Chapter 50: Card Game

Chapter 50: Card Game

Upon entering the East Balam Veterans Club, Klein had just handed his cane and hat to his personal valet, Enuni, when he saw Colonel Calvin of the Loen Ministry of Defense standing in the hall with a cup of red wine, dressed in an army uniform.

This donkey-faced officer revealed a smile and lifted his cup toward Dwayne Dantès.

“Long time no see.”

“It has indeed been some time.” Klein walked over with a smile.

Colonel Calvin immediately extended his right hand.

“Congratulations. You did quite well this time. Everyone is very satisfied.”

“I am also very satisfied.” Klein used Loen-style understatement to express that their cooperation had gone pleasantly, and reached out to shake the other man’s hand.

Calvin withdrew his hand, glanced at Member of Parliament Macht beside Dwayne Dantès, and sighed with a smile.

“When you first introduced Dwayne, I didn’t quite trust your judgment. Now I understand why you became a member of the House of Commons.”

“Anyone who has spent time with Dwayne can easily conclude that he is an expert in this field.” Member of Parliament Macht likewise accepted the colonel’s praise with Loen-style understatement.

Calvin withdrew his gaze, took a sip of red wine, smiled at Dwayne Dantès, and asked in a casual tone,

“How much did you earn this time?

“Don’t worry. I’m not asking so I can lower the price later. I’m simply curious.”

“Gold worth twenty thousand pounds,” Klein answered with a middle figure.

In reality, he had earned 25,000 pounds. But after paying Miss Messenger 10,000 pounds as remuneration, he had only made 15,000 pounds.

Colonel Calvin nodded.

“Not bad. If you need to turn those gold bars into gold coins, I can introduce you to someone from the Royal Mint.

“How was it? Did you discover anything unusual in Mesanyes’s territory this time?”

Klein did not need to recall. He said directly,

“Yes.

“There is a place called Resurrection Square there, and it was destroyed by lightning.”

“I know about that.” Colonel Calvin’s expression turned slightly solemn as he answered.

You probably don’t know that the one who created the lightning is the person standing right before you… Klein laughed lightly and changed the subject.

“Also, although Mesanyes appears to maintain a fragile balance among several powers, he has in fact secretly turned to one side. Of course, I do not know which one.”

He had no intention of betraying the Church of Knowledge and Wisdom. He was merely revealing a little information to gain the Loen military’s trust.

“The only thing that can be confirmed is that it is not us.” Colonel Calvin’s gaze deepened as he nodded.

“It should not be the Intis people either.” Klein helped them eliminate one wrong option.

Colonel Calvin gave an “mm.”

“That is still acceptable. Most of the factions around Mesanyes are supported by the Intis people. If he wishes to expand, he definitely cannot avoid them. When that time comes, perhaps we will be able to sell weapons again.”

At this point, he raised his cup.

“Storms above. May everyone make money together.”

As believers of the Evernight Goddess, Klein and Member of Parliament Macht could only smile and avoid responding directly.

After taking another sip of red wine, Calvin pointed toward the second floor.

“Dwayne, the reason I invited you here today is to have you accompany an important figure in a card game. Texas hold ’em.”

“Which important figure?” Klein asked with interest.

Calvin’s expression became a little more serious, while a faint smile remained at his lips.

“Admiral Amyrius. He has been reactivated and currently leads the Ministry of Defense.”

Admiral Amyrius… The admiral whose younger brother was removed from the governorship, whose mistress was terribly corrupted by the Mother Tree of Desire, and who himself lost his position as supreme commander of the Central Sonia Sea Navy? I worked with him before. I even impersonated him for some time… As expected, for a demigod, as long as one does not go too far and is willing to endure, one will always be able to walk out of a low point… Klein recalled all the events that had happened on Olavi Island and could not help feeling a little moved.

Toward this Admiral Amyrius Rieveldt, Klein still felt some guilt. Although most of what had happened back then had little to do with him in practice, the mutation suffered by the admiral’s mistress had ultimately been caused by the Mother Tree of Desire attempting to control him.

“In other words, our future cooperation requires this admiral’s approval?” Klein asked, appearing to come to a realization.

“That is correct.” Colonel Calvin nodded and pointed toward the stairs leading to the second floor. “Let us go up.”

Arriving on the second floor and stopping before a pair of dark-red double doors, Calvin turned his head to glance at Dwayne Dantès.

“Your task today is to lose money.”

Lose money? Klein looked Colonel Calvin up and down a few times, the corners of his mouth slowly curling upward.

“I will do my best.”

Member of Parliament Macht beside him laughed.

“Actually, you do not need to be too deliberate. Admiral Amyrius is excellent at cards. Even if you want to win, you’ll have almost no chance. Haha, I lose every time. Sigh. I only hope I don’t lose too much today. Otherwise, I may not dare return home.”

Klein nodded thoughtfully.

“I only brought two hundred pounds in cash. Will that be enough?”

“Definitely not.” Colonel Calvin laughed. “We have already exchanged one thousand pounds’ worth of chips for you. Just remember to pay it back next time you come.”

