boyutpedia Chapter 63 The Man in Black's Plan
Chapter 63 The Man in Black's Plan
The tavern door was pushed open, the bell on the doorframe rang once, and Erwin walked to Ron's table and adjusted his glasses.
"We've received everyone: an architect and five philosophy students, one more than expected."
Ron nodded, briefly recounted what had just happened, and then looked at Erwin.
"Hire another ship and send guards to take these men back to the manor first. You and the rest of you stay at the port and wait. Geralt and I will go and see if this deal is worth getting involved in."
"Okay," Erwin glanced at Geralt, opened the notepad, wrote a few words, closed the notepad, and turned to walk towards the door.
After Ron retrieved the greatsword from the Seagull, Geralt was already waiting at the crossroads outside the harbor. The dirt road beside him stretched into the distance in the sunlight, flanked by rolling wheat fields and scattered orchards.
Ron glanced at Geralt. "Geralt, I get the feeling you're always in trouble wherever you go. Is the life of a Witcher just this exciting, or is it just you?"
Geralt shrugged indifferently. "Hmm, I'd like to know the answer to that too."
He paused, then added, "But it's really hard to say this time, who dragged whom into this trouble."
"Let's go, let's see what surprises that person has in store for us."
The two turned a few corners along the path and came to a fenced herb garden. The shelves in front of the small house inside were full of dried herbs.
Two figures stood in front of the door, dressed in red military uniforms with the Holy Emblem of Eternal Flame printed on their shoulders, pounding on the door with their fists.
"Eternal fire, burning away evil!"
The soldier banging on the door paused, then shouted again, "Open the door! We know you're in there!"
Another soldier, holding a large shield, added in a deep voice, "In the name of the Eternal Flame, accept the search!"
There was no response from inside the door. The two soldiers turned around at the sound of hooves, their eyes first falling on Geralt, with his white hair, cat-like eyes, and two swords on his back.
The soldier holding the shield immediately changed his eyes, as if some kind of ignited excitement, pointing the tip of his sword at Geralt, his voice filled with devout fanaticism.
"A filthy mutant and his big, dumb henchman—you're out of luck today. Join that halfling in the fire for purification!"
Ron turned to Geralt, who raised an eyebrow at him, as if to say, "You do it, I do it?"
The greatsword was drawn from its sheath from behind, and the deep scraping sound made the two soldiers pause in surprise. The sword was almost as tall as them.
The soldier holding the shield swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing, but his eyes grew even more fanatical. He raised his shield, and his voice became excited.
"This must be a test given to us by the Eternal Flame! Justice will prevail..."
Before he could finish speaking, the greatsword slashed down with a sharp, tearing sound, splitting the shield in two and slicing him in two along with his body.
His upper body slid down at an angle, while his lower body remained standing in place. After a moment, he collapsed with a thud.
While the other man was still trying to draw his sword, Ron's leg was already raised, his iron boots moving so fast they were just a blur, and he slammed his leg into the soldier's chest with a loud thud.
The entire metal breastplate collapsed instantly, and his body was sent hurtling into the nearby herb garden as if struck by a battering ram, scattering dirt and broken leaves everywhere.
Ron straightened up and sheathed his greatsword. "Enough with the nonsense."
Geralt walked over and glanced at them. "These fanatics must have lost their minds."
The door to the hut opened a crack, and a halfling poked his head out. He glanced at the corpse on the ground, then noticed the medicinal herb garden that had been mostly crushed.
"My aconite! My herbaceous herb! My broom!" He rushed out of the house, squatted by the herb garden, his hand hanging in mid-air, as if he didn't know which plant to hold first.
Ron looked down at the still-growing halfling. "Do you have any yarrow extract for sale?"
The halfling's wails stopped abruptly. He slowly stood up and looked at the two people in front of him again with his small eyes. "Come in," he said, pushing open the door and gesturing for them to follow.
The room was filled with medicine bottles and bundles of dried herbs. The halfling walked to the cabinet in the corner, lifted a trapdoor on the floor, and revealed a wooden ladder leading to the basement.
"They're waiting downstairs, go ahead."
The basement was much more spacious than the small room above. Several oil lamps were embedded in the recesses of the wall. The man in black stood behind a long table on the inside, watching Geralt and Ron walk down.
"You've arrived, that's great!"
Geralt stood still in front of the table. "Whether it's good or not is still uncertain, but it wouldn't hurt to hear it."
The man in black looked at Geralt: "Let's get straight to the point, I like that. We have the same goal, we both want to enter Borsodi's vault, we both want what's inside, so why not cooperate?"
"So?" Ron asked.
"I have a plan that I've spent a whole year developing. Now it's time to put it into action. How about joining me?"
"How interesting that a guy who won't even reveal his name is inviting us to join his plan."
"Is it really necessary? I'm not asking you to propose, cooperate, or get the treasure. We can just go our separate ways."
Ron lowered his gaze and glanced at him. "Go ahead and tell me. Besides, I don't like people trying to be clever, so don't waste my time."
"I know what I'm doing, I've said everything I need to say, so do you want to join or not?"
"Don't rush," Geralt tapped the table lightly. "Do you know what Borzodi's house is?"
"I know he's in the treasure vault."
"What do you want from the treasure vault?"
"Something that belonged to me, and was stolen."
Ron didn't press further, but slowly said, "I don't care about any of that. I only want to know one thing: how much is the profit share?"
"More than you can imagine."
Ron and Geralt exchanged a glance, and Geralt shrugged slightly, indicating that since things had come to this point, there was no point in asking any further questions.
Geralt looked at the man in black. "And then?"
The man in black pulled out a parchment with a floor plan of the auction house drawn on it. The plan included the patrol shift change times, the height of the side towers, and the location of the vault. Every key point was circled with a pen.
"The Bosodi Auction House has three floors. The treasury is on the first basement level. There are more than twenty guards at the front, so it is impossible to enter through the front door. The only entrance is the side tower next to it."
He traced his finger across the area marked "top of the tower" on the blueprint. "The infiltration route has been planned: climb the tower, install the cables, and infiltrate from the tower tower."
I have prepared a plan for this in advance. In addition to you and me, we also need experts in climbing and lock picking.
Geralt looked up: "Have you found him?"
"I have several candidates on the waiting list."
The man in black placed a slip of paper on the table. The slip of paper contained several names and brief descriptions: Evelyn, nicknamed Weasel, a circus rope and rhythmic gymnast who can climb smooth exterior walls with her bare hands.
Chido, a lock-picking expert and perpetrator of numerous thefts, is wanted in several countries. The remaining two are candidates: the dwarf Casimir, skilled in explosives, and the halfling Hugo Hoff.
Ron raised an eyebrow slightly when he saw the dwarf's resume, but said nothing and simply put the note away.
"There's a problem. Qiduo has been captured by a mercenary group and is currently being held in a mercenary camp. We need you to handle the recruitment, as I don't want to reveal my identity right now."
The sun was already setting when the two stepped out of the hut. Ron mounted his horse, Geralt tugged at the reins a couple of times, and turned to look at Ron: "Do you think he's trustworthy?"
"Those who hide their true intentions often have bigger troubles hidden behind them."
Geralt pondered for a few moments, then paused to breathe. "Hmm, but there's no better way. Let's give it a try."