CHAPTER 88: CHAPTER 88: ONE ISN’T ENOUGH

Deputy City Lord Ford of the Ice City settlement frowned, staring at Ethan in confusion.

"Talk about what?"

With his back to Shane, Ryan, and the others, Ethan looked calmly at Deputy City Lord Ford and said:

"You know very well what I want to talk about."

Hearing that, Ford’s face finally changed and turned dark. A flash of killing intent passed through his eyes as he stared at Ethan.

Ethan didn’t give him time to think. He walked straight past Ford, paused for a moment, and said in a low voice:

"Aside from you, the others in the Ice City settlement would be very interested in what happened today in the underground cave at Frost Valley. If you keep hesitating..."

Before Ethan could finish speaking, Ford, the deputy city lord of the Ice City settlement, suddenly moved and fell in behind him.

Just then, Ryan called out in confusion, "[Windchaser], Deputy City Lord, what are you going to do?"

Keeping calm, Ford answered naturally, "Wait here. There’s something I need to deal with between me and [Windchaser]."

Soon, with Ethan leading the way, the two of them left Shane and the others and went to a quiet, secluded spot.

Ford kept following Ethan. As they walked, the murderous intent in his eyes grew stronger.

Suddenly, Ethan stopped. With his back to Ford, he said softly:

"Want to kill me? You can try."

Deputy City Lord Ford narrowed his eyes and fixed them on Ethan’s back. His power surged, and the wind and snow all around seemed to freeze in midair.

Ethan instantly felt as if a mountain was slowly crushing him. His blood almost stopped flowing, and every bone in his body gave a faint creak.

Ethan slowly turned around, expressionless, his eyes calm. He said softly:

"Either kill me now and shut me up for good, or drop that high-and-mighty act."

"I’ll give you three seconds to think."

"Three... two... one."

When he reached "one," all the invisible pressure vanished. Ford clenched his fists, eyes wide, staring at him.

"What exactly do you know?"

Ethan didn’t answer. He nodded and said, "Good. Looks like you understand the situation now."

"So think about this: besides killing me to keep me quiet, what else can you do to make sure I don’t talk about what happened today?"

Ethan knew that in any negotiation, the most important thing is to seize the lead. If you control the pace, you can get more for yourself. That countdown was his way of taking control.

But at Ethan’s words, Ford suddenly gave a short laugh, as if something had clicked. He relaxed a little and said slowly:

"You’re clever, but not quite enough."

"Do you really think you can threaten me with guesses and deductions?"

As he spoke, Deputy City Lord Ford’s face grew colder.

Ethan knew Ford was testing him—testing what he knew and how dangerous it was.

Now that he had the initiative, he needed to show enough presence and confidence while keeping his cards hidden.

So Ethan’s lips curled in a slight, scornful smile.

"Ever think I might be smarter than you think—and know more than you expect?"

"I thought you were smart too, but it seems I overestimated you."

Ethan ignored Ford’s dark expression and went on:

"The [Ice Calamity]."

At once, Deputy City Lord Ford of the Ice City settlement couldn’t stay calm. He took a step forward without thinking, staring at Ethan in shock.

"How... how do you know that?" Ford said, stunned.

"No, that’s impossible. You’re just a player. You shouldn’t know the name of this [Calamity]."

"Are you with the [Ghostfang] group?"

Ethan’s pupils tightened a bit. He hadn’t expected an NPC like Ford, the deputy city lord of Ice City, to know about [Ghostfang] at all.

Could it be that [Ghostfang], a group from the real world, is well known among NPCs in Dawnfall Online?

Or maybe [Ghostfang] isn’t only in the real world—it also has strong power inside Dawnfall Online?

All of a sudden, Ethan felt like he’d accidentally stumbled onto some important intel again.

Seeing Ethan didn’t plan to answer, Ford took a few deep breaths and asked in a low voice:

"What do you want?"

"You shouldn’t be with [Ghostfang]. If you were, you would’ve done anything to destroy the Siphoner by now."

Ford didn’t notice he was giving away more and more intel about [Ghostfang].

From Ford’s words, Ethan could tell that [Ghostfang], the group [Grinning Ghost] belongs to, is opposed to Ford, the Siphoner, and the [Calamity].

Ethan noted that quietly, then looked at Deputy City Lord Ford with a calm face and said:

"High-quality weapons, gear, items... anything that can make me stronger. I need all of it."

Ford paused, surprised. "Aren’t you trying to stop the [Ice Calamity] from happening?"

Ethan frowned a little. "What does that have to do with me?"

"Just give me enough in return, and I won’t breathe a word about what happened today. I can even help you fool Shane, Ryan, and the others."

"If they all ’die in an accident’ today, it might make people suspicious. You should find another way to shut them up."

Ford was sharp. When he heard Ethan mention Shane and Ryan, he immediately thought Ethan wanted to save them.

So Ford asked straight out, "You want to save them?"

He tried to use Ethan’s desire to save Shane and Ryan to take control of the negotiation.

After asking his question, Ford thought Ethan would fake it and act like he didn’t care at all. But Ethan’s answer caught him completely off guard.

Ethan nodded and said, "Of course I don’t want them all dead. People like them—who were used and still feel grateful to me—should live well."

Ford gave Ethan a strange look. He didn’t know what Ethan meant by "being used," but he could feel how confident Ethan was at that moment.

Right now, Ethan felt to Ford like a grim reaper holding the power over life and death.

If Ethan didn’t want someone to die, they wouldn’t. If he wanted someone dead, they would.

Ford shook his head, pushing that absurd thought away.

To him, Ethan was just a weak player. If killing him could stop today’s events from getting out, he would’ve done it already—and Ethan would be dead.

As for Imena’s suggestion to kill players in the real world, that wasn’t an option for him.

Ford took a deep breath, pulled out something like a scroll, and said to Ethan:

"I can give you one more Purple-quality item, but..."

Ethan shook his head. "One isn’t enough."

He knew that as the deputy city lord of the Ice City settlement, Ford could offer far more high-quality weapons, items, and gear.

At the very least, Ford still had the [Ruin Spear] and the [Universal Painkiller]—both Purple-quality items.

So Ethan made it clear: he wanted more.

Seeing Ethan’s greed, Ford actually felt a bit relieved.

In this situation, his only worry was that Ethan wouldn’t ask for enough. The more Ethan wanted, the more it proved he was just a greedy player.

Ford pretended to hesitate and said, "I can give you two Purple-quality items, but the second one can only be handed over in seven days."

Ethan refused without a second thought.

He had only said he wouldn’t talk about what happened today. And deep in the safe Sewer No. 9527 map, he had also seen a Siphoner.

If needed, he could sell that Intel to someone who wanted it—no problem.

From the start, Ethan only promised that if he got enough benefits, he wouldn’t reveal what happened today.

Only today’s events.

As for what might happen seven days from now, he had no way to know—and he wasn’t dumb enough to accept Ford’s terms.

Ethan said plainly: "I need two Purple-quality items. Give them to me now."

Ford’s eyelids twitched. He gritted his teeth, gave a stiff nod, and agreed.

To make sure Ethan kept his word, Ford bit his finger and started writing on that scroll-like item. When he finished, he pressed his bloody fingerprint on it, then tossed it to Ethan.