Chapter 480: Section 267: Brave Duel
The twilight gradually faded, and night began to envelop Snowbird Port.
On the dock, aboard the Triangular Love Ship, the flagship of the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps, survivors secretly convened to discuss upcoming plans and arrangements.
“The situation is roughly like this,” Zi Di detailed the conflict they had with the Ice Eagle.
Everyone fell into silence.
Zong Ge looked at the intelligence report in his hand.
This intelligence report had been purchased from the Thief Guild at a high price.
It contained detailed information about the Saber Gang.
Among them, the Elf Elder, Ice Eagle, originated from the regular army.
He used to be of Golden Level, but his strength fell to Silver Level after being wounded on the battlefield.
After retiring, he returned to his hometown, Snowbird Port.
A year later, he joined the Saber Gang.
During his time in the gang, he successfully cultivated a Golden Level giant slave.
With this, he ultimately became the Gang Leader of the Saber Gang.
Three years ago, another retired soldier returned to Snowbird Port and actively joined the Saber Gang.
After he was promoted to a core member, he challenged Ice Eagle to a heroic duel.
This retired soldier was none other than the current Gang Leader of the Saber Gang—Teng Donglang.
The result of this heroic duel was self-evident; naturally, Teng Donglang emerged victorious.
Defeated, Ice Eagle lost his position as Gang Leader.
He simply retired and started living a retired life with his lovers.
Ice Eagle’s Golden Level giant slave, named Ironhead Barrel, was severely wounded and weakened due to participating in too many gang conflicts.
However, Ice Eagle had been cultivating new giant slaves over the past few years.
Now, he had achieved some success.
He purchased intelligence potions for giant models, undoubtedly working hard to cultivate new giants.
Apart from Ice Eagle, they also had a clear understanding of the Saber Gang’s intelligence.
This gang had nearly a thousand members, with the current Gang Leader, Teng Donglang, being a genuine Golden Level fighter with extensive combat experience.
There were over twenty Silver Level members, the vast majority being Snow Elves.
Compared to the Human Race and Beast Race, the Elf Clan’s extraordinary talents were significantly higher.
However, the Elf Clan’s population had always been scarce, and their reproductive ability was far from that of the Human Race, not to mention the Beast Race.
The Beast Race had the strongest reproductive ability, but among the three races, their extraordinary talents were the weakest.
The Human Race was in the middle. Their reproductive ability and extraordinary talents weren’t the strongest, but when combined, the overall strength of the Human Race became the strongest.
The Holy Bright Empire was a superpower in the modern Main Plane, and the mainstream race was the Human Race. The Empire had the most and strongest Transcendents in the Main Plane.
The Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps was a small force, with no Golden Level members among the survivors.
Whether there was a Golden Level member was a hard standard for judging the size of a force.
Without a Golden Level, no matter how many Silver Levels there were, it was still just a small force.
Zong Ge’s potential for growth was visibly significant. His fighting energy already emitted a golden sheen, but as long as he had not truly grown into a Golden Level, the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps still remained a small force.
It was clear that the Saber Gang was a genuine medium-sized force.
Holding the intelligence report in his hand, Zong Ge analyzed, “The Saber Gang is much stronger than us, but we also have advantages they do not.”
“For example, in naval warfare, we have a clear advantage. They do not have many decent ships.”
“In terms of large-scale street warfare, we might also hold certain advantages. Gang members excel in fighting clusters or alone in the alleys and streets.”
“We need to consider that the past and present leaders of the Saber Gang are military veterans, and whether they have incorporated formal military elements into the gang.”
If they administered strict military management and training to the Saber Gang as Zong Ge did to Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps, then the overall strength of the Saber Gang would further increase.
The Dragon-man youth pondered for a moment, “The intelligence did not mention any military training.”
“If the Saber Gang were under military management, wouldn’t the officials in Snowbird Port be sleepless?”
Zong Ge nodded, “Indeed, that’s the case.”
“However, we cannot engage in naval warfare or large-scale land warfare either.”
“This is the Ice Sculpture Kingdom, home of Snowbird Port, one of the eight major ports. You all saw the coastal cannon formations and Mage Towers.”
