Chapter 481: Section 268: Teng Donglang’s Plot
Teng Donglang sat at the dining table, enjoying his breakfast.
His favorite meal for breakfast was sashimi.
This was the freshest sea fish cuisine, caught from the sea early in the morning.
Teng Donglang was a middle-aged man.
As a Snow Elf, he had handsome features, yet the wrinkles by his eyes betrayed a touch of vicissitude.
His past military career had endowed him with not just an always immaculate sitting posture but also a presence that exceeded that of ordinary people.
While eating sashimi, Teng Donglang listened to his subordinates report on various matters.
As the Saber Gang was the number one faction in Snowbird Port, naturally there were numerous matters to attend to, and Teng Donglang was a genuinely busy man, never having a moment of leisure, even during meal times.
Suddenly, Teng Donglang glanced sideways, “Oh? The Ice Eagle wishes to deploy gang members to deal with a Mercenary Group? Why?”
The subordinate answered, “According to Lord Ice Eagle, this Mercenary Group, oblivious to their better judgment, forcibly purchased a Giant Intelligence Potion from a secret medicine conference shop. This potion is of great help to Lord Ice Eagle in cultivating giants, hence he wishes to retrieve it.”
Teng Donglang nodded slightly, feeling a hint of satisfaction towards the Ice Eagle.
Despite having stepped down from the position of Gang Leader, Ice Eagle still retained a group of loyal followers and die-hard supporters.
Such as his Quasi-Gold giant slave.
But the Ice Eagle did not take action directly; instead, he made a request to the Saber Gang and informed Teng Donglang in advance.
Such an attitude and manner of conducting affairs made Teng Donglang, the current Gang Leader, have a very good impression.
Immediately, Teng Donglang was personally inclined to do a favor for the Ice Eagle in return, to offer some assistance.
However, Teng Donglang was a man of caution.
Before making a formal decision, he asked, “What’s the situation with this Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps?”
The subordinate promptly took out a piece of paper and handed it to Teng Donglang, “This is the intelligence we’ve managed to gather.”
Teng Donglang spread the paper on the dining table. While reaching for a spoonful of jam to taste, he read the intelligence report.
The report stated:
The Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps was a small-scale force, without Golden Level combat power.
Their leader, Long Fu, and deputy leader, Zong Ge, were both Silver Level. Besides them, there were two Silver Level individuals, Chi Lai and Menshi.
There were two mages on board, Old Zhong at Black Iron Level and Red Vine at Bronze Level.
The members of this Mercenary Group were racially diverse, including Humans, Dwarves, Dog-men, Water Pigmen, Dragon-men, and Half-giants.
The entire Mercenary Group possessed three demon energy ships. The flagship was the Triangular Love Ship, Iron Lump, and White Bandage; the first was Black Iron Level, while the last two were Bronze Level.
Apart from these were ordinary sea ships, with no large ships to speak of, mostly medium and small-sized, totaling 13 vessels.
Among the fleet, there were two Golden components, the Feathered Snake Sail and a Gold Level cannon. However, the latter was damaged and temporarily unusable.
The Saber Gang, a local tyrant indeed, managed to obtain such detailed intelligence.
It had only been two days since the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps arrived at the Kingdom of Ice Sculptures and entered the port, and the Saber Gang had already acquired so much information.
This was because the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps was first inspected by the Patrol Fleet at sea. Afterwards, they docked at the pier and registered their own ships.
The Saber Gang had long tendrils that had infiltrated many departments, making it not difficult to obtain this intelligence.
As Teng Donglang read the information, he made an assessment in his mind.
“A band of outsiders…”
“Though a small-scale force, their strength is quite decent.”
“They do have potential…”
“And quite a few hidden dangers.”
What Teng Donglang considered a hidden danger was the diverse racial composition within the Mercenary Group.
He was all too familiar with the drawbacks of this issue.
Because the Saber Gang was in a similar situation. Among his top six lieutenants, belonging to different races, Teng Donglang had his fair share of difficulties in the daily management of gang affairs.
The strength of the Dragon Lion Mercenary Group was not on par with the Saber Gang.
After reading the intelligence report, Teng Donglang was even more inclined to support the Ice Eagle.
“Although Ice Eagle has retired, he is the former Gang Leader of the Saber Gang, and his relationship with the Saber Gang is close. If he can cultivate a second Golden Level giant slave, it is indeed good news for the entire Saber Gang.”
“Nevertheless, since Ice Eagle wants to target these people, given his style of conduct, the information above surely won’t satisfy him.”
“He will definitely seek out more intelligence.”
“Since he is asking for the gang’s assistance, his intelligence should also have been sent along.”
Teng Donglang, coming from a military background with his primary military role being that of a staff officer, was very meticulous and skilled in management.
He turned to look at his subordinate, “Is there any other related intelligence?”
Just as he expected, the subordinate immediately handed him another piece of intelligence that had been prepared beforehand.
