Otherworld Advance Team -
Chapter 1517 - 1510: Encounter with a Rival
Chapter 1517: Chapter 1510: Encounter with a Rival
The three of them arrived amidst the crowd of onlookers, feeling like cranes standing among chickens.
The Advance Team had been nurtured by the headquarters from a young age, receiving comprehensive nutrition in their diet, which resulted in them all being very tall; even Baiyue, the shortest among them, was taller than the surrounding crowd.
An empty space was in the middle of the crowd, where three or four men in the same uniforms were shouting something. Initially, the trio thought it was a performance of acrobatics, but upon closer inspection, they were actually collecting protection money.
These four were no ordinary men; they were dressed in similar tight outfits, with waist swords hanging by their sides, cursively cursing at a merchant. Cheng Ziang recognized their accent to be the standard Kyushu official dialect, which made him start questioning their identities.
After listening for a while, Cheng Ziang finally understood the intentions of both parties. The men in the tight outfits were demanding that the merchant pay more protection money—though they referred to it as Contributing Taxes—while the merchant insisted it was beyond his ability to pay, making it unacceptable.
Despite the merchant’s frail appearance, his attitude was very firm; he refused to pay no matter what, infuriating the four men who then pushed him to the ground and began beating and cursing him.
If it were just a beating and cursing, the trio would not have wanted to get involved. However, the situation quickly escalated; amidst his rage, one of the men shockingly drew his waist sword and held it high above his head. This prompted a series of gasps from the surrounding crowd.
Just as he was about to swing his sword down, Cheng Ziang intervened. He forcefully pushed through the crowd, activated his high Mobility gear and leaped forward, drawing his Kedal metal longsword and targeting the man’s raised waist sword in one swift motion.
Clang!
A crisp metallic echo resounded at the scene, Cheng Ziang quickly passed by the man, cutting off his raised waist sword in a single stroke. The Kedal metal sword, against an un-Rune-marked sword, was like cutting through bamboo.
"Friend, let’s talk nicely. It’s not right to kill someone in public," Cheng Ziang, holding his sword, slowly turned around and spoke calmly.
"Are you... a member of the Ghost Race?" Seeing his waist sword broken in two, the man appeared shocked; his companions also drew their swords, ready to fight.
"Have you ever seen a member of the Ghost Race as tall as I am?" Cheng Ziang chuckled.
"Who are you... from Kyushu... no, who exactly are you?" The man recognized Cheng Ziang’s familiar accent, but his hair and attire left him puzzled, sinking him into confusion.
"We are guests from the West, just passing by here," Cheng Ziang answered.
"From the West, so you’re from the Demon Clan?" The man frowned slightly, not thinking much, naturally assuming ’the West’ referred to West Outer Heaven, not the Western Continent.
"Interpret it as you like, but I just want to say, can’t we talk things out? Must you resort to using a sword? That could take a life, aren’t you afraid of breaking the law?" Cheng Ziang questioned.
"The law? We are the law!" the man arrogantly responded.
"Who might you be?" Hearing his words, Cheng Ziang paused briefly, then asked with a smile.
"You daring Demon Clan folks, trying to interfere in the affairs of the Wuyun Sect," the man coldly said.
"Oh, so you are from the Wuyun Sect, I happen to have something to discuss with you," Cheng Ziang said with some surprise.
"Who are you exactly?" Hearing this, the four men looked at each other, their expressions growing more serious.
"Someone who wishes to speak with you," Cheng Ziang replied.
"Stop beating around the bush, who are you exactly, and what are your intentions towards our Wuyun Sect?" the man sternly demanded.
"I have no interest in your Wuyun Sect, just entrusted by someone to have a serious talk with you," Cheng Ziang said.
"What about?" the man asked uneasily.
"Can we talk without the swords?" Cheng Ziang’s gaze shifted to the swords in their hands.
His effort was not accepted by them, the four men looked at each other and tacitly remained still, their gazes firmly fixed on Cheng Ziang.
