Chapter 298: Ring Mages' Gambling Game

Confirming Xia De's identity, Mr. Walker talked to him warmly, but was rudely interrupted by Miss Louisa:

"Stop, Walker. Xia De has no reason to help you, and besides, he only has a knight title and doesn't have the ability to help you get that train car of contraband out. We don't participate in your business of brewing moonshine. Alright, alright, let's continue talking about business. Can you lower the price?"

Miss Louisa delayed time here not only because of the arrival of the police just now, but also because when picking up the goods, she only learned from Mr. Walker that the parchment made of wild triangular antelope skin she ordered was going to rise in price temporarily.

It wasn't that Mr. Walker wanted to slaughter Miss Louisa, but the sudden incident on Thursday night made the cost price of these rare materials transported from out of town into Tobesk change significantly:

"The 20-inch parchment originally sold for 12 pounds and 3 shillings, and now I only raised it to 17 pounds, which is not much."

"But the price increase was after Miss Louisa ordered the goods. This is an accidental event. You are not respecting the spirit of the contract like this."

Xia De opened his mouth to help, but the middle-aged man shrugged:

"I admire the spirit of the contract very much, but I also need money to spend. No one's pounds fall from the sky, and I can't let myself suffer a loss."

"Oh, Walker, don't think I don't know. The price you get from out of town definitely doesn't exceed 11 pounds and 7 shillings. Listen, I can pay you 13 pounds at most, otherwise this business is off."

Miss Louisa frowned and said, pretending to turn around and leave with Xia De:

"15 pounds, this is the lowest price."

The middle-aged man shook his head and said, not intending to stop Miss Louisa:

"Recently, because of that group of damn lunatics, the prices of all materials in the Tobesk area will rise. I know it's very wrong to inform you of the price increase only when delivering the goods, but I also need money to support my family."

"What family are you supporting as a bachelor? I see, you are going to the club to play Rod cards."

The blonde girl satirized without mercy:

"I also know your group leader. He told me about those bad habits of yours."

"Playing Rod cards is as important to me as eating."

Mr. Walker responded with a smile. Xia De suddenly raised his eyebrows, and he had an idea:

"Do you want to play Rod cards?"

Miss Louisa looked at him in surprise, but Mr. Walker showed a very interested expression. Xia De was very familiar with this expression. The other party was definitely a Rod card player.

"Mr. Hamilton, what do you mean?"

"We play a game of cards. If I win, Miss Louisa buys those parchments for 13 pounds. If you win, we buy your goods for 15 pounds."

"Do you have special cards? I don't play cards with players who use ordinary decks."

Mr. Walker narrowed his eyes, and Xia De also smiled.

He took out the cards from his formal suit pocket, and under Miss Louisa's "Why do you carry this thing with you" expression, he organized them slightly, put away the two founding series, and then took out 【Ancient Fairy Tale · Match Girl】, 【Northern City · Coldwater Port City】, 【Eastern Old Continent Scenery · Tis Lake】, 【Primitive Steam Engine · Mark 9】, and 【Kasenrik Southern Folklore · Moon Dance Festival】 five cards for the other party to check.

Although he carried the deck with him, it was impossible to carry the appraisal documents with him.

Mr. Walker stared at those five cards wide-eyed. Obviously, he didn't expect the young detective to have so many good things. Xia De watched his expression. The middle-aged man didn't seem to find anything special about the Moon Dance Festival card.

"How about it? Do you want to play a game with me?"

Xia De asked again, thinking the other party would definitely agree. But this time he guessed wrong. Mr. Walker handed the cards back to Xia De with some reluctance, and then shook his head:

"You have so many special cards, you must be a senior player. This time you took the initiative to play cards with me, so the probability of you winning is very high. In this case, what reason do I have to play cards with you?"

It was the first time Xia De encountered someone refusing to play Rod cards. He signaled the blonde girl not to speak for the time being, and then whispered:

"Are you not confident in your Rod card skills?"

This kind of simple provocative method definitely wouldn't work, so Xia De added another sentence:

"As a Rod card player, refusing when others propose a game, can you still say you are a real card player?"

The middle-aged man hesitated with a stiff face, listening to the opera music coming from afar, and thought for a long time before opening his mouth:

"I can gamble with you, but I can't just gamble on Rod cards. We gamble three times, two wins out of three. The last game is Rod cards. In the first two games, each person proposes one thing to gamble on. I'll go first."

Xia De looked at Miss Louisa and said:

"Okay, then what do you want to gamble on first? Draw cards to compare size? Dice points?"

"Of course not. Let's have a race. Without attracting the attention of ordinary people, move 30 feet (about 9m) from the current position, and the faster side wins."

"Oh, this is unfair!"

Miss Louisa pulled Xia De's hand and frowned, she knew Xia De's 【Lagley's Jump】:

"I know your arcane art, Xia De can't win against you."

"There's nothing unfair about it, it's two wins out of three anyway."

