Goblin Heavy Dependence

Chapter 244 The Golden Roulette: Gambler and Hand-to-Hand Combat
Golden Roulette.

As the only casino in the entire Molten Scale Town, even though the town itself is not very large, it still manages to extract an unimaginable amount of wealth from the townspeople and adventurers every year due to its unique nature as a place for spending money.

In addition, the casino owner, nicknamed "Rotten Toe," was quite shrewd, with connections in both the legal and illegal worlds, and several powerful professionals acting as his backers.

In just a few years, it became one of the most influential forces in Molten Scale Town, and its leaders' extremely cruel and ruthless treatment of enemies made them a source of fear for the surrounding civilians.

Of course, no matter how bad the owner's reputation is, the Golden Roulette is still incredibly popular with the support of countless gamblers, and there have even been recent rumors of expansion.

Even though it's still daytime and far from the busiest time of day, the scorching air in the casino is already filled with the sounds of dice clattering and the frenzied shouts and screams of the gamblers.

"Tattoo."

The crisp sound of the dice striking the wooden cup was like a bugle call to charge on the battlefield.

My heart pounded violently, and scalding hot blood surged through my body.

Luca sat at the table, craning his neck and leaning forward unconsciously.

Her cheeks tightened involuntarily from clenching her teeth, highlighting the unnatural flush on her face, a reflection in her bloodshot eyes of the dice cup being shaken in the dealer's hand.

At this moment, he was completely unrecognizable as the Wycliffe family's most loyal protector he once prided himself on.

That man, seemingly a completely different person, with his fervent pursuit of money and thrills between "winning" and "losing," was no different from the wealthy businessman or the simply dressed commoner sitting at the same table.

"boom!"

The dice cup was suddenly dropped onto the table under the dealer's control.

The sweltering air instantly fell silent, with heavy breathing coming from both sides of the table.

For the gamblers at the table, those few dice, no bigger than a fingernail, had become the most important thing in their lives.

Even if the world were about to end, they would still rush up to see what would happen.

With a standard, business-like smile on her face, and under the watchful eyes of countless fiery gazes, the dealer gently unveiled the wooden cup in her hand.

"grass!"

A thick, heavy hand slammed down on the table.

Luca couldn't help but curse. His body, which had been tense as if he had just gone through a battle, suddenly deflated, and he leaned back in his chair.

Watching the disheveled, homeless man on the other side of the table, who had somehow acquired money to enter the game, he happily clutched the chips on the table, which contained his entire month's wages for his guard job.

On that honest face, which was always kind and unwavering even in the face of a formidable foe, lay a dejection and discouragement he had never shown in front of others.

In his palm, Luca's last chip was already soaked with sweat.

The gold coins I brought this morning have all been used up.

His eyes were fixed on the dice in front of him, while the dealer's sweet and tempting invitation to place bets rang in his ears, and his mind was bewitched and wavering.

"Let's try one more time, maybe we can break even."

"I still have some spare gold coins at the hotel that I haven't withdrawn. If all else fails, Young Master Hai'an is such a kind person, if I ask him for some payment, he definitely won't..."

Suddenly, a cold wind blew in from who-knows-where.

This caused Luca, who was sinking deeper and deeper into despair, to suddenly shudder, a flash of clarity appearing in his fanatical and dazed eyes.

He almost forced himself to get up, his unwilling gaze lingering on the dice cup.

Finally, he glared at the scantily clad dealer a few more times, as if that would make up for his loss, before leaving the gambling table.

My fingers brushed over the empty fanny pack, recalling how bulging and thick it felt when I first came in this morning.

Suddenly realizing what he had done, the emptiness in his wallet reached Luca's heart, and feelings of regret welled up like a spring.

Of course, no matter how much he regrets it now, he is determined never to set foot in such places again.

Once next month's paycheck arrives, and the pressure of the task is relieved and there's nothing left to do... all the determination and guilt I felt at the moment will probably be forgotten.

This cycle has repeated itself countless times.

He reached out and touched the hard, cold object under his shirt to confirm that the metal piece he had picked up by chance had not been stolen by any opportunistic thief.

Luca felt a little more at ease.

