Chapter 512: Section 299: Stirring Up Trouble
Under a sky filled with stars, the Dragon-man youth returned to the port.
At the same time, in a courtyard.
Teng Donglang, alone, was drinking Ice Flower Wine while enjoying slices of raw fish.
“After so many years, your taste hasn’t changed,” a voice suddenly came from behind him.
Teng Donglang froze on the spot and then turned around in surprise, standing up.
He saw the figure of a slender person, standing in the shadow of a grapevine trellis.
The figure was dressed in a white robe adorned with colorful and exquisite flowers.
And on his face was a silver-white fox mask.
The eyes that showed through had pink pupils.
Especially striking in the night.
“Hua Tang, why have you come?” Teng Donglang’s face bloomed with a joyful smile.
“Of course, there is important business to attend to. Do you remember the clue I once asked you to collect?” The silver-white fox mask stepped out of the shadows and slowly approached Teng Donglang.
“What clue? Over the years, I’ve provided you with quite a few.”
“Chicken Cry Cave.” Hua Tang offered just a place name.
Teng Donglang immediately arched an eyebrow, “So you’ve found the Thief Saint’s treasure? Don’t tell me it’s a fake again.”
Hua Tang shook his head, his tone serious and earnest, “It won’t be this time. I’m quite confident about it.”
Teng Donglang laughed dryly, “That’s what you said the last few times too.”
“Enough about me. Let’s talk about you; it seems you’ve run into a bit of trouble,” Hua Tang walked up to Teng Donglang.
Teng Donglang waved his hand dismissively, “It’s nothing much. Just a minor mercenary group, at most with a somewhat complex background.”
“We rarely get to meet. Let’s not talk about these dampening matters. Come, have a drink with me.”
Hua Tang chuckled and sat down with Teng Donglang.
Upon waking, the Dragon-man youth felt completely refreshed.
He had fully recovered.
The bloodline of the King of Flame Dragon revealed Legendary superiority once again.
During breakfast, his subordinates also handed over the intelligence they had acquired to the Dragon-man youth.
It was about Hua Tang.
There was a lot of content, but it was inexpensive.
Notices of Hua Tang’s bounties were posted all over the Ice Sculpture Kingdom, and stories about him were widely circulated, making the intelligence relatively low in value.
The Dragon-man youth read through the information while eating.
Each case told of the Golden Level Thief’s impressive skills.
Beneath seemingly impenetrable defenses, he always managed to miraculously steal treasures.
Many times, Hua Tang would distribute the stolen riches directly to all the poor people in the city.
Hua Tang was very high-profile in his actions.
Like his attire.
His clothing was very distinct.
A broad white robe, painted with countless flowers.
He wore a fox mask, which was made of silver.
Whenever he moved in the night, his white robe was like a drifting cloud, with flowers constantly tumbling within. The mask shimmered with silver light, as if fearing its master wouldn’t stand out enough in the dark.
After each heist, he would leave a freshly picked, blooming flower at the scene of the crime.
And on many occasions, before the theft, he would send a warning letter directly to the treasure’s owner.
The Dragon-man youth quietly analyzed, “It seems he is no longer satisfied with ordinary theft, intentionally increasing the difficulty. He constantly challenges himself, challenges the world, finding pleasure in these challenges.”
“Does he really only have Golden Level cultivation?”
“To have roamed the Ice Sculpture Kingdom for so many years without ever being caught.”
“Looking at these theft cases, it’s like reading fabricated stories.”
The Dragon-man youth’s gaze grew more solemn.
“The current defensive measures of the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps mainly consist of the patrol by the mercenaries, Zong Ge, and others on guard. In secret, there are Alchemy Puppets distributed everywhere, monitoring. In the distant deep sea, the Deep Sea Monster Fish also keeps watch.”
“But such defenses definitely won’t stop Hua Tang.”
In the cases where Hua Tang successfully stole something, many places had defenses far more advanced and tighter than the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps.
Still, they were no match for Hua Tang, who treated them as virtually non-existent.
The Dragon-man youth had to estimate in his heart, “How likely is it that Teng Donglang has asked Hua Tang to take action against his own mercenary corps?”
Impossible to estimate.
Because he wasn’t clear on what the relationship between Teng Donglang and Hua Tang really was.
Once again, he felt a sense of urgency.
“I must enhance my strength as quickly as possible! I must complete the valiant duel with Teng Donglang. If delayed, fears may become reality.”
Despite taking the initiative in the valiant duel, the Dragon-man youth couldn’t alter the situation of fighting from weakness.
The more the Dragon-man youth knew, the more aware he became of the risks.
After hastily finishing breakfast, he dived into the Training Cabin, sparring with Zong Ge.
However, less than half an hour into their training, noises of commotion came from outside the ship.
Ban Langen, one of the six heads of the Saber Gang, approached the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps’ ship with ice blocks and a group of his men, loudly shouting and issuing a challenge.
Ever since the Dragon-man youth publicly challenged Teng Donglang, both factions had been under close watch, every move attracting attention.
As Ban Langen and his entourage marched brazenly, causing a stir, they made sure nobody would be unaware.
Thus, when he proclaimed his challenge, a large crowd had already gathered around the dock to watch.
Ban Langen didn’t challenge the Dragon-man youth to avoid provoking gossip, for everyone knew the Dragon-man youth had suffered injuries from Penetration and was in recovery.
Ban Langen challenged Zong Ge—Vice Captain of the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps.
The Dragon-man youth and Zong Ge were disturbed, forced to pause their sparring.
