nycdaug Chapter 359 Pompey
Chapter 359 Pompey
After that, Zhe followed Caesar and the others, while Billy took Ling back to the city first. After all, their video store still needed someone to look after it, while Kiana called the captain over and the two of them plotted something in the distance.
A few days later, Caesar dragged his somewhat tired body back to Wildfire Town. In the past few days, not only had the town's supplies mysteriously decreased, but several cases of missing children had also occurred, keeping Caesar, as the leader of the motorcycle gang, extremely busy.
After parking his motorcycle and taking off his helmet, Caesar noticed that Wildfire Town seemed unusually quiet today.
Feeling puzzled, she followed the crowd and found Pompey, the leader of the Triumphs and the current overlord, standing there. Beside him stood Lucius, his most trusted lieutenant in recent times. It was said that Lucius would inherit the Triumphs when Pompey stepped down, which showed how much Pompey valued the upcoming events.
For some reason, Caesar didn't see any of Lucius's usual arrogant and domineering demeanor. Instead, Lucius was bowing his head, looking like he had been taught a lesson.
As the leader of the sons of Calydon, Caesar naturally dared not be negligent. He quickly put down his helmet and came to Pompeii. It was only then that Caesar noticed that Kiana and the captain were standing behind Pompeii's tall figure.
"Uncle Pompey, is there something important that brings you here today?"
The other sons of Calydon breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing Caesar's return and instinctively moved closer to him. Pompey, seeing Caesar's return, closed his book and walked step by step to Caesar's side.
"I came here mainly to apologize on behalf of my incompetent subordinates."
Pompey's towering figure loomed over Caesar, his long-standing aura of dominance pressing down on everyone present, but Caesar remained unmoved.
"Apologize? Uncle, I don't think there's any misunderstanding between us, right? Why are you coming to apologize?"
"No, there are still some. Young lady, you should remember the recent reports from other motorcycle riders about you illegally intercepting cargo, right?"
After speaking, Pompey glanced at Lucius, whose body stiffened instinctively before he shakily approached the two men.
"With Kiana's help these past few days, we've finally figured out what really happened. To put it simply, my deputy Lucius was unhappy with your growing power backed by Wildfire Town and worried that you might actually take away the Triumphs' dominant position. So, without my consent, he started doing a series of unjust things to the son of Calydon, including framing the rope maker you hired from the city."
"What?!" Caesar exclaimed in surprise, then glared angrily at Lucius.
Those eyes, as innocent yet sharp as a young lion's, pierced Lucius's nerves. He had felt that same pressure from an angry Pompey. From that moment on, Lucius officially recognized Caesar as the ultimate enemy hindering his conquest of the Outer Rings. Fortunately, Caesar was simple enough that if he could ensure Pompey's death during the final stages of the Hellfire Ride, and then frame Caesar for it, leaving no evidence, his plan to conquer the Outer Rings would be foolproof.
As Lucius stood there, pondering his plans in a dark and gloomy mood, he was unaware that Kiana had already read his mind with her powers.
Meanwhile, Pompey was still explaining the details of the incident to Caesar. Finally, as an apology, Pompey personally bowed to Caesar, the young man, and allocated some of the resource-rich routes in the alliance to Calydon's son, which took effect on the spot.
However, Caesar was actually more concerned about Pompey than these things; she wanted to know more from him about what it felt like to be a ruler. Coincidentally, tonight, to celebrate the upcoming Hellfire Ride and Kiana's return, the town was planning a grand party.
Caesar took this opportunity to invite Pompey to the party as a thank you gift for the latter's painful relinquishment of those routes.
Pompey looked at the girl in surprise. He never expected her to invite him to the party so warmly. He had just told her that it was the Triumphs who had tarnished the reputation of the Sons of Calydon, but she didn't seem to care. Most importantly, Pompey could feel the pure sincerity in her invitation.
