British hegemon

Chapter 137 Arson and Murder

Eight days after the new Scottish king ascended the throne, the news spread throughout Glasgow.

A grand and elaborate banquet is being held at the town hall near Glasgow Cathedral.

Of course, this banquet was not to celebrate the new king's accession to the throne; the main character of the banquet was a young knight from the Sea of ​​Clyde.

With the help of Lilmont, the undersecretary of the Glasgow Chamber of Commerce, almost all the prominent figures in Glasgow, from the Archdeacon, the treasurer, and the councilors to the merchants and officials of some standing in the city, appeared at the banquet, totaling more than sixty people.

The host prepared a pig, six sheep, fifteen barrels of beer and wine, as well as countless loaves of bread, cheese, honey, smoked fish, and all sorts of fruits and vegetables for this feast.

A large hotel in the city was hired to provide banquet services, and the entire banquet cost fifteen pounds, with the rent for the town hall alone amounting to two pounds.

Amidst the clinking of glasses, the guests praised the young knight from the isolated island for his generosity while secretly mocking his overestimation of his abilities.

Roger certainly made a name for himself in Glasgow.

However, the head of the Glasgow Chamber of Commerce was nowhere to be seen in the bustling banquet hall.

It wasn't that Roger was being disrespectful to this business leader; rather, the man had repeatedly refused Roger's offer of help.

Near a secluded mansion in a wealthy area in the north of the city, a figure with a black cloth covering his face groped forward in the shadows cast by the waning moon, approaching a warehouse piled high with wool.

Across the street, on the outer wall of a mansion, four identically dressed figures huddled against the wall. The leader was preparing a rope with an iron hook, adjusting the short sword and dagger that were clattering softly at his waist, and whispered to the person who had approached from behind, "Is the warehouse on fire?"

The man behind him lowered his crossbow, took two steps back, glanced at the warehouse across the courtyard, and said, "Ponytail, the fire hasn't been lit yet."

The man in the lead turned and glared fiercely at the person who answered, muttering, "If you dare call my name again, I'll stab you to death, you menace!"

The man in black holding the crossbow quickly changed his tune, "Manager, the fire hasn't been lit yet."

"Is that bastard Blackie any good?" the man in the lead muttered to himself.

Before the words were even finished, a wisp of smoke slowly rose from the warehouse, followed by a burst of flame.

"Fire! Fire! Come out and put out the fire!" A series of screams shattered the tranquility of the wealthy neighborhood.

Another round of heart-wrenching cries for help erupted, and the mansion inside the courtyard walls finally became agitated. The tightly closed gate creaked open, and two men who looked like guards came out. After glancing at the scene, they immediately ran back into the courtyard and shouted for help to put out the fire.

Panic, chaos, and noise filled the mansion and surrounding residences, waking everyone up as people rushed towards the wool warehouse, its fire raging ever larger, carrying buckets and basins of water.

In the midst of the chaos, no one noticed the four dark figures swiftly leaping across the other side of the wall.

"You bunch of bastards, hurry up and put out the fire! That's the master's precious darling! Go, all of you!" On the terrace of the three-story main building behind the second courtyard of the mansion, the Glasgow Chamber of Commerce head, his mustache trembling with anxiety, jumped up and down, shouting at all the servants in the house to hurry up and put out the fire.

He was the owner of that warehouse, which was half full of wool that had not yet been bundled, worth at least forty or fifty pounds.

Seven or eight servants, along with two mansion guards, were all scolded and sent to put out the fire, leaving only the bearded leader and his old wife and young children in the empty main building.

The already raging fire intensified under the fuel of wool soaked in grease. As the flames rose higher and higher over the warehouse, the man with the mustache cursed and berated the firefighters for not risking their lives.

He heard several clattering sounds behind him. Turning around, he saw three blurry figures inside the house and yelled, "Why aren't you putting out the fire?! What are you doing back here?!"

He was about to go inside and chase the person away.

The moment I stepped into the room, I caught a glimpse of a man dressed in black with a black mask, repeatedly stabbing a woman on the ground with a sword.

"My God, what are you doing?" The man with the mustache was stunned and instinctively tried to stop the man from stabbing him.

Before he could take a step, he was suddenly struck hard in the lower abdomen. Looking down, he saw that a crossbow bolt was stuck in his abdomen.

Before he could react, the shadowy figure that had pressed up to him had already plunged a dagger into his abdomen. The large, rough hand at the end of the dagger was still slowly stirring. The man with the mustache instinctively raised his hand and grabbed the stirring dagger handle.

"You...you guys..." The man with the mustache was filled with surprise and doubt, which quickly turned into terror. Before he could utter a complete sentence, another short sword was thrust from behind, this time piercing straight into his heart.

Earl, with his ponytail, pulled out the dagger that had been embedded in the abdomen and then slashed the neck of the limp body with deadly force, severing the throat and blood vessels, causing frothy blood to gush out.

Without even wiping away the bloodstains, he immediately stood up and growled at the two people in the room, "Quickly search for valuables, take them, and get out of here."

Donald and his henchman Tok immediately put away their bows and crossbows and short swords, bypassed the two slightly convulsing bodies lying in pools of blood, and ransacked the place.

Meanwhile, Earl with the ponytail glanced at the two dying bodies on the ground, hardened his heart, and stabbed them a few more times. He then casually tore off the ring from the middle finger of the man with the mustache's right hand.

The sound of footsteps on the stairs echoed.

