Chapter 117: You Call This an Assassination?
When he received the commission to treat Brother Donkey, Su Xiao knew something was wrong. At that time, he had two choices: play it safe, slowly arrange things with Zuiyasi and Wude against Poseidon, or get in touch with the person scheming behind this and aim for a quick resolution.
It had been a while since any elimination prompts appeared, meaning the Crow Woman had definitely arrived. Under these circumstances, playing it safe wasn't the best option.
The Crow Woman had no grudge against Zuiyasi or Wude; she would only come after Su Xiao. So he took a different path and chose to treat Brother Donkey.
Brother Donkey was treated to death, and now Conrad had been drawn out. He was an absolute local big shot. At this stage, the fact that he could go toe-to-toe with Poseidon showed his influence in the main city.
Cooperating with this local tyrant came with extremely high risks, but the benefits also came quickly. For example, Su Xiao no longer had to run around treating people.
There was also a downside. The three Soul Crystals (Complete) he had used to enhance the "Evolved Eye Drops" through the [Golden Balance] were now useless. Man proposes, God disposes. He had prepared everything thoroughly, but only made one house call, and the patient died.
"Two conditions."
Su Xiao wouldn't cooperate with Conrad for nothing. The other party was more eager to eliminate Poseidon.
"Name them."
"Five thousand grams of Divine Blood Crystals."
As soon as Su Xiao finished speaking, the room fell silent.
"Five thousand grams? Bai Ye, before you came to the main city, you must have been in the robbery business, right."
"..."
"Two thousand grams at most. But Poseidon's treasury has plenty of Divine Blood Crystals, reportedly in Vault No. 2. The key to that vault is stamped with a violet flower and is worn on Poseidon's person."
Conrad whispered a few instructions to his guard, who quickly left to fetch the Divine Blood Crystals.
Conrad was indeed cornered. He didn't bat an eye at drinking a slow-acting poison, and he didn't even blink when taking out 2,000 grams of Divine Blood Crystals.
A few minutes later, Conrad's guard returned, carrying a cloth bag. He placed it on the table and opened it. Inside were Divine Blood Crystals of various sizes, some as large as pebbles, others as small as grains of rice.
[You have obtained 2,395 grams of Divine Blood Crystals.]
"That's all there is. I even brought the Divine Blood Crystal necklace my youngest daughter was wearing. If you raise the price again, I'll have to find another partner. On the day you arrived, two others came from Sanctuary City No. 6 to the main city. I imagine the three of you have a special relationship, Bai Ye. The slow-acting poison I drank can indeed kill me, but I'm not actually that afraid of death. I just don't want my children to be buried with me."
Conrad remained composed. His attitude showed he wasn't afraid to die. Everything he was doing now wasn't just to save his own life, but to prevent his descendants from being wiped out.
Conrad wasn't a good son, but he was a good father.
There was another point. Conrad hinted that he had discovered both Wude and Zuiyasi were viable partners. If Su Xiao's price was too high, he would consider cooperating with one of them.
"Name your other condition."
Conrad picked up his teacup and took a light sip. He found that the slow-acting poison tasted better than the tea.
"Scroll fragments."
"Agreed."
Conrad agreed without much hesitation. This attitude made Su Xiao realize that the Sea World was very different from the Sand World.
The Sand World needed to consume Scroll Fragments to continue existing, while maintaining the Sea World normally probably didn't require them. Otherwise, Conrad wouldn't have agreed so easily to use Scroll Fragments as payment.
Even so, to get Scroll Fragments from Poseidon, the only way was to forcefully take them. Poseidon was different from Conrad; the latter was in a desperate situation.
After a while, Conrad's subordinates brought five Scroll Fragments and placed them on the table.
"Conrad, with resources like these, why cooperate with people of unknown origin like us?"
Baha asked a rather sensitive question. Baha usually handled things Su Xiao couldn't say directly. Su Xiao didn't need to mention it; Baha would take the initiative.
"Because King Ji showed me that he could cut down the Sun Bird with one slash."
Conrad pushed the five Scroll Fragments across the table. Su Xiao put them away.
"Since we've reached an agreement, let's talk about how to deal with Poseidon."
Baha took out a map of Poseidon's Palace and spread it flat on the table. Kaiser also came over to look. At this stage, the main city was full of undercurrents. Zuiyasi and Wude each had their own plans. The Crow Woman was extremely powerful. Poseidon was only one step away from becoming a Holy God. Under these circumstances, no matter how you looked at it, the potion business was a lost cause.
