking place.

However, this meeting didn't have the atmosphere one would expect—it wasn't as serious or mysterious as most people would imagine.

The meeting took place in a room, the same room where Sean and Cecilia were staying in a hotel.

The participants were Sean and Roen, with Cecilia sitting on the edge of the bed, holding a bag of recently bought pastries—a popular snack in the Kingdom of Portoroa, small and pink, about the size of a fingernail, made with various fruits and herbs, sweet but not too heavy.

At the entrance of the room, Roen's personal guard stood watch, preventing others from approaching or eavesdropping.

By now, four days had passed since Sean and Roen's initial meeting.

In fact, on the evening of the following day, a merchant representative from the Black Cat Consortium in Arthur, accompanied by a dozen third-tier guards, had delivered the ruby that caught Sean's attention.

They also brought with them several pieces of new information from within the consortium.

Just as Sean had told Roen that night, once the information reached Roen, the mighty Black Cat Consortium was set into motion, quickly uncovering new leads.

Indeed, it was the alliance between Polar Silver and Medusa.

If previously there was only suspicion of bandits, the fact that the trail has gone cold makes it helpless.

However, now that the culprits behind the scenes are known, especially major organizations like Polar Silver and Medusa getting involved, there should be plenty of clues and traces to follow.

But the reality is that no matter how much the Black Cat Consortium investigates, they are unable to find any leads.

This leaves the Black Cat Consortium helpless.

If possible, Roen really doesn't want to reveal the ruby he has.

On the table, a hand holding a magnificent blue silk box pushed it forward by two inches and then stopped.

After a moment of silence, the hand swiftly clenched into a fist, indicating that the owner of the hand is reluctant to part with the box.

"I've heard that Mr. Sean has a great interest in various gemstones. This is a ruby I happened to acquire,"

Roen smiled, though his subtle movements betrayed his true feelings. Anyone would think he willingly brought out the silk box.

"This ruby is exquisitely crafted, with no marks of cutting on its facets. It seems to have been naturally formed. I believe only someone like Mr. Sean, who appreciates gemstone collections, can truly appreciate the dazzling beauty of this ruby."

Sean raised an eyebrow and replied lightly, "Oh?"

He reached out and opened the silk box, revealing a flat ruby lying peacefully inside.

The gemstone was about an inch thick, four centimeters long, and three centimeters wide. It had no sharp edges but boasted exceptional clarity.

The entire gemstone was nearly transparent, emitting a warm sensation when held, even to someone like Sean who lacked any magical sensitivity. It emitted peculiar fluctuations of magic, so intense that they could distort the air.

"It's indeed a beautiful gemstone." Sean placed the ruby back in the silk box and smiled.

Ignoring the magical fluctuations of the ruby, its purity alone would fetch an astronomical price. But Roen remained silent on such matters.

Sean was well aware of his intentions.

Although this ruby had been an item for a quest in the game world, it didn't necessarily hold the same significance in reality.

Sean had already prepared to ask for it directly, but he didn't expect Roen to bring it over. Internally, Sean was excited, but he wouldn't show it now.

"As long as Mr. Sean likes it," Roen smiled. "In fact, I came here with something I'd like to consult Mr. Sean about."

"What is it?"

Sean glanced at Roen, the smile on his face growing.

"Even after all these days, you still haven't found the storage location of the facet crystals? I thought with all the manpower you sent out, you would have found the stolen batch of facet crystals."

In fact, Sean had known this days ago when the merchant representative from the Black Cat Consortium arrived from Anrola.

However, he didn't care because he knew they would never be able to find the storage location of the facet crystals. It's not that the people from the Black Cat Consortium were incompetent; it's just that using normal means to deduce and speculate, it was indeed challenging to determine where the facet crystals were hidden.

After all, the true boss behind the Medusa Guild is a demon. Players had undertaken numerous tasks related to this demon, and through meticulous investigation and research, the demon's identity and its connections were gradually uncovered. In fact, the demon appeared as a boss in a high-level raid and dropped many magnificent equipment for players.

However, the Black Cat Guild is no better. The true mastermind behind it is a powerful lich, approaching god-like power.

But whether it's the Medusa Guild or the Black Cat Guild, they are merely peripheral industries for these demons and liches. Whether they succeed or fail, it doesn't concern these powerful entities. Even the members of these guilds probably don't know the true nature of their backers.

