The Way of a Demon Lord-Novel

Chapter 176: Syndicate

The Confederation had used countless means to besiege the unassailable Edenshield. To get through those giant and indestructible walls, what had they not used? They tried to fly over them, break through them, sneak into them and of course- dig tunnels through the ground under them.

A considerable amount of tunnels had been dug under the city, some by the attackers for the sake of siege, some by the defenders to evacuate their citizens. After the wars were over, many were filled up, never to be seen again. And some- were left as they were.

In one of those underground tunnels, whose existence was unknown to even the ones dwelling just above it, a huge reptilian creature was sleeping.

It had greenish spiky scales, one that protruded from every part of its body. The only place devoid of them was the are where it should have been most prevalent- its back.

But by any means- this cold blooded beast was not the most gruesome being inside the cave. That honour would belong to the man- the giant who was snoring not that far from it. 

All he had had on his body was a beast skin that wrapped around his waist, and a necklace made from a collection of teeth- of different exotic beasts enveloping his neck. 

He had long unkempt hair, but no signs of any facial ones. His bare skin was brown, and scarred.

Suddenly, his nose- which was busy snoring- twitched. His eyelids opened, revealing a pair of beastly red eyes.

“Grrrr!” He sat upright and slammed the ground, prompting the Dracodile beside him to wake up. It began to growl, just like its master.

The gigantic man sniffed the air again. His eyes furrowed. He showed his palm to the beast, causing it to calm down.

“Ley?” The man spoke. His gentle voice belied his appearance.

“It is I, brother.” A young woman walked out from the darkness. She was a little short in stature, and her skin was brownish- just a bit fairer than the big man.

“It has been a few weeks since I last saw you.” The red glint from his eyes disappeared. “Am I summoned again?”

Even though he was sitting on the ground, his shoulders were just a few inches below the level of those of hers.

“Yes.” She nodded.

“Something big happened- really big.”

******

A few hours remained until the sun would be just above the city. There were clouds high in the sky- black clouds, foreshadowing a storm.

But the market, which was already bustling from the morning- got even more and more crowded. At one corner of the place, lied a gambling den.

Unlike the most of the zones of the marketplace, this place was not that crowded. After all, not everyone could afford to gamble; the commoner here in the Empire had to work just to survive through the day.

But nevertheless, there were always some lower nobles, even the spare son of higher nobles who did not have any qualms about throwing away a little of their money- and of course, try getting a lot in return.

But it did not mean that the ordinary commoners were completely absent. Every once in a while, people would come with their hard earned and saved money to try their luck and make it reach.

But alas, the ones who really lived that dream was few- too few.

The gambling den was busy like any usual day. People were playing, betting all of their money. 

But there was one, who was just standing there- doing nothing- only scanning his dark eyes through the rooms, through everyone present.

Suddenly, the scanning eyes stopped, fixing their gaze on a middle aged man. His mildly extravagant attires conveyed that he was a noble- a lower one.

The light blue eyed young man took a step forward. His brown hairs moved as he walked through the wooden floors of the establishment with an indifferent face.

Just this slight movement of his silenced the entire crowd; they stopped what they were doing and fixed their attention on him.

The middle aged man, upon whom the light blue eyes were fixed, frowned as he looked back into those bluish orbs.

“What?” He asked. “Do you have anything to say?”

Some of the spectators whispered amongst themselves. “He is done for.”

The young man scanned the middle aged one from top to bottom. “You cheated.”

“The audacity!” The man bellowed. “Just because you are the owner of this place, you think you can say anything you want?” He cursed. “Don’t forget that you are a mere commoner- I will have your whole family as slaves.”

Some of the lower nobles among the spectators smiled wryly.

The brown haired man stayed silent and suddenly grabbed the right sleeved hand of the noble, catching him off guard.

“You… aaah!”

The man screamed as the blue eyed youth twisted the man’s arm.

*Plop. Plop*

Some cards fell on the wooden floor.

Nobody was surprised.

“You son of bitch!” The man cried out in both pain and anger. “I will-“

Before he could complete his sentence, the assailant pulled him close, bringing his mouth close to the noble’s ear.

He whispered something into it, causing the man to open his mouth and eyes wide agape.

“Ha… how…” All of his previous bravado was gone.

The young man whispered something into his ear again. 

“Wa… one mill…”

“Shhh…” 

*Gulp*

Finally, a smile appeared on the brown haired man’s face. “This happens. What’s gambling without some tricks, isn’t it?”

“Ye… yes.” Sweat trickled down through the man’s skin.

“But I am trying to business here. You understand, right?”

“Ye… yes.”

“Let’s meet again later.” He turned his face away, and fixed his on the young man covering his face and wearing a black sleeveless shirt.

“Of… of course.” The man ran away.

In a small separate room in the same building.

“Why are you here?” The smile he just had disappeared.

“The boss called.”

“She is out again?” He raised one of his brows.

“Nope.” Asmond shook his head. “But she will have to- whether she wants to or not.”

The other young man scowled.

“Besides…” Asmond looked right into his eyes.

“We have a new boss.”