What Witch? This Alchemist is Breaking Bad!

One evening after some time had passed, in the Foyle Region, near the port city of Manas.

On a small island in the middle of the river stood a lighthouse.

Several ferries were docked beside this small river island. Cadres from the various territories under the Earl’s influence disembarked one after another, briefly greeted one another, then each took their followers toward the small house beside the lighthouse.

Starting five days ago, letters of summons had been delivered to them one after another, inviting them to come to this river island in Manas for a secret discussion.

They had no choice but to take these secret summons seriously, because the initiator was Johnny Willman. This small island had always been one of the Earl’s supply transfer stations and was controlled and used by Johnny Willman.

Ever since Earl Foyle, Ophelia, and Bishop Beckett had all been declared dead, the only person within the organization with enough influence to summon all the Cadres together was basically Johnny. More than a month ago, most of the Cadres had already begun trying to contact Johnny after he returned to the Empire. Johnny had responded to their contact and learned about the recent situation from these Cadres.

This time, Johnny had initiated a gathering for discussion and given them a reason they could not refuse: to discuss how to deal with Fenrir, the Cadre responsible for business in the territories of Southport County and River Valley County, who had killed the Earl.

After the Earl’s death, some Cadres had proposed eliminating Fenrir to avenge the Earl. Almost every Cadre had fully felt Fenrir’s threat and regarded him as a formidable enemy.

However, a joint attack by the Cadres had not immediately taken place. Faced with Fenrir, who had successfully killed the Earl, no Cadre had absolute confidence that they could win after starting a war against him. This was especially true for those whose territories bordered his, who were extremely worried that once war began, they would suffer devastating retaliation from the other side.

On the other hand, Earl Foyle had always allowed the forces of the Cadres to restrain one another, so the relationships between different Cadres were not particularly close, and there were even some grudges between them.

To make all the Cadres unite, someone had to take the lead, but no one possessed that level of prestige.

Johnny’s initiative in summoning them this time had effectively given the Cadres reassurance.

They understood Johnny’s strength very well. Even when Earl Foyle had first come into contact with him, Johnny had already occupied a territory of his own and made a name for himself in the Underworld through force.

If they could gather under Johnny’s command, then by joining forces they would absolutely have a chance to fight Fenrir, and they would also have a chance to seize the Production Base on Arend Island.

Ever since the Earl’s death, their source of supply had been cut off. This time, Johnny had returned from Moirland with some Magic Essence and Magical Beast Materials, but compared with the enormous demand across the Earl’s territories, it could still only relieve the shortage temporarily.

Only with a continuous supply of Magic Essence could their businesses continue operating as before.

“Gentlemen, please stop. Only guests personally invited by the Captain may enter the house. No weapons are allowed inside. Thank you for your understanding.” A young man dressed as a sailor stood at the entrance of the lighthouse house and addressed the approaching Cadres.

The Cadres present all recognized him as one of Johnny’s subordinates. At the same time, several other of Johnny’s subordinates stepped forward, preparing to search them.

The Cadres cooperated fully, removing their respective weapons and handing them to the followers they had brought, instructing them to wait off to the side.

At present, it was not merely that they needed Johnny’s help. If Johnny could successfully eliminate Fenrir, then he would possess enough prestige to integrate the forces across the territories and find a way to restore the entire organization’s business to normal operation.

After being searched, the Cadres entered the small house one after another. The furnishings inside were simple, with only a long table placed in the center and chairs already arranged around it.

Along one long side of the table facing the door through which they entered were six chairs, corresponding exactly to the six Cadres who had been summoned.

On the opposite side of the long table, facing the inner room door, Johnny was already seated there, with another chair beside him.

“Mr. Johnny.” The Cadres removed their hats one after another and greeted Johnny, each of them exceedingly polite.

“Very punctual. Sit.” Johnny’s expression, by comparison, was much colder as he gestured for everyone to sit down.

The Cadres who arrived first took their seats, while the rest arrived one after another and, at Johnny’s indication, found their places and sat down.

After the initial pleasantries, everyone gradually fell silent until the room returned to complete stillness.

The six Cadres all looked toward Johnny, waiting for him to deliver an opening statement.

Yet Johnny merely sat where he was, tapping the tabletop with his fingers, his eyes also fixed on the table, looking deep in thought.

The Cadres exchanged glances, all feeling somewhat awkward.

To be honest, none of them actually had much of a relationship with Johnny. Johnny currently had little interest in the businesses across the territories and did not seem to think much of the Cadres under the Earl either, so there had been very little contact between them.

This time, they had accepted Johnny’s summons entirely because only Johnny had the ability to deal with Fenrir, who had killed the Earl.

When truly facing Johnny, they were actually quite nervous.

