City of Outlaws.
Although the name of this place sounds grand, it is actually just a small town, covering less than one-tenth the area of Magnolia.
However, despite being such a small place, its population is almost the same as that of the entire Magnolia.
The group did not enter the City of Outlaws directly but quietly observed every move within the towns from a small hill outside.
"According to what this humble one knows, although the City of Outlaws has a large population, it is primarily controlled by three forces."
The bandits' leader was very perceptive. To prove his worth, he proactively shared the information he knew with Weston.
"Oh? Which three forces?"
"The first force is the Magic Guild, 'Dark Night Poison Scorpions'."
When mentioning this force, the bandits' leader's face involuntarily showed a hint of fear.
"Dark Night Poison Scorpions..."
Weston's eyes showed a hint of thought. "I have some impression. Was it the Dark Guild under the Second Prince back then?"
"Your Lordship is most discerning!"
"They were the largest Dark Guild under the Second Prince. It is said that the guild's members originally exceeded 3,000!"
"However, the combat strength of the 'Dark Night Poison Scorpions' suffered significant losses in the previous war, and only about 300 Wizards gathered here remained."
"But these 300 people are the elite of the elite!"
Elite... how elite are they?
If they were really that powerful, how could they have been beaten to the point of cowering here?
The bandits' leader's introduction wasn't finished: "These more than 300 elite Wizards are managed by six core members of the 'Dark Night Poison Scorpions', and above these six core members is their Guild Master."
Weston's eyes lit up.
That's more like it!
The composition of the 'Dark Night Poison Scorpions' personnel greatly interested Weston: "How much do you know about the strength of these seven people?"
"Not much."
"I only know that they are all very powerful Wizards, and the magic they use is also very peculiar."
This answer is equivalent to saying nothing at all!
Weston rubbed his forehead and shook his head: "Never mind, you are just ordinary people after all, with limited understanding of magic, so it's normal not to be able to tell."
"Continue, what are the other two forces?"
It seems my answer didn't satisfy 'Duke Weston'... In that case, wouldn't my desire to 'go ashore' be indefinitely postponed?
Damn it!
The bandits' leader clenched his fists unwillingly.
"The second force is an Assassin Guild called 'Seven-Legged Serpent'."
"This force doesn't have many people, only seven, but each of them is very powerful, said to be able to fight a hundred on their own!"
Fighting a hundred on their own?
Which powerful Wizard can't do that?
Not worth worrying about!
"As for the last force, it's called the 'Remnant Army'. It's a force composed of soldiers like us who were defeated in the previous war and luckily survived, numbering around three to five thousand in total."
"If Your Lord wishes to sweep through the 'City of Outlaws', perhaps you can start with this force!"
"Oh? Why is that?"
The bandits' leader replied: "Because each Remnant Army that comes here has its own 'General', and these Generals don't submit to each other, so this force's internal stability is extremely poor."
"At the same time, although the people inside are soldiers, they are not soldiers recognized by the Fiore Kingdom. In fact, they are just a group of ordinary people."
"Ordinary people are very difficult to deal with Wizards and Assassins."
"In the City of Outlaws, although this force has the most people, its status is the lowest, and they are often taken advantage of by people from the other two forces without daring to speak up."
"We also left the City of Outlaws because we couldn't stand this situation."
"The soldiers here, like us, deeply yearn for someone like Your Lord to bring them salvation!"
"As long as Your Lord is willing, this humble one is willing to go and persuade them right now, to recruit them to serve Your Lord!"
The bandits' leader spoke very sincerely, which even moved Weston.
As a Duke, his territory was plagued by bandits and petty criminals, and various towns and villages were awaiting reconstruction. It was precisely the time when talent was needed for construction and military force was needed to eliminate threats.
If he could take in this Remnant Army, it would, firstly, solve the problem of insufficient troops, and secondly, resolve some of the chaos. It would be killing two birds with one stone!
"Alright, then I'll leave this matter to you!"
"When you go, directly state my identity and say that as long as they are willing to abandon darkness for light, I, as the Fairy Commander, am willing to intercede for them with the local lord, giving them a chance to turn over a new leaf and forsake evil for good."
It has only been a few months since the Fiore Kingdom's war ended, and currently, Weston's title of 'Fairy Commander' still carries considerable weight.
The bandits' leader immediately shouted excitedly: "Yes! I understand!"
After the bandits' leader and his subordinates dispersed, Precht slowly walked over from behind.
"Do you really think this bandits' leader can persuade those soldiers?"
"What if he just found an excuse to run away?"
Evidently, Precht did not trust what the bandits' leader had just said and had doubts about his words and actions.
Weston stood with his hands in his pockets, quietly watching the bandits' leader's retreating figure: "If he really ran, it would only be his loss, after all, I am very happy to accept that group of soldiers."
"Hmm... what do we do now? Which one should we deal with first, the Dark Guild or the Assassin Guild?"
"The Assassin Guild, let's save the good stuff for last."
...The tavern on the west side of the City of Outlaws was the regular haunt of the Assassin Guild, 'Seven-Legged Serpent'.
When Weston and Precht arrived together, they first saw a surging crowd gathered on the street in front of the tavern, standing on tiptoes and craning their necks, desperately peering inside.
"This is..."
Precht was somewhat surprised, but Weston found it amusing.
"Looks like we've caught some excitement!"
"Come on, let's find a high spot to get a clear view."
The two looked around and quickly spotted several containers stacked in the corner of the long street. They walked over, stepped on the containers, and jumped onto the roof of a nearby building.
Once on the rooftop, their view immediately opened up.
They saw a large hole blown open in the wall of the adjacent tavern.
On the street in front of the large hole, surrounded by the crowd, were three men.
Standing on the left were a pair of twins, brothers who looked almost identical, with the same faces and builds, and both wearing white tops and black pants martial arts uniforms.
The only difference was their hairstyles.
Both had long braids, but one kept his braid on the left, and the other on the right. Standing side by side, it was as if there was a mirror between them.
"Hah!"
"Two 'Beggar's Edition' Tao Pai Pais!"
Weston whispered.
Immediately, one of the twins spoke.
"Daring to stir up trouble in our territory alone, are you looking for death?"
"Or are you 'Dark Night Poison Scorpions' already planning to formally declare war on the 'Seven-Legged Serpent'?"