Seeing their actions, Cheng Ziang sighed, then slowly picked up the pieces of the waist sword he had cut off from the ground. After comparing briefly, he knocked his sword against the broken sword in front of everyone.
Surprisingly to all, while both were metal, the piece of waist sword could not withstand Cheng Ziang’s strange longsword; with just a knock, the waist sword fragment was once again broken into two, clanging to the ground.
"How about it, do you still want to continue fighting?" Cheng Ziang said as he voluntarily sheathed his knife.
His action was very astute, first using the broken knife to demonstrate the sharpness of his weapon. Then voluntarily sheathing his weapon to show weakness and conveniently giving the four men a way out. Under these circumstances, the four men finally felt somewhat relieved and sheathed their knives.
"Good, then let’s have a proper chat," Cheng Ziang grinned, but since he wore a mask, everyone could not see his smile.
"What do you want to say?" asked the man leading the group.
"I heard that the Wuyun Sect collects forty percent in taxes but only gives ten percent to the Imperial Court, is that right?" Cheng Ziang asked.
"What does that have to do with you?" the man asked with a frown.
"I am entrusted by someone to handle this matter," Cheng Ziang said.
"Who?" the man pressed.
"Heh," Cheng Ziang chuckled lightly, then said, "Right now, I am the one asking questions, not you. Can we have a proper talk?"
"How much we collect has nothing to do with you," the man cautiously said.
"This is Fengyu’s land, the Imperial Court can only collect ten percent in taxes, yet you take away thirty percent, who exactly represents the Imperial Court?" Cheng Ziang asked.
"This is none of your business, outsider," the man said with a warning tone.
"What if I insist on intervening?" Cheng Ziang countered sharply.
Hearing his threatening words, the four exchanged uncertain looks, then three of them simultaneously drew their knives and lunged at Cheng Ziang.
However, they seemed too focused on Cheng Ziang and neglected his companion hidden among the crowd.
Hu Daoke emerged from the crowd like a tiger leaping out of its cage, grabbed the hands wielding knives of two men, and forcefully dragged them back. Then with a strong jerk, the two men cried out in pain and let go of their knives.
Then, he slightly stepped back and pressed down one man’s head, causing the two to collide head-first. Both men immediately fell to the ground, clutching their heads in agony.
On the other side, Baiyue’s performance was also outstanding. Despite her small stature, her moves were precise. She grabbed the wrist of another man holding a knife, quickly locked his joints, then kicked the inside of his knee, forcing him to fall backward.
After that, she tightly grabbed the man’s knife-wielding hand, stepped on his face, and with a twist, the man let go of the knife in agony, screaming miserably.
In a flash, three people were put down, and the efficient and clean actions of the two earned a round of vigorous applause from the onlookers.
The leader turned back in shock to see his fallen companions; just as he was about to make a move, Cheng Ziang’s terrifying long knife was already resting on his neck.
Feeling his skin begin to tear under the blade, the man was so frightened that he stiffened up, standing frozen in place.
"Do you have any say in the Wuyun Sect?" Cheng Ziang’s tone remained calm.
"I... I do," the man widened his eyes, originally wanting to nod but then restrained himself.
"Very good, that’s excellent. Then please bring a message back that we are taking over this matter and from now on it will be twenty percent. If your Sect Master is unhappy, he is very welcome to come and find us," Cheng Ziang said, removing the knife from his neck.
"You’re... you’re not going to kill me?" the man’s brain went blank.
"Why would I kill you? We are not bandits. It’s better to talk things out rather than resorting to violence immediately," Cheng Ziang shrugged and sheathed his knife.
"Thank you, Manor Lord, for sparing my life," the man who narrowly escaped death couldn’t help but feel relieved.
"Bring the message back and stop causing trouble here, we still have to keep to our schedule," Cheng Ziang urged.
"Yes, yes, we’ll go back immediately..." the man said, and together with his companions, they supported each other and left the crowd in a sorry state.
If you find any errors (non-standard content, ads redirect, broken links, etc..), Please let us know so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report