Mr. Walker showed a confident smile, then snapped his fingers, and a subtle crackling sound appeared in his ears. He rushed forward, and his whole person seemed to turn into a flash of electricity and appeared 30 feet away. He turned his head to look at Xia De with a smile, signaling it was his turn.

Xia De looked at Miss Louisa, and under the latter's uncontrollable smile, he took out the extract and pointed it at the tip of his tongue, then said to Mr. Walker:

"Don't blink."

He took a step forward, and the next step appeared directly beside Mr. Walker. The latter opened his mouth in surprise:

"Space-type ability? Louisa, when did your group have a ring mage who mastered this ability?"

"Walker, don't inquire about other people's secrets at will."

Miss Louisa said with a smile:

"We won the first game, Xia De, what do you want to play in the second game?"

"I want to gamble..."

Xia De wanted to say compare 4, whoever draws first wins. But Mr. Walker interrupted him immediately. In the current situation, he couldn't let Xia De propose the topic:

"Let's gamble on Rod cards in the second game!"

"The third game is Rod cards."

Xia De wouldn't do useless things. If he could win simply, he wouldn't go play cards.

The middle-aged man knew he wasn't reasonable, so he proposed other conditions, waving his hand and saying:

"You and Louisa really fooled me just now, don't rush to refuse. I want to say, the race just now doesn't count, let's still follow your initial proposal and compare the outcome with Rod cards. If I win, it's still 15 pounds to sell you those parchments. If you win, not only will I sell you those materials at a low price, but I can also give you a piece of news."

He looked at Xia De, his expression very serious.

"What news?"

Xia De asked. Actually, agreeing to it wasn't bad.

Seeing Xia De ask, Mr. Walker smiled. He knew Xia De was moved:

"Do you know that the Thirteen Ring mage 'Iron Right Hand' Sari Pirot, who was originally stationed locally, hasn't been in this city for two months?"

"I even know that he led a team to a town in the countryside to deal with an Angel-level (Level 1) relic runaway incident."

Xia De said. This news was heard from Miss Beiyasi (Chapter 177), and they talked about the returning Divination Association President.

"You know? That's right, but do you know what that Angel-level relic specifically is?"

Mr. Walker asked again. Xia De shook his head, so the middle-aged man wearing a black formal suit laughed:

"Additional information is the news about that Angel-level relic. Note, the Orthodox Church almost wiped out 【Mercury Blood】, but just didn't find the Sage-level relic 【God's Gift Box】 in the underground ruins. Now information about that relic can reach 100 pounds on the black market. So Angel-level should be higher, you won't suffer a loss in this bet. Oh, you must agree, otherwise you are not a real Rod card player."

He used Xia De's statement just now.

"No problem, I'll play cards with you."

Xia De made a hesitant expression, and then agreed softly. The blonde girl glanced at him, she knew Xia De's level of gambling Rod cards:

"Xia De, there's actually no need to take this kind of risk."

The tone was very worried.

"Louisa, Mr. Hamilton has already agreed, he can't go back on his word!"

Mr. Walker said anxiously, and then took out his deck for Xia De to check. This gentleman had two special cards, and the deck looked a bit old, which showed he was a frequent user.

"By the way, when I was doing business in Kasenrik before, I had the title of 'Gambling King of Xikar Mountain'."

Xikar Mountain was the mountain range that spanned the eastern coast of the middle of the continent, serving as an important boundary between Kasenrik and Delarion. The front line of Wind Path, where Captain Rads won the 【Gun of Kindness】, was at the northern foot of Xikar Mountain.

And Mr. Walker saying such words was an important "harsh words" stage before strangers played Rod cards. On one hand, it was to show that he was an old player, and on the other hand, it was to deter the opponent and suppress the other party in momentum.

Xia De smiled:

"I don't want to boast about myself, but since I came into contact with Rod cards, I haven't lost a single game. Yes, I can swear to Mr. Dawn, what I, Xia De Suren Hamilton, just said is absolutely true."

Mr. Walker was startled:

"Haven't lost a single game? Oh, no, you can't scare me, Knight. Tonight is the moment you are about to face defeat. Come here."

The three of them walked to the window at the end of the corridor together. Outside was the night view of Tobesk. Under the warm yellow gas lamp light, Xia De and Mr. Walker shuffled the cards together, and then put their respective decks on the windowsill:

"One game decides the outcome."

Xia De proposed:

"I'm still thinking about the opera."

"No problem."

Mr. Walker nodded, his eyes narrowed as he looked at his deck.

But no one proposed to let the bystander Miss Louisa act as the dealer. According to the unwritten rules of Rod cards, the dealer could only be male.

The two each drew the first card. According to the convention, this was the hole card, which could be revealed last. Xia De's card was flower 13, and Mr. Walker looked at his hole card and was startled, then turned it over with a smile:

"Look, luck is good tonight."

【Modern Girl · Flower Shop Girl】, suit Moon 7. ===== CHAPTER 299 =====