Chapter 162
For the next several minutes, Rat and Mouse slowly explained everything that had happened after Nate had been dragged away by the city guards.
The conversation progressed at a painfully slow pace, partly because both of them were still trying to catch their breath after the beating they had nearly received, but mostly because neither could truly believe the man standing before them was the same Nate they had grown up with.
Mouse, in particular, remained suspicious.
More than once, he interrupted the conversation to ask about things only the three of them should have known. He brought up old hiding spots, stolen loaves of bread, and even asked what nickname Nate had once given the old drunk who slept beneath the sewers.
Nate answered the first few questions before finally losing his patience.
“You done or you still think I'm a skinwalker?”
Mouse hesitated. “Just one more—”
Nate smacked him across the back of the head.
“Ow!”
Mouse rubbed the spot while glaring at him for a second before a grin slowly spread across his face.
“Yeah...” he muttered. “That's definitely Nate.”
Rat let out a quiet laugh, though it quickly faded. “Most people thought you were dead,” he admitted. “Honestly... we did too.”
Nate wasn't particularly surprised.
As far as the slums were concerned, being dragged away to become a forsaken usually meant never returning again. Dead or alive hardly made a difference when nobody expected to ever see you.
Maybe that was why Gundar had become bold enough to move against the rest of them.
After Nate disappeared, his old crew had eventually been forced into working under Gundar's gang. It hadn't been much of a choice. The gang controlled a large portion of the district, and refusing them usually ended with broken bones or a knife in the dark.
For months, Rat, Mouse and the others had stolen whatever Gundar ordered them to steal, handing over nearly everything of value.
Unfortunately, the jobs had recently dried up. They hadn't managed to bring back anything worthwhile for weeks.
Gundar, unsurprisingly, hadn't appreciated excuses.
“So he took Dela,” Mouse said bitterly. “Said she'd earn him more coin than all of us put together.”
Nate frowned. Actually, he had never particularly liked Dela.
The woman had possessed one of the foulest mouths in the entire slums and seemed capable of insulting someone without taking a single breath. More than once, she had argued with him on the most petty reasons and wanted more share because according to her she worked the hardest.
Still, she had never betrayed him, and wasn't bad to look at. Actually, there was no denying she was beautiful.
Far prettier than most women living in the slums.
Had she been born anywhere else, some wealthy merchant or minor noble would've probably taken her in as a concubine without hesitation.
Instead, fate had left her here.
Now Gundar intended to sell her to a merchant traveling beyond the kingdom's borders. Nate could easily understand why.
People like Dela fetched good money.
“So what were you two doing?” he asked.
Rat scratched the back of his head. “We... wanted to find where they were keeping her.”
Mouse let out a humorless laugh. “Instead, Gundar's men found us first. Guess they wanted to break our bones before sending us home.”
Nate silently nodded, and after letting the information settle for a few moments, he asked another question.
“Where are the others?”
Rat's expression darkened. “Baki and Nakush are dead.”
Nate blinked. “And Farsi?”.
“Farsi found work guarding a merchant caravan,” Rat replied. “Left Valers about two months ago.”
Nate frowned. “How did Baki and Nakush die?”
Mouse looked away. “They ate at a cheap inn. Food poisoning.” He swallowed before continuing. “It got really bad. We bought medicine... but it only made things worse.”
“You probably bought it from one of those cheap vendors,” Nate said.
Neither Rat nor Mouse answered. Their silence told him everything he needed to know.
Nate let out a slow sigh.
He felt sorry for them, but death had always been part of life in the slums. There wasn't much point dwelling on those who were already gone.
There were still people who could be saved. He looked back at the two of them.
“Where are they keeping Dela?”
Rat's eyes widened. “Wait...” he said. “Are you actually going to rescue her?”
Nate didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he looked down at the dagger resting in his hand, absentmindedly turning it once between his fingers. His thoughts drifted toward the past few months, the countless battles he had survived, the skills he had gained and the levels he had earned. He was no longer the scrawny street thief who had once run from every gang in the slums.
After a few moments, he looked back at the two of them.
