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"Yes, at this time, Riordan. We agreed for this mystery person to join us as the leaders of this alliance because of the power he showed and the skill he displayed in using bandit groups to stall the train system. That was fine, and I even like the scheme. But this is too much. The train system won’t be stalled anyway. And assume that it works, and that multiple villages flow with the blood of elves. Then what? We will be hunted with a vengeance for a long, long time. I don’t think I need to remind you what has been passed down regarding the line we bandits must not cross. Last time we did, for years, our ancestors had to huddle together in the deepest hideouts, running out of food and even resorting to eating raw meat, because if they were caught, they knew what they would be subjected to. That will repeat."

Daneel, himself, was surprised when he heard this. He had just told the man to state the case in a convincing manner. Hence, he couldn’t have known that there was even a historical incident that could be called on at this juncture.

Daneel had even read about this event: it was the great Bandit Hunt that had happened 300 years ago. At that time, some bandits had actually taken a town hostage and massacred the thousands inside before fleeing with the women and wealth.

This outraged the entire Central Continent, which went up in arms against this force by deploying most of their armies and even handing out bounties for the heads of all bandits.

Mind Control was really something to be admired. All Daneel had had to do was give an instruction, and the bandit leader’s mind had pulled out the best facts it could use to fulfill the command.

A gulp was heard from the man who had been called Riordan when he heard this, and it looked like, he, too, was aware of the consequences.

It was the garbled voice which replied, and when it did, anyone could tell that the one on the other side must surely be vexed.

"So what? Are you saying that you prefer having to give up banditry and die instead of putting up a fight and hiding afterward for a period of time, if needed?"

For some reason, Riordan remained silent. It was Skylar who spoke, again.

"Oh, we know there won’t be any f*cking ’if’s. We go through with your plan- it means that we all die. Or most of us, at least. I agree that it is time for dire measures because of that f*cking King’s cunningness, but this it too dire. I, for one, won’t stand with it. If you want, you two can go ahead, and I’ll have all my bandit groups remove themselves from the alliance. Riordan, you know I won’t budge after I make a stand."

The words were spoken with ferocity and passion, as if it really was what the bald man wanted.

Daneel was smiling, and thinking that he had been lucky to find this guy, who was helping him so much, so sincerely.

After a pause, the gruff voice spoke.

"If you leave, so will I. The alliance will only stand if all of us remain. A Bandit Gathering needs to be called. Who knows, maybe the pressure might have caused others to break through and like our friend, here, too. What do you say, J?"

As the garbled voice finally replied with resignation after a few seconds, Daneel let out a sigh of relief.

"I would go ahead with this, even if it meant that there will be another bandit hunt. You forget that we rose from the ashes, victorious, in the end. The Kingdoms of the Central Continent had no choice but to give up as they were no match to our patience and craftiness. We left our hideouts, and resumed our lives, and since then, we have had a period of prosperity. If this is to repeat, we must take these steps. But I know that I cannot force you two to agree. I need all bandit groups to carry this out. Let a Bandit Gathering happen. In 2 days, all bandit group leaders will gather in the same way as before, at the same place."

The sound of someone leaving the channel was heard right after the garbled voice said this, which made Riordan chuckle and say, "Haha, we showed him. I was sick of him bossing us around."

Daneel thought that Skylar would say something perfunctory and end the discussion, but he snapped, surprising him.

"Riordan, f*ck off. Don’t think that I’ll forget what you did, you white-faced bastard. If we weren’t in desperate times, I would hunt you down myself."

"Humph. I would have loved to see you try."

After the gruff voice said this, the communication finally ended completely.

The ups and downs had caused Daneel’s heart to hammer in his chest, and as he calmed down, he took a moment to appreciate and curse just how real a threat these bandits were.

There may only be thousands or tens of thousands of them, but all, or, at least, most of them were definitely skilled in worming their way into anywhere they wanted. If they really did want to vanish among the millions of citizens of Eldinor and Lanthanor, Daneel would have been truly helpless.

Yet, now, it seemed that he might have an opportunity to wipe them all out in one strike. A Bandit Gathering would mean that all of them would gather, right?

Apparently, he was wrong.

After a few minutes, Skylar was ordered by Daneel to exit Arafell again so that a more detailed interrogation could occur.

In the sky, Daneel asked Drakos and the system to check whether there were any pesky eavesdroppers before getting started on the burning questions.

"What did you mean when you said Riordan was a white-faced bastard? What’s a Bandit Gathering? How were you three chosen as the leaders?"

