Chapter 138: Submission
Arux finally understood why “Aguile” would make such a promise just now. He was already the top among the Greater Demons, and he vaguely grasp the feeling of almost breaking through the bottleneck. If he had this devil fruit, the chances of success would increase ten times or more!
Arux breathed heavily and suppressed the urge to s.n.a.t.c.h it from Royce’s hands. Royce said, “Master, please allow me to pa.s.s this fruit to my greatest friend. He needs this treasure the most right now.”
Arux was stunned and became emotional: Royce wants to gift me the devil fruit! And I even had the shameful urge just now!
Wait… What did Royce just call Aguile?
“Royce! What did you call him…” Arux asked unbelievably, shock showing on his face once again.
Royce had already calmed down. He answered, “One month ago, I pledged myself to the master.”
One month ago! Arux looked even more surprised. One month ago, wasn’t Aguile not even a Higher Demon? At that time, Royce even “helped” Aguile by killing Mikas. This was the reason behind the conflict between Joseph and Alan. Could it be… At that moment, Chen Rui said, “I reject your request, Royce. This is what I prepared for you, my most competent right-hand man. As for Arux, as long as he is willing to pledge his service, I will still keep my promise to him.”
At this point, he already knew too much. If he was not willing, then death was the only option.
Arux and Royce could tell that Aguile had more than one of this devil fruit that could drive all demons crazy except the royal families of the Demon Realm!
At that very moment, a wyvern appeared at the door of the hall. This wyvern’s body radiated power that could even make Arux tremble. A Demon Emperor level demonic beast!
Chen Rui walked over to it. That Demon Emperor level wyvern meekly enjoyed Chen Rui’s pats, as if it was not a powerful, fearful demonic beast but a small h.e.l.lhound that he raised for many years.
“My friend, it is time for you to make a decision.” Royce was already completely convinced by this master’s powers. He walked in front of Arux, “Do you not want to defeat Joseph with your own hands and wash away a hundred years of humiliation?”
“And serving him is not humiliating?” Arux still could not accept it. “He is just a Higher Demon that is slightly more powerful than me.”
“What about one month ago? He was still an Intermediate Demon that was much weaker than you,” Royce sighed. “When I pledged my service to him, he had only just evolved into a Higher Demon! That time, I was easily defeated by his symbiotic partner, and he barely use one percent on his power.”
“Symbiotic partner?” Arux frowned.
Royce smiled bitterly and said, “Do you still remember what is sleeping deeply in the blue lake?”
Arux’s facial expression changed immediately. “You mean that poison dragon! A powerful dragon is in a symbiotic contract with him?!”
Royce nodded his head. Arux felt like he had never been as surprised in his whole life than he was today. He looked at “Aguile” with a different perspective.
“The master already promised to help me get back Vasasha. Not just him, but I believe that one day even the glory of the Kunda Family can be revived by my hands.” Seeing the shock and surprises that Chen Rui brought, Royce could not help but think this way. If he said that he was a little anxious about this Vasasha situation initially, he now completely believed that Chen Rui could achieve this. He even thought about the distant goal of restoring his family’s glory.
“Thank you for your trust, Royce.” Another devil fruit appeared in Chen Rui’s hands. “I am not Joseph. My servants are my right-hand men that I can completely trust and depend on, and they are definitely not a sacrificial p.a.w.n that I would simply abandon. Arux, if you choose to trust me, then this fruit is yours.”
Arux gasped, suppressing his emotions. He stretched out his hand.
Not long after, in front of a terrace house on Fourth Street in the southeast area, “Aguile” appeared.
The arena’s matter was already complete. Just as he predicted, Arux signed a master and servant contract with him. As of now, four people had signed contracts to become his servants, including Slee, Royce, Dodo and Arux. His symbiotic partner was Paglio. There was a total of five contracts. He did not know what the limit of the Super System was.
Chen Rui only had one more devil fruit left in hand. There were six devil fruits from Rainy Forest. Athena used two, Chen Rui tried one, and two were given to Arux and Royce respectively. However, the devil fruit tree in galaxy garden could be harvested again in about a month. Chen Rui clearly remembered the surprise on the poison dragon’s face when he showed the devil fruit to Paglio. Unfortunately, it was ineffective on dragons.
Nevertheless, Paglio’s surprise followed after that. Chen Rui gifted him four bottles of Eternal potions. Even though the poisonous dragon had already accustomed to the “miracles” of Chen Rui’s body, it almost broke into tears when it received those four bottles of Eternal potions that no longer exist anymore. With the power of these four bottles of potions, as long as he could unlock , the poison dragon could still regain a part of its powers even if the ancient runes seal was still there. It was very likely that he could achieve Demon Emperor level.
