Chapter 45: Negotiation
Kaka’s brain was clever, and he said hurriedly, “Sir Ganke, our leader asked to see you.”
The cloaked man glanced at Kaka, and Kaka lowered his head with a strong reverence, then he stepped to the side of the old dwarf.
Ganke’s footsteps were getting closer and closer. Soon, the first target of the <Aurora Shot> appeared in sight. Even after this period of time, it was obvious that Ganke didn’t recover from the injury; he looked dispirited.
Ganke was initially loud, but when he saw the cloaked man, his voice immediately lowered. The lich beside Ganke stepped forward, and asked with a proud look, “So you are the leader of the Cloak Gang, Aguile?”
The cloaked man didn’t say much, but he raised his hand, opened his palm toward a wall ten meters away and a large spherical white light shot out at high speed. The ground along the way was cracking, and the hard wall was instantly penetrated by the light ball, leaving a ridiculous hole. The cracking sounds could still be heard after the wall was destroyed, and it took a long time before it stopped.
That attack was shocking. The lich was stunned, and his grandeur was reduced by half. Ganke who was at the side thought of the scene of that night, and he was extremely afraid that his strong body slightly shivered. That is the power! This power is at least the level of Intermediate Demon, and it is by no means the talent of an ordinary Great Demon. It is probably a mutated talent. It seems that I must be really lucky to stay alive that night. Fortunately, I did not trouble the old dwarf and the Cloak Gang lately.
The members of the Cloak Gang looked excited, but they were more revered toward the cloaked man. For a long time, they had only heard, but they had never seen this so-called leader. It was definitely better to meet in person than hearing about the leader. With such a powerful leader, the name of the Cloak Gang was very likely to be famous in the Dark Moon in the future.
Only the old dwarf Didi felt hurt: Master, don’t destroy the courtyard as soon as you came. It’s all magic crystal coin…
“Sir Aguile, I was rude just now. Please forgive me.” The demonstration of the <Aurora Shot> cleared the lich’s arrogance. His attitude took a 360° turn, and his tone became polite, “Today, Ganke and I are here on behalf of General Sheriff, Alan to discuss something with Aguile.”
Although Najib was afraid of the cloaked man’s power, he still looked very calm and asked, “I have never heard of the name, Aguile. May I know where did sir come from? What are you here for in the Dark Moon Estate?”
“My hometown is Dark Moon Estate. It’s just I have never come back for a few hundred years. This time, I’m out for training according to my teacher’s order, then I came back to the Dark Moon along the way.” The cloaked man was naturally Chen Rui. He said that was to deliberately mystify make Aguile’s origin.
Teacher? There’s still a strongman behind Aguile! Najib was surprised again. As for the origin of Aguile, he didn’t doubt much. The Dark Moon was a famous, bustling place hundreds of years ago. There were many strongmen gathering here once. Yet, since the Beelzebub Royal Family was defeated by the Lord of Midnight Sun, the Dark Moon began to decline. Also, many families migrated to other places, so Aguile was likely to be one of them.
Najib had the intention to understand the origin of the forces behind Aguile, so he probed, “Pardon me, but may I know sir’s teacher is…”
“You’re not qualified to know my teacher’s name.” The cloak said coldly, “Even Alan’s father, the Karon Family’s patriarch, Legu isn’t qualified to ask.”
Najib was even more shocked. He didn’t expect the other party was still arrogant with a clear understanding of the Karon Family’s power. Najib thought the cloaked man must have a strong backup. He immediately kept his prepared threatening words to himself. He was getting increasingly careful and asked, “Since sir is a sensible person, then I’ll make it clear. Sir must be well informed, and you should know that every place has its own rules. Currently, sir established the Cloak Gang in the city, so it must follow the rules in the Dark Moon. By paying a small amount of fees monthly, General Alan can always provide protection as long as it doesn’t get into any big troubles.”
“I don’t need the so-called protection. My teacher once said that if anyone dares to touch me, he’ll wipe out their entire family. I have never doubted that.” Those words changed Najib’s and Ganke’s expression. It seemed that guy was determined to fall out with them. With the power just now, it was easy for this Aguile to kill them.
Then, the cloaked man changed his tone, “However… you are right. Every place has its own rules. The reason I come to the Dark Moon is to take a look at my hometown and to train along the way. So, I don’t want to be distracted. The Cloak Gang is established to search for some resources. I can follow the rules of Dark Moon, but you should never provoke me. Otherwise…”
Najib felt lucky and quickly said, “Sir can rest assured. As for the cost, it is based on the number of members, each member is for 1 purple crystal coin per month. Sir’s Cloak Gang… has about 10 members, so that’ll be 10 purple crystal coins per month.”
Due to his fear toward Aguile, the price that Najib offered was already the lowest. Chen Rui looked at the tiny cloaks around; there were at least 20 to 30 of them. It seemed that this guy was still tactful. In order to maintain his mystery, he endured the pain and threw a black crystal coin to Najib, “This is the respect I give to the Karon family. Don’t bother me for ten months.”
