"Good day, sir. Good day, Madame," Barol bowed to Victor and Lilia, respectively.

Victor raised his eyes and looked at the head of his secret agent, after 12 months of meeting again, Balor's spirit was still quite strong, but his hair was much grayer, obviously he didn't bother less during this time, but he should have achieved good results.

"Barol, how is the mercury outside?" Victor raised his hand and motioned for the old agent to sit down and speak.

"My lord, in the past 12 months, we have traveled to the three main cities of Gambis, nine densely populated towns, and have established ties with the local gray forces. Fifty-eight available men, and 17 orphans, have been temporarily placed in Yehliu City by me at your command. Balor said as he sat down.

According to Victor's design, the organizational structure of mercury is divided into core layer, inner line and outer line.

The core members of Mercury know the background and secrets of the organization, and they are directly responsible to Victor, through the control of the inside line, to complete the tasks assigned by Victor, and the current core layer of Mercury is only a small spy cultivated by the Barol and Randall families. The inside members are the helpers of the core members, they don't know who the boss behind the scenes is, only the name of the organization, there are only 5 members of the inside line at present, they are the villain Monkey, the killer Feige, the liar Mia and Spider, and the thief Red Wolf. These are all men that Barol has cultivated in Blackcastle. The members of the outside line are gray forces everywhere, they don't know anything about the organization, they don't even know that they have become the shadows of mercury, and they can't get financial support, but they can profit from the smuggling trade.

Cultivating secret agents is time-consuming, laborious, and costly, and only those ancient families have their own intelligence organizations, even so, the intelligence organizations of the nobles are generally small, generally no more than 200 people, and most of them are responsible for intelligence gathering in the family's sphere of influence.

Victor bears the name of an ancient family for nothing, and has neither the money nor the time to train family spies in a step-by-step manner, but he has a vision that distinguishes him from the indigenous aristocracy.

It is indeed difficult to build an elite and loyal intelligence organization, but it is very simple to build a smuggling organization with freemen as the main body. No one would be at odds with Kinsor.

Strictly speaking, mercury is part of a smuggling network, and collecting intelligence is just a side business for outside members, and it is their job to cover private traders and take over illegal goods. As for whether the outside line is loyal and reliable, it doesn't matter. In the face of smuggling interests, if you don't do it, others will rush to do it!

Under Victor's direction, Barol led the inner line members and ten spirit monkey militia to many densely populated and well-traded towns, and the main cities of the three major lords' forces were the focus of the Mercury Raids, namely the Wellington House in the south-central Weststock City, the Bronze City of the Solim family in the south, and the Waterdeep City of the Joshua family in the east. The Black City of House York, the City of Ojibwa of House Nimes in the west, and the towns of the central and northern kingdoms have not yet been patronized by Mercury, simply because Mercury is not manpowered.

Victor did instruct Barol to recruit some insiders, but he still scared Victor by bringing back 75 men on one trip.

Insiders acting as liaisons between private traders and local forces have already touched the secrets of the smuggling trade, and if they have agents from other families, they are bound to hinder the naïve smuggling network.

Barol is cunning and cunning, and he will not be unaware of the stakes. Victor couldn't help frowning and asked, "How did you bring back so many people?"

"My lord, we're in some trouble in Waterdeep in the east. Barol stood up and said in a nervous voice, "I met old acquaintances from the past, and they recognized me. As a last resort, I brought back their wives and children, as well as their henchmen, and waited for the adults to send them down. ”

Balor used to be a spy of the Eastern Lord, and most of his old acquaintances were former accomplices, and there was always some friendship between them, but if the two sides really met, for their own safety, it would be a life-and-death situation. Balor said lightly: bring them back and wait for them to fall. Behind these words there must have been several bloody battles.

Victor wasn't interested in the process, but there must be a reason why Barol would rather take the risk of bringing people back than choose to kill them on the spot.

"Say!"