The three men who were searching for money in the house were so frightened that they immediately stopped what they were doing, grabbed their weapons, and rushed to the spiral staircase of the main building.

Connor came up, carrying a crossbow in one hand and a four- or five-year-old boy in the other. The boy was so frightened that he couldn't speak.

He angrily scolded, "How could you leave one out? It was so dangerous!"

The men looked at each other in bewilderment. They had been so focused on assassinating the man with the mustache and his wife that they hadn't paid any attention to the child. Luckily, one of them had stayed downstairs to keep watch and provide cover.

"What should we do? Kill him or not?" Connor asked Earl with the ponytail, holding the chick-like child in his arms.

Earl with the ponytail was originally tasked with assassinating the head of the Glasgow Chamber of Commerce tonight, but he was only able to kill him because he was discovered by the woman in the room first.

"Well... the master didn't say to kill them all." Earl, with her ponytail, was troubled, holding the blood-dripping dagger.

With a clatter, the money bag containing gold and silver coins fell to the ground.

Without a word, the henchman carrying the money raised his sword, walked up to Connor, and stabbed the little boy in the stomach.

With a soft thud, the short sword went in through his chest and out through his back, piercing him through completely.

The henchman tossed the boy aside and quietly watched Earl with the ponytail, who was in charge of directing the operation.

"Fine, let's just kill him and not leave any future trouble." Earl with the ponytail went over and pulled out a short sword to wipe the corpse's clothes clean.

"Get out of here quickly." Earl with the ponytail picked up the money bag left behind by the henchman, and then took out a piece of parchment with blood-red characters written on it from his pocket and threw it into the pool of blood.

Blood gradually seeped onto the parchment, and the flames roaring outside illuminated it, revealing a faint line of Gaelic signature that translated to "The Avenger, William Wallace".

William Wallace's ghost has been resurrected, and the head of the Chamber of Commerce has been brutally murdered in his home.

An atmosphere of terror enveloped Glasgow's wealthy district, for the parchment floating in a pool of blood clearly stated that all Soviet collaborators who colluded with the English would be punished.

How many of the men living in this affluent area haven't had ties to the English? Everyone's on edge.

The following afternoon, when Roger, still reeking of alcohol, led Kader and the others to Lilmont's mansion, the unremarkable mansion was already filled with young and strong guards hired on temporary assignment.

Lilmont, wearing an oversized short-sleeved chainmail that he'd somehow acquired, looked at the young knight sitting opposite him with a worried expression. "Sir Roger," he said, "the city is under heavy guard, the sky is falling, and you still dare to wander around? You'd better hurry back to your island before things get chaotic, or disaster is about to strike."

Roger, on the other hand, looked relaxed, picked up his glass, and sniffed it. "Mr. Learmont, do you also believe that Wallace, who was chopped into pieces, has been resurrected?"

"Even if it wasn't Wallace, it was still a remnant of his rebel forces. Didn't you hear? Wallace's name was on the blood oath." After saying this, Lilmont's fat face trembled with disgust, and his right hand kept making the sign of the cross in front of his chest.

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As I bowed my head in prayer, I heard the young jazz musician across from me chuckle softly.

"Sir Roger, what brings you here?"

Roger said slowly, "Mr. Deputy Minister, I have a very valuable gift for you."

Lilmont looked on with suspicion.

Roger glanced at the servants attending to him in the room, and Lilmont waved them away.

Roger also sent Kader and the black dog Sigurd away.

Once only Roger and Lilmont were left in the room, Roger slowly got up and walked over to Lilmont. He took Lilmont's right hand with his left hand and placed a gold ring in his plump palm.

"What is this?!" Lilmon leaned closer to take a look and saw that the golden ring was still stained with blood. He was so frightened that he threw it away.

"This...this is the leader's authority ring. How did it end up with you?"

A moment later, "Could it be you~" Lemon's voice stopped abruptly, and a layer of fine sweat appeared on his forehead.

Roger bent down, picked up the ring, and placed it on the wooden table next to Lilmont. "The city hall and the sheriff have already announced the murderer. Mr. Lilmont, don't talk nonsense. I was drinking in the city hall all night."

Lilmon felt his mouth was dry and got up to call for help.

Roger raised his hand in a shushing gesture. "If someone sees this ring at your mansion, you probably won't escape responsibility, will you?"

"Are you crazy? What are you trying to do?" Lilmon desperately suppressed his fearful rage.

"What do I want to do? I just want this ring to be worn on the hand of a good friend."

Liermen's mouth watered, and his tension and fear gradually subsided.

Lilmont asked doubtfully, "You mean you want me to be the head of the Chamber of Commerce?"

"What else? I know that with your qualifications, you should have been in that position long ago. Now that we have our new king, Glasgow should be ruled by a true Scotsman."

Lilmont's fat face began to dart around rapidly. "You, you're one of Earl Carrick's men?"

"Mr. Lilmont, watch your words. We should address him as His Majesty the King."

Lealmon was already convinced that Roger was on the new king's side. "Tell me, what do you need me to do?"

Roger didn't mince words, stating directly, "I need an unobstructed Glasgow market and a silver ring symbolizing membership in the Glasgow Chamber of Commerce to wear on the middle finger of the British trading company's manager, Cadell."

"In return, you will receive one-fiftieth of the profits from all the goods that flow through Glasgow from the entire island of Aran."

"I must warn you, don't even think about reporting me. I've already hidden the murder weapon in your mansion. I think people are more likely to believe that the Chamber of Commerce's deputy director assassinated the Chamber's leader in order to seize power."

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