Najib was overjoyed. Actually, Alan only asked them to dominate the organizations in the city. As for the rules of the costing, it was introduced by Najib and others. Most of the money they got was kept among themselves. They just had to contribute some to Alan from time to time. Alan was the only son of the Karon Family, so naturally, he wasn’t short of this little money. As long as there was no big mess, Alan was happy to turn a blind eye.
With the name of Karon Family, it had always been smooth for Najib in the past. However, this Aguile was obviously a big shot. He wasn’t even afraid of the Karon Family, so this trip could also be seen as a success.
“Thank you for your generosity, sir.” Najib bowed along with Ganke. “If there’s anything that sir wants our help, we will definitely do our best.”
Chen Rui nodded and didn’t speak again. Najib tactfully left with Ganke. The old dwarf saw the tiny cloaks around them were staring at the master with their eyes shimmering, then he said, “All of you get out for now; don’t bother the leader to rest!”
Those dark dwarfs and imps were like they had just awoken from their sleep and left one by one. After witnessing the power of their leader, their faces were filled with excitement.
The old dwarf said respectfully, “Master, please come in and have a seat.”
Chen Rui didn’t say anything, strode into the house and sat on the chair at the center.
“Master…” The old dwarf struggled to hold a handful of purple crystal coins; it was about 30 to 40. “Master, with the 3 purple crystal coins you gave me, Didi has earned 38 coins. I’ll offer all of these to master now.”
38 purple crystal coins? Chen Rui’s heart moved and said, “Why did my friend say yesterday that you earned only about 10?”
“It’s like this, master,” The old dwarf had fully affirmed the close relationship between the human secretary and his master. “Sir Chen Rui is right. It was only 14 yesterday, but last night I gambled at the arena and won another 19. Together with the 5 coins earned today, it is a total of 38 coins. Please kindly check and accept it, master.”
Seeing the old dwarf was clear with his account, Chen Rui nodded quietly and asked, “What’s the matter with the arena?”
Seeing his master not taking the money, the old dwarf was even more nervous. He carefully replied, “The arena has several battles every day. One can gamble on who wins or loses. I heard that the arena was the most lively place in the Dark Moon, and the stage was full almost every battle. However, it’s rather quiet now. Unless there are big matches like the previous Masters Challenge and Sky Battle, the usual audience is less than 30% of the arena.” Chen Rui had been to the arena twice, so he knew that the arena was really big. If it was full, it could accommodate tens of thousands of people. Even if it was less than 30%, there were still more than a thousand people.
Chen Rui was interested in the battle at the arena that he heard from the old dwarf. After asking the old dwarf, Chen Rui found out that the manager of the arena was one of Joseph’s three scythes, Arux. Anyone with strength and confidence could sign up. The winner of the battle would receive a sizable amount of reward and the loser could also get a meager reward. Yet, this kind of battle was quite dangerous as it risked life, and deaths were reported almost every day.
Last night, the poison dragon also said that the various quality of Chen Rui had been stabilized to a certain extent, and the progress had begun to slow down. It was best to further improve his experience and stimulate his inner potential via actual battle, then he summarizes it and improves during the special training. That was the most effective and quickest way to progress.
Chen Rui thought for a while and made a decision. He said, “My human friend mentioned your efforts in front of me. Since this is the case, I will give you a chance. If you can meet my requirements, then you’ll be my official servant and the Cloak Gang can also truly be sheltered by my force.”
The old dwarf was overjoyed and offered the purple crystal coins with both his hands again. Yet, Chen Rui didn’t accept it. Instead, he took out two black crystal coins and added on it, “These are the funding for your activities. Never take part in the gamble at the arena anymore. I want you to complete three tasks. First, make use of the Cloak Gang to acquire every piece of information in the city and report to me whenever I need it; secondly, learn more business methods instead of conning and blackmailing, and be ready to open a store; thirdly, try your best to collect fluorescent stone. The higher the quality, the better. There are more materials that I need; I will let a friend give you the list.”
The old dwarf didn’t expect his master to trust himself so much. He even gave him another 2 black crystal coins. This time was completely different from the previous “test”; it was appointing an important responsibility. Initially, he just wanted to rely on a strongman to avoid being bullied. Now it seemed that his decision was right. With Master Aguile, the Cloak Gang would no longer be an empty shell; it could naturally develop boldly.
As for doing business, it was the old dwarf’s strength. It seemed that the owner was giving him space to bring out his talent. He bowed at once, “I will definitely complete master’s instructions!”
Chen Rui was eager to look at the situation at the arena, so he didn’t want to be here anymore. He then said, “Chen Rui is my most trusted friend; his words are my orders, so you must respect him as how you treat me! I am going to a secret place to train now. If there are any important things in the future, I will let him convey it.”
The old dwarf understood the relationship between the master and the human, and he quickly agreed to it. Then, he saw his master suddenly turned around and said with his teeth clenching, “Also! I never want to hear any rumors about your daughter being my wife. Otherwise, I will be the first to destroy the Cloak Gang!”
Hearing the master being so determined, the old dwarf had to keep to himself the prepared series of strong recommendations about his daughter.
After leaving the Cloak Gang, Chen Rui didn’t take off his cloak. He didn’t stop all the way until he reached the arena.