This thing is worth far more than the month's salary I just lost. Once I get back to Sticky Tree Territory, whether it's bought by the mage in the group or Xia Nan, the gold coins from the sale will probably be enough for me to splurge in the casino for a while.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but tighten his buttons again.

His gaze swept to the side.

Sava, the Dragonborn, was still battling the dealer at the poker table, but his luck was far better than Sava's.

They entered the casino at the same time, but one of them lost all his money while the other's chips kept piling up.

Luca felt somewhat resentful.

But after only a slight pause, he dared not look again.

He took two quick steps, almost slamming his hand down, and pressed his last chip onto the bar counter on one side of the casino.

"A cup of 'Hot Dragon's Breath', please!"

"Okay! Just a moment!"

After watching the uniformed bartender take the chips and exchange them for a large glass of bright red, crystal-clear liquor.

Luca finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He took a big gulp, feeling the icy sensation as it went down his throat and into his chest. Only then was the primal human instinct for stimulation, which had driven countless people to the brink of despair, temporarily dispelled.

"Luca? Why is he sitting alone? Where's Sava?"

Before I could even get comfortable on my seat, a familiar voice suddenly came from the noisy crowd nearby.

My gaze followed the direction from which the sound came.

Xia Nan and Wei Rou'er were walking towards him.

He quickly stood up, a slightly embarrassed grin on his face, scratched his head, and replied:
"Uh... I'm getting a little tired, so I came out to rest for a while."

“Sava is still playing over there. I saw she was having a great time, so I didn’t disturb her.”

Following the other person's gaze, his eyes swept over the chips on the Dragonborn poker table, then glanced at the somewhat shrunken waist pouch of the man in front of him and the wine glass on the table behind him.

Without the other party even saying it outright, Xia Nan already guessed that Luca had lost all his money at the casino.

They don't deserve sympathy, but I won't say anything sarcastic either.

As long as the other party doesn't panic and pawn the "Dream Corridor" item for money, the outcome is entirely their own choice.

He nodded expressionlessly.

"Veer and I just happened to be passing by and heard you were inside, so we came in to take a look."

Of course, it was just a casual stroll.

Xia Nan glanced around, comparing the "Golden Roulette" with the "Full Bag of Gold" that Karanfor had already destroyed in the battle with another powerful figure in Fugang.

Without a doubt, the latter is the clear winner, whether in terms of visitor traffic or interior decoration.

After all, being close to River Valley Town means that the people coming and going are all wealthy adventurers, which is far superior to Molten Scale Town, a remote town in the wilderness.

No matter how well arranged, thanks to the widespread understanding of the dangers of such gambling in the developed societies of his previous life, and the countless horrifying cases circulating online in the information age, Xia Nan would never bet even a single copper coin—of course, the requirements of the goddess ritual are an exception.

After a few casual words, I noticed that Luca had already lost all his money, while Sava felt he was on a winning streak and was unwilling to leave the table.

The three of them found a table near the bar to rest temporarily, planning to go back to the hotel together later.

While chatting casually, Xia Nan suddenly smelled the odor of alcohol.

Looking around, what came into view were three thugs with their arms around each other's shoulders and their faces flushed.

He had drunk some alcohol, lost some money, and had accomplices with him.

He naturally grew bolder, seemingly wanting to "borrow" some money from two passersby.

Xia Nan could sense that the three thugs' original target was their table.

But perhaps it was Luca's overly burly and robust physique, or perhaps his fully armed adventurer attire did indeed have a certain intimidating effect on ordinary people.

The group of drunken men approached and whispered a few words. Then, they turned and set their sights on a young man who was sitting alone not far to the left of Xia Nan and the others. He was also quite muscular.

Compared to the gamblers in the roulette wheel, this ordinary-looking young man, dressed like a typical town resident, was not infected by the frenzy in the air.

He was sitting alone in the corner, inconspicuous, with a half-empty bottle of beer on the table in front of him. You could vaguely sense that his gaze was sweeping around the bar.

Xia Nan suddenly felt that the other person looked familiar, as if he had seen him somewhere before.

While they were pondering this, the three thugs had already clashed with the other party.

……

……

Lawson was in a bad mood.