He could sense that the girl's heart was much broader than he had imagined. Compared to his own Lucius... At this moment, Pompey felt a sense of recognition. For the first time, he regretted not adopting Caesar and raising him as his successor. He could have taken in a relatively powerful force at the time—the remnants of Calydon's army.
Perhaps this is fate. Thinking this, Pompey subconsciously looked at Kiana, who was silently watching from the side, and his thoughts returned to a moment earlier.
"I never imagined that the kitten would still remember the place it came from after all these years."
Inside the Triumphs' base, Pompey sat on the sofa, looking at the documents in his hands, his work continuing as if those who had been defeated by Kiana and the Captain were not his subordinates.
"And you even brought back a man. After all, you were just a child when you left us, and in the end you chose to join the Sons of Kaludon and settle in Wildfire Town. You've been supporting them for so many years. Even if you consider the Outer Rings your home, you wouldn't come here to an old man like me, would you? And you even broke in."
"Don't say that, Mr. Pompey. I've spent at least half of my time living in the outer ring, and besides, my sister should have mentioned that matter to you a few days ago."
Upon hearing this, Pompey unusually stopped what he was doing, raised his hand to signal his other eager subordinates not to make a move, and then looked up at Kiana.
"I've already given her a very clear answer regarding your sister, Durandal. As long as she doesn't send a large number of people into the outer ring during the Hellfire Ride and helps me suppress those energy companies in the city, I will do everything in my power to help you find Perlman. Has my reputation already fallen apart? I even went out of my way to help you find those energy companies."
"So those energy companies were specifically marked out by you, Grandpa," Kiana sighed. "Although it's a bit redundant to say this, Grandpa, aren't you worried that they might retaliate against you?"
After saying that, Kiana gave Lucius a meaningful look, but he completely ignored her gaze and started shouting.
"Ha! Things really do change after we go to the city, Kiana. You're starting to look down on the outer city now, aren't you..."
"Lucius."
Pompey said in a deep voice, and Lucius stopped talking instantly upon hearing Pompey's voice.
"When did I give you permission to speak?"
"Boss, I...I..."
Lucius wanted to say something, but Pompey's glare silenced him, and he stood there speechless.
"Alright, the noisy person has shut up. Kiana, you'd better tell me your real purpose for coming here, or I'll have to ask you, your man, and the child with you to leave."
“Alright, I’ll get to the point.” Kiana took a deep breath and looked at Pompey with a determined gaze. “Old man, I’m here to seek justice.”
"Oh? What fairness?"
"Your subordinate Lucius has repeatedly intercepted other Motorbike Tribes on the routes controlled by the Son of Calydon through covert means such as sending his men or hiring people, and then framed the Son of Calydon for the crimes. Not only that, he also kidnapped these children to threaten the residents of Wildfire Town and demand that they cooperate with their operations to transfer the supplies stored in Wildfire Town to the Triumphs' territory in batches."
"Oh?"
Pompey raised an eyebrow and then looked at Lucius beside him.
"Lucius, do you agree to Kiana's accusations?"
"First, utter nonsense! As the second-in-command of the Triumphs, would I do such unjust and immoral things? Boss, you have to believe me! She was sent by the son of Calydon to slander me!"
"That's what he said, Kiana, do you have any proof?"
“There is evidence, of course. These children are witnesses, and these are audio files that the captain collected from the residents.”
After Kiana and the captain finished speaking, they handed the audio files to Pompey. Pompey then had his men bring over a player, while simultaneously signaling the children to come out and identify the murderer.
At first, the children were a little scared, but with the encouragement of Kiana and Pompey, they bravely identified Lucius as the mastermind behind their kidnapping. At the same time, the player that had the audio file inserted played his conversation with the residents of Wildfire.
Pompey vaguely recognized the voice; it seemed to belong to a woman named Casa. Casa was in charge of managing all the affairs of Wildfire Town, which was why Pompey had met her a few times and had some recollection of her.
It's easy to hear Casana's gritted teeth and Lucius's smug voice in the audio file.