“The intelligence report was specifically provided by Lord Ice Eagle,” reported the subordinate.
Teng Donglang placed the new report on top of the previous one, continued to dine, and perused the contents.
Soon, his chewing slowed, and a grave expression appeared on his face.
The information gathered by Ice Eagle no longer described the composition of the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps, their ship’s arms, and other equipment details, but recounted some of the mercenary group’s past battles and experiences.
From this, Ice Eagle learned that the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps had participated in a naval battle at Twin Eyes Island.
In that battle, the Dragon-man youth had faced off against a Golden Level Fishman pirate, and only slightly fell short.
Their three demon energy ships, originally the property of others.
After the Twin Eyes Island naval battle, they pursued their foes and engaged in another sea battle near Songfeng Island waters against a group of Undead Mages, the Sea Snake Lady, and other pirate fleets.
In the end, they successfully rescued some hostages and captured the Iron Lump and Triangular Love Ship.
Due to limited time, Ice Eagle was unable to gather information about the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps’ performance on Snake Rat Island.
However, this did not prevent Teng Donglang from significantly raising his estimation of the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps.
“These guys are brave and good at fighting. After the Twin Eyes Island battle, they took the initiative to pursue, unafraid to clash with Undead Mages.”
“Although squad leader Long Fu is Silver Level, his physical condition is excellent; he can even contend face to face with a Golden Level, he can absolutely be regarded as a Quasi-Gold. He cannot be underestimated.”
Teng Donglang became cautious.
Two successive reports allowed him to fully recognize the strength of the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps.
He silently admonished himself, “The Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps should not be underestimated. When helping Ice Eagle recover the Giant Intelligence Potion, we must be mindful of our approach and not go too far.”
Neither the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps nor Teng Donglang themselves wished for a full-blown confrontation with the Saber Gang.
Although the strength of the Saber Gang’s gang was clearly superior to the opposition.
But if the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps were provoked, it could cause the Saber Gang to suffer heavy casualties.
“How should this matter be handled?” Teng Donglang fell into deep thought.
Negotiation and trade, these two methods were immediately discarded by Teng Donglang.
Although these two methods certainly had the potential to accomplish the goal of recovering the potion, Teng Donglang knew he could not proceed in this way.
His status and identity limited his choices.
He was not an ordinary person; he was the Gang Leader of the Saber Gang. If he did so, it would be tantamount to the Saber Gang bowing down to a small outsider mercenary group. What would others think of that?
If the Saber Gang were considered weak and easily bullied, that would be a disaster.
For a gang, their reputation is extremely important.
Only by constantly demonstrating their strength and instilling fear could they smoothly collect protection fees and the like.
“The site of the conflict was at the secret potion branch shop. news about this conflict will surely spread wider over the next few days.”
“As of now, there are definitely many people who are quietly waiting to see Ice Eagle and the Saber Gang’s response.”
Teng Donglang was very aware of the situation.
The Saber Gang not only had to recover the potion but also needed to teach the other side a lesson. Only by doing so could they be deemed competent.
“The most direct way is to steal it.”
“The Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps’ ships are all docked at the harbor. After the conflict, they will certainly be more vigilant.”
“The harbor is manageable to infiltrate, the key is the Mage Tower.”
“A Golden Level Mage Tower, under constant surveillance of every place in Snowbird Port, and especially the harbor area where ships are docked.”
“If you want to turn a blind eye at the Mage Tower, that would require a bribe. And that’s a lot of money!”
“Besides, it would also require owing a favor.”
Considering this, Teng Donglang couldn’t help shaking his head.
This method was not good; it was too costly.
His mind quickly shifted to another strategy: “Then find an opportunity to kidnap an important member of the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps. Then negotiate with the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps for them to exchange the Giant Intelligence Potion for the hostage.”
Teng Donglang began to arrange this, but his subordinates reported difficulty: “Lord Gang Leader. The Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps has restrained all members since entering the port, almost never leaving their premises. Yesterday, only a few leaders disembarked and took action. If these people do not come out, we won’t find a good opportunity to kidnap them.”
Teng Donglang was surprised for a moment: “Oh? They chose to do so?”
He then sneered coldly: “That’s a foolish move. Over time, those mercenaries will start to grumble, and even a mutiny is possible.”
“But…” Teng Donglang’s sneer gradually faded, sensing trouble.
He didn’t believe that the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps would restrain mercenaries for long.
Under normal circumstances, Teng Donglang wouldn’t need to make a move. He just needed to watch and wait for the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps to disrupt their own ranks.
But the problem was that Teng Donglang did not have the luxury to wait.
Right now, the Intelligence Potion was in the hands of the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps. When Ice Eagle requested help, he also clearly pointed out that time was an issue.
The longer it dragged out, the higher the likelihood the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps would use the potion.
By then, even if the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps surrendered, but had already consumed the potion, then would not the efforts of the Saber Gang have been in vain, failing to achieve their original goal?