I will be crowned king

The cold joke about "cigar" completely silenced the dinner table.

In the noisy hall, the lower level is full of people reveling in the carnival, and the silence of the upper level can be heard.

"So much for the jokes, 'Cigar.'"

The old man wearing sunglasses raised his head and lifted the wine glass in front of him with his skinny right hand:

"Your Excellency Anson Bach, we don't know anything about you, but now because of certain circumstances that are clear to all of us, you...replaced the position of the 'Hydra' and became one of us."

"So we have to get to know you now, would you mind introducing yourself?"

"sure."

During the time when the other party spoke, Anson already had a general idea in his mind, but in order to sort out his thoughts he decided to delay for a while: "How should I... call you?"

"Old pocket watch."

A smile appeared on the old man's orange-peel face: "Have you finished the wine in the cup now?"

"Not yet, what's wrong?"

"Then you can put it down." The "Old Pocket Watch" holding the wine glass took a sip of wine, and then pushed his own wine glass in front of Anson:

"As a small tribute, please drink my cup."

Anson was stunned for a moment, then smiled at the old man:

"Thanks."

"Old Pocket Watch" nodded slightly and raised his hand to indicate for him to continue.

Next, Anson spent a few minutes telling how a serious soldier who loved writing diaries and was positive went from a promising army captain to being suppressed and "reduced" to a homeless man who went to gang gatherings to fight.

After he retired due to a series of uncontrollable problems, he embarked on the path of following the Three Old Gods with the help of a passing kind-hearted professor.

The first half of the story is about the life experience of "ex-Anson", and the second half is about what happened to Conan Nott, the unlucky guy who almost had a chance to shoot Anson during the factory riot. .

Anyone who knows a little bit about the military will easily find loopholes in Anson's story; but for the few people sitting at this table, they only care about one thing.

"So you originally just wanted to find an old god sect organization...and join it?"

The middle-aged man wearing a black soft hat blurted out in shock, and the pipe in the corner of his mouth fell to the ground.

"This is Rifling."

Noticing Anson's confused expression, "Old Pocket Watch" introduced him:

"He is the most stable one among us... Once, in order to attack the gold carriage of the Royal Bank, he waited and ambush in an abandoned street for three months."

"He is also the one who has the best relationship with our dear 'Hydra' among us!"

"Cigar" sitting next to Anson added a very "intimate" comment, extending his right hand to Anson: "Let me introduce myself, 'Cigar' is just an ordinary blood mage, haha!"

Anson, who barely kept a smile, shook hands with him, then looked back at the "Rifling" opposite:

"I was a soldier...once."

"Join an organization that suits your identity, carry out orders, and get the benefits you deserve from this organization. This is the life I'm used to."

"Even if you have been betrayed by such a life?"

"Rifling" picked up the pipe again and asked: "Or twice."

"Precisely because I was betrayed twice by this kind of life, I live more carefully now than before."

Anson admitted very simply: "Before there is a possibility of betrayal, I will let the other party understand the price of doing so."

cost……

Everyone's eyes couldn't help but glance towards the carnival hall below.

"Whisper" sitting in the corner took a breath of air and shivered.

The smiling Anson revealed the micro-expressions of everyone at the table in his mind - only on this occasion could he activate his "superpower" without any scruples.

Over the past few months, the ability that could only be used to perform "perspective" and "observation without blind spots" had undergone slight changes - after narrowing the scope of observation to a radius of five meters, he found that he could directly Read the emotions of those around you.

It seems that because the scope has been narrowed, the details that can be observed are richer... Anson can now see that after he finished speaking, the reactions of the other four people were completely different.

