Cornflower Witch

Chapter 409 The Shadow of the Fire Pig
——Scallion Street Underground——

“Your Majesty, our poison has indeed taken effect. Otherwise, ‘Four Fingers’ wouldn’t be causing trouble so frantically while he’s hiding away. This is completely out of character for him.”

In the dimly lit underground room, a figure with a thick bird's beak reported to a fire pig sitting on a wide stone seat.

"Heh, it worked, but the other guy isn't dead, otherwise his gang would have scattered long ago." The huge, fiery red wild boar, sitting on a stone chair, shook its fat and thick tusks, emitting a deep, thunderous sound.

"I've long felt that these roundabout tricks are useless." He was in a bad mood. Although Four Fingers was poisoned and unable to move, the orders he gave had kept Fire Pig in a state of chaos for nearly a month.

It had been a long time since anyone had dared to reprimand him like that, but recently he had experienced that feeling again, a feeling he had forgotten for so long, just as unpleasant as he remembered.

"During this period, tell them to keep a close eye on things and not cause any more trouble. Not only us, but also the Four Fingers are being watched closely. If they make any more small moves, we'll start a fight and then blame the other side."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

After saying this, the fire pig leaned back in the stone chair, calmed down for a while, and then opened its eyes to continue asking questions.

"How's the situation with the Fox family?"

“We have bribed some of the Fox family’s servants, but these people are not well-educated and know nothing about the Fox family’s history. They do odd jobs every day.”

“If you really want to know some of the secrets of the Fox family, you might have to find their personal maids or butlers. But bribing these people would easily disturb them, and since they are mostly master and servants for generations, it would be very difficult for outsiders to infiltrate,” the old man with the bird-beak explained in a hoarse voice.

"The Fox family is quite a large family, with generations of servants protecting them, making it very difficult for outsiders to get in." Fire Pig was unusually calm this time.

"It's just a possibility. Their family may not even still possess any treasures with the 'Dragon Eye' attribute."

"Unfortunately, I don't have any suitable allies in the circles of the higher academy, and none of the orc races I'm familiar with are cut out to be mages."

"Before you came, I sought out a down-on-his-luck academy mage. He looked down on orcs like me, but fortunately, he was in dire straits at the time, which gave me the opportunity to sponsor and help him. That's how that mage came up with a plan for me."

"The 'feast' I've been looking forward to was also organized by him. In the end, he told me that treasures with the 'Dragon Eye' attribute are rare and hard to come by. If I really wanted to find them, the most likely candidates in the Mage Alliance would be the 'Origin Hourglass' and the 'Bionic School,' both of which have research projects on ancient creatures and have achieved remarkable results."

"But given my status, I certainly can't go to those prestigious academies, and I don't have anything that would earn the respect of those noble mages, so I can only keep waiting for an opportunity."

"Over the past ten years, I have accumulated quite a few fourth-tier treasures of 'Blood Law' and 'Beast Fang'. These are my most valuable treasures. Unfortunately, even so, without any treasures of the same tier with the 'Dragon Eye' attribute, they can only be carefully locked in the cabinet." Fire Pig said slowly. He would never have talked about these secrets before, but today his mindset seemed to have changed.

Sensing this unusual state, the old man with the bird-like beak beside him did not speak casually, but listened silently.

"Old man, you don't have much time left, do you? I see the edges of your beak are all worn away."

Upon hearing this, the old man with the bird-beak nodded wistfully.

"Your Majesty is right, but my wisdom remains, and I can still serve you."

"Hehe." Fire Pig didn't comment on this and continued to express his thoughts.

“I wasn’t in a hurry at first, and I’ve even become a bit lax in recent years, but recent events have made me realize once again that only by advancing can I live to see the next decade.” After saying this, the fire pig, with its large tusks, let out a mocking laugh. “Pigs grow up to be slaughtered, and I can already see the impatience that those officials have for me.”

"Dislike? Hatred? None of these. They just ignore us as usual, like a rag in the toilet, something they never think of unless they need it."

"If we continue to be ignored by them like this, it's actually a good thing, so that both sides can live in peace."

“But now they’re starting to get annoyed with me and think I’m in their way. Although I know they haven’t made any plans yet, once that thought takes hold, it will spread like a small flame.”

"First, they impatiently blocked all kinds of applications from my subordinates. Then, after some conflicts, they stopped showing favoritism towards us. Next, they kept finding small problems and mistakes to reprimand us, keeping us running around like crazy. Finally, seeing me going crazy in my anxiety, they suddenly took action, eliminated me, and replaced me with a new leader they liked." Fire Pig looked at the dim firelight in the room and murmured about what would happen in the future.

"No matter how powerful a chieftain is, he is nothing more than a dirty rag in their eyes. But if it weren't for us doing the dirty work, they would have to get their hands dirty with oil and grease."

After saying this, the fire pig lifted the wooden board at its feet, grabbed a smoked pig leg from it with its thick fingers, put it in its mouth, and tore off large chunks of light pink smoked meat and fat.

He chewed deeply, the sound echoing clearly throughout the room.

Two minutes later, he threw down the clean bone he had been gnawing on and tossed it aside.

"It's so delicious..." The tone of this sentence conveyed both a sense of relief and a feeling of nostalgia.

"I like the feeling of having my stomach full." He leaned back in the stone seat, his eyes slightly closed.

"If you had seen your brothers starve to death in front of you when you were a child, you would have the same feelings and preferences as me."

“Your Majesty…” the old man lowered his head.

“At first, I came to the Asura district just to fill my stomach. I never thought that more than ten years later, I would become a ‘chief’ and have a large group of people who obey me.”

"It tastes delicious, and I've been enjoying it."

"Until now, I've finally gotten a little tired of it. It's like children playing house; once you grow up, it's hard to get into it anymore."

"Those who lack sufficient power are not entitled to freedom. I have already eaten my fill, and it's time for me to think about other things."

“Old man, among my men, even though you are old and not very smart, you are still one of the few who can talk to me.”

"The other guys are just like pigs, hard to teach and can only be trained."

"Let's think of another way to get the 'Dragon Eye' treasure. Not only will I be able to get out of here alive, but you will also be able to regain your powerful physique from your youth and fly across the sea of ​​clouds again to return to your hometown."

"Alas, Your Majesty," the old man with the bird-beak sighed and kowtowed.

“I will go and find that rare ‘Dragon Eye’ treasure.”

(End of this chapter)