38 The High Table [1/3]

"Please let me go! I swear that I'll tell no one about this!" Begged a person inside a cage.

Not far from him were a few treasure hoarders who were scavenging a ruin. Evidently, on account of the caged person's looks, he was here for the same reason too. Unfortunately, he met them.

"Quit your yapping. We know your game." A treasure hoarder who was carrying a sledgehammer said with annoyance in his tone. "You antique collectors like to go here and look for artifacts to display in your shops."

"You and I are not so different— we both look for treasures." He added with a smirk. "You undoubtedly have a lot of Mora on you from selling all those artifacts."

"That's not true!" The antique collector retorted inside the cage. "I don't just collect them— I preserve them for future generations!"

"Whatever." The treasure hoarder said before walking away, seemingly losing his interest in the conversation.

The treasure hoarder then looked at his comrades and asked, "So how's the situation around in Minlin lately? I've been away for quite some time."

Treasure Hoarders travel a lot to join other groups so that they can cover more grounds for their "business", as such, someone who is regarded as a senior or a veteran in their ranks travels around Liyue on several occasions.

"Not much," A treasure hoarder said while sitting down near a tree. "Aside from the lunatics in Mondstadt, the Minlin area had been relatively peaceful for us."

The treasure hoarder with the hammer nodded. As someone who had been in the field for a few years, he had naturally built some connections and had heard of the recent lunatics from Mondstadt.

"Speaking of which—" The sitting treasure hoarder added. "It seems like the Ministry of Civil Affairs is getting desperate."

"So I've heard." The treasure hoarder with the hammer scoffed. "Their attempts at sealing the Chasm are useless. Some higher ranks managed to find a spot to get inside and mine undetected."

"Those Lumberpick Valley guys are for sure gonna profit," The sitting treasure hoarder said with a wry smile.

Although the treasure hoarders were a ragtag group scattered throughout, there was a strict hierarchy among them. Their rank can be seen by their badge which has a symbol of a raven with a star symbol in the middle.

"If I can increase my rank to the Golden badge, I'm set for life." The sitting treasure hoarder said with a bitter tone.

It was quite evident that those that possess the golden badge were experienced seniors in the treasure hoarders and had a vast network of connections.

While the treasure hoarders were discussing, up above the sky, they failed to notice an eagle circling above them.

Not far away from them, Albert was holding a sunsettia he plucked from a tree while controlling Senu.

Crunch*

He turned off his eagle vision and took another bite from the small but sweet fruit in his hand. 'A strict hierarchy among thieves... perfect...'

'It seems like the props are already in place, waiting for the actor to use them.' He smiled sinisterly as he thought of this.

He finished eating the sunsettia and sat up before standing on his two feet. 'It's about to turn nighttime, I think I'll strike then.'

Having thought of this, he shook his head with a faint smile. 'Old habits never die...'

Whirr—

And with that, the land soon got engulfed in darkness. The treasure hoarder in the ruins did not go away and set up a camp for the night. They were quite tenacious in finding some lost artifacts or treasures in the ruins.

"Ha..." Meanwhile, the prisoner in the cage sighed. Although he was fed and had access to water, he still felt helpless in his situation. "I should have brought an adventurer with me..."

He was someone who thought that the ruins near Liyue Harbor would be safe because of his past ventures with some hired adventurers, never would he have thought that he would be captured on his first day of going alone.

While in the middle of lamenting, a hand shrouded in darkness suddenly appeared quietly behind him and quickly covered his mouth, silencing him.

'?!' The prisoner thought that one of the treasure hoarders wanted to get rid of him and he was instantly frightened.

Just then, a low but smooth and gentle voice approached his ears. "If I help you escape, would you do anything for me?"

'That—' For a moment, the prisoner was skeptical of the owner of the voice. After all, it might be a treasure hoarder joking with him. However, he soon his head. 'What do I have to lose anyway...?!'

The prisoner nodded his head vigorously, agreeing to the owner of the voice's demand.

In the darkness behind the prisoner's cage, a silhouette of a man that cannot be seen by others smiled. "Alright, sleep for now. Can't let you potentially spoil the rest of the show to others."

After saying this, the owner of the voice quickly tapped the prisoner's nape— making the latter feel fatigued before falling unconscious.

'Seeing Qi patterns feels so surreal... and so helpful...' The man in the shadows muttered before disappearing into the darkness.

Whirr—

Suddenly, a cry of an eagle was heard around the camp of the treasure hoarders.

Shortly afterward, a loud commotion started. Distant shouts can be heard not far from the camp and a lot of the treasure hoarders were alerted.

"There's someone here!" Someone shouted on top of a boulder with all their might. "It's one person, but he's overpowering a lot of our men—!"

However, a shadow quickly loomed over the man and he was pressed down the boulder, knocking him unconscious.

"You— who the fuck are you?!" The treasure hoarders looked at the person that attacked them.

He stood on top of the boulder proudly while looking at them with a leisurely smile. The light from their campfire faintly illuminated the man's appearance— showing them who they were fighting.

He wore a blindfold and had a bizarre yet elegant outfit— however, a threatening aura enveloped him. Even more so with that careless smile of his.

The man on top of the boulder hummed while cleaning his hands, it seems like there were faint traces of blood— evidently not his.

"It's decided," The man said. Everyone heard his voice and raised their guard. "From now on, The High Table shall take over the treasure hoarders of Liyue."

"Now you here have two choices," The man raised his two fingers that were covered in golden claws. "Either submit to The High Table... or sleep eternally here— not even having your graves."