“Mage Towers monitor the entire port all day long. As soon as we amass in large numbers, without needing the cannon formations to take action, one or two grand spells from the Mage Towers could cause us heavy losses or even wipe out our formation.”
Zong Ge’s meaning was very clear, brute force was definitely not an option.
After Zong Ge finished speaking, Sanda, who was sitting beside him, also spoke up, “On the surface, the Saber Gang appears very strong. However, the real force they can mobilize is not as much as it appears on paper.”
Sanda was once a squad leader of a Mercenary Group. He had dealings with guilds, gangs, and various other sectors, so he had a decent understanding of these organizations.
“For example,” Sanda continued analyzing, “the Saber Gang has over twenty Silver Level members. But most of these Silver Level members cannot be directly commanded by the gang. Many are just names on the roster.”
“The true key players depend on their positions and roles within the gang.”
“In my view, the real core members are only six people, specifically the leaders of six street blocks.”
“What’s interesting is that among these six Silver Level leaders, only two are Snow Elves; the others are Human Race, Bear-man, Tree Man, and even a Mixed-blood of Demon and Human Race, making it a very diverse racial composition.”
This was somewhat similar to the situation with Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps.
That’s how gangs are, mixed like dragons and snakes; as long as one has strength, one can rise to power.
The diversity in racial composition of the core members is actually a common sight in gangs.
Especially in ports like Snowbird Port where there is heavy traffic and complex demographics, it becomes crucial to establish leaders from specific races.
Such leaders engender trust among their respective racial groups, enhance understanding among different hierarchies, and significantly reduce management costs.
Sanda stopped his analysis and looked toward the Dragon-man youth, “Sigh, there’s really no need for us to conflict with Ice Eagle. The Giant-type Intelligence Potions are indeed suitable for Big Guy, but there’s no need to rush.”
“If we order the potions, it would take only an additional half a month to get them.”
Clearly, Sanda did not agree with the decision that the Dragon-man youth and Zi Di made at the Secret Potion Guild.
In his view, it was unwise.
Zi Di remained silent, and the Dragon-man youth appeared indifferent.
Only Zi Di, the Dragon-man youth, and Cang Xu knew the results of the bloodline test.
If Sanda knew the true nature of Big Guy’s bloodline, he certainly wouldn’t think the way he does now.
But the truth about the bloodline test was definitely something the Dragon-man youth would not easily reveal.
The Dragon-man youth looked at Sanda, asking, “From your perspective, what should we do to better handle the current situation?”
Sanda slightly shook his head, “Although our strength is fairly substantial, we are at a disadvantage when facing the gang.”
“The reason is simple, we lack elite Stealth operatives. Or, to put it another way, Thieves and Assassins.”
“In Snowbird Port, large-scale warfare is impossible.”
“The Saber Gang also cannot afford to do so. Their most likely course of action would be to send Stealth operatives to spy on us, steal from us, and so on.”
“It’s also possible that they would kidnap or extort our members who are out alone.”
“Starting tonight, we must fully prepare to prevent enemies from infiltrating and engaging in theft or sabotage.”
“In the next few days, we’ll try to keep our crew on the ship as much as possible, but this can only be a temporary measure.”
“Over time, the crew will develop negative emotions such as restlessness. Eventually, we will have to let these people out.”
“Only by doing so can we accept the maximum number of mercenary missions and allow the entire Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps to develop and grow.”
In a city, aside from the Thief Guild, factions contain the most thieves and assassins.
The survivors truly lacked such talent.
The closest candidate at the moment was Sanda. However, none of his Combat Skills enabled him to stealth or hide; his combat style involved agile movements, quick maneuvers, engaging in short, frontal clashes, exploiting vulnerabilities, and disrupting enemy formations.
In sum, Sanda’s combat style made him quite suitable for conventional combat among mercenaries.
Expanding the scope to the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps, when it came to Stealth operatives, the most remarkable was Xu Ma.
