For the next few days, Odis diligently worked on writing the 'Outline of Combat' at the herbal shop. He could clearly feel signs of the potion digesting. He estimated that after finishing this book, the potion should be completely digested.
He also crafted some Extraordinary weapons, preparing for Sunday's matches. These weapons cost him nearly 500 pounds! Which made him feel a bit of a pinch.
On Saturday, Odis completed a transaction with Alger. He spent another 750 pounds to obtain one of the main ingredients for Sequence 7 'Warlock' potion, the complete brain of a Pale Long-Necked Beast.
He planned to see if he could trade for the other main ingredient at next week's Tarot Club gathering.
As for the Mysticism Research Society gatherings, they weren't fixed weekly meetings. So, Odis decided to reschedule the gathering time to next Tuesday...
...
Sunday...
Around nine in the morning, Odis went to the Rosewood Pavilion, gave Mandy 500 pounds in cash, and asked her to handle a matter for him.
Then he returned to the herbal shop and waited quietly for Simon's arrival.
He had an early dinner, then at around six in the evening, he was met by Simon, who had come to pick him up for the match.
After getting into the rental carriage, the two sat facing each other.
Simon once again exclaimed, "These past couple of days, the more I thought about it, the more I felt your plan was absolutely perfect! Back when you came to my underground fighting ring to fight in unsanctioned matches, you were hoping to use my channels to enter the fighting arena at Unit 155 King's Avenue, right? Without even realizing it, I was already being used by you."
"I'm not a god," Odis said with a smile, "I didn't know you had connections related to that arena at the time. The plan for tonight only formed in my mind after I learned you had these channels. In the following days, I refined it somewhat and utilized some of my own channels to gather intelligence to ensure the plan could proceed smoothly."
Simon took a deep breath, "That's still incredibly impressive."
He was very curious about what kind of intelligence Odis had gathered.
Odis did not continue on that topic, but suddenly asked, "Did you give the previous 60 pounds to your wife?"
Upon hearing this question, Simon suddenly became uneasy, "Y-yes, I gave it to her."
"I have a subordinate who is the boss of a gang. He also has a lot of bad habits, such as drinking, gambling, getting into fight," Odis said unhurriedly, "I never oppose my subordinates' bad habits. After all, the entertainment options in this era are quite limited. But no matter what kind of vice it is, there must be a limit."
Odis spoke as if discussing matters completely unrelated to the two of them, but Simon was already breaking out in a cold sweat.
He loved to gamble, and was a compulsive gambler even. He hadn't given that 60 pounds to his wife at all... he had gambled it all away over the past few days.
"In my view, this limit is whether you treat your family well to the extent of your ability," Odis continued slowly, "You dote on your daughter, but you are not a qualified father or husband. Living under someone else's roof is not easy. With your income, their lives didn't need to be like that at all. It's not that I'm overly compassionate, but rather, if you treat your own family like this, how will you treat me at a critical moment? How can I trust a gambler with no bottom line?"
Simon gulped and hurriedly said, "Mr. Lelouch, please listen to me…"
Odis suddenly pulled out the dagger from his waist and slashed it, slicing Simon's throat.
Simon was shocked, and hurriedly used both hands to cover his neck, but blood still gushed out from the severed veins.
"You know my true identity. Since you failed the test I gave you and I can't trust you, I have no choice but to make you disappear completely." Odis kicked Simon, who was trying to escape, back into his seat, "From the moment you joined this game, you should have been prepared for this! This is Backlund, Backlund that devours people without spitting out the bones."
He paused for a moment, then added, "Rest assured, I have already arranged for your wife and daughter to go to the countryside. I spent 500 pounds to buy Passion Bar from them... Ahem, well, after you die, of course, I'll have to buy that rundown bar from your wife. In the countryside of East Chester County, you only need around 70 pounds to buy a two-story house with a yard. Land is cheap now, and spending 100 pounds to buy land can make you a small farm owner. As long as they are diligent enough and don't make reckless investments, the mother and daughter will be clothed and fed without worry for the rest of their lives..."
Having lost too much blood, Simon was convulsing all over and lacked the strength to escape again. In the final moments of his life, he strained to listen to the man's words, afraid of missing a single word.
"I also specifically instructed the subordinate handling this matter," Odis continued, "to deliberately spread some rumors, saying your wife and daughter are the mistress and illegitimate child of some important figure. This will effectively prevent them from being bullied, or at the very least, it will make those who might target them have second thoughts..."
"...As for that rundown bar of yours, it's not worth 500 pounds. Consider it compensation for your diligent efforts in handling matters for me during this time. As for your manager and a number of key subordinates, they will all die in the upcoming gang conflict. Alright, you can go in peace."
Blood had already pooled on the floor. Simon's eyes glazed over, and he finally died filled with regret and remorse.
After confirming Simon's death, Odis knocked on the carriage panel. The carriage immediately stopped.
