More and more people in King City rushed to the street where the betting house was located. Although many people heard about the bet, not everyone had the time or was interested in betting. However, when news of the commotion spread, many were interested to watch the show. This matter involved people from the other side, after all, this was enough to pique their curiosities.
The betting house was in utter chaos.
Consecutive eruptions of totemic power, the appearance of different totemic patterns, terrifying roars, sounds of blades, fists and feet colliding, sounds of various objects crashing all mixed together.
Totemic power rose within the few Drumming tribesmen, their bodies transforming. All the thirty Drumming tribesmen pounced on anyone they saw stealing the water moon stones.
Other people might have made a mistake but never the Drumming tribesmen because they could naturally sense these stones. They could detect any water moon stones nearby and while the people of King City did already have them, they were still rare here. The ones who owned water moon stones would never bring it with them on the streets anyway.
The Drumming tribe was the only one who placed bets using the water moon stones. That was why anyone holding it must have stolen it from the betting table. They showed no mercy towards anyone who capitalised on the chaos like this.
Hunt leaders Mai, Cheng and the rest from Flaming Horn rushed to the betting house too. When Shao Xuan, Gui He, Ao and Ta- the major leaders- were not around, they were in charge.
They hurried over immediately, among them also included other tribesmen. They would not have followed if the message was sent to one tribe but this time, every tribe had sent emergency notes at the same time, meaning the situation had escalated. They initially thought King City had made a move against the tribesmen, it was only along the journey when they understood the entire story.
When they arrived at the chaotic fight scene, the leaders looked at each other and stepped into battle.
They did not shout ‘stop, let’s talk like civil people’ or ‘everyone please calm down’ or any of those nonsense, nor did they consider if they could win a fight on the busiest street in King City. Their goods were stolen and their tribesmen were bullied! What else would they do?
As long as they had Flaming Horn blood in them, there was only one obvious choice—
To fight!
Wei, Mai and Cheng charged into the most violent fights, fighting the people in the betting house.
Mai turned his head to dodge an incoming fist, then grabbed sideways without even looking and threw the man upwards, crashing through the wooden window into the room on the second floor.
When the just-arrived Flaming Horn warriors saw that Wei and the rest had rushed in, they too charged inside without a word. And when the other tribesmen saw that the Flaming Horns were fighting, what was there to hesitate about? CHARGE!
Flaming Horns in battle mode had hard bones and explosive power. They shoved anyone they could not recognise away using brute force. Anyone not from the Flaming River here was an enemy so they showed no mercy. All their smaller victims were thrown backwards if they collided with a Flaming Horn, accompanied by the cracking sound of breaking bones.
All the other Flaming River Alliance tribesmen had hunted in the forest with the Flaming Horns so they had gained some ferocity too.
That was why when the entire crowd of tribesmen exploded, the atmosphere changed completely. The King City folk were all stunned and their impressions of the tribesmen from the other side changed.
Fierce!
They’re all fierce!
Very fierce! They’re acting like fearsome beasts fighting to get their prey back.
In a few moments, the busiest street in King City turned into a battle scene, the battle expanding as more and more people participated.
Various people were thrown outwards unto the buildings on both sides, breaking a few holes in the walls. Loud crashes could be heard as these people crashed into the furniture in the house.
The shops on both sides were collateral damage but the bosses were not too worried. Those not interested in partaking in the fight started to calculate their losses, planning to visit these various organisations after the fight. They hoped more tribesmen would crash into their buildings so they could cheat gemstones out of these tribesmen’s hands.
A wine shop owner was listing down his shop’s losses at lightning speed, observing where these people who crashed into his shop were from. He must record these accurately to be adequately compensated!
Another person crashed into his shop, breaking a sturdy table. The shop owner was privately disappointed that it was not a tribesman.
The guy yelped in pain, the sword in his hand had been knocked off when he was thrown back. He got up and looked around, finally charging out with two table legs in his hands.
Bo Yi looked at the severely damaged betting house, then at the fights densely packed with people, his face turning green from fury. The worst part was that a few short and fat bearded men were screaming, “THEY AREN’T PAYING US! AND THEY’RE STEALING OUR STUFF!”
The pronunciation was odd but still distinguishable.
Bo Yi almost had a heart attack when he heard it. He wanted to explain that the Changle people were the ones stealing stuff. As the head of the house, obviously he knew that the Changle people were the cause of the chaos.
However, the public would not listen. Forget about the tribesmen, the gamblers all refused to believe him- they probably secretly did but refused to admit it because it was a good opportunity to steal stuff in this chaos. They had lost so much money in this betting house during past bets, now’s the time to take it all back!
Some of the gamblers continued yelling that the house was cheating them. Bo Yi swore in his heart that he would twist their necks once this was all over!
Ignoring everything, Bo Yi first looked at the short, fat bearded men weaving in and out of the crowd like mud eels and instructed his subordinates, “Get the fat ones to shut up first!”
The Ya tribesman, Di Pa, was shoving people aside with his short and fat arms as he shouted. Some spectators started to hesitate- they should be on King City’s side since they were all locals but after hearing the shouts, their footsteps halted. Should they dive into the mess?
