[T.L: punisher87]
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Jin collected the money and handed it over to the Watertail tribe. The members of the Red Tiger tribe were unable to witness this scene as they ran away with their tails between their legs.
"Thank you, thank you, human!"
As soon as they arrived at the bustling market, the members of the Watertail tribe who had been with Jin explained the situation to their fellow tribe members, and the representative Dark Flame and Blazing Rock expressed their gratitude.
"Rest for the day and then leave, human. The Watertail tribe knows how to throw a fiery party."
"Sorry, I have to leave in a hurry. See you next time."
"At least, eat this before you go!"
The Watertail tribe quickly grilled twenty fish. The deliciously cooked fish disappeared as quickly as if they were trying to hide their eyes.
"Oh, right. Dark Flame, can you dye my hair?"
"Why do you suddenly want to dye your hair?"
"I need to."
"We can't do it ourselves. Wait a moment, let me see. We'll bring in a Gold Snow Tribe dye master."
The Gold Snow Tribe dye master arrived through a secret passage in the general store.
"Oh, human. Our dyeing technique is so advanced that it's a bit expensive. It's not comparable to the shoddy coloring games that humans play. Prices start at this level...."
As the Gold Snow Tribe was about to put a price tag on Jin, Dark Flame and the members of the Watertail tribe intervened. When they told the Gold Snow Tribe about Jin's feat of making the Red Tiger tribe surrender, the Gold Snow Tribe smirked.
"If that's the case, we can do it for free. Oh, I wish I could have seen those trashy guys grovel with my own eyes!"
The dyeing was finished quickly.
After bidding farewell to them, Jin used the secret passage again to leave the land of the aquatic tribes, just as he had arrived.
***
On the last day of May 1797, in the afternoon, Jin arrived at a southern island of the feudal state of Bellado.
'This place is still the same.'
This unnamed island is a land that has become a playground for pirates as it vaguely borders the waters of the feudal state of Bellado.
This is the place that Jin sought out to participate in the Cosmo's arena competition. Even in broad daylight, the streets were filled with drug addicts, beggars, and nobles gone mad with gambling, creating a chaotic scene.
"Hehehe!"
A disheveled man who looked like a drug addict and a homeless person was lurking near Jin, letting out a strange laughter. These beggars were common in the harbor, usually mercenaries who lost a lot after participating in the arena.
However, this man who seemed to be laughing hysterically was someone Jin knew well. So Jin couldn't help feeling both happy and sad to see him.
'Jet... he's crazy.'
Jet.
He came here about two months ago and blended in with the beggars in the harbor.
It was to serve as a secret contact. He was so versatile that it was hard to tell if he was a beggar if you didn't look closely.
"Hehehe! Hey, sir, spare me a penny! Hehehe!"
Jet pushed aside the other beggars and approached with a bag.
There was a note inside the bag.
(Are you doing well, Bill? Three planks under the bed in room 203 at the Sparrow Inn.)
After checking the note and Jin donated some coins, the beggars behind Jet cheered. Wow!
"Hehehe! You'll be blessed!"
When Jet stepped back, the other beggars ran after him like a pack of wolves. It seemed like he was doing well as the king of beggars.
'I'm glad I recruited him. We had a rough relationship in our past life.'
Jin chuckled and headed to the Sparrow Inn.
The owner, who was dozing off on the chair, clapped his hands when the door opened.
"I don't have a room. Go somewhere else."
"How have you been, Bill?"
Then the owner gave him the key to Room 203.
As soon as he entered the room, Jin pushed the bed aside and pulled off a board with three nails in it. Underneath the board, there was a thin red wooden board and a letter wedged inside.
(My lord, it's been a while. The other comrades arrived about a month to two weeks ago and took a place in different inns.
Everyone is safe, and enemy has no idea that we are onto them.
Here's the information that we've gathered so far.
Kinzelo's forces consist of Anz's Grandmaster Chukon Tolderer, five suspected 8-star mages, and five suspected high-ranking White Wolf warriors.
There may also be other skilled assassins, snipers, and operatives in disguise that we can't exclude the possibility of.
We don't have any information about Zipfel's forces. They're likely to reveal themselves on the day of the operation. However, there's a high chance that, like Kinzelo, there are already skilled operatives in place.
The operation is scheduled for June 1st at 10 PM, and there have been no changes. The location is also the same, the gambling den in the abandoned mansion in the north of the island. The red wooden board enclosed is the entry ticket to the den.
The escape route after the operation is also the same for options 1, 2, and 3.
The address of the inn where our comrades are staying is written on the back of this letter.
Oh, and Lady Syris of hidden palace will be joining the operation with the consent of Sir Kashmir and Lord Murakan. As someone with experience in espionage, assassination, and guerrilla warfare, she will be a great help.
This is the last message I'll be delivering to you, Lord. I'm heading back to Tikan today. I will inform Gilly about your safe return. Good luck, my lord!)
All of the comrades were staying in different inns, just in case they looked suspicious to the groups of Zipfel and Kinzelo.
'A 9-star mage and five 8-star mages, and five elite White Wolf tribe warriors....'
It was a force that could easily overturn any kingdom.
