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Chapter 108: The Deal with the Wooden Cloud

Karyl picked up the mask that had fallen to the floor and looked intently at Fran. The courteous demeanour he had displayed during the day was now replaced by a hostile gaze.

"What did you discuss with Titan Shutean?"

Fran’s abrupt question seemed almost out of character.

It seems he knows the emperor is with the Church. It really seems that the Wooden Cloud’s intelligence reaches the empire as well, not just the Church.

Despite the circumstances, Karyl quickly analyzed the situation while maintaining his composure. After all, he had survived numerous battles.

"Hmm."

Before mastering swordsmanship in his youth, Karyl had fought in the Imperial Wars for Olivurn, and naturally, he had been captured several times. Thus, the current situation, although tense, was nothing compared to what he had faced before.

He recalled Fran Lurein’s expression when he frantically tried to take his life during the Imperial Wars. How amusing it would be if he knew what he would become.

He doesn\'t know about my conversation with the emperor. That’s probably because he killed the servant.

That also meant that although there might still be Wooden Cloud members out there, at least those who remained close to the emperor were not among them.

The emperor is safe, for now.

It might seem laughable to worry about the safety of the emperor, the most powerful ruler on the continent, but for Karyl, he was the most crucial figure to be concerned about.

"The basis of a deal is to state one\'s conditions first. I believe it was you who expressed your intention first."

"Do you think I called you here to make a deal?" Fran\'s voice was stern.

Around them, the robed figures blocked the exit.

They seem to be Sword Experts. I can’t spot any sorcerers among them, just swordsmen.

Karyl quickly sized up the cloaked figures. There were fifteen of them, excluding Fran, and they all seemed to meet the imperial knights’ standards of being Sword Experts.

That means all of them are at least at knight-level.

And having fifteen Sword Experts at one’s disposal was no joke. It was no wonder that Fran carried himself with such confidence.

"What do you want?"

"As I said, we are heading north,” Karyl explained. “It has to do with the emperor, but that’s all I can say for now.”

"..."

"Cove is your territory, Fran, but the last gate to the north, the White Bunker, is different. You know why."

The White Bunker was the grandest fortress in the principality, and it had never fallen in its five hundred years of existence.

The fortress, which also served as the gateway from the principality to the north, was the domain of Tuli Lurein, who was considered the leading figure in the principality.

In other words, within the divided principality, Fran ruled over the entrance at Cove, while Tuli controlled the gate leading to the north.

Fran nodded as if he had expected Karyl to mention that. "I won\'t make an unreasonable demand, like tearing down the White Bunker. What do you want?"

"Well, if your advanced fleet could advance inland, I would ask for that favor, but of course, they’re too heavy for that,” Karyl said wryly, gesturing toward the ships docked at the harbor. "I won\'t ask that of you."

Fran\'s expression hardened slightly.

"Our guild members should have reached the White Bunker by now."

"Kamma Povil,” Fran mentioned the name as if he knew. "He passed through Cove three weeks ago. Had it been a week later, he probably wouldn’t have managed to cross the sea.”

"Lucky indeed."

"Or maybe skilled. The Slave King\'s navigation isn\'t just a rumor. Crossing the sea in less than ten days when others take two months."

Karyl chuckled lightly at his words.

Luckily, the Water King left the area for breeding before going to the sea.

Suan, who knew the Fonein River better than anyone, also knew about the breeding season of the Water King. He had navigated faster than the Water King moved along the river, allowing his ship to cross the sea first.

And to think he crossed the strait in less than half the time it took other navigators... Was he that much better in his previous life?

He had been impressive even back then, but thanks to the stable harbor of the Lawless Port and Karyl\'s generous support, including the acquisition of vessels like the Howard, Suan Hazar\'s growth exceeded Karyl\'s expectations.

In the past, Suan Hazar was on par with Karl Mack, who was known as Mack Meister, but now it would not be an exaggeration to say that Suan Hazar was several levels above him.

Perhaps it might be the time to form a special operations unit.

They were known as the Ravat Guild\'s Black Sail. The special operations unit led by Suan Hazar had accomplished many feats along the Fonein River.

Though it was Olivurn\'s achievement, Karyl was preparing for the upcoming Oracle War.

"Please support Kamma-"

"Impossible,” Fran cut him off immediately. "It’s a known fact that he, a noble expelled from the principality, is administering a free city. Are you suggesting that Tuli would make a deal with a man like him?”

It was preposterous.

"Even if offered a fortune, that proud woman wouldn\'t accept a criminal,” Fran continued.

"The important thing is that Kamma is now in the principality."

