Chapter 128: The Gamble: Winning is Losing, Losing is Winning

The two young Warriors under Jier's gaze felt even more uncomfortable; they knelt halfway, their faces flushed red, and actually held their Long Swords reversed, hilts facing Jier, as they said: "Lord Jier, we know this is wrong, the mistake has been made, if you wish to punish us, please use the weapons you gave us to punish us yourself!"

"Even killing the two of us is fine. We are truly sorry, we never thought things would turn out like this..."

Don't let their repentant appearance fool you; Jier was not falling for it at all. He knew that not a single word from people who engaged in gambling could be trusted; one shouldn't listen to what they say, only look at what they do.

"Look at yourselves, are you not ashamed enough? Is this the place and time to punish you? Grip your swords properly, blade facing out, not pointed at yourselves."

Jier scolded them, then ignored the two subordinates and turned to look at the tattoo-covered Steward of the casino: "They did indeed borrow this money from you, and I acknowledge the IOU in your hand, but the money—I will not give it to you."

"You..." The Steward's face turned ugly, and the surrounding thugs, seeing the result of the negotiation, looked ready to swarm forward.

Aoni had already slipped the Shield on his back onto his forearm, his right hand pressed against the hilt of his sword; although he hadn't drawn it, he was ready to fight at any moment. Xueya Site looked helpless; he wasn't worried about their side suffering a loss, he just felt there was no need to escalate things. They should have used a different method to negotiate, such as inviting the people from the Merchant Union first, using the locally managed Merchant Union to pressure this casino, and resolving the problem in a formal, more high-level way.

The two young Warriors at the center of the incident also gripped their Long Swords tightly, glaring outward at the thugs who were itching for a fight. Previously, to avoid trouble, they hadn't drawn their swords during the controlled fight, and had managed to fend off several people just using the Sword Sheath covering their blades.

Now that the Long Swords were unsheathed, even facing several times their number in thugs, these two Warriors were not afraid. Not to mention that the Knight Jier was right by their side.

Jier took a step closer: "Not only will I not give you the money, but I am also taking these people with me!"

"Fine, fine, fine! So this is how a so-called Knight Lord does things, ha, I've certainly learned something today! Everyone listen, this foreign Knight who entrusted Steward Deripari to help him collect the bounty on Shanlang Bani was previously swindled out of all his money by that very Steward Deripari! Haha." The Steward shouted, specifically for the benefit of the onlookers around them.

This matter was not a secret among the upper echelons of Duoen Town, and some mid-level personnel had heard bits and pieces; now that it was fully exposed by the Steward, some immediately let out sounds of disdainful mockery.

Jier's expression was naturally unpleasant; he took a step forward, closing in on the other party.

The Steward, pressured by Jier's aura, actually caused the several thugs beside him to retreat a step. After taking that step back, he realized something was wrong and took a step forward, but the pressure Jier exerted on him was even heavier, and he hesitated and retreated another step.

The sight of him retreating, advancing, and then retreating again was nothing short of ridiculous.

The onlookers pointed at the Steward, and mocking words began to ring out from their mouths.

He flushed red; he was considered a person of status locally, and he had paid far, far too much to climb from a Bandit raiding in the mountains to his current position.

"You cannot just take these people away, they owe us a debt after all!!" he clamored.

"If you're so tough, then do something! Beat all of us ordinary people down, and let's see if anyone in this Duoen Town dares to do business with such a person and team! After you've done it, are you going to let your Warrior subordinates loot our shops too? You'll do it if you want to, after all, who can stop you?"

Jier watched this man ramble and sow discord, while his perception remained focused on surveying the surroundings.

In this critical situation, the people behind the scenes probably couldn't just watch things fall apart; after all, no matter what they were doing, they couldn't let Jier get angry and tear down this profitable casino, right?

At this moment, a golden wooden Chip flicked out from a private room on the second floor of the casino, spinning in an arc before bouncing and landing between Jier and the Steward.

Clang! Clatter-clatter-clatter—

The Chip made a very pleasant sound upon hitting the ground. Just by listening, one could tell that although it was a wooden Chip, the raw material was a rare type of Golden Wood, with layers of wood like gold intertwined and nested within other sufficiently sturdy wood; it didn't need much paint, as the material itself was beautiful enough.

