Quadruple split.

Chapter 2510 Cleanup

next day

Holy Calendar Year 9571, Void Moon, Day 1

Game time AM00:13

Northwest Continent, Northern Border of the Griffin Dynasty, Likud City, Black Dice Market

As the only surviving area of ​​the massacre half a month ago, this area is located in the southern part of the city which has never been properly developed. It not only has branches of the Gold Coin Chamber of Commerce, the Steam Consortium, the Wanderer Inn and the Thieves Guild, but also has the largest black market within a thousand miles. It seems that it has not been affected by the killing feast at all.

The bear-orc stall owner with only one leg and fierce eyes shouted hard and never tired of recommending to every customer the jasmine seeds that were said to come from the holy land.

Two thieves who were walking in a hurry met at the corner of an alley. They nodded to each other vigilantly, then passed each other and ran towards their own destinations.

A goblin propagandist with a kind smile was handing out leaflets with information about the reconstruction plan for the northern city and the investment returns after the war. He was surrounded by several third-rate bards who belonged to the Wanderer's Inn but were not good at speaking, learning, joking or singing.

In the corner of the open-air area of ​​the tavern at the corner of the street, a few gloomy mercenaries were drinking. They had just returned from the City Hall, but were told that because it was a war stage, Chief of Staff Ramolok would only allow corpses to leave the city.

"It is foreseeable that these poor people will be squeezed out of their last gold coin in a few days."

At the table next to the mercenaries, Melaph Howard, who was the supreme ruler of this city half a month ago but now wore a cloak and enjoyed the lowest quality beer, shook her head and whispered to the young man sitting opposite her: "At that time, they can only accept the mortgage loan services of the senior salesmen of the Gold Coin Chamber of Commerce. Even if they are lucky, these people will be saddled with an extremely heavy debt in a short period of time and eventually become clerks of the Chamber of Commerce."

"Oh."

Tom Lestrange, who had the same blond hair, thin figure, feminine and handsome appearance as Melanie, was also wearing a cloak. He gave a minimal response with an extremely cold attitude.

"I'm so sorry, Mr. Snake."

Melafu looked at Tom apologetically and said softly, "You obviously wouldn't like such a noisy place, but I stubbornly asked the Lamorok General Staff for permission to come out and get some fresh air, so you had to..."

"It's Lamorocco's fault."

Tom glanced at Melafe with his vertical eyes that looked like snake pupils after his 'rebirth' and said calmly, "He has always been too nosy."

Melafu smiled helplessly and a little tiredly, and shook her head, saying, "This is a necessary measure. After all, my identity is too special, and the 'market' is a place where all kinds of people come together. Whether someone wants to do something to me, or I want to collude with certain forces to escape back to Griffin, it will not be a good thing for the General Staff of Lamolock."

Tom nodded noncommittally, stroking his wand [Snake Venom], and said casually: "If you want to escape, I can help you."

"……Eh?"

Melafu widened her eyes and looked at Mr. Snake in front of her in surprise, and said in astonishment: "Why... why?!"

"Because I hate Lamorok, and you just said that if you collude with certain forces and escape back to Griffin's control area, it will definitely not be a good thing for Lamorok."

Tom flicked his wand, leaving a barely noticeable green flame in the air, and explained coldly, "Finding ways to make him uncomfortable is one of the few ways I have fun besides cleaning up the mess."

"Pfft."

Melafu couldn't help but chuckle and said, "I didn't expect you to have this side. Ah, sorry, I didn't mean to offend you."

Tom turned his eyes away from the noblewoman who was four or five years older than him, and asked calmly, "So, do you need me to help you escape? I can either send you out of the city directly, or help you contact organizations like the Gold Coin Consortium."

In the end, Melafu didn't even think about it and simply shook her head and said, "Although I appreciate your kindness, Mr. Snake, but... I'd better forget about going back to Griffin."

"why?"

Tom frowned and asked casually, "I remember that the Howard family should be very influential in Griffin. Lamorlock also said that you are a highly regarded genius within the Howard family. Why don't you want to go back?"

"Because there's no going back for me, Mr. Snake."

Melafu sighed silently, lowered her eyes and stared at the cup of inferior drink in front of her that smelled of buckwheat. She murmured, "It was me who ruined Likud City. I personally handed it over to Lamolock. Although no one knows about this yet, as soon as I leave here, the chief of staff will immediately return this information to Griffin. And everyone in this Black Dice Market... can testify to this."

Tom subconsciously rubbed the [Snake Venom] in his hand and asked, "But as far as I know, the nobles of the Griffin Empire will not let a noble like you take any responsibility for the gain or loss of a city."

"In the past... maybe that's the case."

Merav smiled helplessly and shrugged, "But it's different now, Mr. Snake. General Lamorok's advance is too fast. Even if he didn't continue to move south in the past half month, if my judgment is correct, the loss of Griffin must have made the major upper-level forces uneasy, especially me... The loss of Likud City where Merav Howard is stationed will surely make those short-sighted rats become frightened birds."

Tom nodded slightly and smiled, which was rare for him. "You don't seem to like them very much."

"I have tried to make myself like them and have made countless compromises for this purpose, but unfortunately, those people only disappoint me again and again. Perhaps in their eyes, no matter how good Melafe Howard is, she is not even a hair's breadth better than that idiot Fast."

Melafu sneered and gnashed her silver teeth as she said, "Only because Fast's future children can inherit the Howard family and continue the legacy of those rats."

Tom was shocked by the other party's momentum and subconsciously sat up straight. After a few seconds, he regained his usual nonchalant look and said concisely, "Oh."

"All in all... I can't go back."