Two full days had passed since they discovered the body of the dwarf, Limpy Gu, in the alley.

The treasure stolen from the red dragon's lair is still nowhere to be found.

He knew exactly what this meant.

This means that if a third-party force did indeed exist and managed to steal items from Limpy Gu, it would be possible.

Two days was enough time for them to prepare supplies in town and leave.

If we had traveled any faster, we might have already crossed almost half of the Molten Scale Mountain Range.

It took nearly two years and over 600 days to perfect the plan. It was incredibly difficult, and I almost emptied my savings. All my teammates had died, leaving me all alone.

The spoils of war were finally won after a desperate gamble.

However, it was taken away by another force whose identity he still does not know.

Lawson's pent-up anger was about to explode.

The man with the rotten toes who followed him around, bowing and scraping like a servant, had a very deep understanding of this.

If he dared to defend his findings a couple of days ago, now, faced with Lawson's curses and rebukes, he didn't even dare to breathe or cough too forcefully, for fear of accidentally igniting the powder keg in the other's heart.

As a so-called "big shot" with a considerable reputation in Molten Scale Town, even in his own territory, in front of countless subordinates and guests, he...

Rotten Toe remained shameless, following Lawson like a servant and obeying his every command.

After all, he knew perfectly well that everything he possessed was a gift from this high-level professional.

To take it back, you don't even need to make any extra arrangements.

He gripped the hilt of the sword and gently smeared it across his neck.

He could only hope that the donation he had sent to the nearby church a few days earlier would help him avoid going to hell and instead ascend to God's kingdom to enjoy bliss after death.

"Have the entrances and exits been thoroughly checked recently to make sure there are no suspicious individuals?"

“I’m quite certain, Mr. Lawson. These past two days, the people coming and going have all been ordinary merchants and adventurers. There are hardly any professionals among them.”

"Waste! Waste! Waste!"

The rotten toe hung its head, not daring to utter a single word.

Just then, a commotion suddenly came from ahead.

The gamblers who should have been sitting at the card table, working hard to buy his nineteenth shop in town, were now inexplicably gathered together.

Amidst the jeers and cheers, one could faintly hear the muffled thuds of flesh colliding.

"Who dares to cause trouble on my turf?"

His rotten toes were furrowed in a frown, and he merely flicked his right hand lightly.

The underlings beside him, who had previously dared not utter a sound, suddenly transformed into the behavior befitting "lackeys," shoving and pushing to clear a path through the crowd for their boss and his boss's boss.

At this moment, the battle was drawing to a close.

Two bruised and battered thugs lay sprawled on the casino floor, their fate unknown.

The last one charged toward their target, a young man dressed plainly and sitting alone in the corner, throwing a punch.

The difference in strength is too great.

The young man didn't even flinch; with a gentle flick of his left hand, the other man's right arm snapped and dislocated with a crisp crack.

At the same time, he took a step forward with his right foot, adopting an unusual stance, as if he wanted to poke the other person's lower abdomen. But then, as if considering something, he raised his right leg into the air, suddenly changed position, and instead of poking, he stepped on the thug's knee.

"Crench."

With a piercing wail, the thug's left leg twisted and deformed, and his whole body convulsed and collapsed to the ground like a puddle of mud.

The Golden Roulette is no good place, and the owner, Rotten Toes, is a notorious villain in town.

But since they were trying to do business, they couldn't very well make things difficult for the young man, especially since this was clearly a drunken thug who was looking for trouble.

They will even proactively compensate for any losses incurred by the other party.

Therefore, after swiftly dealing with the three thugs, the young man lowered his head slightly and was about to leave the scene when none of Rotten Toe's men stopped him.

But at the same time, a shadowy figure stood behind the rotten toe like a shadow.

When he saw the young man instinctively adopt a special stance during the battle, and then suddenly retract it after realizing what he had done.

The pupils suddenly contracted.

Just as the other party was about to disappear into the crowd, at a speed that ordinary people could only see as a blur.

Buzz-boom——

Step forward.

Five fingers, like steel claws, dug into the young man's shoulder blades, rendering him unable to move.

In my ears, there was a voice, cold and hoarse, filled with the aura of death:

"Your movement looks familiar..."

(End of this chapter)