In this world, no one understands these guilds better than Sean.

When Roen heard Sean's slightly mocking words, he awkwardly smiled and replied, "The members of the Medusa Guild are indeed very cunning."

Sean couldn't reveal the hiding place of the Philosopher's Stone, even if he knew it. He couldn't tell Roen about his true nature as a charlatan, unlike what he had told Cecilia. So, he had to find another way to guide Roen.

"You should learn more about the living environment of the Medusa Guild."

Roen seemed confused by Sean's words when he mentioned the living environment of the Medusa Guild. Sean realized that he couldn't rely on Roen to investigate the Medusa Guild's living environment, as he might go in the wrong direction, which wouldn't benefit his plans.

"Medusas are underground creatures, dangerous and cunning, adept at deception. Manipulation is one of their inherent habits. The Medusa Guild inherits this characteristic. If you try to find the next clue or trace using ordinary deduction, you will never find them. So, the best approach is to take a different path."

Upon hearing Sean's words, Roen fell into silence, furrowing his brows as he recalled the various clues he had obtained before. Sean didn't disturb him and simply ate the food placed in front of him, which was paid for by "Foolish and Wealthy."

If Sean had to pay for it himself, he wouldn't have bought such fancy but impractical food; he would prioritize filling his stomach.

After a while, Roen's eyes finally showed a glimmer of understanding. He sincerely thanked Sean, "Thank you very much for your reminder. If you hadn't mentioned it, I would have completely overlooked these details."

With that, Roen got up to take his leave, and Sean casually waved his hand, not caring about what Roen would do next.

Cecilia, who had been silent the whole time, only sat there listening because Roen had brought her a small gift.

If not for that, Cecilia wouldn't have bothered staying and eavesdropping.

Once the hurried footsteps in the hallway faded away, Cecilia jumped off the edge of the bed, ran over, picked up the jewelry box, and opened it.

Finally, her tightly stretched face revealed an excited expression, "It's really the Crimson Flame!"

Looking at Cecilia's excited expression, Sean smiled and said, "You've already experienced the power of a formal mage in the Starfall Forest. Although that power was temporary, it shows that you have the necessary theoretical knowledge and mental strength to become a formal mage. The only thing you lack is mana... But now, with the Crimson Flame, your meditation speed will increase significantly. It won't be a problem for you to break through the limits and become a formal mage in the next few days."

Cecilia gently nodded as she touched the Crimson Flame ruby in her hand, responding, "Yes, it will probably happen in the next few days."

When she spoke, Cecilia's words carried an absolute sense of pride and confidence.

"The only regret is that the Crimson Flame can only enhance your affinity with fire elements. It would be great if it were the Four-color Holy Flame."

"One should not be too greedy," Cecilia laughed at Sean's comment. "I'm already satisfied with the Crimson Flame."

Sean disdainfully rolled his eyes, thinking to himself, "You may be satisfied, but I'm not. I want to train you to become an elemental sorceress, and it's just a matter of the Four-color Holy Flame. I know how to obtain it; it's just a bit troublesome."

However, Cecilia clearly didn't notice the change in Sean's expression. Her thoughts were completely immersed in the joy of acquiring the Crimson Flame. "What do we do next? Shall we return to the Kingdom of Serian?"

"Return for what?" Sean made an exaggerated gesture. "We still have a few more days to spend in Arthur City."

"Why?" Cecilia looked puzzled.

"I bet you five copper coins that those idiots from the Black Cat Guild won't be able to deal with the Dogheads. So, in less than two days, Roen will come back looking for me," Sean sneered. "If we leave now, where will he find us? How will we make money? Harvey and Durun, those two bastards, haven't paid me yet. We only have three gold coins, thirteen silver coins, and seventy-five copper coins left. If we don't earn some money soon, we'll end up sleeping on the streets."

"Who asked you to spend so much money buying all those materials?" Cecilia suddenly shouted like a housekeeper. "That money could have made us wealthy for a long time!... By the way, speaking of those materials, where are they?"

"Here, all in here," Sean gestured towards Charles' sword.

In an instant, Cecilia was stunned. "You... You're actually an alchemist blacksmith?"