GREED: ALL FOR WHAT?-Chapter 2172: Live Or Die

Bushwick's eyes narrowed when he heard Black Knife's threat.

He took it seriously because he could sense Black Knife's confidence when the assassin made the threat. His first instinct was to kill Black Knife now. But he didn't make a move despite the overwhelming urge to do so.

It was because Black Knife wasn't bluffing that he decided to calm down. After all, the members of his family are the foundation of the rule of nobles. If he fails to kill Black Knife now, the consequences of an assassin hunting his family will be disastrous.

So he said, "I always keep my word. The first half of your payment has been arranged in the outskirts of the town by the abandoned winery. You will find the package just by the gate of the compound."

"Because you performed better than I expected, I will need to reward you more. It will take me some time to prepare it. Give me a week to settle down first. Everything should be ready by then."

Black Knife smiled and said, "Nice working with you. I also wish you good luck on your future endeavors."

After saying so, he bowed and disappeared into the darkness. Even Bushwick couldn't sense him, which made him narrow his eyes even more.

He thought to himself, "Looks like I will have to prepare better for our meeting in one week."

He stopped thinking about his plan to kill Black Knife in one week and turned to the matter at hand.

He said to the rank 3 warrior, "So there are just two lamp bearers alive. I hope that they are at their base so we can uproot both of them together. We should go there next and take down that base."

The warrior shook his head and raised three fingers.

Sir Bushwick didn't understand. He asked, "What do you mean three? What three? Are you talking about the lamp bearers?"

When he reached this point, the man nodded.

This reply made him wonder aloud, "Three lamp bearers? Who could be the third one?"

The warrior rolled his eyes and patted his chest.

Bushwick raised his eyebrow when he saw that. "You?"

The warrior shook his head.

Bushwick tried again, "One of us?"

The warrior nodded in agreement.

Bushwick found that answer to be ridiculous. He asked, "What do you mean one of…"

It hit before he completed the question. What he realized made him laugh.

He said, "Right. There's that boy called Shawn. I almost forgot about him."

He never considered Shawn a lamp bearer. Shawn had always been a spy for the family, so it took him a while to figure out who the warrior was referring to as the third lamp bearer still alive in the town.

He asked the warrior, "Should I kill him to silence him, or should I let him live so that he can help us acquire more information?"

There was no option to keep Shawn alive as a reward for his work. The rank 3 didn't care about this omission. In fact, the warrior didn't care if he lived or died. So the man shrugged.

When Bushwick saw the shrug, he knew that his brother didn't care and it was up to him to make a decision. He took this decision seriously because it will surely have a great impact on the family.

There is no doubt that Shawn being alive or dead will have a great impact on the family. What is uncertain is if the impact will be positive or negative.

Even though the Ivory family has won this battle and has gained temporary control of the town, he knows that the war between the nobles and the lamp bearers has only just begun.

Bushwick knows for certain that the lamp bearers will send people to investigate the death of the lamp bearers and punish those who are responsible for it. It will be a good thing for the Ivory family to know when these troublemakers come to town.

This is where the benefit of keeping Shawn alive might come from. The troublemakers might contact Shawn when they come to town, and Shawn might be able to leak critical information to the family.

On the other hand, if he leaves Shawn alive and the lamp bearers get a hold of him and use him to acquire critical information about the Ivory family from him. That will deal a great blow to the Ivory family.

So on one side is the benefit of more information if Shawn is alive, and on the other side is losing information to the lamp bearers.

Bushwick wanted to have the former without acquiring the loss of the latter. But he didn't know which choice to pick, as it concerned too much.

The wrong decision might cripple the Ivory family forever. The Ivory family might turn out like the previous noble family who were in charge of the town but who have been forgotten now.

Bushwick felt unprecedented stress as he struggled to make a decision. He even began pacing about, wondering what to do.

If he knew that the Lamp Bearers already know everything that Captain Shackel knows, he wouldn't be so conflicted. He would at least be sure that Shawn wouldn't be able to return alive after the lamp bearers nab him.

Eventually Bushwick came to a decision. He said to himself, "Why am I worrying so much? I'm not fighting the lamp bearers alone, and I don't need to do everything perfectly. I am just a wheel in this engine. As long as I do my part, everything will be fine."

He decided to reach out to his superior in the proposed liege system and let his superior make the decision.

After making this decision, his stress disappeared, and his mood lightened. He looked around and let himself savor the victory that he had just won.

The Lamp bearers are gone so he has gained complete control of the Ivory Town. This will be the first time in the history of the Ivory Noble Family that they will have complete control of their territory.