The night was settling in as I reached the meeting location. I didn't like that I was at a meeting point of their choice. My instincts didn't scream at me as I arrived, meaning that I doubted that there were undead here at this moment.
That didn't mean there wasn't something or even other ways that they could trap me. Necromancers must have problems with people's instincts giving them away. That meant that they must be working on ways to circumvent that in some ways. I didn't know if they ever would achieve that, but I would not back out just because of my lack of understanding.
You often had to take a leap of faith and react on your feet when or if the shit fell on you. That was what happened to me in my past life, and I dealt with it many times. I only lost that bet once when it took me by surprise. But that was my fault since I never expected those idiots to become suicidal.
I smiled at that memory as I moved into the meeting point after scoping out the surroundings. It seemed that things were fine, but I took that at face value. It was a worthless deduction that may not survive contact with them. I entered the warehouse that they had chosen, and I saw five robed figures as I opened the man door near the large warehouse doors.
I found that I was entering too many warehouses these days, but I silently came in. I must have triggered something since all of the figures turned to look at me as I did so. All of us were robed, and I watched them, wary of their number. I disliked being outnumbered, but I also knew that I had power behind my attacks.
I was a B-ranked powerhouse now, and I didn't feel any fear from these people. Still, I didn't want them to know that I was a B-ranked adventure. I stepped forward towards them, and they moved aside to face me in a half-circle. I moved to the point that I knew that I could attack while still giving myself ample time to dodge.
I felt relief that I was not a sword or rapier user when it came to this. I preferred that extra half a second to dodge than any close combat fighter had to accept. I stood there waiting for a moment before I began. "I called you here since the last meeting did not go so well after you attacked me," I said bluntly, shifting them the blame for the failure of the last meeting.
"You were being tested and failed," A woman's voice said from one of those cloaked figures.
I looked at them with contempt since they knew that anyone with strong instincts would run at their first glimpse of the undead. It was a large learning experience for me when they set that weak undead after me.
They didn't know now that I was much stronger than before. With the experience of encountering that undead now under my belt, they still had no idea how strong I was. But I didn't know how strong they were either. Still, I would not give up the upper hand to them.
"What happened last time no longer matters. You are planning something, and I have plans going on." I told them flatly.
"It means that you are weak," The woman said, dripping with contempt. "For what reason should we work with a weak organization such as the Bloody Candies?"
I scoffed loudly, ensuring they heard my contempt as I continued, "Weak is something that you call that disgusting undead you 'tested' me with. If that is the average your creatures can do, then contempt is all I have for your organization." I bit back, "Maybe gold is the only thing your guild is worth."
I could almost feel the anger radiating from them as I bit back at them simply. They went silent, and I felt the tension in the room, but my instincts did not begin to warn me. At least I knew simple provocation would send them over the edge. That would be a shame, and I wouldn't want to work with the Necromancer guild if it did.
Time passed in silence as we eyed each other's cloaks. The Necromancer guild was everyone's enemy, and no one wanted them in their territory. That meant they probably had some supporters among the Empire if they had an organization with the liquid funds they showed to me so far. I watched them carefully as I wanted to know what they were planning on doing. I wondered what their plans were and if they would interfere with my own.
Then I got a thought in my head, and I had to stop myself. I couldn't let them think that I realized that I could modify my backup plans to include them in a way that they never knew. I wanted to grin as they watched me silently. I knew from here that they were talking to each other with mana messages, but I couldn't pick up on them.
I waited for them as my brain moved till they finally spoke up. "We do continue to need corpses." They admitted, "You have control of the graveyard, and we would like to continue to purchase corpses at our previous prices before the misunderstanding." The voice this time was a husky voice from the others.
I realized that they wanted it to look like the woman had been 'tamed' by the others and would speak up. I didn't care what they thought about my more abrupt conversation with them. I was most likely stronger than them, and I did not fear them at this point. Instead, I looked at them and thought about bettering our agreements instead of worsening.
"I will decrease the price back to the previous levels," I told them, and I could almost feel some of the tension leave them from their body language under those cloaks. "However, I do want some information and maybe delays from your side as I have an important operation underway." I saw the tension come back into their bodies as I said that, and I held up a cloak-covered hand. "I do not mean to stop your large plans. I want you only to delay them." I paused before continuing, and I realized that I hated talking to others when I couldn't see their body language fully. "I need no more than two weeks to finish my operation either way, and I will be willing to gift your organization with two days of dead bodies from the graveyard we have control of."
I could feel the mana moving between each other again without talking to me. I patiently waited as I knew that they were discussing their plans. I could see some argumentative body language between them as I waited and watched silently.
"Do you need only two weeks?" That husky voice asked.
"I believe any more than two weeks will be the max before it will be considered a failure of an operation. With that in mind, though," I continued as I could almost feel them frown. "Please inform me by informing our mutual contact before you move. That way, I can make an allowance in my plans and maybe even aid you in your mission."
I could feel more mana messages passing rapidly between them. If this worked, I could have enough time to tame the City lords family and take over the city indirectly. Then I would just kill these Necromancers since they would be in the way of my complete control of the city.
"We accept your deal," The husky-voiced man finally said, and I felt relief. It was almost a bribe, but it seems they took the bait. I still had no idea what they were planning, though, which was partially a problem. It was a problem that I could deal with if I knew that it was delayed. In fact, with a general timeline and a warning, I might even be able to use it to my advantage.
"I will move forward as quickly as possible and will notify you of any changes. That way, we can meet if further discussion is needed." I told them.
"Very well," That husky voice sounded resigned, and I began to walk out, turning my back to them as I left the warehouse without saying another word to them.
I didn't like the Necromancers. They were annoying, but they seemed to at least have a strong force inside the city. I didn't know what they had planned, but I suspected that it was a very stupid one. They were also very concrete on the plan for some reason. Maybe because they needed some condition to be fulfilled, or maybe it was something else.
It didn't matter as I walked out into the streets and jumped up onto the rooftops.
I moved around the city, ensuring I wasn't being followed before I went to the Gang hideout. The Necromancers didn't follow me at all, taking the deal. I sat down in the meeting room to think not long after I entered. Minutes later, Cassandra came in with Carl following her as I thought about my plans.
"Things have changed with the Necromancer guild, Cassandra," I said suddenly to them, "Give them two days of bodies from the graveyard and bring the price back to the previous price. Next, I have something minor for you to take care of, but I want it done discreetly. There is a little girl, Zee," I began, "Zee is going to be the manager of the legitimate side of the businesses in the Empire while you will control the illegal business here in the Empire. The problem is that her sister is being sexually abused by one of her classmates." I removed my hood, and I looked at her. "Deal with it so that it never happens again. Then make sure none of her siblings or mother get killed. I want her to concentrate on work, not family."
"Understood, Mistress," Cassandra said, and I nodded.
"Good," I said, "Next, you will become the go-between of emergency information between the necromancer guild and myself. I bought two weeks to complete the plan. If not, I am scrapping the plan as I no longer want to be in this city. But the Necromancer guild is willing to hold back for that time period. That means that everything we have can move according to plans."
"That is good to hear, Mistress," Cassandra said.
"That is all this time. I want that extra duty again done as discreetly as possible without it coming back to the gang if possible. If not, try to make it look like a random mugging or murder. I do not want to have any more problems." I stood before turning to her again, "Also, make sure that the Necromancer's guild likes us more. Think of something, and if you cannot think of something, forget about it."
"Yes, Mistress," Cassandra said, and I could see a smile on her face.
I left without looking back any longer, wondering how I could set up my backup plan using the Necromancers guild.