“Is Gundar still living in that old factory?” he asked.
Rat and Mouse exchanged a glance before nodding almost simultaneously.
“Yeah,” Rat answered. “He never moved.”
Nate gave a small nod. “Then Dela's there too, right?”
“She is,” Rat replied. “We saw them dragging her inside ourselves.”
For a brief moment, Nate fell silent again before finally making up his mind. “Alright,” he said. “I'll save her.”
Both Rat and Mouse stared at him.
“But,” Nate continued, “you two are helping me. And once this is over, you should leave Valers. Gundar won't let this go, and I have no intention of killing him.”
Mouse frowned. “Where would we even go?”
“Head to Haven City,” Nate replied. “It's a good place to start over. Or pick a smaller town somewhere and build a new life there.”
Rat let out a dry laugh. “That takes money.”
A faint grin spread across Nate's face. “Don't worry about that.”
The confidence in his voice made both of them pause.
“For now,” he continued, slipping the dagger back into its sheath, “just listen to the plan.”
He looked toward the rooftops surrounding the alley, already piecing everything together in his mind.
“If I want to pull this off,” he said, “I'll need a big distraction.”
Both Rat and Mouse looked completely confused.
Nate didn't waste time before explaining his plan.
The plan itself wasn't particularly complicated. If everything went the way he expected, it wouldn't take more than a few hours to finish. By then, he could simply return to the longhouse before anyone had the chance to seriously come after him. Gundar might be a scary gang leader in this part of the slums, but that didn't mean he was stupid enough to provoke the army.
Even if the man somehow worked up the courage to leave the lower districts, he would only be drawing attention to himself. There were more than enough crimes tied to his name already, and the city guards would happily throw him into prison the moment he ventured too close to the better parts of Valers.
After patiently explaining every step, Nate looked between the two of them.
“You understand?”
Mouse slowly nodded. “I... think so.”
Rat looked considerably less convinced. “You really think this'll work?”
“It'll work well enough,” Nate replied. “Just don't mess up your part.”
Reaching beneath his cloak, he pulled out a small leather pouch before tossing it toward Rat.
The man barely caught it.
Curiosity quickly replaced confusion as he loosened the strings and peeked inside.
His eyes immediately widened. “S-Silver...?”
Mouse leaned over his shoulder before sucking in a sharp breath. “There has to be... twenty of them.”
“More,” Nate corrected.
Both of them looked at him as though he had suddenly grown another head.
Neither could understand how someone who had once struggled to steal enough bread for dinner was now casually carrying around a small fortune in the slums.
Of course, Nate wasn't exactly thrilled about handing over that much money either.
Still, the coins were necessary.
Most of them had come from betting during the tournament a while back, money he had earned far easier than anything during his years in the slums.
If he had managed it once, he could probably do it again.
Money could always be earned back. Dead friends couldn't.
“Only use it for the plan,” Nate warned. “All the coins.”
Both of them nodded repeatedly.
After going through everything one final time and making sure neither had misunderstood their role, the three quietly separated.
As Nate disappeared into another alley, one small doubt briefly crossed his mind.
Rat and Mouse were thieves. Nothing technically stopped them from taking the silver and disappearing.
Even so, he quickly dismissed the thought.
If there were two people from his old crew he trusted, it was them. Trustworthy wasn't a word Nate handed out lightly.
The fact that they had risked their own lives trying to rescue Dela instead of abandoning her was proof enough of their character.
Even if he somehow lost the silver, it wasn't the end of the world.
He could always earn more.
With that thought pushed aside, Nate shifted his attention toward the real problem.
Gundar.
Moving across the rooftops once again, he quickly made his way through the slums until the familiar outline of the old factory came into view.
Years ago, the place had employed dozens of workers from the surrounding streets. Now the broken windows, rotting wooden walls and rusted roof made it obvious those days were long gone.
Instead, Gundar had claimed it as his headquarters.
Nate slowed to a crawl as he reached one of the trees overlooking the compound.
The large factory gates remained firmly shut while groups of rough-looking men lounged outside, passing cards between themselves, gambling over copper coins and loudly exchanging gossip without the slightest concern.
