Ard the Great Swindler

Ard’s lips curved into a confident smile. “It seems the Boss man is treating us to a meal after all.”

The chieftain’s ferocious eyes narrowed as he stared at Ard. “Don’t get cocky, kid. I, Borin Saber-Tooth, am not easily fooled. You say someone is plotting against us? Heh. Do you have any idea of the power of my Sunstone Gang? In these lands, who would dare to plot against us?!”

Ard said coldly, “No matter how big or fierce a house dog is, it is still a kept animal. If its master wants to slaughter it, does he need more than a single knife?”

At that moment, a man with a scholarly appearance beside the Boss man shouted, “Boy, do you know who you’re talking to? Don’t you dare make veiled accusations! Boss, let’s stop wasting words. Just kill the man and take the woman…”

Before he could finish, the Boss man’s beast-like gaze snapped to him. “Am I the Boss man,” he growled, “or are you?”

The man’s face went pale. He knew his leader was angry. He immediately fell to his knees. “It is you, you are the Boss man! I am just garbage, a waste of space! How could I compare to you?”

“Until I have declared these two useless, they are the honored guests of my Sunstone Stronghold! It is not your place to insult them! Apologize!”

The man was stunned. He never expected his leader to make such a demand. His face turned ugly. “Boss man, they are just two outsiders.”

“Do I need to repeat myself?” The Boss man drew a massive, serrated blade and loomed over the man. “They are my honored guests.”

Ard watched the scene with great interest. To have an internal power struggle break out in front of outsiders… it was clear the man who had spoken out and the Boss man had a deep-seated conflict and a severe lack of trust.

Patch, the bandit Ard had “saved,” scrambled to his feet and shouted, “Heh, Mr. Counselor! Did we strike a nerve?! After that guard troop left, you were the one who sent our brothers to their deaths, saying it was to ‘let off some steam’! Bullshit! We were outnumbered, our gear was worse, and they were far stronger than us! You just wanted our brothers to die! Did you collude with outsiders?! Is this how you counsel, by plotting against us?!”

Ard’s eyes widened slightly. He hadn’t known the bandits had attacked Rhode’s group again after they left. It seemed they had lost quite a few men. But this suicidal attack was interesting. Whatever the true purpose, he could use it.

The man called the Counselor’s face turned a sickly shade of green. “Nonsense!” he roared. “Boss man, he’s spouting lies! Don’t believe him!”

The Boss man waved a hand, silencing Patch. He then looked coldly at everyone in the hall. “All of you, get out. You two,” he said to Ard and Yexi, “we will speak in the inner chamber.” He then addressed the entire stronghold. “From this moment on, the stronghold is on lockdown! No one is to enter or leave without my permission! Do you hear me?!”

“Yes, sir!” the men in the hall roared.

As the bandits filed out, the Boss man clapped one of his trusted men on the shoulder and gave a subtle, meaningful glance toward the Counselor before leading Ard and Yexi into the inner chamber.

Inside, the Boss man collapsed into the main seat. “You two seem to know the inside story,” he said, his voice a low rumble. “So let’s not beat around the bush. Who is it that wants to destroy my Sunstone Stronghold?”

Ard said calmly, “You already have a guess in your heart, don’t you, Boss man? It is exactly who you think it is. The one who is plotting against us is our supposed backer, the esteemed Baron Quentin.”

The Boss man’s eyebrow shot up. “Us?”

Ard cupped his hands in a respectful gesture. “I am but a humble man who, through my father’s connections and a little bit of skill, managed to secure the position of steward, in charge of the Baron’s financial affairs.”

“Financial affairs? That’s no small position. Your father must have some connections indeed.” The Boss man clearly knew of Baron Quentin’s legendary greed. In his domain, the most powerful position was not a military commander, but the treasurer.

Ard took a sip of tea. “Unfortunately, my father’s connections are his own. When he fell from grace, I, with no background or seniority, was left in that very lucrative, and very coveted, position.”

The Boss man chuckled. “Someone has their eye on your seat?”

“They don’t just have their eye on it; they want me dead. So, they assigned me a fatal mission. And this mission, as it happens, has to do with you, Boss man.”

“What fatal mission has to do with me?”

“The Baron has grown wary of the Sunstone Stronghold’s increasing strength. He wants to cut down the tiger he has raised, or perhaps, replace it with a more obedient cub.”

The Boss man’s eyes narrowed, but he laughed. “Heh, no need for such transparent attempts to sow discord. Though my Sunstone Stronghold is large, we have always been obedient. We have never defied an order from above.” He paused, a murderous glint in his eyes. “Even when that order was to send my brothers to their deaths.”