'Zipfel will definitely bring at least this much power. By tomorrow night, the dirty and messy playground of the pirates will become the battlefield of the stars.'
Enemies exceeded the power that Jin and his comrades had anticipated six months ago.
Therefore, a full-scale war was out of the question. Although their power had grown stronger, it was still not enough to handle all of them.
However, if Jin and his comrades power had not grown stronger, they would have had to seriously reconsider the plan.
Whether to execute the operation or to withdraw was entirely up to Jin's decision. They had agreed six months ago that if Jin did not reveal himself at the casino, they would quietly return.
Of course, Jin had no intention of retreating.
'Bringing in people like this means that the compass is just as important. I will definitely take it with me.'
Since the operation was going to be carried out guerrilla-style, there would be no need to engage in a full-scale battle with them.
Even if a full-scale battle were to take place, there might be something worth fighting for. If 8- and 9-star mages and White Wolf warriors fired off all kinds of magic and techniques, this small island could crumble in an instant.
Everyone would die, not just the island. All the ships would be destroyed, and a whirlpool would form in the middle of the sea, just as Luna wiped out the Vermont Island with a single blow of her sword.
'Furthermore, if the fight escalates, Runcandel and Vermont will also catch the scent, which is what Kinzelo and Zipfel are most concerned about.'
Runcandel and Vermont still did not clearly realize the existence of the compass. If they did, both of the giant forces' people should already have been firmly established on this island.
Jin quietly cleaned his two swords.
Bradamante and Sigmund.
***
The next day, at six o'clock in the evening on an early June day.
Jin found the gambling den in the abandoned mansion on the north side of Island. He looked like a typical rogue nobleman, who had money to spend and loved to show off, with his hair dyed in a rich golden color by the product of Gold snow tribe, flashy clothes, and heavy makeup accentuating his waist with two swords.
'I wonder why they're doing this, even though makeup has been a trend in noble social circles for quite some time now.'
Jin felt stuffy due to the thickly applied powder and color blocking his pores. His face reflected in the mirror looked almost like a woman's, but with pronounced physique his pretty face looked strange. It was the power of the Gold snow tribe's special cosmetics.
-You seem to need some kind of disguise. My friend, you look very handsome, but if you puts on too much makeup, you looks like a woman. How about going all out woman disguise, not just dyeing your hair? No one will recognize you!
-I'm not comfortable with it.
-Anyway, makeup is a must! Our merchandise is different from human technology, so if you apply it roughly, it looks like convincing. Put this on your cheeks, put this on your lips, put this on your forehead, put this on your neck.
While Jin felt awkward about his appearance, the people gathered in the gambling den, regardless of gender, were busy staring at him.
'I've never seen such a pretty gambler before. I want to hang out with him tonight, lend him money if he's feeling down, etc....'
The explicit voices were disturbing Jin's ears. Although he had been recognized by his face quite a lot, it had been a long time since it had become so noisy. Even men with free tastes were openly expressing their interest.
"I haven't seen your face before, but the seedy gambling den feels much livelier since you came in. Nice to meet you, I'm Julia."
However, the murmur ceased in an instant as a black-haired woman approached. Julia was a woman who had appeared two weeks ago and had become famous in the gambling den overnight.
At first, Jin didn't recognize her. It wasn't as much as Bubare's sculpting skills, but the masks made in the Hidden Palace were also great.
In that way, all the companions were wearing the face masks of the Hidden Palace. Except for Murakan, who is cradled in Syris' arms, transformed into butterfly.
"This place is known for its marble game, young master. It's a specialty here. You probably don't know the rules, but I could teach you if you'd like."
Jin gently pushed her away.
"No, it's okay."
"Well, if you don't like it, there's nothing I can do about it. But if you go to the marble game table without knowing anything, you'll get ripped off, so stick to something you're familiar with, like even-odd or dice. If you think of me while you're playing, come over to the marble game table."
She meant for Jin to take a look and come back later. His companions were gathered at the marble game table, while Zipfel and Kinzelo's factions were disguised among the even-odd and dice tables.
"Let's do that."
"Make sure to come back before it's too late, it's almost night."
To the people gathered at the gambling table, Julia sounded like an trickster who was playing tricks on Jin.
After Julia left, people who were really throwing down gathered around Jin. Jin lightly brushed them off and roamed around the even-odd and dice tables, keeping an eye on the enemies one by one.
'Kinzelo is one thing, but those Zipfel guys are really cunning. Who would know that the mages of Zipfel, who are proud enough to pierce the sky, would disguise themselves as gamblers and wait here.'
As expected, all of Zipfel's mages seemed to be first-class. Just as Jin was looking for any familiar faces, two men in robes turned and looked in Jin's direction.
They were nearly three meters tall. Clearly, they were not ordinary people.
They were white wolf warriors.
As if they sensed something strange, they looked at Jin and then stood up from their chairs and approached him.
"Hey, you. Can we talk for a moment?"
It was because of the aura of the Plutonian tribe.
'Even though I'm hiding as much as possible, did they sense it?'
Jin replied as he looked at them.
"Wow, aren't you from the White wolf tribe? I didn't expect to see you here at the gambling den!"