The terrace house was originally the old den of the black market merchant, Silva. When Chen Rui bought fluorescent stones from him, he tried to kill him and rob him, but he ended up paying with his life. The terrace house had become the Cloak Gang’s base. It was tightly guarded. A number of cloaked silhouettes coming and going from it.
Chen Rui never expected that the attire he wore to hide his ident.i.ty would become the uniform. It actually become the identification of a large organization. After yesterday’s battle, Aguile’s name resounded through Dark Moon. Even demons who were not part of the Cloak Gang began to imitate the attire of this legendary person. Wearing a cloak seemed to have become a fas.h.i.+on statement.
Even though they were all wearing the same cloak, but the members of the Cloak Gang knew it was Chen Rui from his physique, mask and the Higher Demon power that he radiated. They all saluted him, clearing a path for him. Someone had already informed the old goblin, Didi. Didi immediately brought a crowd of people to welcome him with music. They sang slogans about the leader. Even though the momentum was not bad, it still seemed absurd.
Chen Rui watched the grand extravagance that the old goblin deliberately planned. For some reason, he thought that the “Constellation Immortal, morally superior, storming the world” slogans were too preposterous. He said with a hoa.r.s.e voice, “You are all dismissed. Didi, follow me.”
“Yes! Leader!” Right after those words were, the cloaked members whose “performance” got interrupted bowed in unison and left without hesitation. This was the demeanor of a powerhouse. Because Didi was weak in terms of powers, he could only use his master’s name to control the members. Now, the master publicly said that he wanted to meet him alone, reaffirming his role as a “trusted follower”. He hurriedly and delightedly followed Chen Rui into the yard. He pretentiously asked everyone in the vicinity to back away, making it appear like the leader had confidential matters to address.
“How is the shop that I asked you to open?”
The old goblin respectfully, “According to master’s orders, Didi opened a convenience store. The store sells all kinds of things; the business is quite good. That’s right, Didi even made the decision myself to accept daigou[1]. The customer only has to pay a small additional fee, then they can purchase the items they want safely in the city without having to take any risks. Jesse even took a few people to the north of the city to buy things just now.”
“Daigou?” Chen Rui thought of the daigou services that Earth had, such as Taobao and QQ online store etc. It was a convenient service for those who did not use the Internet or online banking. They just earned a small amount in handling fees or in rebates. Of course, this old goblin’s daigou aimed at overcoming Silva’s black market or certain risky transactions using the influence of the Cloak Gang. “How is the business of the daigou?”
“There were a few obstacles at first. Some merchants did not pay up. Because master was not here, there were a few times Didi almost lost money and my life. Once, even Jesse almost suffered a great loss. Thankfully, his teacher stepped in and got rid of the threat. After that, the business improved greatly. Now that the master defeated Arux, our Cloak Gang will become renowned. Even those sly merchants would not dare to pull any tricks.”
“Jesse’s teacher?” Chen Rui felt a bit surprised.
“It is a dark elf called Skye. It has the powers of a Higher Demon, and he even has two severely ill daughters. However, it seemed like Skye himself also suffered a grave injury before, and he has never recovered. He usually stays in the yard at the back, never showing himself easily.”
“I’ll take a look at this Skye later.” Chen Rui thought for a moment, then asked, “How many members are there in the Cloak Gang right now?”
The old goblin answered with utmost accuracy, “There are a total of two hundred and twenty one people. There is one Higher Demon, Skye and thirty-five Intermediate Demons, the rest are Lesser Demons or lower.
After the master defeated Arux, the number will probably still increase greatly.”
Over two hundred people? That is quick! Chen Rui remembered that there were only twenty or thirty at first. He was a bit shocked. “Besides the convenience store and daigou, are there any other sources of income for the gang?”
“There is also… some turned in possessions,” The old goblin stuttered. “Income is stable right now; the organization’s earnings are quite good.”
Chen Rui knew what he meant. Those “turned in possessions” must be wealth obtained by stealing or robbing. However, this was not a long-term plan. Since he decided to “rely on” Joseph, the Cloak Gang was no longer a dispensable plaything, but an important p.a.w.n.
“Oh right. Master, the head of the imperial guards, Kaguron personally came to the Cloak Gang just now. He said that Princess Shea is inviting master to palace to discuss matters.” The old goblin put on a proud look. “After master defeated Arux, everyone has been showing kindness. Even Princess Shea sends out an invitation.”
“I got it.” Even if Shea did not invite him, Chen Rui was already planning to visit the palace. “Let’s go take a look at that dark elf, Skye.”
The Cloak Gang must be reorganized. The function it would serve in the future was not small, but everything would only be decided after the meeting with Shea. Of course, with “Aguile’s” ident.i.ty.