Xu Ma practiced the Dark Spider Technique and mastered the associated Combat Skills which allowed stealth and eavesdropping, and he possessed a certain combat ability. However, Xu Ma’s Bloodline was not outstanding; he was at Black Iron Level, which was the limit of his natural talent.
Sanda continued, “If we’re lucky and can recruit one or two Silver Level skilled Stealth operatives, we can alleviate the current situation.”
“Actually, we always need such talents for reconnaissance roles. Although we have many Alchemy Puppets, there are numerous situations where Alchemy Puppets cannot replace humans, such as gathering intelligence.”
Sanda’s statement made sense, and the Dragon-man youth nodded in agreement.
At the same time, the Dragon-man youth thoughtfully glanced at Queshan who was attending the meeting.
He thought of Queshan’s Bloodline.
Queshan had Dark Elf (Zor) lineage, and Dark Elves were arguably the race that produced the most Stealth operatives in the Main Plane.
“However, developing Queshan would take too long. Right now, it’s a distant solution that can’t quench our immediate thirst,” thought the Dragon-man youth.
At that moment, Zi Di spoke up, “We don’t necessarily have to confront them. Maybe we can apologize and make amends? Since the Saber Gang is the local tyrant of Snowbird Port, having a good relationship with them could help us establish ourselves here and aid our subsequent business activities.”
From Zi Di’s point of view, since the giant-size Intelligence Potion had already been obtained and used on the Big guy,
temporarily bowing down to the Saber Gang was an acceptable option.
Even if it meant paying some compensation, for the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps, which possessed assets over 600,000 Gold Coins, it was a mere drop in the bucket.
If both parties could reconcile, having the Saber Gang’s protection and connections would make Zi Di’s business smoothly in this area.
Looking at the bigger picture, it was like the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps was making an investment that could earn much more in the future!
However, upon her suggestion, everyone present fell silent.
Even the Dragon-man youth remained non-committal.
The Dragon-man youth looked at the others, “Let’s share our thoughts, what do you all think?”
Lan Zao was the first to reply, “My Lord, you are our squad leader, and your decision is our direction!”
Lan Zao strongly supported the Dragon-man youth ever since he began following him, and his stance had never wavered.
Fat Tongue then said, “On Mysterious Monster Island, if not for the Big guy protecting our ship, everyone would have died under the Beast Tide. Before the old shipwright died, he entrusted the Big guy to the squad leader. The Big guy considers the squad leader as his new father—for a father to buy a potion for his son is completely justified and expected.”
Fat Tongue’s words were much more diplomatic than Lan Zao’s.
He also clearly expressed his support for the Dragon-man youth’s stance.
Mu Ban frowned deeply, “I’m more worried about another aspect.”
“If the Saber Gang has been entrenched here for many years, they must have numerous hidden connections with Snowbird Port’s local sheriff and City Guard.”
“If they use the City Guard to deal with us, that would be even more troublesome. If mishandled, we could end up opposing the official forces of the Ice Sculpture Kingdom, which would be extremely detrimental to us.”
Queshan then said, “If push comes to shove, we can just leave Snowbird Port. This port is only one of the eight major ports of the Ice Sculpture Kingdom. The kingdom is vast, and we don’t need to linger in one place. We are free, and our situation is urgent—the longer this drags on, the worse it is for us.”
After everyone had their say, only Bai Ya remained.
The Dragon-man youth looked at Bai Ya, “What are your thoughts, Bai Ya?”
Bai Ya appeared nervous, “Do I really have to speak? I don’t really have any good ideas.”
The Dragon-man youth smiled encouragingly at him, “Speak freely; it’s alright if you’re wrong, we’re all comrades here.”
Bai Ya pondered for a moment, but then changed the subject, “Everyone knows I’m a Hunter.”
“When I could shoot arrows and kill rabbits, my father would take me into the woods to hunt.”
“One early winter, right after the first snowfall, my father and I prepared to go hunting.”
“Just as we entered the forest, we discovered bloody traces left by a fierce beast fight scattered across the disordered woodland, with claw marks imprinted on the tree trunks and snow.”
“Our father immediately called a halt to the hunt.”
“I was very puzzled and asked my father why he did that.”
