The Ark Of Ashley, The Mafia Head

"No one is asking you to fight that guy... That's up to Baldwin to do so. All we are asking you is to command the Mafia at the Teuton Domain to work with Baldwin in an all-out search for the Hound. You were the previous head of the Mafia Clans Of the Five Domains, right?" asked Gillian.

Though it may have been nearly a year since the death of Ashley Dalles and a year and a half since the Marksman left the Mafia, the current leader of the Mafia held great respect for the dead man. After running away from home, Ashley joined and worked up the ranks of the Mafia for years.

The Hawkeye made his codename known to the leaders of the Mafia Clan as he killed off most nobles in the area. The best one he had accomplished was to assassinate his cousin, the Earl Of Dawn, despite so many others failing before him.

But Ashley never used the fact about him being noble to infiltrate the area... Instead, the man was well-equipped with the skills of a sniper and could aim at the right timing, as if he knew his target would stand at the place at the predicted timing and location.

Each Domain has a Mafia Clan with a Mafia Head to rule the nations, supported by mini-groups. But the main commanding area of the Mafia would be the Teuton Domain, where Ashley gained fame by saving the sewer rats from a particular Hound.

When the Mafia learned about his deeds, Ashley was thrown into an arena where he had to fight the Hound for the whole day. After realizing he might be in for a wild ride, Ashley did what he did best and fought for his life, using both gun and physical skills.

Eventually, the Hawkeye emerged victorious as the overall Mafia Head relinquished his title to Ashley, much to the confusion and shock of those around him. Since then, Ashley ruled the Mafia with a firm grip and worked with the Five Kings to establish peace.

Working with the Five Kings came after Ashley fought with Minwoo after not seeing each other for a long time. By then, Ashley was known throughout the nations as the one in charge of the Mafia. As a result, most feared him, and nobles dared not cross paths with the man.

So not only did conceding defeat would regain the bond with his brother, but it also created new connections. By working with his brother again, Minwoo went to Missions with Mavislin and brought Ashley along.

The moment that Mavislin knew Ashley would be a great ally to the Arks was when he decided to protect the Valkyrie by shooting away the flying knives hurling at her head. This sudden act, as well as many others, allowed the Hawkeye to gain the trust of the Arks.

"Well, let's see if my presence in the Teuton Domain would do any food for the newcomers there. Keep in mind that the turnover rate for the staff in the Mafia is faster than in other organizations. So my voice might not be too strong over there anymore," replied Ashley.

"But are you going to try?" asked Ysabeau.

"Do I have my boss's permission to head to Teuton? I haven't gone too far off yet, and the Teuton Domain is quite dangerous for Mages, so I don't know if my body is strong enough to do so. But Mav has summoned me as a fighting echo, so I should be quite sturdy for only one all-out battle."

"Any more, and I will have to retreat to Euphoria to recover," stated Ashley as everyone looked at the quiet Valkyrie.

"I have no qualms about him commanding the Mafia again, but does he have to go to Teuton now? Is there any other way we can relay the orders without Ashley being in Teuton?' asked Mavislin, finishing the soup.

"Well, if it was in my previous world, that should be fairly easy. However, as for this realm, I have no clue how we will communicate with that many people from such a far place. And even if we send Ashley to Teuton, it would take him days to tell all the personnel," said Raiyen.

"For this realm, we've got these bad boys. I finished making them before dispatching the new patrollers into the Teuton Domain after Baldwin headed out. We've got the Signal Crystals, and now we've got live voice commands that travel through linked devices and soundwaves."

"All Ashley has to go to my room and record a message for everyone to hear. Then, the only thing left to do would be Baldwin asking all the Mages to show the recording to a nearby Mafia staff," explained Z, happily showing off a purple crystal shard.