"Erden have you heard the latest news?"

Erden was in front of his forge working on a sword order that the city guards had recently placed when his neighbor came bursting in.

If this was in the past the sudden appearance of his neighbor would have startled him enough that he messed up the forging process.

Now however he was so used to the man just barging in that he didn't give it a second thought and just continued working on the current sword in his hand until it was complete before he answered his neighbor.

"What news?" Erden asked in an annoyed tone.

"Bror Whitflare is dead." The neighbor revealed.

"WHAT!" Erden said in shock before his face turned to worry.

(This can't be a coincidence anymore, shit shit.)

"How did he die?" Erden asked.

"It seems he burned to death, almost beyond recognition." The neighbor replied.

"So it wasn't a murder." Erden said with relief.

"Actually that may not be the case," The neighbor began to explain. "Five other senior members of Whitflare's organization were found dead on the stairs with stab wounds in their skulls. It seems the five criminal leaders pissed off someone dangerous this time."

(Fuck, fuck, fuck. If it is that brat from before then he only needs to kill Bim Bokoz and take down the northern district criminal organization before he will be coming back here to use my forge.)

(This can't be happening, it was supposed to be an impossible task that the brat would never be able to complete. He would then have to come back and request that I manufacture those bullets for him since I am the best blacksmith in the Rosk kingdom.)

(I need to think of a way to get my hands on those bullets, even if I can't get him to tell me the manufacturing technique, I should be able to reverse engineer them after studying them.)

Erden was so lost in thought he didn't notice that his neighbor had left a while ago.

While Erden was thinking up possible solutions his eyes wandered to the sword he had just finished before a smile appeared on his face and he said, "I know."

***

Tommy was standing outside a rather large building that had the name 'Bokoz's relaxation ring' above the door.

According to the information Chelna had provided, Bokoz's relaxation ring was split into two sections, first was the legally recognized gambling games and events that happened in the main building before him, the most popular of these were the gladiatorial death matches that strong warriors or powerful magic uses competed in.

Death matches were not illegal in the Etria empire, on the contrary they were one of the most popular sports.

The second was the illegal fighting ring which also contained gladiatorial death matches, however these death matches included dangerous monsters. Any kind of contests including monsters were only allowed if they were held at least five miles away from any city.

Apparently in the past a major trade hub of the Etria empire had built a magnificent Colosseum in the middle of the city to hold grand sporting events and fights to the death.

Unfortunately many of the monsters that were held captive there somehow escaped before going on a rampage through the city killing a large percentage of the city's residents before they escaped the city.

This event damaged the cities reputation and so to its income, which then went on to damage the empire's income, because of this the emperor at the time decreed that while gladiatorial contests against monsters where allowed, they had to be conducted in arenas built at least five miles from any city.

Tommy was amused when he heard this, after all the monsters that people loved to watch kill or be killed in the arena were not so well loved when they were about to bite your head off.

If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

The underground fighting arena was a very gray area for the royal family. If it wasn't for the fact that the current emperor didn't really care about the matter or the lives of his people all that much, the royal family would be facing some serious punishment.

(Last one.)

((How about we go out with a bang.))

(Just what I was thinking.)

((We know.))

Tommy casually entered Bokoz's relaxation ring before looking around to get his bearings.

Directly in front of him was some sort of information kiosk with staff members answering customers and giving them directions.

Tommy continued to look around before he saw a set of stairs leading downwards with a guard standing in front.

As Tommy approached the guard said, "Closed until tonight."

"Closed? I thought this place was allowed to stay open even in the lockdown?" Tommy asked in return.

"You must be new in the city." The guard replied. "The normal activities and entertainment are indeed available , however downstairs is…. special and only opens to VIP's at night."

"By VIP's you mean the rich and the powerful." Tommy replied. "Also I know what's so 'special' about downstairs, Prince Mirvef told me."

The guard reacted in surprise upon hearing the name of Prince Mirvef before asking. "The bastard prince, he hasn't been here in a few weeks, something to do with having too much fun with the hookers at Club Tai."

