Chapter 191: Obsidian’s Order And News From The Front
City of Light Chasing, Nanxing Street.
In a dark, foul-smelling alley, a six-person team dressed in silver-gray clothing cautiously stopped in front of an underground bar called Root of the Wilderness.
“Sister Ying Huo, this should be the place mentioned in the task.” A petite newbie girl who was not even an apprentice checked the city map on her smart watch and pointed at the underground bar.
“Very good. This is your first time doing a task. The task level is only D, and the target is just an intermediate apprentice. As long as the five of you go together, using the basic martial skills taught by the martial arts hall, you have a chance to complete it.” The also short, twin-tailed Great Emperor Ying Huo nodded and looked at the five newbies. “During the battle, you don’t need to be afraid. I will hold the line for you. You just need to fight according to the combat strategy guide taught by Xiao Yuan.”
“Understood.”
“The two of us go up to entangle him, and the other three take the chance to hit him from behind.”
The five newbies all showed excited expressions. They had not expected that on the first day of entering the game, they could play something this intense, like police catching a thief.
“Something like that.”
Listening to the five’s plan, Great Emperor Ying Huo felt it was a bit strange, but overall there was no problem.
“Charge!”
“Open up! Room inspection!”
The five newbies who were not even apprentices did not hesitate. Shouting loudly, they rushed straight into the underground bar.
The revelers inside the bar stared in shock at the five newbies in silver-gray clothing who suddenly burst in. Although everyone in the bar was at least an apprentice, that silver-gray long-sleeved T-shirt was something that in all of Nanxing Street, almost no one failed to recognize.
Because it was the symbol of Obsidian Martial Arts Hall, proving that these five who were not even apprentices were very likely disciples of Obsidian Martial Arts Hall.
“Why did people from Obsidian Martial Arts Hall suddenly come over?”
“Are they here to collect rent? But wasn’t the rent paid more than ten days ago?”
“That was paid to the Two-Headed Gang. Now that Obsidian Martial Arts Hall has taken over, maybe they want it again.”
“Poor Boss Bas. I heard that after the Two-Headed Gang was wiped out, many lizardmen left Nanxing Street, and his business went cold. If they charge rent again, this month is basically for nothing.”
The unregistered nomads in the bar whispered among themselves as they watched the five players. They had not expected Obsidian Martial Arts Hall to start taking over all the Two-Headed Gang’s affairs so quickly.
“Where is Black Hand Pachi?” A newbie youth holding an A6 shield asked the somewhat dazed lizardman bartender.
“Looking for Pachi?” The lizardman bartender nervously pointed toward a private room not far away and said in human race language, “Pachi is still inside talking business.”
As soon as the lizardman bartender finished speaking, the five newbies rushed straight over, drawing puzzled looks from everyone present.
“What does Obsidian Martial Arts Hall want with Black Hand Pachi?”
“I heard Obsidian Martial Arts Hall has been recruiting recently. Are they planning to recruit Black Hand Pachi?”
“No way. Black Hand Pachi is a rogue, infamous for being black-hearted, and just an intermediate apprentice. Obsidian Martial Arts Hall shouldn’t need to make such a big move.”
“Are they going to discuss business with Black Hand Pachi?”
“That is possible. Black Hand Pachi knows quite a few merchants on Nanxing Street. Now that Obsidian Martial Arts Hall has taken over Nanxing Street, many lizardmen merchants want to leave. These are all big rent payers. If Black Hand Pachi steps in secretly to warn them, maybe those lizardmen will stay. After all, gangs can be avoided, but these jackals are not so easy to deal with.”
For dealing with troubles in the dark, the reason the major gangs turned a blind eye to rogues was largely because they needed these rogues to handle matters that were inconvenient to address openly.
The most typical example was merchants in the territories of the major powers. If those merchants ran to someone else’s place and people from another faction went after them, that would be a provocation to the local gang. But if they sent rogues to act in secret, it would not trigger conflict between the two gangs.
