Chapter 1299: Peleck
Rumors about a supposed Oasis in the Chasm had spread within adventurer circles. This came from the numerous accounts of adventurers seemingly being trapped and directionless in the dark, before suddenly finding themselves in the company of a large camp with unlimited supplies.
Of course, many people deemed these as nothing more than a hallucination. Something that desperate people thought up of as a way to cope with the horrible death rates of the Chasm.
However, as the days passed, the rumors were slowly being given credence. It became known that the supposed Oasis was from the Reborn company. That its location was different each night. And that anyone was welcome to come in and out of the camp as they pleased.
It was therefore inevitable that the Conglomerates ended up hearing about it.
"An Oasis? That’s absurd," said Levi to his advisors. "If they do have a mobile camp, then it can’t be anything more than ours. We have our own houses instead of tents, but even then, we are spending lots of resources just to keep them up. I don’t think that their 15,000 men can do such a task."
The scouts had nothing more to offer. They hadn’t seen this camp themselves, but the detailed accounts from the adventurers put this possibility to more than likely.
"We don’t have to worry about them. It looks like Theresa’s is now able to join the fight. It won’t be long before she arrives here and changes the game with her additional ally."
Levi then turned to his scouts. "What did you see from the lava lake?"
"Sir, we are able to follow their tunnels. And we are almost a hundred percent sure that they have moved to another lava vein further down the Chasm. We can follow them easily," said the scout.
Levi nodded. "Very well then. Let us start packing up our camp and we shall start our journey once more. We must find these demi-humans before Theresa arrives here."
And just as they were about to disperse, they heard a knock from outside.
"Sir Levi? We have a visitor."
"Tell them to wait," Levi answered. "We have to deal with the demi-humans—"
But before Levi could finish his sentence, the door opened suddenly and a new figure emerged.
Levi’s eyebrows furrowed from the rude interruption. But when he saw the man’s face, he knew that he couldn’t say anything untowards him.
"Peleck," said Levi. "Nice of you to join us."
Peleck, a man with olive skin and a bright white smile approached Levi. "Old friend. You weren’t going to leave me out of this, were you?"
Levi feigned a smile. "Of course not. Why wouldn’t I want one of the Hepheasteus heirs by my side?"
"That’s right. I seem to remember us having made an agreement. I supply you with armors and weapons and resources, and you share the profits of the Chasm with me," Peleck said. "But I heard about this weird thing about some... magical creatures."
It was at this point that Levi couldn’t hide his wince. It looked like he wouldn’t be able to hoard this information for himself.
"We’ve just discovered their presence. I was about to send you a letter," Levi said.
Peleck shook his head, still displaying that white smile. "I think you’ve hidden them for a while now."
"Tsk."
"But it doesn’t matter. Now that I’m here, we can properly share the profits as we discussed. You wouldn’t want your army to be fighting with dull edges, now would you?"
Levi bit his lips. The bad thing about owning the biggest overseas branch of the Vanderbilt company was the fact that most of their resources were an ocean’s width away. And he couldn’t ask for help from his siblings. They’d use it as an opportunity against him.
So, as much as he wanted to keep the profits to himself, Levi would have to play nice with the 7th heir of the Hepheasteus clan.
"Tell me what you’ve been doing, friend."
Levi had his advisors speed Peleck up to the current information about the Chasm.
After about an hour or so, Peleck nodded his head in understanding.
"I see. You have a problem with scouting, it seems."
"Venturing deeper into the tunnels requires a lot of risk. I’m bleeding scouts. I can’t afford to. That’s why we have to take it slow, even if the demi-humans are getting away."
Peleck shook his head. "This is one of your problems, old friend. You’re too self-sufficient. You aren’t using all of the resources around you to the best of your abilities."
"What do you mean?"
"The adventurers," said Peleck. "These people are a hungry pack of wolves. They’ll jump at the chance of treasure. So, give them a piece. And then, they’ll gladly jump into that lava lake and follow those demi-humans to the ends of the Chasm. This is what Theresa would have done. In fact, she may be doing it right now.
How else was she able to keep up with your army even when she entered the Chasm later than yours? She uses that charisma of hers to get the adventurers to do her bidding for her. Find you, find the demi-humans, and she’ll reward them with tremendous treasures."
Levi frowned at the mention of his opponent. It seemed he’d have to play by Theresa’s rules if he wanted to defeat her.
"Alright. How?"
"Easy," said Peleck. "I’ll handle it. I’ve brought with me some incredible works of art that will surely interest those adventurers."
Peleck led Levi outside, where there were carriages filled with shiny new armor and weapons brought straight from the Hepheasteus workshop.
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"BU TO TO!"
"RAH TA TA!"
Michael was glad to hear the Orc Chieftains’ voice in his head. "Report?"
"We’ve been following these demi-humans. They haven’t spotted us."
"Unfortunately, they don’t seem to be in any hurry to return to their kingdom. We shall report their current location now."
Michael received telepathic directions that ChatJK6 quickly translated into a visual map.
"It looks like it’s time to pack up our camp and move."