Apparently, the group Nate had beaten earlier hadn't returned yet.
Otherwise, the mood outside would've been considerably more tense.
Remaining hidden, Nate patiently studied every movement below while tracing the fastest route into the factory through memory alone.
Breaking inside wasn't difficult. He had known the layout years ago. The problem was doing it sneakily.
He had no intention of fighting dozens of armed gang members by himself.
Fortunately, he didn't have to.
As though perfectly on cue, the distraction he had been waiting for finally appeared at the far end of the street, steadily making its way toward Gundar's factory.
A group of city guards marched toward the factory, fully armed and wearing polished breastplates that stood out sharply against the miserable surroundings of the slums.
A grin spread across Nate's face.
The city guards rarely bothered with the lower districts. Most of them considered the place a waste of time, leaving the gangs to rule as long as the violence didn't spill into the wealthier parts of Valers.
The ones stationed here followed that unsaid rule too.
Most had been dumped into the slums because they weren't particularly well-liked by their superiors, and there certainly weren't many opportunities to line their pockets with bribes when everyone around them was barely able to afford their next meal.
Hence, a bag full of silver… that was more than enough motivation for them to do most things.
As expected, the captain of the guards stopped before the factory gates and slammed the butt of his spear against them.
"Open up!" he shouted. "City Guard! We're here to inspect the factory for stolen goods!"
The gang members lounging outside immediately scrambled to their feet.
Card games were abandoned, copper coins forgotten as they hurried toward the gates.
"We ain't stolen nothing!"
"You've got no reason to be here!"
The shouting grew louder with every passing second. Nate knew exactly what would happen next.
Sooner or later, someone would run inside to call Gundar.
That was his window.
Without wasting another heartbeat, he moved.
His feet carried him silently across the thick branches overlooking the compound. The wood bent only slightly beneath his weight before he leaped onto another tree growing beside the factory. From there, he advanced farther along a thinner branch until it dipped deeply beneath him.
Perfect.
Directly ahead sat one of the factory's shattered second-floor windows.
There was barely enough room, but Nate still jumped.
For a brief moment, he hung suspended in the air before slipping cleanly through the broken opening and rolling across the dusty wooden floor without making more than a dull thud.
He immediately rose into a crouch.
The second floor had no one there. Not even bodyguards since the gangs were in a period of peace, and a lot of gang members were also out, probably looking for protection money from the locals.
That left only one person on this floor.
Gundar.
The fat bastard had always loved pretending to be important. Years ago, he had claimed the factory manager's office for himself and refused to sleep anywhere else.
Some habits never changed.
Keeping low, Nate moved through the familiar corridors with practiced steps. Every turn, every doorway, every rotten plank beneath his boots still lingered somewhere in his memory.
The voices outside continued growing louder.
Good.
That meant the distraction was working.
Reaching the office, Nate slowly peeked through the open window beside the door.
Gundar sat exactly where Nate had expected.
The gang leader had grown even larger over the years. His broad shoulders disappeared beneath layers of fat, while a thick double chin rested above his collar. His bald head gleamed beneath the afternoon light filtering through the cracked windows.
Despite his appearance, Nate knew better than to underestimate him. The man could fight, but he wasn't a class holder.
But then Nate's gaze drifted beyond the desk, and his entire body went rigid.
Four young women lay chained against the far wall.
All of them were unconscious. All of them had bruises across their wrists. Among them, he saw Dela, her condition same as the others.
Nate's fingers tightened around the dagger until his knuckles turned white.
For a single heartbeat, everything else disappeared.
The shouting outside, the plan, the rescue—None of it mattered anymore.
Something cold settled over his mind.
Before Gundar even realized anyone was there, Nate exploded through the window.
He crashed into the gang leader, driving him backward across the desk before slamming him onto the floor.
Gundar's eyes flew open in shock, but the dagger was already pressed against his throat.
"You know," Nate said quietly, his voice frighteningly calm, "I only came here to rescue a friend and rob you blind for gold "
His grip tightened slightly.
"But it turns out, I'm going to have to kill you too.”