The hunched "Old Pocket Watch" is the calmest among all the people, and the one who has the most favorable opinion of himself - or has no bad feelings towards him; "Rifling" sitting opposite him is thinking about the meaning of his words, and never relaxes. too vigilant;

The one huddled in the corner seemed to be trembling, but in fact he was observing himself all the time. His calmness reminded Anson of a certain inferior inquisitor who was also good at acting;

Compared with him, the seemingly happy and crazy "Cigar" sitting next to him is actually the one who fears him the most among all people. In comparison, his acting skills are simply poor.

The only thing they have in common is that none of the four people have any "angry" emotions. These people have no idea of ​​revenge for the "Hydra" they killed.

It's not that there is no impulse in this regard, but that even the "idea" has never flashed in their minds.

What really surprised Anson was that after he introduced himself, the "Old Pocket Watch" beside him and the "Hydra"'s close friend "Rifling" also had a slight liking for him.

A guy who is strong and likes to follow rules is very popular with this group of people... Ansen said silently in his heart.

"If that's you, then I think we should work together."

"Rifling" stared at Anson and said solemnly: "There is an opportunity to make money right now, and it is big money. The initial down payment alone is at least 500 gold coins."

"If we could complete the entire list, each of us could be as rich as the Franz family!"

"oh?"

Anson's eyes lit up...the main event was coming.

"No one of us can take this opportunity alone. We must cooperate. Previously we were looking for a 'hydra', so now we invite you to join us."

"Old Pocket Watch" who poured himself another glass smiled gently: "Of course, this is definitely very dangerous. If you are not careful, you will die. And you have just received the inheritance of the 'Mary-Headed Snake', so if you want to withdraw, we will also It’s understandable…”

"You will lose your life even if you go to the battlefield, but I still went there for three hot meals a day and a monthly allowance of dozens of silver coins." Anson raised his hand and interrupted:

"Go on, I want to know the details."

The silent "Old Pocket Watch" and "Rifling" looked at each other and nodded tacitly, while the smiling "Cigar" and the trembling "Whisper" didn't express any opinions.

"We are ready to overthrow the Osterian dynasty."

"Rifling" said.

"puff--!!!!"

Unable to hold back, Anson spurted out a mouthful of wine, drenching him all over.

"What?!"

"Take it easy, my brother."

The smiling "Old Pocket Watch" handed the napkin to the "Rifling" on the opposite side and patted Anson's shoulder gently: "It's not us, but there are many big shots who are preparing to overthrow the Osteria family in Clovis. rule."

"For us, this is just an opportunity to make a lot of money - they give us the money and all the resources they need, and we help them through the process."

"This doesn't even require us to show up in person, all they want is a mob to stand up and resist, just like many riots before."

"We just need to gather the homeless people who are full of complaints, grievances and lost their jobs and let them fight back - so to be more precise, we are like a group of dealers providing 'goods' and 'services' .”

"The thugs are our commodities, and all forms of riots are our services. The nobles buy the goods and services they need from us... What we have to do is essentially the same as those high-end cafes and restaurants in the inner city. There is no difference.”

"How many people do they want?" Anson asked.

"The last time it was five thousand, the last time it was two thousand..." "Cigar" on the side suddenly laughed: "As for this time..."

"According to rumors... there is no cap!"

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone at the table burst into hearty laughter.

Anson sneered.

"You are saying that you are preparing to mobilize tens of thousands of homeless people in the outer city, let them break through the layers of blockades of the Guards and all the security companies in the inner city, and brave the siege of artillery and volleys to capture Osterly Ya Gong?”

Putting down the wine glass in his hand, Anson deliberately made his tone a little more sarcastic: "With all due respect, if this is such an 'opportunity', then I won't participate. Please go and make big money on your own!"

"Are you scared?"

Rifling, who had drinks sprayed on his face by Anson, sneered.

"To be honest, I'm even a little envious of your ignorance." Anson raised the corners of his mouth sarcastically:

"I guess you probably don't know what the concept of a twelve-pound infantry gun is - if it is a solid bullet, it will drag out a straight 'blood line' in the crowd like a plow; if it is a shotgun, there will be at least three people in this group. One-quarter of them will turn into shredded meat; if it's a shell, they'll turn into barbecue steaks and torches, which are their only fates."

