Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
"Leopard Woman," the words were a clear dismissal. Cui Ming stood up helplessly, extending his hand, but Leopard Woman turned away without shaking hands and walked upstairs. The security guard at the door watched Cui Ming, hoping he would leave quickly. Cui Ming smiled as he exited the small building and got into the car. The driver, Ding Ze, drove them back to the hotel. After a few hundred meters, he stopped the car, and Li Qing got in.
"My True Sight Guardian hasn't been discovered yet, but its existence is already suspected," Li Qing said.
Cui Ming asked, "Before or after Leopard Woman made the call?"
"During," Li Qing replied. "At first, it was a normal conversation, but soon the other party told Leopard Woman that this was likely a feint to see who she was in contact with and warned her to be cautious of surveillance. Then they called her a fraud and told her to get lost."
"Was it a man or a woman?" Cui Ming inquired.
"A man. His voice was somewhat hoarse; judging by his voice, he should be around forty."
Cui Ming remarked, "And their Pope is a sixty-year-old old man, an ordinary person."
"Just a puppet," Li Qing said. "Did you gain anything from this?"
"Not much, but it's clear that Leopard Woman is their designated team commander. From the conversation, it seems there are some internal conflicts within the Fire Cult team, but due to religious reasons, they remain loyal. If Leopard Woman were to die first, their command system would fall into chaos." Cui Ming asked, "Senior Brother, can't we set up a True Sight Guardian on the second floor?"
"Junior Brother," Li Qing replied, "when the True Sight Guardian is activated, there can't be any practitioners nearby; otherwise, it will be discovered. Based on the layout of the small building, I can set it up in the study on the first floor without any issues since no one will be there. But on the second floor, that's not possible." Li Qing continued, "Leopard Woman will definitely contact that middle-aged man again when she returns. Since you say that middle-aged man is clever..."
"Yes. I already have a clear tactical idea," Cui Ming stated. "Two sets of tactics: the first set is to kill Leopard Woman. The second set... is also to kill Leopard Woman. First, we need to figure out how to eliminate her."
Ding Ze chimed in wisely. "For the first set, since Leopard Woman is their appointed commander, killing her would disrupt their command system. For the second set, if they change commanders and we kill Leopard Woman as part of their scheme against us, we will play right into their hands. However, these are two plans; how do you intend to arrange them, Cui Ming?"
"I bet he's a clever man. So Senior Brother, it depends on your coordination with Mi Xiaonan to see if you can take down Leopard Woman."
Li Qing pondered for a moment. "Leopard Woman is always positioned in the rear guard; her range is very far, so she stays deep within cover. Unless someone like Ye Ying with high mobility or your long-distance teleportation can reach her—otherwise relying on my flying kick and Mi Xiaonan's lightning ball, I don't think we have the capability to infiltrate their backline."
Cui Ming replied confidently, "That's not an issue; I can mobilize them all together and give you an opportunity for encirclement."
"Well... they must not have set up any reconnaissance guards."
Cui Ming replied, "No."
Li Qing nodded, "That's good. This way, I can be confident about infiltrating with Mi Xiaonan. Leopard Woman is the rear guard, disconnected from those in front. We need to kill Leopard Woman. I can guarantee Mi Xiaonan's survival, but don't expect me to make it out alive."
"No, after you and Mi Xiaonan complete the mission, assess the situation. Go find the Red Dragon or the Giant Serpent and sacrifice yourself without giving them any money. It costs four hundred to revive you, and you’ll earn three hundred for killing Leopard Woman, so we just need to gather a hundred more. They will need two hundred to revive Leopard Woman. Sigh... I didn't want to calculate such detailed finances. But to defeat the Fire Cult, every penny counts."
Ding Ze laughed, "Cui Ming. It seems you don't have a foolproof strategy against the enemy either."
Cui Ming nodded, "The main issue is the significant gap in strength. If we go up against the Fire Cult, we need to engage in a real Competition Match."
Li Qing felt a bit disheartened, "Winning a Competition Match doesn't seem enough to prove our strength surpasses that of the Fire Cult."
Ding Ze stated, "In fact, we really are not as strong as those Fire Cult Practitioners."
"Senior Brother, I believe the Fire Cult has a very strong desire to take first place," Cui Ming said. "What’s the reward for first place? A large Force Stone or five medium Force Stones. The alliance will arrange for craftsmen to work with the participants to custom-make weapons, equipment, or treasures suitable for them."
"Their goal is Force Stones?"
"No, that's not enough; Force Stones are insufficient," Cui Ming explained. "With five craftsmen, although the Ye Dingcao families don’t have renowned smiths, they do have experienced and high-level craftsmen. Besides these three families, there’s only President Buffon as a craftsman. So the champions will stay long enough in these three families or within the alliance for legitimate reasons; this is a great opportunity for intelligence gathering."
Ding Ze added, "Moreover, if they show goodwill—like in Ding Family—the Ding Family respects strong individuals, even if they are orcs or Otherworldly Creatures. One of their family teachings is to befriend heroes and outstanding figures. Cui Ming mentioned that there’s a cunning mastermind directing them; what they can gain may be more than we think."
Cui Ming nodded, "This might be the true purpose of the Fire Cult participating in the Competition Match. Senior Brother, it’s not without significance; we must stop them from winning the championship."
