My Divine Pet Enables Me To Become The Biggest Winner
Chapter 284 - 279: Black-water County_1

Chapter 284: Chapter 279: Black-water County_1

Owen Bertram could not help but frown. Sophia and he had merely shared an employer-employee relationship, but through their many instances of cooperation, some rapport had developed. He couldn’t just abandon her.

However, Sophia was a veteran of this lifestyle and when she said something like "The Harrison Clan runs deep," it was mostly to boost her own value out of fear of being abandoned.

Of course, local clans like these had a profound heritage and vast influence. But for the Harrison Clan to claim possession of the Fifth Great Domain, Owen doubted it.

When it came to their "grand scale," they were referring to their size. Most regional clans lacked high-ranking battle power.

Owen pondered for a moment, it seemed he must take a trip to Black-water County.

In fact, when Owen first sent Sophia to investigate York Harrison, his intentions weren’t entirely above board. From their operation in Casterly County, the advantage to be gained was a precious mine.

Owen led his men out, intending to find some benefits for them. The precious mine, a valuable asset, would certainly not get distributed to the following Military Officers.

So, Owen wanted to scrape off some benefits from the Harrison Clan— these benefits were meant for his comrades.

However, after defeating the Demon Clan, the storage brocade pouch of the Cow Demon got distributed among his men which just barely sufficed. Hence, whether Sophia had a gain or not, it was no longer relevant.

"I’ll need to bring Lord over for this matter, I can’t directly communicate with Sophia.", Owen pondered: "But, I can bring some men over first. The matters in Casterly County are almost resolved, and the Harrison Clan... is one of the tyrants here. It is an obstacle for Lord Dunn and Master Lane’s new policy, might as well pull out this thorn."

Owen said, "Gather everyone here, this official has orders to give."

Ethereal Devin complied and soon the Old Fisher, David, and Vanessa Thoughts of Shadow arrived.

After a day of rest and recovery, David and Thoughts of Shadow’s conditions had greatly improved. Thoughts of Shadow was still weak, but David was already fine. Owen asked him, "How are you feeling?"

David waved his fist, "If Adair Barton were to come back to life, I could fight him again!"

Keep bragging.

Owen thought for a moment and said, "Call Nathan Lane back. Elder Old Fisher and Mayor Devin stay put, I’ll take David and Nathan Lane to Black-water County."

Then he added, "Have him bring Calvin too."

Vanessa Thoughts of Shadow also wanted to go:"What’s going on?"

"York Harrison’s uncle, York Harrison is up to something in Black-water County, I am going to handle it"

David’s eyes lit up as he thought of something. Owen nodded at him, "If everything goes as planned, the Harrison Clan won’t escape this time, you liaise with Master Lane and have them prepare on their end."

David immediately nodded, "Understood!"

Owen comforted Vanessa Thoughts of Shadow, "It’s just a local tyrant, no need to deploy a large force. Just us is enough. You stay at Looking Cloud Cliff and peacefully recuperate."

Vanessa Thoughts of Shadow was lackluster, "Alright."

Owen left immediately with David. On the way, they met Nathan Lane and Calvin from County Town. The three men changed into plain clothes and headed directly for Black-water County.

Nathan Lane was puzzled.

Owen had returned straight to Looking Cloud Cliff the previous night and hadn’t had a proper conversation with Nathan Lane about Calvin. In Nathan’s mind, Calvin was still a "suspect".

But when Owen’s orders came, Nathan didn’t have time to ask. He went to the county government office and talked to Calvin, who unexpectedly asked no questions. He simply left instructions for the matters of the county and came along.

However, during their journey, after they asked each other about their situation, Calvin didn’t interact much with Nathan Lane: he was a junior official who started off as bailiff and was therefore considered of low birthstock — a person Calvin looked down upon.

Nathan Lane, of course, could see that and was rather frustrated.

On the way, Owen asked Calvin, "The Harrison Clan in Black-water County has quite a reputation and control, do you know about their general situation?"

Calvin nodded, "Black-water County is almost all Harrison’s. They occupy thirty percent of the good farmland in the county. More than half of the shops in the city are owned by them"

"I’ve heard that the Harrison’s have a private army of more than 800 men in the area, and several cultivators."

"In all of Black-water County, York Harrison’s words carry more weight than those of the county magistrate. There’s a rumor that for anyone assigned to Black-water County, the first thing they have to do is visit York Harrison. Without York’s approval, their tenure won’t last long."

"I have also heard, that the Harrisons secretly control the gambling houses, docks, and human trafficking businesses - all the most profitable trades in Black-water County. No one knows what other dealings they have secretly."

Owen asked further, "Who is the magistrate of Black-water County, can we trust him?"

"The county magistrate is called Kent King. I don’t have any personal dealings with him, but I’ve heard he’s very young. He’s from Vera County, and his family is a large clan there. It is said that among the servants who came with him, there were two cultivators."

Owen was satisfied: there might be an unexpected gain. Take down a Harrison, and get a King as a bonus.

Later, when speaking about the reason behind their sudden trip to Black-water County to investigate York Harrison, Owen did not reveal Sophia’s identity. He just said that he had a secret informant who was conducting an investigation on the ancient well in the Harrison’s old mansion, and who had now fallen into the Lifeless Gorge.

Only David guessed that this so-called "secret informant" was probably the woman from Prince Henry’s dungeon.

"His bedfellow is in danger, yet he remains so calm. Typical of a man who causes chaos and then abandons his partner!" David grumbled. In actual fact, Owen wasn’t worried at all. As for Sophia... she was typically the kind of person who would "cause trouble that lasts for a thousand years." - not so easy to come to harm.

The four of them entered Black-water County, Nathan Lane suggested, "Let’s find an inn first, and secretly inquire about the old Harrison mansion and Lifeless Gorge. We must handle this covertly, as it’s enemy territory and they are likely to have ears everywhere. Any little stir will be detected by them. It’s better if I go..."

Owen waved his hand, "No, after entering the city, we’ll make inquiries at every teahouse and restaurant, one by one."

Nathan Lane: "..."

Owen gave a small smile, "Just do it that way, it’s better if they find out sooner."

Nathan Lane was excellent at handling cases and his suggestion was the best choice for normal investigations. And, Owen believed, that if he were to go and probe for the information, he would be very discrete and it would not be easily detected by the Harrisons.

But, Nathan Lane was still only focusing on the case, he lacked a broader perspective.

This time, Owen didn’t plan to infiltrate quietly. Instead, he wanted to act overtly. Just the four of them - excluding Nathan Lane and Calvin, mainly Owen and David, were enough to combat the local tyrant with their military strength.

With such an immense difference in power, they simply needed to overrun them, resolving the issue in the quickest way possible. There was no need to gather information and investigate.

A more profound reason was: if they acted covertly and were discovered by the Harrison clan and Kent King, they would quickly heighten their vigilance and secretly destroy the evidence. Owen’s plan to implicate the King Clan might therefore fall through.