The five newbies reached the private room door. One of them directly opened it, while the two youths holding A6 shields rushed in. The other three took out A6 arrows and tossed them into the air.
“Who are you?!”
“Do you not know this is my exclusive private room, Black Hand Pachi’s?”
In the less-than-ten-square-meter private room, a sub-demon race man wearing A5 armor, nearly three meters tall with six arms, roared in anger.
But what awaited Black Hand Pachi were two charging shields. Although furious, as a rogue, Black Hand Pachi’s skills were not bad. He slapped both shields aside with a palm each, while his remaining four arms grabbed the four A6 sabers on his back almost simultaneously.
At that moment, the three newbies at the door each struck the tail of an A6 arrow with their palms.
Boom!
Three beams instantly lit up the dark bar.
As the three beams faded, Black Hand Pachi collapsed to the floor. Three bowl-sized holes pierced his body, blood gushing and covering the private room floor. The lizardman beside him, who had also been talking business and had the strength of an intermediate apprentice, was stunned, completely unable to understand what had just happened.
“Very good, task complete.”
“This D-level task really wasn’t difficult. How about we take a C-level next time for fun?”
“I thought we were poor enough, but this guy is even poorer. He doesn’t even have a single A6 weapon and equipment on him.”
“What are you thinking? For a D-level task, getting drops at all is good enough. You think you’re some big shot who can just wander in the wilderness exploring freely now?”
The five newbies ignored the bar full of terrified, screaming people. They focused on stripping Black Hand Pachi’s corpse, chatting as they worked, their expressions full of indescribable joy and calm.
This scene, appearing before everyone’s eyes, made the bar patrons, who had been terrified already, feel a chill in their bones. They looked at the five who were not even apprentices as if they were looking at monsters, filled with fear.
This fear was not because the five instantly killed Black Hand Pachi, but because of their indifference.
That indifference made it seem like they did not regard Pachi or anyone here as human, and killing Black Hand Pachi was just a good thing to do. This clearly was no longer the normal mental state of a person.
“Demons!”
Suddenly, someone in the bar shouted, and everyone present could not help wanting to flee, not wishing to stay here another moment.
Just as a half-scale race man with strength close to advanced apprentice finished paying and was about to leave, another group of people in silver-gray clothing rushed in.
Compared with the five newbies just now, these people were clearly much more impressive. Not only were there six of them, but each wore A6 battle armor.
“Confirm target!”
“Go!”
The moment these six newbies in A6 battle armor saw the half-scale race man, they all moved.
Unlike the previous five, these six newbies seemed like battle partners who had cooperated for years, attacking simultaneously from six angles, each using one Lightning Palm.
With six palms striking together, even the half-scale race man whose strength was close to advanced apprentice could only barely block two of them. The remaining four struck his body and instantly took his life.
“Target confirmed dead. Let’s move on to the next task.”
The six looked at the fallen half-scale race man. They did not loot the corpse, only tapped their smart watches.
This all happened in an instant inside the bar. Before anyone could react, the half-scale race man was already dead.
“My god! That was Iron Tail Shute!”
“What exactly are people from Obsidian Martial Arts Hall trying to do?”
“First they kill Black Hand Pachi, now they’ve taken out Iron Tail Shute. Are they planning to clear the rogues in their territory?”
“Clear the rogues? Is Obsidian Martial Arts Hall insane? That’s basically declaring war on all the rogues in the city!”
Everyone stared at the six Obsidian Martial Arts Hall members as they quickly turned and left, stunned, unable to understand how Obsidian Martial Arts Hall could be so crazy.
They had just wiped out the Two-Headed Gang, and the Two-Headed Gang’s territory had not even warmed up yet. Now they were already clearing rogues. They were simply a group of lunatics.
At the same time, not only on Nanxing Street, but also on Qianxing Street, which had previously been occupied by the Iron Heart Gang, the same thing was happening.
Large numbers of Obsidian Martial Arts Hall disciples in silver-gray clothing moved through three street blocks. Although these disciples were not strong, Obsidian Martial Arts Hall was indeed clearing rogues from within its territory.
