Chapter 100: Xu Ma Attacks

Xu Ma left Bai Ya elsewhere and had him keep watch while he rushed into the depths of the alley.

A strong wind assaulted his face, causing Xu Ma to narrow his eyes, his slits flickering with cold light.

Previously, he had been stabbed and forced to part with information on the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps. Fortunately, he had just joined and didn’t know anything tantalizing about them.

The thin person who stabbed him knew this too, and didn’t kill Xu Ma, opting to release him instead.

But Xu Ma wasn’t happy, because he knew the other party had let him go to squeeze the last bit of value out of him. They had used him to give the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps a show of strength. It told the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps that it wasn’t easy to mingle into Two Eyes Island!

Xu Ma, with a dagger stuck inside him, had staggered back to the ship and immediately reported what had happened.

The news was unavoidably spread, and as Xu Ma recuperated, many mercenaries jeered him.

The Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps was newly formed, and everyone was fresh faces. If they weren’t recruited on Snake Rat Island, they would have been captives from the Snake Rat naval battle.

The Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps’ higher ups were suppressed by the dragonman captain and the half beastman.

However, the lower ranks didn’t have a clear leader, and so was in a chaotic state.

This world worshiped the strong.

Without a clear strongman, the bronze and iron level mercenaries were secretly competing with each other to decide who ranked where and who was more or less important from now on.

Why should I listen to you?

Why should you get those resources first before me?

Prove your strength!

These secret competitions were not started by the survivors, but rather an automatic refinement of a new organization.

As a bronze level, Lan Zao valued, causing many other bronze levels to be frustrated and challenge him.

Xu Ma was a special case, he was injured.

The injury was his protective shell, yet at the same time, his weakness.

Xu Ma had been growing more and more worried these days.

After being stabbed and forced to sell information on the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps, he had been put at a clear disadvantage in this secret competition.

That disadvantaged state was far worse than the one Lan Zao was in.

How did bronze level cultivators look at Xu Ma?

Someone unimportant, they would ridicule Xu Ma for being weak and incompetent. Even if they were to swap positions, they would perform worse.

They wanted to force Xu Ma underneath them and make the latter uncompetitive.

When this chaotic period ended, Xu Ma’s decidedly evaluated position would be a great vexation.

Not only would he be disparaged and teased, more importantly, was how much benefits was allocated to him.

No one would give more to the weak, it is always the strong that benefits!

Xu Ma valued his face.

And this face also concerned his future earnings in the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps.

Xu Ma valued those earnings, because he viewed the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps as having a good future.

A cultivator, even as the lowest bronze, was often welcomed into mercenary corps, pirate groups, and other such organizations.

However, not all powers or organizations resembled the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps. They had two silver leaders that could vie with gold level cultivators!

Especially since the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps was new, and Xu Ma had joined not too long ago either. He wanted to grab hold of this good opportunity, become a direct subordinate, and in the future, rely on the higher-ups’ approval to gain profits beyond his own strength.

Not only was Xu Ma had gotten stabbed and was forced to sell information on the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps, but he was also severely punished.

However, the exact way and level the punishment was carried out had caused Xu Ma to regard the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps as having more prospects.

Because regardless of whether it was treatment or punishment, the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps’ higher-ups had done both according to the group’s internal regulation system. Both existing laws and sufficient consideration were applied to Xu Ma’s difficult situation.

The Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps had given Xu Ma an order to investigate a mysterious magician.

Xu Ma passively slacked off on that task.

He joined the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps to get a better life and more resources, not slave away.

This time, Xu Ma was doing his utmost to pursue and attack.

Actually, it was for the same reason.

He wanted a better life and resources, then he had to turn a new leaf and counterattack, forcing others to sit up and take notice of him.

What target was more suitable than the thin person who had stabbed him?

Climb back up where you fell.

Most crucially, although the thin person was a cultivator, he was the same as Xu Ma, a mere bronze level.

Battle skill – Slink

Xu Ma sped up by 30% and his figure hugged closer into the darkness of the alley, masking him.

Most crucially, his life aura dwindled and was close to nonexistent.

Slink was a popular battle skill, but if Lan Zao used it, it wouldn’t be as good as Xu Ma’s.

Because Lan Zao cultivated the Water Grass battle qi while Xu Ma cultivated the Spider Walk battle qi. His Spider Walk battle qi was more compatible with the Slink battle skill.

“Amazing!” Bai Ya exclaimed in admiration from behind. In his view, Xu ma’s figure suddenly became fuzzy as it sped up efficiently, vanishing after turning an alley corner.

The thin person was already missing after turning the corner.

Xu Ma had anticipated this and used another battle skill – Tracking.

Xu Ma gazed at the ground and found a series of jumbled and disorderly footprints.

