Chapter 306: The Sweetness of Revenge (Part 2)

The loot from Riniconia Castle was worth over a million renals, but most of it consisted of treasures that the stewards had embezzled and plundered over the years, making it difficult to convert into cash quickly.

Certain items, such as rings frequently worn by the stewards or necklaces prominently displayed on their chests, could easily lead to fatal consequences if recognized. These items would either need to be dismantled and altered or hidden away until the heat died down before they could be sold.

The most practical spoils were the coins and luxury goods from the treasury, but these were too heavy and took up significant airship capacity.

Wu Qingsong and his team chose a spot in the mountains north of Orgrimmar, where they buried the excess items deeply for future retrieval. Then, under the cover of night, they returned to Orgrimmar.

In just one day, news of the robbery and fire in Riniconia had not yet reached the area. Everything seemed as usual.

The slums outside the city, having lost many of their inhabitants to forced sales, were desolate and lifeless, while the market remained noisy and chaotic, filled with revelry.

There were still no patrols. Although a few guards stood on the city walls, they were men who had come here for money and survival. Poorly treated and disrespected, their motivation was predictably low.

Not long after nightfall, they were already nodding off in the watchtowers.

The airship landed silently outside the city lord’s window. Without even pushing the window open, Xeila phased through the walls in a flash of light and entered the room.

After a brief wait, the window opened from the inside, allowing Wu Qingsong and the others to enter one by one.

What had once been Wu Qingsong’s room had been combined with the adjacent room, tripling its size. The floor was covered with a garish wool carpet, and the walls were adorned with ostentatious displays of power, wealth, and a poor attempt at elegance—decorations, paintings, tapestries—all of it glaringly vulgar, stirring a strong urge in Wu Qingsong to destroy everything.

“It’s all worth money, don’t mess it up,” Ram said quickly, noticing his thoughts.

“You…” Wu Qingsong sighed, not knowing what to say about her miserly tendencies. 

But he also understood their predicament. After heading north, they would face shortages of everything, with no income for the foreseeable future. In the northern regions, they couldn’t rely on official supply channels, leaving smuggling as their only option. Her frugality was unavoidable.

“Bring him over,” Wu Qingsong said.

Xiela had already knocked out the man in the bed. Nina dragged him by the leg and yanked him onto the floor.

“That carpet’s worth at least 200 renals,” Ram murmured. 

Wu Qingsong hesitated, then picked it up and tossed it toward the window.

This place’s defenses were nothing compared to Riniconia Castle. Most mining towns like this had no more than 200 fighters, most of whom were tasked with overseeing and driving the slaves working in the mines, leaving little manpower for night security.

The only reason Wu Qingsong had been able to maintain so many soldiers was that his methods of making money were different from others.

Orgrimmar had fewer than thirty night guards, scattered throughout the area, making it easy for Wu Qingsong to deal with the local lord without worry.

Unfortunately, the lord’s performance disappointed Wu Qingsong.

As soon as Wu Qingsong showed his face and drew his blade—without even getting the chance to theatrically cut a few wounds into him as in the movies—the bloated half-elf wet himself.

“Mercy… mercy, my lord!” he sobbed, trembling and wailing with snot and tears streaming down his face.

Wu Qingsong felt no satisfaction. Such a man wasn’t even worthy of being an enemy.

It was pathetic that someone like this had so easily taken everything Wu Qingsong had left behind, killed his followers, and forced his loved ones into desperation.

The Elven Empire…

Wu Qingsong shook his head and drew his dagger across the man’s face, prompting a scream like a slaughtered pig.

The man didn’t dare scream too loudly. He knew that by the time his guards arrived, he’d already be dead. His only chance of survival lay with Wu Qingsong.

“It’s all a misunderstanding!” he sobbed. “My lord, we were only trying to protect your property from being stolen by others… Ahhh!” 

This time, Ram cut him with her own blade.

“Everything is negotiable!” he cried, enduring the pain. “Lord Tagraedi! I will return this place to you, exactly as it was. No, double! No, five times your losses! I’m related to the tax director! My lord, I can persuade them to return your land and everything you own as quickly as possible! If you kill me, your hard-earned title will be gone! I’m not worth it, my lord—please believe me! I swear by my ancestral family, I will never go back on my word! I’ll plead with the others to return what’s yours! I swear! I swear!”

“The tax director is already dead,” Wu Qingsong said, finally feeling a sliver of satisfaction.

“What…” 

Despair filled the man’s face, and he opened his mouth to scream. But Wu Qingsong pressed his dagger against it, silencing him.

“Tell me who participated in killing my people and where they are now. If you answer, I’ll make your death quick.”

“And where’s the money hidden?” Ram added.

***

“My lord?” The steward of provisions stood outside the lord’s chambers in the late morning, puzzled. He hadn’t seen the lord, the butler, or any of the key figures come to the hall for breakfast.

The head maid shared his confusion. Together, they cautiously approached the lord’s room, only to find no guards outside.

The door was ajar.

“What?!” 

Both immediately thought of the worst and looked at each other. The steward grabbed a bread knife from the nearby table and hesitantly pushed the door open.

“Ahhhhhhhhh!” The head maid screamed and shut her eyes tightly.

“Why are you screaming? The lord isn’t here!” the steward snapped, his ears nearly deafened.

“What?” She finally stopped and followed him into the room.

Everything valuable was gone, even the exquisite carpet the lord had recently bought.

Not far from the bed was a large damp stain—not blood, but something else.

“Guards! Someone, come quickly!” The steward rushed to the window and shouted. But as he looked out, his voice abruptly stopped.

On the square outside, the wooden gallows, once used to display the corpses of disobedient slaves, now held bodies dressed in fine nightwear or leather armor.

A flock of crows pecked at the corpses, tearing flesh from their faces. One body slowly rotated, revealing an eyeless face covered in bloody cuts. The clothes and figure, however, made it unmistakably clear—it was the city lord.

“Ahhhhhhhh!” The head maid screamed once more before collapsing to the floor.