The treasure hoarders heard the man's claim and gritted their teeth. Who is this guy?! That is what they all thought.

However, seeing him overpower the majority of their forces, they were hesitant in fighting the man.

"The High Table..." Suddenly, the voice of their leader resounded in their ears. They all looked at their masked leader in surprise. "What is it?"

The blindfolded man smiled and explained, "All you have to know is that The High Table had decided that it would, from now on, take over Liyue's treasure hoarder organization."

"...how powerful IS the High Table?" The leader boldly asked. It was not just him, the others also have this question.

"You just need to know that The High Table has various networks and influence." The blindfolded man said.

"..." The leader kept silent for a few moments as he looked at the blindfolded man. At this moment, he felt helpless. He then closed his eyes before sighing. "If I submit to The High Table... what can I get?"

The blindfolded man smiled in satisfaction at the leader's question. He had been waiting for this kind of question. "You will receive the protection of The High Table as well as access to Mondstadt."

"Mondstadt?" The leader questioned why Mondstadt was mentioned. His eyes then widened. "Wait... don't tell me..."

"Yes," The blindfolded man nodded. "We have collaborators there that have recently taken over the area."

"..." The treasure hoarders went silent. They had all naturally heard of the recent events in Mondstadt and the lunatics, they also heard that almost no treasure hoarders are left in Mondstadt.

If we can gain access to enter Mondstadt where there are no other competitors... Greed flashed through their eyes as they thought of this.

They thought that if they join the High Table, the latter would put in a good word for them and they can continue their business in Mondstadt without being attacked by the lunatics.

Looking at them mumbling to each other, the blindfolded man— Albert— smiled. 'If you want to trick a whole group, present them with their wants and needs first.'

After conversing for a while, the Treasure Hoarders looked at each other and nodded.

It was evident that the man in front of them was ruthless, and they did not dare to court death.

As for the treasure hoarders' organization... as they say, there's no honor among thieves.

Seeing the faces of his comrades, the Leader nodded and looked at Albert. "We'll all join."

Albert, hearing their answers, nodded. However, he still felt that their answers were superficial. As such, he decided to do something.

He first taught them how they can swear loyalty to the High Table. The treasure hoarders were confused for a moment before following what Albert told them to do.

"I have served. I will be of service." The unified words of all the treasure hoarders resounded throughout the camp.

Seeing them show their fealty, Albert still felt that something was missing. He then remembered. 'Oh right.'

'Time to threaten them.' He thought with a smile. He then jumped down from the boulder he was standing on and walked towards the leader.

Some of the treasure hoarders moved away when Albert walked closer. The leader, however, remained standing still. "What are—"

Before he could continue speaking, Albert's hand quickly moved and connected to his body and tapped a few areas of his upper body. In less than a few seconds, the leader's face went purple as if he was suffocating, but unable to move a muscle as if also paralyzed.

Thump—*

Just like that, in under a few seconds, the leader's body fell to the ground and he slowly succumbed to death.

Albert then looked at the rest of the treasure hoarders and saw their frightened faces. He then spoke, "Now that you have sworn fealty to the High Table, if you ever show any actions that would otherwise harm the organization, you shall be... quickly taken care of."

"Understood?" His voice felt heavy and threatening.

The treasure hoarders felt pressured by Albert's words and all of them understood—

The man speaking in front of them was dead serious— and they can't risk it. Subconsciously, the majority of the treasure hoarders present gulped and internally thought of not crossing the blindfolded man.

"Also, from now on..." He continued while keeping his dignified and leisurely manner, and, of course, the carefree smile. "Address me as 'Your Majesty'— understood?"

Rather than staying low-key like Ezio, this time, Albert planned to spread his name in the criminal world. However, he still plans to stay away from the public eye.

As for why choosing "Your Majesty" as his title, it paired well with his current template, as well as the fact that there should be codenames in organizations like these. Just as he had done in Mondstadt.

Although doing this won't bring him any credits— as to earn credits, he needs to directly fool others— it was still worth spreading his name to intimidate other organizations.

"Yes!" All of them answered in unison after hearing the blindfolded man's name.

[+10 Credits]

[+5 Credits]

[+5 Credits]

[+5 Credits]

[...]

Looking at the credits he had amassed, Albert felt somewhat satisfied. 'It seems like my acting worked.'

However, seeing them scared witless, Albert internally sighed. 'Still... no matter how many times I do it, I just can't get used to the feeling of killing...'

Although he had killed quite a number of people before, the sight of spilling blood never left a good impression on Albert. As such, he would never kill someone unless it's important or it's a quest issued by the system.

'But still... it's all part of the plan.' Albert self-justified his actions.

Albert had a plan— no, a stratagem. And it was going to cause a fascinating chain reaction. The first part of that plan was simple.

'Make the treasure hoarders in Liyue submit under the High Table.' The High Table was an organization in the world of one of his favorite movie series, John Wick.

It is an organization comprised of criminals and crime lords. In the world of Teyvat where treasure hoarders are everywhere, Albert thought that choosing this kind of organization was fitting.

And he— Albert, or rather, Qin Shi Huang— shall be the Head of it. Just as the original Qin Shi Huang became the first Emperor to unify China— he too shall unify all treasure hoarders in Liyue and become their Leader!

'The next stop...' He then took out his map. "Lumberpick Valley."

'I should be able to meet her there if I'm lucky...' He secretly thought as the figure of a hydro bow user appeared in his mind.