And this casino had even inlaid a circle of real gold in the center of the Chip, thereby increasing its weight and solid feel.

The production of this single Chip alone showed that the casino definitely had a significant background. After all, ordinary small casinos didn't have the means to procure such rare materials or employ specialized Craftsmen to make Chips used as entertainment tools.

There must be an entire set of logistics personnel behind it.

Interrupted by the Chip that had fallen from the sky, breaking the tense atmosphere, Jier looked in the direction from which it had come, seeing only the re-closed window of the private room, but he could still feel a sense of being watched from there.

The Steward, as if reminded, slapped his forehead and shouted: "Right! Us being at a stalemate like this isn't a solution, Knight, you wouldn't want to end up with a local reputation for abusing power and not following the rules, would you?"

Jier made no indication, watching the man perform.

He also took the opportunity to see what the people behind this were planning.

"What do you say? What is your suggestion?"

The Steward reached out and pointed to a row of tables in the middle of the casino hall: "You think our casino cheated your subordinates out of their money, but in fact, playing here, winning and losing is very normal. They lost miserably last night, but that doesn't mean they will be the same today."

Jier's mouth twitched: "Nonsense."

The Steward acted as if he hadn't heard and continued to shout: "In that case, why don't you come and gamble a few rounds yourself? You pick a few, and see what your skill and luck are like."

He shouted to the onlookers: "If Knight Jier loses more than he wins, it means our casino's game designs are unreasonable, and he won't have to pay the ransom, and I will tear up the debt document! Listen clearly, it's Knight Jier, losing more, winning less!"

"And if Knight Jier wins more than he loses, it means our casino has no problems, and his subordinates losing all their money last night was their own fault. After all, a Warrior having good martial arts doesn't mean they can keep winning at the gambling table! Don't you all agree?"

"Agreed! Agreed!"

"That makes sense!"

"Ha, let's see this young Knight's luck."

"Start quickly, playing by ourselves isn't much fun, let's see how good this young Knight lord is?"

The gamblers became rowdy.

Jier snorted, figuring out the casino's plan. Unlike the usual stories where they deliberately make someone lose everything, the casino wanted to specifically let him win money. Not only did they set the conditions beforehand so that if he won the games, he would pay the ransom, but they could also preserve the casino's business afterward.

And after today's incident, once these onlookers spread the story, perhaps because of Jier's reputation and the fact that the casino didn't cheat, their business might even improve.

A good scheme, but they were thinking too wishfully.

Jier also said loudly: "Sounds good. If I win, it means you didn't cheat, and I should pay the ransom debt. If I lose, I can take the people and leave directly. Right?"

The Steward's eyes flickered slightly, and there was some sweat on his forehead; it was unclear if it was the stuffiness inside the casino or because Jier had reacted quickly and seen through their plan.

But this wasn't some real scheme; the big shot behind the scenes had only told him this much.

"Yes, yes, Knight Jier, please!"

After speaking, the Steward waved his hand to let the thugs put away their clubs, and Jier also gave Aoni a look, signaling them to put away their weapons.

The tables in the middle of the casino were immediately cleared, and the gamblers had long been surrounding the area, stretching their necks to watch the situation. Being able to watch the gossip and witness the charm of gambling, they were thrilled.

Jier took his people around these tables and found that the things in the hall were all simple, easy-to-understand gambling methods that allowed for quick starts and finishes.

The purpose was to get more people involved and quickly enter the state and atmosphere of gambling.

For a qualified business establishment, shaping the atmosphere was a very important thing.

After all, Humans were very emotional creatures; once the atmosphere was right and the mood was right, they could commit irrational acts. And if the atmosphere wasn't right, or the vibe was off, many people wouldn't even bother to take a second look.

The tables in the center of the hall were for smaller amounts, mostly where Chips worth one copper coin were placed, while at other tables around them, the gambling methods were more complex and the Chips were much larger.

And compared to the large tables, those small tables that accommodated a few people at a time had thicker surfaces, and the height design was somewhat mysterious, seemingly more convenient for skilled guys to cheat.