Zong Ge, of course, could not accept the challenge.
He had to teach the Dragon-man youth; with him, the youth’s combat power could be better enhanced.
Zong Ge was too busy to extricate himself.
But to directly refuse was not proper.
It would be perceived by the public that Zong Ge was cowardly and timid, afraid to take on this challenge.
Which would, in turn, undermine the newly established reputation of the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps.
“This is easy to handle. We’ll just reject Ban Langen the way Teng Donglang rejected me,” the Dragon-man youth suggested after some thought.
Zong Ge accepted this method and quickly appeared at the ship’s rail.
He looked down at Ban Langen and said, “You are just one of the six heads of the Saber Gang, while I am the second-in-command of the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps.”
“The Tree Man that was defeated by a single punch, you need to first prove your own strength.”
Ban Langen felt his scars were picked, and became both embarrassed and annoyed.
Menshi and Chi Lai had already received orders from the Dragon-man youth, and stepped forward in time, each saying, “To challenge our Vice Captain, you must get past me first.”
“Let me first measure your strength!”
Ban Langen had no choice but to agree to this arrangement.
Menshi went first, joining Ban Langen to the nearest dueling field.
The crowd eager for a spectacle followed them, noisily leaving the dock.
The Dragon-man youth and Zong Ge returned to the Training Cabin, continuing their sparring.
In just half an hour, another visitor arrived.
It was a dock worker.
He deliberately made things difficult, demanding docking fees.
According to him, due to incomplete reporting and pollution of the dock environment, the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps needed to pay double the fee.
Zi Di handled it, paying the full amount directly, resolving the issue.
But the dock worker wasn’t yet satisfied, and “kindly” reminded before leaving: The Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps needed to go to the docks to complete the reporting and address the environmental pollution caused by the ship. Otherwise, they would face fines. If they kept ignoring the warnings, the fines would escalate, with the final amount being quite substantial.
The Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps, with over 600,000 in liquid assets, certainly didn’t care about the small amount of money.
But such tactics were indeed disgusting.
Obviously, the Saber Gang had started to exert its strength, and various actions revealed the local tyrant’s true colors.
In one morning, Zi Di had to handle four consecutive interferences by various officials, creating a peaceful environment for the Dragon-man youth to comfortably continue his training.
But by noon, Zi Di could no longer stop them.
Because the Saber Gang had involved the Patrol Fleet.
An investigation team from the Snow Elves came with a tough attitude, citing a report that during a previous inspection, the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps had concealed heavy weapons and failed to report them, demanding another comprehensive inspection of the corps’ ship.
This Snow Elf investigation team came from the authorities.
Zi Di thought about it and found it difficult to block. If she did block, it would inevitably be resisting the investigation, making the mercenaries’ excuses seem true, and thus it would be harder to clear their name.
Zi Di had no choice but to let the investigation team proceed.
And this time, the attitude of the Snow Elf squad was much worse than normal.
They were not investigating, but searching.
Everywhere they went, they left in complete disarray, causing chaos.
The mercenaries were indignant, many clenching their fists, wanting to give the arrogant Snow Elves a piece of their mind.
But all were strictly ordered by Zi Di to stop.
Once a conflict with the Snow Elf investigation team ensued, it would undoubtedly fall into the Saber Gang’s trap. The latter couldn’t wait for the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps to get caught in such a conflict, they surely had many follow-up measures prepared, just waiting for the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps to fall into their trap.
Seeing the mercenaries continuously yielding, the Snow Elf investigators became even more arrogant.
When checking the Water Pigmen, the team leader pinched his nose with a look of disgust on his face: “What a strange smell, turns out it’s a bunch of pigs.”
“What are you looking at! Calling you pigs is being kind.”
“A bunch of country bumpkins…”
“You’re giving the stink eye? Hehehe.”
“Come on, step forward. I now suspect you’re carrying dangerous goods and not reporting them, I need to search you!”
The team leader singled out a female Water Pigman from the group.
He circled the female Water Pigman a few times, then extended his stick-like detector, poking all over her body, before lifting up the corner of her clothes.
The female Water Pigman growled in anger.
The Water Pigmen around her were also fiery with rage, gradually closing in on the circle surrounding them.
The team leader laughed loudly, glaring at the surrounding Water Pigmen, and snapped, “You filthy, despicable Beastmen, thinking of resisting the investigation?”
“Come on, let’s see you try!”
“Try hitting me. In the Ice Flower Kingdom, assault a Snow Elf investigator; you want to resist violently against the law?”
“Hmm?!”
After the team leader’s scolding, the Water Pigmen hesitated.
The female Water Pigman’s eyes were filled with blood, and tears began to appear.
She trembled all over, fists clenched, forcing herself to endure.
The team leader’s lips curled up, slowly lifting her clothing higher, about to expose her private parts when suddenly a figure burst in behind him.
The team leader only felt a gust of wind at his back and heard his companions shouting “Careful, Captain!”
He hurriedly turned around, only to have his vision filled with a fist.
Bang!
Gang Lie landed a heavy punch, knocking the team leader to the ground.
He hit with such force that the team leader smashed into the floor.
He spit out a mouthful of blood, along with several teeth.
The beaten team leader wasn’t angry but let out a triumphant laugh as if his plan had succeeded: “Hahaha, I knew you stupid Beastmen couldn’t take the provocation.”
“Fools, a bunch of fools! You actually dared to hit an investigator!”
“Someone, arrest them all!!”