However, the greedy ones had made their calculations. They were only going to help if the betting house would reward them. Bo Yi’s face darkened.
Di Pa was getting more excited when a sword slashed directly at him. He quickly wove through the crowd to escape but the pursuers had their eyes on him.
Then, another two people started to surround Di Pa. He had been too engrossed with his shouting and completely forgotten his chief’s reminders to stick to his group. He had strayed too far and they could not help him here. Calling for help wouldn’t work now. He was secretly regretting his actions and could only run. The ground on the streets was too hard. If it was soil, he would have dug a tunnel already.
The three people started to force Di Pa out of the battlefield because the current situation was to Di Pa’s advantage when their movements were restricted by the crowd. Once they broke free, the tables would turn as the pursuers were more familiar with the streets.
Di Pa suddenly tripped over something and tumbled on the ground like a ball. When he stopped rolling, the three pursuers had caught up. Although he could not see his surroundings properly, he could clearly see the metallic glints from their weapons. The murderous intent from the blades scared him so much his beard stood on ends.
But, in the next moment, the three people were thrown backwards, slamming heavily into the ground and even tumbled backwards before stopping.
Pain shot through their systems as they struggled to get up, then they coughed blood and almost blacked out. When they saw the attacker, they were both shocked and furious.
“Beimi, YOU....”
Before he finished, he choked on blood rising in his throat, pointing a trembling finger at Beimi as he glared with hatred. He did not understand why the Black Bear Trading Party would help the tribesmen. These trading parties usually would not go against King City and the House of Fortune was a famous organisation in King City.
Although they did not have a very good relationship with the Black Bears, they had not harmed each other before. Yet during a critical moment like this, the Black Bears chose to help the Flaming Horns!
“Whose side are the Black Bears on?!” yelled the other betting house staff member.
Bei Mi did not reply but Mao Da stood next to him, wringing the bear paw-like hand he used to hit the guy and snickered, “What kind of question is that?”
“Thank you!” Knowing that he was just saved, Di Pa crawled up enthusiastically and got ready to leave for a place with more Flaming Horns. After a few steps, he returned and looked up, squinting at Bei Mi and his people. His beard shook. “You guys aren’t from Flaming River, are you? Who are you?” His vision was the worst among all the Ya tribesmen who came over. He still could not see Bei Mi’s face clearly up close, only a blurry figure. He thought this was a tribesman from one of the more muscular tribes like Thunder Mountain or Water Tiger but after hearing Mado Da speak and sensing their fire seed power, he realised they were not familiar tribesmen. Yet this guy helped him anyway! So he ran back to ask.
“Black Bear Trading Party, Bei Mi.” Bei Mi spoke up.
“I know you guys, Elder Shao Xuan has mentioned you before!” Then, Di Pa slipped away since it was not a good time to talk. The Ya people were never good fighters and he was aware that he had strayed too far. He decided to return to his people, at least they could help him. The Black Bears had helped him but in comparison, his own tribesmen were definitely more trustworthy.
When the other King City folks saw Bei Mi attack the betting house staff along with other Black Bears they were all stunned. They started to speculate the reason.
Especially the businesspeople who were familiar with Bei Mi’s personality. They knew that Bei Mi would not rescue the tribesmen so quickly if he merely knew the Flaming Horns. Businessmen prioritised profits. Without enough motivation, they would not do this. Everything they did was because of ‘profit’.
That’s right! Flaming Horn Was about to sign a deal with King City. By doing this, the trading party would definitely benefit greatly!
They heard that the other side of the ocean had many gemstones but robbing the tribesmen would take too much effort. That area belonged to the tribesmen and the fights proved that they were not easy to rob either. If they went over to the other side, they might never return alive.
If they helped the Flaming Horns, perhaps they could enjoy better treatment if they ever visited the other side.
Too bad Bei Mi beat them to it!
Hmmph, these Black Bears might look like good, honest men but they were all very cunning.
But it was not too late.
The people who planned to help the betting house suddenly changed their minds, especially the businessmen.
The betting house staff were stunned. Who the heck are you helping now?!
The people who changed their minds smiled without a word. They were helping whichever side with money. There were many factors contributing to this but the trading parties only grew because they could make the most profitable decision at any given time. In the beginning, the spectators did not understand but they slowly did.
A fight involving thousands of people was rare in King City, and this involved tribesmen from the other side of the ocean. All the King City patrol guards who rushed over looked at each other, unsure of what to do. They had no choice but to go look for Ji Shou to save the day.
At the same time, the Changle people who triggered the fights were gathered in a spot, discussing the situation in delight. One of them was carrying a giant crystal as thick as his arm, showing off his haul, not forgetting to mock Wu He, who was sitting in a corner silently.
Wu He ignored all the insults and merely yawned. He was about to tell Su Li that he was going to bed, that he would not join their celebration when he suddenly froze and turned a ghostly white.
Su Li was sitting at the head of the table. In an instant, the smile on his face fell as his eyes filled with caution.
The laughing crowd turned to look at the door.
The person at the entrance pulled the door open and retreated backwards, then looking out to see a man standing without a sound.
No breathing, no heartbeat. The person stood outside the door soundlessly. No one knew how long he had been there.
Wu He’s voice trembled. “Gan Qie!”