Chapter 139 - Four Kingdoms, Five Sects
Valaran-Crawford Kingdom Border.
There was a small town called Aqualeaf Town located in the small region between the two kingdoms and wasn't affiliated with any of the two.
It was once a popular stop for merchants in between their travels, however it came to a grinding stop when it was taken over by the Hundred Snake Gang and became a bandit's nest in recent years.
The strength of Hundred Snake Gang was neither strong nor weak compared to the might of a kingdom, but they had their own advantages and was powerful enough to become the overlord of the region when they have no competitors.
The strongest of the gang, the gang leader, Ives, was only a 5th step Awakener Realm and ex-farmer, however the strength of the Hundred Snake Gang did not lie in the people but the snakes they reared and tamed with a special technique.
They weren't really snakes, but earthworms that have evolved to the size of snakes. With thousands of teeth inside their body, the bite of an earthworm was no laughing matter. Fortunately, they only eat dirt, or rather the nutrition found in the soil.
The people of Aqualeaf Town used to live content and happy lives, but now they could only live in fear under the tyrannical rule of the Hundred Snake Gang and their earthworms. Escape and resistance meant death.
There were some brave souls that once tried to fight back, but they had long become supplements in the bellies of the earthworm. Just because earthworms don't eat humans, it didn't mean they couldn't eat humans. In fact, humans had much more nutritional value than the soil and were a much more favored diet.
At this moment, a deathly paled traveler arrived at Aqualeaf Town. He wore a noble attire that depicted his status, but it had been stained with blood and a hole could be seen around the chest, except, no wounds could be seen.
"One bowl of noodles and wine." Zagan ordered impolitely, after arriving at an inn.
The innkeeper looked at the guest briefly, before heading into the kitchen quietly.
While waiting, Zagan knitted his brows at the silence of the town. It was too quiet. Last time he was here, it was very boisterous and lively, but now, it is basically a ghost town.
"Where do you come from, Traveler? Judging by your attire, you must be a noble." Ives arrived with a group of men and inquired nonchalantly. Each member had an earthworm draped around their neck.
Seeing this weak and frail looking noble, Ives wasn't going to let this prey go. Although it looked like the noble had already been robbed, they could still hold him hostage and ask for ransom from the affiliated kingdom.
"Where I'm from, it has nothing to do with you. Mind your own... god... damn business...!" Zagan spoke icily.
He did not like his meal being interrupted by ruffians. He no longer had any elegance in his tone and movements after suffering from the dead wound back in the Crawford Kingdom.
Hearing the unwelcoming tone, Ives said solemnly, "This is the Hundred Snake Gang's territory. Everything here is my business. You will do as I ask, unless you don't want to live."
"Hundred Snake Gang? What shit is that?" Zagan looked at the earthworm draped around Ives and disdainfully said, "Just a mere earthworm and you dare call yourself the Hundred Snake Gang?"
Ives boiled with anger at the naked contempt from someone who looks like he would fall over at the slightest gust of wind.
He looked at the paled-face noble with mockery and said, "You don't have strength, but you are so arrogant! Since you dont want to listen then... go die!"
The earthworm hanging around his neck immediately sprang into action, lunging itself at the other person with mouth wide open and all his sharp teeth on display.
Zagan sneered and his hands blurred into a slicing motion. Before anyone of the gang members could see what happened, the earthworm fell past him, diced into dozens of pieces.
Ives was stunned, before pointing his finger with shaking anger and said with disbelief, "Y-You! How dare you kill my pet!"
"Oh, I'm sorry. Did I hurt your feelings? I guess you should be called the Ninety-Nine Worm Gang now." Zagan said indifferently, as he folded his arms and crossed his legs on the seat.
Flushed with anger, Ives ordered, "Kill him!"
The gang members immediately charged at Zagan with their earthworms. A cold light flashed in Zagan's eyes. The blood stains on his clothes coagulated in a blood needle and shot through each of their heads.
They were just a bunch of ignorant ants, who didn't know who they were up against. Even in death, Ives didn't know how he died.
Their bodies soon became dried corpses after their blood essence was extracted and absorbed into Zagan's body.