In the end, one Cadre finally could not hold back and tentatively spoke: “Mr. Johnny, everyone is here now, shouldn’t we……”

Johnny finally raised his head and glanced at him, looking as though he had only just noticed there were people present.

“Ah, there’s still one more person, but we’ll ignore him for the moment.” Johnny replied.

“May I ask, who else?” the Cadre asked in confusion.

At Johnny’s words, everyone’s gaze fell on the empty chair.

“Someone who can solve our current problem. You should all know why I summoned you here, right?” Johnny asked.

The Cadres nodded one after another.

“Mr. Johnny, since you summoned us here today, you must already have investigated everything clearly. Fenrir, that damned traitor, killed the Earl and nearly destroyed our organization! It’s time for him to pay the price!” one Cadre spoke first.

“As long as you give the order, we’re ready at any time.” another Cadre hurriedly echoed.

“If I give the order, you’ll cooperate?” Johnny confirmed while sweeping his gaze across everyone.

“That’s right!”

“Without hesitation!”

The Cadres either nodded vigorously or gave firm replies, each of them looking passionate and righteous as though they were about to march straight onto a battlefield.

“Then can you tell me what preparations you’ve made during these past two months?” Johnny suddenly asked.

The Cadres all froze. For a moment, no one immediately responded, like careless students suddenly subjected to a surprise homework inspection.

One Cadre organized his thoughts and was just about to speak. It was not as though they had done absolutely nothing. Under Fenrir’s threat, most of the Cadres had begun recruiting men and preparing themselves for battle.

But Johnny immediately began pressing them with questions: “Has anyone infiltrated his territory? Has anyone launched an attack to sabotage one of his important strongholds? Has anyone dug up any key intelligence?”

The Cadre who had just opened his mouth immediately closed it again, and the others wisely remained silent as well.

During this period, everyone had been fearing for themselves. No one had dared to take the risk of proactively provoking Fenrir, and they also lacked someone to initiate a united effort.

“In other words, during all this time, you’ve simply watched him develop in silence, waiting for me to come back so I can take my brothers and fight him to the death, while all of you follow behind and pick up the meat afterward, is that it?” Johnny laughed and spread his hands.

“Mr. Johnny, that’s going a little too far.” The oldest Cadre, whose hair was already graying, suddenly spoke, “I can’t speak for the others, but I sincerely want to avenge the Earl. I simply lacked the conditions to do so. Acting rashly would only invite pointless destruction. Preserving our strength and waiting for your return was the best strategy. Now that we have you as our backbone, we absolutely won’t hesitate to contribute our strength.”

Seeing him say this, the other Cadres also began chiming in.

“I remember the Earl once did you a favor, didn’t he, Mr. Turtledove.” Johnny stared at the elderly Cadre and asked.

“Strictly speaking, everyone here has received favors from the Earl. You are no exception, Mr. Johnny.” Mr. Turtledove replied.

“Don’t lump me together with all of you. I don’t owe Mastan anything.” Johnny replied coldly, “You’d better not think you’re qualified to speak for me.”

Mr. Turtledove suddenly felt a chill run down his spine, while the other Cadres also began faintly sensing that the atmosphere was somewhat wrong.

“In any case, the truth is that you simply have no way to solve the problem in front of you, so you can only place your hopes on me.” At this point, Johnny nodded meaningfully, “In that case, I happen to have a way to resolve this matter right now.”

The Cadres all perked up, waiting for Johnny to explain the next strategic direction. Some looked toward the empty seat beside Johnny. Johnny had previously said he had invited someone who could solve the problem, yet none of the Cadres present could think of anyone in this world more suited to dealing with it than Johnny himself.

“Alright, come in.” Johnny suddenly turned his head and called out.

The door to the inner room was suddenly pushed open, and everyone’s gaze focused on it at once.

Then Leon, the person at the center of their discussion, pushed open the door and casually stepped into the room, taking the seat beside Johnny.

Seeing Leon and Johnny sitting together and scrutinizing them, every Cadre sucked in a cold breath. Some were so astonished that they stood up on the spot, while others instinctively reached toward their waists, only to remember that their defensive weapons had already been confiscated.

Here, unarmed and facing these two monsters, they were nothing more than meat on the chopping block.

“W-what is the meaning of this, Mr. Johnny!?” one Cadre raised a hand and nervously pointed at Leon.

“Associating with a traitor like him……you betrayed the Earl too!?” Mr. Turtledove was the first to react, staring at Johnny in disbelief.

“That’s the second time you’ve said the wrong thing. I’ll say it again, I don’t owe Mastan anything, and he’s already dead without entrusting me with anything. How exactly am I supposed to betray a dead man?” Johnny lazily replied, “Say the wrong thing one more time, and you won’t get another chance.”

“Sit down. If I wanted to kill you, all of you would already be dead.” Leon slowly said, “Now that everyone is here, let’s talk business.”