Chapter 127: Negotiations, Debts Owed After Getting Carried Away

As soon as one entered the casino door, one could feel a stifling, feverish heat that made people feel irritable. The casino was not only poorly ventilated and had few windows facing the outside, but Jier also caught a faint, peculiar scent, which made him raise his eyebrows.

So he whispered to Weier beside him: "Go back and invite Mr. Zuojigela the Herbalist; there is a strange smell drifting about in this casino."

Weier was not an ignorant commoner; his eyes rolled as he guessed a few things: "Are you talking about the scent of some drug that stirs up people's emotions?"

"I can't be sure, so go find Mr. Zuojigela. He is a professional Herbalist and should be able to discern some of the tricks in this casino." Jier scanned the casino hall with cold eyes, spotting his two subordinates tied up in a corner of the first floor at a glance.

These two disgraceful fellows had even had their Soldier Swords—their means of making a living—taken away, and they were currently being toyed with by two casino thugs guarding them.

These casino thugs were much like the guards at other shops; their common defensive weapons were short clubs or Iron-wrapped Short Clubs, which were enough to deal with some rogues and pickpockets, and they rarely used such professional killing weapons over a meter in length.

Jier led his men, bypassing the lively gambling games at the long tables, and walked to the corner of the hall.

"My lord, we are very sorry..." The two idiots looked up, and upon discovering that the person who had come was Jier, they shrank their necks and lowered their heads, too ashamed to face him.

Jier also wore a helpless expression, his mouth curving downward as he sized up his two subordinates: "I won't ask what happened; this isn't the first time this has occurred. I will only ask two things."

He held up one finger: "First, did you report my name?"

The two young Warriors nodded, muttering in low voices: "We reported it, but the other side said they couldn't let us go back to raise money; someone had to come to redeem us."

Jier nodded; this was also relatively normal. This casino did not seem to be an industry under the Golden Sickle Merchant Guild, so although the boss behind it might have seen Jier, it was unlikely they would just let Jier's subordinates go back to raise money. After all, if people entered the Xinxiwang Inn and didn't come out, the casino couldn't very well charge into an inn full of Warriors to demand money, right?

At that point, the Warriors who had lost money could simply deny everything and claim no such thing happened, and the money would naturally be unrecoverable.

But if that were the case, the casino's attitude was problematic. If they sent someone to the Xinxiwang Inn early in the morning to inform them and redeem the people, they shouldn't have sent two casino thugs; they should have at least found two people who could speak well and not cause trouble to handle it.

So the casino's attitude was also somewhat subtle.

"Second." Jier held up a second finger: "When you were subdued, was there a fight? Were you beaten?"

The two spineless young Warriors raised their heads at this moment; the bruises from punches on their faces and their crooked noses explained the situation.

Although their noses had been broken, causing nosebleeds to cover half their faces, the situation was actually not very critical; it just looked scary. Didn't you see these two speaking clearly and still able to answer Jier's questions?

"Hmph, have you learned your lesson? Will you still come to such man-eating places to play in the future?" Jier sneered and questioned them.

The two young Warriors shook their heads vigorously, muttering that such a shameful thing was embarrassing enough to happen once in a lifetime, and they dared not come a second time. Who knew how the terrifying Knight Jier would punish them if this happened a second time?

Because the Warriors under him had all seen Jier display his strength, everyone did not feel they could resist Jier in terms of force; they didn't even have that thought.

"Hey! You, how are you talking? What do you mean by a man-eating place? This place of ours is the liveliest and most beloved good place in town. Open your dog eyes and look, isn't everyone here looking happy? Hmm?"

Jier's choice of words had clearly angered the casino thug guarding them, who immediately retorted and threateningly brandished the newly acquired Soldier Sword in his hand.

Before Jier could say or do anything, Aoni stepped forward, grabbed the hands of the two thugs holding the sword hilts with both hands, and squeezed with force, causing the two to shriek in pain and drop the swords as they couldn't hold onto them.

Aoni then pushed them each once, knocking the two casino thugs, who only reached his shoulder in height, to the ground.

Picking up the Soldier Swords from the floor, he used the sword tips to cut the bindings of the two young Warriors tied by the Rope, then handed the two swords back to them: "Hold them tight. If you get your weapons taken away again later, you can just get lost on your own."

The two young Warriors swallowed their saliva. Although Aoni didn't actually have the power to fire them, if he specifically looked for trouble with them later, they clearly wouldn't be able to survive in Jier's team, so having received the warning, the two gripped their recovered weapons tightly.

With Aoni making a move, the thugs pushed to the ground naturally started shouting, a chorus of "Someone, come quickly!"

"Someone is making trouble here!"

