Published at 29th of October 2026 1:41 pm

Chapter 2151: Planning Something Big

This chapter is updated by JustRead.pl

Greene’s Emporium, Dark Port.

Adam sat with the vampire couple in their small house located behind the store.

He had just received the rewards for clearing out the camps and safehouses of the Iron Covenant. He had already done so a year and a half ago, before leaving for Fortune’s End.

Let the vampires think it took him this long to clear the bases.

"Lad, are you certain you don’t want to take that other mission?" Esmond asked with a peculiar gleam in his eyes.

Adam was the most capable adventurer he knew in the Mana Seed Rank. If there was anyone who had a shot at completing that mission, then it was him.

"Are you trying to get me killed, Master Greene?" Adam scoffed. "No matter how many times you ask me, the answer is going to remain the same. No."

Esmond sighed. "Fine. Fine. Fine." He raised his hands in an act of surrender.

"A man can try, can he not? You have no idea the reward for that mission. The upper echelons of the Guild are going absolutely crazy over it. Just my commission alone would have been a fortune."

"Well, too bad." Adam shrugged. "Find another lamb."

Realizing that he had no interest whatsoever—as if he hadn’t made it clear in his previous visits—Sandra changed the subject.

"Are you still interested in missions related to the Iron Covenant, though?" Her voice was still sweet like the song of skylarks. "There has been a lot of mercenary activity lately."

"A lot of activity?" Adam leaned forward slightly, feigning more interest in the Iron Covenant so that Esmond stopped pestering him about the damned item the Night Guild was after.

"Indeed." Sandra smiled. "It would appear they are planning something big. In the past couple of years, their battles with us have also intensified. Though it still remains in the shadows, of course. Makes one wonder, doesn’t it?"

"Does the Iron Covenant really want to take over Davos’s criminal underworld?" Adam squinted his eyes.

"Their actions would suggest so," Sandra said with a light chuckle. "But as for their true objectives, who can tell?"

Adam remained silent. He still had all those supplies and weapons crates that he had stolen from the Covenant camps and safehouses. He had planned to sell them and bag some money, but Sandra’s words made him cautious. Very much so.

If the battle between the two criminal organizations really was so intense, what would happen if someone were to track those stolen items back to him?

Should I just sell them to these guys? He wondered.

He quickly had an answer.

No. It’s better to completely be rid of them. I don’t have to worry about my finances for the foreseeable future. This is too big a risk.

"I’ll take the Iron Covenant related missions," he said.

Sandra smiled. Esmond sighed.

She grabbed the parchments describing all the missions and asked, "Same as last time? Outside Davos?"

Adam nodded.

Sandra teased. "Don’t want others to associate you with us within Davos, I see."

"Well, obviously." Adam scoffed. "I still have a reputation to uphold."

"Do you now?" Esmond snorted.

Adam ignored the vampire. He grabbed the mission papers from Sandra and rose to his feet.

"I’ll return when I’ve completed these missions then," he said.

Then he bid farewell to the couple and made his way back to the surface.

***

It wasn’t difficult for Adam to dig up information about a certain target in the City Watch.

Lieutenant Garrick Voss had served in the Watch for nearly a century. On paper, he had a respectable career. In reality, his record was considerably less spotless.

There had been several complaints of abuse over the years. He had also been accused of accepting bribes from local merchants in exchange for turning a blind eye to their illegal activities. Adam couldn’t care less about those crimes.

The most damning allegations involved rape.

On three separate occasions, women had come forward to accuse the lieutenant of sexual assault. Yet none of the cases had ever reached a proper conclusion.

The witnesses had mysteriously disappeared. Sometimes even the victims.

Without their testimonies, the charges had eventually been dropped. The official records offered little explanation, and the City Watch had quietly moved on.

Lieutenant Voss continued to serve.

Adam quietly followed the man as he recalled the intel he had gathered.

A tree as vast as the City Watch was bound to have a few bad apples. Not everyone who wore uniform embodied righteousness and justice. Not everyone was like Michael.

Adam had gathered intel on Voss and had been secretly following him for the past couple of days. He finally got the chance to deal with him when he left on some errand south of Davos. The lack of official uniform suggested it was a private errand.

Night fell and Voss, who was traveling alone, made camp in the vicinity of the Trade Road. He was but a full day’s journey away from Davos.

The man was an intimidating-looking fellow. A deep scar ran vertically over his left eye. The light from the campfire illuminated his terrifying visage as he stared at the flames.

Crack!

The sound of twigs snapping was especially loud in the nighttime.

Voss’s hand shot to the sword fastened to his waist as he turned toward the source of the sound. A stranger appeared from the darkness.

"Identify yourself," Voss growled, his hand tightening around the hilt of his blade as he surveyed the surroundings.

Adam raised his hands slightly, gesturing that he didn’t mean harm.

"I’m a Davosian, man. Calm down," he said. "I was heading back to the city. Then I saw the campfire. Thought I could spend some time to rest my legs. I can leave if I’m not welcomed."

Voss’s eyes narrowed. "Where are you returning from?"

"Greyreach," Adam answered. Then he wrinkled his nose and complained. "Hate that city. Always raining. Always dirty. Can’t wait to get some warm sun back at home."

Voss’s wariness reduced ever so slightly. "Show me your identification."

Adam frowned. "What’s the matter with you? Just say I’m not welcome at your camp. What’s all this about identification and whatnot? You a copper?"

"Apoligies." Voss sighed. "Force of habit."

"Force of Habit? You really are a copper!" Adam feigned curiosity. "What’re you? From the Watch? Or the Guard?"

"The Watch." Voss waved a hand. "Come sit."

Adam showed some respect to the man as he took his seat on the log opposite the rapist. He took out his identification documents and showed them to the man.

Voss only gave it a quick glance. His hand still remained near the hilt of his sword.

"Why were you in Greyreach?" he asked.

"The Gala," Adam said succinctly.

Voss’s eyes narrowed, a peculiar light flashing in them. Adam noticed the change as well, but the man said nothing further.

He couldn’t.

Voss’s eyelids started to grow heavy. His limbs became numb.

Before he even realized what was happening, the poison had already taken hold.

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