After changing into clean clothes, Noah followed Victor Blackthorn and his group down the mountain to the Blackthorn family in Willowbrook Town.
In Willowbrook Town, Edmund Blackthorn, the current head of the Blackthorn family, was initially overjoyed to see the grain escorted back by Victor Blackthorn. However, when he learned about the events at the Crimson Vultures and Sinbad's threat demanding fifteen gold bars, his joy turned into frustration.
At that moment, Edmund Blackthorn wanted to seek help from Lucius Blackthorn, who was far away in Lionheart City, the capital of Fierce Lion Province, to send troops to suppress and eliminate this group of greedy bandits from the northern snowfields. However, they didn't know that even though Lucius Blackthorn was a governor, he didn't have substantial military power and could only mobilize a few private soldiers from the governor's mansion.
In the Great Latium Imperium, a governor was responsible for the administrative power within a province and the personnel rights of officials below the city level but did not have the power to recruit or deploy troops. As for Magnus Valorion, he recruited and trained soldiers under the guise of an ordinary town mayor. If the Emperor of the Great Latium Imperium found out, it would inevitably lead to the official army's siege. But the problem was that the Emperor neither knew nor cared about these things.
Since Green River Town was invaded and plundered by barbarians, the central government had essentially abandoned this barren land. The people of Green River Town were considered expendable, and Magnus Valorion, as the town's mayor and sheriff, opened the granaries to provide relief for the destitute people, built new city walls and houses, and won the people's hearts, naturally gaining all the power.
Moreover, Magnus Valorion's soldiers were provided with food, clothing, and supplies by him. These soldiers and the townspeople had no one else to listen to but Magnus Valorion.
In the Blackthorn family's study, Edmund Blackthorn, in a fit of rage, smashed his favorite purple gemstone bracelet while Victor Blackthorn knelt beside him, not daring to speak. If Edmund Blackthorn hadn't questioned the porters and his nephew who went up the mountain with Victor, he would have thought that Victor had colluded with the bandits of the Crimson Vultures to plot against his family's property.
"How dare they extort our Blackthorn family? I must..."
"No, I can't be angry. Anger will cloud my judgment." Edmund Blackthorn muttered to himself. Victor Blackthorn, trembling with fear, kept his head down, not daring to breathe. The idea of colluding with the Crimson Vultures to rob Magnus Valorion's grain store was Edmund Blackthorn's own.
Now, although they had seized the grain, they had also gotten themselves into trouble. Ultimately, the responsibility fell on Edmund Blackthorn himself. Suddenly, a bold idea popped into Edmund Blackthorn's mind.
"Victor, do you think Sinbad could be a man from Magnus Valorion's grain store?"
Victor thought for a moment and then expressed his judgment.
"Clan Leader, if Sinbad is really a thug from Magnus Valorion's grain store, then Magnus Valorion's backing is too strong! Ruthless and decisive, he killed all three hundred people in the Crimson Vultures without hesitation."
"But I've heard that John Falstaff, the manager of Magnus Valorion's grain store, has already closed the shop and is preparing to leave Willowbrook Town. So, the new leader of the Crimson Vultures, Sinbad, is probably not from the grain store."
Edmund nodded, agreeing with Victor's assessment, and then sighed deeply, "I can't believe someone would travel all the way from the northern snowfields to the Crimson Vultures just for a dog's life and kill everyone."
But the facts were right before him, making it hard to believe. This time, Edmund's nephew, Arthur Blackthorn, had gone up the mountain with Victor, hoping to gain some experience by interacting with the bandits. However, Arthur came back terrified, lost his mind, and kept running around in wet clothes, muttering, "Don't hurt the dog."
"Clan Leader, what about the fifteen gold bars..." Victor asked cautiously.
"Now, we have no choice. Sinbad dares to come to our door, showing he is not afraid of us. We should not provoke such desperados."
"We should part with some money to avoid disaster!" Edmund said helplessly.
This time, Magnus Valorion, disguised as Sinbad, extorted fifteen gold bars from the Blackthorn family, causing Edmund great pain. However, with Magnus Valorion's grain store closed, the grain prices in Willowbrook Town were now controlled by the Blackthorn family. Without Magnus Valorion's intervention, the Blackthorn family could raise grain prices and recover the loss.
In the Blackthorn family's reception hall, Noah had already had two cups of tea. After Victor went to report the gold bar issue to the clan leader, he didn't come out. Before coming here, Magnus Valorion had instructed Noah to come back quickly, saying that even if he couldn't get the gold bars, finding the Blackthorn family's residence was enough. After all, the poisoned grain had already been delivered. Once the Blackthorn family ate it, Magnus Valorion could come and collect their bodies, thus settling the score.
Just as Noah was about to smash his tea cup and pretend to leave in anger, Victor appeared with a middle-aged man in his forties or fifties.
"Ah, this must be Mr. Luigi Vampa from the Crimson Vultures! What a young hero!" Edmund Blackthorn greeted Noah with a smiling face.
Noah sneered internally, thinking, "This old man, I have a face full of wrinkles, and he calls me young. If you can't compliment someone, just keep quiet."
Noah cut to the chase and asked about the gold bars.
"I say, what about the gold bars your Blackthorn family owes our leader?"
"If you can't repay, then I won't waste my time here."
Noah pretended to get up and leave.
Edmund quickly grabbed Noah and said, "Mr. Vampa, no need to hurry. We will pay the money."
Edmund clapped his hands, and a beautiful young woman came out holding a redwood box. The woman had a voluptuous figure, and her every step made her chest bounce, drawing eyes to her bosom. She was wearing a thin, sheer dress that revealed her graceful curves. As she approached Noah, a fragrant scent filled the air.
For a moment, Noah was indeed dazed. But then, Magnus Valorion's teachings from night school flashed in his mind—the term "sweet trap."
"Right, right, the Blackthorn family must be using a sweet trap to extract our information!" Realizing this, Noah snapped out of it.
Noah quickly snatched the redwood box from the woman, confirmed the fifteen gold bars inside, and was about to leave. But Edmund grabbed him again, saying, "Sir, you must be tired from coming down the mountain. We've prepared some wine; please stay and have a drink."
Edmund wanted to get Noah drunk and extract information from him to gauge Sinbad's strength. But Noah, who had been educated by Magnus Valorion's strict discipline, refused Edmund's invitation and walked out without hesitation. Edmund's attempt to use beauty and wine to tempt Noah had failed, leaving Edmund puzzled about the true nature of these new bandits from the Crimson Vultures.