"Hmm?"

"And a deal with Tuli? I wouldn’t call it impossible. In fact, it’s not even that difficult."

"What do you mean?" Fran asked, puzzled by Karyl\'s confident assertion.

"Bring Kamma from here. He\'ll have to use a ship to return from the White Bunker, so he\'ll come here anyway."

"And then?"

"Just make a show of setting up a branch of the Ravat Guild in Cove. Make it as large and grandiose as possible. The mansion we\'re staying in would be suitable. We\'ll pay for the repairs."

"Huh..." Fran was taken aback by his calm demeanor.

He had chosen that mansion for Karyl’s accommodation because it had almost zero escape routes due to the market crowds, making surveillance easy. However, that also meant it was in the heart of the city, the golden land of commerce.

Fran’s own plan had backfired, and his bewilderment was evident.

"Fran Lurein, if we have your full support, Tuli Lurein won\'t just let us be. She\'s very interested in everything you do."

Tuli Lurein was a woman of high rank and much suspicion. If her brother was dealing with a merchant she had refused and offered him his full support, she would certainly covet the Ravat Guild again.

Given her nature, she wouldn\'t want her brother to take away anything, even if it’s a poisoned apple.

Karyl was confident that his plan would lead to the establishment of a guild branch not only in Cove but also in the White Bunker. That would be something that not even the empire had managed. In fact, no kingdom had ever managed to freely control both the entrance and the exit of the principality.

Karyl would be the exception.

This brings me one step closer to the invisible empire I\'ve planned.

From the south and the north, through the Free City and the City of Magic and the principality, this affair could extend his guild\'s influence even to the imperial capital.

Crack—

Karyl clenched his fist without realizing it.

"Why would I do that much? I don\'t yet know how valuable the information you have is."

At that moment, Karyl responded without hesitation, "The emperor will soon die.”

"...!!"

At that, Fran unconsciously turned his head slightly, and Karyl did not miss his reaction. His gaze had stopped on one of the robed figures.

"The reason we\'re heading to the lair of the Fire Dragon is to find a way to cure the emperor\'s illness."

"How foolish to show all your cards like this. Then all the more reason I cannot accept your offer. If I were to imprison you here, you would be unable to save the emperor.”

One of the men beside Fran scoffed at Karyl.

"..."

Karyl glanced at him briefly before shifting his gaze back to Fran.

"If you want war, then go ahead. No matter how burdensome a war may be, nothing is more important than one\'s own life. Do you think the emperor will just stand by and do nothing...? Also, you detained the priests of the Church without permission. If you turn the Church into an enemy, who do you think will fall away?"

Cove, located between the empire and the sea, would be the first to be attacked in an imperial invasion.

"Perhaps Tuli Lurein and the other dukes might decide that abandoning you, Fran Lurein, is better than going against an alliance between the empire and the Church.”

With that, Karyl made a gesture of slitting his throat with his thumb.

"You impudent-!” shouted one of the veiled figures, stepping forward and pointing at Karyl.

Ssshhh—

But his words were cut short, for his finger slowly drifted upward. With the gruesome sound of flesh tearing, the man fell backward, his body split in half.

"Hu... Huah?!"

"Ugh!!"

The people beside him screamed in horror at the sight of the bisected corpse. The cut surface was eerily frozen, not a drop of blood spilling on the floor.

"This is a diplomatic discussion, not a gathering of street thugs where people shout at each other,” Karyl said in indignation as he touched his ear.

"You... certainly..." Fran, rather than being angry at his colleague’s death, merely looked confused. He looked at the magical inscriptions on the door and the ceiling. There was no reaction.

When Fran received the report, he knew he was dealing with a sorcerer, one that had won the Azor Expert Magic Competition. Therefore, he had prepared thoroughly.

The barrier didn\'t activate. That means he didn\'t use mana...

Fran quickly turned his head.

"I never said I couldn\'t use a sword."

Following his gaze, Karyl also pointed to the wall with magical inscriptions, and he was already aware.

Thud—

He nailed the Freezing Talon to the floor.

"I hold the emperor\'s life in my hand. That means I can keep him on his sickbed or restore him to his throne."

"..."

"Fran Lurein, if you help me, I can assist you in replacing Tuli Lurein as the head of the principality."

Karyl held his palm up as if grasping a heart, then closed his fingers into a fist.

“I can protect the principality from the emperor!”

“...!!”

Karyl slowly turned his head.

“Answer me.”

It was the person Fran had looked at earlier.

Karyl’s voice was calm as he looked between them.

“So, will you do it or not?”