"Yes, sir. Barol bowed and said, "I met a few old fellows from before in Waterdeep, and they recognized me. I knew they were going to kill me, so I decided to strike first. That night, I took people to their lair and served them a pot. ”

"I was going to kill them all, and not one of them. But those old fellows' accomplices are well-trained and fierce, I think their fighting style is all mercenary, and their personal strength is comparable to that of vassal soldiers, and the mercenary leader uses two scimitars, which is particularly powerful, not inferior to your elite soldiers at all. It is impossible for spies and ordinary villains to have such combat effectiveness! I was suspicious at the time, so I ordered to stay alive...... In order to capture the mercenary alive, Pete was killed by him. With that, Barol secretly observed Victor's face, and quietly breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that the lord was calm.

The secret agent who turned his back on the family, and met an "old acquaintance", no one knew the other party's current background and purpose, at this time, he couldn't entrust his life to his past friendship, so each was his master, each had his own destiny, and subdued the opponent first and then talked about others.

Barol is cunning and ruthless, and it is not easy to hug Victor's thigh, and he can't tolerate the slightest mistake when he is about to start a career. Just in case, Balor followed the practice of secret agents, took the initiative and took down the opponent, but he didn't expect that the opponent was actually hard stubble. The strangeness of it aroused the interest of the old agent, and it was precisely because he asked to be caught alive that Pete was stabbed to death by the other party.

Pete is a monkey militia assigned to Barol by Victor, and his strength is comparable to that of a trainee knight. Barol was very worried that his master would be angry at the loss of a powerful warrior, and he was clearly overly concerned.

"After interrogation, I found out that those old fellows had joined the local thieves' guild, and they were not directly related to the Joshua family. ”

The Joshua family's Waterdeep City is the central city in the eastern part of the Gambis Kingdom, where it is densely populated and trade-oriented, connecting the Rand Empire to the east and the Vel Kingdom to the north, and the transportation is very convenient. As long as Mercury develops an outer line in Waterdeep, smuggling caravans can rely on the city to infiltrate abroad.

Although the Joshua family is also a powerful lord, the lord nobles have never taken the free people seriously. The sheriff of Waterdeep doesn't care about the fight between the gangs, as long as the new gang boss obeys his orders, and it is this loose management that gives Mercury the opportunity to develop the outside line.

There are 10 spirit monkey militias around Balor, which is enough to beat any gangster force, Victor didn't expect Mercury to be defeated in Deep Water City, and the opponent is not the lord's descendant force.

"This thief guild isn't easy!" Victor said, shaking his head.

"Yes. "This thieves' union is ostensibly doing dirty work for sheriffs, but behind the scenes it is also doing some human trafficking, and the head of the union has deep ties to an organization outside the country. The mercenaries in the union lair are members of that organization, and they came to Waterdeep to receive the population, and we happened to bump into them. ”

Victor asked with interest, "Have you found out which organization is behind the thieves' union?"

Balor's face turned strange and he said, "After torture to extract confessions, the leader of the thieves' guild and those mercenaries confessed that they were working for a secret organization called the Brotherhood of Kamen. It is said that the Brotherhood has a history of more than 100 years, and does not belong to any lord power, but is completely a free people gangster force. ”

"The Brotherhood of Kamen specializes in grey trades, including theft, fraud, robbery, assassination, and mercenary business, as well as businesses such as shops, circuses, inns, and taverns. The mercenaries were going to send the kidnapped boys and girls to the Brotherhood's stronghold in the Seuss Kingdom to be trained by the organization. According to my analysis, the birthplace of the Brotherhood is in the east, and they are infiltrating our Gambis!"

"That's right. This is the Brotherhood crest that was recovered from the mercenary leader. Balor pulled out a bronze coat of arms and handed it to Victor, "The leader of the thieves' guild is just a minions who don't know much. His status in the Brotherhood is similar to that of Mercury, and he also relied on the help of the Brotherhood to become the leader of the union. ”

"The leader of the mercenaries is a tough guy, and no matter how much we torture him, he won't let go. Eventually, Moore poured him a bottle of psychedelic potions, and that's when he began to confess. ”

"This man was raised by the Brotherhood since he was a child, starting with his training in the Eastern Alliance's mercenary training camp, and as an adult, he was arranged by the Brotherhood to serve as a deputy head in a mercenary group. The mercenary group is usually commissioned by the lords of various places, but as long as the Brotherhood summons, they must unconditionally obey the orders of the organization. I've figured out the training camp and contact information of the mercenary group. ”

The bronze coat of arms is apparently a token of the Brotherhood of Kamen, with a blood-dripping mask engraved on the front of the coat of arms and the number 47 on the back of the coat of arms. With this bronze coat of arms, the members of the Brotherhood were able to communicate with each other, indicating that the Kamen Brotherhood was quite large and well-organized, and the members may not know each other.