The coachman got down from the driver's seat and opened the door, "Mr. Gale."
The coachman was actually Enoch, and this rental carriage was the one Simon had called... In other words, for the past few days, Simon had been under Enoch's surveillance.
Odis took out a bottle of Corpse-Dissolving Liquid from his pocket, "Dispose of the body properly. Make it clean."
Enoch nodded, "Yes."
As Odis got out of the carriage, he added, "Don't immediately take over Passion Bar. Wait until it's occupied by another gang, then after a month, drive that gang out and take over the bar."
The place where the carriage had stopped was a quiet alley with no pedestrians around.
"Okay, Mr. Gale." Enoch waved his hand, and another carriage drove over from the other end of the alley.
The coachman greeted respectfully, "Mr. Gale."
Odis nodded, got into the carriage, and completed changing his disguise. By now, the carriage had already reached the main street.
He got out again, waited a little while, then casually hailed another rental carriage to continue towards Unit 155 King's Avenue...
The carriage stopped outside the arena, and as soon as Odis stepped out, he was immediately surrounded by police and arena attendants.
One of the policemen said, "Lelouch, I suspect you are involved in a case of murder and arson…"
Odis, now wearing his mask, raised his hand and said, "I am well aware of the understanding between the arena and the police. There's no need for you to try and scare me."
As he spoke, he unhurriedly paid the coachman his fare, and was about to walk inside the arena when he was stopped by a middle-aged policeman with deep, penetrating eyes.
"No matter what, you are a murderer and an arsonist. Don't be too arrogant." The man said.
Odis's Spirituality sensed that this was a Beyonder, likely a captain of the Nighthawks. He responded coldly, "Then do you know about the 3N Party? How much blood stains their hands? Why haven't you righteously told them not to be arrogant?"
The policeman with the deep eyes was named Carl, and was indeed a captain of the Nighthawks. Hearing Lelouch's words, he was slightly taken aback, then stepped aside to make way for the man.
Led by an attendant, Odis arrived at the lounge. Some of the police followed closely behind, while others went to the spectator stands, preparing to closely monitor his every move.
In the lounge, the middle-aged man who looked like a butler came forward with a smile, saying, "Mr. Lelouch, Manager Bishop asked me to inform you that you have the opportunity to join the 3N Party and become a leader in the organization. If you are willing to take this opportunity and you manage to survive tonight's match, Mr. Bishop is willing to pay a huge bail on your behalf to exonerate you from the case in South of the Bridge."
Odis nodded, "I am willing to take the position. But if I can win in tonight's fight, I hope to join the 3N Party at the moment of victory, witnessed by Mr. Bishop."
The butler said, "I will convey that for you." Then he asked, "Didn't your agent, Simon, come with you?"
"I fired him," Odis said, "I will hire a new agent soon."
The other party wasn't surprised. After all, starting tonight, he would become a leader in the 3N Party. It was normal to get an agent with a better image. So he just nodded and didn't press further.
Odis, as usual, went to a seat, then closed his eyes for some rest...
...
At exactly seven o'clock, Odis entered the arena at the reminder of the 'butler'.
This match was also held in that arena with the simulated streets.
Many people knew today's match would be exceptionally exciting, so the audience was larger than usual, filling the spectator seats.
Among them was Audrey Hall... From a distance, she saw the young man wearing a mask and dressed in dark knight's attire entering from the direction of the entrance. It was the same Lelouch she had seen before.
After observing him again, Audrey still believed that Lelouch was not a murderous person.
'Is he really the perpetrator of the South of the Bridge case?' she wondered...
...
In the arena, Odis saw his opponent, Chipman.
The two had fought once before and knew each other to be formidable opponents. So, with grave expressions, they approached each other, finally stopping about two meters apart.
Chipman suddenly spoke, "I didn't expect that your goal was actually to gain a leadership position in the 3N Party..."
Odis responded with a faint smile, offering no explanation. Instead, he stepped forward and launched a probing punch to initiate the fight.
Chipman raised his arm to block, but Odis closed the distance in a flash and delivered a swift kick. Chipman twisted his body to evade.
Seizing the moment, Odis pressed in, leaning into Chipman and delivering a sudden, forceful squeeze that threw him off balance.
With his opponent off balance, Odis pounced on the opening and unleashed a relentless barrage of elbow strikes, shoulder charges, and full-body checks.
From the stands, young nobles like Audrey watched with fascination. Lelouch's unorthodox fighting style was unlike anything they'd seen, sparking murmurs of intrigue. They began discussing his techniques which full of grapples and sudden impacts.
At this time, the experienced Chipman gradually stabilized and began to counterattack. In the scramble, he caught Odis's arm and, with practiced precision, executed a powerful shoulder throw, aiming to slam Odis hard into the ground...
...
{T/N: I'm shook. I almost couldn't finish this chapter at the revelation of Odis's sudden ruthlessness. I had almost forgotten that this is a LOTM fanfic😓...}