"You wouldn't believe it, would you? Kasa kept a recorder on the whole time we met, so he could use those audio files to expose your actions after the children were sent back. Now, do you have anything else to say?" the captain asked.
"That woman... she actually tricked me!"
At this moment, Lucius's expression became extremely ferocious, but before he could lash out, Pompey, who had been sitting on the sofa, had already gotten up and come to Lucius's side.
“Lucius, I should have told you that we Triumphs always act with integrity and never resort to such underhanded tactics. It seems you haven’t listened at all!”
"Boss, I'll reflect on my actions! I promise! Please forgive me this time, okay?"
Lucius, his body trembling, knelt down in front of Pompey with a thud and desperately apologized to him, but Pompey remained unmoved and turned to look at Kiana and the captain beside him.
The two understood that Pompey was asking for their opinion, since the nature of this matter was indeed serious and it was not something Pompey could decide on his own.
Kiana then suggested that Caesar should make the decision, since Caesar was, after all, the leader of the Sons of Calydon, while Kiana was only a former member of the Sons of Calydon and could not make the decision on this matter.
That's why the scene just now happened, but Caesar isn't some kind of devil. Seeing Lucius being forced to apologize by Pompey, and given Pompey's personal apology and compensation, he naturally chose to forgive them.
Lucy, watching from the side, was filled with frustration. Caesar could have easily taken the opportunity to make an even bigger profit and take another bite out of Pompey, but instead, he simply forgave him without doing anything.
But since her leader had said so, what could Lucy say?
Conversely, Lucy also silently kept Lucius in her heart, because from Lucius's gloomy expression, Lucy could sense that this matter was not completely over.
Lucius must be plotting something. Lucy was secretly watching Lucius the whole time at the party.
Fearing he might do something bad again, but perhaps knowing it wasn't a good time to cause trouble, he simply stood beside Pompey with a gloomy face and did nothing.
If there were any unexpected events during that time, it would probably only be that Pompey suddenly coughed weakly a few times.
After all, he's getting old and has worked hard in such a harsh environment in the outer ring for so many years, so it's not surprising that any hidden injuries he might have would surface in his later years.
Seeing this, Lucius quickly handed Pompey a glass of water and some medicine. After taking the medicine, Pompey's expression indeed improved a lot.
Kiana, recognizing the medicine Lucius gave Pompey, approached him with concern and inquired about his condition, offering to take him to the city for treatment. After all, Pompey had kindly taken her in, and Kiana couldn't bear to see such a hero betrayed by his own subordinate.
However, Pompey refused, after all these years he had come to understand Lucius's character. Although Lucius might use despicable means for personal gain, he was ultimately the heir he had groomed, and would never betray him.
Moreover, the medicine Lucius brought was indeed effective. After each dose, the body felt relaxed, and even had a feeling of returning to youth.
That's right. The medicine Lucius gave us is actually a drug that can enhance a person's etheric adaptability. If used in moderation, it can indeed temporarily strengthen the body and increase etheric adaptability.
But that's only temporary; once the effects wear off, everything will go back to normal. Furthermore, this medication shouldn't be taken for extended periods; exceeding a certain dosage can have adverse effects.
While those who take it experience a significant increase in ether resistance in a short period of time, it also increases the rate of ether erosion, causing them to suffer deep erosion from ether energy without their knowledge.
By the time the user realizes what's happening, it's usually too late, and becoming a corpse is only a matter of time.
To be honest, Kiana didn't want Pompey to leave the stage like this, or at least not after being betrayed by his own subordinate.
Besides, it's not too late to get treatment now. As long as Pompey is willing to go back to the city with her and ask Otto for help, he'll be cured. However, this means she definitely won't be able to participate in the Hellfire Ride.
Perhaps it was because he saw this, coupled with Lucius's encouragement, and out of trust in his subordinates and a desire for a fair duel with Caesar, that Pompey chose to reject Kiana's proposal.