The senior barristers of Loen make only around a thousand pounds a year in public income… You bunch of corrupt bastards… Klein looked Colonel Calvin up and down again.

This colonel did not notice anything at all. He lifted a hand and lightly knocked on the door.

After a moment of waiting, the double doors creaked backward, revealing the scene inside.

It was a hall covered with a thick, soft carpet. There was not much furniture, making it appear rather spacious.

At the center of the hall stood a card table large enough for more than a dozen people, surrounded by high-backed chairs of luxurious design.

Around the edges of the hall were gold-inlaid furniture, marble statues, tea tables holding books and newspapers, and a set of leather sofas.

With one glance, Klein saw Amyrius Rieveldt seated at the head. Compared with before, this admiral had not changed much. His black hair was neatly combed back, his blue eyes were dark and deep, and the corners of his mouth drooped slightly. His face bore no beard. His bearing was old-fashioned and serious, and he wore dark-blue clothing with epaulets. Every detail was careful and meticulous.

Shifting his gaze, Klein discovered another “acquaintance.”

This man had thick but tidy black eyebrows, short, stiff hair of the same color, eyes so deep blue they were nearly black, and a high nose bridge like a mountain peak. A large expanse of beard extended around his mouth. His outline was deep, his face long, his lines cold, and he carried an extremely hardboiled flavor.

This was MI9’s Deputy Director, Qonas Kilgor!

He was one of Klein’s targets upon returning to Backlund, the middleman for the Demoness Sect and a certain royal faction in their human trafficking operation, and an accomplice in the Great Smog of Backlund!

This major general and deputy director had exceptionally broad shoulders that stretched his white shirt and black waistcoat extremely tight. He was currently focused on a game of Texas hold ’em.

There are two—no, three—demigods at one card table. How is this game supposed to be played? Interesting… Klein found a seat and sat down, observing the other people around the card table.

During this process, an attendant brought over a large stack of chips worth a total of one thousand pounds.

In the first few rounds, Klein looked at his cards and discarded them immediately. He behaved very cautiously, as though he would never raise or call unless he had a good hand.

Admiral Amyrius’s style was exactly opposite. He was not conservative in the slightest. He called nearly every hand, raising again and again with an extremely aggressive style.

For any round in which he participated, the game rarely reached the showdown stage. Most people could not endure that pressure, nor the admiral’s own authority. After calling once or twice, they folded one after another. Among them, someone tried to catch Amyrius Rieveldt bluffing, only to run into the admiral’s four nines. His face instantly turned pale, as if he had been sentenced to death by a judge.

Qonas Kilgor had yet another style. He lost a hand from time to time, but the total amount of chips was small and had no major effect. And on the hand after he lost, he would often successfully empty the chips of the person who had just won from him, forcing the other party to spend money and buy in again.

Why bother? Playing cards with mid- and low-sequence Beyonders, even ordinary people, why use abilities to cheat? Others cannot tell, but how could I not? One is pressure from the Arbiter pathway’s authority, and the other is the Bribe of a Baron of Corruption… Klein looked at his hole cards, a five of hearts and a nine of clubs, and shook his head so slightly it was almost imperceptible.

He could not help seriously thinking about what abilities of the Seer pathway could provide help if he wanted to cheat:

“Turn all the card-game opponents into marionettes? Then I could win as much as I wanted and stand undefeated. But that has no practical value. It is not as if I’m planning a death poker tournament…

“Pity there aren’t many mosquitoes here. Otherwise, I could control their Spirit Body Threads, turn them into marionettes, and have them help me look at other people’s hole cards…

“A Faceless can only transform himself, not the cards…

“A Magician’s illusions? Against ordinary people and mid- to low-sequence Beyonders, the effect should be decent, but there are two demigods here…

“Use a Clown’s wrist ability to swap cards? Useless. The dealer handles the dealing and shuffling…”

As thoughts flashed like lightning, Klein discovered that only the Seer’s own ability seemed useful.

He tossed his two hole cards away, indicating that he would not call. Then he picked up a metal chip and flipped it back and forth between his fingers.

At that moment, Amyrius Rieveldt suddenly raised his head and looked at him. Then he withdrew his gaze and pushed out a pile of chips.

As expected… Klein nodded inwardly without the slightest surprise.

During their previous cooperation, he had learned that Admiral Amyrius could distinguish ordinary people from Beyonders based on differences in their “positions,” and he suspected that the other party could even determine a Beyonder’s level—that is, their “position.”

However, Klein was not too worried about this. A Bizarro Sorcerer possessed a certain degree of concealment, which was also one of the reasons why, after reaching Sequence 4, he could restrain the special trait from the gray fog attached to himself. This gave him confidence that the other party would not be able to discover his exact rank. But since he had not performed corresponding interference beforehand, he suspected Amyrius could still tell that he was a Beyonder.

Therefore, Klein simply chose to reveal a small problem proactively, making it appear as though he could easily be seen through and easily grasped.