Chapter 557: Section 344: Choosing a Shop
The duel date between the Dragon-man youth and Teng Donglang was destined to be remembered by the port city of Snowbird Port.
Because on this day, two major events occurred simultaneously.
These two events were closely related to each other.
Firstly, the squad leader of the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps, as a fighter of Silver Level, bravely initiated a challenge and not only successfully defeated the Golden Level Teng Donglang but also killed him on the spot.
Secondly, it was the destruction of the Saber Gang!
The City Lord of Snowbird Port led the troops, and when they finally acted, it was earth-shattering.
He directly deployed the Magic Team, all of the City Guard, and even mobilized troops from outside the city.
The thunderous raid was invincible!
The defenses of the Saber Gang were extremely weak.
At that time, the heroic duel of the Gang Leader Teng Donglang attracted almost all the high-ranking members of the gang, and the only one overseeing daily affairs outside was a Dwarf leader from among the six leaders.
The latter actually wanted to come and watch the duel, but unfortunately, he became the sole loser in a drawing of lots.
The City Lord of Snowbird Port led the charge personally.
The Dwarf leader, being only of Silver Level, of course, was no match for the existence of the Dragon-man youth, failed to escape due to his slower speed, and after being severely wounded, was captured alive.
This was because the City Lord of Snowbird Port recognized his forging talents and deliberately spared his life.
The City Lord of Snowbird Port cleaned out most of the Saber Gang’s bases and then rushed to the dueling field of Snowbird Port.
When he burst in, the high-ranking members of the Saber Gang were still in the dark, not having had time to receive any military intelligence.
The current Gang Leader Teng Donglang died in the duel, and the former Gang Leader Ice Eagle had just stabilized the morale of the high rankers, only to face the army outside the city.
Originally, Ice Eagle still had the will to fight, but the City Lord of Snowbird Port took a step ahead by producing the head of a Golden Level giant slave.
It turned out that, before he took major action, he had joined forces with the bishop of the Sea Bird sect, and they assassinated the Golden Level giant slave successfully.
Upon seeing this, Ice Eagle felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave and immediately realized that the Saber Gang’s days were over, and ordered a break-out escape.
However, since the City Lord of Snowbird Port had already led the troops here, he was fully prepared.
The Magic Team was already in battle formation, just waiting for the Saber Gang members to attempt a breakout.
The City Guard and the outside military forces acted as support, forming a tight encirclement like a giant net, catching any small fish that tried to flee.
Without a Golden Level figure presiding, the Silver Level members of the Saber Gang seemed like small fish to the City Lord of Snowbird Port!
After a period of chaos at the dueling field of Snowbird Port, the scene was utterly cleared.
Inside the arena was the City Lord of Snowbird Port, outside was the Sea Bird Bishop.
All the leaders of the Saber Gang were caught, and Ice Eagle was no exception.
The City Lord of Snowbird Port, after one day, had successfully raided and wiped out the entire Saber Gang!
In the midst of the turmoil, the people heard this heavy news and were stunned for a long time.
For a moment, they all found it hard to accept that the once colossal Saber Gang had been wiped out in just one day!
Thanks to this battle, the prestige of the City Lord of Snowbird Port sharply rose to its peak within one day, becoming an object of high praise and admiration among the people.
His prominence was unmatched, comparable only to the Dragon-man youth.
Meanwhile, under the protection of Menshi, Sanda, and Lan Zao, the Dragon-man youth safely left the dueling field and returned to the flagship at the dock to recuperate.
The Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps did not participate in the campaign against the Saber Gang.
This was a pre-established agreement when the contract was formed.
One day later in the late night.
A grand banquet was held at the City Lord’s mansion, hosting nearly all the prominent powers of Snowbird Port.
In the study room on the second floor, the City Lord of Snowbird Port was alone with the Dragon-man youth.
The City Lord personally poured wine for the Dragon-man youth and introduced, “This is Cold Love Wine.”
“Even in the capital of the Ice Sculpture Kingdom, this is a very rare fine wine.”
“In my wine cellar, there is only this one bottle!”
“I toast to you, Long Fu squad leader, for today’s success in defeating the Saber Gang largely rests on your shoulders.”
The wine poured into the glass immediately formed a layer of frost on the surface of the glass.
The Dragon-man youth took the wine glass handed by the City Lord. He had no knowledge of wines, but he did not doubt the City Lord’s high esteem for this wine.
For the deep red wine exuded an aura of Golden Level.
This was a potion of Golden Level!
The Dragon-man youth was curious about the effects of Cold Love Wine, but he also knew what he should say at this moment.
“City Lord, your praise makes me deeply honored and uneasy.”
“Everyone knows that the one who can annihilate the entire Saber Gang, your contribution is the greatest and unmatched.”
“Just one day has passed, and all the people of Snowbird Port believe that you are the most accomplished City Lord in the history of Snowbird Port!”
Hearing this, the City Lord of Snowbird Port laughed heartily, his eyes squinting, making no attempt to conceal his pride.
He passed over his glass.
The Dragon-man youth timely also passed his own glass.
Ding.
The glasses of the two gently clinked together in the middle.
Immediately, the fine wine flowed into their mouths.
