Chapter 866: A Clown’s Temptation
In Soaring Bird City, at the palace.
As dawn broke, Mike and Wyatt, supported by a squad of guards, walked out of the palace carrying the wine and food Torin had given them.
Soaring Bird City was awakening to another busy day.
In a secret chamber, Torin took out a mysterious scroll, sliced open his wrist, and let a few drops of blood fall upon it. A mont later, a voice erged from the parchnt.
"You were too hasty. Last night was obviously a setup, a trap to lure you out."
It was the voice of the Two-Faced Clown, Ogu. His collaboration with Torin seed to have deepened.
"What if it was a trap?" Torin retorted. "You guaranteed
that it could be done without a trace."
The assassination of Henrik, a representative of an imperial Grand Duke, in Soaring Bird City was an act the empire could not possibly ignore. But surely, the Grand Duke’s man, Richard, would never have guessed that the assassins were a group of uncanny, unstoppable puppets.
And that behind the puppets controlling them was a being with the power of at least a peak-tier Archlord.
"That’s right. My toys can, of course, kill your enemies without a trace," Ogu said. "But have you considered who the suspicion will fall upon when your enemies are assassinated one after another?"
"Think about it. After those two pieces of trash are dead, who benefits the most? Isn’t it you? Hmm? Hahahaha..."
The Two-Faced Clown’s voice was deep and knowing, his laughter a complex mixture of mockery, disdain, and schadenfreude.
Torin’s brow furrowed, his face gradually turning ugly.
He was right. With Henrik and Mateo dead, the primary beneficiaries in Soaring Bird City were him and, by extension, the Grand Princess Ava who stood behind him.
At the thought of Princess Ava, Torin’s eyes brightened again. He was her man. The cri scene was far from Soaring Bird City. And he had an alibi.
The patrons of Henrik and Mateo would not necessarily focus their attention on him. It was more likely they would suspect Princess Ava, or even the shadowy giant lord who was vaguely associated with her.
Perhaps I can muddy the waters, he mused. I should send this month’s dividends to Rose Manor promptly in the next few days.
The frown on his brow smoothed out, and a slow, thick smile spread across his face.
"You don’t need to concern yourself with my affairs. Just focus on doing what I require of you," Torin said coolly, reaching out to roll up the scroll.
When he was halfway through, the voice ca again.
"That Fire Stone mission you accepted... you could try being more creative. In a world like yours, as long as you can offer sothing good enough, they will surely trade with you."
At the ntion of Fire Stone, Torin felt a wave of disappointnt.
He had found a way in, bribing Delilah with a massive amount of resources and money, but the answer he received was that the Stoneheart Horde possessed no such thing.
It was obvious Delilah was lying to him.
"If they won’t sell it openly, can’t you acquire it secretly, or search for it?" the Two-Faced Clown’s voice was laced with temptation. "If you find a Fire Stone mine and begin mining it in secret, you could trade it to
for even more unexpected artifacts and resources."
Torin did not respond. After a mont’s pause, he finished rolling up the scroll and sealing it without hesitation.
He didn’t know who the Two-Faced Clown Ogu truly was, but he was certain the creature harbored ill intentions toward him.
Torin was not a fool; on the contrary, he was very clever. He was constantly on guard against this Ogu, who kept providing him with benefits and trading goods with him.
There was no such thing as a free lunch in this world. That was a lesson he had learned the day he walked out of his father’s territory.
But, that being said, the Two-Faced Clown had a point.
A Fire Stone mine? That is sothing worth planning for. The Stoneheart Horde has so many cities. I could use the opportunity of opening up new markets and trade routes to properly explore their territory.
Heh, it’s laughable, really, he mused. My own human kingdom has provided
with so few opportunities and resources. Instead, it is the Stoneheart Horde, a whole territory of ogres away, that has beco the staging ground for my rise.
To be honest, Torin had a very good impression of the Stoneheart Horde and Stoneheart City. Although getting anything done required constantly bribing that greedy grand steward of the Horde, she did, for the most part, actually get things done, and he had reaped enormous benefits from it.
There were tis when Torin even considered abandoning Soaring Bird City altogether. With his skills and his access to the Survivor’s Platform, he was certain he could thrive in the Stoneheart Horde.
But then, the mory of the humiliation he had suffered in his own city would surface, and he couldn’t swallow his pride.
"It’s mine. It will all be mine," Torin whispered.
He walked out of the secret chamber and onto the highest balcony of the palace. He stood against the sun and the gentle breeze, gazing down upon Soaring Bird City, his expression impossibly dark.
In Stoneheart City, at the youth camp.
"Not bad. Those younglings of yours are all very talented," Orion said.
He stood on the high platform with Elara perched on his shoulders. Beside him was Thundar, and together they watched the younglings of the Horde training in formation below.
"They were all born in the last few years. The conditions in the Horde are better now, there’s no shortage of resources, so their talent and potential have been fully unleashed," Thundar said, his voice filled with pride when speaking of his children.
He had other children before he submitted to Orion, but most had died on the battlefield. To Thundar, the most direct cause of death on the battlefield was a lack of strength.
He held no resentnt over it; in fact, he felt a sense of honor. To die fighting for the Horde(tribe) was the ideal end for any bloodline warrior of the Stoneheart giants.
Fortunately, as the Horde had stabilized, Thundar’s own status had risen, and he had acquired more wives and slave won. In recent years, a number of talented children had been born to him.
In the training grounds at this very mont were three of his most promising younglings: Ashe, Aran, and Degar.
"Send two of them to the Erald Dream Realm," Orion suggested. "Let the elders there teach them properly. You might get an unexpected harvest."
This suggestion was made with Thundar’s best interests in mind.
Ever since the demigod Valthor had rged his laws of light into the realm’s own rules, the Erald Dream Realm had entered a stage of self-evolution. During this period, any creature living there had a high chance of having its physical qualities and innate talents enhanced.
"That was my very intention, my lord!" Thundar said, raising his right hand and giving a slight bow, the fanaticism in his eyes deepening.
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