Chapter 63: First Order Requested – Mende Rosa

The news that the convoy was attacked quickly reached Ke Liti's ears.

Within the Golden Iris General Store, this matter also sparked a heated argument.

"We must wake the master and report this matter to him," Ke Liti said, frowning.

"Wake the master? Let me remind you, the last time we interrupted the master's slumber over such trivial matters, that pitiful Hyena Werewolf has since turned into a mush of flesh," Ke Lan Jia Ting said, still shaken.

"Then what do you suggest? The cargo worth tens of thousands of gold coins is lost; if the master wakes and learns of it, he'll be even angrier."

In response to Ke Liti's question, Luo Silien, who had been admiring himself in a mirror nearby, casually replied, "We just need to seize the cargo back."

The blond girl snorted, thinking the pointy‑eared one must still be half‑asleep: "Tok is a ninth‑rank professional; even in Degeng City he holds great status. You plan to lay a hand on him in the city?"

Lao Luo An, already impatient, sneered, "So what? You surface dweller, let me lead my men to assassinate him; we'll ensure no one knows."

Luo Silien shook his head, indulgently running a hand over his platinum hair in the mirror, then said with contempt, "What a crude notion; you Dark Elves are still so detestable."

Lao Luo An sneered coldly, "Oh? I'm detestable? You damned half‑blood mongrel, don't tell me you truly consider yourself one of those foolish surface elves."

Luo Silien's handsome face stiffened; he glared viciously at Drow, "You'd better clean your mouth, filthy evil creature. My mother is a high‑born Sun Elf from the Elven Court, a lineage you, a descendant of exiled criminals, have no right to condemn."

"Enough!" Ke Liti said coldly, "I don't want to hear your bickering; the question now is how we resolve this matter."

Lao Luo An stared at Luo Silien with a chilling gaze, grinding his teeth. If they weren't both under the same master, he would have waited until the half‑blood mongrel slept, slipped to his bedside, slit his throat, and watched him die choking on his own blood.

Luo Silien let out a cold hum, thought for a moment, then said, "Lord Rosa has always held the Silent Mage Society in high regard; over the years he's relied on me to craft various protective Magic Items for him. If I act as his representative, we should be able to pressure Tok and have the stolen goods returned."

"When he returns the stolen goods, let that dark‑skinned Elf assassinate him, but make it clean—no loose ends."

"You know the master's temper; if he wakes and learns of this, and the orchestrator is still alive, Tok's mercenary corps will likely unleash a massacre. Should the master's identity be exposed, it will greatly hinder our plans to seize control of Degeng City."

Luo Silien, in his role as an aide, analyzed earnestly.

Everyone present nodded; under the influence of Mind Power, they had long regarded Naimi Xisi as everything. Thus, to achieve the master's goal, they even took Juan Ce Long's own temperament into account.

Ke Liti was about to speak when a commotion erupted downstairs; Bu Lie Ta Ni hurried up, panicked, and said anxiously:

"Ke Liti, a swarm of city guards has surrounded us downstairs. They say you're colluding with Underdark races and, on the lord's orders, will take you away for interrogation."

Ke Liti frowned, "He has no authority to do that; the charge of conspiring with evil races is the jurisdiction of the Church of the Just God."

Bu Lie Ta Ni replied helplessly, "But he did exactly that."

Ke Liti halted, sighed, and guessed why.

"Seems Tok was acting on orders from my foolish brother."

Only that beloved son of his could make her merciless father so decisively abandon his own.

At the next moment, a city guard entered, solemnly saying to Ke Liti, "Miss Ke Liti, you are accused of colluding with Dark Elf races; please come with me."

Lao Luo An, standing nearby, squinted and rested his hand on his longsword, feeling the surface dweller's brazen attitude irritated him.

Luo Silien waved his hand, calming him; it's nothing—if the Silent Mage Society steps forward to vouch for Ke Liti, the lord won't offend him over his children's quarrel. The group followed Ke Liti out, and unexpectedly the guard did not take her to a cell but led her straight into the lord's castle in Degeng City.

Passing a throng of intersecting patrolling professionals, Ke Liti and the others were taken into the council hall.

An elderly man with a head of white hair, who had been waiting here for a long time, scolded at the sight of Ke Liti, "What exactly have you been doing out there? Why have I been told you're cooperating with those evil Underdark races?"

Ke Liti opened her mouth but said nothing.

Did she cooperate with the evil races? She indeed did.

But in her original life path, if she didn't exhaust herself to acquire resources, how could she compare to a brother born with everything? Black and white never have absolute boundaries; between them lies only a delicate shade of gray.

Behind her, Luo Silien sauntered out, smiling, "Good day, Mr. Mende Rosa."

Seeing the half‑elf with platinum hair, Mende was rather surprised.

"Good day, Mr. Luo Silien, may I ask what brings you here today?"

The old man's sharp eyes flicked between the half‑elf and his own daughter, and he found his answer.

"Naturally, it is for your daughter's matter, Mr. Mende."

"The Silent Mage Society maintains that Miss Ke Liti has not colluded with the Underdark's evil races; in fact, we employed divination magic to test this possibility, and the result likewise denies it."

"Miss Ke Liti's Cold Iron Weapon enterprise contains a portion of the Silent Mage Society's interests, so we have ample reason to guarantee her character."

Sure enough, Mende's heart sank; the force behind Ke Liti was this mysterious mage society.

Mende had always revered the Silent Mage Society, though publicly they announced that their founder, an 11th‑rank Shadow Mage, had vanished.

But Mende always thought this was merely the Shadow Mage's attempt to cleanse the society, and that something far more powerful lay behind it.

Luo Silien's words also confirmed his conjecture.

Without a unified, powerful leader, how could the society maintain a consistent political stance?

Moreover, if Luo Silien truly were the highest‑ranked practitioner of the society, he shouldn't be the one appearing now.

Because misreading Mende's own thoughts would cause Luo Silien, as the society's leader, to utterly offend Degeng City's ruler over a mere Ke Liti.

That's too naive; it isn't Luo Silien's method. If it were him, he would only send a low‑rank mage to participate, probing his own ideas.

The fact that the other can stand here shows that, subconsciously, he does not place himself in the role of the society's leader.

As a seasoned politician, within a few short sentences Luo Silien elevated the society's weight in his mind by several levels.

He now essentially confirms that the Shadow Mage still covertly leads the society, but he hadn't anticipated that behind the society lurks an entity even more terrifying than the Shadow Mage.

(End of Chapter)