The Witcher: Lord of the Empire

"Since you're here, why don't we talk?" The King of Beggars' voice suddenly rang out, causing Auckes to stop.

Auckes' eyes filled with uncertainty. Had this thin man who probably couldn't even swing a sword discovered his presence?

Auckes stood his ground with his dagger drawn, rigid in his hiding place, not daring to move.

The King of Beggars, after uttering those words, did nothing else. He did not call his bodyguards to protect him, nor did he try to flee. He simply went about his business.

Reading books, counting property, and sorting documents, he really looked like a little noble.

Auckes couldn't imagine what kind of documents he would be reviewing. Did beggars and vagabonds also have things for the 'king' to approve?

In the silence, broken only by the sound of pages being turned, Auckes prepared to strike with his dagger.

"Since you're here, why don't we talk?"

The dagger returned to its sheath.

After those words, the King of Beggars again made no move. Auckes frowned, forming a hypothesis in his mind.

He held his breath and counted the time silently...

"Since you're here, why don't we talk?"

The voice sounded for the third time.

As an excellent assassin, Auckes was very sensitive to time. The third call from the King of Beggars occurred at exactly the same interval as the second and first times.

That is, this person was shouting that at regular intervals.

Now Auckes understood. The King of Beggars had not seen through his disguise but was trying to deceive him.

His infiltration is still flawless.

But there was still one serious problem: Did the King of Beggars know that the Viper School witchers had allied themselves with Lann? Did he know that Lann had planned the assassination of the gang leaders? And did he know that they had waited five days and chosen tonight to carry out the murder?

If that was true, his companions could be in danger.

Auckes' snake eyes flashed. He needed to find out the truth before killing his target.

Inside the room, the King of Beggars opened his mouth for the fourth time, prepared to scream, but was interrupted by a noise from the ceiling.

His attention was immediately drawn to it. When he looked up, he saw a hand glowing with white light.

[Axii Sign]

Auckes did not have Lann's powers of hypnosis, but his sign could induce a state of confusion and helplessness.

It didn't last long, but for a top-notch assassin it was enough time.

When the King of Beggars regained consciousness, he was completely tied up. He looked around and discovered that he was on the roof of his own house.

No thug could get there. For Auckes, it was the perfect place to kill his target and escape in ten seconds.

"I ask, you answer; if you dare to shout, you will die. Do you understand?"

The King of Beggars nodded without hesitation.

"Do you know which side I'm on now?"

"I don't know, but I can guess it based on the information." Said the King of Beggars. "The information of the North converges in Novigrad, and the information of Novigrad converges on me."

"Nilfgaard is indeed far away, and many news have not yet reached there, so the sorcerer and the emperor of Nilfgaard don't know some key information, but I know it clearly: Lannister and the lord of White Orchard had a conflict and killed a Chort there, and all this started to save a witcher. A witcher wearing a viper medallion."

The King of Beggars showed a disdainful expression, which was directed at Rience. "From the moment you appeared, I knew that you would never become the enemy of Lannister, and the sorcerer's plan could not go smoothly as planned."

Auckes remained silent. It turned out that his and the others' identities had always been exposed in front of the King of Beggars.

"Did you know we were coming to kill you today, now?"

The second question is what Auckes cares most about.

"I don't know." The King of Beggars replied. "The tramps and beggars are my spies, but they just saw you leave Lannister's residence late at night, and then they quickly lost track of you."

"I didn't know your objective. It could be many things. But coming to assassinate me was a possibility, and I couldn't risk it. So I decided to try to deceive you at regular intervals, until the information of your return reached me, and I could be sure of my safety."

Auckes felt some relief. At least his mission had not been exposed, and his companions would be safe.

"You seem very confident that I won't kill you?" Auckes said.

He had seen many ways in which great men ensured their survival. But the King of Beggars chose a risky and reckless method, almost as if he were using himself as bait to lure Auckes.

"I didn't achieve what I have today by hiding from the enemy." The King of Beggars replied. "Novigrad is about to face war, and I will naturally choose the side that wins."

"I know you may want to kill me and put an end to it all and think that Novigrad without the gangs will be better. But things don't work that way. You can convey my sincerity to Lannister, and he will understand: Novigrad with only the Eternal Fire is definitely not the best Novigrad for him, even if the Eternal Fire is his friend now."

"I can give you some information for free: I am your friend, and between the other two leaders of the underworld, Cleaver is not your enemy."

The King of Beggars was giving away important information, something Letho would normally analyze, so Auckes was in a bind.

The King of Beggars, noticing the air of confusion around Auckes, explained: "Cleaver recently received a dwarf merchant named Zoltan. This Zoltan is a friend of Lannister's, they met at White Orchard."

"Lannister is a friend of Zoltan, therefore a friend of the dwarves, so Cleaver will not attack Lannister. Besides, Cleaver has no great ambitions, the sorcerer's promises and Caleb Menge do not interest him, so he will not attack the friends of his friends."

The King of Beggars sighed. "I don't know if he had the same luck as me in escaping your poisonous fangs."

Auckes' snake eyes glittered as he thought.

...

Lann poured a glass of water for the newly returned Kolgrim and watched him gesticulate excitedly in front of him.

"So, the dwarf nicknamed Cleaver, the leader of the non-human race in Novigrad, is actually not our enemy?"

Kolgrim nodded. "Do you remember Zoltan?"

"I just climbed in through the window and saw Cleaver beating Zoltan!"

“I drank with him several times at White Orchard. I almost couldn’t help but throw my dagger at him to help him. But then, I realized something wasn’t right: there was a dwarf from Zoltan’s team present, cheering and cheering!”

Kolgrim told Lann about his strange murder experiences from this night.

Of the three witchers sent, Kolgrim was the first to return. He did not kill the target of the mission, but brought back some other news, which also added a new possibility to Lann's plan.

“I watched carefully and found that they were fighting, and after deciding the winner, they started laughing and drinking together. Then I hesitated: If Cleaver is Zoltan’s friend, even if I have to kill him, I must first clear things up. After all, our ultimate goal is to prevent the citizens from being affected by the riots, not just kill someone, right?”

If it were Lann's three Assistants, in this situation they would prioritize completing the assigned task. But these witchers have a strong sense of initiative, and luckily they were the ones who intervened this time, resulting in an unexpected gain.

"As a result, I found that Cleaver's thugs didn't seem to be about to cause a riot. They had no equipment or personnel prepared. Everything was the same as usual. Then I waited for a while, and after they dispersed, I went to see Zoltan alone. Zoltan then introduced me to Cleaver with a relieved look on his face."

Lann became interested. "Have you talked to him face to face?"

Kolgrim nodded. "I believe in Zoltan, and I have also observed the environment there. Escape is not a problem. I communicated with him while ensuring my own safety."

Letho, arms crossed, watched from the side, showing no opinion on Kolgrim's response. "What did you talk about?"

Kolgrim began to repeat his conversation with Cleaver...

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