“My father told me that there was only one fierce tiger in this forest. The traces at the scene indicated that two tigers had fought here.”
“Clearly, one of the tigers was an outsider. It had intruded and encountered a conflict with the owner of this territory. We needed to wait for this fight to end, to see who would emerge victorious.”
“Only when the forest had settled down and stabilized again would we come back to hunt.”
“My father cautioned me, ‘We are all mortals, even fully armed, we can’t fight Magic Beasts. Don’t even think about taking advantage of the situation to loot. A wounded, starving Magic Beast is far more terrifying than usual! Transcendents are different, and we could never be their match.'”
“We were just making a living in this forest, hunting prey that we could handle.”
“Don’t take unnecessary risks, hunting itself is risky enough. Taking more risks is akin to seeking death. As men, once we die, what happens to our families behind us?”
At this point, Bai Ya brought the topic back around and expressed his opinion, “I believe that our Dragon Lion Mercenary Group is like an outsider fierce beast. We need a real confrontation before the beasts of the Ice Sculpture Kingdom recognize us, before we can truly establish ourselves here.”
“Snowbird Port isn’t our only option.”
“But in reality, it’s the same anywhere.”
“Do other ports not have gangs? Just like patches of forest, there are always Magic Beasts residing, marking their territories.”
“This time, we provoked the Saber Gang, but even if we hadn’t, wouldn’t they have come to stir up trouble with us?”
“Even without such conflicts, there would always be other people, other forces causing us difficulties and pushing us out.”
After Bai Ya finished, everyone around looked at him with a new level of respect.
The Dragon-man youth clapped loudly, exclaiming, “Well said, very true, Bai Ya!”
Bai Ya scratched his head, blushing slightly from the praise.
The Dragon-man youth looked around and proclaimed, “Just as Bai Ya has just said, that’s our situation.”
“The Ice Sculpture Kingdom is very different from our previous encounters on Snake Rat Island and Twin Eyes Island. It has developed too long, with stable social classes. People of all kinds fill every sector. It isn’t a vacuum. To secure enough living space, we inevitably have to wrestle with the locals.”
“The Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps needs an adversary to demonstrate our strength to others.”
“The Saber Gang is strong, but it isn’t invincible.”
“If we defeat them, the fruits of victory we reap will certainly be richer than if we defeated a weaker enemy!”
“Moreover, this isn’t about a naval battle at Twin Eyes Island or Songfeng Island, nor about surviving on Mysterious Monster Island. Our conflict with the Saber Gang is just over a potion of Golden Level.”
“This battle doesn’t need to be a fight to the death, but a victor must be decided.”
“As long as we show our true strength, the Saber Gang will surely be wary. Then, we can carve out our own place here.”
Zong Ge looked thoughtful, gazing at the Dragon-man youth, “So, what’s your specific plan?”
The Dragon-man youth smiled slightly, “Tomorrow morning, I will act and challenge the leader of the Saber Gang to a duel in front of everyone!”
Upon hearing this, everyone’s expressions varied.
Zi Di suddenly couldn’t sit still, “Squad Leader, are you going to fight Teng Donglang? He is a seasoned Gold Level.”
The Dragon-man youth’s smile deepened, exuding a strong desire for battle, “Gold Level…only such an opponent is challenging enough.”
The Dragon-man youth previously fought against Fat Tongue at the Twin Eyes naval battle.
But the encounter was brief and unsatisfying.
This time with an opportunity at hand, the Dragon-man youth was eager.
Sanda agreed, “This method isn’t bad. Even if you lose, Squad Leader, it doesn’t matter. After all, you are only Silver Level. But as long as you show your prowess, that will be enough to earn respect and display the power of our Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps so that others will never underestimate us.”
Zong Ge again focused on the intelligence in his hands, “This battle is fightable.”
“Teng Donglang isn’t the Hun Tong type of fighter; he has a military background, his moves are concise and clear, and his style suits battlefield and head-on combat. This is exactly the type of opponent suitable for you, Squad Leader.”
The Dragon-man youth nodded, “Yes, I think so too.”
Subconsciously, he reached out and touched the Big Arena Badge he wore.