116: Ploy (6)

Ploy (6)

That was a rather elaborate plan… Billy considered several outcomes… even that in their town might have some spies disguised as merchants and peddlers. He even considered that some tribe members might have been working for the Count after being recruited by those merchants. Anna was raised in a tribe of warriors. Her only concern was with the fight with the monsters and other tribes. still, the conflicts never became like that, so she wondered how Billy considered all that without having any experience with that type of conflicts1

"They are here… I can feel their presences,"

Before Anna could keep thinking about that, she heard a familiar voice. Billy also recognized his and realized that his plan hadn't worked as he had imagined. After a while, he saw his friends accompanied by some of the tribe leaders and Pierre appearing.

"Everyone seems fine… thank goodness," Kate said after taking a deep breath.

"What happened? Why are you guys here?" Billy asked.

"We did as you told and tried to investigate the matter without raising any suspicions," Pierre replied. "Thanks to that, we found the work of some spies around the state… as you wrote, they worked to erase any information about your group. We captured some, but others escaped and alerted the Count. He escaped the city as soon as he smelled trouble."

Billy frowned… he knew that his plan wasn't perfect, but for such a thing to happen… he couldn't help but imagine that Pierre and the others did a sloppy job. He was looking a bit depressed like that was the case. As for Louise, she looked pissed like a vein in her head was about to pop out.

"Can we chase him?" Billy asked. "I am not planning to let things engs like this after what he made us endure."

"We will solve that. Some of our men are already chasing him," Pierre said. "I hate to do this, but I have some questions for you. It is true that you killed some guards? I also heard that some disappeared over the last five days."

"Yes, I killed them. They had weapons pointed at our heads, after all," Billy said. "As for the others, they are in prison. So, are you going to punish me?"

Billy said that as if he couldn't care less about what he did. It was troubling that he did that even in self-defense. He didn't look regretful either…

"Usually, that would be a crime that couldn't be forgiven, even despite the circumstances," Pierre said, and that made everyone gulp, aside from Billy. "But it seems that you discovered and freed some people that had faced some injustice. So, your good actions countered the bad ones."

Billy almost laughed… those people didn't notice that someone important was working behind their backs and that caused problems for him. He tried to solve them while being considerate, and that was what he got. It was laughable…

Fortunately, they recovered their things in the Count's mansion. Billy wondered if he abandoned his whole family, but it seemed that he only had a single son, and he took him with him. In the end, the group spent a full day resting in the inn they used before. Speaking of that inn, the owner assumed all his crimes, and he was put in prison. Pierre interrogated some of the guards since some of them had deep ties with the count, but they got nothing. A few days later, Billy discovered that the Count had managed to cross the border and now he would live in the Toles state.

"It isn't like I can't understand why you are in a bad mood, but you should at least try to hide that," Kate said.

"Give me more words of wisdom," Billy said while frowning.

"Anyone else wants to try?" Kate asked.

"No, thank you," Lily said. "We know Billy for too long to know that he will only be back to normal at home."

"Just leave him alone. He is the kind of guy that won't even say thank you after we came to help," Natalie said.

"Well, you should be thankful too, since I could have just killed everyone and caused tons of problems to our people," Billy said.

Billy slapped his face slightly to change his mood. He didn't like to be like that… angry for such a long time. He won't be rewarded, but he wasn't waiting for that anyway. And he won't be punished because he controlled his anger. Still, he already thought of a solution in case something happens… he will kill all the assholes that try to mess with him… no one will notice it if there is no one to notice it.

Billy managed to create a single and small ice sphere to liven up his mood. He hoped that such a thing would grant him a skill, but it didn't happen. It was probably because he had to cool down the sphere for five minutes… Nevertheless, everyone around him seemed impressed.

"That is ice…. right?" Kate asked. "Do you think that can be more useful than fire?"

"In certain circumstances…" Billy said.

For the time being, Billy didn't know which were those circumstances. Still, he was satisfied for the time being, knowing that he could drink cold water whenever he felt like it. Using ice to preserve food is also easier… so perhaps he can make money out of that too. Speaking of money, Billy recalled his Knives that he bought from John. Each one cost one silver coin, but he sold them for five after making them level up five times.

"Now we are talking…" Billy thought while smiling.

After more days, the expedition had been completed, and it was time to go home. Much to Billy's surprise, the people that they freed came to say their farewells. Maybe Jean was trying to make amends for his mistakes, but he gave Louise the title of a countess and made her the new head of the city.

"Someday, I will repay the favor," Louise said.

Billy just waved his right arm in silence since he wasn't expecting much.

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