"You are a smart man, Illyrio. Why did you think bribing me with my own things would work?" After a long pause, Viserys looked at Illyrio with a hint of mockery in his voice.
By the Gods!
Hearing this, Illyrio almost coughed up blood and died on the spot.
Listen to this! Listen to what this Targaryen brat is saying! Does he even speak human language?
"Your Grace... Your Grace is... What does Your Grace propose?" Despite his mental fortitude, it took Illyrio a good while to recover. He forced a strained, fake smile and looked up at Viserys.
"Illyrio, from today onwards, everything here still belongs to you. You are still my future Master of Coin. However... for the sake of the Restoration, everything in your household will be temporarily under my control. For example, the command of your Unsullied."
Viserys stood up, hands behind his back, looking down at the Magister who was tied up in a questionable shibari knot by some overly creative player, breathing heavily.
"Shameless..." Although he had prepared himself, hearing the conditions out loud made Illyrio spit out his true thoughts.
"What did you say?"
"I said... Your Grace is wise! For the Restoration, for the death of the Usurper and his kin, I am willing to offer everything I have to aid Your Grace!"
Illyrio's mouth twitched, his fake smile failing him. Whatever. Survive first, he told himself.
"Very good. My men will wheel you out shortly. Do not do anything you shouldn't. Gather everyone in the mansion."
Illyrio had no choice but to nod numbly.
Viserys signaled to the side. FaFo and Zhao Xiaotian immediately understood, grabbed Illyrio by each arm, and dragged him out.
The players swarmed out after them, either to watch the drama or afraid that the "fat pig" would run away and ruin their novice quests.
---
"Even Mark the gong farmer was called here? What's going on?"
"I know, right? I've worked for the Master for years, and I've never seen everyone gathered like this!"
Amidst the servants' whispers and the curious gazes of the mute slaves, Illyrio appeared under the watch of two "Unsullied" (players in cosplay).
"Starting today, I no longer require your services. You are all dismissed. Each of you may collect one Gold Honor upon leaving."
Whoa!
The crowd erupted!
One Gold Honor!
The servants, who were panicked by the first half of the sentence, were now overjoyed.
"One by one!"
In the corridor leading outside, a real Unsullied soldier, following Viserys's orders, shouted to the servants.
"Me first!"
The first servant stepped forward and ran into the corridor.
To everyone's confusion, the corridor door closed behind him.
"My Lord, hehe... my gold?"
As soon as the servant entered, he saw Viserys, whom he recognized as the Master's esteemed guest.
"Pay him." Viserys glanced at him, didn't reply, and looked at the Unsullied standing beside him.
Thuck!
A short sword pierced through the servant's chest. He tried to scream, but the Unsullied covered his mouth. He struggled, but no sound came out.
As the servant's struggles ceased and his body was dragged away, the Unsullied at the door opened it again.
"Next!"
Viserys watched for a moment, then turned and left.
Illyrio was now under house arrest. Beside him, apart from two silent Unsullied guards (real ones this time), there wasn't even a single serving girl.
Locked in his room, cut off from all communication with the outside world.
Damn you, Viserys! You Targaryen mongrel!
Illyrio cursed the instigator of all this in his heart, his face dark.
After venting his anger internally, Illyrio began to worry about the safety of his wife and son.
They wouldn't be discovered in the short term. But... with his household staff dismissed and his loyalists gone, no one would bring them food. They would eventually starve to death.
Sigh. I hope one of my loyal men managed to slip away and notify Varys. Perhaps the Spider will think of something.
Illyrio, the eagle trainer who got his eyes pecked out by a sparrow, thought dejectedly.
---
Meanwhile, while the Unsullied were carrying out the secret purge, Viserys had led most of the players to the kitchen.
"Holy crap, this game is awesome! Not only can we be executioners, but we can also cosplay as warlords looting a tomb!" Player Tomb_Raider_General spun a poisoned dagger he got from a chest, looking around excitedly.
"Move aside. Do you even understand the lore? This is his secret armory, not a tomb," Step_Sis scoffed, acting like a know-it-all.
"Who cares what it is? I heard from Mouse that it's full of armor and weapons. If His Grace gives us each a set... tsk tsk, that's better loot than anything you can get from a chest!" FBI_Open_Up drooled at the thought.
Standing next to him, Mouse_Is_Duck couldn't help but smirk. Better than a chest? You clearly haven't tasted the good stuff.
I pulled 'Tears of Lys'—an untraceable poison—from a Bronze Chest. That's way better than your scrap metal.
Hmph! Mouse held his head high, proud, while others looked at him like he was weird.
"His Grace has spoken! Armor and swords, pick one set each! First come, first served! Go get it, boys!"
At FaFo's roar, the players instantly turned into a pack of hungry wolves, eyes glowing green as they squeezed toward the hole.
"Mouse! No dirty moves! Stop using your elbows! Screw you!"
Viserys watched the chaos with a smile. Go ahead, fight for it. Once my leeks finish drinking the soup, all the meat left over is mine.
Torch-bearing players scrambled down the hole and sprinted down the tunnel like they were running the 100-meter dash.
"F! I was the track team captain! You think you can outrun me?!"
"Track team? Kids these days! I was in mechanized infantry for three years!"
"Four years in internal security! You want to race? I'll give you a five-second head start!"
The gloomy tunnel was instantly filled with flickering lights and raucous noise.
"This is the stone door! Swords, spears, halberds—finders keepers!"
"Haha!" Player 999_Damage_Per_Hit, channeling Usain Bolt, reached the stone door first, panting excitedly.
"Move it!" Right behind him, Player Steam_Locomotive sped past, knocking 999 to the ground and becoming the first player to charge into the room.
"Hey! I grabbed this sword first!"
"Bro, look at the runes on this blade. It definitely has an attack buff. Look, I'll Venmo you 1000 bucks IRL. Let me have this sword, you go pick another one!"
"Get lost! I'm rich IRL too!"