Chapter 9 Wrist

  However, Raymond didn't take out his knife, but instead shouted loudly: "Who else wants a drink? I'm buying."

  A wave of intangible oppression made the gangsters' hearts beat wildly again. At this time, the calmer Raymond was, the more terrifying his anger in his heart would be. Whoever dared to respond would be asking for death.

  However, there are always exceptions. Among the gangsters, there were some young thugs who were dissatisfied with Raymond. At this moment, they were stimulated and their blood rushed to their heads, so they didn't care about anything else.

  Several guys stepped forward with a provocative expression: "We want to drink, what's wrong with that?"

  "If you want a drink, come on over." Raymond pointed to the large pile of wine bottles beside him.

  Then several people walked over with a solemn expression, grabbed the wine bottle. However, it can be seen that their hands were slightly trembling, apparently already having some realization.

  However, Raymond still didn't say what happened to them...

  "Is there anyone else who wants a drink?" He called out again to the group of robbers.

  At this time, someone finally saw that something was wrong. Freddy and Rutz exchanged a strange glance, and the residents of Haidingtown also started discussing it in hushed tones.

  He... wouldn't really be inviting bandits to drink just out of kindness, would he?

  Then a robber plucked up his courage and walked over, picked up the wine bottle and started drinking, nothing happened.

  Two robbers also walked over and carefully picked up the wine bottle, still nothing happened.

  Then several people went up; again a few more; followed by a crowd...

  At last, the gang of thieves discovered that Raymond was indeed treating them to drinks. The crowd cheered and rushed forward in a swarm, grabbing bottles and drinking wildly, as the tavern outside immediately erupted into a cacophony of unbridled laughter and noise.

  "Haha, it's been so many days since I last had a drink, it feels great!"

  "If we had known it was free, we would have come earlier."

  "When you guys sneaked out, we were worried about what might happen, but it turned out nothing was wrong."

  ……

  Harold grasped a bottle of whiskey, pouring it into his mouth as he said with a smug expression: "I knew it, Old Man Raymond is after all someone who came to this continent with us from Moji, how could he help outsiders because of some small matter? Brothers, drink up quickly."

  At this time, Rudes and Freddy both showed incredible expressions, they apparently couldn't understand how Raymond, who was so clever, could do such a sloppy thing.

  It was a perfect opportunity to capture the bandits and gain the trust of the residents of Haidington, but Raymond not only let them go, but also added fuel to the fire. Was he out of his mind?

  On the other side, the residents of Haidington saw that Raymond was so biased towards his subordinates, and they were all furious, clenching their fists, almost to the point of boiling over.

  Charlotte was also full of astonishment, she had just changed her impression of Raymond, and then he did something so disappointing. She could hardly believe that the person in front of her was the same clever guy as before.

  "Miss Charlotte, give the order, the dignity of Haidington must be maintained by ourselves." The angry defenders said in unison.

  "Hmph, I thought this guy was quite the talker and had some skills, but it turns out he's just a mediocre person after all." Lambert and the others also said with schadenfreude.

  "Charlotte, you're still too young after all, and yet you've been deceived by this kind of person."

  At this time, Raymond walked up to Charlotte: "I'm really sorry, the losses and medical expenses they caused will be compensated by me, of course, the wine money is also the same."

  "Is... is this how you're going to deal with me?" Charlotte was so angry she was almost shaking.

  Seemingly oblivious to her annoyance, Raymond said nonchalantly, "Ah, it's mainly because these guys haven't had a drink in too long, so they're a bit reckless, but it's no big deal."

  Hearing him speak so casually, the people around him became even more enraged, and several impulsive guards almost rushed up.

  "The town head..." Morini's expression was hesitant, as if he wanted to say something but stopped himself.

  Charlotte's face changed color several times, and finally she compromised: "Alright, let's do it this way. Later, I'll have someone calculate the amount to be compensated and hand it over to you."

  "Miss Charlotte, how can you do this!" The guards shouted in unison.

  "Thanks," Raymond nodded and turned around to walk towards the group of robbers who were still drinking and laughing.

  He picked up a bottle from the bar and poured himself a glass, saying to the gang: "To our safe arrival in Verona, cheers."

  "It's done!"

  "This is more like it."

  ……

  The gang of thieves who were just getting into their drink, responded with a loud cheer, and the atmosphere was more lively than ever.