Melafu quickly regained her composure and said with a wry smile, "The North was massacred by General Lamorok over two counties, which proves that the noble army who only knew how to attack was a bunch of rubbish. If I, as a 'celebrity' of the Howard family, reappeared at this time, as long as Lamorok let a few people go and gave them a little push, the name Melafu would be nailed to the pillar of shame, and then..."

Tom, who didn't notice the confusion on Melafu's face, looked up at her and asked, "What then?"

"Then the Blood Lion Emperor Chiwetel Logan, who has long wished that all of us nobles would die, and his sister Eliza Logan, whose every pore exudes malicious conspiracy, will seize this opportunity to attack the Howard family directly and make them the main responsible party for the North's disastrous defeat."

Melafe raised the beer in her hand to greet Tom, then drank the contents of the cup in one gulp, gritting her teeth and saying, "By then, although I will probably get a decent result and won't suffer too much harm or criticism, the royal family can naturally cancel the engagement between Gavel Logan and that idiot Fast, and force the Howard family to be the first to send out their wealth under pressure from the entire aristocracy and rush into the meat grinder of the North..."

Tom nodded slightly and asked, "Isn't that great? You were not hurt, and the family you hated and that man called Fast paid the price."

"Mr. Snake..." Melafu sighed sadly, smiled bitterly at Tom and asked, "Do you know why the so-called nobility lasts forever?"

"do not know."

Tom shook his head and said calmly, "By the way, there's no need to use honorifics. It's annoying to hear."

"Okay...Tom."

Melafu smiled with a slightly red face, then raised her finger and pointed at herself, explaining, "Because even someone like me who looks down on my family from the bottom of my heart will subconsciously put my family first when thinking about problems. Maintaining status, consolidating power, expanding influence, and passing on bloodline are things that are deeply engraved in the bones of most nobles."

Tom nodded and asked calmly, "So you are still on the side of the Howard family?"

"This is the last time. After all, I can't be bound by the cold last name 'Howard' forever."

Melafu smiled and said in a brisk tone, "I will use 'Farewell' to make my final contribution to the Howard family, and 'Farewell' will also be the reason why I will no longer be bound by the family in the future. It's a perfect match that we owe each other nothing."

"That would be very good, my dear lady."

I don't know when a tall man with a pair of phoenix eyes narrowed in a smile appeared behind Melafu. He flicked two gold coins to the tavern owner not far away and said with a smile: "This meal is on me."

"Lamorelock—"

Tom stood up before anyone could react, aimed the [Snake Venom] in his hand steadily at the other party, and said in a deep voice: "When did you come? Why..."

"Why didn't you feel it?"

Lamorlock finished the other party's unspeakable speculation in a considerate manner, and then showed an unfathomable smile: "Don't forget that I am also a favored person of God. After working hard day and night during this period of time, even if my Lord is stingy, he has to give me some insignificant rewards."

Until Lamolock took the initiative to speak, he was not aware of the other party's existence. Tom, whose back was almost soaked with cold sweat, stared at the former coldly. After a long time, he put down [Snake Venom] and asked in a bad tone: "What are you doing here?"

"Just a little errand."

Lamolock walked slowly between the two of them, put his hands on the backs of Tom and Melafu's chairs, and said with a smile: "I have just dealt with the people sent by His Holiness the Pope. In short, the break is over. Tomorrow morning, we will leave this city that has left a deep impression on me and continue this magnificent [Griffin's Travels]. Before that..."

He didn't say anything else, just clapped his hands lightly.

The next moment, hundreds of people wearing the robes of the Dream Sect priests, their skin was as pale as that of the dead. Although there was still life in their bodies, their expressions were so stiff that people felt extremely weird. They slowly walked from the only entrance and exit of the "market" with creepy soft smiles on their faces.

"[Shadow of the Decayed]?"

Tom frowned slightly. Because he had been forced to fight alongside them some time ago, he knew very well that these beings who seemed to be alive had actually been transformed into puppets by the Whispering Cultists through blood sacrifices and rituals and had long since become twisted, chaotic, and fanatical monsters. He asked Lamorok in confusion, "What on earth do you want to do?"

"I've just answered your question, Tom. It's just a little thing, but since you're so interested, I can't hurt to be more specific."

Lamolock flicked his monocle, waved his hand, and ordered succinctly: "Kill them all."

The next moment, the entire black dice market was dragged into layers of nightmares, and the breath of life here was disappearing at an incredible speed.

The one-legged bear orc stopped breathing. In his dream, he returned to his hometown which was in decline due to famine. All he had were deceptive things that could hardly grow any food and were extremely difficult to survive. In the end, he starved to death along with countless others.

The two thieves who were carrying out their respective missions stopped breathing. They both foresaw each other's betrayal, and their trust in their old friend made them both the ones who reacted slower in their dreams.

The goblin propagandists stopped breathing. After they saw the endless war and how the entire southwestern continent had truly become a 'meat grinder', they were inevitably dragged into it and died on some unknown battlefield.

The mercenaries at the next table stopped breathing. In their dreams, they were drowned in a sea of ​​blood and corpses. They were trapped in torment without a tomorrow and could not see the light of day. In the end, they chose to commit suicide.

"Although I know very well that this is just an illusion~"

Lamolock grinned and winked at Tom and Melafu, revealing a row of white and neat teeth. "But I have to say, even if I can't see it with my naked eyes, these sweet sorrows still make my blood boil."

"No one wants to understand your 'art,' Lamoreaux."

"Okay, then putting aside my 'art', there is actually another reason. Don't forget that they have another identity."

"What identity?"

"The last people who can prove that Melafe Howard is still alive."

"..."

"Well, now, please help me clean up the possible fish that have slipped through the net, Mr. Snake, especially the elderly and children, whose resistance to nightmares is even higher than that of others."

"..."

"Haha, that's hard work."

Chapter 2501: End