Chapter 61: Conflict At The City Gate
Amidst the raging snowstorm, the city guards on duty huddled inside the city tower, warming themselves by the fire and chatting while drinking.
“Damn this ghostly weather, why did it have to be our turn for guard duty?” Du Shou, the captain of the city guards on duty, growled in a surly tone. With fewer merchant caravans and travelers passing through in this kind of weather, they wouldn’t be able to make much profit.
“Captain, don’t be upset. Let’s have a drink and when our shift is over, the brothers will invite you to have fun at the Drunken Phoenix Tower,” a lackey flattered.
At the mention of the Drunken Phoenix Tower, Du Shou’s face cleared a little. He remembered the woman he slept with there last time, with her fair skin and plump buttocks, and his heart couldn’t help but heat up.
“Come on, let’s drink. Follow me, Du Shou, and you won’t miss out on the brothers’ benefits,” Du Shou said, patting his chest.
“That’s right, who doesn’t know that Captain Du will soon become the little brother-in-law of General Fire Wolf, and success is just a matter of time,” a group of lackeys below immediately echoed.
Du Shou suddenly felt a little floaty. His younger sister, who was smart and lively, had caught the eye of General Fire Wolf a few days ago, and he wanted to take her as his concubine. However, his sister was too stubborn and refused to comply. He had been persuading her these past few days, that being able to hold onto General Fire Wolf’s thigh was something that others could only dream of.
“Captain, a fat sheep has arrived,” Just then, an excited city guard rushed in to report.
“Haha, it seems that my luck isn’t bad today. Even in this kind of ghostly weather, a fat sheep has come knocking. Brothers, let’s get to work. We need to extort at least twenty or thirty gold coins before letting them pass,” Du Shou threw down his wine glass, picked up his double-edged sword, and walked out of the city tower.
Leading his twenty guards on duty, Du Shou looked out and saw a medium-sized merchant caravan slowly approaching in the snowstorm.
After careful examination, Du Shou recognized Lone Eye and furrowed his brow slightly.
Lone Eye had been frequenting the northwest border these past few years, with Intermediate warrior strength and a reckless nature. He had good relations with several small and medium forces in West Spirit City as well.
If it were a normal day, Du Shou would give him some face and let the caravan pass, but today was too uneventful, and he felt a little reluctant to let them enter the city.
At this point, Qi Bei and his disguised Goth merchant caravan had already arrived at the gates of West Spirit City.
Du Shou and his twenty city guards on duty walked down the tower and formed a line to block the city gate.
Lone Eye approached them with a hearty laugh and said, “Captain Du, it’s been a while. Don’t you recognize me?”
Du Shou smiled politely and said, “Oh, it’s Captain Lone Eye. Since we’re old acquaintances, I won’t make things difficult for you.”
“In that case, thank you very much. After I finish this job, I will definitely treat Captain Du to a good drink.” Lone Eye smiled.
“Just ten gold coins. As the captain, I can waive it, but our brothers deserve some compensation for their hard work.” Du Shou added.
Lone Eye’s smile froze on his face, and his gaze became sharp. The caravans he escorted to West Spirit City had never been required to pay a toll before. His left eye had been blinded in a conflict with the city guards during his first visit to West Spirit City. At that time, he had disabled more than ten people, and since then, he had never paid the toll to enter the city again.
Although West Spirit City was chaotic, it also had its unwritten rules.
The city guards were indeed part of the three major powers, but their ability to extort tolls from passing caravans and travelers depended on their own skills. If they failed to extort money and were beaten instead, the upper echelons would not back them up as long as the opponents’ numbers did not exceed the number of guards on duty. Otherwise, who would dare to come to West Spirit City to do business? The three major powers would not do the stupid thing of destroying their own wall.
“It seems that Captain Du does not intend on giving me face,” Lone Eye said with killing intent in his remaining eye. This was his first mission after joining Qi Bei. If he couldn’t bring the Lord into the city, where would he face? If the Lord looked down on him because of this, he would not be able to obtain important tasks in the future, which would ruin his career. How could he not be angry?
“Lone Eye, don’t go looking for trouble. Do you want to make your other eye go blind?” Du Shou felt a bit scared, but he looked at one of the young city guard behind him who was silent, and his confidence rose again. Although this new recruit was not very disciplined, he was very powerful. With him there, he didn’t believe they couldn’t beat Lone Eye.
Qi Bei lifted the curtain of the carriage and looked out. His brow furrowed slightly. It seemed that the reports of chaos in West Spirit City were indeed true.
“Lie Feng, Iron Head, go help Lone Eye and teach these guys a lesson,” Qi Bei said calmly.
“Yes, my lord!” The two of them were excited.
“Young master, I…” Jin Gang, who was as tall as a tower, was also eager to try. He wanted to beat someone up too.
“Jin Gang, you don’t have to go. They’re just small fry. When the big fish comes, I’ll let you go,” Qi Bei said.
Jin Gang was extremely depressed and looked enviously at Lie Feng and Iron Head as they charged forward.
At the same time, Lone Eye roared with anger and launched an attack.
The two city guards screamed and flew out when Lone Eye struck them. Lone Eye then used a throat-hand technique to strike at Du Shou’s throat. Du Shou was only a Novice warrior and was no match for Lone Eye. He immediately shouted, “Yi Shiba, why aren’t you attacking?”
The young city guard who was silent and not very talkative suddenly took a step forward and punched toward Lone Eye’s hand, creating a burst of sonic boom.
Lone Eye’s pupils contracted, and he quickly withdrew his hand. He twisted his body and kicked the young city guard’s neck with a whip-like leg. There was a ring of fiery aura at the tip of his foot.
The young city guard lowered his body and, at the same time, placed his hands on the ground. He then lifted his leg and struck Lone Eye’s crotch with a sharp golden aura on the tip of his foot.
Just then, Lie Feng and Iron Head rushed over and pulled Lone Eye back.
“Lone Eye, you deal with these small fry. We’ll deal with this guy,” Lie Feng said with a smile.
“Thanks.” Lone Eye’s crotch was still a bit cold. His precious little thing almost got destroyed. He vented his anger on the other city guards.
Lie Feng and Iron Head faced the silent city guard from opposite sides.
“Has the Blade Warrior of the Saint Yana Alliance fallen to this level?” Lie Feng suddenly spoke up.
The young city guard looked up sharply and stared at Lie Feng.
“We are all the same kind of people. Come with us. You will only encounter humiliation here. Follow my Lord… he will surely give you the glory you deserve.” Iron Head sincerely looked at the young man, openly trying to poach him.
The young city guard did not speak, ignoring the yelling of his colleagues in his ears. Suddenly, he gave up the confrontation and turned to walk toward the city.
“Hey, where are you going…” Iron Head called out unwillingly.
“Forget it, don’t cause trouble. You won’t be able to afford it if you ruin the Lord’s plan.” Lie Feng knocked on Iron Head’s bald head.
At this point, all twenty city guards had fallen, and their captain, Du Shou, had been beaten the most miserably.
At this moment, a Goth merchant suddenly walked over, and with an air of superiority, slapped Du Shou’s already-swollen face.
“You…” Du Shou could no longer tolerate it and drew his sword.
The Goth merchant then opened a sheepskin document in front of Du Shou’s eyes, causing him to freeze in place and dare not move.
On the sheepskin was the trading agreement between the Goth merchant caravan and the Blood Wolves.
Du Shou watched as the merchant caravan disappeared into the streets of West Spirit City, spat out a mouthful of blood and cursed, “Damn it, they’re deliberately playing with me.”