  "Is it satisfying?"

  "Refreshing! Refreshing!"

  He downed the wine in one gulp, ignoring the eyes of the crowd around him that were almost popping out of their heads, and then tossed the bottle aside, followed by a crisp shattering sound.

  Startled by this voice, all the robbers turned their heads in unison and looked at him.

  "Alright." Raymond clapped his hands: "Since you've all had a good drink, listen to me carefully. I'll take responsibility for this matter, consider it as a little compensation for everyone's hard work over the past few days."

  "But..." Raymond's tone changed from his previous casualness, his eyes slightly sinking: "From now on, we will be staying in this town, so please everyone follow the laws here. If anyone causes trouble again, I absolutely won't show mercy, has everyone heard clearly?"

  However, the gang of thieves who had already drunk themselves silly would not really take it to heart. They simply symbolically raised their wine bottles and shouted a few times to show they had heard.

  Only Harlot, while other robbers were still immersed in alcohol, his incredible survival instinct gave him a sudden jolt in his heart, and he sobered up.

  "This guy, it seems like he's not just talking nonsense..." A voice in his heart kept reminding him.

  "Alright, everyone can rest assured now, I've made it clear to them." Raymond said loudly to the surrounding residents.

  But who would believe him after what he just did?

  But whether the bandits and villagers believed him or not, Raymond didn't care anymore. He dragged a cat-eared woman who was taking advantage of the situation to drink for free by her ear, called out to Freddy and Rutz, and left on his own.

  "Meow, young master, why did you invite those guys and not let me drink?" Bastet complained all the way, rubbing her burning ears.

  "Dummy, didn't you see the looks on those people's faces? What's good about drinking in a situation like that?" Raymond tapped her head.

  "But this is what you've caused." The cat girl said, unable to hold back.

  "Young master, I also don't understand why you want to do that." Luz said at this time.

  "What do you think, Freddy?" Raymond asked instead of answering.

  Under Freddy's wide-brimmed hat, there was always that cold expression: "Not very wise. But it's not necessary to spoil the Haidington gang too much, sooner or later they will understand who is the real master of this town."

  "Ahahaha, you're overthinking this." Raymond laughed: "I'm doing this not to intimidate the residents of Haidington."

  "So..." Freddy said incredulously, "You really intend to indulge those people?"

  Raymond shrugged: "Why not? I said before, they ran away with us and escaped here, being nervous for so long, of course they deserve to indulge once."

  "That's all very well," said Rudge, "but we've just come to Headington and it doesn't do to get the locals annoyed over trifles."

  Drinking and fighting are not even worth mentioning, among humans it's nothing, let alone for them who came from the Beastman Empire. What Rudz was worried about was always the hearts of the local residents.

  "Since it's just a small matter, why do I have to sacrifice my own men to please others? Besides, I've already promised to compensate in full, so it can't be considered bullying."

  "Young master, you know I didn't mean it that way," Luz said in a low voice.

  "Alright, alright, I understand what you're worried about." Raymond waved his hand.

  Rudolph said uncompromisingly, "I think it's essential to discipline those people as soon as possible. Otherwise, you've given them the wrong signal this time, and sooner or later, they'll cause even more trouble."

  Raimon smiled calmly: "No, I said it's not the right time yet. If those guys really take my words as nothing, then you can step in later."

  "Hmph, it's impossible, they'll definitely cause more trouble." Bast said with a pout.

  "Alright, let's drop it. What do you guys think about the bandit situation?" Raymond said with a stretch.

  "Intelligence is too scarce, what's the exact number of the enemy, where are their camps, what are their activity patterns, who are their leaders... it's been half a year and they don't know any of this. The guy in charge of gathering intelligence in this town should be hanged."

  "Come on, you're being too demanding of them," Raymond couldn't help but laugh. "After all, this is just a ordinary trading town."

  "Besides, these bastards can all be investigated, it's no big deal."

  "La la la, I'm a formidable scout, you know." The cat girl said with a proud smile, twitching her tail.

  "Although there are many of them, they have divided into three parts, at least that's some good news," said Rutz.

  "In this way, we have the opportunity to break them one by one."

  "Is it?" Raymond rubbed his chin: "I'm thinking about how to gather them together."

  "What? Young master, what are you thinking about?" Bast shouted.