"Poseidon's Palace can be divided into five areas. The most critical is the bedchamber, where Poseidon resides. My plan is to sneak in, have multiple strong fighters launch a surprise attack simultaneously, and kill Poseidon in a short time."
After Conrad finished speaking, he looked around at everyone present. His subordinates were stunned. The female guard behind him even blushed and turned her head away, as if to say this wasn't their leader's plan.
"Sneak in? Assassinate?"
"Yes, it's that simple. The simpler the core of the plan, the lower the chance of mistakes. The defensive strength of Poseidon's Palace is beyond your imagination. I've spent many years arranging to be able to infiltrate this place."
"Woof?"
Bubu Wang looked at Conrad in confusion. Bubu had previously monitored Poseidon, so of course he had entered Poseidon's Palace and even sat in the bedchamber for several hours.
Hearing Bubu Wang's bark, Conrad explained, "Don't be surprised. Figuring out all the defensive layouts of Poseidon's Palace in three years is indeed a bit fast, which might make people worry. But I can guarantee it's foolproof."
Bubu Wang tilted his head, even more confused.
"Regarding the assassination of Poseidon, I will participate personally. Bai Ye, you need to be there too. Besides us, there will also be Sophia, Roe, Shadow, and Master Hulu."
The more Conrad spoke, the more familiar the names sounded to Su Xiao. Life Priest Sophia and Black Horn Roe were both Poseidon's trusted confidants. It was barely understandable that Conrad had managed to win them over.
Shadow was baffling. He was practically Poseidon's shadow.
Master Hulu was also well-known. He was a doctor, but Conrad said that being a doctor was just Master Hulu's side job. He was actually a weapon master proficient in various melee weapons. Later, he felt that fighting and killing were too restless, so he became a doctor.
"Among those close to Poseidon, how many aren't your moles?"
Hearing Baha's question, Conrad smiled bitterly and said, "Divine power loses people's hearts."
"When do we strike?"
"Any day in the next few days."
"Tonight, then."
Su Xiao had always been decisive. Once he made a decision, he didn't hesitate.
"Tonight?" Conrad checked the time and said, "It's doable. My men have rehearsed this plan hundreds of times in the underground arena. The plan is this: every night at 10 o'clock, a servant enters the bedchamber to deliver 'Mind Marrow' to Poseidon. This stuff catalyzes the absorption of faith power. Each portion of 'Mind Marrow' represents an innocent life. Our first step is to tamper with today's 'Mind Marrow.'"
Pausing here, Conrad continued, "Regarding the choice of servant, I've trained dozens. The servant must be an ordinary person. No matter how strong-willed an ordinary person is, they might reveal a flaw when they see Poseidon. After all, he is a god."
"So?"
"So I'm saying, if a special person disguises themselves as a servant, the chance of problems is very low. At least they won't reveal unnecessary flaws out of fear of Poseidon. We're not the first to try tampering with the 'Mind Marrow.' The previous rebels met very miserable ends."
Conrad sighed, meaning that among those present, someone should disguise themselves as a servant.
"Woof."
Bubu Wang tilted his head, meaning he wasn't human. Baha shrugged; he wasn't either.
Su Xiao and Conrad's gazes simultaneously turned to Kaiser. Not just the two of them, but everyone else in the room also looked at Kaiser.
"Impossible. How could I disguise myself as a servant? Besides, Poseidon has seen me."
As soon as Kaiser finished speaking, he made a move to take off his shoes. Bubu Wang was horrified.
Conrad took out several portraits, all of elderly women and old servants. Most of them were similar in height to Kaiser. If it were anyone else, they really couldn't pull off the disguise.
The ones who brought the 'Mind Marrow' to Poseidon in the bedchamber every day were these elderly servants.
Conrad had prepared many backup servants. The sudden change in plan was not only because he was impressed by Kaiser's demeanor, but also because those backup servants couldn't guarantee 100% resistance to Poseidon's intimidation. Even an accidental glance could cause these old servants to be exposed.
"Absolutely impossible. Even if I, Kaiser, have to..."
"Ten Soul Crystals."
Conrad took a box from his subordinate and opened it, revealing ten Soul Crystals (Complete) inside.
Kaiser let out a disdainful snort and 'scornfully' said, "Let's try on the costume first."