"They are trying to snatch two fat sheep without paying! Come quickly!"

Jier was so angry he laughed. He looked at the two young Warriors: "Listen, what do they call you? Fat sheep? And two of them? Now you know how the people in these shops view you every time you take money to these places to consume and play? You're just a bunch of fat sheep waiting to be slaughtered."

At this, even Aoni blushed a little, because he himself had also spent lavishly in Yemei Town before. Apart from buying some gifts to entrust someone to send to his family in the still-under-construction New Hope Town, this young man, who had previously been a farmer, hadn't missed out on any other consumption items.

It was just that unlike others who spent over their limit and were detained by shopkeepers, Aoni was more cautious in his dealings; he only dabbled in many entertainment items, and he still had plenty of money left in his pocket. After all, having followed Jier for these days, he had truly saved up quite a lot of money, far more than the cash he had earned from years of farming.

The casino was in chaos for a while because of the shouting of the two thugs, but as more thugs ran out from the basement and came down the stairs from the second floor, the situation soon stabilized.

Even so, many gamblers who had been addicted to gambling slowed their pace and stretched their necks to watch the situation on Jier's side. After all, watching and gossiping were two other powerful instincts carved into human nature, no less than the gambling nature itself.

"Who is making trouble? So it's you lot. You dare to touch our people while coming to the casino to redeem someone? Tired of living?"

A dozen thugs stepped aside, and a tall, sturdy man wearing a wolf-fur scarf even in summer to show off walked out from behind. This man was covered in cyan tattoos, looking quite frightening, and his mouth was full of gold and silver false teeth that had been re-implanted after falling out; a single opening of his mouth could attract people's attention.

To be honest, this way of showing off by filling one's mouth with precious metal false teeth was quite low-class. After all, the other world had various magical healing methods, and tooth loss was considered an abnormal ailment; a few Priests working together to cast a Divine Art of healing severe wounds could make a person grow a full mouth of healthy, good teeth again.

Therefore, unless those Nobles and wealthy people suffered some peculiar injuries, who would look sickly or suffer from limb disabilities?

As long as one had money and connections, even injuries that were critically ill and near death could be healed through magical Magic Potions and powerful Divine Arts.

Only guys like this, who had a little money but not much money or connections, would use false teeth made of precious metals to save face after their teeth fell out.

Jier saw the man's mouth of reflective teeth and couldn't help but laugh.

"Haha, sorry, the teeth in your mouth really make me unable to help but feel a bit ridiculous." Jier coughed twice, finally suppressing his laughter, while the guy opposite who seemed to represent the casino was clearly already enraged.

"What did you say? You guy, are you looking to die? Huh?"

Facing the other's rude questioning, Jier stopped Aoni, who was about to step forward and make a move. Even if the other side had more people and he wasn't wearing Armor, Aoni was confident that he could take down a group of people just by relying on the sword and shield he carried with him.

Besides, Knight Jier was right beside them; could they not walk out of here? He was even afraid that if Knight Jier unleashed his power, he would tear this casino down with a boom.

By then, if unnecessary deaths and injuries were caused, things might become troublesome.

But it would only be troublesome.

After fighting many times against the terrifying Parasitic Vine Monster, Aoni was no longer afraid of many things. After all, no matter how terrifying the enemy was or how difficult the situation was, could it be more terrifying than the situation where hundreds of Parasitic Vine Monsters rushed at you?

A Warrior who had crossed such intense battles had already forged a powerful and resilient spirit. In Jier's team, the number of such Warriors was not large, but there were a few.

"Do you know who I am? And you talk to me like that?" Jier pointed at himself, then patted the shoulders of the two young Warriors who had been rescued.

Only then did the people in this casino realize Jier's identity. The man immediately changed his face; the previously arrogant expression turned into a fawning one. The speed of the expression change was enough to make some theatrical actors feel ashamed.

"Are you Knight Jier? Oh my, I heard last night that the alien mercenaries under your command held a Dwarf goods sale. I originally wanted to go take a look, but if it weren't for the many things here that I couldn't walk away from, I should have gone over last night and would have recognized you, Knight, at the first moment."

He even reached out and lightly slapped his own face, making an apologetic gesture.

Jier snorted, letting the man brush the matter aside.

But other things were not so easy to brush aside.

"These two men of mine played here last night. This was originally a nothing matter, but you really weren't polite enough. Not only did you win all the money on them, but you also detained my people and even beat them! How do you explain this?"

Jier reached out and gestured at the injured young Warriors beside him, then pointed at the flat money bags at their waists.