(Bastard prince a?)

((Kekeke, seem's the king can't keep his dick in his pants.))

"And do you think Club Tai can satisfy his interests now that the owner has been killed?" Tommy asked in return.

"Good point." The guard acknowledged before adding. "If the prince told you about this place he must have mentioned that the vip area is not open during the day."

Tommy shook his head before saying, "You're mistaken, I wasn't here to watch any fights, I'm here to see Bim Bokoz."

"The boss?" The guard replied. "Do you have an appointment?"

"No, Mirvef just said I need to mention his name and Mr Bokoz would see me." Tommy replied with a frown.

The guard chuckled before saying, "It seems the bastard prince still thinks too highly of himself, his name is not enough to earn a meeting with the boss."

"I figured that dickhead was talking shit." Tommy cursed, catching the guard by surprise.

"Careful friend, he may be a bastard child, however he is still the prince and talking shit about him like that could get your head cut off." The guard advised.

Tommy scoffed before saying, "Please he wouldn't dare, my wealth gives me the ear of the emperor himself."

The guard frowned before saying, "That's a bold claim friend."

"One I can back up here." Tommy replied before taking out the dagger containing the coat of arms for the Etria Imperial family.

The guard's eyes widened in shock as he stared at the dagger containing the Etria Imperial family's coat of arms, and he wasn't the only one. Several individuals had stopped to watch the show when they saw someone trying to enter the VIP area during the day, however they never expected the person dressed in commoner clothing to be related to the imperial family.

It was common knowledge that the only people outside the direct family allowed to carry something bearing the Etria Imperial family's coat of arms was someone who was acting on behalf of the emperor himself.

"My apologies sir." The guard saluted respectfully. "I had no idea you were here on behalf of the emperor himself."

(On behalf of the emperor himself?)

((It seems like this dagger carries more weight than we originally thought, no wonder that naked girl wants it.))

"Is the emperor's name enough to get a meeting with Mr Bokoz?" Tommy asked.

The guard started to sweat slightly, if the emperor's name was not enough to get a meeting then whose was?

"Of course sir, one moment please." The guard said before turning and calling to a colleague. "Escort this esteemed guest to meet the boss."

The new guard nodded before saying, "This way please sir."

The first guard stepped aside with another salute before the new guard led Tommy down the stairs towards the VIP section.

After Tommy had entered the staircase the guard pulled out a communication orb.

***

Beneath Bokoz's relaxation ring's building there was a large office that looked out over a large gladiatorial arena that was surrounded by stands.

In the office where two men were talking, one was sitting behind a large impressive desk, while the other sat in a chair in front of the desk.

"So it's confirmed, Bror is dead." The man behind the desk said with a frown.

"Yes boss, we just got confirmation that he burned to death in the cannabis grow room while the other senior members of his organization were all stabbed to death in the head." The man in front of the desk replied.

"What a way to go, being burned alive, fuck." The boss said.

"Are you so sure he was burned to death boss?"

"It would make sense, after all the people behind the deaths of the other leaders have also damaged their business in one way or another, my guess is the killer set fire to the grow room while Bror was inside before locking him in." The leader said.

The man in front of the desk was about to reply when his communication crystal signaled that it was receiving a communication request.

He pulled it out and frowned before looking at his boss and saying, "It's one of the guards upstairs."

"Answer it, they know better than to contact you unless it's something important." The boss instructed.

The man nodded before accepting the request, "What is it?"

"Sorry to disturb you boss, however I need you to find boss Bokoz immediately as there is a very important guest on his way to meet him." The stairs guard voice announced.

Both men frowned before the one in front of the desk said angrily, "You let someone down here to meet the boss without an appointment? Do you want to lose your job?"

"I'm sorry boss, but this man was too important for me to refuse, he is here on behalf of the emperor himself."

"WHAT!" Both men in the office yelled in shock as they stared at the communication orb.