“What is Obsidian Martial Arts Hall thinking? Those rogues are desperadoes. Aren’t they afraid of revenge?”
“But without those rogues in the streets and with people from Obsidian Martial Arts Hall patrolling, the public order in the streets really feels much better.”
“The small merchants who open shops under Obsidian Martial Arts Hall’s protection are in luck. Those big merchants used to cooperate with rogues to push them out. Now with Obsidian Martial Arts Hall standing in the way, the big merchants can only compete fairly.”
Residents on the street watched Obsidian Martial Arts Hall disciples run past from time to time. Although they were surprised by Obsidian Martial Arts Hall’s actions, they were also very pleased. Obsidian Martial Arts Hall was actually willing to clear out these rogues, and the safety level of the street blocks had clearly risen a tier.
News that Obsidian Martial Arts Hall was clearing rogues from its territory quickly spread throughout the suburbs, stirring up many factions.
Inside a five-story shop in the suburbs.
Mans of the White Feather Gang slowly walked up to the rooftop of the fifth floor. Though his movements were cautious and gentle, he could not hide the excitement on his face.
“Gang Leader, good news.” Mans quietly said as he reached the cultivating Isaac. “That Obsidian Martial Arts Hall has gone crazy for some reason and is clearing rogues from its territory. Now all the rogues in the city are gathering, looking ready to take revenge on Obsidian Martial Arts Hall.”
“Rogues? They are just sewer rats, not of much use.” Isaac kept his eyes closed, completely indifferent.
“Gang Leader, those rogues may not form a proper force, but they can still wear Obsidian Martial Arts Hall down. After all, there are far more rogues than the members of the Four Major Powers combined, and among them are martial artists. If these people keep taking shots in the dark, even Obsidian Martial Arts Hall with eight martial artists sitting in town will suffer,” Mans said with a smile. “And two days ago, we worked with the Red Moon Merchant Guild. The new batch of supplies has arrived. Today we might see a few martial artists break through among the hundreds of new suicide squad members. Then our White Feather Gang can officially enter the suburbs.”
“Hmph, that greedy Red Moon Merchant Guild. What I gave them was more than enough to create twenty to thirty martial artists, and they only delivered that little in resources. I will make them pay for that loss sooner or later!” Isaac snorted softly, displeased with the Red Moon Merchant Guild’s greed.
“Don’t worry, Gang Leader. Whether it is Obsidian Martial Arts Hall or the Red Moon Merchant Guild, sooner or later they will all be trampled under our White Feather Gang’s feet,” Mans said confidently. “Obsidian Martial Arts Hall just got lucky and discovered the secret of Crimson Moon Mountain, which let them create a few martial artists. They do not know they only got the tip of the iceberg. We already moved the real good stuff.”
Isaac, sitting cross-legged, did not comment. Crimson Moon Mountain had been run in secret by the White Feather Gang for many years. If the Green Sparrow Gang’s spies had not discovered the surface-level miniature energy vein, he would have continued operating in the shadows, building strength until he could take over the entire City of Light Chasing.
Back during the battle at Crimson Moon Mountain, he had thought that showing only a small part of his strength would be enough to swallow the Green Sparrow Gang without drawing too much attention, then continue to develop covertly. He had not expected Obsidian Martial Arts Hall to appear halfway, seize Crimson Moon Mountain, and completely disrupt his plan.
Now that Obsidian Martial Arts Hall had so many martial artists, it was clear they had discovered the secret of Crimson Moon Mountain. Fortunately, he had already taken the true benefits of Crimson Moon Mountain. What remained was nothing much.
Isaac then opened his eyes and took out a letter from the Martial Artist Association.
“Take a look.”
“Gang Leader, has the Martial Artist Association made some arrangement?”
“It is not about arrangements from the Martial Artist Association. It is news from the frontline and a mobilization order issued by the City of Light Chasing. This letter has probably already been delivered to all the major powers.”
(The chapter ends.)
