Chapter 159 - Mauleon's Wealth-Building Skills

Although there was still the matter of discussing the missionary recruitment with Mauleon, the immediate priority was to solve the issues within the Shadow World.

Once Mauleon experienced the harmony and warmth of this team, joining in would naturally fall into place.

Of course, Dekan respected Mauleon's wishes. Whether Mauleon agreed or refused later, Dekan would find a way to maximize Mauleon's value.

For now, he needed to keep an eye on Mauleon. After meeting with Cornelia, he would find an opportunity to take Mauleon down.

Inside the church, Dekan and Mauleon both took a seat on the benches.

Just moments ago, they had felt like brothers when they reached an agreement. However now, they were surprisingly in sync and each sat on a bench on opposite sides of the aisle.

They naturally kept a distance from each other. After all, they both understood each other's methods quite well.

Dekan firmly believed that Mauleon could surprise him at any moment with poison magic or mental spells.

The behavior pattern of this unscrupulous merchant couldn't be judged by common sense.

Mauleon might appear to be a normal person, but he was always prepared to act ruthlessly once there was a chance for a quick profit or a risk-free opportunity.

"Let's hear your thoughts first," Dekan spoke first.

In the strategy of conquering the Shadow World, someone with an occupation of a merchant like Mauleon generally couldn't be of much use. They often played the role of providing support to other challengers.

However, in an open-world map Shadow World, Mauleon had created a unique way of clearing levels.

Just like the "Hero vs. Demon King Shadow World" that Dekan had learned Mauleon had cleared alone. Mauleon relied on deception to collect a large amount of wealth to compensate for the level difference with economic disparity, ultimately allowing the hero to forcefully defeat the Demon King.

In this type of Shadow World, Mauleon's money-making methods were much easier compared to Dekan's forced removal tactics.

Mauleon asked, "Do you have any other companions?"

Dekan replied, "I have an enforcer and a cat."

"Cat?" Mauleon seemed a bit puzzled as to how a pet could be brought into the Shadow World.

"A cat-shaped backpack," Dekan explained in layman's terms.

Mauleon nodded. In just a few seconds, he had a comprehensive understanding of the team's setup.

"Now that we're cooperating, we can change the first step of 'stealing the holy coins, then solve the problem before being wanted’ a bit," Mauleon suggested.

"Oh?"

"With your help, I can earn money faster through legal means without the risk of being wanted and racing against time. I could earn far more than 100 holy coins," Mauleon replied.

Based on Dekan's communication with the mayor, he roughly understood that in the border prices of the Holy Kingdom, one holy coin was roughly equivalent to one gold coin in the original world.

If they had more funds on hand, the difficulty of this Shadow World would greatly decrease.

In fact, if the funds were sufficient, the difficulty of this Shadow World might be completely disrupted.

For example, directly going to another city to hire a mercenary group to gang up on the boss...

Dekan asked, "Alright, how can I help you?"

Mauleon inquired, "Dekan, do you know about bridges? I remember you know a bit about these odd things."

"A little, but I'm not sure about the safety of the designed bridges," Dekan replied.

"No problem, the more unsafe, the better. I'll make some adjustments to the contract," Mauleon assured.

Both nodded. They had basically figured out how to earn the startup capital.

They not only needed to earn this money but also have some control over this crucial bridge. After all, it could separate the terrain on both sides.

Although the cliffs couldn't stop flying enemies, they could greatly hinder most enemies.

For instance, Resurgence Church followers who didn't have "flight magic" would be separated by the terrain.

The natives of this world didn't use magic cards; they needed to possess specific magic or skills to fly.

Among the suspected enemies in this Shadow World, only vampires of tier 7 and above could freely float in the sky.

Vampires had immense power and vitality.

However, all vampires had a weakness—they feared sunlight.

Sunlight wouldn't directly kill them, but it would render them powerless, only able to exert about 1/10 of their combat strength.

So, vampires generally wouldn't appear during the day.

Dekan only needed to worry about high-tier vampires crossing the cliffs to attack the town at night.

"Then today, let's return to the city together to find the enforcer and the cat you mentioned. Tomorrow, we'll act on dual fronts. You gather intelligence in town, and I'll start making money."

"Sounds good," Dekan had no objections to Mauleon's plan.

The two of them continued their work, their original raiding habits not differing much. It was just that with their division of labor, they greatly increased efficiency and were able to accomplish things that were previously impossible.

Mauleon crouched down. He reached out and touched the mayor, activating a spell card.

[Touch of Mimicry]

[Category: Spell Card]

[Rarity: Orange Epic]

[Tier: 5]

[Effect: Perfectly mimic an object touched within one hour. Maintaining the mimicry requires continuous mana consumption. Cooldown period of one hour.]

[Note: Let me see how many faces you have.]

Then, Mauleon's form changed into that of the mayor's.

"How about this?" Mauleon raised his head and asked Dekan.

Even his voice now sounded as old as the mayor's.

"Wow, no wonder the Resurgence Church can't catch you," Dekan immediately realized the pain the Resurgence Church must’ve felt being toyed with by Mauleon.

It seemed that this guy probably had spell cards mainly focused on mental magic and disguise tricks. Compared to being a merchant, his true profession should be more accurately described as a fraudster.

"I'll turn into the mayor first, take his keys, and investigate his home."

"Got it, I'll give the engineer a bit more dosage, then lock him up."

Without much further discussion, the two of them began to execute their respective tasks.

Mauleon's objective was very clear. He wanted to take this opportunity to thoroughly investigate the not-so-talkative mayor's home and see if he could gather crucial information. Then, he would return to the church, transform into the engineer's appearance, and begin his path to riches as a member of the guild.

...

"Is there another formidable person showing up?"

"This guy... why do I feel like I've seen him before?"

"Fuck! This one's also a heavyweight! He's the young master of the Hanover Baron family! After triggering an internal conflict, he disappeared without a trace! Who would’ve known he's still alive!"

"If these two were any higher in tier, the Holy Kingdom might have attracted its own downfall..."