The light in the long and narrow underground passage is very dim. There is a torch stand every few hundred meters on the stone walls on both sides for lighting. And because the underground air is very humid, the light emitted by these torches seems to be bright and dim.
The yellow light shines through the fog condensed by moisture, rendering the entire underground passage like a dark passage leading to the realm of the dead.
Any normal person would inevitably feel frightened when walking through this passage, especially since the air in the passage still has a slight stale smell.
But the four men in black robes turned a blind eye to all this, and they walked quickly through the dim light and lingering wet fog without caring.
After walking for about ten minutes, the leader in black robe stopped.
But at this time, the passage in front of them has not yet ended.
"Is this here?"
"Yes, Lord Priest, I have counted, and this is exactly between the twenty-fifth and the twenty-fourth..."
"Um."
The man in black robes known as the "Priest" nodded slightly, then turned towards the wall aside, stretched out a hand with a red metal glove from under his cloak, and knocked on the wall in a strange rhythm.
Five times.
When he finished knocking for the fifth time, there was a sudden click in the center of the stone wall, as a mechanism was activated, and then an area about a person's height in the middle of the stone wall sunk in and slowly moved to the side...
..
Click click click......
After a few seconds, the door on the stone wall opened completely, revealing another space inside...
The five men in black robes quickly filed in. After they all entered the door, the door made a crisp sound again, and then returned to its original state...
"Welcome, my friends!"
Five men in black robes stood in a rather spacious and gorgeous hall. In front of them, Mason Margery, the contemporary head of the Margery family, was greeting them with a cheerful expression on his face.
There are a lot of coins and jewelry piled in every corner of this hall. In addition, there are some food that has been processed in a special way and will not spoil after being left for a long time, neatly stacked aside.
Obviously, this should be a refuge for the Margery family.
However, the few men in black robes would certainly not be so stupid as to think that this refuge was the only refuge for the Margery family.
Regarding the old fox named Mason Margery in front of them, they had to investigate a lot before they decided to come to him for cooperation.
"Hearing is better than seeing. You are truly worthy of your reputation, Master Mason. You actually brought us to such a secret location to meet. Judging from the distance we just walked, I'm afraid we are no longer in Margery Manor now, right?"
The leading priest stepped forward and pulled down his hood, revealing a face wearing half a golden mask.
"Rewards, awards, you are as cautious as the rumors say, but you are still unwilling to reveal your true identity even when you are here. Do you think you can't trust me, the Margery family?"
Faced with the hidden subtlety in the priest's words, Mason did not fall for it easily, but threw the question back again within a few sentences.
"Anyone who belongs to my religion is not allowed to reveal his true face to others easily. This is true even for the members of the church. Sir Mason, please understand."
Seeing that Mason was not easy to deal with, the priest stopped playing this kind of word game with him, and responded with a straightforward apology, which meant: Let's let this matter go and let's talk about business.
"I understand, I understand, naturally. Since it is your canon, I will certainly not force it."
Mason nodded with a smile, looking like a good old man who could discuss everything easily.
But he didn't talk about the formality of today's meeting first. He obviously wanted the other party to speak first so that he could take the initiative in the negotiation.
This approach is a habit that Mason has developed after being involved in politics and business for so long.
During a negotiation, the party that makes the first offer will immediately be constrained by the other party, because they first give information that can be used for the opponent's judgment.
But Mason forgot that what he was facing now was not his political opponents or business rivals.
Since all the Margery family's previous large-scale cooperation with professionals were directly negotiated by Ron Margery, the legendary ancestor, Mason actually had no experience in facing this kind of negotiating opponent.
He did not know that in this kind of dialogue, especially when the background of the other party in the dialogue is obviously shady, the initiative in the negotiation will never be changed by which party first raises the conditions.
The party with the biggest fist will always lead the negotiation!
The Margery family has lost its strongest member, and they are a business family with few capable professionals.
Therefore, in this conversation, the initiative was actually destined from the beginning not to fall into Mason's hands.
Therefore, the priest with the golden mask did not even want to talk to the fat old guy in front of him, and laid out his conditions very straightforwardly.
"For the Harvest Festival half a month later, you, the Margery family, are responsible for finding ways to mobilize the guards on the northern city wall, and provide money to make the Harvest Festival grander, preferably to attract everyone's attention."
Faced with such a straightforward "negotiation condition" that was almost like an order, the head of the Margery family was stunned for a moment, and then his face gradually turned red with anger.
"This is unreasonable. Our Margery family is not your vassal or subordinate. How dare you speak to me in such a commanding tone?!"
"...It seems that 'Sir' Mason still doesn't understand his current situation..."
The priest wearing a golden mask spoke in a cold tone while slowly approaching Mason.
"There are currently seven professionals in the Margery family who are above level 40, four who are above level 50, two who are above level 60, and one who is above level 70, and they are all hired from outside.
None of the guards are members of their own family.
Among these guys, the only one who poses a slight threat to the three of us is the level 70 professional, but as long as the three of us join forces, it is not difficult to get rid of him instantly..."
"You...you..." The cold sweat on Mason's forehead suddenly started to pour out like spring water. It was not until this moment that he truly realized that in the world of professionals, fists are far more important than power.
Much easier to use.
"Oh! Also, if you are worried that your death may cause any trouble for us, you don't have to worry about it...because..."
The priest suddenly reached out to a companion in black robe behind him, and saw the man in black robe suddenly let out a ferocious laugh, and then his body twisted. After the distortion ended, his body shape and appearance had turned into another "Mason"
Margery”!
Seeing this scene, the head of the Margery family suddenly took a breath, and then his face became extremely gloomy.
He knew that he no longer had any cards in his hand that he could play.
Only by cooperating with each other honestly can we preserve the continuation of our family.