Although the Dragon-man youth’s ability to taste wine was almost zero, good stuff was good stuff. The moment the Cold Love Wine touched his lips, his eyes changed.
When the Cold Love Wine first entered, it seemed bland and cold, but it immediately exploded on the taste buds and in the throat, becoming warm and fragrantly aromatic.
The intense aroma of wine, in an instant, spread throughout the Dragon-man youth’s body and soul, elevating his mood as if ascending to heaven.
Such wonderful enjoyment!
For a moment, both people in the room forgot to speak.
The City Lord of Snowbird Port was the first to open his eyes and broke the silence, “Did you know? Every year, the Wine God Festival is held throughout Drunkard Port, and Cold Love Wine is one of the offerings. In other words, this is an enjoyment of the gods.”
The Dragon-man youth knew that Drunkard Port was one of the eight major ports of the Ice Sculpture Kingdom, with a trading status comparable to that of Snowbird Port.
However, he did not know that the Wine God sect was so prevalent in Drunkard Port.
He couldn’t help but wonder, “As far as I know, there is no Wine God among the gods of your country. Who is worshipped during such grand Wine God Festivals in Drunkard Port?”
There are many Wine Gods in this world.
As far as the Dragon-man youth knew: the Dwarf clan has three, the Human Race has one, the Elf Clan has two, and the Devil Clan has one.
This shows that the competition for the position of Wine God is quite fierce.
The City Lord of Snowbird Port did not hesitate and immediately answered, “Of course, it is the Wine God of the Holy Bright Empire.”
The Dragon-man youth looked even more puzzled, “That is a god of the Human Race. Does this mean that your country has become this open?”
Faith is the resource of the gods.
Each diocese is a battleground for sects.
The faith of the Ice Sculpture Kingdom should be a resource of the Snow Elf gods. Yet, Drunkard Port, one of the great eight ports, holds a grand festival for the Human Race Wine God.
A grand festival, at least, impacts the entire city.
For example, it would be on the scale of the brave duel between the Dragon-man youth and Teng Donglang.
Without many followers, it’s impossible to hold a festival of this scale.
The City Lord of Snowbird Port shook his head and said helplessly, “The Holy Bright Empire is the world’s most formidable force, incredibly mighty. In recent years, the Human Race used astonishing trade impacts to transform Drunkard Port completely. The original sects have completely collapsed, and the place’s faith has been totally subverted. Of course, the Royal Family wouldn’t officially admit it, but you can indeed consider Drunkard Port as a diocese of the Human Race Wine God. That would be accurate!”
“So, it is like that,” the Dragon-man youth fell silent.
The Empire’s influence was everywhere and continuously growing.
Even the Ice Sculpture Kingdom, an independent overseas kingdom, was not exempt from its reach.
The Dragon-man youth could not help but worry: if he didn’t manage to redeem himself successfully, could the Ice Sculpture Kingdom become their resting place?
The two chatted for a while, then turned the topic to the main point.
The City Lord of Snowbird Port pulled out an activity map and spread it on the desk between them.
After some changes on the activity map, it displayed several street scenes.
Most of the shops on these streets were marked in different colors.
“Choose one from these,” said the City Lord of Snowbird Port.
This was one of the previously agreed trade terms—the City Lord of Snowbird Port would provide the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps with a shop.
Now was the time to honor this agreement.
The Dragon-man youth focused his gaze and soon realized: these shops were not originally the assets of the City Lord of Snowbird Port but were all from the Saber Gang.
The City Lord of Snowbird Port had completely destroyed the whole Saber Gang this time. He had made a fortune!
Not only did he gain explosive growth in reputation, but his actual gains were also unimaginably substantial. After all, almost all the assets of the Saber Gang had fallen into his hands.
Now, the Dragon-man youth recalled the agreement made between him and the City Lord of Snowbird Port on the ship.
The Dragon-man youth had only planned to fulfill his brave duel with Teng Donglang and did not want the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps to participate in the following combat actions.
At the time, the City Lord of Snowbird Port had not hesitated much before agreeing to this request.
“I was worried the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps would become his sacrificial pawn, suffering heavy losses. And the City Lord of Snowbird Port actually did not want my corps to participate.”
“Because this was a battle destined to be won.”
“The more people involved, the more the benefits would be divided.”
The City Lord of Snowbird Port planned carefully and then acted; the entire operation from start to finish was within his plan, and nothing unexpected occurred.
He reaped everything.
Of course, he would definitely share some profits with the Sea Bird sect.
Before this operation, he must have reached an agreement with the bishop of the Sea Bird sect. Both sides must have discussed and prearranged the profit distribution.
Whether it was cornering the mysterious assassin or destroying the Saber Gang, the Sea Bird sect was the firmest ally of the City Lord of Snowbird Port.
With the fall of the Saber Gang, the political landscape of Snowbird Port also changed drastically…
Previously, there was a balance among four forces; now, it was two strong and one weak.
The weakest were of course the Guild Chairman of the Bumbling Guild.
The day the Dragon-man youth and the City Lord of Snowbird Port made their agreement to return to the port, the Guild Chairman ordered all hands to gather to conduct a hunker-down defense, protecting warehouses, shops, and other key locations.