Among these footprints, one group stood out the most.

It was the footprints the thin person had left behind.

Because they were from the person with the strongest life level that had passed through here recently.

Xu Ma duel used the Slink and Tracking battle skills to investigate and determine the thin person’s precise route along with reducing the distance between them.

After passing through two alleys and turning five or six times, Xu Ma slowed down as he arrived in front of a building.

“This is the place.” He was careful and didn’t advance prematurely.

Battle skill – Walk Climbing.

He stretched out his limbs and stepped onto the wall.

The battle skill allowed him to walk as if he was on level ground.

To not reveal himself, Xu Ma pressed his chest against the wall, with both hands and feet crawling up like a spider.

The Tracking battle skill had ceased already and couldn’t be used.

This was Xu Ma’s limit.

He could at most use two skills at a time, previously it was Slink and Tracking, now he had changed Tracking out for Walk Climbing.

Reling on his battle skills and experience, he cleverly avoided two sentries out in the open and passed through a gap in the line of sight of a hidden sentry post.

After circling about, he came to the back side of the building, then pressed his ear onto the wall.

Battle skill – Eavesdrop.

Very quickly, the rustling conversation transmitted into his ear.

Xu Ma frowned and changed his position until he found the correct room.

This time when he eavesdropped, the voices were much clearer.

“Lord Xi Dai Zi, I didn’t just mishear you?” The thin person’s stunned voice could be heard, “You’re making us your pirate group’s insiders that will help you attack Two Eyes Island? This is impossible, I am a human, I cannot betray the interests of humanity!”

A finely sharp voice rang out, “Hee hee, betraying the interest of humanity is something you’ve done before. Don’t play tricks with me. Just state your price.”

The thin person grumbled, “This is too great of a responsibility. Not only was this different from what we discussed previously, we only planned to sell information on Two Eys Island’s defenses.”

“Hee hee.” Said Xi Dai Zi, “We want both information on defenses and insider knowledge!”

The thin person replied, “This…I can’t decide that.”

“Then let me speak to who can.” Xi Dai Zi expressed obvious displeasure, “How long will it take?”

“Now, at once.” Said the thin person.

Xi Dai Zi then asked, “Oh, that’s interesting, is that a gold level communications device?”

Xu Ma listened even more attentively and heard the clunk of an alchemy device being moved.

Soon after, a third voice was heard, “What?”

The thin person replied, “Lord Shadow, the situation has changed. The other party wants use to be insiders, they don’t just want to purchase defense charts.”

Xi Dai Zi followed up, “Our sincerity is sufficient, and we are always resolute. We have cooperated many times before, and don’t speak of betraying the interests of humanity. I haven’t struggled my way here to listen to such a corny joke.”

The third voice pondered for a bit, then laughed, “You group wants to seize control of Two Eyes Island, hehe, interesting. I accept. My force can serve as your insiders, but we will need 100,000 gold! No matter the outcome of this, you will need to pay it all first, no down payments accepted!”

Xi Dai Zi screeched, “Bah! That is unacceptable, at most this is worth 80,000 gold, furthermore, I can only provide a downpayment of 40,000 gold. When we seize control of Two Eyes Island, we shall deliver you the other part.”

What proceeded was a spell of bargaining.

Finally, both sides agreed on a price of 94,000 gold coins. Xi Dai Zi would first pay a down payment of 50,000 gold coins.

Xu Ma didn’t dare move from his corner.

He had already canceled the Slink battle skill, and was currently using Eavesdrop and Concealment.

The Concealment battle skill greatly diminished his life aura, even more so than Slink.

“This is a big play!” Xu Ma’s head filled with cold sweat.

He was a thief and attentively gathered information.

Many times, it was hard to imagine how valuable the information was.

Therefore, he knew more than an ordinary person, such as the person in this private discussion, Xi Dai Zi.

Xu ma knew that Xi Dai Zi was a fishman shaman, a silver level, and the first mate of the Vinegar Jar Pirates.

The Vinegar Jar Pirates were a pirate group made up of fishmen, their commander, Er Gua Zi, was a gold level cultivator. Unlike Rou Zang’s pirate group, the Vinegar Jar Pirates roamed around and weren’t fixated in some sea area, they treated all waters as their domain.

Therefore, the Vinegar Jar Pirates weren’t overestimating themselves, rather it was very possible that they could take Two Eys Island.

The actual situation was far more complex.

The Vinegar Jar Pirates had unexpectedly found a human insider!

“There was someone backing that dimmable thin person!”

“For what reason did this group of people dare become traitors?”

“Thery are bound to be a powerful force; otherwise, why would the Vinger Jar Pirates seek collaboration with them?”

“Damm it!”

“My situation is very dangerous; I cannot let them find me. If they notice me, I will meet a terrible end here…”