Chess Mage of Faerûn

Chapter 285 The storm arises

"Ladies and gentlemen, what I want to say is that our current development is indeed very good, and we have reaped considerable rewards. However, let's not forget the purpose of our trip. It would be unwise to put the cart before the horse."

The monk looked around, his words carrying a hidden meaning.

"Boss, we're always on missions, morning or night. If you ask me, since we've already settled here and finally secured this territory, why bother with all that investigation and searching? It's a waste of energy, and besides..."

Kagan didn't dare to continue speaking. Seeing that their captain's face had darkened, the other team members wisely remained silent, all looking at Kagan, the one who had stood out.

At this moment, the mage was still somewhat exhausted, even though he knew that his seasoned teammates all had their own agendas, which was only natural and understandable.

Unusually, he did not directly refute the dwarves, but instead used a relatively mild tone.

"Our current situation is good, and this is the result of everyone's hard work. It wasn't easy."

His tone became even more stern as he spoke: "But here in Luskan, under the governance structure of the Arcane Brotherhood and the five high-ranking captains, this is all there is to it, with no room for further progress."

"Anyone who can't bear to part with these jars and pots, or this little plot of land, is welcome to stay. I'll give this land to them as a farewell gift for our acquaintance!"

These were very strong words, and no one in the audience dared to accept this "gift package." Even Lawrence and Kegan, who were usually the most attentive to managing their influence, were now playing the ostrich.

Ideological work can't just be about hitting people with a stick without giving them any hope of reward.

After setting the tone for the meeting, the sweet date arrived.

Now that we've reached the stage of launching an operation, everything needs to be coordinated.

Mobilization was also put on the agenda.

First, they made grand promises and outlined the blueprints, roughly revealing the details of the Starry Cloak.

As for the old dean, even he himself was a bit confused and couldn't boast about it out of thin air.

According to Ophira, if this matter succeeds, securing him a noble title should not be a problem, but she didn't elaborate on the territory.

However, this is enough. Being a nobleman in an old city like Neverwinter is much better than struggling in a gang in Luscan, especially a low-level gang.
If the eldest gets to eat meat, then at least the rest of us can have some soup, right?

And Nancy stepped forward:
“Garrick has been found, and the broken blood ties between the Anglie and Mandane families have been reconnected.”

“Right now, the Mandane family is being suppressed by the combined forces of Manuel and the Deszel family, but if we can succeed this time,” she said excitedly, her eyes fixed on her teammates, “they are not without a chance to revive. As the initiators of this event, as newly promoted nobles, and with our relationship with the Flame Fist, we are naturally allies of the Mandane family. With their support, we may not be unable to gain a foothold and get a piece of the pie in the division of benefits.”

These words caused an uproar. Nancy's remarks, which added fuel to the fire, ignited everyone's enthusiasm for the bright future, and they began to discuss it.

Unlike his excited teammates, the mage himself was very calm, even somewhat indifferent.

In his eyes, the so-called nobility, the so-called allies, and the so-called friendship of the Mandane family were all unimportant.

Even the nobles themselves, in Zhang Yuan's eyes, who came from the modern society of his previous life, were nothing more than a group of aristocratic scions who monopolized and divided power and interests by relying on their family lineage and bloodline.

While there are undoubtedly outstanding individuals among them, to say that one admires and reveres them? Come on, the Qing Dynasty has been gone for a century, the emperor is gone, and to still establish some so-called aristocratic demeanor to grovel and worship is either stupid or malicious, or more likely a combination of both.

The purpose of bringing up these things was simply to stir up the emotions of his teammates. After the conversation with the old dean that day, the mage became increasingly indifferent to the intricacies of mortal society.

It's just a tool; use it if it's useful, discard it if it's not.

However, it seems that this tool is working quite well so far.

With the atmosphere sufficiently set, Zhang Yuan tapped the table, and after everyone quieted down, he revealed his plan to cooperate with Neverwinter City.

The plan can be briefly divided into three steps.

Step 1: Instigate conflict;

Step Two: Counterattack and Retribution;

Step 3: A covert maneuver.

With everyone's enthusiasm ignited, they quickly offered many valuable suggestions, which helped to perfect the plan in a very respectable way.

"Arden, I'm leaving this matter to you. Don't let me down."

This first step, however, was not initiated by the Canaan Squad; this glorious task fell to the Maginot Group.

“This,” Arden hesitated, wanting to decline this seemingly bizarre task, but in the current situation, he had no say in the matter.

Leaving aside the contracts signed before, the separately signed command scrolls that were later enjoyed, and the great demon that day, let's talk about the guy behind me called the Bounty Hunter.

Although most of his face was hidden behind a hood and veil, just from the exposed protruding ears and dysentery-like brown skin, he could deduce that the other person was probably closely related to the goblins.

Goblins are considered to be at the bottom of the hierarchy in Faerûn. If it weren't for the great goblins and bear goblins holding up the scene, they would probably have defeated the kobolds and other weaklings to become the weakest of the weak.

Having witnessed the skills of bounty hunters, Arden dared not underestimate his opponent because of his race. Neither the pair of swift and sharp long and short swords nor the strange boomerang seemed to be something he could easily handle.

Of course, they are not easy to deal with. The two-star bounty hunter has the best one-on-one ability among the same level pieces, plus a jump shot (dart throw), and is known as Kobe.

Being guarded one-on-one by this guy... Hmm~
Unable to express his suffering, Arden had no choice but to accept his fate, his expression looking as if he had been dragged into a sorghum field by several cannibals and had rice eaten by them.

As a good boss, Zhang Yuan always cared about the mental health and emotional state of his employees. Seeing that Aden's face was ashen and he looked constipated, he immediately comforted him:
"Don't be so discouraged. This is the treatment of the protagonist in a legendary novel. Ordinary people don't get to enjoy it."

This is no joke; just look at the script Mr. Zhang wrote:
After suffering a devastating blow from the Shining Gold Coins, Mr. Arden of the Maginot Line was physically injured and never recovered.

However, just as he was disheartened and planning to disband his group and go home to farm, a wandering mage accepted offerings from the Maginot Gang and even brought several powerful followers with him.

From then on, the Maginot gang's development was unstoppable, especially after completing a 180° strategic shift from the market area to the North City Warehouse Area. They advanced rapidly, dominating three streets and four large warehouses.

(End of this chapter)