Ard now understood the Counselor’s role. He shook his head. “Heh, an obedient tiger is indeed useful. But this tiger has grown too strong. And this tiger eats meat, not grass. And there are others who are very hungry for that meat.”

“I have paid tribute to those men as well.”

“A man’s heart is never satisfied, just as a snake tries to swallow an elephant. The more you give, the more you prove you have,” Ard said mockingly. “Let me ask you, does this stronghold belong to you, Boss man, or to the Baron?”

“It is mine, of course!” the Boss man said without hesitation.

“Exactly. What they want is not your Sunstone Stronghold, but their Sunstone Stronghold. They don’t want your tribute; they want everything you have. Surely you know how greedy those men are?” Ard had never met the Baron or his men, but did one need to see a pig walk to know what pork tastes like? If the man at the top was rotten, how good could his subordinates be?

Seeing the Boss man fall silent, Ard knew he had him hooked. He pressed his advantage. “And surely you don’t think you’ve been able to grow to this size without anyone interfering simply because of your fearsome reputation? With the lord of the domain’s backing, anyone could have done it. Though perhaps not as well-managed as you have. Haha, perhaps they don’t want someone as capable as you in charge anymore.”

“Hmph.” The already suspicious Boss man was now almost certain that the Baron was planning to move against him.

“He has already made his move?”

“He has. And the situation is more serious than I imagined,” Ard said with a sigh. “I originally thought they would be satisfied after you had suffered some heavy losses. But from this series of events, it’s clear they want to eliminate not just me, but you as well, Boss man.”

“What do you mean?” the chieftain asked, his voice a low growl.

“If they only wanted me to set a trap to kill your brothers, then all you would have had to do was bow your head and send them to their deaths as ordered.”

“Hmph!” The Boss man shot Ard a hateful glare but didn’t interrupt.

“But I never expected them to incite you to attack that guard troop. That was a move to not only kill you, but to utterly condemn you, to push you into a corner with no escape.”

The Boss man’s eyes blazed with fury. “Why?”

“They set you up to offend someone you cannot afford to offend. Surely you know that a man who can command a guard troop of that size must have a noble identity?”

“How noble?”

Ard’s voice was cold as ice. “At least a member of the royal family.”

The Boss man sucked in a sharp breath. No matter how arrogant he was, he knew he was just a bandit who thrived on the power of others. Even with his backer, he would never dare to attack a royal. And now that his backer was planning on abandoning him, the consequences were unthinkable.

His voice was hoarse. “Is this true?”

“By my calculations, that group should have already reached the Baron’s main city. If you don’t believe me, you can send someone to check. You don’t need to investigate deeply. Just pay attention to the Baron’s attitude.”

Seeing Ard’s confidence, the Boss man’s heart sank. He slammed his fist on the table in front of him, shattering it into splinters.

“Bastard!”

His men outside heard the crash and rushed in. “Is everything alright, boss?”

“Get out!”

At his roar, the two men scrambled back out.

Ard continued his merciless assault. “A royal is attacked by bandits in his domain. The local lord is, of course, responsible. But the Baron did it anyway, because he has a way to atone for his crime. As long as he can wipe out the bandits, he can report back to his superiors. He can even take a portion of the confiscated gold and silver to bribe them and escape punishment. But for the Baron to escape punishment, some bandits must be dealt with… hehe. And what head would be more suitable to present than yours, Boss man?”

The chieftain made one last, desperate attempt to grasp at hope. “Sunstone Peak is easy to defend and hard to attack. My stronghold is heavily guarded.”

Ard stood up and walked over to a map of Sunstone Peak on the wall. He laughed. “Don’t you understand yet, Boss man? Why would they let you have such a prime piece of terrain? This mountain is a giant cage. It may seem easy to defend, but your food and water all have to come from the outside. When the time comes, all they have to do is cut off your supply lines, poison your water source, and crush your men’s morale. And to be blunt, how many of your brothers are willing to die for you? When the time is right, with a little help from the inside, they can take this mountain in one fell swoop.”

The Boss man sneered. “Help from the inside?”

“I don’t need to say who that would be, do I? I believe you already understand.”

“According to you, I’m doomed this time?”

Ard, his face a mask of supreme confidence, stood up. “Of course not. I risked my life to come here precisely to show you a path to survival. You see, you and I are now two grasshoppers on the same rope. If we join forces, after this is all over, only the sky will be the limit for the bird!”