Li Qing nodded and countered, "If the Fire Cult has a considerable number of Force Stones but lacks craftsmen, our alliance only has four craftsmen in total. Even though they can't compare with Master Bei and Master Nan's level, they are still engaged in this field and researching it. Could it be that Fire Cultists are coming for this reason?"
"That's not impossible, especially if they have a large amount of Force Stones," Cui Ming clapped his hands. "The Four Great Families collected a significant quantity of Force Stones while building Hero City. These are scraps from the transformation of the underground Force Giant Stones, but the quantity is enormous. Liu Meier belongs to the Liu Family." Like diamonds, several countries have an astonishing stockpile, but they won't sell them, as it would devalue the diamonds.
Li Qing said, "Regardless of their intentions, we cannot let the Fire Cult win. It seems that our best opponent in the semifinals would be the Fire Cult."
Cui Ming hurriedly replied, "Let's hope not. I haven't figured out all the details yet."
...
Li Qing's ominous prediction came true; the Pirate Team drew the Little Wave Team, and naturally, the North Moon Group drew the Fire Cult. The matches would start tomorrow morning at nine o'clock, with the first match being North Moon Group against Fire Cult. After learning about the draw results, Cui Ming had only a little over twenty hours left, but he was distracted. He assigned a secret mission to Li Qing and Mi Xiaonan, while Ding Ze was too lazy to participate. Since he was distracted, it had nothing to do with facing the Fire Cult; Li Qing and Mi Xiaonan's secret mission required a large white cloth and a marker for all practitioners in Hero City to sign.
This was a massive Signature Banner measuring eight meters long and three meters wide, commonly seen in various events. The reason for collecting signatures was explained on the banner: North Moon Group had a charity plan to obtain authentic signatures from practitioners and then use those signatures to create souvenirs, selling them to raise money to help children in need on the Eastern Continent. All they needed were signatures; no money involved.
The timing was crucial because North Moon Group had already gained some fame and was about to enter the elimination rounds against Fire Cult. Cui Ming couldn't guarantee victory in the elimination rounds, so while everyone was talking about it, he wanted to take advantage of their goodwill and quickly gather signatures. As for the specific purpose, Cui Ming told Beiyue, "It's useful, but I can't say."
"Definitely not for charity?"
"Definitely not."
"Cui Ming, you are using North Moon Group's fame under the guise of charity for your own purposes, aren't you?"
Cui Ming nodded sheepishly. "Yes, I feel guilty about it."
"Don't give me that; our goodwill isn't cheap! Cui Ming, you should donate one hundred million to Dawn City's charity organization; that would be reasonable."
Cui Ming smiled bitterly. "I don't have one hundred million."
"That's fine; I can help you borrow it. Consider it my contribution; you can pay me back later," Beiyue said. "Cui Ming, you need to have some principles. While it's true that charity can be a lucrative business in many people's eyes, as practitioners, we shouldn't take advantage of it or profit from it. You've already done this; announcing it publicly now would be meaningless. You need to provide something substantial in return for such a grand gesture. There must be an important reason behind this that justifies one hundred million."
Cui Ming smiled wryly. "Actually, this is just a preparatory step. The goal definitely exceeds one hundred million, but the preparation alone has already cost one hundred million. Isn't that too high a cost? Well, I'll find a way to handle it." One hundred million isn't too difficult; the Eternal Sphere has many nations, and finding a few leaders to extort some pocket money should be easy. For some City-States, a village chief who embezzles one hundred million wouldn't even dare to call himself a chief. There's no choice; they are the only ones to target, and their speed of acquiring money is unmatched by even the most lucrative industries.
Li Qing and the others were curious about what Cui Ming intended to do with this. Especially after collecting signatures and handing them over to Cui Ming that night, their doubts grew when Cui Ming tore off the charitable explanation written on the banner. Cui Ming replied, "I don't know if it will be useful or if it can be used." This slowly formed Cui Ming's own style; a task might need to be done or might not, but beforehand, preparations must be made as if it were necessary.
...
The Fire Cult faced off against the North Moon Group, and the battle finally began.
The Final Four battle garnered significant attention, and many began to take the North Moon Group's strength seriously. However, regarding the fight against the Fire Cult, not only ordinary spectators but also Wandering and even members of the North Moon Group believed their chances of winning were low. Everyone was curious about how the North Moon Group would confront the Fire Cult.
One minute into the match, Li Qing appeared at Midway, followed by Mi Xiaonan, Beiyue, Cui Ming, and Ding Ze, all arriving in that area. The meaning was clear: the North Moon Group intended to have a decisive battle with the Fire Cult at Midway, issuing a challenge similar to that of the Ye Family against the Fire Cult.
The Serpent Woman was the first to appear, followed by the Centaur and Minotaur. After the Leopard Woman and Lion Dog made their entrance, they retreated into the Arrow Tower behind them. Li Qing and Mi Xiaonan also withdrew into the Arrow Tower.
The Leopard Woman said, "Li Qing's flying legs are fast; he's an ace up our sleeve. He might be preparing to counter after dealing with the Centaur's charge."
Beiyue stepped forward and asked, "Are we ready?"
The Centaur swung his Greatsword and replied, "Yes."
Since everyone was prepared, it was time to begin.
Comment 0 Comment Count