Victor now believes that the Kamen Brotherhood really has a history of more than 100 years, and it is difficult to say whether there are other forces behind them.

Isn't it too coincidental that Mercury bumped into a large gangster organization on his first trip?

Victor knew that this was not some coincidence, but an inevitable consequence.

"Balor, you haven't heard of the Brotherhood of Kamen before?"

"My lord, we family spies only pay attention to the dynamics of the nobles. No one cares about the freedmen. Balor explained awkwardly.

The commoners and the knightly aristocracy were two classes, and their ties to each other were extremely weak. On weekdays, the knights and nobles were busy with camps and socializing, polishing their fighting spirit, and reproducing offspring, and the daily affairs of the territory were also handed over to the stewards, and they were even more indifferent to the lives of the freedmen. By the same token, many freedmen have never seen a real knight lord in their lives, but they also have their own worlds and rules of survival.

Victor often interacted with members of the division of labor, but they were all farmers and had never worked in towns, and their mentality and social objects were different from those of the real landless people, so Victor knew very little about the underground world of the free people. To be sure, it is not surprising that there are several long-standing forces in the large community of free people.

The extraordinary power of knights is an insurmountable gap for ordinary people, no matter how big the latent power of the civilian gangsters is, it is impossible to threaten the aristocratic class, and this gap has become the soil for the survival and growth of the gangsters. However, there is no essential difference between the intellectual ambition of ordinary people and the aristocratic class, and there are always some people who would rather be the head of the chicken than the queen of the ox, and it is reasonable for them to create several organizations with inheritance.

The War Bear Mercenary Group has a history of more than 40 years, and they also have unique training methods and organizational culture, such as never abandoning their old and weak companions. If the War Bear Mercenary Group can survive, they will also be a century-old free folk organization.

From the very beginning, mercury was going to go the civilian route, and it was only a matter of time before it collided with the gangster forces. However, Victor is still taken aback by the size and secrecy of the Brotherhood of Kamen.

"Balor, what advice would you have for the Kamen Brotherhood?"

"My lord, the power of the Kamen Brotherhood is not limited to one town or one territory, and they can help Mercury quickly open up the situation of the Suth Kingdom, the Borui Kingdom, and the Eastern Alliance. My advice is, kill them!"

Victor glanced at Balor with satisfaction and smiled, "You have great ambitions." You left your former companions behind to deal with gangsters like the Brotherhood?"

The Kamen Brotherhood has the ability to help Mercury and also has the ability to be a stumbling block to Mercury, and it's almost a certainty. It is impossible for any powerful power to ignore the huge profits brought by the smuggling trade, and the question is whether the Brotherhood is entitled to a piece of the pie, and does it have the strength to resist the invasion of mercury?

On the side of the couch there is no room for others to snore. Now that Mercury has begun to set foot in the underworld of the Free People, there is no room for the Kamen Brotherhood to survive.

In Victor's strategy, both the Free Folk Organization and the Lords are the nodes of the smuggling network, and they can only manage their own one-third of an acre, and the cross-regional organization will challenge Victor's leadership and be an opponent that Mercury must defeat.

Barol knew very well that whether or not there was an aristocratic force behind the Brotherhood, Victor would not be able to let them go. Instead of exterminating the Kamen Brotherhood, Balor wants to eliminate the Brotherhood's top and dismantle it into a local force. This is not an easy task, and Barol needs more manpower, in addition to the powerful family dead, experienced agents are also indispensable.

"Your Excellency is wise!" said Balor flatteringly, "those old acquaintances of mine are just eating out in the Thieves' Guild, and they are not members of the Brotherhood, nor are they spies of other families. All of them have taken psychedelic drugs, and they will never tell a lie! Lord Moore can testify!"

"What about the rest of the Thieves' Guild and the Brotherhood mercenaries?"

"It's all clean!" Barol said quickly.