  Rud and Freddie exchanged a surprised glance, it was already strange that Raymond indulged the gang of thieves. Now facing an enemy with a numerical advantage, when there were clearly opportunities to strike individually, he instead wanted them to gather together, which was truly abnormal.

  "Master, you're really acting strange today. Are you running a fever?" The cat girl couldn't help but reach out to touch Raymond's forehead.

  "Go away." Raymond roughly pushed her hand aside.

  "Master, the enemy has several times our number and are strong bandits. We have only about a hundred men on our side, who don't even listen to orders well, and the garrison of Hayderton is too weak. It's really not advisable to clash with them head-on."

  "It's better to cut off the enemy's connections and defeat them one by one."

  Raymond shook his head: "From common sense, this is indeed the best tactic. However, our goal is to clear all the bandits outside Haidington. Even if we defeat one or two of them and alert the rest, they will escape and it will be very troublesome to clean up again."

  "So, gathering them together and taking them down all at once is the most effective way."

  "...the actual strength between the two sides..."

  Raymond smiled and pointed at his own head: "Fighting isn't about the number of people, it's about this. Moreover..."

  As he spoke, he pointed at several people: "I still have you and you, can't we really deal with just a few hundred bandits?"

  "Meow, young master, you finally recognize my value!" Bastet exclaimed excitedly.

  "Oh, sorry, I was talking about Freddy."

  "Ugh, why is it like this..."

  "Moreover, I want to make the people of Haidington realize our strength through this battle. So this battle is not just about showing off our power, but also about establishing confidence for them. If we want to use this as a base for future development, this is the most basic premise."

  "Though you made a lot of decisions today that I couldn't understand, that's the guy I know." A hint of appreciation flashed in Freddy's gloomy eyes.

  "Awesome, boss!"

  "Besides that, there's something else that bothers me. Those robbers have been running wild outside for half a year, but they never once thought of hitting Haidington, which is really a bit strange."

  "What's wrong?" Raymond was puzzled: "Haidington has nearly 10,000 residents and there are also simple defensive facilities on the outskirts. It shouldn't be that easy to attack. I don't think those bandits need to attack here."

  "But I've noticed that too," said Freddy. "Have you ever thought, when all the merchant caravans are afraid to come to Headington, who will those robbers be able to rob? If they can't get a penny, and yet they don't leave, but instead think of attacking the town, isn't it strange?"

  He said that, and Raymond also realized it. He murmured: "Indeed, this is not in line with common sense. However, half a year's time is not long, maybe the previous harvest was very rich, so they didn't want to leave, or it wasn't time to give up yet."

  "Freddie nodded: "That's also possible. Or, those guys are actually being manipulated by someone else, such as the city that is opposed to Haidington, in order to weaken their opponent, so they use this trick."

  Although this matter is strange, the possibilities are too numerous, and the three of them couldn't guess what was going on for the time being. Raymond said straightforwardly, "Don't think so much about it, when the time comes, catch a few robbers and ask them, then you'll understand."

  This was indeed the simplest and most straightforward approach, and Freddy and Rutz nodded in agreement. Just then, a shout came from behind the four of them, and Ricky hastily caught up to them.

  "Sir, I've heard about what you did and it was really unwise." He ran to Raymond's side and blurted out these words.

  Raymond couldn't help but smile wryly, it seemed he had indeed offended everyone today. Not wanting to dwell on the issue any further, he changed the subject: "How did your conversation with Dreya go?"

  As expected, Rickett's face lit up with a smile: "I've already negotiated with him. The initial employment period is one year, during which the Qingyun will be at our disposal, but we'll have to bear all maintenance and upkeep costs. As for the commission, I also negotiated a suitable level."

  "However, according to my initial estimate, as long as we can establish a smooth trade relationship with Mr. Reed, our annual revenue will far exceed our expenses, and it's absolutely a profitable deal."

  An Do deserves to be an expert in internal affairs, thinking of everything thoroughly and saving himself a lot of trouble. Raymond warmly put his arm around Rikit's shoulder and said as they walked: "We've also reached an agreement on our side. However, there are still some things I need to ask you for help with."

  "What's up?" Ricket asked.

  "Weren't you born and raised here? Then, simply introduce us to the current situation of the Veronica Continent." Raymond's gaze looked far away: "Because, we're probably going to be staying here for a long time."