"A Bandit Gathering is where all leaders of small, mid and large sized bandit groups gather to choose those they trust to lead them. The last time one was called was during the crisis where a continent-wide bandit hunt was launched due to the actions of a few bandits. We bandits don’t trust each other, either, so we do not gather in person. A designated person distributes communication trinkets to all the groups in a discrete manner so that they can hear what happens in the gathering and make their decision known when they wish. A Bandit leader is chosen when he amasses support from a significant number of leaders. Initially, during the gathering, a friend of mine was going to become a bandit leader because of his strength, which was known by all because of his success in defeating caravans which used Exalted Human level guards. In his group, there were actually two Exalted Humans who made this possible, and the other one got jealous as he didn’t have the charisma to make others follow him and proceeded to kill my friend and made it known that he was the strongest one, and that the dead one was simply taking all the credit. Strength is valued, so even though many didn’t like it, Riordan was given the role. It is the same for me, by speaking to the bandit leaders and appealing to them using my strength and everything I’ve accomplished, I gathered support. J, the mystery one, was a surprise. No one knows which group he belongs to, but he, too, killed an Exalted Human bandit and showed his strength before showing his skill in strategy by putting forward these plans. In that way, he became the third bandit leader."

As Daneel heard all this, he couldn’t help but shake his head, stupefied.

A meeting with just communication trinkets!

How anti-climactic, yet practical!

Mind Control didn’t work through communication trinkets, so his plan of Mind Controlling all the bandit leaders and killing them, along with those under them off was no longer possible.

It looked like he had to go with his original plan, after all.

"Do you have any Eminent Humans in your bandit group?"

"Yes, there are two. One entered the group recently, just before all of this started."

"Good. I’ll be taking his place during the gathering, then. Oh, and, by the way, how many people have you killed and raped?"

"I’ve lost count. I’ve killed at least 400, out of which at least 50 are those whom I’ve raped, then killed."

"Right. Give me the location of the hideout of your bandit group and get back to your business. I’ll call you when it’s time for the Gathering."

After Daneel said this and got the answer, he dropped the bandit leader off near Arafell before standing in the air and trying to decide what to do.

There was no option but to go with the flow, here. In 2 days, he would be infiltrating the bandit group of this bandit leader, after which his objective for the bandit gathering was clear: he had to, somehow, make sure that the mysterious man’s plans didn’t continue.

On that note, Daneel decided that he would warn Katerina and Eldra about this, so that they could secretly caution the elves to be careful, or even return to the Kingdom, if possible.

A few minutes later, he was sitting in the quarters of the Queen, who had insisted that they should be having their discussion here, in private.

Unlike in Eldra’s time, Katerina’s room was decorated with her personal taste.

All sorts of weapons were hung on all four walls, from normal ones such as spears and sets of swords to strange ones like a whip with thorns and a spiked pole.

Also, as he looked around, he saw multiple paintings of Katerina hand in hand with various individuals.

He had known that elves generally had a lot of partners, but he hadn’t expected that there would be this many.

There were at least 16 portraits of her with various men and women around the room, and just as he was done counting, the door opened to let in Katerina and Eldra.

Smiling at him, who was seated on a sofa beside the bed, the two women pulled up two chairs and sat down.

It was night time, and as he observed them, he noticed that they were both in casual attire.

Instead of the usual, thick dresses of Queens that he usually saw these both in, Katerina was wearing a tight-fitting brown dress that hugged her body. As a Fighter, her body was filled with muscles, and with this dress, all her prominent features such as her thick biceps, perfectly defined abdomen, and bulging thighs were visible. The last stood out the most: those thighs looked as if they could lock around anyone and strangle them to death in an instant.

In stark contrast to this, Eldra was wearing a pretty, pink nightgown that was also tight. Her delicate body was emphasized, and along with the ears with blades on the earlobes and their shining skin, the two elves looked like two exotic minxes who could steal away the heart and soul of any mortal.

If Daneel didn’t know that elves were usually frank and open beings who were comfortable with who they were and would state directly their interests in matters such as those, he might even have misunderstood something.

Getting to the point, he told them about this whole matter, omitting the details about how Mind Control was integral.

Only, after he was done, he was quite surprised to see them staring at each other as if they had seen a ghost.

"Could it be...!", said Eldra, which caused Katerina to nod and turn toward the King.

"King Daneel, I think we know who this mysterious person is. Until quite recently, she was a citizen of the capital, but a horrific incident caused her to leave. Her husband, parents, and children were all tortured and murdered by an elf who thought of humans as playthings as slaves."