"Oh my, Knight, you can't say it like that. There is no such thing as polite or impolite at the gambling table, only the two results of winning and losing. We didn't force these two to come here to play, right? If you don't believe me, ask them. Did they enter and join the gambling game at the table themselves? Did they?"

The two Warriors looked embarrassed, muttering in defense: "We originally just wanted to go to the tavern next door for a big meal and drinks, and then find a Red House to spend the night and go back at dawn. But while we were eating and drinking next door, we were invited by an uncle at the next table to come over and play a bit. He generously gave us a few casino Chips. Those Chips were worth quite a bit, at least as much as one Silver Coin."

Jier gave a disdainful laugh: "Old tricks. You find people in nearby shops to drag them over to play, offering some benefits that seem free or even like you're losing money, but in reality, you casino people will eventually win all those Chips back, and in the end, not a single Iron Coin is actually paid out."

That tattooed casino staff member gave a dry laugh: "Those are just little tricks. Where isn't there traffic generation nowadays? You can hear people shouting on the streets just going out for a meal. The area around the Red House is even more filled with drifting scents, making the parts below one's waist swell up involuntarily."

"Besides, before they lose all their money, our casino doesn't restrict their freedom. If you don't believe me, Sir Knight, look for yourself. Isn't the casino wide open right now? The gamblers in the hall are the ones who don't want to leave. Since they want to play, we naturally open our doors to welcome everyone."

"Hmph, you have plenty of twisted logic. Whether that's the case or not, you know in your own heart. Tell me, how much money do my two subordinates owe you, and how will this debt be resolved?"

After asking, Jier even turned his head to ask his two subordinates: "Before you came, how much money did you have in your money bags?"

The two Warriors answered honestly: "Nine Gold Coins, five Silver Coins, twenty-three Copper Coins; we didn't bring any Iron Coins."

"Twelve Gold Coins, three Silver Coins; I haven't counted the Copper Coins."

When these numbers were reported, Jier and his group were unfazed, but the casino thugs surrounding them, who were all holding wooden clubs or iron-wrapped wooden clubs, swallowed their saliva one by one. Their gazes were fixed tightly on the two disheveled young Warriors, and they subconsciously sized up Jier—the 'Sir Knight' in the mouth of this casino manager—even though Jier was dressed quite plainly?

They hadn't expected this plainly dressed young man to have such wealthy subordinates. One had to know that the income of these casino thugs was already considered quite good in Duoen Town; compared to the thugs or Shop Assistants in the surrounding shops selling various goods, they were already a high-income group.

But even so, it was unlikely they could save up a single Gold Coin of income in a year.

Yet, as soon as these two young Warriors spoke, the money in their bags was an amount they could never save up, no matter how they tried.

The tattooed Steward of the casino also looked at Jier with some envy. He hadn't expected this young Knight to be so wealthy. If he had known earlier, why would he be a casino Steward? He would have just taken this group of thugs and joined the other party's team. Working for a year or two would be better than a lifetime in this shitty casino, right?

But he only thought about it. He was just a Steward pushed out to do the work on the surface. If he wanted to quit this line of work, the boss behind him, and the people behind the boss, would not let him off.

"Sir Knight, listen carefully. Your two subordinates owe a huge sum of money here! Look, everyone, these are the loan documents. Don't say our casino isn't legitimate. As the largest casino in Duoen Town, we handle these loan documents clearly and transparently."

The tattooed Steward took two pre-prepared paper documents from his bosom, on which the loan amounts, signatures, and fingerprints were written.

The onlookers in the casino also split into two camps at this time. Some guys who hadn't lost all their money immediately spoke up to praise the casino for having rules, being able to clarify these originally filthy matters without coercion or violent threats.

Other gamblers whose pockets were already empty muttered in low voices, feeling that the casino was just gilding its own face. No matter how newly decorated a foul-smelling place was, it was still just a Toilet. Could someone really sleep in a Toilet?

As soon as Jier looked at the two loan documents, his expression turned cold, because the loan amount was clearly written on them—twenty Gold Coins!

He looked at the two Warrior subordinates: "Have you lost your minds? Borrowing so much money to gamble?"

The two young Warriors lowered their heads: "My Lord, Sir Jier, I'm truly sorry. At the time, I just thought about winning it back. In my mind, I kept feeling that I could win back the lost money immediately. There was a voice constantly urging us, and, and..."

"And what?" Jier asked coldly.

"And that voice kept saying that since we already owed the money, you would come to redeem us the next day anyway, and we could just pay back the money we owed you by fighting bravely later."

"Do you really think so?" Jier's voice was already very cold.

Even some of the people around felt something was wrong. It was clearly a hot, stifling casino that made people lose their heads, but some people now felt their hands and feet turning cold involuntarily.

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