"So, so what?"

"how?"

Anson frowned and looked at "Rifling" impatiently: "That means, let alone 10,000 people, there are 20,000 or 30,000 unarmed homeless people... The Guards only need to prepare ten guns near key streets. The artillery can’t even penetrate the inner city!”

"This is not a battle that can be won simply by relying on large numbers of people. If you or those nobles really hope to rely on this group of tramps to overthrow the Osteria family, or at least invade the inner city, you will have to get thousands of them. Just a broken gun and ammunition!"

A series of mocking and sarcastic remarks made "Rifling" fall into deep thought.

A smile appeared on the face of "Old Pocket Watch":

"It seems that inviting you to join is indeed a correct decision. If you are not an experienced person, you will never be able to think of these - 'rifling', what do you think?"

The "old pocket watch" turned its head and remained motionless, staring quietly at the "rifling".

"Cigar" on the side is still smiling, and the silent "Whisper" is still observing the others, but his eyes have never left Anson.

"I know there is a 'Leiden' military factory that can provide us with some necessary weapons and ammunition." "Rifling" lowered the brim of his hat and said in a deep voice:

"There are at least a thousand old and stockpiled rifles there. We should be able to get them out with a little effort."

Layton... Anson raised his eyebrows. This is the largest arms dealer in Clovis, and it is also the name of the rifle with the worst quality and the largest quantity in the Royal Army.

"Very good. I suggest we start taking action soon."

"Old Pocket Watch" smiled, and his eyes hidden behind his sunglasses glanced at the expressions of everyone around him:

"It's best not to let too many people know about such a plan. If it goes on for a long time, it might be known to people who shouldn't know... Do you have any suggestions?"

"I suggest tomorrow."

The happy "Cigar" raised his right hand: "Tomorrow night, we will each bring a dozen good guys and a few carriages to get this thing done!"

The silent "Rifling" held his hat and nodded gently: "Then we will meet at the Crown Tavern on Ximen Street tomorrow night. I will tell you the location then."

The trembling "Whisper" nodded repeatedly.

"Old Pocket Watch" smiled and turned his gaze to Anson: "My friend, what do you think?"

Looking at the four pairs of eyes looking at him in front of the dining table, Anson paused, then silently said:

"If that's the case, then I have no problem with it - provided we don't really want to capture Osteria Palace."

"Of course, those nobles are the ones who want to overthrow the dynasty. We just want to help them make some big noise!"

"Cigar" who laughed loudly picked up his wine glass and glanced around the dining table: "To wish everything goes well tomorrow, let's have a drink?"

Several people looked at each other, clinked their wine glasses with different expressions, and drank the wine in one gulp.

"I have a question."

Anson put down his wine glass and looked at "Rifling" sitting opposite: "Since those nobles are planning to overthrow the Osteria family, are they only looking for a few of us?"

"of course not."

The smiling "Cigar" put down his wine glass and patted Anson on the shoulder: "But those guys can only recruit dozens or hundreds of people at best, which is completely incomparable to us 'professionals'."

"After all, what they want to make this time is a real big movement, with thousands of people and tens of thousands of people! The rest of the people they can find are just a fraction, and we are the key."

"We have the bootlegging business of Old Pocket Watch, the relationship between Rifling and several factory unions, and we whisper that we are the leader of the largest slum in Clovis City...and you, my dear brother Hydra, you are the only one here in the entire outer city. We can get the best laudanum and increase the tobacco business tenfold!”

"As for my 'cigar'... I'm not talented enough to do a small business of buying and selling, specifically selling stolen goods for your goods and buyers."

"Cigar" took a deep breath and stood up slowly, raised the corners of his mouth and bowed slightly to Anson: "When a few of us join forces, we can overthrow a dynasty!"