They all call me Great Master

Watching Malz emerge with his men, everyone, including Arthur, sighed with relief.

However, Arthur did not show himself immediately.

Instead, he waited a moment before he straightened his coat and appeared silently behind Malz after Malz had completely dispatched his men to blockade and patrol Pine Street.

"Good gracious…"

"Arthur, do you have any idea how frightening that is!"

The Sheriff of Shire District let out a colloquialism and, upon realizing it was Arthur, started panting heavily with his hand over his heart—though the latter part was somewhat exaggerated, Malz was genuinely startled at first.

You see, there had been a fight when the newspapers were being sealed off.

Had it not been for the warning from his partner, who had prepared ahead of time, the casualties would have been severe.

"Was there a problem at the newspaper office?"

Stay tuned for updates on empire

Arthur keenly noticed something was off with Malz.

"Yes, a 'Mystical' force was involved—thankfully, my men and I didn't just barge in, or we would have been done for."

Malz looked visibly shaken.

"And you?"

Arthur curiously looked at Malz.

Immediately, the Sheriff of Shire District touched his nose and whispered,

"Kerosene cans, firing in turns."

Undoubtedly, this was a strategy copied from Arthur when he dealt with Grahan Toad—although cliché, it was truly effective.

"Next time, remember to replace the kerosene cans with explosives!"

"Or, throw both the kerosene cans and explosives together!"

"Also, you must remember...

retreat behind the crowd!"

Arthur reminded his partner.

Compared to another partner, Arthur was more concerned about Malz.

He did not wish for Malz to encounter any mishaps.

Malz nodded solemnly, showing his commitment to remember, and then, after looking around to ensure no one was nearby, he wrapped an arm around Arthur's shoulder and whispered, "I've cleaned up the Star Newspaper and the Moon Newspaper for you—don't worry, no fire was set, just a friendly chat to clarify those falsehoods!"

Arthur smiled and gave Malz a thumbs up.

Malz then revealed a smile.

Afterward, the two of them talked arm in arm.

The topic of their conversation was the sensationalism of the 'Star Newspaper' and 'Moon Newspaper'.

However, what no one saw was that during their conversation, they were quietly writing on each other's shoulders and backs.

'Marinda?'

'And the Countess.'

Upon receiving the answer, Malz's finger paused, then he swiftly wrote,

'Safe? Do we need to book passage?'

'It was not safe before, but it's somewhat safe now, and the passage should be prepared.'

Even while writing, they chose to conceal the idea of 'buying a ship' by using 'booking passage' instead.

'The corpses just now included Dotas from Mouse Alley!'

Malz wrote again, and without any visible reaction, he glanced at Wiggins guarding the street corner.

The implication was clear.

One, he was asking whether Mouse Alley could still exist.

Two, he was asking if, assuming it did exist, Wiggins could handle more.

'Rat Tail Alley will definitely cease to exist.'

'Mouse Alley...'

'Still exists!'

Arthur gave a definite answer.

The Earl of South Los was no pushover; although he lived by a principle of 'Secrecy', when the Mouse Council dared to act in this manner, there were naturally consequences to face.

Therefore, Rat Tail Alley will definitely not reappear in South Los.

But Mouse Alley is different; it not only harbors criminals and fugitives, but also the bankrupt of South Los.

If Mouse Alley were to be demolished, how would these bankrupt individuals be resettled?

Moreover, many fragmented gang forces would lose their stronghold in Mouse Alley and would surely cause chaos in other districts.

For the Countess, this was absolutely unacceptable.

So, Mouse Alley will persist.

Of course, it will be suppressed.

However, there is still profit to be made.

If Wiggins occupied Mouse Alley, no, just a corner of it, he would have a considerable number of hands available.

Whether it was for gathering information or handling other matters, it would be convenient.

And that's just one aspect!

Another is—

'Police Chief of Dort District?'

Arthur wrote.

'Not easy, but possible!'

Malz replied.

It wasn't about courting that police chief, but rather replacing him, but unfortunately, he didn't have a suitable candidate—Dico and Andy were good, but both were not of sufficient rank.

One was an apprentice policeman, the other still a patrol officer.

Neither was close to the police chief's position.

As for Otto, Alaid?

They were not his men.

But it was still possible!

Under the police chief of Dort District, Malz had a target worth courting.

Even if not a confidant, still worth the investment.

'Good!'

After finishing writing, Arthur forcefully patted Malz's shoulder and said.

"I'll leave this to you!"

"I'm going back to sleep!"

"What a busy night!"

Having said that, Arthur headed towards Wiggins and whispered as he passed by—

"Dotas's den is yours to handle."

Wiggins's body trembled, followed by an excited expression.

Arthur knew, Wiggins understood his intentions.

Immediately, without pausing further, he walked straight towards Cork Street.

However, when he reached a secluded area, Arthur checked the spoils he had acquired this time.

Those two hand crossbows—

[Name: Jackal Hand Crossbow]

[Type: Crossbow Weapon]

[Quality: Excellent]

[Attributes: 1. Lightweight; 2. Accurate; 3. Poison Coating]

[Remarks: The 'Gatekeeper' of Rat Street, Urto, due to his mobility impairment, specifically sought craftsmen to make this weapon; the compact hand crossbow was greatly cherished by Urto, but the craftsman was hanged in Mouse Street because he could not produce a rapid shooting hand crossbow more suited for Urto]

...

[Lightweight: Far lighter and smaller than ordinary hand crossbows]

[Accurate: Easy to handle, even a child can aim at the target smoothly]

[Poison Coating: The poison from the poison chamber sprays onto the crossbow arrow as the trigger is pulled]

(Note: At this moment, the poison is thorn apple)n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

...

Two very nice hand crossbows, slightly bigger than an adult's palm, not only easy to carry but also quite powerful.

Arthur immediately placed them in the Spirit Medium Box, along with the arrows—when he had just picked up the two hand crossbows, Arthur certainly did not forget the arrows.

Unfortunately, the arrows on Urto had been destroyed.

He now had just two arrows.

'Need to find a craftsman to make arrows.'

The arrows for the Jackal Hand Crossbow were custom-made, ordinary arrows would not suffice, Arthur thought, as he slowed his pace.

He was hesitating.

Hesitating whether to make a trip to Rat Tail Alley.

He thought of profiting when the Countess of South Los cleared Mouse Alley...

The mysterious knowledge and props treasured by the Mouse Council, just thinking about them made Arthur's heart flare with excitement, but immediately Arthur shook his head.

He was not confident!

Whether it was the Countess or the "Mouse Council", for him at present both were formidable—any slight carelessness could lead to a deadly path.

The joy of extracting chestnuts from the fire was enticing, but getting burned was the norm.

Phew!

Arthur took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down.

'You already possess enough resources, what you need now is time, to transform these resources into your own strength, step by step, steady and solid moving forward...'

Arthur persuaded himself with this reasoning.

Such reasoning was certainly correct, but deep down in Arthur's heart, there was still some reluctance.

However, the next moment, Arthur completely calmed down.

Because, he thought of the Muck Cart—

'Greedy fellow, watch out for the Muck Cart!'

The memory in his mind made Arthur alert.

Just as he no longer hesitated and prepared to move forward, a person who Arthur found incredibly surprising suddenly emerged from the shadows beside him.

Immediately, Arthur frowned.