Victor shook his head and said in disgust, "I'm sure your peers aren't members of the Brotherhood, but I hate human traffickers the most!"

Balor was stunned for a moment, then nodded humbly in agreement, and Lilia looked at Victor with strange eyes.

"Honey, do you have anything to say?" asked Victor with a smile.

"Nothing. Lilia shook her head, and said with a smile: "We have also bought women and children, or you personally ordered them, and those women and children are now the families of the members of the division of work." ”

"How can that be the same?!I'm recruiting, recruiting!" Victor shouted to defend himself.

"But you paid that monkey boss. ”

"......" Victor couldn't say a word for a long time, so he said self-deprecatingly: "Well! No one is cleaner than the other! Baror, if something goes wrong with your old acquaintance, I will only ask you!"

"Thank you, sir!

Balor is overjoyed, Mercury is now short of manpower, and since the former partners are no longer a threat, let them do things for Mercury. In this way, it not only takes care of the past friendship, but also strengthens the strength of mercury, taking into account both public and private, and has the best of both worlds.

Victor couldn't be happy, Mercury was a gold-swallowing beast, and it cost him 5,000 gold soles to go out, which was equivalent to half a year's trade profits for Randall. The more men Barol recruited, the bigger the mercury stall became, and the expenses also rose, but what should be done had to be done, and the money that should have been spent had to be spent.

"Balor, there are two things for you to do. Victor said with a serious expression: "First of all, I want you to build a gang in Wild Willow City to assist Lady Judy's sheriff to control the situation in Wild Willow City, and prevent people from instigating a large-scale influx of displaced people into Randall's territory." ”

"The second thing is that you have to arrange for people to go north to the kingdom of Duoduo as soon as possible to develop the mercury outer line, because I will soon send someone to open up the smuggling business route of Duoduo. ”

"How much money do you need to do these two things?"

Balor thought for a moment and said, "It will cost about 12,000 gold soles." As soon as the words fell, Lilia's apricot eyes widened, and she said, "So much money, why don't you grab it?!"

In fact, Barol did not have a lion's mouth, and in order to support the outside line, Mercury always had to deal with the sheriffs in various places, and this expenditure accounted for the vast majority of Mercury's funds, and it could not be saved. However, the Randall family only has a little more than 20,000 gold soles on their books, so it's no wonder that Lilia is in a hurry.

However, Victor still had 200,000 gold soles in his hands, of which 80,000 gold soles were given to him by the Marquis Sophia's palace, and the other 120,000 gold soles were captured from the Assassin Ace. However, Victor had to spend 150,000 to buy a territory for Sylvia, and only 50,000 gold soles were left.

There are a total of 70,000 gold soles, and Victor has to pay 20,000 annuities, resettle the homeless, and make alchemy dragon lizards, which is really unable to squeeze out the funds for mercury. Fortunately, the alchemy militia dug up hundreds of white crystals in the dark forest, worth 140,000. Although white crystal is a hard currency, it is difficult to realize it in a centralized manner, but it is just right to hand it over to mercury.

Victor calmed the red-eyed Lilia, turned to Barol and said, "I'll give you 2,000 gold soles plus 30 white crystals, is it enough?"

Balor wiped the cold sweat from his head and said repeatedly: "Enough, enough....."

"I want you to remember one thing, mercury is only responsible for spending money, not making money! I am responsible for all the expenses, and if anyone dares to make money privately, he will surely die!"

Victor's expression was grim, and his tone was cold. Balor's heart sank, and he lowered his head and said, "My lord, I remember!"

"Go down. ”

After Balor left, Lilia asked puzzledly, "Victor, why don't you let Mercury feed herself?"

Victor explained: "The people who are released are powerful and rich, how can we control them?"

"I see!" Lilia leaned into Victor's arms and asked in a coquettish voice, "Wealth is also a means of restraint?"

"Clever!" pinching Lilia's little face affectionately, Victor smiled, "Didn't you say that the family is short of manpower? I will be able to solve this problem soon, and it will also cost a lot of money." ”

"How much?" asked Lilia, covering her face.

"Haha, I haven't counted yet. But it will definitely make small wealth fans feel distressed. Victor laughed.

"Before that, I have to talk to the old god stick about the death penalty!"