Smuggled Goods Warehouse

Tom walked up to Ye Weian without any suspicion, ready to go with him to get the money.

Fourteen hundred gold coins is no small number; they weigh a full twelve kilograms.

As they walked, he suddenly said, "Hey Grey Raven, what's wrong with Buck and Kress tonight? Why are they still wearing those metal canisters so late at night? Don't they think their necks are heavy enough?"

The people behind him tensed up upon hearing this.

Only Ye Wei'an knew how to use the [Transformation Technique], and Ellen didn't have the same skill in disguise as A'Zhu. In order to avoid people noticing anything amiss, they had no choice but to have Kane and the other wear helmets.

But wearing a helmet is itself a weakness.

Fortunately, Ye Wei'an had a plan. He waved his hand impatiently: "The wind is very strong outside tonight. They had a few drinks at the tavern and their heads are sore from the wind. Just shut up."

"Wind?" Todd was about to make a sarcastic remark when he saw "Grey Raven" casually flick his robe.

【Four Symbols Method - Wind】

A cold wind suddenly rushed in through the door, making the raw leather on the wall crackle and nearly extinguishing the oil lamp on the table.

"See? Why would I lie to you?" Ye Wei'an tightened his cloak, pretending to be freezing. "Stop talking nonsense and just pay me so I can go to sleep."

Todd shrank back from the wind, his initial doubts instantly dispelled: "Okay, okay, this damn weather."

He muttered to himself as he walked toward fake Buck, intending to pat him on the shoulder as usual—that was how they greeted each other.

However, the moment Todd's gaze swept over the fake Buck's right hand, his sleepiness vanished instantly.

Something's not right there!

He suddenly remembered that one day last year, when Buck was fighting with someone over a woman in a bar, a halfling had cut off a piece of his right little finger.

But the little finger on Buck's right hand is intact!

He took two steps back with lightning speed, his hand already on the broadsword behind his back, pointing it at Kane and shouting sharply:

"You're not Buck! Who are you?!"

As expected of a veteran of the Amaresk family, his reaction was remarkably quick.

But the three thugs were still completely bewildered:

"How could Lord Buck be a fake?"

Why did Brother Todd shout for an enemy attack?

"Isn't Lord Gray Raven still standing there?"

Ye Wei'an was the first to react.

(Everyone, get to work)

Ye Wei'an's voice echoed in his companion's mind.

The moment Todd drew his sword, Eileen, who had been keeping her head down and feigning weakness, moved.

Her hands, which had been bound behind her back, suddenly tightened, and the seemingly secure knot snapped instantly. The maid slid behind one of the thugs in a flash, her two fingers pressed together like a sword, precisely striking his throat.

Kane didn't even draw his sword; he simply used his heavy gauntlets to press against the second henchman's face.

Ryan and Harold, positioned on either side like two iron clamps, swiftly snapped the neck of the third thug before he could even cry for help.

The three thugs collapsed without even uttering a single word.

"Grey Raven! Back off! These guys are suspicious!" Todd retreated while shielding his "comrade" behind him.

This was exactly the perfect opportunity Ye Wei'an had been waiting for.

"Strike first to defeat the enemy!"

The moment Todd approached, Gray Raven's previously "panicked" expression suddenly changed, and the steel dagger hidden in his sleeve pierced the bodyguard's ribs at an extremely insidious angle.

"...You?" Todd's eyes bulged.

The intense pain and absurdity of being stabbed in the back by his own people made it almost impossible for him to think.

He staggered back, looking at "Grey Raven" in disbelief, wanting to subdue him first.

"Silver Light's Sharp Words!"

Ye Wei'an gave him no chance at all.

"Look at me, Todd. Look at the scum you've chosen to follow."

Ye Weian's voice, enhanced by magic, carried an eerie emphasis, sounding like a divine oracle to Todd's ears.

Todd's mind went blank for a moment, and the broadsword he was about to swing at Ye Wei'an slowed down by half a beat.

Taking this opportunity, Ye Wei'an released his short sword, grabbed at the air with his right hand, and a ball of dazzling cursed fire formed in his palm.

"Curse the rocket!"

Arcane flames erupted at close range, striking the bodyguard directly in the chest, not only blasting his chest into a bloody mess, but also blinding him with the dazzling light.

"My eyes! Ahhh!"

Todd let out a scream that went off in a distorted tone, and went into a daze, only able to wildly swing the broadsword in his hand.

The powerful sword dance slashed at the surrounding wooden benches and leather, sending them flying to pieces, but it couldn't even touch the hem of Ye Wei'an's clothes.

Ye Wei'an calmly distanced himself from him.

"Cursed Flame".

"Cursed Flame".

"Cursed Flame".

Blue and white flames lit up on Todd again and again, and in between, a "cursed rocket" was used to refresh the blindness status.

Todd struggled and his movements grew weaker and weaker. During this time, he tried to recover his strength using the Warrior's "Regenerate Energy," but he was ultimately no match for the endless tricks.

Two minutes later, the soldier fell down, and when he died, there wasn't a single piece of good flesh on his body.

[Defeat Todd, Lv.3 Warrior, gained 450 experience points.]

A level 3 warrior was controlled by Ye Wei'an until his death, and Ye Wei'an never even touched him.

Ye Wei'an didn't look at him again, and patted off non-existent dust from his cloak.

"Raine, go and gather the bodies together. The rest of you, come with me to find the entrance to the cellar."

"Let's see how many 'surprises' Lady Serena has prepared for us."

The cellar wasn't hard to find; soon, Ellen found a trapdoor in the kitchen.

The group filed down the wooden ladder, and as the light from the [Illumination] spell spread, the underground warehouse came into view.

The warehouse was larger than the ground floor storefront; it was more like a miniature smuggling transit point than a cellar.

"My God..." Ellen held up the ball of light and went forward to examine the oilcloth and wooden crates stacked against the wall.

As expected of Lady Serena's business, which she has managed for many years, every item in this warehouse is extraordinary.

As long as it enters the market, it will cause a huge uproar:

Three bags of bluestone powder mined from Thunder Mountain—this material, which can be made into healing and antidote potions with just simple magical processing, is a military-controlled item of Cormier.

Five boxes of unstamped Thunder tobacco leaves clearly evaded the huge taxes that had to be paid to the royal family;

There were also whole barrels of Shadow Valley red barley wine, enough to arm a cavalry squadron with War Valley horse harnesses—all smuggled from the valley.

Finally, they found a whole bag of gold lion coins in an iron box, which, upon counting, amounted to more than 1,800 coins, in addition to several heavy valley trade gold bars—these treasures totaled at least 2,400 gold coins.

"She set up an underground smuggling operation here." Ye Wei'an looked at the goods and was tempted.

If these things are reported to the Cormier royal family, they will definitely cause Serena and the Emerysque family behind her a lot of trouble.

Even if you sell it yourself, it will be a huge fortune.

"Young master, what should we do with these things?" Kane asked as they left the cellar.

"Let's leave it here for now," Ye Wei'an said helplessly. "Find some furniture to weigh down the cellar, hide this door, and deal with it when the main force arrives in Firefall Town."

He only took gold coins and gold bars with him on this trip.

In fact, the value of these goods far exceeds that of gold coins and gold bars. Unfortunately, the system's backpack has limited carrying capacity, and the few of them simply cannot transport them all. They can only leave them here for the time being, praying that no one will break into the leather shop before they return.