Tactician

After silently training for a night, Yang Ling felt that his Wizard Power had improved by leaps and bounds, his body brimming with energy. He could clearly see the Terras Yellow-tailed Bird perched on a branch far away through the fog. After a breeze blew past, he could clearly hear the gossip of two ladies picking wild vegetables on a hill.

"Giana, I heard that you are going to get engaged with Argus in two days?" A lady wearing a rough blue skirt asked her friend after slicing off a bunch of green maize.

"Yes, Argus and I are getting engaged the day after tomorrow." Giana smiled sweetly, blushing under her fair skin. She rubbed her aching sides and said in excitement, "In just two more months, Argus will be able to clear the debt he accumulated to treat his mother's illness. He might also purchase the house he mortgaged, if he can get an advance of half a year of pay from the butler. We would be able to get officially married then!"

Seeing Giana's sweet smile, the lady in the rough skirt was rather jealous. She sighed. "Giana, I really envy your Argus for being able to work for Sir Yang and earn a good sum of money every month. He sure is different from the bum I have back home, only knowing how to waste his life!"

Giana swept her hair back, then said, "This is all possible due to Sir Yang's benevolence. Otherwise, Argus would have died back in the forest. My mother has said that Sir Yang is the great benefactor of our household. I must get him to come celebrate with us on the day of our engagement!"

"Yes, Sir Yang is truly a good person. He is so powerful and handsome, the woman who married him would definitely be happy!" Talking about Yang Ling, the lady in the short skirt became more energetic.

"That's right, what woman in town is not jealous of Alice? To be able to stay with Sir Yang all day long, how blissful!"

"Giana, if you were given a choice, would you choose Argus or Sir Yang?"

"D*mn you, all you think about is nonsense like that!"

…

Placing their scythes in their baskets, the two young ladies started chasing each other and playing on the hill. In the end, they even bet to see which of them could kiss Yang Ling on the cheek first. Yang Ling shook his head when he heard this.

Am I a good person?

When he was little, others would hand over the five cents they picked up on the floor to the teacher while he would first think about using the five cents to buy himself a popsicle. When he was in college, the professor would often tell students to help each other, while he would always be thinking about how he could get his classmates to buy more telephone cards from him. He had never thought of himself as a good person.

He only humiliated the Anca family after defeating the Great Swordsman Batiste because he realized that Ymir would never forgive him after losing to him in the battle at the elf tribe. Thus, he thought he might as well meet Ymir's challenge, and he unknowingly helped the townspeople vent their frustrations in the process. After that, he had taken the opportunity to get rid of Ymir and keep the Anca family from continuing to bother him, but his methods seemed to make the people happy.

Yang Ling knew that he was not a good person, and he would not restrict his actions because of this title given to him. The term "repay kindness with kindness" was nonsense to him. In this world, there was only eternal profit, not eternal friends.

Thinking about this, Yang Ling suddenly remembered the tactician Goode that he had locked away in a secret place. According to the thief Fenlist, many of the schemes of the Anca family originated from this low profile person. Even though he did not care about his reputation, it was better to use someone hidden in the darkness to take care of some things that should not be exposed to the general public. Clearly, this Goode was a decent candidate.

Wissen Castle was large. In addition to the buildings on the surface, there was also an underground palace. The jails within that palace had an area of two standard sized football fields. Ymir's tactician, Goode, was locked away deep within the underground jail.

In order to prevent the criminal from escaping or someone from infiltrating the jail, Yang Ling had sent his most elite barbarians to guard the underground prison. These barbarians would only listen to his orders and nobody else's, not even the leader of the guards Casey.

Under Yang Ling's instructions, the leader of the barbarians, Jarlock, personally led the way. They made their way past many oil lamps, stepping on the cold basalt ground to an eerie underground cell.

The surroundings were covered in darkness, the air dank. One could even hear the sound of a mosquito flying past them. It was terrifyingly silent. An average person might break down if they were kept here, only able to look at the orange light from the oil lamp and the pitch black walls.

"Get up, get up, don't pretend to be dead!" Seeing the black-robed Goode curled motionlessly in the corner, Jarlock shook the thick steel bars of the jail cell.

Hearing the sudden sounds of the shaking door, Goode looked up in confusion. His face was haggard, his eyes dull. He looked like he did not have any strength in him, as if he had suffered greatly over these past days.

"Water, I want to drink water, water…" Rubbing his eyes and confirming that this wasn't a dream, Goode pounced forward, a little crazed. His lips were cracked and dry. It looked like he had not had any food for a few days now. After all, barbarians were barbarians. Being polite to prisoners wasn't high on their priority list.

When Jarlock looked at him, Yang Ling nodded his head. Jarlock understood and took out his water bottle, handing it through the steel bars. Ever since they had increased their number of blacksmiths and smithies, Yang Ling had ordered the dwarf Rumi to upgrade the gear of all the guards. Even though they were still unable to fit them with personalized armor and weapons, the guards at the very least had their own simple water bottles.

Gulp, gulp…

Finishing the sweet, cold spring water from the bottle, Goode exhaled deeply. He looked skeptically at Yang Ling, who was standing beside the barbarian Jarlock. His eyes darted sideways from time to time, seemingly more energetic than before.

"Jarlock, guard the door of this underground cell. No one is to enter without my orders!" Yang Ling sent the barbarian Jarlock out of the cell. There were things that were better known by the fewest people possible.

Silence, dead silence!

After the barbarian Jarlock made his way out, Goode silently looked at Yang Ling, his intentions unknown. Yang Ling also did not make a sound as he watched Goode fight to remain calm. Even though the other party was suppressing it, Yang Ling could still see streaks of unease in his eyes.

"You are Yang Ling?" After hesitating for a long while, Goode could no longer hold it in any longer and asked an obvious question.

"That's right, I am the Yang Ling who killed Ymir and leveled the Anca family. I am the blasted Summoner that you tried time and time again to kill." Seeing the other party speak first, Yang Ling let out a cold laugh.

"Haha, what a joke! Leveled the Anca family?" Goode wiped the water from his chin and said coldly, "Ymir's father took away a large portion of our elite warriors and spellcasters. You killed his only child. You won't have a happy ending!"

Seeing Goode quickly collect himself, his thoughts clear and words sharp, Yang Ling was secretly impressed. He knew that he had found the right person. Yang Ling had only been able to survive till this day because of Ymir's rash behavior. If Ymir was flexible enough to listen to the tactician Goode's advice, tolerating it until his father returned with the elite troops and spellcasters, Yang Ling might have fled in fear.

"I do not know how my life will end, but as for yours…" Yang Ling went straight to the point, poking Goode's weak spot.

Indeed, hearing Yang Ling say this, Goode's expression changed. He had not expected Yang Ling to turn defeat into victory and triumph over the terrifying Nine-headed Snake Monster. He also hadn't expected Yang Ling to act this fast, leading the people and attacking Wissen Castle that the Anca family had occupied for almost a century. He had not had the time to escape.