After all, nine out of ten bets were rigged; casinos always used simple, effective methods to bully gamblers who didn't understand. For example, a table of people might seem to be gambling fairly with the dealer, but often the others were shills, fakes, and people of the house, eating the Chips of the one lone fat sheep. If one couldn't see this, there was no possibility of winning such a game.

A few people only needed simple coordination to make one person lose until they were stripped to their underwear.

There were many other similar methods, such as marking the gambling tools, or having mechanisms in the table, or even the participants cheating, and so on.

If they want to cheat, they have plenty of ways to do it.

"Just pick one at random." Jier shrugged, pointing at a common gambling method in the very center of the hall.

This gambling table was large, with a recessed metal bowl-like object in the middle, the bottom of which was flat. The surrounding area was covered in small squares marked with results and odds; before the dealer tossed one or more dice into the central depression, the gamblers around could place their Chips into the small squares on the table according to their own ideas.

At this time, someone nearby would mark the decisions and Chip quantities of each gambler on a small blackboard.

Afterward, the casino dealer would either do it personally or use a simple machine to toss the dice into the depression in the middle of the table.

Once the final values of the dice were determined and the total sum calculated, the gamblers' wins or losses could be tallied.

It could be considered one of the most basic forms of gambling.

From wild gambling in the countryside to large casinos in big cities, there are similar games that involve the whole population and liven up the atmosphere.

Of course, if one pours money into this without regard for the consequences, it is also a gold-swallowing beast, but the vast majority of people only invest their Chips in small amounts, so the wins and losses are very small; if they lose, it is merely a loss of a few Copper Coins, and if they win, they earn at most no more than one Silver Coin.

"Just this one, let's have a round first," Jier said.

The casino Steward wore an expression of "as expected"; he called over the Shop Assistant responsible for this table, and they got busy.

Unlike usual, this young casino Shop Assistant brought out three new dice and placed them on a tray for the surrounding onlookers to inspect, ensuring there were no lead-weighted mechanisms that would cause a tendency for specific numbers to roll.

Jier also took a look and found that these things were just exquisite dice made from some kind of animal horn, with the six sides all featuring common red dots. The weight was standard, and there was no center-of-mass offset.

"The dice are fine. But I wonder if there is anything wrong with this table of yours?" Jier looked at the metal depression in the middle of the table and asked.

A drop of cold sweat flowed down the casino Steward's head; of course, there were corresponding mechanisms on the gambling table, but these things had to be used in conjunction with corresponding trick dice to be effective. The dice given for inspection just now did not have hidden mechanisms, so naturally, the two sides could not work together.

"No, of course not. This table is just like this; so many people come here to play this every day, does anyone here think there is anything wrong with this simple little thing? No, right?"

The gamblers shook their heads one after another; the foolish fellows naturally tended to believe the casino wouldn't cheat, and even if they were to cheat, it would have to be those "big games" involving tens or hundreds of Gold Coins to be worth it, right? It wouldn't be worth it to scheme against small-fry like them.

But the facts are often the opposite; it is difficult for a casino to cheat on the gambling equipment in "big games," whereas this kind of seemingly ordinary "daily operation" is the best time to truly make money and harvest the leeks.

The dice went around a circle of people, including the onlookers, the casino thugs, Jier's subordinates, and so on, until finally, after one full rotation, they ended up in the hands of the casino Shop Assistant who was hosting the game.

Jier looked at the three dice and raised an eyebrow.

These three dice were no longer the ones that had passed through his hands at the beginning.

You ask how Jier knows? When Jier was inspecting them just now, he had slightly sent a bit of his own Life Energy into the dice. At such a close distance, he could naturally feel that the dice containing his Life Energy were not the three in front of him, but in the sleeve of a casino thug behind him who had taken the dice to inspect them while putting on a show.

The corners of Jier's mouth curled up; things were getting interesting.

The dice being swapped so skillfully clearly indicated that the casino—no, it should be said, the guy who designed this situation—did not intend to leave the result to luck or the casino Shop Assistant's dice-tossing technique.

He wanted to win, so for this game, he definitely had to let Jier win money, and then, as far as the result was concerned, he would have actually won.

The motive and the method of acting behind this were very interesting.

Jier pondered carefully, watching these people perform in front of him.

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