His body was filled with energy, while the paleness and weakness on his face was replaced with a lively color.
With impassive expression as if he did an insignificant thing, he said coolly, "Why didn't you kill these pests?
The innkeeper came out with an equal impassive expression and said, "Killing them draws too much attention."
The noodle and wine were placed on the table.
Zagan sneered at the response but didn't pursue the matter. After a moment of silence, he asked, "What's the situation of the sect?"
"Our Bloodfiend Sect has already spread our influence throughout the Valaran Kingdom. The royal family is just our puppet now." The innkeeper answered.
"And the other kingdoms?" While eating his noodles, Zagan continued his inquiry.
The innkeeper shook his head and said, "There's no way of spreading our claws into the other kingdoms with the Illusory Butterfly Sect, Burning Heaven Sect and Grand Ocean Palace guarding them."
"…"
Seeing Zagan's silence, the innkeeper continued in greater detail, "Illusory Butterfly Sect guards the Durham Kingdom, Burning Heaven Sect guards the Ishaan Kingdom and the Grand Ocean Palace guards the Geyser Kingdom."
"Due to be located in the far east, we have never had conflicts with the Grand Ocean Palace. But it is a different story for the other two sects. With the Valaran Kingdom's border being connected with the Durham Kingdom in the north and the Ishaan Kingdom in the east, there had always been friction between out three sects."
"They kill how many we send and vice versa. It's a vicious cycle. The only advantage we have is being connected the declining Crawford Kingdom to our west. But even then, we still have to share with the Illusory Butterfly Sect."
Zagan silently enjoyed his meal without expressing any opinion or fluctuation in emotion at the information. It was as if he had already anticipated this sort of answer from the innkeeper or he simply didn't care.
"Judging by your state, I guess your plan failed. Do you have news of the Illusory Butterfly Sect's people in the Capital?" The innkeeper queried.
"Do you want to die?" Zagan said frostily. His mood soured at the mention of his failure. He hadn't expect the declining Crawford Kingdom to have such a mysterious expert, adept in spatial laws.
Zagan suddenly frowned with a dubious expression. If the person really was adept spatial laws, why did they use a spear instead of ripping the fabrics of space itself to tear him apart? Was he tricked by a spatial treasure? Zagan's expression grew even worse, when he arrived at that conclusion.
The innkeeper just shrugs his shoulders, when his question wasn't answered and even threatened. He lazily said, "What you should be concerned about is how to report your failure to the Sectmaster."
"I don't need your reminder." Zagan said coldly. He finished his bowl of noodles and slammed it on the table, before grabbing the wine bottle and standing up to leave.
"That would be 50 Craws." The innkeeper said in a joking tone.
*Split*
Zagan sliced the table apart, but before he left, he answered the previous question, "The Illusory Butterfly Sect are adept at disguise and poison. It's too difficult to uncover their people. However, I suspect the rebellion 17 years ago, was their doing."
"Understood."
After Zagan was gone, the innkeeper shook his head and cleaned up the mess.
"Aish, what a nasty temper." The innkeeper glanced at the dried corpses and said, "That bastard even stole my cultivation resources."
He was just an outer sect elder in charge of overseeing this region, while Zagan was an inner disciple.
But while their status was different, he wasn't any weaker than the inner disciple. Outer sect disciple had the choice of becoming outer sect elders or inner disciples when they are promoted.
The difference is the latter had better privileges and access to better resources. However, they also bear greater responsibility and had to perform dangerous missions. Because he treasured his life and had less potential to progress far in cultivation, he settled for the outer sect elder position.
Aqualeaf Town were one of their sect's outpost under the surface. The disciples of the Bloodfiend Sect would pass by this outpost, before entering the Crawford Kingdom.
He was stationed at Aqualeaf Town for many years and would acquire his information from the passing disciples. The only information he lacked, was the information about the Crawford Kingdom, since the disciples rarely return.
He assumed they mostly died in the hidden skirmish with the Illusory Butterfly Sect.. Both their sects have their own unique cultivation technique to reach Transcendence, but it never hurt to have more.